Over the past few months, Yourtranslator was honored to have collaborated with Amal Alliance for the translation of their award-winning program “Colors of Kindness” into the Greek language. “Colors of Kindness” is an innovative EdTech solution that helps children develop their social and emotional competencies that was inspired by Amal Alliance’s preexisting Rainbow of Education curriculum. Designed to help cope with the effects of…
Les traducteurs (The translators): a review
Being translators ourselves, we love watching movies with translators as the main characters, as they’re not very easy to come across. We also feel that they help lend visibility to translation and translators in general, which is something that our industry desperately needs. If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, the movie is about the translation of a bestseller and it’s actually inspired by…
5 simple steps for quality assurance
Quality assurance is absolutely essential when working as a professional translator. Naturally, the best method is to have your translation reviewed by another professional. However, even in this case or even when you’re working with agencies that take care of the review themselves, you should make sure that the quality of the work you deliver is as high as possible. Here are some simple…
10 things we love and hate about translation
WE 1. Learning new things One of the great things about translation is its sheer variety; one day you’ll be translating manuals of a washing machine and the next the website of a hotel on a dreamy island. Besides keeping boredom at bay, this multitude of subjects helps you learn a great many new things you would never have imagined existed. Naturally, if you…
The challenges and pitfalls of legal translation: an interview with John O’Shea
John is an experienced legal translator with a background in law. We asked him how he ventured into translation, how he deals with the specific challenges of his specialisation and what are some of the best ways to specialise in this field. Tell us a bit about yourself. How and where did you first learn Greek and how did you decide to venture into legal translation?…
The importance of planning your translation requests ahead of time
More often than not, translators are faced with “urgent” requests sent last-minute by stressed-out clients who need the translation “yesterday”. It sometimes happens that once they have learned the extra cost involved in an urgent translation, they reconsider the urgency of their request and agree to a more reasonable deadline. Very often, though, that’s not the case. This situation is not ideal for either…
A translator’s review of “Arrival”: truths and misconceptions about translation [contains some spoilers]
by Marina Spanou I recently watched the film Arrival. From the moment I found out that the protagonist was a translator/interpreter, I was very curious about its linguistic approach on a very common movie subject, i.e. aliens. I must say that, barring a few common misconceptions and clichés, I wasn’t disappointed at all. I will try to limit the spoilers for those of you…
Interview with Ioanna Karamitsa, Digital nomad
Interview of the month – Ioanna Karamitsa Translator-Digital nomad *Translated into English by Ioanna Karamitsa. You are the first Greek “digital nomad” translator we have come across. How did you decide to do this and how long have you been travelling?* You’re starting off with the toughest question because I really have no idea how I ended up making this decision! I have always been…
Interview with Susan Harris, Words Without Borders
Interview of the month – Susan Harris Editorial Director, Words Without Borders Founded in 2003, Words Without Borders promotes cultural understanding through the translation, publication, and promotion of the finest contemporary international literature. Yourtranslator spoke with Editorial Director Susan Harris about the organisation’s goals and the future of the publishing sector. Tell us a bit about yourself and the work you do at Words…
Lost in Translation: The case of Chinese
Mandarin Chinese constitutes the official and most widespread spoken dialect of the People’s Republic of China; it’s the official language of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and one of the four official languages of Singapore, while its writing system is also used by speakers of other Chinese dialects. It belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family. The Chinese language is of particular interest not only…