A sign of the times, perhaps, but I've started sending subtle nods to the value of using a human translator to my clients. E.g., “Thanks for providing this exhibition design scenario for context. This is gold for a human translator.”
In this age where perception of the value of human translation is plummeting, every little bit helps?
Grr. You know It's well past time to be done with this effing project when you start sending explanations with your #translation to ward off the inevitable questions and challenges from the P.M.
Happy New Year all. Hope 2025 is good to you.
Should you (including any freelance translators) need translation work from French or Spanish to English, in my domains, don't hesitate to drop me a line.
contact@corbettamtranslations.com
Another day, another explanation to a French-speaking revisor that, no, we don't (or shouldn’t) use exclamation points in English for emphasis. (And, frankly, you shouldn't in French either, but that's not my battle.)
For God's sake, stop!
See what I did there? ;)
My experimentation with AI continues to be frustrating.
Me, to #chatgpt this morning (after a long, fruitless back-and-forth): Write a random sentence containing 28 words on how AI is bullshit.
ChatGPT: AI can sometimes feel frustrating and inadequate, leading many to believe it’s more trouble than it’s worth, as it often misses the mark and fails to understand human nuance.
I mean, the sentiment is correct, but… 29 words. 
No, #MSWord, I do not want you to “helpfully” recheck the “Ordinals (1st) with superscript” setting every time you update.
I have spent my career battling this setting. It’s the 21st century, #Microsoft. Using superscript in abbreviations went out of style a long time ago!
Friends, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the coincidence of this, but a nun wearing a traditional habit just walked by our house (something I don't think I've seen in the 25 years we've been living here)—just as I am translating a museum exhibition on the Ursuline Order.
If I were a religious person, I might take it as a sign. Of what, I'm not sure. Maybe to take the rest of the day off? LOL
My goal as a French-to-English #translator is usually to reduce the number of words in the source text by at least 10 percent, and it’s generally not a problem.
But my latest #translation project is an exhbition for a museum in Quebec City. I must say that the FR text is so tightly written it’s proving tough to make the EN shorter at all. What a refreshing change (and challenge!) to translate concise, well-written French.
Seriously, there should be a special place in Hell for people who send a document out for translation with “Hide Spelling Errors" checked. WTF, dear client?
One of the things I love most about being a translator is that I learn new and interesting things every day. Today, however, I was shocked to learn that women in Quebec were not permitted to sit on juries until June 17, 1971.
1971.
Friends, my mind is blown. I knew that women gained full suffrage quite late in Quebec (1940), but the right to sit on juries is within my lifetime. I am shaken to the core and outraged.
Currently #translating a museum exhibition, and I just adapted a text to include the English #translation of a book.
I of course considered it my duty to also #NameTheTranslator in my adaptation (even if he has been dead for over a century). 
#xl8 #translate #FreelanceTranslator
Not gonna lie: over a year after moving to a 4-day work week (one of the best decisions of my professional life), I still get a little frisson of delight setting my out-of-office message on a Thursday afternoon.
Dear client,
If you email me on Wednesday afternoon asking if I can translate a two-page document for EOD Thursday, and I reply that, yes, it's possible, as long as I get the document by noon, have the courtesy to confirm that you will or will not be booking my Thursday afternoon. I know we're all busy, but geez, how much effort is it to fire off an email.
Grr.
Sorry, peeps. Thanks for indulging my rant.
On a whim, I just described myself to a client as a “small, artisanal producer,” and the more I think about it, the more I'm into it.
What do I do?
I create small-scale, bespoke translations for the most discerning clients.
God help me, I just found myself about to write "learnings" in a translation.
What is the world coming to?
(And yes, I know and applaud that language evolves. But some changes are easier to swallow than others.)
Just accepted a contract from a client that took over 6 months to pay my invoice last time around. In my mind, I had “fired” them as a client. But they're fairly prestigious, this new project is quite interesting, and they assure me that payment will be much quicker this time, so I’m giving them a second chance. But mark my words, there won't be a third…
Even after over 25 years in the #xl8 biz, nothing grinds my gears more than when a client--especially one who should know better--sends me something like a title to translate with absolutely no context.
Repeat after me: the shorter the #translation, the more context is needed. Grrr…
The one negative about a 4-day workweek and taking Fridays off is that it's generally a dick move to wish clients a good weekend on a Thursday, so I don't do that anymore, alas. Occasionally, one will remember that Thursday is my last workday and wish me a good weekend. Yeah, they're my favourites.
I’m the kind of #translator who will find, open, and search seven public-domain translations of the #Iliad just to see how I might best translate that three-word description of the ancient city of #Mycenae from French into English.
This is why I get paid the big bucks. </sarcasm>
I usually listen to instrumental music while working, but there are days when I'm just not in the mood. On such occasions, I often turn to the Radio Lento podcast (recommended to my by @AMDWorld)
It's a series of recorded ambiant sounds. Sometimes its rain falling in a forest at night. Sometimes its waves crashing on a seashore. It's almost always soothing.
Makes good nap-time listening too!
Check it out: https://radiolento.podbean.com
