10 tantalising dictionary sites for writers: everything from simple definition through to antonyms and new words and meanings.
Tag Archives | Translation
Epic fail. Ten classic communications blunders.
Ten epic failures of communication ranging from unfortunate typos through to bewildering examples of a failure to think first, communicate second.
10 business clichés that make you sound like an idiot
Business cliches are the worst kind of noise. Avoid these 10 offenders to stop making noise, and start making sense.
Lost in translation: lessons in proofreading
According to the BBC, the English on this sign is clear enough but the Welsh reads "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated."
40 essential online apps for freelancers
Online applications give me a competitive edge. I want to be a ‘big little company’ with the same (or better) IT capabilities as the biggest of my clients. I try to make the maximum use of online applications because they let me deploy new capabilities quickly without adding to my IT or admin burdens. This [...]
Translation vs. Transcreation
In this final guest post, Christian Arno from Lingo24 explains the difference between translation and transcreation. It’s an important distinction. Translators should only ever translate into their mother tongue, regardless of how fluent they are in another language. This ensures that the linguistic nuances of their native language are respected. Furthermore, many linguists have qualifications [...]
Found in translation
In this second guest post, Lingo24’s founder Christian Arno talks about the joy of words and the hidden linguistic pitfalls that translators must avoid. Linguistic diversity As all translators will know, it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to learn a second language. But with genetically-related languages such as Romance, there is often [...]
English is not the only language
If you are an English writer, it pays to think about other languages. Learning another language can help you become a better writer. But it goes beyond that. Much of my work is translated. For example, a site I wrote for HP is currently being localised into ten different languages. I had to do a lot [...]
Uncle Matthew, how do I write like an American?
Dear Uncle Matthew, The company I work for is planning to launch a new website targeted at people in the US. Although I consider myself a reasonably accomplished web writer, my experience of writing for audiences outside the UK is limited. I’m certain I could already do a good job of selling our products to [...]
About
Matthew Stibbe is CEO of Articulate Marketing, Articulate Training and Turbine, the easy, online way to deal with office paperwork. He writes about flying on Golf Hotel Whiskey and Forbes.
