Note: I originally wrote this article for the 2019 edition of JAT’s Translator Perspectives. During one session of a translation conference I attended last year, the speaker explained what drove his switch from freelancing to working as an agency employee.…
10 Ways To Save Money When Purchasing Translation Services
This excellent article was originally written by the much-regretted José Henrique Lamensdorf, a freelance translator colleague who was always an incredibly kind and useful member of our community. He has helped hundreds of translators address difficult challenges in our industry,…
My 7-Step Quality Process For French Translations
If you are new to translation, you may not be familiar with steps a professional translator should take to ensure the quality of their work. In broad strokes, here are the 7 quality assurance steps I follow for each translation…
[2019] 7 Localization And Internationalization Best Practices & Tips for Software, Apps And Games
Software, mobile app and game developers often make a serious mistake when they approach localization by assuming it can be handled once the coding is done in native language. In fact, you need to consider localization from the very moment…
Translators, Interpreters and Editors: “What‘s something that seems obvious within your profession, but the general public seems to misunderstand?”
This simple question asked on Twitter got great response and I though I would share some inspired tweets from translator, interpreter and editor colleagues. So here you go, and let me know if you find more ideas to throw into…
How To Reduce QA/Testing Costs For Localized Software/Video Games (Without Affecting Quality)
Localized software QA/testing is, sadly, a step that tends to be overlooked, executed poorly or ignored altogether by developers, for cost reasons or lack of understanding of the process. Yet, with proper organization and planning, it is possible to keep…
“What are your favorite types of game text to translate”
Game localization is a much broader specialization that it may sound at first. Localizable texts come in all sorts of flavours, all with their own specifics that make us love or hate them. Here’s my general feeling about a few…
False Friends Or The Illusion That Translation Is Easy
The following post was originally shared by an English-Spanish translator colleague, but sadly not available anymore. Since I found the content very relevant to other language pairs as well, I am publishing it here as well. Translating is easy if… we…
Game Translation Jam in Tokyo/Kyoto – 4/22
Although a little late, I wanted to share some information and encourage you to attend an interesting event a few respected colleagues are organizing this weekend: a game translation jam that will happen simultaneously in Tokyo and Kyoto this Sunday…
Why I Won’t Work With Your Translation Agency
Every week I receive a couple of emails from agencies looking for new translators. Some contain interesting and personalized offers. Some are so grossly unprofessional that I just ignore them without reading through. And then, there are… the frustrating ones.…