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.
#translationservice #freelancetranslator #traductionfrançaisanglais #traducciónespañolinglés #translators #translatorsunitedagainstai
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.
Peter Christensen
AM Corbett