Summary of the ITI Conference 2019

Posted in Events, Monthly post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Credit: ITI

Last May, during my European vacation, I attended two conferences for the first time. Last month I wrote about my experience at the BP19 Conference. In this month’s post, I write about my experience as a newbie at the ITI Conference, which was held in Sheffield, UK, at the amazing Cutlers’ Hall, on May 10-11.

To begin with, Paul Appleyard, ITI’s Chair, welcomed us by beautifully saying we should be concerned with the changes of the world of our work and be prepared. I agree with him. And a great way of leaving our bubble and keeping updated on what is happening and changing in our profession is to attend different conferences and events. As Paul Wilson, ITI’s CEO, later said, networking is one of the most powerful tools we have, so we should make the most out of it.

Here’s a brief overview of the sessions I attended at the conference. The post ended up being longer than usual, but I hope you find my account of the presentations helpful.

First day

Defining and improving quality in specialized multilingual services, by Angela Sigee

Angela, German lawyer and translator, specifically talked about legal translation. She stressed it is important to bear in mind that lawyers work with words just like translators, but in different ways. She said the main issue in legal translation is that legal systems are different, creating conceptual gaps. There are degrees of accuracy, so it is important to hear, and render, the overtones. Therefore, knowing the source language is not enough. Legal translators must have a great command of their target language.

According to Sigee, future-proof legal translators should understand the big picture and be detail-oriented. She said practice is essential (just like in any other translation area, right?). She recommends partnering with a colleague to review your work and finding a mentor.

Professional organizations are also a great place to look for help in improving your knowledge, since they offer training courses, mentoring, policies. You can also learn with language service providers when they offer proofreading practices, for example. I totally agree! I learn a lot with feedback from editors/proofreaders. Being open to feedback and carefully analyzing them help us learn with our mistakes and the client’s preferences and style, avoiding repeat mistakes.

Angela suggests the following book for legal translators: New Approach to Legal Translation, by Susan Sarcevic.

The other side of the mirror: an inside look at a “translator-driven” corporate communications campaign, by David Jemielity

David is Head of Translations at Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) and talked about how BCV’s in-house translations team managed to position itself at the center of the bank’s communications decision-making.

According to David, we should position ourselves as high value-added service providers. If you can position yourself as someone who can deeply understand and translate the company’s overall brand voice, you’re doing something different and not commonplace.

Jemielity said that, when not properly aware of a company’s brand voice, a translator can change it by unwillingly deverbalizing the message. Quality means effective communication in the target language. Ask yourself: “Is this effective as communication?” rather than “Is this a good translation?” Regardless of how good your translation is, it won’t matter if it doesn’t meet your client’s expectations.

The source text should not be used as an excuse! Difficult in practice, but totally true. If we used this as “excuse,” we wouldn’t translate anything at the best of our abilities, since practically everything is badly written nowadays.

On creating or translating a brand identity, according to David, numbers are abstract. They don’t answer the essential question: What’s in it for me? You should shift perceptions and talk like the people you are talking to. Good copies are factual, simple, impact-oriented, familiar, authentic, specific, and written in a conversational style that speaks to the audience

David sums up his presentation by telling us the lessons learned from BCV’s translation-driven corporate communications campaign:

Really specialize.
It’s not about whether it is a good translation. It’s about whether it’s effective communication.
Don’t forget about (or shy away from) managing perceived quality as well as actual quality.
Be ambitious and play the long game.

Embracing the flexible future, by Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst, from The Hoxby Collective

“I was praising my success on the number of hours I worked,” said Alex, who was on fire at his marketing career, but eventually burned out. The catalyst for Lizzie, in turn, was becoming a mom. “You should be judged by your output, rather than by when/where you work,” she said. Together, they created the flexible working community The Hoxby Collective, which promotes the workstyle movement to ensure more people can spend their time in the way that most inspires them.

According to them, work should fit around life, not the opposite! You should work however/whenever/wherever you choose, being free to choose your own workstyle. “For us, passion carries much more importance than experience.”

Translators as communicators: diversifying your career, by Adam Fuss

According to Adam, the increased quality of machine technology is forcing translators to reevaluate the services they offer and how they market themselves.

Fuss mentions the following additional areas of practice for diversification: academic copywriting, copywriting and transcreation, and communication consulting.

You need to know yourself really well in order to know how to diversity. For example, are you an introvert or extrovert? Find your ideal balance when diversifying activities.

How to diversify your services in communications consulting: be prepared to work for free (in marketing yourself); get involved; read, share, repeat; look for opportunities in your current work; focus on data.

The Collaborative Edge: mutual revision as a way to improve translations – and translators, by Victoria Patience, Simon Berrill, and Tim Gutteridge (not present)

The trio decided to try a different approach and set up a mutual revision and critiquing arrangement, the RevClub. They review each other’s translations weekly and give feedback on it. RevClub is comprised of three weeks of revision (one for each member) and one week of translation slam.

According to them, it is refreshing to hear constructive criticism and genuine praise of each other’s work. Collaborative work can also lead to confident referrals, since you know each other’s way of work and translation quality.

Establishing a collaborative peer-review system with trusted colleagues keeps you at the top of your game, offers a fresh perspective on linguistic choices, and fosters positive industry relationships.

Making the leap, by Chris Durban

Chris starts with the following question: Do you want to stop surviving and start thriving? So you should change your mindset from “Yes, but…” to “Yes, and…” I totally agree!

Being a really good translator takes a lot of work. And being worried is a good thing. It makes us not settle and aim for better. The premium market involves higher risks, but higher risks equal higher rewards.

“I don’t care about how good or bad the source text is,” she said. We should aim to create translations that work as communication. This point was also made by David Jemielity earlier on, stressing its importance.

Chris also showed us examples of similarity of input provided by machine translation and poor translators. Machine translation will replace translators, but only those who work like one.

Durban gave us some great tips:

Be aware of the comfort zone.
Specialize.
Get granular (technical, financial, legal is not detailed enough).
Embrace risk.
Eschew PEMT.
Limit your time on social media.
Invest in yourself (10-15% of your income).
Don’t believe everything you read or people say.
Find a mentor.

“Get a grip guys!” she said. Technology is good and everything, but it’s the easy part in our job as translators.

Listen to how potential clients and your customers talk. Understand what their issues are. This will make you connect with them and move into their world. Talk about them (clients)! And smoothly and naturally move into the commercial talk.

Second day

Crunching the numbers: how to grow your translation business, by Anja Jones

According to Anja, from Anja Jones Translations (AJT), there is always someone who will do it cheaper! We usually compare ourselves with our customers and competitors (other linguists, LSPs, MT, etc.). However, the market is so fragmented that we need to focus on ourselves rather than on what our competitors are doing. “Start with yourself,” she said. “It should be all about yourself.”

Profit/Loss = income – expenses (direct – gross profit/loss; or operating – net profit/loss)

How to calculate your minimum word price? Start with your business expenses and go to your living expenses. Be specific and detailed on your expenses. Add your monthly translation capacity and you will have the minimum you need to charge per word. Don’t forget to consider savings for rainy days and for taxes when calculating your expenses and minimum rate.

Be confident when negotiating prices and communicating your minimum rates to clients. Articulate why you’re worth what you’re worth.

Translation isn’t a commodity! There is no such a thing as bulk discounts. Don’t drop your trousers just because someone asked you to. Don’t be afraid to say “no.” If you give a discount, communicate very clearly why you’re doing so, make sure the client knows it’s a one-off time, and ask for something in return, e.g. a testimonial.

Also think about how you can negotiate. If the client doesn’t have enough budget, suggest important things you can translate, instead of translating the entire content, e.g. in websites.

Increase your earning potential by using technology, specializing, considering proofreading/editing (not everybody is willing to do that), offering services at an hourly rate or on a retainer basis. Think of ways to make your day more efficient. Your time is valuable so spend it wisely! Every little minute saved adds up to maximize your efficiency.

If you want to expand, consider building a team, e.g. translation coordinator, freelance collective, employer, two-people team.

When increasing prices, be honest and explain where the increase in price came from. Inform clients in advance and offer them the chance to order services before prices go up.

Talking all over the world: a look at the perception of translators and interpreters across cultures, by Jeanette Brickner

According to Jeanette, some things about culture are easy to see, but others not so much. They’re not so obvious. There’s a lot we can accidentally overlook or simplify. Approaches to health and medicine, dress codes, family matters, humor, etc. are examples of cultural specifics.

Privilege isn’t just a buzzword, especially in the language industry, e.g. English-speaking people have particular advantages on a global scale, geography plays a huge role (what if you live somewhere distant?). Even though the EU has 24 official languages and approximately 60 minority and/or indigenous languages, English and French are more relied upon.

According to Jeanette, we should foster a community that reinforces a positive outlook on the profession. She recommends, “Share your knowledge.” The market is big enough for everyone. Talk to your friends and family about what you do (positively, not negatively). Be culturally sensitive.

Asterix and linguistix: the science of the translated world, Oliver Kamm

The keynote speaker, Oliver Kamm, is Anthea Bell’s son. Anthea Bell was an English translator of works such as Asterix and passed away last October. Oliver is leader writer and columnist of The Times.

Did you know the first English translation of Asterix was only published in 1969 (the original French was published in 1959)?

“Telling what it says in the book is what you [translators] do. Not every language in the world is English. There’s a whole world out there. Language is a universal human faculty,” said Oliver. Language is a universal human attribute. You learn and follow grammar rules naturally in life.

Sign language is the most recent language (40 years old). It’s a very complex system. It was invented by children in Nicaragua.

In these dark times of ethno-nationalism and xenophobia, the window into other cultures that literature in other languages gives us is absolutely crucial.

Training new literary translators: teaching through practice, by Daniel Hahn

“Translating is like writing someone else’s book, but backwards and on high heels,” beautifully said British literary translator from Portuguese, Spanish, and French, Daniel.

According to him, “learning is in the process. Almost all my workshops are learning by doing. Teaching by doing means I also get to learn it myself. You learn by being forced to articulate choices that come instinctively to you.”

Translation bloopers are dead! Long live abundant new ways of showcasing yourself and our profession, by Karen McMillan Tkaczyk

According to Karen, there are other more positive ideas we can use to promote our profession than bloopers. And I couldn’t agree more with her! Recommending the people you love working with (nor just behind the scenes, e.g. LinkedIn recommendations, when you can’t do the job) is a great way to promote our profession. Credit revisors/editors when you know your translation has been revised/edited. If you don’t know who they are, add a general note. Another way to promote value in what we do is asking for referrals to current clients. You have to add value to your client so that they can feel you’re worth the referral.

Consider writing letters to the editor on magazines/newspapers on your area of specialization.

When creating a portfolio, focus on your “About” page. We like reading translations, but not everybody does, so the “About” page is important.

Karen concludes her talk and the conference by playing on the conference’s theme: “We can all do our bit in promoting (and forging) the future of our profession.”

That’s it! I hope you liked my brief summary of the conference. If I got you into considering attending the next one, the ITI Conference is biennial, so the next one will be held only in 2021.

21Jun2019

Summary of the BP19 Translation Conference

Posted in Events, Monthly post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

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Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

This year I attended the BP Translation Conference for the first time. It was held in Bologna, Italy, on May 1-3.

It was a fantastic experience! I especially liked the app where attendees were able to engage and create activities for everyone to join. It was a great way to get to know people before the conference. When we arrived at the conference, it was as if we were all long-time friends! It’s great not only for newbies and shy and introvert people, but also for everybody who likes networking and meeting new people.

Here is a brief overview on the sessions I attended. The post is longer than usual, but only because there were so many great presentations and insights.

May 1: Workshops

Multilingual SEO for translators, by David García Ruiz

Fresh content is king. Our website’s content should be useful, valuable, relevant (describing what we do and what our clients look for using keywords), competitive (the more specific, the better). Each page should have from 600 to 2,000 words. If your website is in more than on language, you should include language meta tags (hreflang); otherwise, Google will not recognize it as multilingual.

According to a research mentioned by David, “75% [of web visitors] prefer to buy products in their native language. In addition, 60% rarely or never buy from English-only websites.” Therefore, it is important to have a website translated into your working languages.

May 2: Long sessions

Hectic lives + happy clients: four tendencies to rule them all, by Anne-Sophie De Clerq

We develop habits to be able to deal with constraints and expectations, both useful and bad ones.

The big question we should make ourselves is: Who are you? How do you respond to internal and external expectations?

Anne-Sophie’s presentation was based on Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies framework, which helps getting people to do what you want by identifying what type of tendency they have:

Obligers: Respond well to external expectations and like being of assistance.
Questioners: Respond well to internal expectations and love knowledge.
Upholders: Respond well to both internal and external expectations; their motto is “In discipline we trust.”
Rebels: Do not respond well to neither and love freedom.

Listen to what clients have to say to understand who they are and identify their tendency in order to facilitate your selling your services to them.

Suggestions of things you can do according to their tendency:

Upholders: Send your portfolio and let them judge, do not pressure them, and ask just the essential questions.
Obligers: Show how much you can help them; go for the human touch.
Questioners: Describe your process and your strengths; answer any questions thoroughly.
Rebels: Display your identity and your passion; offer them choices.

Bottom line is: We are all different, so flexibility is paramount.

What legal clients want – As told by a former client, by Paige Dygert

According to Paige, who is a lawyer herself, most lawyers are horrible procrastinators. However, they are loyal clients. They will hang on to you. And they have the budget, so do not be afraid to charge what you are worth. You can charge for being good, and fast!

When communicating with law clients, be polished (reflect what you want from them; it is not about what you like and enjoy or not), precise (detail-oriented), concise (appreciate their time, be straightforward), and complete.

When working with them, just be the translator, know your role. When asking questions, group them, offer solutions, and know when to ask. Be succinct, reliable, and responsive. Provide excellent translations.

Law journals are the best source of reference material and the highest quality one! Their content is, most of the time, perfectly written.

Get a lawyer mentor to help you. LinkedIn and Facebook are great places to find lawyers. If you reach out to them, respect their time!

A killer marketing strategy to win your dream clients, by Sarah Silva

Persistence is key when trying to find dream clients. Be prepared to stand out and be different. Have a long-term strategy (not a one-time sales promotion).

You can use direct client marketing to keep existing clients, contact old clients, or find new ones. Examples: physical post (lumpy mail, letter, postcard), email and digital marketing, and real conversations (phone, video call, in person). Lumpy mail is comprised of a surprise and delight package in order to make a great first impression. Follow-up with a postcard, email, call, etc. People respond better to handwritten messages.

Do not be afraid to dream big. Dream as big as you like and see what happens. Start with whom you want to work with. Ask for referrals from your good existing clients. Get to know your market (better) and have fun!

Keep that in mind this question when prospecting: “So what?” What do your prospects care about? Grab their attention, talk about their problems, and how you can be the solution.

Let your dream clients know that you exist and care, and that they can trust you.

GDPR and translators: easy steps to protect your and your clients’ data, by Irene Koukia

Backup options: Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive. Backup every day! What to backup: TMs, CAT folders, etc.

Boxcryptor: Data security across smartphones, tablets, and desktops. You can choose what to encrypt and what not.

Whisply: secure and easy file transfer.

A VPN secures your private network. Ideal if you work on the go or use a shared Wi-Fi (almost all of us, right?).

Learn what is what about terminology extraction tools, by Andriy Yasharov

Terminology extraction is like data mining, where terms are subtracted from a text. It can be helpful for creating glossaries, thesaurus, and dictionaries; extracting terminology for TMs, etc. It is important because it also extracts the context of a term. Terminology extraction tools: SDL Multiterm Extract, memoQ TE module, SynchroTerm, Sketch Engine, PlusTools for MS Word, FiveFilters, WebCorp, AntConc, Rainbow.

May 3: Short talks

The very first of the day was mine. I will try to write about it in another future post.

Strategies to get more translation clients in a non-spammy way, Olga Jeczmyk Nowak

How to increase clients and keep them coming? Study the market. Contact prospects with a personalized email. Offer them something they are looking for. Reply to them as soon as possible. Don’t spam! Avoid being spammy by personalizing your emails and writing enough professional content (spam filters dislike short emails!). Be honest. Find your identity and make some noise online.

Be online and be active: If you’re not on Google, you don’t exist. Choose the best platform(s) for you.

How to distinguish yourself? Create a brand and keep improving it. Offer something different and more elaborate. Adapt your service according to each client. Keep reinventing yourself!

How to raise your rates (and still keep your clients), by Susanne Präsent-Winkler

Start raising your rates with new clients, especially when you are busy. Then do it with your current clients. Base your raise on your country’s inflation rate. Set your limit as to how low you can go on the rate to still make a living and stick to it. Don’t work for peanuts, for the sake of the entire industry!

Add all relevant steps of your translation process in the quote, so that the client knows what is included in the price.

Dealing with difficult customers – conflict management for translators, by Peter Oehmen

After a negative client experience, 67% of the customers buy somewhere else, only 33% of them stay. One unhappy client tells 15 other people about their negative experience. One happy client, on the other hand, tells six other people about their positive experience.

Conflicts are based on differences of perspective, so we need to understand others’ perspectives and be able to explain our own. Be clear and factual in your communication. Go for consensus and compromise.

The power of soft skills in a digital age, Jaquelina Guardamagna

We need to get better at being human. That is why soft skills have become essential nowadays. They are personal traits that enable individuals to interact effectively. They can help us win clients, when combined with hard skills.

Essential soft skills in the digital age: Empathy, decision making (decisions are part of human nature), flexibility, creativity (it’s what keep us dreaming), collaboration, self-management. If we use them effectively, we will never be replaced! Soft skills will be the difference between those who get replaced by machines, and those who succeed in a digital age.

Bucking the trend of self-promotion (and still obtain the results you want), by Magda Phili

Self-focused narratives: As translators, if we don’t talk about ourselves, who will, right? However, improve your narrative to avoid being perceived as arrogant: Rephrase it and involve other people.

Magda said that her experience showed her that translators working together and promoting each other see their business grow. Solidarity and collaboration boosts confidence, improves quality and efficiency, and helps you gain perspective.

Humility brings collaboration, collaboration brings more work and excellence, while perseverance brings results.

Are you really a professional?, by Vasiliki Prestidge

According to Vasiliki, prices don’t say anything about you and your services. We’re more than just a number!

“Every package is the golden package,” she said. Therefore, we should treat everybody with the same level of professionalism. In a hyperconnected world, one contact can change our life. Be professional in all aspects of your work. You never know who will be impressed by you and request your services. “You look like a business, you behave like a business, you get the business.”

Productivity hacks for translators, by Sherif Abuzid

Sherif talked about Can Newport’s concept of deep work, which is mastering how to focus on a single task in order to boost productivity and maximize your energy expenditure.

If your laptop battery would last for only one hour and you had to choose one app to use, which one would you choose? Your answer will show your priority. We have a limited amount of energy, like batteries. We need to make the best use if it, setting priorities.

Deep work means working in a distraction-free environment, fully focused. If you totally focus at one task at a time, you are more productive. “Focus is the new IQ.” Focused professionals stand out from others. Start with the most important tasks and keep your main goals in mind.

It’s not only about business. We can apply deep work to our personal life as well. Keep your phone away during family time!

How to follow the deep work principle: Plan for tomorrow; focus on goals, not tasks (do what makes you move forward); and set tight deadlines for all activities

Do you diversify your business?, by Francesca Manicardi

Diversification is for creative minds who can easily switch from an activity to another and who can properly manage their time.

Pros of diversifying your business: More stable source of income; creativity boost; change of perspective; and increased visibility.

Effective time management for translators, by Iwona Piatkowska

The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you are the pilot.

The first step to greater productivity is to create a distraction-free environment, and that is something only you can do, e.g. mute your phone, close the door, have a dedicated office, switch off push/desktop notifications, etc.

Work in chunks and take cycled breaks, e.g. Pomodoro Technique. Take into account that our attention span is of 45-50 minutes. Make your breaks effective: Change constantly, go away from the computer (walk the dog, do the dishes), energize your body, etc.

Track your progress, especially in long projects. It boosts your confidence and keeps you motivated. Do 50-60% of the project as soon as possible. Be a (wo)man of action!

A balanced and healthy lifestyle is the foundation of productivity on a daily basis. Exercise frequently, eat nutritious meals, and sleep well.

Clean your desk every evening, plan your day ahead, set a timer for tasks, and invoice projects immediately.

Running a translation business as a restaurant: tips for a balanced menu, by Carlos la Orden Tovar

According to Carlos, there are four types of restaurant: 1. Just another takeaway: Unbelievably average; rat race. 2. The franchise: Generic, but familiar; safe money; average service = average clients. 3. Luxury restaurant: High-end clients, elaborate services, based on a thorough experience. 4. Classic revisited: Pick classic stuff; add a new, unique touch; charge double; focused on clients who value quality and innovation.

Make a list of your skills, things you are good at. Make a list of what is trending in the market. Score them and craft the perfect menu of your service offers.

Stretch your services by offering, for example, DTP, QA, testing, glossary & TM services, etc. But don’t stretch it too much. Focus on your strengths.

Study your ideal client, engage and find out, list your needs, plan buffer time, and consider investing in proper training.

That’s it! I hope you like my brief summary of the conference. As you can see, it was totally worth it. So if I got you into considering attending it next year, it will be held in Nürnberg, Germany, on April 24-25, 2020! Save the date and stay tuned for more information.

If you were interested in any talk in particular or in all of them, their recording are available to be purchased on demand here.

You can also find reviews by other attendees here.

9Apr2019

Inscreva-se no Congresso da Abrates e concorra a dois sorteios!

Posted in Events by Carol's Adventures in Translation

E aí, galerinha, já fizeram a inscrição para o próximo Congresso da Abrates? Eu já garanti a minha no early bird, mas não se preocupe! Tenho ótimas notícias!

Fiz uma parceira com os organizadores do congresso e com meus parceiros de divulgação de conteúdo, a Translators 101 e o Descomplicando o Inglês Jurídico. Veja o que temos a oferecer a vocês, seguidores de todos os meus canais:

– Valor do segundo lote garantido até o dia 30 deste mês (o segundo lote normal vai até o dia 12 apenas).
– Participação em dois sorteios:

e-Book Peças processuais em inglês e sua tradução, do Descomplicando o Inglês Jurídico, de R$ 199,00 por apenas R$ 1,99.
Acesso gratuito ao evento online imperdível de dublagem que será realizado pela Translators 101 no dia 29 de junho, com Mabel Cezar e Rayani Immediato, e a uma palestra gravada de eventos passados a ser escolhida pelo sorteado.

O sorteio e a entrega dos prêmios serão realizados durante o Congresso da Abrates por mim e pelos meus respectivos parceiros, Bruna Marchi e William Cassemiro, que tão gentilmente aceitaram oferecer esses presentes especialmente para vocês!

O 10º Congresso da Abrates será realizado de 31 de maio a 2 de junho no Bourbon Convention Ibirapuera Hotel em São Paulo. Alguns palestrantes já confirmaram presença, inclusive internacionais! Dá uma espiadinha aqui.

Para concorrer aos dois sorteios e aproveitar o valor de segundo lote, faça sua inscrição pelos links abaixo (respectivo à sua categoria):

Associado da Abrates: https://pag.ae/7UMShv1-m
Não associado da Abrates: https://pag.ae/7UMShX3zm
Estudante/Idoso: https://pag.ae/7UMSis82G

Para validar sua inscrição e participar do sorteio, envie o comprovante de pagamento do PagSeguro e seus dados (nome completo, CPF, RG, data de nascimento e endereço completo) para o e-mail congresso2019@abrates.com.br com o assunto PROMOÇÃO ALBERONI. Informe também se participará da escala de intérpretes e se tem alguma necessidade especial.

Dia 21 embarco para a Europa de férias e para participar de dois congressos (apresentarei palestra em um deles), mas reorganizei toda a minha viagem para que eu conseguisse voltar a tempo para o Congresso da Abrates. Portanto, espero ver você lá, hein?

Espero que tenham gostado do presentinho especial que eu e meus queridíssimos parceiros oferecemos a vocês. Aproveitem! E nos vemos no congresso!

25Jun2018

Tradução e interpretação: inclusão de palavra em palavra – Parte 2

Posted in Events by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Caso ainda não tenha lido a primeira parte, acesse-a aqui.

Ainda no primeiro dia de palestras do congresso, após o coffee break, participei da mesa-redonda do Programa de Mentoria da Abrates, Caminho das Pedras, do qual orgulhosamente já fui coordenadora e ajudei a criar. O Programa de Mentoria foi idealizado pelo William Cassemiro, quando ainda era diretor da Abrates, e lançado em março de 2016. Hoje, o Comitê de Administração é composto pelos seguintes coordenadores: Carolina Ventura, Gisley Ferreira, Lidio Rodrigues e Sidney Barros Junior (não presente na mesa-redonda por motivo de força maior). Também fizeram parte da mesa um par de mentora (Ana Julia Perrotti-Garcia) e mentorada (Priscila Osório Côrtes), que contaram como foi sua experiência no programa, e a Monica Reis, que também ajudou a criar o programa.

Mesa-redonda sobre o Programa de Mentoria da Abrates

O Programa de Mentoria é totalmente voluntário e gratuito, mas exclusivo para associados da Abrates. O programa já ajudou 55 mentorados desde sua criação. No momento, há nove pares em andamento. Os requisitos para ser mentorado são: ter até dois anos de experiência como tradutor/intérprete ou, caso não tenha experiência, estar cursando o último ano de um curso de letras/tradução/interpretação. Os requisitos para ser mentor são: ter pelo menos cinco anos de experiência como tradutor/intérprete. A duração de cada programa é de seis meses, e as reuniões são realizadas da melhor forma decidida entre o par de mentor e mentorado (presencialmente, Skype, e-mail, WhatsApp, etc.). As fichas de inscrição são analisadas por todos os membros do Comitê de Administração, que decidem em comum acordo se o candidato é qualificado ou não para o programa e, caso seja aprovado, quem é o mentor mais adequado ao perfil dele. Após essa decisão, o mentor recebe a ficha do possível mentorado e decide se concorda com a escolha ou não. Cada par é acompanhado por um coordenador (membro do Comitê de Administração). As metas a serem abordadas no programa são basicamente traçadas por cada mentorado com a ajuda do mentor. No entanto, é importante ressaltar que o programa não visa ensinar como traduzir, mas orientar sobre os aspectos práticos do mercado, que normalmente não são abordados pelos cursos da área.

A mentora Ana Julia Perrotti-Garcia já participou de três ciclos e relatou sua experiência: “Ganhei três grandes amigos e colegas de profissão”.

Para mais informações, acesse a página do programa no site da Abrates (link acima). Também há mais detalhes sobre o programa nesta publicação do blog.

Após o almoço, foi a vez da minha primeira apresentação, “Nem só de tradução vive o tradutor: acabando com o endeusamento do trabalho em excesso”, sobre a qual falarei em uma publicação separada. Aguardem!

Em seguida, foi a vez de Mark Thompson, com a apresentação “Menos heavy, mais leve. Pense no leitor alvo!” Mark, cuja língua materna é o inglês, falou sobre versões de português para inglês feitas por tradutores não nativos. Segundo ele, os seguintes adjetivos, entre outros, são usados para descrever essas traduções: long-winded, verbose, wordy, prolix, repetitive. Como vez ou outra faço versões, gostei muito de algumas dicas e soluções que ele deu para alguns termos difíceis de serem traduzidos, como “elaborar” (draft, formulate, detail, write, outline, design, etc.), “destacar” (highlight, stress, mention, emphasize, underline, etc.) e “desembolso” (spending, spend, expenditure, etc.). Dica dele ao verter do português para o inglês: não reproduza o português religiosamente e evite repetições desnecessárias.

O sábado foi concluído com a apaixonante palestra da grande Alison Entrekin, tradutora literária do português para o inglês, “Oombarroom: a reconstrução de Grande Sertão em inglês”. Como o próprio nome da palestra diz, Alison está atualmente trabalhando em uma nova versão da grande obra de João Guimarães Rosa, Grande Sertão: Veredas, para o inglês, com o apoio do Itaú Cultural. Australiana, Alison mora no Brasil há mais de 20 anos e nos deleita com um português perfeito: “É a primeira vez que falo para um público de tradutores”. Que honra! Segundo ela, além de ser um livro extenso, com cerca de 600 páginas, a densidade dele é ainda maior. Menciona Haroldo de Campos, que afirmou que traduzir Grande Sertão é um processo de transcriação no qual perde-se de um lado, mas ganha-se de outro, e no qual o grande protagonista é a língua. Quanto à sua imensa responsabilidade nesse longo projeto, Alison diz que “só” tem “que traduzir para um inglês universal e inexistente”. Baba de moça, não é? Tradutora de grandes obras da língua portuguesa, como Cidade de Deus, de Paulo Lins, Budapeste, de Chico Buarque, e Meu Pé de Laranja Lima, de José Mauro de Vasconcelos, Entrekin conseguiu nos encantar com seu amor pela língua portuguesa e o carinho e atenção que dedica não só a Grande Sertão: Veredas como a todas as obras que traduz. Ela é capaz de despertar o amor pela literatura e pela tradução literária até nos menos interessados.

Dica: a Alison já fez parte da série de entrevistas Greatest Women in Translation deste blog. Leia aqui.

No domingo, último dia do congresso, minha primeira palestra do dia foi “Novas ferramentas de auxílio à tradução e sua performance”, por Marcelo Fassina. Marcelo começou afirmando que MT (tradução automática) não é mais tendência, já é a realidade. Os clientes de serviços de linguagem, provedores de tecnologia, linguistas (nós) e LSPs (Language Service Providers) precisam trabalhar em conjunto nessa nova realidade tecnológica, segundo Fassina. Precisamos começar a abraçar as novas tecnologias e nos especializar cada vez mais. Lugares para bons profissionais sempre existirão no mercado, e a alta especialização será o que diferenciará os tradutores das máquinas. Além de diversidade e inclusão, eis aqui outra palavra que ouvi muito em todo o congresso: “especialização”.

Em seguida, assisti à palestra do Reginaldo Francisco e do Roney Belhassof, “Tradução saindo da torneira?” Criadores do projeto Win-Win, os dois falaram sobre a evolução e as tendências do mercado de tradução. Achei extremamente interessante e relevante a menção que fizeram a uma declaração publicada no site do congresso de 2013 da TAUS (tradução livre minha): “A tradução está se tornando um serviço de utilidade pública, como eletricidade, internet e água, que são serviços de que precisamos no dia a dia, sem os quais nos sentiríamos perdidos. Esses serviços estão sempre disponíveis, inclusive em tempo real, se necessário.” Segundo Reginaldo e Roney, a tradução faz parte do processo de construção cultural e linguística da humanidade.

Ainda não conhece o projeto Win-Win? Acesse o site (link acima) e saiba mais sobre essa iniciativa de democratização da tradução.

Infelizmente, tive que sair da apresentação dessa dupla dinâmica antes do término, pois, em seguida, foi minha segunda apresentação do congresso, “Gerenciamento e curadoria de redes sociais para tradutores”, sobre a qual também falarei em outra publicação separada em breve. Aguardem!

Neste ano, o encerramento do congresso foi antecipado, pois o Brasil estreou na Copa do Mundo contra a Suíça na parte da tarde. No entanto, além de exibir o jogo em um local dedicado especialmente aos torcedores, a Abrates também ofereceu palestras breves, estilo TedTalks, durante o jogo para aqueles que não são fãs de futebol.

Assim como a abertura, o encerramento também foi inovador e inclusivo, com uma palestra apresentada em Libras (Língua Brasileira de Sinais) e interpretada em português e inglês! A professora Marianne Stumpf, da UFSC (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), deu um show de simpatia com a apresentação “Tradutores surdos: experiências em processos de tradução para Libras”. Fiquei impressionada com o tanto que a comunicação em Libras é bem mais rápida que a comunicação oral! Foi uma experiência incrível para sentirmos um pouco na pele como é ser surdo. Segundo a professora, a visibilidade do intérprete de Libras é maior que a do intérprete comum, tornando a estética e a vestimenta detalhes importantes, pois influenciam na interpretação. Ilustrando a diferença entre as línguas de sinais de diferentes países, Stumpf nos contou que, por exemplo, o sinal que fazemos com o dedo médio, que é uma ofensa aqui no Brasil, significa “férias” na língua internacional de sinais. O número total de alunos surdos no Brasil é de 5,7 milhões, desde a educação básica até cursos superiores.

Marianne Stumpf. Crédito: Renato Beninatto.

Desde o congresso realizado em Belo Horizonte, em 2013 (que, aliás, foi o ano de criação deste blog), não perco uma edição. O congresso já teve um número recorde de participantes (quase 900, em 2015, em São Paulo), localizações diferentes (como a de Belo Horizonte), palestras memoráveis (abertura com Leandro Karnal, no ano passado, em São Paulo), mas essa edição foi linda! O William Cassemiro, que ocupou o cargo de presidente de 2016 a este ano, encerrou seu mandato e seu lindo trabalho na associação com chave de ouro. Deu um show de inclusão e lição de vida a todos nós com as palestras de abertura e de encerramento. A Abrates sempre é sinal de inovação. Foi a primeira a fornecer interpretação simultânea e de Libras em seus congressos. Agora inovou mais uma vez com dois palestrantes negros de abertura, um homem e uma mulher, e uma palestrante em Libras no encerramento. Tenho muito orgulho de ser membro de uma associação que se preocupa também com a humanidade, a diversidade e a inclusão.

Agora, quem assume o cargo de presidente por dois anos é o Ricardo Souza. E ele já disse que o próximo congresso, que será realizado no ano que vem (data a ser definida) em São Paulo, promete, pois, além de ser a 10ª edição, será o aniversário de 45 anos da Abrates. Mal posso esperar!

Não perca estes outros relatos:
O início, o fim e o e-mail, por Maíra Monteiro
Resumo do 1º dia do Congresso da ABRATES, por Rayza Ferreira (também há a 2ª e 3ª partes)
Diversidade e inclusão, pautas de toda profissão, por Carolina Walliter

21Jun2018

Tradução e interpretação: inclusão de palavra em palavra – Parte 1

Posted in Events, Monthly post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Nesse último fim de semana, de 15 a 17 de junho, foi realizado o 9º Congresso Internacional de Tradução e Interpretação da Abrates (Associação Brasileira de Tradutores e Intérpretes), no Rio de Janeiro. A localização não poderia ser melhor: Rio Othon Palace, hotel em frente à praia de Copacabana, cuja beleza nem o tempo ruim foi capaz de diminuir.

Eu e minha grande amiga Carolina Ventura, supercompanheira de aventuras e de profissão, chegamos já na quinta-feira, pois queríamos aproveitar para descansar um pouco antes do congresso e aproveitar a cidade. O tempo, como eu já disse, não ajudou muito, mas conseguimos pelos menos ir à Confeitaria Colombo comer torrada Petrópolis e nos encantar com sua beleza.

Na sexta-feira, aproveitei a tarde para gravar alguns episódios para o podcast TradTalk que, aliás, voltará com a segunda temporada no mês de julho. Aguardem! Conversei com a Ana Julia Perrotti-Garcia; a Liz e a Pati, da Ideal Translation; e o Fabiano Cid, da Ccaps. Todos bate-papos deliciosos! Mal posso esperar para vocês ouvirem/assistirem.

Com o tema “Tradução e interpretação: inclusão de palavra em palavra”, os keynotes de abertura, Petê Rissatti e Rane Souza, mostraram que o tema da inclusão e da diversidade seria o foco do congresso. Como disse Roney Belhassof no Twitter, “É emocionante estar em um congresso com dois keynote speakers negros. Um homem e uma mulher.” Não deveria nos causar estranheza (boa, nesse caso), mas como disse o próprio Petê, embora estejamos em pleno 2018, infelizmente, ainda é necessário discutir alguns tópicos. Petê é negro, gay e candomblecista e fala com conhecimento de causa. Segundo ele, não temos o direito de dar nossa opinião sobre o lugar de fala alheio, mas podemos, sim, falar segundo o nosso ponto de vista, de forma empática. Concordo com ele quando diz que traduzir e interpretar são atos de empatia. Consequentemente, todo tradutor/intérprete precisa ser empático e entender o outro. E, para sermos empáticos, precisamos nos livrar dos preconceitos. Petê, tradutor literário, encerra sua emocionante fala exigindo respeito: “Não dá pra continuar do jeito que está. Nós temos pressa!”

Petê Rissatti

Tanto no encerramento da fala do Petê quanto no início da fala de Rane Souza, também tradutora, Marielle Franco é mencionada. Rane, por sua vez, nos mostrou números e fatos da história negra no Brasil. Embora seja falado em minoria, 56% da população brasileira é negra/parda. Infelizmente, não há dados específicos sobre o mercado da tradução, mas no Jogo do Privilégio, proposto por ela, pudemos ver que não há representatividade. Entre os cerca de dez voluntários, apenas dois eram negros. O propósito do jogo, criado pelo Instituto Identidade do Brasil, é mostrar como a desigualdade racial afeta todos os aspectos da vida dos negros. A princípio, muita gente, inclusive eu, acreditou que o jogo não funcionaria; afinal de contas, quem estava lá, querendo ou não, teve uma realidade de vida diversa. No entanto, o jogo foi chocante e emocionou a nós todos. Uma coisa é ouvirmos falar sobre desigualdade racial; outra coisa é vermos ou sermos expostos, de alguma forma, às consequências dela. Por fim Rane nos disse: “Sou perseguida por policiais TODOS os dias em lojas e estabelecimentos comerciais!”

Assim como na hora, agora fiquei novamente sem ação (e com lágrimas nos olhos) após relembrar essa frase impactante. Eu, em toda a minha brancura, jamais saberei na pele o que é isso. No entanto, fico feliz em sentir, com ela, com o Petê, com a tragédia da Marielle Franco, com meus amigos. Ao chorar ouvindo relatos desse tipo, dou-me conta de que sou humana, que sinto as dores dos meus iguais, que respeito o lugar de fala alheio e só posso tentar entender, embora saiba que jamais serei capaz de saber de fato como é. Isso é um sinal de que estou no caminho certo e que é meu dever como ser humano ajudar meus iguais.

Rane Souza

Fazendo uma ponte com a fala de abertura do William Cassemiro, presidente anterior da Abrates, Rane encerra ressaltando que precisamos estimular a profissionalização do nosso mercado em todos os sentidos, inclusive para os negros. O que podemos fazer? Observar nossas próprias práticas e aumentar a representatividade. O negro se sente mais à vontade sendo traduzido/interpretado por outro negro.

Após toda essa carga emocional e inclusiva da abertura, o primeiro dia de palestras começou, para mim, também com chave de ouro com a apresentação da Aline Tomasuolo, com o título “O método Starbucks aplicado ao mundo da tradução”. A Aline foi mentorada do Programa de Mentoria da Abrates, na época em que eu ainda era coordenadora, e me deixou impressionada com sua evolução profissional. Apresentação visualmente impecável, conteúdo extremamente relevante, detalhes que fizeram a diferença. Ela aplicou em sua apresentação e comprovou, com isso, que também aplica sua fala na prática: padronização de qualidade e personalização do atendimento. Aline disse que, segundo a Adobe, no futuro, as pessoas não comprarão mais produtos, mas experiências. Eu acredito que isso já seja verdade. Pense nos serviços que você usa, nos produtos que consome. A padronização e a personalização aumentam a valorização do mercado de tradução. Um cliente encantado resulta em fidelização e divulgação. Como tradutores, precisamos assumir nossa identidade. As palavras têm poder. Não “fazemos” tradução, somos tradutores! Além disso, devemos manter um canal de comunicação aberto e claro com os clientes, informando sobre disponibilidades/indisponibilidades, e descobrir a preferência de cada um deles. Com isso, nossa própria humanidade acaba sendo um diferencial nos serviços que prestamos no atual mundo tecnológico.

A segunda palestra à qual assisti foi “O método Harvard de negociação para tradutores e intérpretes”, por Claudio Pereira. Uma das principais dicas do Claudio foi que, em uma negociação, devemos focar no problema, não nas pessoas. Segundo ele, devemos ter critérios objetivos e diferentes opções. Precisamos entender o cliente, nos preparar e vender o serviço antes de informar o preço: mostrando os valores que serão agregados com ele. Devemos nos comunicar com segurança e passar segurança para o cliente, descobrir pontos em comum/conflitantes: o que o cliente sabe sobre nós e vice-versa é relevante em uma negociação. Devemos ser criativos e pensar em diferentes formas de satisfação mútua.

Como vocês podem ver, não cheguei nem na hora do almoço do primeiro dia ainda e já teve muita coisa legal! Como ainda tenho muita coisa interessante para passar para vocês, deixarei para uma segunda publicação, em breve, não se preocupem. Fiquem ligados!

14Aug2017

ConVTI draw

Posted in Events by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash, edited on Canva

And the winner of ConVTI’s free registration is…

Priscila França

Sorteador

Ganhador

Congratulations!

The event’s organizers will send you an email on the next few days explaining how to register.

If you were not the lucky winner but are interested in attending this amazing event, we still have four 20% discounts available here. All you have to do is leave a comment on the link’s post until August 18. It’s as simple as that.

I will send the registration link to all ten winners of the discount by email soon.

Are you lost and have absolutely no idea what we are talking about? Click on the link above for more information.

Thank you all for participating! And a special thanks to the amazing women behind ConVTI, Gio Lester and Márcia Nabrzecki, for coming up with the event, organizing it and offering us the free registration and discounts. You rock!

See you on August 26-27. After all, I am also attending the event. 😉

28Jul2017

From ConVTI to you

Posted in Events by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash, edited on Canva

Português abaixo. Español abajo.

We’ve got gifts!

This blog and my translation podcast, TradTalk, were proudly chosen as the channels to officially launch ConVTI last month. Now the lovely organizers of this innovative event, Márcia Nabrzecki and Gio Lester, decided to kindly offer 1 free registration and a 20% discount to 10 of my followers as a sign of appreciation for our warm welcome. Isn’t that amazing?

If you missed the launch or does not even know what I am talking about, stop! Read about it here and feel free to watch/listen to the podcast interview (in Portuguese) here before proceeding. You can also visit the event’s website (link above) for more information. Also take the chance to connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Moving on to our lovely gifts…

Draw of 1 free registration

Fill out this brief form (also available on the bottom of this page) to join the draw. It’s that simple.

The draw will be held on August 14, 8 a.m. (EST). The lucky winner will be announced here on the blog, and the post will be shared on the event’s social media channels and mine.

20% discount to 10 followers

The first 10 followers who leave a comment below will win 20% of discount, paying only US$60. Ready, set, go!

Important: Should you be interested in the discount, leave a comment below even if you fill in the form for the draw and/or we reach 10 comments. Should the draw winner be one of the first 10 people to comment below, his/her discount will be transferred to the 11^th commenter.

This is your chance to watch great talks by big names in translation, such as Paula Arturo, Jost Zetzsche, Kirti Vashee, Barry Olsen, from the comfort of your home sweet home (office) at a fraction of what you would spend with a usual conference. So don’t wait! Comment below and fill out the form.

Attention: You must be a translator, interpreter, dubber, subtitler, or other translation-related professional; or a student of any course related to any of these professions to participate. Comments and forms by random people will not be eligible to participate.

Good luck, dear followers!

Ganhamos presentes!

Como o Carol’s Adventures in Translation e meu podcast TradTalk foram os canais oficiais de lançamento do ConVTI, as queridas Márcia Nabrzecki e Gio Lester, organizadoras do evento, decidiram, em agradecimento, gentilmente oferecer 1 inscrição gratuita para o evento e 10 descontos de 20% para meus seguidores, vocês! Isso não é incrível?

Caso vocês tenham perdido a divulgação e nem saibam do que se trata, pare agora! Leia aqui a publicação (em inglês) no blog, assista/ouça aqui a entrevista que fiz com a Márcia para o podcast e acesse o site (link acima) para mais informações. Não deixe também de seguir o evento nas mídias sociais: Facebook, Twitter e YouTube.

Agora, sim, vamos ao que interessa: como participar.

Sorteio de uma inscrição gratuita

Para participar do sorteio, basta preencher este formulário (também disponível na parte inferior desta página) com seu nome, sobrenome e endereço de e-mail. É rápido e simples.

O sorteio será no dia 14 de agosto, às 9h (horário de Brasília). O ganhador será divulgado aqui no blog, e a publicação será compartilhada nas redes sociais minhas e do evento.

Desconto de 20% para 10 seguidores

É simples: os 10 primeiros seguidores que comentarem abaixo, aqui mesmo nesta publicação, ganharão um desconto de 20% no valor da inscrição, pagando apenas US$ 60,00 cada um. Valendo!

Importante: caso queira aproveitar o desconto, não deixe de comentar abaixo, mesmo se inscrevendo para o sorteio e/ou se atingirmos os 10 comentários. Caso o ganhador do sorteio seja um dos 10 primeiros a deixar um comentário, seu desconto será transferido para a 11ª pessoa que comentar.

Esta é sua chance de assistir a palestras incríveis de grandes nomes nacionais e internacionais da tradução, como Paula Arturo, Jost Zetzsche, Kirti Vashee, Barry Olsen, sem sair do conforto da sua casa ou do seu home office e economizando! Portanto, comente abaixo e preencha o formulário.

Atenção: é preciso ser tradutor, intérprete, dublador, legendador ou outro profissional relacionado à tradução; ou aluno de um curso relacionado a uma dessas profissões. Comentários e formulários de pessoas aleatórias não serão considerados.

Boa sorte, queridos!

¡Tenemos regalos!

Como Carol’s Adventures in Translation y mi podcast TradTalk fueron los canales oficiales de lanzamiento de ConVTI, las queridas Márcia Nabrzecki y Gio Lester, organizadoras del evento, decidieron amablemente ofrecer, como agradecimiento, 1 inscripción gratuita para el evento y 10 descuentos de 20% para mis seguidores: ¡ustedes! ¿No les parece increíble?

Si se perdieron la divulgación y no saben de qué se trata todo eso, ¡paren un minuto! Lean aquí la publicación (en inglés) del blog, vean/escuchen aquí la entrevista que le hice a Márcia para el podcast (en portugués) y visiten la página (link arriba) para obtener más información. Además, no dejen de seguir el evento en las redes sociales: Facebook, Twitter y YouTube.

Ahora sí, vamos a los que nos interesa: cómo participar.

Sorteo de una inscripción gratuita

Para participar en el sorteo, basta completar este formulario. Es rápido y fácil.

El sorteo será el día 14 de agosto, a las 9 h (hora de Brasilia). El ganador será anunciado aquí en el blog, y la publicación será compartida en mis redes sociales y las del evento.

20% de descuento para 10 seguidores

Es fácil: los 10 primeros seguidores que hagan un comentario abajo, aquí mismo en esta publicación, ganarán un 20% de descuento del valor de la inscripción, solo pagarán U$ 60,00 cada uno. ¡Ya empezó!

Importante: si quieres aprovechar el descuento, deja tu comentario aquí abajo, aunque también te inscribas para el sorteo y/o lleguemos a los 10 comentarios. Si el ganador del sorteo es uno de los 10 primeros que dejan un comentario, el descuento será transferido al 11º que haya comentado.

Es tu oportunidad para ver ponencias increíbles de grandes nombres nacionales e internacionales de la traducción, como Paula Arturo, Jost Zetzsche, Kirti Vashee, Barry Olsen, ¡sin salir de la comodidad de tu casa o tu home office y ahorrando! Así que, deja tu comentario aquí abajo y completa el formulario.

Atención: es necesario ser traductor, intérprete, doblador, subtitulador o profesional relacionado con la traducción; o alumno de algún curso relacionado con una de estas profesiones. Los comentarios y formularios de personas ajenas al sector no serán considerados.

¡Buena suerte, queridos!

<a href="https://alberonitranslations.wufoo.com/forms/zz1zjaa14g8grn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fill out my Wufoo form!</a>

23Jun2016

How to use Facebook as a professional tool

Posted in Events by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Spoiler: This is not a judgmental post! It is strictly aimed at our professional image based on true reality and does not reflect any personal opinion.

I always see translators using Facebook as if there were no tomorrow. I mean, they simply do not think before publishing anything publicly, to absolutely anyone who is their friend.

I like to think of Facebook like real life, but on-line. Do you wear mini-skirts and speak bad language in church? Well, although I am not the most religious person out there, I do hope you do not do that. Do you behave with your parents or treat them the same way you treat your closest friends? Do you speak to them the same way? I am positively sure you do not do that. You may drink A LOT at a wild party and even end up in hospital, but your mom or your boss will not even dream that has happened, right? So why… why, oh, why do people do not follow those same society rules on-line? Yeah, yeah, I know, the page is yours so you do whatever you want with it. Yeah, right. But then do not complain about your professional reputation being damaged because of your personal behavior on-line. You can certainly do whatever you want, but you should not share everything with absolutely all your Facebook friends. You could lose a potential client because of that. Think about it.

Just like in real life, social media also has its best practices, if you do not want people judging you by the cover (literally). Therefore, choose your profile picture carefully. Of course it would be fantastic to have it taken by a professional, but it is not essential. Choose one where your face can be easily recognizable, no sunglasses, not taken by faraway. Your profile is yours, right? So why use a picture of your cat/dog/bird/husband/wife/sister/boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever-you-like? Also, be careful with the position the picture is taken. If it is taken from above and you are wearing a low-cut blouse, it may look vulgar. (Before judging the previous sentence, please read the spoiler in the top again.)

The same holds true for pictures in general. The difference is, for pictures added in albums, as well as other general posts on your timeline, you can control who has access to them. So, bottom line is, yes, you can publish anything you feel like publishing, provided that you separate them by lists.

The chunk of my presentation was to explain how to create lists, send friends to those lists and restrict your posts using them. I already covered this step by step in a blog post, How to manage your Facebook friends like a pro, so I will not repeat it here. Read it and, should you have any doubts, do let me know.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When sharing some article or post you found on the internet, always check the source. Make sure it is reliable and not something made up or some gossip. Also, I always read the article before sharing it, because the title can be misleading, and the content itself may contain something you do not agree with, for example. I do not like sharing texts with poorly written content either, for example, with grammar mistakes, typos and the like. The content itself may be fantastic, but the way it is written can affect your image, because whether you like it or not, you are sort of endorsing what you are sharing. So be extra careful.

Topics that involve religion, football and politics are always controversial, even in real life, right? People usually try to avoid them in conversations. Do the same on social media. Avoid or carefully restrict controversial topics. If you have a strong opinion on politics, for example, that is totally against your potential client’s strong opinion, it may affect their decision to contact you for a job or not. Unfortunately, that is the naked truth. And since we have plenty of friends on Facebook and we even end up unfollowing some of them, we may lose track of who is following us or not, and we can simply forget we are friends with that person. It happens a lot with me.

I also briefly mentioned about the difference between a profile and a page. I have a personal profile and a professional page. Both are different and serve different purposes. I usually like saying people will not be friends with your brand, but like and follow it. Besides having analytics information about your followers, you have plenty of other functionalities you do not have in a profile. For example, you can add action buttons, your working hours, a customized link, among others. In the presentation, I mentioned how I was able to add “Tradutor” (translator) right below my page name. Many people asked me how I was able to do that, so I decided to give it a special mention. However, unfortunately, they have changed it in the past weeks. Now, your username is displayed right below your name. Anyway, you can choose how you want it to be displayed, and your customized URL will be created accordingly. Well, play around with your own page on the About tab and find out everything you can add. Remember, should you have any doubts, do let me know. 😉

You can find the PowerPoint presentation of my talk on SlideShare.

22Jun2016

7th Abrates Conference: Official coverage – Part 3 (final)

Posted in Events, Miscellaneous by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Should you have not done so yet, read Part 1 and Part 2 before proceeding.

Sunday

The first presentation I watched on the second day of talks was Patricia Moura Souza’s on the Translation Office 3000, a management software for translators. Patricia acknowledged that, although the TO3000 is not user-friendly, it turns out to be a great management tool for translators after you learn how to use it. It took the speaker three months to fully understand the program and totally depend on it for managing her translation work. So we can consider she is now a strong advocate of the tool – its ambassador, if we may say. According to her, some of its benefits is that the user can create and control budgets, invoices and payments by creating groups for services provided (such as translation, interpreting, editing, etc.). Patricia even reveals its greatest secret, that is not clearly understood from the interface: the vertical menu, on the left, refers to all the clients (general data) and the horizontal menu (in the top) refers to the selected client (data by client). And its three greatest functions are: relationship with the client (contact details, pricing list, payment methods, etc.), workflow control (list of projects, specific information, delivery calendar) and financial control (invoices, payments, balance sheets, reports). Now something I particularly loved was that it has a specific tab for marketing! And you can also add other tabs. Other basic operations: you can use your CAT tool wordcount, you can customize fields, and there are all sorts and colors of filters! You can find Patricia’s PowerPoint presentation here. For more information about her experience with the software, read Como o Translation Office 3000 mudou a minha vida – parte 1 e Como o Translation Office mudou a minha vida – parte 2. You can download a 30-day free trial here. Should you love it and decide to buy the software, use this link.

Patricia Moura Souza

Next, I watched the beginning of Leonardo Milani’s talk on professional attitude, but unfortunately I had to leave early because my own presentation was next. However, I was able to grasp one important point: your productivity in terms of words per hour/day is not the same as quality. It does not indicate if you deliver a quality translation or not. And, for him, it is irritating to ask for productivity.

Leonardo Milani

As I said, up next was my presentation. I talked about how to use Facebook professionally as to positively, and not negatively, influence your professional image. However, I will write a more detailed post specifically about it in the upcoming days. Stay tuned.

Yours truly

After my presentation, I ran to João Roque Dias’, on technical drawings. I must confess I just wanted to take a peek at it, so I did not even sit down. I stood in the back of the room taking pictures and tweeting a bit about his presentation, after all, the subject was not something that interested me, since I am not a technical translator of that area. However, to my great surprise, I had to take a seat, because João is certainly a captivating speaker and managed to catch my attention. The Portuguese speaker used attendees to compare both methods of ortographic projections, European and American, with “people” projections. According to João Roque, the translator should always be attentive, because symbols, displays and controls are not always translated. And picture captions should never be translated if the picture itself is not available for reference. If they are, they must be consulted. For example, a “disk” can mean different things in technical drawings, and the picture will tell which one it refers to specifically. João gave some tips about the translation of different types of documents with images. For example, in patents, bid documents and specifications, the text to be translated is almost 100% related to one or a few images, so we should start by studying the images and check if there are inconsistencies with/from the text. In manuals, instructions and leaflets, on the other hand, the text to be translated is clarified by numerous images, so we should study them as we go along, checking for inconsistencies with/from the text. At the end of his presentation, the charismatic speaker had some exercises about his talk and those who got the answer right earned cool customized freebies. It was certainly a pleasure to meet João Roque Dias in person at the conference.

João Roque Dias with Reginaldo Francisco

Closing ceremony

To sum up the best Abrates Conference so far, we had the surprise visit of Vera Holtz, a Brazilian actress, dear friend of Liane Lazoski, current President of Abrates. Her presence was also a surprise to Liane herself, and was organized by recently-elected President, William Cassemiro, and Vice-President, Renato Beninatto. They sang a song together; it was a quite touchy moment, summing up yet another fantastic conference in great style. You can watch her surprise entry and them singing here.

Vera Holtz and Liane Lazoski

New Abrates Board

Since only one slate signed up for the elections, the “Criando Pontes” (Building Bridges) slate was officially elected on Sunday, after the closing ceremony. So here is the next Abrates Board, to take office in July 5:

William Ferreira Cassemiro – President
Renato Beninatto – Vice-President
Dayse Boechat – 1^st Treasurer
Ricardo Souza – 2^nd Treasurer
Paula Ianelli – General Secretary
Iara – Second Secretary

Supervisory Board:
Filipe Alverca
Adriana Caraccio-Morgan
Manuela Sampaio

Deputies:
Liane Lazoski
Peterso Rissatti
Ana Valéria Ivonica Silva

Platform:
Besides continuing all innovative actions of the last Boards and expanding the acknowledgement of the association, some of its proposed actions are to: expand the Mentoring Program, hold smaller events in other states of the country, offer courses at affordable prices to members, partner with universities, create departments (such as for Literary Translation and Interpreting), optimize the call service, improve the use of social media, etc. Suggestions from members will be always welcome.

Elected Board

Next conference

Although there is no defined date for the next conference yet, the venue is already set: São Paulo. According to the elected President, they will try to make it happen during the same period, early June. See you next year at #abrates17?

Read more…
João Vicente de Paulo Júnior: Mas quem foi que disse que tradutor tem que ganhar pouco? – VII Congresso da Abrates, by Juliana Tradutora
Ricardo Souza: Tradumática – VII Congresso da Abrates, by Juliana Tradutora
Sessão Sintra apresenta: mesa-redonda sobre tradução literária e direitos autorais – Ernesta Ganzo, Daniele Petruccioli, Renata Pettengill, Lenita Esteves e Petê Rissati – VII Congresso da Abrates, by Juliana Tradutora
Expressão regular: uma poderosa arma para o tradutor, by Bianca Freitas on the Pronoia Tradutória blog
Takeaways of the Abrates Conference, by Translated in Argentina
Winning clients as a freelancer: An LSP perspective, Eugenia Echave’s PowerPoint presentation
MT Options for the Individual Translator, by Kirti Vashee

And there are plenty of other links in Parts 1 and 2 as well. Enjoy!

21Jun2016

7th Abrates Conference: Official coverage – Part 2

Posted in Events, Monthly post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

This is the second part of my post about the Abrates Conference. Read the first part here.

After having such a good start, the second talk I watched on Saturday was Isabel Gorg’s, also on automated translation. The speaker conducted a survey and found out that 22% of the interviewees used some sort of MT strategy. Her presentation was mostly based on pointing out common mistakes in MT, such as spacing, capitalization, grammar, sentence structure, local standards and terminology. Being aware of their frequency makes it simple to spot and correct them. And, needless to say, source quality can also highly influence the quality of MT translations. The takeovers from her talk were: MT will not disappear, but rather get better; MT can increase productivity; we should concentrate on what MT does right, not wrong; and we should align our expectations.

Isabel Georg

The third talk I attended on Saturday was by Felipe Cichini Simões, on personal and professional budgeting for freelancers. According to Felipe, we must never spend every cent we earn, but have some savings for vacation, professional investment, variable income, etc. The speaker suggested the YNAB (You Need A Budget) method and briefly showed us how the app works. According to Felipe, in order to start a budget plan, we must forget the past and start planning from now on. Felipe also said that giving each cent a function helps us understand what we can do with our money. Acknowledging our actual expenditures (besides our fixed ones) is also important for planning our future budget. However, he also points out that budgets are not always perfect, and sometimes they may not work as planned, especially for us, freelancers, who do not have a fixed income. It can happen, and we may not lose heart. The speaker also suggested the Wave Accounting app for financial control. I will surely try any of those apps, because I myself am very bad at budgeting and planning for the future. I know, shame on me!

Felipe Cechini Simões

Next on the presentations I attended on Saturday was Adriana de Araújo Sobota’s, on how to start working with translation agencies. The large room was totally full and people loved her presentation. Adriana mentioned methods for receiving payment from overseas (PayPal, Moneybrookers, direct bank transfer, wire transfer through Payoneer and TransferWise) and how to check a potential client’s reputation (Payment Practices, Blueboard, Hall of Fame and Shame, Untrustworthy Translation Agencies). It is also important to check if they have a physical address, on-line domain, professional e-mail address, etc. When looking for translation agencies on Google, we should be careful with the search results, because they can return one-person companies/entrepreneurs, not only agencies. Adriana also mentioned the importance of professional behavior, having a good CV, knowing how to behave on-line, communication, etc. The translation market is fast, so we should make sure we do not lose a chance for nothing. All the information needed on how to find potential clients is out there: research and search for it. The speaker concluded her presentation stressing out some don’ts: do not depend on only one agency; do not pressure the potential client for the result of the test; do not ask if you can send a CV, simply send it; do not send bulk e-mails; do not complain about an agency in public (social media).

Adriana de Araújo Sobota

After lunch, I attended GALA’s presentation, “Economic Crisis at Home? The World is Yours – How to Overcome Obstacles When Selling Abroad.” You can read more details about this one here, on a post I wrote for their blog.

GALA (Globalization and Localization Association): Fabiano Cid, Lilian Alves Mouton, Eugenia Echave and Gabriela Morales

After that, I ran to a presentation I was actually part of, about the Abrates Mentoring Program. Steering Committee members William Cassemiro, Adriana Sobota, Mônica Reis and yours truly explained how the program works and what the rules are to those who wish to take part both as mentor and mentee. Our current mentors and mentees, both represented, respectively, by Filipe Alverca and Sabrina Fuzaro and present among the attendees, had a voice and spoke about the enriching experience they are having with the program. You can find more information about the program on its web page and on this blog post I wrote a while ago (both in Portuguese). Juliana Tradutora has also written a blog post about our presentation, also in Portuguese, here. Should you not understand Portuguese, here are some important points:

The program is totally free, from all parts: both Committee members and mentors are volunteers, and mentees do not have to pay to take part.
To be a mentor, the person needs to be an Abrates member and have at least five years of experience in the area.
To be a mentee, the person also needs to be an Abrates member and have a maximum of two years of experience in the area. Or be in the last year of a Translation/Interpreting course.
The program lasts two years with a minimum of two hours of mentoring per month (in person or via Skype or other method agreed upon both parts).
The program’s coordinators closely follow their assigned pairs through follow-up reports both the mentor and the mentee have to fill out separately after every meeting.
The coordinators must be aware of every decision made by their assigned pairs in order to avoid any potential issue, including change of date of the meeting.

We had a fantastic feedback from our current mentors/mentees, from potential mentors/mentees and from people who run mentoring programs in other associations all over the world, such as Canada, Argentina and Israel. They were mesmerized by our organization, quality and professionalism. The presentation was followed by our own coffee break filled with positive comments, feedback, nice conversations with people who were interested at the program and future contacts. Should you be interested in learning more about it, do not hesitate to leave a comment below or send an e-mail to mentoria@abrates.com.br.

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Steering Committee members, William Cassemiro, Adriana de Araújo Sobota, Caroline Alberoni e Mônica Reis, mentee Sabrina Fuzaro and mentor Filipe Alverca

To sum up a perfect first day, Renato Beninatto hosted a round-table about, once again, machine translation with Kirti Vashee, Ricardo Souza, Ronaldo Martins and Marcelo Fassina. Marcelo Fassina, from Lionbridge, started talking and said that usually material with low access by the general public or the end user goes through MTPE (machine translation post-editing). However, the agency must always inform the translator when they use MT. The translator’s feedback is extremely important to feed the MT and improve it, as Kirti also mentioned in this morning’s presentation. Ronaldo Martins took the floor and spoke beautifully and eloquently. I was in owe with his perfect choice of words. According to him, evolution is inevitable. Technology may close some doors, but it will certainly open other windows. Ronaldo explained the difference between accelerated, delegated and augmented technologies. The first ones are not revolutionary; they only assist, but do not replace; for example, bikes. The second ones are substitutive, but are not necessarily better than what they replace. The last ones, on the other hand, enable us to do things we were not able to do before. In spite of what people think, MT involves science. Ricardo Souza followed, representing translators. Last but not least, Kirti Vashee also gave his opinion on the subject. According to him, human translation is the driving force of technology.

Ronaldo Martins, Kirti Vashee, Renato Beninatto, Ricardo Souza and Marcelo Fassina

This was it for Saturday. Sunday talks in Part 3 (final).

Read the impressions and reviews of other attendees:

Other links can be found in Parts 1 and 3.