Rainy London Translations' blog

Sometimes life is tough. We all know it so I won't spend a long time talking about the twists and turns that sometimes really take the toll on us. What I want to say is, that life is tough and sometimes there's nothing we can do about it. Recently, I had an enquiry for an interpreting assignment in support of an Italian citizen. Straightforward request: a solicitors' meeting and an Italian speaker who needed assistance to make sure the message was transferred. The client in question had had an accident two years before, in the workplace and badly injured his hip and leg. After all that time, he still was in pain, therefore, they needed me to explain him the legal procedures of his case (he was going to file a claim and also ask for a compensation for the loss of profit he had suffered while he was at home in sickness leave). I had a lot to read about him: age, general info, family status, list of aches and pains, circumstances of the accident, medical treatments… to cut the story short: this man was in acute pain and the company owing him a compensation wouldn't believe him. As I said, life can be very tough. But moreover my client was also angry. Angry at the system, angry at his wife for leaving him, angry for not being listened to and also so angry that he fell into depression. On top of this, as an Italian in the UK for over 35 years, his language was an amorphous mix of extremely broken, learnt-by-listening English and poor, grammar-less Itanglish, in a way so far from comprehensible that I'd never come across before. It took me at least half an hour to fine-tune to his speech style and made sure he replied to me (or to the solicitors, directly) in Italian and NOT in English, so that I could ensure some degree of civilised communication. Plus, not only was he very much in pain, but also tended to lose his temper extremely easily: all we witnessed - in my total dismay - was a man shouting in a very typically Italian or in any case Latin way, with lots of hands waving, high-pitched voice outbursts and mild swearing, alternated to sudden cries for pity. The solicitors, the man and I met in several occasions, as a second medical report was requested. Most of the work was done to really try and calm down the client, explaining that if the second report would also turn out irrelevant, he may not get the compensation he was hoping for.

Thankfully, sometimes all goes for the better. In the very last meeting with specialist in hips and accidents, the doctor managed to understand that the real problem underlying the whole issue may have been a different one compared to what had been previously diagnosed.

Several months passed and one day the postman brought me this:

with this note:

I have told you this more serious and real-life story today because I would like to stress the way-too-often underestimated importance of being an interpreter, especially in the medical area. Patients are stressed, sometimes lonely and angry, and above all, very much in pain. The interpreter is the voice, the key to express this pain and their will to be helped. The interpreter can really make the difference and of course has to be highly qualified and very patient, too. Most times I found myself trying to calm down the patient of this anecdote, but looking back I will definitely say it was worth it. He regained his cool, managed to focus and together we succeeded in conveying the right message to a knowledgeable doctor. Maybe it's not my style, but I have to say that I like this picture very much after alland even though it looks like it has my own signature rather than a dedication to me O_o I'll keep it as a reminder of a job proudly done ended with the best of outcomes.

Long live the interpreters! (and may they never be ill, either!)

You may remember that a while ago I ran a contest to win a customised iPod (Matt is still using it, as far as I'm aware!). Then we had the sweet espresso cup comp (#RainyCuppaComp) and Erik was the lucky winner (yes, you are still allowed to drink beer in it, my friend!). If you only joined the readership more recently, you may recall the latest of gigs, the Rainy London is my Oyster (card holder) contest.

Well, initially I was thinking it would be a nice 'thank you' gift to special clients or people I would meet at events - while I sent some to those who 'liked' it on Facebook or retweeted the post on Twitter the quickest. I was quite happy with that but I felt something was missing there...

Later on, I exchanged a cup with MeowTrad, then a couple of Italian students of mine saw my Oyster wallet and wanted one; I gave some to a few selected colleagues at a recent TweetUp...(lucky ones like Anne, Charlotte, María, Ana, Marta to mention a few!) but honestly, as I keep receiving enquiries about my gadgets, I had a eureka moment and came up with a solution...

Ta-dah! I hereby introduce you all to the new, shiny RAINY LONDON Shop!

It's hosted on a popular online site, Big Cartel. So if you want, you can now get these cuties for a decent fee - shipping is free in the UK and available for a basic fee to anywhere else. It only features 2 products for now, but stay tuned!

PS.: If you *really* like me, I'd appreciate it if you could take a pic of (yourself with) the Oyster card holder somewhere nice and see it featured on our Facebook page :) Click here for ideas and some examples of the brave ones who'd done it already!

Hope you like this new adventure.

Ciao!

ps.: BIG massive thank you to @artscode / @cocorino for the IT support with setting that up! Fab sei imprescindibile!

 

If you are an interpreter in the UK and you do not live in a cave, you must have heard at least once of this. I won't bore all of you with the particulars, but as it's my custom, I'll try to do so by entertaining you a little.

Once upon a time, the unaware Royal Family of Albion, our far-from-fairy-tale-esque land (the Ministry of Justice or MoJ), thought they were doing the right thing for the motherland giving their support to a well-disguised (at least for them), self-professed-hero evil villain (Applied Language Solution, a LSP based in the UK). Firmly they believed the latter was the only way for them to sort out their never-ending problems with the erroneously so-called 'cruel thieves' of the realm, aka: DPSI interpreters. Little the Royals knew that their alleged saviour was in fact the above-mentioned evil villain and that he would ruin the only good there was left for the poor country, exploit unqualified interpreters and humiliate the professionals, leaving the system in a chaos. DPSI interpreters would finally not be willing to take anymore of this cr**p and would stage an uprise in order to make the Royal Family realise the unforgivable mistake they had made, in a challenge to save the world (to be continued)...

Obviously, we all know the MoJ was wrong, there is no such thing as interpreters with 6-digit-figure salaries and last time I checked none of them was driving a Maserati or renting villas in Barbados for the Easter break. Similarly, not all that glitters is gold and that is true all the more for Appl. Lang. Sol. - we would tend to think that the people ruling the country should know better than letting themselves be fooled around like this.

On one of the several professional e-groups and forums I am a member of, I have found a nicely drafted summary on the press coverage for the now referred to as the MoJ-Appl.Lang.Sol.*** saga, compiled by Klasiena P. Slaney (@NRPSInterpreter) who is more than happy for me to share it here. Of course, this is by no means all the material out there, so feel free to share any you may have found.

Here is the Framework Agreement signed with Appl. Lang. Sol. in August 2011. Press coverage in the UK supported by protests from judges, lawyers and interpreters.

    •    24/03/12: "New courts service lost in translation"
    •    23/03/12: "Court chaos as interpreter service goes private" (Video, Channel 4)
    •    19/03/12: "Attorney general urged to take action against ALS, which was awarded court interpretation monopoly, after string of delays " (The Guardian)
    •    15/03/12: Polish interpreter about working with police / courts - the new unacceptable conditions in the UK. "Violent clients, traumatised victims, late payment - the life of a court interpreter. Very few people know what the job of a professional court interpreter involves. ALS is trying to get it done on the cheap " (The Guardian)
    •    15/03/12: Private court interpretation company 'should face contempt proceedings'  (The Guardian)
    •    15/03/12: "Protests at Westminster" (BBC) - Note: BBC should know better, but they call us 'court translators' O_o
    •    11/03/12: "Rabbit registers as court interpreter in the UK! " (News Today)
    •    02/03/12: "Interpreters stay away from courts in protest at privatised contract" (Guardian)
    •    02/03/12: Prime-time news: Watch this report from evening news on Channel 4  for an damning summary of the disaster so far.
    •    23/2/12: "The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has decided to allow courts to revert to the old system of selecting interpreters from the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) in order to avoid further hearings being adjourned as a result of interpreters from a new agency failing to turn up to court ." (thelawyer.com)
Monika Kokoszycka also published a very comprehensive report on AIIC's Interpreting the World Facebook page:
    •    Part I  (posted 15.12.11):
    •    Part II  (posted on 25.02.12)

An insightful complement to the facts linked to above is available in this blog post, dated 22 March 2012 by Miguel Llorens, a financial translator (@miguelllorens).

Well, we all like fairytales, don't we?

The only issue here is that, while fairytales usually have a happy ending (and - sooner or later - that always comes round) this is more of a saga and notoriously, all sagas have more than one episode.

So, at this point, I'm asking myself with a bit of concern: 'Will Dart Vader (Appl. Lang. Sol.) and its empire strike back?

We shall stay tuned...

*** I have taken extra care in spelling in full the acronym ALS as Appl. Lang. Solutions as ALS is actually a trademark of a US based company (@ALSINTL) who showed its concern to me on Twitter recently and should rightfully be kept out of this mess. Thanks.

Well, I said it all in the title.

As we are now full-time, big-smoke Londoners, the essential tool instantly becomes your Oyster wallet. And because I was sick and tired of my Ikea one (always reminding me that more money could be spent in their sofa department) or the Mastercard one (constantly nagging me to find something even more priceless to buy) I said to myself: why not creating a cute, no-frills, fun-packed custom wallet that needs no further explanation? Worst case scenario? Could bring some business our way!

Because *everybody* <3 a Rainy London, after all.

Ciao!

PS: SHARE this post on FB or Twitter to get a FREE wallet to show off! You don't have to be a Londoner after all... ;)

I have to say I completely forgot about the Versatile Blogger Awards until someone mentioned it yesterday and then my friend Aida told me she even nominated me last year! I now feel bewitched and HAVE to compile my own nominations. There you go.

The Rules
Rules are rules, so here's what you have to do to join:

1. Thank the award creator and link back to them in your post.

2. Share 7 things (possibly that nobody knows!) about yourself.

3. Mention 15 recently discovered blogs that you like.

4. Get in touch with the 'nominees' to let them know about the award and your preference for them. In my case I have to thank Aida again for nominating me and apologise for 'no caer en la cuenta' before! Hopefully nobody else nominated me and didn't go under my radar (sorry!)

Seven things you didn’t know about me

1. First things first: I love coffee. But in its purest way, so no chocolate or milk or froth involved. Just espresso. And please, don't write it with an 'x' :)
2. I love photography but I'm a complete self-taught beginner so pretty much an amateur that from time to time snatches a nice shot. Want more? Click here and here.
3. I currently wear the following jewellery at all times: 1 navel piercing, 25 (yes, 25) silver/steel bracelets coming from different people/places/occasions and 2 anklets. The bracelets HAVE to be only silver, possibly with beads, and never bangles. :) I do wear watch, earrings and necklaces, but they are all removed before bed. I also have 2 tattoos.
3. I have very flexible hands. And I once had extremely short and ginger hair ie. boy's cut.
4. Shallow bullet-point? Check. I once have been featured on Vogue Japan's street fashion blog  and last December, for Xmas, a friend bought me a photoshoot (!) with a professional photographer. I loved it. But you'll have to be my friend on FB to see them :)
5. I like to define myself as a very 'A to B' person ie. if I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm sad, I cry. If I am angry with you, you'll be the first to know. I don't like holding grudges or playing games. So well, I'm pretty much a simple person. Sometimes is a good trait, sometimes not. But I definitely know when to be diplomatic.
6. I have been sleeptalking/sleepwalking for my entire life. And it's not funny (so I'm told, I never remember a single thing)! I can be noisy and I once 'hit' a friend who was sleeping in the bed next to mine. She's fine now :)
7. Interpreting is my passion. And I don't find it scary to talk in front of people either. Once a professor told me I had a gift: I was able to make everything I said sound convincing. Great for the booth ;)

And my nominees are… (they're NOT in order and they're almost all translation-related!)

1. Aventuras de una traductor-intérprete en Madrid by Aida González (@aidagda). A heartfelt set of tales from Aida's experience as an interpreter. It's always fascinating to read other colleagues' experiences and find a relation to yours. I had the pleasure of meeting Aida in my recent trip to Madrid and she owned the place: restaurants, shops, touristy corners… she was the perfect Cicero. Gracias!
2. Wantwords by Marta Stelmaszak (@mstelmaszak). A young and skilled translator/interpreter that means business: she packs a punch and is very prolific. Unmissable tips and useful yet funny articles everyone can benefit from.
3. The Interpreter Diaries, by Michelle Hof (@InterpDiaries). An enviable multilingual background, a stellar career and a mum too: my hero! Michelle is fun, knowledgeable and prepared - and the blog is a must-read. Plus, I love the subheading ("highly personal, anything but confidential").
4. The Translator's teacup by Rose Newell (@Lingocode). A geek like me, Rose is a petite translator with bucket loads of energy (the vegan diet, maybe?). She's cool, knowledgeable and fun - the perfect combination! I recently met her in London and she confirmed it all.
5. Twin Translation's Translation Times by Judy (language_news) and Dagmar Jenner. Authors of The entrepreneurial linguist, a fab book on translation, these twins live between Las Vegas and Vienna and are able to be entertaining, funny and relevant in all they write. Plus: charitable! They ran a fundraising before Xmas in support to a colleague who faced health problems (they went over $10,000 if I'm not mistaken!). Well done, girls! I am hoping to meet them soon somewhere in the world.
6. Words to Good Effect by Marian Dougan (@MarianDougan). A common love for Italy (and shoes) unite me with this Scottish colleague who has a very clear and crafted style for interesting and relevant articles. I met Marian a few times during UK conferences and it's great to know people like these still exist!
7. The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman. Because I love fashion, after all. I read many more blogs on fashion but if I had to choose one and one only, this is by far the most relevant. Feast for the eyes if you love photography and effortless fashion style.
8. Bootheando, by Clara Guelbenzu (@blogbootheando). The name is very catchy and the author's work is too, focusing on interpreting and life in the booth: unmissable for both newbies and experienced colleagues alike.
9. Localise me, by Curri Barceló (@currixan). I love the FB page too and she has a blog in EN and ES. She's also a photo lover, just like me! We are both based in London and I am looking few to meeting her soon.
10. Minimo by Laura Dossena (@elleapostrofo). A minimalist blog by an Italian translator. Impressive description of her life dedicated to 'reducing' the stuff we have and we don't need. I'm not such a 'virtuosa' but reading her never fails to give me inspiration! She's also a good friend and fellow countrywoman - and we share the passion for bags, too. Vieni a Londra presto, Laura!
11. There's something about translation by Sarah Dillon (@sarahdillon). Now from Australia, Sarah is well known in the industry for her many articles and for her interesting blog. I love the layout too! She also runs eCPD webinars with Managing Director Lucy Brooks. These are extremely interesting and always bang on topic.
12. Naked Translation, by Céline Graciet (@ntceline) based in Brighton. She's funny, witty and very relevant. She always has a very clear-cut point of view on all translation-related things and she sets examples on how to deal with them at best.
13. 1000 Lives in 100 Words by Max Hardy. Nice project, interest development and certainly creative! When it comes to words, we get hooked! As Michelle Hof said, try and spot someone you know… before number 100th...
14. Mox’s Blog by Alejandro Moreno-Ramos. Mox is the stereotypical, highly skilled, well-tempered and super-naive translator. But these comic strips never fail to ring (one too) many bells! And it's fun.
15. Lingua Greca by Catherine Christaki (@linguagreca) last but not least, Catherine. A super-productive blogger, she writes effortlessly and even when topics seems to have been discussed under every angle, she nails it again and finds another one. She probably is writing a new post right now (does she even sleep at all?)!

Well, I did enjoy this. It's been a useful reminder of how many great colleagues above I still have to meet in person. A bloggers' lunch somewhere hot and nice, anybody?

Ciao :)

First of all: thanks so much to all those who found the time to join in, I appreciate it! I hope more and more people join these little 'games' of mine in the future too (yeah, more to come, folks!)

Although I've already declared our winner a couple of days ago on Twitter, here's a proper post to celebrate. The entries were interesting, funny and entertaining and I'll mention the most hilarious here:

@culturetrans Clueless tourist in Milan once asked me “If the Last Supper was here where did the Crucifixion take place?” 'Oh I really need a cuppa now'  #RainyCuppaComp

@ayam27: #RainyCuppaComp : conference organiser - why do you need 2 ppl in the booth? Last time we had this skilful young man alone! 'Oh I really need a cuppa now'

@iwandavies: worked in a trans. co. where a customer asked if they had a "language book" to identify a language! 'Oh I really need a cuppa now'  #RainyCuppaComp

@macinterpreter: <Client to us interpreters: 'In the afternoon, one of you will do consec for the head of delegation, the other one do sim #1nt in the booth> 'Oh I really need a cuppa now'

@erik_hansson: 1st phone contact w/ agency. "Are you really a Swedish native? Your accent is not like that guy in the IKEA TV commercial" 'Oh I really need a cuppa now' #RainyCuppaComp

Laura Miccoli: #RainyCuppaComp: Last year, I traslated a website for a Spanish advertising agency, delivered my translation and sent them my invoice. After some time, I asked them news about the payment, and they simply answered me: “Jo, se me olvidó.” Well, that was a 'Oh I really need a cuppa now' moment!

@aidagda: I was the interpreter at an exhibition. My client told me that a person from the Ministry of Culture was going to speak and that person was just going to say a couple of words ("Welcome", "thank you") and that I had to do consecutive. The actual speech lasted for some 10-12 minutes. I did remember everything and was focused on how to organise ideas and make sense of the bits I had; so I started interpreting and then I saw the client´s face. He was telling me: Aida, you have to do it into English! I was doing a great job interpreting from Spanish into Spanish. Once it was over, I just wanted to find a quiet place to die of shame but the person from the Ministry came and told me: "it was great, you made a summary for the ones that arrived late and then you did the interpreting." I really needed a cuppa...

Claudia Salamone: Simultaneous interpreting assignment: perfect booth colleague (who was Valeria by the way!), interesting topic, presentations made available on time, basically everything was set. The morning of the conference we went to the venue and asked where our booth was. Nobody knew what we were talking about. A guy from the staff asked us: 'Are you looking for
THIS?' THIS was a small storage room with no window, desk, chairs and of course NO EQUIPMENT.... Thanks God we were there pretty early so that the booth could arrive -almost- on time. No doubt this was one of these 'Oh I really need a cuppa now' moments! Do you remember? I mentioned this here. 

@erik_hansson: Smaller translation job carried out for a new end-client. After two months the invoice has still not been paid, and our client doesn't react on our reminders. Surprisingly, one week later this client contacts us concerning a translation of a short letter, but we refer to the unpaid invoice and refuse to take on any new jobs until the old invoice has been paid. The reaction from the client: "Well, you have to see this in a wider context. If you could just translate this letter for us, we would surely come into business with these fellows, and make so much profit and then be able to pay for the first translation." 'Oh I really need a cuppa now' #RainyCuppaComp

 So well, I can't help but opting for Erik as our winner because honestly: his anecdotes are amazing. Thanks for such an entertaining set of entries!

Here's the prize, I hope it gets there swiftly!

Ciao ciao

Oh well....Rainy London's website* will be soon 3 years old! - I know! Time flies indeed! As I've had loads of good comments for our cute Rainy's cups - btw: thanks for that, folks! - I've decided it's time to run a new competition for you to win one.

HOW TO JOIN? Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy:

1) follow @rainylondon on Twitter or like us on Facebook - now!

2) take a walk down your memory lane and look for the funniest thing ever happened to you.  

It can be a translation- or non-translation related fun fact, a weird request from a client, simply an epic foot in the mouth or a hilarious sentence/quote/idea you overheard somewhere - that brought you the conclusion: 'Oh I really need a cuppa now'.

Just make sure it's true and even better if you experienced it yourself. And also, you can use any media that reinforce your point! Just send that episode/story/joke/idea in and end it with 'Oh I really need a cuppa now' to be in for ONE of these gorgeous cups! (for how to use, see below - the truly Italian way).

My dear colleague @erik_hansson once posted a funny story on FB that made me LOL and read more or less like this:

Client: Can I have this text translated from Swedish into English?
Erik: But this is Finnish.
Client: Does it make any difference?
I'm sure at this point Erik thought:  <Oh I really need a cuppa now>

Well, I hope it's all nice and dandy - and clear…

So, get cracking on it and keep entries coming on Twitter (using the #RainyCuppaComp hashtag; on Facebook, just mention Rainy London using "@" on your post) Of course, e-mails are more than welcome too: info[AT]rainylondontranslations[dot]com The coolest, funniest, most entertaining entry will get a sweet Rainy Cup delivered at home :)
And remember, the comp ends on Wed 8 Feb.

Well, ready, steady, …COFFEE! And the spread the love!

<<<<<FOR AN ITALIAN VERSION OF THIS POST, CLICK HERE!>>>>>>

* With the precious help of @artscode / @cocorino, Rainy London's website will hopefully undergo major works for a revamping this year... so stay tuned!

Ok, first of all sorry for my long absence since I've attended this course... sometimes I wish time would extend and multiply, to achieve days of 48 hrs - where 15 are for sleeping, at least.

To cut it short: I have been desperate to update you on the last trip and course, which was sort of half way between a sequel/complementary course to the one I went to last year.
Asetrad organised a 2-day workshop with Fernando Navarro*.

I went with good friend and colleague Livia, met the nicest of people (@aidagda, @playmobiles, @sanirameneri @juliacgs @judcarrera) who pampered us and showed us the most important of things when abroad: where to eat (well). Gracias, ¡divinas!

The venue was a nice, central Husa hotel and the subject was 'Mistakes of the medical jargon' and 'The anglicization of Spanish'. As you may know, this course was done considering English and Spanish only but as a fluent speaker of the latter - and a sucker for challenges - I always try to make the most of occasions and find relations to Italian, if any.
I could speak for ages about the good points of this event but I'll try and make a good summary.

Just as my good colleague Aida said in her entry on the subject, it was good the event had practical parts, where the ever-funny Fernando showed us how the medical lexicon should be used properly - and how sometimes the mistake is at the source.

Far from knowing all about the medical translation now, it is clear that:

• it's always good to know a bit more of the substances mentioned in the files ie. sometimes, realizing a word is used mistakenly instead of a similar-sounding one, can really 'save lives' - no pun intended!
• the medical language should leave no room for double interpretation. English tends to use the same word over and over  eg. cancer even when synonyms are available (tumor). This is not the case in SP or IT, for instance, where the approach to repeated words entails using different words to make the text flow better. That's totally fine, provided we choose our words right.
• Again, a bit of knowledge of medicine always helps. One of the examples Fernando showed us saw a journalist writing about a person forced on her wheel-chair due to arteriosclerosis when he obviously meant Multiple Sclerosis, instead.
• Another one: quinine and quinidine are substances used for very different purposes: one is used for malaria the other one is an anti-arrhythmic agent.

<< A funny part of the course was the one dedicated to examples taken from the press or published work, where the medical jargon was used as a metaphor - with unhappy results!
eg. This dangerous virus is a real cancer of our society - too much medicine in one line... such a bad lexicon choice!

On the other hand, a nice expression to remember is something thas is the 'spine' of something else eg. in IT: questo concetto è la spina dorsale di tutta la sue teoria. Just some food for thoughts.

The lesson learnt? Medicine-based metaphors are strong and meaningful, so use them carefully. And above all, not when you are talking about medicine!

<< English tends to use less formal words than romance languages so it's important to make sure that the Italian or Spanish version, for example, use the right word for the right audience, too.
And here the issue of 'mistakes'. False friends are very common:

EN anhtrax = ES carbunco, NOT ántrax
EN plague = ES peste, NOT plaga
EN sulphur = azufre, NOT sulfuro

<< A common point of medical jargon is the use/reference to Greek and Latin. But you'll be surprised to know that other languages 'invented' terms used in this world, too:
Dutch: drug
Portuguese: albinism
Amerindian: guanine
German: Mastozyt, mast cell
Interesting, isn't it?

<< Some words that 'sound' English are commonly used in Spanish (and in Italian, let me add); some are related to the medical world - but not only! Some examples below:

- piercing
- kit (in the RAE dictionary)
- doping
- copyright
- scanner
- show
- spa
- hobby
- DJ
- relax
- screening
- spray
- staff
- test
- pool
- standard
- jeep
- lobby
- thriller

Also, funnily enough Spanish and Italians use words like 'footing' (meaning: jogging) thinking they're being smart when in fact this word has been taken from the English and then adapted…

We touched on anglicisms, too. They may be:
1. phonetic: eg. Nike, WiFi read in ES and IT as they are; this also works with words of other origin, like Sahara, Westfalia etc.

2. orthographic: EN colorectal = has 2 'R's in ES ( = colorrectal); benzene = can be mistaken with benzeno, while it should have a 'c' instead of the 'z'.

3. typographic: eg. using capital letters in titles, when both Italian and Spanish do not need that.

4. syntactic: articles to begin a sentence are common both Italian and Spanish, while English does not need any; the use of periphrastic constructions, not very fluent in both Italian and Spanish but common in EN; word order, a common mistake that EN into SP and IT translators may fall into, eg. Real Madrid Club de Futbol. Why? It's supposed to read Club de Futbol Real Madrid! or again, cienciaficción (science fiction; but: fantascienza in IT).

5. lexical: ie. loan translations at their best!

Eg. volleyball = balón voleo <cringing> and others, used as nouns:
- peeling
- lifting
- doping
- screening
- marketing
- zapping
- parking
- consulting

My fave is: puenting! ( = taking a long weekend off, usually when a bank holiday occurs).
These are very hard to fight - if we may say so - especially when nuances and different meaning or tones come into the game. Eg. 'aggressive' in EN is positive sometimes, meaning energetic or full of verve. In Spanish and Italian, an aggressive person is only violent. The same is valid for 'ambition' = in ES ambición is usually negative, and can be replaced by determinación, aspiración; in IT as far as I know, is both negative and positive, depending on context.

6. graphic: eg. STOP in road signs. It's supposed to be universal but in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Brasil, it's PARE; in Mexico and some parts of Central America, ALTO.

<< An interesting part was the one devoted to acronyms and abbreviations.

A&E - (UK) Accidents and Emergencies / (USA) ER / IT: Pronto Soccorso / ES: Urgencias
IV - intravenous / intravenoso
PR - per rectum (exam) / ES: tacto rectal
PV - per vaginam (exam)  / ES: tacto vaginal
FBc - full blood count  / IT: emogramma completo / ES: emograma completo
U & Es - urine and electrolites / IT: urea ed elettroliti / Es: urea y electrolitos
LFT - live function test / IT: esame della funzione epatica / ES: test función hepática
white cells - IT: leucociti o globuli bianchi / ES: leucocitos o glóbulos blancos
MR - always a surgeon in the UK
Abdo pain - IT: dolor abdominal / ES: dolor abdominal
Ultrasound scan - IT/ES: ecografia/ecografía
(to) clerk in: IT: ricoverare / ES: ingresar

<< Some interesting / funny links:

1. http://www.casadellibro.com/libro-parentescos-insolitos-del-lenguaje/97884837... (sorry, apparently not available on this link at the moment…)
2. http://www.elmundo.es/elmundosalud/blogs/profesionsanitaria.html
3. http://www.spandoc.com/revista.html

So, yet to conclude: by no means this summary is comprehensive but hey, this is a complicated (and fascinating) field that would deserve many subtle explanations and detailed articles.
After all, even Bécquer got it wrong when he said the 'pupila' was 'azul' (as Fernando mentioned, it's the iris that bears the coloured pigment, not the pupil).

I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless!

* Fernando Navarro: Licenciado en medicina y cirugía y médico especialista en farmacología clínica, pero colgó la bata blanca en 1993 para dedicarse profesionalmente a la traducción médica. Es socio de honor de Asetrad, coordinador de la bitácora Laboratorio del lenguaje y autor del Diccionario crítico de dudas inglés-español de medicina (2.ª edición; Madrid: McGraw-Hill·Interamericana, 2005), Traducción y lenguaje en medicina (Barcelona: Esteve, 1997), Parentescos insólitos del lenguaje (Madrid: Del Prado, 2002) y más de quinientos artículos en revistas especializadas sobre teoría y práctica de la traducción médica y los problemas del lenguaje médico. Recientemente, ha desempeñado la coordinación técnica del Diccionario de términos médicos (2011) de la Real Academia Nacional de Medicina)

Happy New Year! Buon Anno! ¡Próspero año! (etc etc, won't bug you with all the others... n_n)

I hope most of you got my Xmas card... I loved them! I think @artscode has done yet again an excellent work.

If the Mayan were wrong

this year is important as I will turn 30 (!). Jokes apart, I like the arrival of a new year, it feels so empowering and inspiring. This feeling usually does not last long O_o but at least that's how it works for me at its very beginning. And just like every single soul I know on this earth, I always draft a New Resolutions' list.

This year it took me more time, as it usually is ready by December (at least in my mind). But here they are!

 

• Read more - and not only the files I'm translating!
• Listen better (sorry to those who I unwillingly cut off and overlap with my voice! I do not mean it!) - and not only to speakers I'm interpreting in the booth
• Travel more - and not only to improve language skills or attend a tweet-up (even though the latter is fun!)
• Have a tidy-ish office - and maybe try harder to be minimal. I know people say I'm tidy already but it's the 'live minimal' that I can't quite achieve... (but I'm always inspired by Laura's http://www.minimoblog.it)
• Go to the gym - not only *pay* the fee O_o
• Stay in touch with those who count - by that, I do not mean those counting numbers per se, like accountants and taxmen, but real friends and family
• Be positive - not only because the Trados analysis is reading '100% matches'
• Eat well - that means good food but SMALLER PORTIONS OF IT
• Give more time to me, to my loved ones and to… well, sleeping!
• Update my status - and I'm talking not just Facebook's! Do things, see people, think positive and believe in the future. Even though it's all about gloom and doom around us these days.

They seem easy enough points - and rather obvious ones, too! I will try hard. Harder than any other time I tried (not hard enough) in the past.

What are yours?

 

First of all, I have to say this article was first published in the ITI Bulletin   (http://www.iti.org.uk) but as I realise not all of my readers are currently subscribed - you should! Do it here and click on ITI Bulletin on the left-hand side list - I thought it would be interesting to repost it - with some special thanks and a few links the original did not have. Enjoy!

This article is intended to be a helping hand for those who are new to this profession, but also for those who are planning to ‘revamp’ their computing gear and tools and don’t know where to start. This is what I use and love, and to cut a long story short, it’s all Apple. When I started as a freelancer, I have to admit it: I was a PC user. Simply because I already had a PC that underwent the transition from uni/leisure/MSN laptop to work/serious/professional laptop overnight. Yes, really. And honestly: before 2006 I had never even seen a Mac with my own eyes. Too edgy, too American, and sort of untouchable, at least back in Italy. Back in 2005, I spent a fortune on a 30GB iPod Classic and I loved it. In the UK, I was one of too many iPod owners. But back home, I was a HERO.

The early, naive days

When I started freelancing full time, I was younger (a little bit, at least) and didn’t even have a proper desk. No desk = no chair = no frills. So, my laptop at the time (a 10in Panasonic Toughbook) was perfect in this sense: lightweight, highly portable and, I have to say, quite reliable. Windows crashing and freezing apart, I managed to write an entire 180-page MA dissertation on that, while my supposedly trusted, brand new 17in HP Pavilion gave me the blue screen of death after six months and had me panicking for a few terrible hours. (Thank goodness for consumerism and for my second, apparently unnecessary, spare Panasonic).

The PROfessional

In the end, my birthday came along and considering that my HP’s blue screen episode was definitely NOT one of my finest hours, my dad (bless him!) bought me a MacBook Pro. Not even a regular white MacBook, a 15in MacBook Pro! I was over the moon. The only detail was that, ahem… I didn’t even know how to type ‘@’ on the shiny new keyboard. So thank you Fabio Benedetti (find him on Twitter at @artscode ) for being a smart Mac user and teaching me a few tricks to start with. In any case, having a soft spot for technology and gadgets, it didn’t take me long to work my way around the Mac and  start using it for business. As my work volume grew, I realised this big, powerful machine came in very handy. Being a heavy user (to quote the Apple Store employee who told me my beloved Mac’s hard drive ‘endured a hard life’ with me, as a massive 11hrs+/day user), I now have a new generation MacBook Pro. I would still say the MacBook is great (even though, sadly, the iconic white one is being discontinued) but, with a 2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor and 4GB (expandable to 8GB) memory, the Pro is definitely the best value for your money (currently retailing at £1,600).

Let’s be f...AIR

I also have a MacBook Air. I have to admit it has its limits (it tends not to like being overloaded too much, has no CD slot, has only one USB port and its memory cannot be expanded further than 2GB) but hey ho, it’s so light you forget you have it in your bag. And mine is the old model! The new one (11in) is even more practical and lightweight. Adorable. The ideal way to have the Mac experience with half the size and the impediment, although I do not recommend it for long periods away or if you are overloaded with work. I run Parallels on it and it works fine, but I would not suggest keeping too many files on the machine. If I know I’ll be away for more than four or five days and I have 30k words to finish on Trados or MemoQ, I’ll take the biggie. Note: the new model is more powerful and the few glitches my first-generation Air has got have been sorted out nicely.

The charming one

As soon as it came out, I was bewitched. The iPad is a lovely, lightweight thing that had me at first glance. I have used it for slide shows, presentations, document drafting and sending, and reading on Kindle for iPad. It’s great for showing your price lists or your company profile to clients without waiting for a laptop. The battery is very long lasting. Not to mention the wow effect. Downsides? Yes, some – at least as far as the first-generation iPad is concerned: no USB, no camera (the iPad 2 has one), no CD-ROM or the like. It simply isn’t a laptop, and cannot replace a Notebook. And it shouldn’t, in my opinion. But if you’re going out for the day (I do it every week), going to a meeting or business lunch, or even planning to be out and about for a few hours with no business in mind, rest assured that all of a sudden you’ll need to send a short sentence to that good client of yours or check a file that the client is not sure of. It happens to me all the time… The iPad weighs next to nothing, and with a 3G or WiFi connection it takes no time at all to get online. I agree this device is a plus rather than a must-have, but if you have money to invest, think about it. (After business hours, it’s also great for watching TV via the BBC or ITV players).

The Big ‘D’

And now the surprise missing link: I do not own a desktop. I’d be lying
if I said I have never wanted to buy an iMac. But I thought about this for a long time, and while I see the plus points (reliability, storage, memory, screen…), I like my mobility and when I needed to buy a new machine, I went for another laptop. Having said this, I like to see things in the right size and that’s why I have a 23in cinema display screen plugged into my Mac at all times. It looks like
a desktop, but it does not work as a standalone machine unless connected to my laptop. This gives me a big picture (literally) and is useful because, even though I do not wear glasses, my eyesight deteriorated slightly this year. Plus, comparing documents on a 23in screen is just so nice. So I’ve got the size while still being able to unplug quickly and be ready to go, without having to transfer any documents.

Last but not least...

I have an iPhone, as many of you probably do, which I use for all of the above, with apps and different on-the-go solutions. Great, essential device. And it also makes calls ;p

Totally devoted to Apple

Personally, I will never, ever, under any circumstances, willingly go back to a PC. I am sorry, but I don’t believe the compatibility issues (never had any. Most clients don’t even know I’m a sole-Mac user); the price tag doesn’t scare me, as I’m sure you can save on other useless stuff and make your money go the extra mile; I believe quality must be paid for; I don’t swallow the old ‘I am so used to PCs I won’t have time to learn’ excuse. Nonsense. Your body (and mind) is made to adapt. In short: reliable, intuitive, virus-free, spot-on support, and their shiny, classy look is easy on the eye too.

Special thanks: To ITI, Nick Rosenthal and Rachel Malcolm, for liking my articles! Along with the many ITI colleagues who enjoyed reading me. You're great. Kudos as well for colleague Rose Newell who inspired me with her post  along with Philippa Hammond's, who also wrote on geekery, PCs and Macs.