Quality in translation is something that good translators have an instinctive feel for. But how do you measure translation quality? How do you define it? The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation evaluates the translations provided by its contractors using the criteria set out below. First, some simple Yes/No quality criteria: Compliance with technical requirements? (Y/N) Right …
Author archives: Marian Dougan
The translators’ poet laureate (and rapper!)
Did you know that we translators have our own poet laureate – who’s also a pretty mean rapper? Here’s a sample: The deadline Ten thousand words for Friday OK that should be fine Two thousand words a day A good steady pace I must say Day one and all is going fine It’s telly tonight with …
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A spring-time revamp for Words to good effect
We’ve had a makeover! The blog is now self-hosted (I got round to it at last). It uses the same theme as before (Unsleepable, by Ben Gray), revamped by the wonderful – and very patient – Zoë Shuttleworth of Rude Goose. With help from her new assistant, the beautiful Erica, who at 6½ months gives …
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Singing in Occitan. Beautifully.
A week or two ago I heard a recording on Radio Scotland of Dawn Upshaw singing Baïlèro, one of the Songs from the Auvergne: a collection of folk songs from the Auvergne region of France arranged for soprano voice and orchestra or piano by Joseph Canteloube between 1923 and 1930 […] in the local language, Occitan. …
Getting paid. On time. With the EU’s help: the Late Payments Directive
If you run a business, cash flow is vital. Delays with payments have a pernicious effect: if you don’t get paid, you can’t pay your bills or your suppliers, and the chain-reaction can have a crippling effect on business, not to mention the wider economy. In the words of the European Commission’s Enterprise and Industry Directorate: …
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EU resources for translators, interpreters, writers, researchers…
A really useful message has just popped into my inbox from the Terminology Coordination Unit (TermCoord) at the European Parliament. Very timely, as I’ve just been up-dating my own resources page. Here’s what TermCoord’s message contained: Glossary Links. A glossary search tool with a database of almost 1,400 glossaries available online. All the links in the …
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And on the subject of “horses for courses” (meat or otherwise)…
…the phrase means: A person suited for one job may not be suited for another job. The practice of choosing the best person for a particular job. Once again, the Wikipedia family (in this case Wiktionary) refers to the translation profession to illustrate usage: The term is widely used in the foreign-language translation industry, where …
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Horses for (meat) courses: database of national food-safety laws and regulations
A resource for anyone who, given the rapidly expanding horse-meat scandal, is working on food safety issues right now and needs to consult the relevant legislation. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has compiled a database called FAOLEX, which lists food safety laws and regulations from just about everywhere. FAOLEX is a comprehensive …
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“Dreich”: Scots, the Scots… or Scottish weather?
The Scottish Government has just published the results of a poll to identify the nation’s favourite Scots word. The winner was “dreich”, which means “wet”, “cold” and/or “gloomy”. I’m not sure if that describes the Scottish weather, or just our character. Respondents were asked to choose their favourite from a list of 8 Scots language …
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The UK and Europe: in or out? Take our poll on EU membership
Time for a poll, I think, what with David Cameron throwing the gatto among the piccioni with his planned referendum on membership of the European Union. For some of us, EU membership is a business/market access issue, for some it’s all about annoying rules and regulations, and for others it’s emotional — we feel European. A …
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