Spanish Slang in Action

Studying Spanish slang can be pretty fun but I think it's even better
to see it used in real life.

Where I live here on the east coast of the United States there aren't
a lot of opportunities to see how slang is used in Spanish print
media, but that changes when we go to Texas.

Our favorite place to visit is the San Antonio area and as you
probably know, there are a ton of Spanish speakers there. Well, it's
interesting to see all the things written in Spanish, whether it is
the name of a restaurant or billboard on the side of the road.

Of course not all of it is slang. Most of it is your standard variety
Spanish. However, one of the things about billboards is that they
often use interesting language and expressions to get their point
across.

Has anyone seen this in other parts of the country where they live?

Don't be afraid of things because they're easy to do

A lot of times it seems that people feel that if something is easy to do, it's not worth doing. They might feel that they have to work hard to achieve something, all the while ignoring an easy way or path that has already been taken previously by someone else.

Well, the Freelance Translator's Ultimate List of Translation Agencies has been put together to try and make life at least a little easier for translators. It took me a few long months to come up with the list of nearly 400 translation agencies looking for translators and now you can have access to the whole thing right away.

Hope you enjoy it and that it saves you time to focus on some of the more interesting aspects of being a translator, like translating.

Don't be afraid

It can be hard starting out as a freelance translator, especially when you feel like you are competing with translators that have been around the translation industry for so long. One thing that I like to remember, though, is that the need for translators is only increasing.

Too often we think of it as a pie where everyone gets a piece and when the pieces are gone there's nothing left for us.

Well, I don't think this is necessarily how it is. There's lot if work out there to do and it's mostly just a matter of making sure we're prepared when the time comes. That is what we have control over and that its the stuff we should be worried about.

Newsletter just mailed out

A new edition of Translator Techniques was just sent today. It talks
about social networking and whether or not it's beneficial for translators.

Check it out at Translator Techniques.

If you could learn another language...

...which one would you choose? What would draw you to that particular
language?

Translation Schedule

I've been trying to be more in tune lately with my work schedule,
trying to determine what part of the day I'm most productive for
certain tasks. For example, I think I translate better in the
afternoon and work better on the admin stuff earlier in the day. What
about you? What are your preferences?

Translation and social media

One of the major directions the Internet is going these days is the
use of social media. People are using everything from Facebook to
MySpace to Twitter, all to be able to communicate and stay connected
with friends and business contacts.

So my question is, are there any translators that are using this type
of social media as part of their freelance translation business? I've
just started to get into some of these sites and it seems like they
could be useful to freelance translators. It'll be interesting as I
get more into it and see what, if any, benefit it can bring to my
business.

Punctuality and Translation

One of the most important traits a translator needs is the ability to
be on time.

I've always tried to be someone who is on time with whatever task I
have in front of me, whether it's finishing up a translation for a
client or making it to an important meeting.

How many of us, though, carry that trait with us in our private lives?
I've noticed recently that I'm often late to church, for example. Now
if church were an important meeting with a potential client, would I
be late? No way. So why is it that we can sometimes be two different
people with regards to our professional life and personal life?

I'm not sure what the answer to yhat question is, but I usually feel
better about myself when I try and combine the better qualities from
both. I am usually a better person for it.

Sent from my iPod

Translation and social networking

I used to think of myself as not too far behind technology but lately
I have been wondering if I'm starting to show my age a bit more.

The reason I say this is because it seems like there ate more and more
social networking sites out there already with more coming each day.
Yet here I am in 2008 and I've yet to even sign up for one. So my
question is, has social networking helped you in your business?

I'm not really interested in using it to tell people what I ate for
breakfast or what kind of mood I'm in on a particular day. Instead I
would like to know if it can help me with my productivity or some
other aspect of my translation/web business.

So do you use any of the popular social networking sites that are
popular right now? If so, how do they help in your business?