Category Editing
Delay ≠ délai; délai ≠ delay
In keeping with a promise I made to share some common Gallicisms with you, here’s one I constantly see in French copy and English translations: délai = delay, and vice-versa. As I was consulting my Facebook news feed this morning, I read the following French message in form of a camera shot (underlining is mine): « Madame, […]
Noun Strings, I Think I Love You. Not.
For some reason, some English writers love wordiness. Surprisingly, several newspaper journalists are notorious for this pesky practice. I have been a Globe and Mail subscriber for the past two years. Generally speaking, journalists write well. Lately, however, I’ve noticed that writing has become somewhat stiff, somewhat wordy. It seems that in-house or freelance editors no longer […]
Editors, anyone?
The following excerpts read: « … à des milieux de travail différents, à des besoins différents, à des clientèles différentes… » « Je désire remercier X… pour son invitation à participer à ce projet… qui nous a permis de vivre une expérience… Nous exprimons une vive reconnaissance à X qui nous a permis de vous offrir cette […]
Work, Collaborations…
I just realized that it has been three weeks since I haven’t posted anything on my blog. I tell you no lies: I have been really busy with many projects this month—so busy that I haven’t had much time to write texts. Considering that this may well be the last blog entry for this month, […]
Media: Singular or Plural?
Within the space of a week, Peter Mansbridge, anchor of CBC’s The National, and co-anchor Wendy Mesley have accompanied media with singular verbs when presenting a panel or an upcoming story in future broadcasts. Last night was no exception. In preparation for a discussion about the way in which the media are covering the ongoing […]
All about translation and editing
On September 11th, the Quebec City chapter of Quebec’s association of self-employed workers and small businesses in language services, the ATAMESL, held a workshop for translators and editors at the Café Krieghoff, located in the city’s Upper Town. It’s a part of the city that bustles with residents and tourists alike. The activity, mainly focused […]