(Still) Language competition and translator’s week

Here we are, back with our weekly posts, after a two-week vacation. A lot happened during this period: my interview for Lingo.io was published, I reached 400 followers on Twitter, The Bright Side of Freelance Translation e-book (in which I took a small part, on page 52) was released and I got nominated for the Top 100 Language Lovers 2014 competition in the following categories: professional blog, Twitter and Facebook! Talk about great news!

This is the first year I participate, and being already nominated is quite something! Even if I don’t get enough votes and/or don’t get picked, I’m already blissfully happy! And, of course, I owe it all to you, my dear followers and fans, who always support me. THANK YOU! And here’s a brigadeiro (typical Brazilian sweet) for each one of you, as a thank-you gift:

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Now, I need your help to vote:

If you like my blog, vote here: bit.ly/1qZcWpO (Carol’s Adventures in Translation)
If you like my Facebook page, vote here: bit.ly/1hygJks (Alberoni Translations)
If you like following me on Twitter, vote here: bit.ly/1qUzmsg (AlberoniTranslations)

Although you can vote only once for each person in each category, you can vote for more than one person in each category. So have a look at all the other amazing blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and YouTube channels that were nominated and vote for all of those you like.

Votings end on Monday, June 9th.

 

Another good news is that you can already apply for the XXXIII Semana do Tradutor da Unesp de São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil. The Translator’s Week is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) and most traditional translation events held in Brazil. I have already participated as a student and now I’m proud to say I was invited to present a workshop on social media, branding and marketing (on Wednesday, September 24th, 2pm).

Where: Unesp (Universidade Estadual Paulista), São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil
When: September 22nd to 26th, 2014
Price: R$ 100.00 until July 31st

Come and watch my presentation, besides many other interesting presenters, like Yves A. Champollion (CEO, Wordfast LLC), Dilma Machado and my colleague Paula Ianelli G. Luiz, who has already written as a guest here on our blog. If you do, please come forward and present yourself so we can meet in person and maybe have a coffee. 😉

Studying overseas (or How to choose a translation course?)

Courtesy of fdecomite on Flickr

All my translations for the day are done and, before I finally head off to my vacation, I’ll treat you with one last post of May.

Today’s post was inspired by this guest post (in Portuguese), by Angélica Cattini, about studying abroad. Since I also had an experience of studying abroad, I decided to share it with you. After all, if you are like me, it can help you decide or make up your mind on what to do yourself. It can also suit those who simply want to study translation/interpreting, but don’t know where to start.

As some of you may already know, I did my MA in England. I fell in love with the country after spending seven months working as an au-pair for my aunt in Cambridge (what’s not to fall in love with in this lovely city, right?) – after concluding my high school studies, before entering university. After this period, I came back to Brazil and started my BA in Letters specialized in Translation at a Brazilian university (UNESP). During my major, all I thought of was to do an MA in Interpreting in England. So I spent four years researching all the possibilities. Every time I had some spare time, I would google several combinations of the words interpreting, MA, England, translation, UK, etc. I found out there were quite a few universities that offered the course in England. The main criterion I used to choose one was price. The pound is really expensive when compared to the Brazilian real (Brazilian currency): it’s worth more than three times more! At the time, the University of Surrey was the cheapest: the total fee for a non-European student was around 9,000 pounds (R$ 27,000.00 Brazilian reais!) – which could be paid in three installments. Obviously, although I already worked as an English teacher and had saved some money, I didn’t have it all. So I talked to my parents to see if they had the money and if they could lend it to me. Luckily, they had and agreed with lending it.

For the admission process, I mailed all the required documentation, which included a proficiency exam with a given grade. They didn’t necessarily demand that I translated my proof of education, which was perfect! I also had a telephone interview (in English, of course) with one of the department’s professor.

As planned, I applied for the MA in Interpreting programme. However, one week before embarking to the UK, I received a phone call from the university informing that, unfortunately, they weren’t able to build a class for Brazilian Portuguese, so I would have to choose another course. Nevertheless, they also offered me some interpreting workshops and said I could attend any interpreting lessons I wished as an audit student. At first, I was really upset. But later on, I realized it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I found out that, actually, I loved more translating than interpreting, and that translating was more adequate to my skills. All in all, I ended up choosing the MA in Translation Studies with Intercultural Communication course.

As for accommodation, I chose the cheapest option: leaving on campus. The University of Surrey offers several accommodation options for students. The one I chose (the cheapest one) was a house for 10 people (only girls) with two bathrooms and a kitchen. I shared a duplex room with a Chinese girl.

In order to pay for my expenses, I worked part-time (with a student visa, you are allowed to work up to 40 hours a week in the UK) as a waitress at a café and at an Italian restaurant. So I had lectures five days a week, all day long, and worked on weekends at the café during the day and at the restaurant during the night.

The full-time course length is 12 months, with two one-month-long “vacation” periods: the first one on Christmas holidays and the other on Easter. “Vacation” periods (between quotation marks) because they were vacation only from lectures. We actually had to write essays (they don’t have tests) and start working on our dissertation during this period. But I also took advantage to work a bit more as well.

At the end, I managed to save quite some money to travel for two weeks around Italy and for my expenses back in Brazil while I didn’t find a job.

In a nutshell, it was a bitter-sweet experience. A dream-come-true, living one year in a country I love, studying something I ‘m passionate about, meeting awesome people, learning tons of things on the process; but I also had a really hard time, working and studying A LOT, missing my family, friends and country. However, it was totally worth it. And I would do it all again if I had the chance. Bottom line is there’s nothing impossible when you really want something. If you really wish, from the bottom of your heart, to do something, you’ll find ways of doing so.

You can find more information about the University of Surrey in the hyperlinks provided throughout the post. Besides, here are a couple of other UK universities I know that offer translation/interpreting BA/MA courses:

University of Leeds
University of Salford
London Metropolitan University

Well, I hope my experience helps some of you. Please feel free to comment or add your own experience.

 

Note: Please note that, as previously announced, I’ll be on vacation from tomorrow to June 1st, therefore, there won’t be any blog activities during this period. I’ll resume blogging on June 3rd.

Language competition, TweetUp and vacation

Courtesy of picjumbo, by Viktor Hanacek

First of all, I’d like to thank all of you, my readers, for all the support you give to this blog. You always surprise me with comments and compliments on our posts (mine and from our lovely guests). They mean a lot to me and make me dedicate myself to the blog even more.

THANK YOU! 🙂

That being said, today’s post will be about three topics, which are actually announcements.

1. Top 100 Language Lovers 2014 competition

This week, the bab.la language portal and the Lexiophiles language blog announced the start of this year’s contest: the Top 100 Language Lovers 2014 competition. There are five categories: Language Learning Blog, Language Professional Blog, Language Facebook Page, Language Twitter Account and Language YouTube Channel. For now, they are only asking our help to nominate our favorites on those categories.

Obviously, I have already nominated my blog, my Facebook page and my Twitter account (I don’t have a professional YouTube channel yet). If you also think my blog, my Facebook page and/or my Twitter deserve being nominated, I kindly ask you to access this link and do it. Required information to do so:

Name of nominee: Caroline Alberoni
Email of nominee: caroline(at)alberoni(dot)com(dot)br
URL of page/blog: please find URLs of my Facebook page and Twitter account above by clicking on the hyperlinks
Category: second, third and forth, respectively

Nominations end on May 19th.

Thank you in advance for you support and trust! 🙂

2. TweetUp

Since this is a topic specifically for Brazilians, I’ll write in Portuguese. If you aren’t a lucky Brazilian, please go straight to topic 3 below. 😉

Há algum tempo, anunciei uma surpresa aos meus seguidores brasileiros do Twitter. Tentei um envolvimento com eles, mas foi em vão. Portanto, a surpresa será anunciada mesmo assim e, caso vocês gostem da ideia e tenham Twitter, podemos levá-la adiante.

Vocês sabem o que é um TweetUp?

Um TweetUp é um encontro de seguidores do Twitter. A priori, é um encontro informal, normalmente em um barzinho ou em um café, em que os tweeps se encontram para bater um papo e trocar ideias. A ideia já é usada por tradutores de outras partes do mundo (Bruxelas, Londres, Alicante, Atenas) e, como a achei bastante interessante e divertida, pensei em organizar um TweetUp em São Paulo. No entanto, para isso, preciso de participantes! Como no Twitter ninguém se manifestou (talvez as pessoas ainda estejam acanhadas), gostaria de saber quem de vocês, seguidores do blog (e do Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest), tem Twitter, gostou da ideia e teria interesse em participar.

CHAMADA AOS TUITEIROS DE PLANTÃO!
Quem topa marcar um encontro de tradutores e intérpretes em São Paulo para networking, nos conhecermos, batermos um papo, relaxarmos um pouco, trocarmos uma ideia?

Ainda não é meu seguidor no Twitter? Está esperando o quê para me seguir? -> @AlberoniTrans

Não é tuiteiro? Talvez esta seja a sua chance de criar uma conta, me seguir e participar!

O Twitter é minha plataforma social preferida. A integração que ele possibilita é fantástica! E os tuiteiros do mundo inteiro são pessoas incríveis, carismáticas e mega queridas!

Estou aguardando a opinião de vocês quanto ao TweetUp, ok? Mandem-me mensagens aqui pela publicação, no Facebook, no próprio Twitter, no Google+, no LinkedIn, por email ou sinal de fumaça, se preferirem, mas não deixem de me dizer o que pensam e se topam participar. Aguardo ansiosamente o contato de vocês! 🙂

3. Vacation

I’ll finally have a well-deserved and much longed for vacation! 😀

Two dear Polish friends who live in England will be visiting Brazil for the first time and I took advantage of it to take a two-week vacation. I’ll take them to different places in Brazil so they can have a general idea of the country, therefore, I’ll be totally out-of-reach. No work, no blog posts, no engagement on Twitter, no updates on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Pinterest, nothing, for two dreamy detox weeks. Therefore, don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. I won’t be dead, only on vacation. 😉

When? From May 16th to June 1st.

I’ll wrap things up on May 15th and be back at full speed on June 2nd. Please try not to miss me too much during this period! 🙂

Meanwhile, I look forward to your nominations on the Top 100 Language Lovers competition and to your opinions on a possible #SPTweetUp (the first Brazilian TweetUp, in São Paulo).

Brazilian Portuguese facts and learning resources

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No, we don’t speak Spanish in Brazil. Neither do we speak Brazilian (there is no such a language, by the way). We speak Portuguese. No, not the same as in Portugal (European Portuguese). Here, we speak a variant, Brazilian Portuguese. Just like American English is a variant of British English. Get it?

And just like the US speaks English due to Britain’s influence during its settlement, Brazil speaks Portuguese because, obviously or not, the Portuguese colonized it. For some time, Portuguese coexisted with the lingua franca spoken by Jesuit missionaries, based on Amerindian languages. With the expansion of the colonization and the increasing immigration of Portuguese people though, Portuguese affirmed itself as the national language.

Portuguese is a Romance language (just like Spanish, Italian, French and Romanian, the most widely spoken ones) spoken by over 200 million people worldwide (besides Brazil and Portugal, seven other countries also have Portuguese as their official language – Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor, Macau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe).

Our alphabet has 23 letters (plus three foreign ones: W, Y and Z). Additional characters (accented vowels and cedilla): á, à, ã, â, é, ê, í, ó, õ, ô, ú, ç. Alphabet pronunciation: á bê cê dê é efe gê agá i jota ele eme ene ó pê quê erre esse tê u vê xis zê.

Although both variants (European and Brazilian) differ in many aspects, from pronunciation to vocabulary, an orthographic agreement (spelling reform) was reached between both countries in order to create a single common orthography. In Brazil, it went into effect in 2009.

Why should you consider learning Portuguese?

  • It is the 6th most widely spoken language in the world
  • The number of Portuguese speakers is on the rise
  • Trade is increasing between Brazil and the rest of the world
  • Brazil will host the World Cup this year and the Olympics in 2016

Sources and resources
The differences between English and Portuguese
Wikipedia: Portuguese language
Wikipedia: Brazilian Portuguese
Omniglot

Resources for learning Portuguese
BBC Languages
eLanguage School
Learn Portuguese Now
Sonia-Portuguese
Portuguese Language Guide
Brazilian Portuguese phrasebook (scroll down to “Phrase list” for a list of useful sentences you can learn in Portuguese)
Babel
Brazilian Portuguese Proficiency Test (test for self-evaluation purposes of your knowledge level of the language)
Livemocha
BrazilianPodClass (free podcasts on iTunes)
Learn Brazilian Portuguese – The Guardian
Language Guide (pronunciation in many languages)

Hope you find this post useful. Would you suggest any other resources?

Common translation mistakes from English to Portuguese

 

Courtesy of picjumbo, by Viktor Hanacek

I have already written a post on some common grammar errors Brazilians usually make in Portuguese. Today, I decided to write on some common errors beginners usually make when translating from English to Brazilian Portuguese.

Below is a list of 10 examples of common errors I’ve come across throughout my experience as a translator (which is mainly with IT texts).

  1. Please
    In English, it is very common to apologize for everything. However, in Portuguese, it isn’t. Therefore, you should simply ignore it whenever the word pops up on your translation.
  2. Eventually
    This one is a false friend: it should never be translated as eventualmente (which actually means ocasionalmente), but as finalmente or consequentemente.
  3. Sincerely
    Sinceramente is not used as a letter/email closing in Portuguese. Instead, you should choose atenciosamente.
  4. Information
    Although uncountable nouns in English are usually singular, in Portuguese, they are plural, therefore, the right translation is informações.
  5. Delete
    Excluir, not deletar.
  6. Enter
    Digitar, not inserir.
  7. Sensible
    The right translation is not sensível (sensitive), but sensato.
  8. Verify
    Confirmar, comprovar, garantir, não verificar (check).
  9. Application
    In IT, it means aplicativo, não aplicação. App is its short form, therefore, it’s masculine, not feminine: o app.
  10. Address
    It’s never translated, although you may, depending on the case, translate the name of the city and country, if applicable.

Needless to say all these translation options depends on the context, but, in general, they do apply. It’s essential that you always refer to the client’s reference material, style guide and glossaries, and that you always do a thorough research, even when you think you know the translation of a term. Translators can never be too cautious.

When I was a beginner myself, I also made most of these mistakes, but I learned with practice, always paying careful attention to feedback, trying to assimilate and learning from them. I never make the same mistake twice, and if you have the possibility of never making them altogether, why waste the chance, right?

Would you add any other term to the list?

Some personal heartfelt tips for newbies

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It’s probably due to the upcoming (Brazilian) holidays and the World Cup, but it’s been raining projects here! Totally crazy! Because of that, I started looking for some trusted partners to help me. That’s where the entire saga begins!

First of all, I don’t trust unknown people. So, no, I will not trust translations my precious clients send me to people I’ve never seen before in my life. My first move is to ask for referrals from translators I trust and translation professors. This should work perfectly, right? Well, unfortunately, no! I’ve already received referrals of people who were the best students in class, but who, in the end, ended up being a total disappointment (well, and I wasn’t the best student in class myself, so I guess that doesn’t say much really). Others so-called translators were so busy teaching that did not have time to accept projects. Go figure! I even started losing faith and giving up on trying to find good professionals to help me – well, I still have trouble doing so, but at least I’ve found one or two worth the try.

So here goes some heartfelt tips for those who are trying to establish themselves in the translation market:

  • You are either a translator or a teacher. If you really want to become a professional translator, you should risk refusing classes to free up some available time for possible translation offers. Yes, I know you have to pay your bills. However, if you fill up your time with classes, when you are offered a translation project, chances are you won’t have time to accept it. And in the beginning, it’s crucial that you accept as many projects as possible to make yourself available and visible. Try working as a teacher for some time, save some money and use these savings to gradually stop teaching. Otherwise, it’s going to be a vicious circle and you will never have the time to start as a translator.
  • Invest on it. If you’ve graduated on engineering, but later find out that translation is your call, yes, the best thing to do is take an under-graduate course in translation. If you already have a degree in translation, consider taking a post-graduate course. If you already have both, why not take some short courses, CPDs (Continuing Professional Development), attend conferences and other events on the field? Do whatever suits you, but keep learning!
  • You should always do your best when translating, but your first projects are even more important. First impressions are crucial. If you mess up on your very first project, your chances of losing that client are huge. So fully dedicate yourself to your first projects.
  • As already pointed out on my last weekly post, always be sincere with your client, even if – and especially if – it’s your first project. If after accepting the project you find out the text is more technical than you thought it would be and you’re having trouble with it, tell the client. Are you facing some personal problems that are affecting the quality of your work? Spill the beans to the client and try to find a solution together. It’s better coming clean than delivering a low-quality translation and getting a bad reputation.
  • Accept feedback and learn from them. Discuss it with the proofreader if you don’t agree with something. If you’re right, great! If you’re not, she/he will explain why not and you’ll learn more. Don’t ever consider yourself an expert. You may work for 2, 5, 10, 30 years as a translator, but you’ll always have something to learn.
  • Unless you already get a direct client – and even so -, be realistic about your rates. Do some research, ask your colleagues and friends who are already established professionals, check professional associations in your country to see if they have a suggested price list, analyze the client’s offer – if any. If you still don’t have a good portfolio of clients, you won’t get anywhere by insisting on unrealistic rates. Start low (as in any profession) and steadily and reasonably increase your rates. The same holds true the other way around: don’t charge an extremely row rate. Read more about rates here.

If none of these tips work for you, chances are you are in the wrong profession. After all, the only reason for working hard and not getting good results is that maybe you were not born for it.

Would you add any other tips to the list? Are you a newbie and would like to give your opinion?

Should we share our personal problems with the client?

Courtesy of picjumbo, by Viktör Hanacek

If you are on Facebook, you must be familiar with its groups. And if you are an active user, chances are you are a member of at least one group of translators. Translators groups on Facebook usually generate great discussion topics. I myself am a member of one of the largest (if not the largest) translators and interpreters group there is in Brazil. As such, people post all sorts of comments, doubts, complaints, etc. The other day, a translator who works at an agency commented that one of their best translators (in quality, on-time deliveries and trustworthiness) accepted a project one day and on the next day returned it unfinished claiming he quit working as a translator. Just like that. No further explanations. The members of the group started wandering about his reasons to do so: “Maybe he had a serious personal problem and didn’t feel comfortable sharing it with the agency?”

Yesterday, based on this story, another translator raised this discussion: “When we have a serious personal problem, like the death of a parent or sibling, is it worth it to come clear with the client? Wouldn’t they think it’s a lame excuse?” A few members declared having already tried to be sincere with the client, but the consequences weren’t pretty. Besides showing no empathy at all, they even stopped consulting the translator. On the other hand, other testimonies showed some agencies do understand and even show concern for the professional.

My take on the subject is quite straightforward: we should always be sincere with the client. If you feel you might delay the delivery, tell the client and check if it’s possible to have an extension. If you’re sick in bed and there’s no way you can work properly, tell the client and see if you can find a way out – a deadline extension or a friend you can refer. If someone close to you is really sick or has died and you are in no condition to work, talk to the client. If you both have a good long-term relationship, there’s no way they will not understand you. However, if you usually let them down for any reason, of course they will not believe in you when you do have a serious reason for returning a project.

Two years ago, I felt a horrible muscle pain that wouldn’t allow me to work. Actually, I couldn’t move at all! So I had to take some strong muscle relaxant that made me feel really sleepy 22 hours a day. How could I think properly and even work? I did do my best, trying not to leave them in the lurch, but they were totally aware the quality would be compromised. I worked about two hours a day in the first couple of days – it was the most I could do. After that, they tried to reallocate the rest of the project.

Last year, my dad was hospitalized with suspicion of cancer. I had to travel to my hometown last minute and, therefore, had to return two projects I had taken for the next couple of days. I communicated the project manager and she totally understood my situation. Actually, she even sent constant emails, always checking how my father was feeling. He died 10 days later, but it was on a Friday, so it didn’t influence on my ongoing projects. But I wouldn’t think twice in returning any project to the client if I had to in this case. And I wouldn’t even be worried with what the client thought of it, because my family needed me, I needed to go through the grieving period and I knew there was nothing else I could do. If the client hadn’t understood, well, not my problem, really.

We should do our job and always deliver on time; help the client when we can; always be clear, inform any issues and try to find a way out that suits both parties. However, we should never forget we are freelancers, and as such, we shouldn’t be afraid of refusing projects if we can’t work for any reason and of returning a project in case of any real emergency. If you are an example of a translator and if you have a good relationship with the client, they will understand. If they don’t, fire them! I personally don’t want to work with people who do not value pain, grieving or other human issues. Neither should you.

Have you gone through a similar situation? What happened? Even if not, would you like to share your opinion on the topic?

IT Translation

Courtesy of picjumbo, by Viktör Hanacek

And here I am again, apologizing for not being able to post! =/ This time, the post was ready, but my newborn nephew and his first-time mom didn’t “allow” me to actually publish it. So here it is today, exactly the way it should have been posted yesterday.

Hi, there! I hope you’re doing fine. As for me, after a crazy week last week (by the way, my sincerest apologies for not publishing my weekly post), this week has been all about splitting myself in half: working part-time and helping my sister with her newborn son the other half of the time. I must admit it’s tiring, but all worth it! 🙂

I know you were expecting our guest post today, but we had a change of plans. I’ll write my weekly post today, and on Thursday Paula Ianelli will talk about translation of games, so you don’t miss anything. 😉

Some of my guests asked me to write on my area of expertise in translation. Since I’m asking them to write about their domains, why shouldn’t I, right? So today I’ll talk about IT translation and how I ended up being specialized on it.

Well, by now, you should be familiarized with my beginning in the translation profession. In case you missed it, here is the post I talk about how I fell in love with translation and the educational path towards starting out as a freelance translator and here is the post I talk a bit about my rates when I started.

I started working with only one translation agency that sent me several different kinds of texts in different areas. With time, though, I started being frequently consulted to translate for their IBM account. Besides translating, I also had some experience as project coordinator – I used to coordinate all the translators of a specific project (usually an extensive one involving several translators and weekly deliveries), send instructions to all of them, validate glossaries, review their translations before delivery and send them feedback. It was a very fruitful experience. I even had the opportunity of replacing an employee on vacation for one month, working remotely as QA Editor for this same translation company, same account.

All in all, I provided services for this account and agency for about two years. By the time I started marketing my services to other clients, I already felt quite comfortable translating IT. Then I had the chance of working with other great accounts with other different translation agencies, such as Google, Apple, GoDaddy, BlackBerry, Microsoft, Philips, Red Hat, etc.

Although the terminology used seems to be “simple”, in that some words are translated the same way in all accounts, most of the accounts have very strict instructions, style guides, glossaries and different translations of the same term from other accounts. They usually have a very strict QA and demand a lot of experience, attention to details and openness to feedback and to learning with our mistakes. It’s an ongoing and endless learning process, especially because they are constantly changing their translation preferences. Besides, even within an account, they may have subdivisions which have different translations for the same term. For example, when I worked with the IBM account, requirement used to be translated as requerimento in one specific project and requisito in another. Additionally, some terms may be translated in one account/subdivision of an account, but not in another.

Bottom line is we must always be extra observant, read the client’s material (style guides, glossaries, etc.) carefully, pay attention to the client’s feedback and always try to learn with them not to make the same mistakes again, and find ways of memorizing/learning the different specificities of each client. My way of not getting lost in all this flood of different information is to keep glossaries with important terms/notes for each client/account. If I’m in doubt or suspect a term may have a specific translation, I consult all the material, including my personal glossary. We may not be able to memorize everything by heart, but we should find ways of keeping track of changes/differences.

The more we work with a client/account, the more we get used to it and the more it gets easier and faster to translate. However, in order to get that far, we must be patient and do a lot of research and consultation in the beginning.

P.S.: I also translate marketing, business and legal (contracts) material for the same reason: they chose me. These were the domains I was mostly requested to translate in the beginning. And you know, practice makes perfect.

Do you also work with IT translations? Would you have a different experience/tip to share with us?

How to Establish Rates

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This was one of the topics I already had in mind for one of my weekly posts. I decided to talk about it today after I wrote my contribution to the The Bright Side e-book, a lovely initiative by Nicole Adams and Andrew Morris that celebrates everything that is right in freelance translation, with stories of real successful translators.

This is a quite controversial topic in freelance translation because there are clients offering extremely low rates and translators who accept working for peanuts. More experienced translators, however, despise this kind of translators and think they are a disgrace for our profession.

I disagree.

I, myself, have started working as a freelance translator for an agency for R$ 0.03. Please note that the price is in Brazilian reais, not in dollars, which is even worse, taking into account that US$ 1 is approximately R$ 2.3 nowadays.

You know what? When I was offered that, I was bubbling with happiness. After all, I was able to work as a freelance translator the way I had always dreamed of and would earn some good money. I had just finished my MA and returned to Brazil; had been looking for a job for two months. That was my very first job as a translator.

After one month of “experience” (yeah, right, I was a freelancer and I had to go through an experience period; go figure!), my rate was raised a bit. After one year, it was raised a tiny bit again. However, after this period, I was beginning to be aware of the market. I read blogs, followed experienced translators on social media, talked to translator friends. I started looking for other clients and establishing my own rate.

I believe that our profession is just like any other. Nobody starts earning the same as a senior employee, right? Why should we be different? Besides, there is no such a thing as the right rate. There is, of course, a basis, such as the table of reference values suggested by Sintra (Brazilian translators’ union). Each translator should be able to establish their own rate based on this table, on their educational and professional background, on their experience, on the market, on their specialization, on the language pair, etc. We many have different rates for different clients, but we must have a minimum rate and not settle for less.

My suggestion is that you take all the above points into account when defining your rate. If you’re a newbie and/or has absolutely no idea of the price you should charge, do some research. Ask some translator friends/colleagues who are pretty much in the same level as you are, or a bit more experienced, if they would mind telling you how much they charge.

Do you have a similar or different experience with rates you would like to share with us? What’s your take on this issue?

22 dicas importantes sobre alguns erros comuns em português

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Tenho cada vez mais observado um fato preocupante: a maioria dos brasileiros comete sérios erros de português. Não estou falando de conhecimento avançado, mas de erros comuns, que se aprendem na escola, dos quais se ouve falar constantemente na internet. Às vezes vejo, inclusive, pessoas com nível superior cometendo esses erros.

Além de ser essencial para dar uma impressão profissional e culta, escrever corretamente também mostra que você se importa com seus leitores, é atento e tem o conhecimento adequado da língua, inspirando confiança. Afinal de contas, não dá para confiar em alguém que escreve errado, não é?

Aqui está uma lista de termos que compilei com base em observações que tenho feito principalmente no Facebook, mas também em outras mídias sociais e em e-mails, além de conversas cotidianas. A numeração serve apenas para facilitar a visualização, não indica nível de importância dos termos.

  1. Através
    Significa “que atravessa”, “de um lado a outro”, “transpor”, “cruzar” e, portanto, não deve ser usado no sentido de “por intermédio de”. Nesse último caso, utilizar “por” ou “por meio de”.
    Exemplo: Esta universidade oferece vagas pelo/por meio do Pronatec.
    Pude contemplar a chuva através da janela.
  2. Há/atrás
    Ambos os termos indicam tempo passado, portanto, é redundante utilizar os dois na mesma frase. Utilize “há” ou “atrás”.
    Exemplo: O cliente enviou os arquivos duas horas.
    ou
    O cliente enviou os arquivos duas horas atrás.
  3. Haver
    No sentido de existir, o verbo é impessoal.
    Exemplo: Não houve feridos no acidente.
    não
    Não houveram feridos no acidente.
  4. Faltar
    Concorda com o sujeito.
    Exemplo: Faltam dois dias para o congresso.
    não
    Falta dois dias para o congresso.
  5. Fazer
    No sentido de tempo passado, não concorda com o substantivo, deve ser usado sempre no singular.
    Exemplo: Faz 24 horas que não durmo.
    não
    Fazem 24 horas que não durmo.
  6. O mesmo
    Não exerce função de pronome pessoal, portanto, não deve ser utilizado para substituir uma palavra anteriormente dita. Sempre utilize o pronome “ele” e suas derivações.
    Exemplo: Ante de utilizar o elevador, verifique se ele encontra-se parado neste andar.
    não
    Antes de utilizar o elevador, verifique se o mesmo encontra-se parado neste andar.
  7. Onde
    Expressa lugar e não deve ser usado para se referir a eventos. Nesse último caso, utilizar “em que”.
    Exemplo: Amanhã teremos uma reunião extraordinária em que será discutido o novo projeto de tradução.
    não
    Amanhã teremos uma reunião extraordinária onde será discutido o novo projeto de tradução.
  8. Qualquer
    Pronome de sentido afirmativo, portanto, não deve ser usado em frases negativas. Seu uso se deve à ideia errônea de que não há dupla negativa no português. Ela não deve ser usada em excesso, quando desnecessário, mas não é incorreta, como no inglês.
    Exemplo: Não há nenhum aluno na sala.
    ou
    Não há alunos na sala.
    não
    Não há qualquer aluno na sala.
  9. Boas-vindas
    Assim como “bem-vindo” e suas derivações, deve ser usado com hífen.
    Exemplo: Bem-vindo ao curso de introdução à interpretação.
    ou
    Segundo o cronograma, o presidente dará as boas-vindas aos convidados antes de cerimônia.
  10. Gramas
    É masculino, não feminino.
    Exemplo: Duzentos gramas de queijo, por favor.
    não
    Duzentas gramas de queijo, por favor.
  11. Ao invés de
    Indica contrariedade, oposição, inverso. “Em vez de” significa “no lugar de”.
    Exemplo: Em vez de ir ao parque, iremos ao shopping. (O parque não é o oposto do shopping, certo?)
    não
    Ao invés de ir ao parque, iremos ao shopping.
    mas
    Ao invés de cair, o preço do produto subiu.
  12. Etc.
    É a abreviação da locução latina et caetera, que significa “e outras coisas”. Como tem o sentido de “e”, não deve ser precedido por essa conjunção. Segundo a gramática moderna, pode ser precedido por vírgula e deve vir acompanhado de ponto, pois se trata de uma abreviação. Seu uso deve ser evitado com pessoas, mas não é considerado errado.
    Exemplo: Comprou vinho, pão, macarrão, etc.
  13. Porque
    Usado para indicar explicação, causa. Separado, “por que”, é um advérbio interrogativo. Acentuado, “porquê”, substitui as palavras “razão”, “causa”, “motivo”. Separado e acentuado, “por quê”, é usado no fim de frases ou quando houver pausa.
    Exemplo: O cliente cancelou o projeto porque não obteve aprovação do departamento financeiro.
    Por que você não vai à festa?
    Não sei o porquê de o meu computador não estar funcionando.
    Minha irmã me disse que você foi demitida. Por quê?
  14. Perca versus perda
    O primeiro é a conjugação do verbo “perder” na primeira e na terceira pessoa singular do presente do subjuntivo e na terceira pessoa singular do imperativo. O segundo é substantivo.
    Exemplo: Não quero que você perca a aula.
    Sinto muito por sua perda!
  15. Aonde
    Só deve ser usado quando o verbo exigir a preposição “a”.
    Exemplo: Aonde você quer ir à noite? (ir a)
    Onde você colocou o carro? (colocar em)
  16. A nível de
    Significa “à mesma altura”. Já “em nível de” significa “de âmbito”, “com status de”.
    Exemplo: Em nível de beleza, as cariocas ganham.
    Esta cidade não fica ao nível do mar.
  17. Anexo
    Deve concordar com o substantivo. Alguns estudiosos condenam o uso de “em anexo”, portanto, prefira somente “anexo”. Se quiser especificar que algo está sendo enviado dentro de um anexo, use “no anexo”.
    Exemplo: Seguem arquivos traduzidos anexos.
    O arquivo solicitado está no anexo.
  18. Esse versus este
    O primeiro é usado para retomar algo já mencionado, indica proximidade ao ouvinte. O segundo é usado para indicar o tempo no qual se está, objeto próximo ao falante, uma ideia nova ainda não mencionada. O mesmo vale para seus derivados.
    Exemplo: Estes tópicos ainda não foram abordados: revisão, edição e diagramação.
    Neste mês, teremos uma surpresa para você!
    A comissão terá cinco membros. Esses membros terão direito a votar.
  19. Seniores
    Embora o singular seja “sênior”, o plural não tem acento. O mesmo acontece com “júnior”.
  20. Horários
    A forma correta de escrever horários é 16h, 16h30 e 16h30min55s. Não há ponto depois das abreviações (h, min, s). Observe que a abreviação de “segundo” é “s”, não “seg”.
  21. Regência
    Chegar a, não chegar em. Exemplo: Cheguei ao hotel de manhã.
    Consistir em, não consistir de. Exemplo: O projeto consiste em cinco etapas.
    Assistir a. Exemplo: Marcos sempre assiste ao programa de culinária.
    Ter de ou ter que. Exemplo: Tenho de/que traduzir 3.000 palavras hoje.
  22. Pronúncia
    Subsídio = subcídio
    Inexorável = inezorável
    Gratuito = gratúito

Você já conhecia todas essas regras? Conhece alguma outra regra que acredita ser importante? Compartilhe conosco!

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