5 Blogs on Translation Everyone Should Follow

5 Blogs on Translation Everyone Should Follow

TRANSBLAWG

For a blog that showcases a translator that writes with entertainment, humor, and translation in mind, individuals should check out TRANSBLAWG. With posts that focus on German culture and translation, Werner Patels crafts a blog that is fun while at the same time quite useful. As a translation expert that is proficient in translations from Spanish to English, German to French, and even English to French, TRANSBLAWG offers expert advice for translators with a variety of specializations.

With frequent updates, this blog offers translators and writers alike a constant stream of quality content. Although many of the posts are written with a German translation focus, there really is content for everyone. Follow TRANSBLAWG for exciting content that is focused on translation and writing.

Thoughts on Translation

Although updated somewhat less frequent than the previous blog, Thoughts on Translation is a quality, translation focused blog. This site is full of posts written by Corinne McKay, an American Translators Association certified French to English translator. Focused more on human translation agencies and freelancers, this blog is perfect for those who want a one-stop shop for tips, tricks, and translation news.

With personal posts that chronicle her life as a translator, Thoughts on Translation is focused on those with the same issues. Translation and the workload that comes along with it can be a lonely vocation, but finding a voice that is easy to identify with can lessen that feeling. With tips on marketing as well, businesses and translators can find useful info throughout Thoughts on Translation.

 About Translation

Those looking for a blog that focuses on everything from ancient translations to translation conferences and more should visit About Translation. This blog is updated fairly frequently by a certified translator by the name of Riccardo Schiaffino. With writing that is polished and topics that are always engaging, this blog is one to watch.

Naked Translations

Are you looking for stunning images and articles packed with translation news, tips, and tricks? If so, Naked Translations is most definitely a good choice. This blog is predominately geared towards those who translate from English to French and French to English, but the content is fresh enough for almost anyone. With guest posts from professionals and independent contractors alike, this blog is full of engaging content.

Translator Fun
Those who want translation info and posts with a heavy dose of humor should check out Translation Fun. This site is dedicated to translation humor and humor for translators. Day to day translation can become a bit dull, so visit this site for a quick 

injection of humor. 

Improving Your Command of Both Source and Target Languages

Improving Your Command of Both Source and Target Languages

An experienced, professional translator has great command of both their source and target languages.

An experienced, professional translator has great command of both their source and target languages. The most effective way for a translator to accomplish this is to increase their vocabulary, focusing on the words they encounter in their translation projects.

Take careful note of, and make a list of every word you’re uncertain about, or words that you’re just not 100% sure of when you’re translating something. These are the words that you know what they mean, or perhaps you’re not entirely sure what they mean, but they’re words you don’t know how to say the same in your target language.

Now Get Out Your Dictionaries!

Use your dictionaries to learn about each one of these words on your list: you’ll need a good monolingual dictionary in your source language, and a bilingual dictionary for your source and target languages. Perhaps even better, you could use both paper and online source and bilingual dictionaries!

Now, with each word you need to check the dictionary entries and read the entry in full – don’t only take note of the subhead closer to the suggested meaning by your context: read the entire entry, and this includes different meanings and meanings marked as obsolete. If your monolingual dictionary offers a meaning that’s not covered by your bilingual dictionary, then do your research on how that specific word and its meaning could be translated. Pay close attention to the example sentences offered in the dictionary, and work out how you might translate them

Consult Other Reference Sources

Your research shouldn’t be limited to dictionaries: you should also consult other reference works, such as encyclopedias. Check to see how your list of words are used in context in different situations. Google Book Search and Google Advanced Search are great online tools and can be very helpful when determining how the words you’re studying can be used in the real world, in documents, on webpages, and in books.

Be Thorough and Take Notes

Be very thorough with your study and keep notes of everything, because your notes could well be the starting points for further research.

Consider Each Word

Think carefully about the words you’re studying: What do they mean in your source language? What is their translation meaning in your target language? How do the meanings differ between your two languages? By this we mean, a source-language word may share a core meaning with a target-language word, but other meanings words have in one or the other languages may differ. Note how usage, connotation, and register differ between the two languages.

Continue Studying Words

Continue this work with words as much as you can and as thoroughly as you can, and it won’t be long at all before you notice that you have greatly improved your command of not only your source language, but also your native language.