A blog about translation, writing and language in all its glorious aspects
Well, that’s International Women’s Day over for 2012. I’m not a big fan of this particular “day” because I think that on 9 March, after all the fine words and the gifts of mimosa (in Italy, at any rate), everything just goes back to normal. I also think that girls and women in the (still …
Continue reading “Don’t be stupid, girls. And don’t be stupid, BBC Radio Scotland”
One of my very first dates with my (now) husband was a concert by Lucio Dalla and Francesco De Gregori in Taranto, in 1979. We were to meet in the doorway of the apartment block where I was living. Vito was about half an hour late, having forgotten the time while in the shower. For …
This blog is primarily about language, but words take on a special power when they’re combined with music. So I’d like to dedicate this and the next post to two singers who died this week and who both meant a lot to me at different stages of my life. The first is Davy Jones, an …
I’m glad the UK government and big businesses have got the work experience issue sorted out. (Very briefly: businesses can offer unemployed young people unpaid work experience, during which the youngsters continue to receive their unemployment benefits. After protests claiming that the scheme amounted to unpaid forced labour, and criticism of the government’s threat of …
Continue reading “Work experience schemes. Not just for big business”
January will soon be here and it’ll be time to make yet another New Year’s Resolution to declutter. But sometimes it pays to be selective about what you throw out. I submitted a bid recently for a contract to translate “documents relating to the policies and administration of the European Union”. To take part, you had …
Continue reading “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath-water. Or, go easy on the decluttering”
How do graphic designers do it? I’m working on a new logo, for personal rather than business use. Or rather, Zoë Shuttleworth of Rude Goose is working on it, and I’m no doubt driving her round the bend with my contradictory input. This probably sounds like a vanity project but there’s a motivational reason behind …
I’ve been a Macintosh user since 1987 — the photo above shows my very first Mac and the one I’m using now. I bought the first one purely for its size — we lived in a 2-room flat and I needed a computer that would fit on the desk in the corner of our living/dining …
Yesterday’s post was about publishing fees on your website. I’ve had my say, now it’s your turn. Take our poll and let us know what you think! (Or — especially if you select “Other” — tell us in the comments). By Marian Dougan
After much humming and hawing, I’ve finally taken the plunge and published my fees on my website. I know that many translators and other small-business owners prefer not to do so. Some say that as they provide a service, not a product, their fees are not — should not be? — easily quantifiable. Others feel …
Stormy weather, written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler and here sung by Lena Horne, from the film of the same name. I should clarify that it’s blowing a gale here in Scotland today — trees uprooted and blocking the roads, trains cancelled, people stranded. Hence the choice of music. By Marian Dougan