Why are Translators Hated?

Former France coach Raymond Domenech lambasts Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. The book, called Mon dico passione du foot or ‘My Passionate Dictionary of Football’, takes readers through an A to Z of his experiences in the game. He mocks Mourinho, pointing to the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid manager’s beginnings in football as a translator. […]

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Poland’s Most Famous Translator Dies

Stanisław Barańczak was born on 13 November 1946 in Poznań. After finishing high school, he attended and graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University, specialising in Polish literature. His literary debut was a poetry volume entitled “Korekta twarzy”. Stanisław Barańczak’s impressive output revolves around four main fields: academic and critical work in the field of literature, essays, poetic […]

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Poland’s Premier Translator Dies

Stanisław Barańczak, the outstanding Polish poet, translator and literary critic, has died at the age of 68, in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had lived since 1981. For well over a decade he struggled with Parkinson’s disease. He was a key figure for Polish intellectuals of his generation, his students and readers, comanding respect both as […]

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Translators Disrespected

You’re sitting at home (or at work) slaving over a translation when out of the blue you receive a call/email/text message* (delete where appropriate) from a colleague/friend/acquaintance* (delete where appropriate) who you have not heard from for quite some time. The message usually begins in similar fashion regardless of whether it is a phone call, […]

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When is an Indian not an Indian?

For the translator, geographical names are often unproblematic and the least of his or her worries. However, there are situations (terms and names) which are seemingly ‘easy’ to translate but throw up a whole range of quandaries, queries and questions. A wonderful example of such a term is the English word Indian which is not as simple […]

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International Translation Day

The 30th September is our festival. On this day, the Christian Church celebrates the feast of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translators. In turn, this date later became associated with translators. The International Federation of Translators officially designated the 30th September International Translation Day in 1991, although this date has for a long time […]

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Visual Translation & Interpretation

To mark the fourth anniversary of transubstantiation (which was actually in June), the passing of the 90,000 hits mark as well as the fact that we were nominated to the Top 100 Language Blogs competition, we feel it is about time to breathe some new life into transubstantiation and give the site a subtle facelift. […]

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Just a Translator…

Football fans across Europe and the world were introduced to the fickleness of football fandom when FC Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) took on FC Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League match. Inter Milan registered an aggregate win of 3-2 over two legs to knock out the Champions League Cup holders Barcelona and reach the Champions […]

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Are Translators Normal?

Common sense tells us that being a translator is, like any other profession, fraught with ups and downs, peaks and troughs, although our ups and downs are often intrinsically linked to linguistic competence or know-how, stamina and concentration. The state of one’s mind is just as important as the knowledge we have acquired. Hence, the […]

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Greetings in the Languages of the World

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Transubstantiation Language Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Afrikaans Geseënde Kersfees en ‘n gelukkige nuwe jaar Geseënde Kersfees en ‘n voorspoedige Nuwe jaar Akeanon Maayad-ayad nga Paskwa Mahigugmaon nga Bag-ong Dag-on kinyo tanan! Albanian Gëzuar Krishtlindjet e Vitin e Ri Aleut Kamgan Ukudigaa Alsatian E güeti Wïnâchte un […]