Category Archives: Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy-Thanksgiving (1)

Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.

Today – as most of you know – is Thanksgiving Day. Here in Brazil, we call it Dia de Ação de Graças, but it is not a holiday nor celebrated, as it is in the US. We do not make any special dinner nor eat turkey. However, I particularly find the main purpose of the day – be grateful – a fantastic attitude. We should be thankful everyday for everything we are blessed with, but since most of us are not, let’s take advantage of this appointed day to do so?

Today, I would like to give thanks for:

– having been able to achieve all my goals so far (graduating as a translator in my preferred choice university, doing a master’s course in Translation in England, working as a freelance translator);
– having the work life I always dreamed of;
– all the wonderful friends I have;
– my blessed family;
– my health;
– my 5-year old nephew who has been an angel to my family and I, and my to-be-born nephew, who will certainly be another little angel in our lives;
– all my colleagues, with whom I learn precious things eveyday and who keep company to me – even if online;
– all my clients, with whom I exchange great experiences;
– you, all my readers, who take some time to read my humble adventures.

Happiest of Thanksgivings! 🙂

And you, what are you grateful for? Share your thanks with us.

*Quote by Ralph Marston

International Translation Day

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Today, September 30, we celebrate, internationally, the Translation Day, on the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered to be the patron saint of translators and interpreters.

St. Jerome’s Day celebrations began in 1953, when FIT (International Federation of Translators) was established. It was FIT Council’s effort to promote the profession worldwide. However, it was only in 1991 that the Public Relations Committee of FIT launched the idea of an International Translation Day. The slogan for 1993 was “Translation, a pervasive presence,” and the press release included some valuable information, such as:

  • Imagine how difficult it would be to assemble furniture or bicycles, or to use video recorders, that you bought in a kit if the instructions were not translated (and everybody knows what problems badly translated assembly instructions can cause).

  • People with allergies to specific products would be at a risk if the ingredients on product labels were not translated.

  • Well-translated labels, instructions and marketing material can enhance a company’s image, while faulty translations will certainly do a company’s reputation no good!

As translators/interpreters, we should be responsible for – ideally every day, but especially today – spreading the importance of our profession for global undertanding, for communication among different cultures and peoples, and for building bridges among them. We should also take this day to show the importance of a well-qualified professional translator/interpreter, as opposed to anyone who can speak a foreign language.

Happy Translation Day to all my colleagues who help build a professional community of excellent translators/interpreters!

 

Reference: The history of International Translation Day