Some words sound lovelier than others—and learning a new language can teach you why

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When we listen to a foreign language, we may hear sounds which do not exist in our mother tongue, and may sound different from anything we have ever heard before. The first time we hear something new, a foreign sound or word—even an unknown word in our own languages—something in it may provoke delight or revulsion.

Often with familiar words, it’s almost impossible to simply look at one and separate it from its meaning. Words like “putrid” or “disgusting” have nasty connotations already built in to our subconscious and therefore meaning will play a key role.

However, when we learn a new language, we encounter words free of associations and connotations in our mind. This presents an opportunity for researchers to determine what’s in a word itself that the mind finds pleasing or unpleasant.

From a very young age, everyone is exposed to music and to language, and every culture has its local variants of both. We all perceive words in different ways. How we feel about different words, whether we like the sound of some of them more than others, will depend mostly on what experiences in our life we attach to them and how people in our community use those words.

The British linguist David Crystal conducted some research on phonaesthetics, the study of what makes certain sounds beautiful, and noted that the most popular words have positive connotations—no surprises there. But what’s interesting is what these words have in common: two or three syllables, short vowels, easy-to-produce consonantal sounds such as /l/, /s/ and /m/.

None of these sounds—or “phonemes”—require much energy or effort to be pronounced and so evoke natural and peaceful tones. Some examples are: autumn, melody, lullaby, velvet, luminous, tranquil, marigold, whisper, gossamer, caress.

For centuries, the repetition of certain sounds in literature has been popular in poetry, often with the aim of mimicking nature to elicit moods and feelings. Both in English and Spanish poems, words where /s/ is a prominent sound symbolize the hissing sound of the the wind or the sea, and words with nasal sounds like /m/ are soothing and mellow, like a soft murmur.

Separating meaning from words

In the English language, the very same word will sound differently when pronounced by speakers of different areas, within the UK and abroad. Geography not only affects the way a word sounds but also its meaning—like “close”, which describes proximity and the feeling in the air immediately before a storm.

When we hear a word, the way we perceive it will be influenced not only by denotation but also by connotation. Understandably, words associated with positive experiences will be perceived as pleasing.

However, the way our experiences influence what words we like remains fluid throughout life. For the last 20 years or so, I have witnessed this with my Spanish beginner students.

If we effectively “conquer” a word, it becomes a word we like to say and hear. Sounds that at the start of the course British students struggled with – /θ/, /x/, /ɲ/, the rolled /r/ and /ʧ/—because they are scarce or do not exist in their mother tongue, became more popular by the end of the year.

New and positive experiences thus bring new “love” for words with initially tricky consonants, such as esperanza, izquierda, agujetas and contraseña.

There are also words which students used to find challenging at the start of their course but after some months have grown confident using and pronouncing with the kind of pride that arises from knowledge, hard work, and learning, regardless of the word’s connotations. This is particularly striking in the example of “desafortunadamente.” This means “unfortunately” in Spanish. Desafortunadamente therefore has obvious negative connotations, but learners of a new language are more likely to experience disassociation with a word from its meaning, which rarely happens in your mother tongue. Speakers of a new language can therefore enjoy a word on its own merits, disregarding its connotations.

When I teach pronunciation and intonation to Spanish beginners, I use the word “jeringuilla” as an example. It has all the makings of a word our brains love—syllables that flow, short vocalic sounds, /n/ and the strong Spanish /x/, which offers a worthy challenge for a native English speaker—but imagine their surprise when they learn it actually means “syringe”…

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

THE ABC’S OF RESPONDING TO CRITIQUE FROM A JOURNAL EDITOR OR REVIEWER

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 WRITTEN BY: AVI STAIMAN. AUG 2, 2018

After hours of research, writing, rewriting, and editing, you’ve finally crossed the Rubicon and submitted your manuscript for review. The customary academic review process begins with an initial review from a journal editor. The editor reads the entire text and then decides what to pass on to reviewers. Because those reviewers — two, three, and sometimes even more — determine whether a piece moves forward in the publication process, they act as the gatekeepers to publication.

Oftentimes you may feel discouraged by reviewers who send a lengthy critique, question the novelty of your study, or attack your methodology. You may feel that they don’t even understand your research. Rather than responding with a curt email or being discouraged by comments and critique from reviewers, consider these ABCs of responding to criticism.

A: Always be polite

It’s easy to get frustrated with comments, questions or endless back-and-forth with reviewers.  Remember that the peer review process is designed to improve the quality of your research, not to “win” or demonstrate to the reviewer that your knowledge of the subject is deeper than theirs.  Reviewers are critiquing your work, not critiquing you. Your responses should not reflect any bitterness or anger, but should be objective responses to their feedback.

Remember that editors and reviewers are acting with the intent to help authors improve their study. Take advantage of their advice! In fact, a long list of detailed reviewer comments usually means that a reviewer has spent a lot of time evaluating your work and attempting to provide constructive feedback. Most reviewers are volunteers who don’t get paid for their work but do this work in order to promote research in their field. Be sure to thank reviewers for their effort, even if you disagree with some of their feedback.

B: Be open to suggestions

After spending countless hours working on your text, you likely have a special affinity for it. An outside observer with a fresh set of eyes is sometimes best able to look at your article and point out areas for improvement.

As anyone that’s gone through the academic editing process knows, few submissions are accepted unconditionally. Virtually all journals require authors to address and respond to the reviewers’ comments. You do not have to make all the changes that the reviewers suggest, but you do have to address all of their concerns. If you are unwilling to change something, you should provide a compelling reason. Therefore, consider strongly all of the suggestions you receive.

C: Critique the critique?

The purpose of a review is to identify ways to improve your research and to help you think critically about your findings in a new way. It is easy to poke holes in an argument; however, it is much harder to suggest how to fix it.

A good review is more than just a simple “revise,” “reject,” or “accept.”  It should be multifaceted and meaningful and should guide you to a better argument structure or content. If your review is curt or cursory, it may lack the ability to do that. Politely push your reviewers to provide these details if they haven’t done so already. If you disagree with a reviewer’s critique, you should say so in a polite way. Be clear and focused, and provide as many details as necessary to help the reviewer understand your line of reasoning. Addressing a reviewer’s critique doesn’t always mean accepting his or her opinion. Oftentimes it means better expressing your own.

D: Deep breath

Initial irritation is only natural. Put the review away for a few days and then read the comments again carefully and objectively to ensure that you have clearly understood the reviewers’ concerns.

Once you have taken a moment, focus on the particular details the reviewers discuss. These details are important because they will help the reviewer understand how you have addressed their expressed concerns. A methodical, step-by-step response to any comments will help polish your work and impress your reviewer or editor. Becoming defensive and rejecting all of the reviewers’ comments out of hand will likely do more harm than good.

E: Establish if it’s “revise and resubmit” or rejection.

You can receive three types of responses to your submission: outright rejection, an invitation for you to revise and resubmit, or, ideally, unconditional acceptance. Because unconditional acceptance is rare, it is important to determine if you have been given an outright rejection or an opportunity to revise and resubmit.

If your work is rejected altogether, you may have chosen the wrong publication. Do some further research into the journal, its readership, and what they publish. Alternatively, a rejection may mean there is a flaw in your work. Use this rejection as an opportunity to think critically about your findings. In this case, any initial reviewer comments will be helpful in figuring out how to reconfigure the piece, if you decide to do this. In these cases, re-submitting the same article to the same publication is not recommended. However, there may be other avenues for publication — don’t get discouraged!

If it is a case of revise and resubmit, you should implement the suggested revisions and prepare your response describing what you have done. Address each point in order. If reviewers number their comments, use this system for your responses. If you have not made a suggested change, give the reasons. Where you have made changes, provide page and paragraph references so that the editor or reviewer can find them easily. You’re well on your way to publication — and helping the reviewers see that their changes have been implemented will speed up the process!

F: Follow up

If you submitted your manuscript but still have not received a decision, consider checking with the editor about the status of your submission. Because the standard amount of time from submission to decision making varies among different journals and fields, reach out to colleagues with experience or check the journal website to determine whether you have been waiting longer than usual.

Even if you have heard from the reviewers, following up is still critical. A thorough, clear, and polite response to editors’ and reviewers’ comments will help to reduce the likelihood of rejection or another round of review, saving you additional time and moving you closer to acceptance. If they set you a deadline for re-submitting your article, be sure to do so on time. If you are concerned that you won’t be able to, ask for an extension as soon as possible.

Being able to accept and embrace critique, whether from journal editors, reviewers, or peers is critical to personal growth — and to the development of strong academic work. Keeping these ABC’s in mind will help you navigate the review process and continue on the journey to publication.

Breaking up with a client: how and when to cut the cord

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Breaking up with clients–agencies or direct clients–is sometimes painful, but it’s a necessary part of a thriving freelance business: if a client treats you poorly, a breakup is a must. If you’re ready to move on to better-paying or more interesting work, a breakup may be in your best interest. Whatever the case, you want to think ahead of time about how to end the relationship in a way that leaves you feeling like you did the right thing. Let’s dig in.

When to cut things off right away
In some situations, you don’t want to worry about diplomacy or sugar-coating or not burning bridges: you just want the client out of your life. These include:

  • A client who does not pay you, or who unilaterally reduces your payment
  • A client who unfairly criticizes your work
  • A client who treats you in a way that feels abusive or harassing

In those cases, just cut the cord. “Effective immediately, please remove me from your roster of available freelancers. Please do not contact me for future assignments with your company. Thank you.” That’s it; you don’t need to say more than that.

When to give the client an ultimatum
In some situations, the client has just one problematic behavior. Perhaps they always pay in 60 days rather than 30. Perhaps they check in with you six times a day during a project. Perhaps they try to downwardly negotiate your rate when you’ve been firm about what your rate is. In those cases, it’s worth giving the client one more chance, but that chance must come in the form of an ultimatum that you are willing to stand by. Such as:

“Thank you for contacting me about this project. As I’ve mentioned before, your company has repeatedly paid me more than 30 days after the agreed-upon due date on my invoices. I value my relationship with you, but my payment terms are net 30, not net 60. I am willing to take on this project, but if I do not receive your payment within 30 days, I will not accept work from you in the future unless you pay in advance. Thank you.”

“Thank you for contacting me about this project. As we’ve discussed, my base rate is X cents per word. To save your time and mine, you don’t need to contact me for projects for which your budget is less than that amount. If this happens again, I will have to ask you to remove me from your roster of available freelancers. Thank you.”

“But they’re such nice people!” The worst reason for sticking with a client
If you, like me, have a bit of a doormat streak when it comes to breaking up with clients for purely economic reasons, stop what you’re doing and read this blog post by Carol Tice, on her blog Make a Living Writing (but it applies to translators too).

In this post, Carol mercilessly dissects the misplaced loyalty that a lot of freelancers have toward their clients–clients who don’t pay well, but are “such nice people.” She’s better at giving tough-love advice than I am, so I’ll quote her here:

“Don’t delude yourself that nice people who underpay you are still good clients. They’re not. They are sucking the life out of your business and putting your freelance writing business at risk of failure.”

That’s pretty blunt, but I agree: if you’re sticking with low-paying clients out of a sense of loyalty, you’re being loyal to the wrong side of the equation. You’re valuing your relationship with a low-paying client over your own financial security, your kids’ future, and your relationship with the people in your life who depend on you. That’s who you should really be loyal to–and that means working only with clients who will pay what you need or want to earn.

When to be eternally unavailable
Sometimes, breaking up with a client is unnecessary. In my experience the #1 reason that freelance translators or interpreters want to break up with a client is because they’ve moved on to work that pays better, is more interesting, or both. And that’s what should be happening over the lifecycle of your freelance business.

Before you write the breakup e-mail, as yourself if it’s necessary. With a direct client, it may be; most direct clients are not going to wait for you to turn them down 15 times before they find another translator. With agency clients, you may be able to just dodge their inquiries–or only accept their projects once in a while–while keeping the door open to working with them if you have a slow period or lose a major client. As an example, I know at least two translators who have taken in-house assignments that kept them busy full-time for six months or more. They decided that rather than burn bridges with their agency clients, they would simply respond, “Thanks for contacting me about this project; unfortunately I’m not available, but please keep me on your list!” And it worked; those agency clients enthusiastically sent work once those translators were available again. The same technique would probably not work with direct clients, but agencies (hopefully) have other translators to choose from.

Unilateral rate raises: make sure you mean it 
Another situation that falls on the spectrum of client breakups is unilateral rate raises; when you inform a client, “As of January 1, my base rate will increase to X.” This is a fine–if abrupt–technique, as long as you mean it. As long as you are willing to stop working with the client if they won’t agree to the increased rate.

Problems arise when you backpedal. Let’s say the client responds, “Thanks for letting us know. That’s outside our budget for your language pair, so we won’t be able to work with you anymore. Just let us know if you change your mind.” That’s not at all out of the question, so envision that situation before you send the e-mail. The issue is that if you backpedal, the client knows that you were bluffing all along; it’s completely legitimate to tell a client that you are busy all the time at your increased rate, so you won’t have room for them in your schedule if they can’t pay more. But you really don’t want to pull a “just kidding” with a client once you’ve put a higher rate out there.

Annoyance fees: also worth considering 
Another common situation is high-maintenance clients–clients who pay well and pay on time, but who take up a disproportionate amount of your time with phone calls and e-mails and special requests that exceed the bounds of what would normally be expected in a freelancer-client relationship. If you hate working with these types of clients, don’t do it. Life is too short and your time is too limited to work with clients who cause you to cringe every time their number pops up on your caller ID. However, another option, particularly with direct clients, is to find a way to charge the client enough that the annoyance is worthwhile.

I speak from personal experience when I say that this technique can work with clients whose budgets are ample and whose need for personal attention is high. For example, you might tell the client that your rate includes one five-minute phone call per day, and all additional phone calls will be billed at your regular hourly rate, in 15-minute increments. If you read this and think, “My clients would never, in a million years, agree to that,” I say, simply, “Try it.” If your direct clients work with attorneys or accountants or auditors, those people do not sit on the phone for 45 minutes without charging for it, and neither should you.

Readers, over to you: have you broken up with a client recently? Let us know how it went!

By Corinne McKay

Organization and productivity for translators: starts Monday

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Starting Monday, I’ll be facilitating a four-week online course taught by translator and productivity expert Dorothee Racette: the course is Organization and Productivity for Translators. Dorothee now runs her own consulting company–appropriately named Take Back My Day–and she’s been a tremendous help to me in my own business; I’m excited that more translators will now get to benefit from her expertise. This course will help you:

  • Break the stress/time crunch/feast/famine cycle in your business
  • Create a realistic plan for getting more done during each work day, without added stress
  • Set up your ideal physical and digital work environment
  • Learn productivity techniques specifically for translators, including managing your translation software

We’ll do two live sessions every week (recordings provided if you can’t attend), plus a weekly homework assignment. Everyone in the class will also receive an individual consulting session with Dorothee at the end of the course. Registration is $380 with a $25 discount for ATA members (use coupon code ATA). We have a good group signed up already, but there’s room for a few more people. Hop on over to the course web page for more information or to register!

South African Schools to Start Teaching Kiswahili As An Optional Language

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South African schools will from 2020 offer Kiswahili as an optional language for learners, the minister for basic education, Angie Motshekga said on Monday.

Motshekga, who said the decision had been approved by the country’s Council of Education Ministers, said the language will be offered at public, private and independent schools.

“Kiswahili has the power to expand to countries that never spoke it and has the power to bring Africans together,’‘ Motshekga said.

We are confident that the teaching of Kiswahili is South African schools will help to promote social cohesion with our fellow Africans.

‘‘It is also one of the officials languages of the African Union. We are confident that the teaching of Kiswahili is South African schools will help to promote social cohesion with our fellow Africans.’‘

Kiswahili will be the first African language, from outside South Africa, to be offered at schools.

French, German and Mandarin are among foreign languages already offered in South African schools as optional subjects.

The rise of Kiswahili

Kiswahili is a Bantu language with lexical and linguistic similarities with many African languages spoken in the continent.”

Last month, South Africa’s radical opposition leader Julius Malema singled out Swahili as a potential common language that could be used throughout the continent, as one way of ‘decolonising Africa’.

In May this year, social networking giant, Twitter officially recognised Kiswahili as a language, making it the first African language to achieve the feat.

Hashtags like #SwahiliIsNotIndonesian and #TwitterRecognizeSwahili had been pushed by several Kenyans for a long time, petitioning Twitter to recognise the African language.

By  MT

Top 5 Most Popular African Languages Everyone Must Learn

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Africa, with its over one billion people, is not just the second most populous continent in the world but home to the most diverse languages. The continent has over 1,500 different languages.

As the world celebrates International Mother Language Day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, it would be ideal to learn some African languages that will enable you to communicate with people while doing business on the continent or enjoying tourist destinations. It will also help you understand the diverse cultures easily.

Here are 5 African languages you should know:

Swahili

This is the most spoken language in Africa, with over 100 million speakers. Also known as Kiswahili, the language is a Bantu language believed to have originated from other languages, specifically Arabic, following historical interactions between Arabs from the Middle East and East Africans. Swahili is the lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

It is currently the national language of four countries, namely Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the DRC. Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is also related to Swahili. With Swahili being widely spoken, it becomes imperative to learn the language as it will afford you the opportunity to visit and transact business with countries like Tanzania and Kenya.

You could also go to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Mozambique and do same. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to learn Swahili, as unlike other African languages, it does not use tones. It basically uses the Latin alphabet. And learning the language would also be easier if you already know some Arabic, as there are so many Arabic loanwords in Swahili. To practice some Swahili greetings, here’s how to go about it.

Amharic

This is the second most popular language in Ethiopia after Oromo, having over 21 million speakers. It is spoken as a mother tongue by the Amhara (an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the northern and central highlands of Ethiopia) as well as other populations residing in major cities and towns of Ethiopia. Currently, Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia and also the working language of several of the states within the country. Over 2 million Ethiopians living outside the country also speak this language, as it is the second most Semitic language in the world after Arabic. Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family originating from the Middle East. Amharic which is related to Arabic and Hebrew, is written in the Ge’ez or Ethiopic script, with over 30 different characters. Learning to write and speak this language should be a part of your to-do list if you love literature, as the language continues to host so many Ethiopian literature – poetry and novels. Getting to know Amharic would enable you to keep abreast of a wide range of literature from the country, besides learning its diverse cultures.



Yoruba

The third most spoken language in Africa, Yoruba is also one of Nigeria’s official languages, serving as the mother tongue of the Yoruba people in the country. It has over 30 million speakers in Nigeria, Benin and Togo and it is widely spoken by West African expatriates in the US and UK. Yoruba, which has over 15 dialects, also forms part of the also forms part of Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages. If you want to say hello in Yoruba, you should say “Bawo”. But take note, Yoruba is a tonal language with three tones: high, mid and low. Take some lessons in Yoruba. There are millions of sites and portals for doing so.  On the lighter side, if you are a fan of Nigerian films, then you should learn Yoruba, as the language is often used in its traditional films.

Oromo

Over 30 million people in the Horn of Africa, specifically in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Egypt speak Oromo. The Oromo ethnic group is the largest in Ethiopia, accounting for over 40 percent of the population. The language falls under the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. In the 20th century (between 1972 and 1991), Oromo was banned during the reign of Haile Selassie, and by the communist regime that followed his overthrow. The language has since adopted the Latin alphabet and it is now used in education, the media, government administration and national commerce. Here are some tips.

Hausa

Spoken as a first language by some 27 million people, Hausa is one of Nigeria’s official languages and one of the most spoken Chadic languages (a branch of the Afroasiatic language family) on the continent. Hausa originated as the language of the Hausa people in northern Nigeria and southern Niger. It immediately spread as the lingua franca of Western Africa as a result of trade. The language is spoken mainly in the following areas: northern Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, Congo, and Cameroon. Other countries like Ghana, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Togo and Sudan also speak Hausa. Hausa is a tonal language, but do not let that discourage you from learning the language. It uses the Boko and Latin alphabet, which is the writing system for most Muslims in western Africa. Get abreast of the language.

Funny mistranslations from around the world

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Every translator, linguist, language lover and grammar nazi has been there. Wherever we travel, our eyes are checking everything around us for grammar and translation mistakes.

The following mistranslations are some of the most ‘famous’ ones, they can be found in many webpages online. I won’t talk about the importance of professional translation services to avoid such (sometimes grave) mistakes, I’ll just let you enjoy the hilarious translation blunders.

Restaurants & menus

Restaurant window: Don’t stand there and be hungry. Come on in and get fed up.
On the menu of a Swiss restaurant: Our wines leave you nothing to hope for.
In a Tokyo bar: Special cocktails for the ladies with nuts.
In a Norwegian cocktail lounge: Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.
In a Nairobi restaurant: Customers who find our waitresses rude ought to see the manager.
In a New Zealand restaurant: Open seven days a week, and weekends too.
A menu in Vienna: Fried milk, children sandwiches, roast cattle and boiled sheep.
At a Korean restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand: We do not re-use the food.

Newspapers & magazines

In an East African newspaper: A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.
From the Soviet Weekly: There will be a Moscow Exhibition of Arts by 15,000 Soviet Republic painters and sculptors. These were executed over the past two years.

Airplanes & airports

Instructions on a Korean flight: Upon arrival at Kimpo and Kimahie Airport, please wear your clothes
Aeroflot advert: Introducing wide boiled aircraft for your comfort
In a Copenhagen airline ticket office: We take your bags and send them in all directions.
On an airsickness bag on a Spanish aeroplane: Bags to be use in case of sickness or to gather remains.

Shops

In a Hong Kong supermarket: For your convenience, we recommend courteous, efficient self-service.
Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop: Ladies may have a fit upstairs.
In a Bangkok dry cleaner’s: Drop your trousers here for best results.
Outside a Paris dress shop: Dresses for street walking.
In a Rhodes tailor shop: Order your summers suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation.
In the window of a Swedish furrier: Fur coats made for ladies from their own skin.
In a Tokyo shop: Our nylons cost more than common, but you’ll find they are best in the long run.

Cars & road signs

A sign on a car in Manila, Philippines: Car and owner for sale.
A sign at a vehicle repair shop in Bali Indonesia: Cat Oven.
On a highway sign in Australia: Take notice: when this sign is under water; this road is impassable.
From a brochure of a car rental firm in Tokyo: When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then tootle him with vigor.
Detour sign in Kyushu, Japan: Stop: Drive Sideways.

Doctors

In an advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist: Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists.
Doctor’s office, Rome: Specialist in women and other diseases.

Other

On a South African building: Mental health prevention centre.
Sign at Mexican disco: Members and non-members only.
A sign posted in Germany’s Black Forest: It is strictly forbidden on our black forest camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other for that purpose.
A laundry in Rome: Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time.
In a Czechoslovakian tourist agency: Take one of our horse-driven city tours — we guarantee no miscarriages.
Advertisement for donkey rides in Thailand: Would you like to ride on your own ass?
Sign over the information booth in a Beijing railroad station: Question authority
In an Italian cemetery: Persons are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own graves.
On the faucet in a Finnish washroom: To stop the drip, turn cock to right.
In a Bangkok temple: It is forbidden to enter a woman even a foreigner if dressed as a man.
Instructions for a soap bubble gun: While solution is not toxic it will not make child edible.
At a Budapest zoo: Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.
A barbershop in Zanzibar, Tanzania: Gentlemen’s throats cut with nice sharp razors.

Sources
http://langs.eserver.org/mistranslations.txt
http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/mistranslation.html
Book: Lost in Translation: Misadventures in English Abroad

Freelancing with baby: the first year

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This is a guest post by Rachel Sinn, a Spanish to English medical and pharmaceutical translator based in Colorado. I asked Rachel to write a post on her experiences managing her freelance business since giving birth to her first baby eight months ago. Specifically, Rachel has managed to juggle motherhood and freelancing while using little to no non-family child care. I get lots of requests from freelancing moms looking for real-life information, so I think you’ll enjoy this!

“So what are you guys going to do about child care?”

My friend smiled politely as my husband and I gave conflicting and somewhat vague accounts of our child care plans, because we hadn’t thought about it much. I was about five months pregnant. Later that night, that well-meaning question from a friend making small talk became a sleep-killing monster. What were we going to do about child care?

Of all the language-related trades, I chose translation at the tender age of 22 because I wanted to stay home with my future kids. At 30, with my first child kicking me on a daily basis, and with five years of translation work under my belt, I suddenly realized that it wasn’t going to be that easy. Cue several days weeks of panicked googling and calling around, only to encounter the dreaded daycare waitlist over and over again (30 months???).

After discouraging searches through hundreds of profiles on Care.com, endless daycare calls, and long talks, we decided to wing it. And I’m happy to say that I am still at home with my now eight-month-old daughter, and working close to full time. It has required a little creativity, and a reexamination of how we do life, but it’s possible and even enjoyable. Here are a few ideas if you’re looking to do the same.

Take a maternity leave
Childbirth is hard. Sleep deprivation is harder. As full-time employees, many women have the option to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave. I decided to give myself that amount of time as well. I notified all of my clients several months ahead of time, periodically reminded them nearer to the due date, and did so again the month of the due date. I also stopped taking projects with long deadlines the month of the due date. I took same day or next-day turnaround projects only (the opposite of what I did after my daughter was born!). I have two kinds of clients: giant translation agencies with hundreds of project managers and smaller, independent companies where I’ve been working with the same people for years. The former didn’t notice I was gone, and I had a good enough rapport with the latter that they happily congratulated me and told me to email them when I returned.

Ease back into it
When I decided I was ready to start working again, almost exactly three months later, I had to strategize how to do it. What worked for me was to “go back to work” for my best clients, a select few with whom I had a great relationship. You could call them my “A” clients. Great deadlines, interesting work, on-time payment, etc. Great deadlines were the key to the whole thing. I knew my schedule would be completely erratic for the foreseeable future (teething, sleep regressions, growth spurts, colds, the list goes on), which meant no same-day or next-day deadlines. I stuck with deadlines of two days or more at all times, and tried not to take more than one job at a time. I did this for about a month before going further. I’m happy to report that I was able to resume work with my “A” clients at about three months, and the rest around four to five months after my daughter was born. I didn’t lose a single client from going on maternity leave.

Rethink your schedule
My husband works full-time, so finding the time to get work done was tricky. I ended up translating during naps (an hour here, an hour there), and then in the evenings as well, when he or my mother-in-law could take the baby. I also ended up rearranging my workweek so that I worked over the weekend and took days off during the week. Far from being a handicap, this practice actually enabled me to take work other translators often refuse, thereby expanding my earning potential, and when I wanted to take the baby to story time at the library on a Wednesday morning, I didn’t feel like I was skipping out on work.

Beware the Mom-brain
Sleep deprivation is hard, and mom brain is real. You will put your phone in the fridge. You will find that your jeans have been inside out literally all day (how is that even possible?). I am fully aware that I might miss a deadline or make a serious error at any moment, simply because the baby was up five times the night before. I combat this problem by making the most of my productivity software. I set multiple reminders on my phone for each deadline (two days before, one day before, 4 hours before), I use Translation Office 3000 to track my projects and invoicing, and maybe most importantly, I use Google Assistant as my short term memory (e.g. “Ok Google, remind me to check on the term “X” in 10 minutes). Another tactic that has served me well is setting aside my translation for a good period of time, even overnight, and coming back to it with fresh eyes to edit and proofread. This is a good practice at the best of times, but as a new parent, it’s vitally important. A quality assurance tool like Xbench or Verifika may also be useful to check for number errors and consistency issues.

Working from home with an infant is an exercise in flexibility, but then so is parenting. By giving myself the time to recuperate and get to know my little one, starting back to work slowly, and putting plenty of safeguards in place to ensure my clients still benefit from my best work, I’ve been successful. Best of all, I get to be with my daughter for most of the day, and we don’t pay for child care. We are at eight months now, and still going strong!

Faithful vs. Effective Translations

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A Bridge Too Far

Most of the time, when we describe a good translation, we refer to the concept of fidelity. We believe the target text should be true to the source, respecting its style as well as the things it describes. However, at times, translators run the risk of over-egging the pudding, so to speak. The source text is translated so literally that the target text is difficult to comprehend. Thus, the translation’s function is not achieved. It’s times like this we must ask, “do we need faithful or effective translations?”

Let us take for example instructive texts, such as user’s manuals or cookbooks. English cookbooks tend to be more detailed than cookbooks in Spanish, laden with a lot of information that the Spanish reader takes for granted. Given a faithful translation of an English cookbook, a Spanish person would probably feel slighted and stop reading.

Something similar happens to copywriting. Imagine once again how an advertisement written for British audiences would fare in Spain. Most likely, a lot of references would be lost, and so the advertisement would lose its impact. Sales of the product would be less than expected, and the translator would have failed his mission.

Some Theory

In 1978, the linguist, Hans Vermeer, introduced for the first time the theory of skopos. Skopos is a word of greek origin (σκοπός) meaning “purpose”. The theory upholds that both translators and interpreters must keep in mind, above all other things, the function of the words they are translating. If, for example, the purpose of a piece is to sell a product, the target language should be adapted to achieve the same impact in the target audience.

This concept is not limited to language; it also comprises the customs, world views and preferences represented in this language.

Perhaps the importance of skopos is most evident in translations of movies, especially when children are the target audience. The purpose of dubbing is making sure children the world over are just as entertained as the children who speak the original language. And while perhaps a complete makeover of the soundtrack is uncalled for, a lot of it -word play, jokes, register- will have to be adjusted. Professionals tasked with translating this kind of material must really have the knack for it.

The Goal

To answer the question that set off this discussion, I dare say that, as a general rule for translations, effectiveness is more important than faithfulness. Of course, we would never change the meaning of the source text, but rather adapt anything that may be lost in translation. Preserving the author’s intent is always our first priority.

So you want to be a Freelance Translator (or Interpreter): Money Matters

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This post is the fourth (first post, second post, and third post) in a series of five posts written in response to questions we at The Savvy Newcomer have received, sometimes from people within the translation world, but also from bilingual friends and family who are interested in translation and interpreting (T&I). Our hope is that this series will serve as a guide for people who are considering a career in T&I and want to know where to begin.

In the first post in this series, I alluded to a question I’ve been asked several times since I began freelancing—sometimes more subtly than others: “Do people actually pay you to do that?” Some days it feels surreal that, yes, people really do pay me for this and I get to read in Spanish, write in English, and sometimes even correct other people’s spelling and grammatical mistakes (Grammar Police Alert!), but the underlying question is whether translation and interpreting are viable career options for bilinguals. The short answer is yes—if you have the right skill set.

If you’re just beginning to consider whether a career in T&I may be for you and are asking the same question, you are not alone. Some of the biggest questions many beginning translators and interpreters have about getting started also revolve around money: How much do I charge? What kinds of expenses will I have? How do I make sure my clients actually pay me (on time)? I’ll do my best to cover these tricky yet essential questions in the following lines.

What should I charge?

Translators often charge per word (source or target) or per hour, while interpreters may charge per hour, half day, or per diem rates. Rates can vary significantly in different segments of the market, while your specialization and language combination can also play a major role. Quoting too much relative to the importance and budget of a particular project may make it hard to secure enough work. However, quoting too little could put you in a vicious cycle where you work long hours at low rates. Long-term business prospects and finances can be affected by your choice of rates because it’s difficult to make time to find higher-paying projects and invest in the skills development and training needed to qualify for them if you are too busy with smaller or lower-paying projects and clients. And on top of all that, you could end up undercutting your colleagues.

While newer translators and interpreters may logically earn less than more experienced professionals—like in any other industry—you can earn fair compensation for your experience and education level, if you are putting the right amount of time and effort into your work and business development. But again, this begs the question: What should I charge? There are a few good ways to figure out what that means in terms of specific numbers.

First, the American Translators Association (ATA) has conducted and reported on a survey of professional translators and interpreters regarding their compensation and rates. The results of this ATA Translation and Interpreting Services Survey, Fifth Edition can be accessed for free in summary form or in full form (free to ATA members, $95 for non-members). The results cover information on rates, language pairs, and annual income.

Calpro is another resource you can use to determine what rate you should charge in order to bring in your target income, taking into account working hours, holidays, and other expenses. This spreadsheet was first developed by the Spanish association of translators, ASETRAD, and was adapted by ATA volunteers for use in the U.S.

Tracking the time you spend on each project is a great way to generate data that can help you figure out how much you actually are earning and which projects are more or less worthwhile for you. Start by using a time tracking tool like RescueTime or Timecamp and then use an Excel file or other method to compile your data and divide the total fee for a project by the number of hours spent on it to see how much you earned per hour. This will help you determine whether you might need to charge more next time for a similar type of text, or whether you would be better off rejecting a project that you will likely earn less on in favor of a project that would earn you more per hour, or even in favor of spending time on business development to grow your client base.

How do I make sure I get paid?

Two common issues when it comes to getting paid for freelance work are scams (where a fake client orders work from you and either never pays or scams money out of you by means of a fake check) and late payers. Several resources exist to help freelancers avoid these issues, including Payment Practices and WPPF (and check out this article on the topic).

How do freelance finances work?

I could write pages upon pages about freelance finances, but at the end of the day, the important thing is to understand that earning money as a freelancer (what we would refer to as “1099 income” in the U.S.) is vastly different from earning money as an employee of a company (“W2 income”). Freelancers need to send invoices to request payment from their clients, pay their own taxes (usually there is no withholding and you make estimated payments throughout the year), manage their own retirement savings, cover their own business expenses, and meet their own insurance needs. All of these are things that employers will often handle for their employees, while freelancers need to build them into their time and finances. I won’t go into detail about each of these topics, but I do want to provide a resource or two on each topic in case you need somewhere to start looking.

  1. Invoicing and Expenses

Some freelancers choose to create their own invoicing processes and others prefer to use software to help manage the process for them. The following are a few popular invoicing tools for freelance translators and interpreters: Xero, Translation Office 3000, Express Invoice.

  1. Taxes

Some freelancers choose to do their own taxes, but many prefer to outsource this service to a professional accountant or accounting firm. Since there are so many extra factors that go into freelance tax filings (e.g. multiple 1099’s, a Schedule C/1040, possibly other business filings depending on your setup and location, and deductions for business expenses), options like TurboTax and TaxAct would probably make for a stressful springtime… So unless you want to forego a lot of afternoons going crazy trying to decipher the tax code, I would suggest reaching out to other translators in your area to get recommendations for an accountant you can trust to take care of your tax needs.

  1. Retirement

Employers generally contribute to your retirement savings when you are a W2 employee, so it is extra important to start early if you’re a freelancer. Options for freelancers include traditional or Roth IRAs and SEPs, whether through financial planners or using online options like Vanguard and e-Trade.

  1. Insurance

Another expense that is often subsidized by employers for W2 employees is insurance (health, vision, dental, life, etc.) As a freelancer you’ll need to take care of this yourself, but you won’t be alone! Many options are available outside employer-sponsored health plans. For instance, Freelancers Union offers a private marketplace for members to connect with insurance companies (and Union membership is free!).

We hope this information has helped you get a better idea of what to expect as you consider a career as a freelance translator or interpreter! Stay tuned for the fifth and final installment in this series: Technology and Tools.

Image source: Pixabay