Tag Archives: translation
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, […]
América ≠ America
The original Spanish and Portuguese texts read as follows (bold print is mine): En la actualidad, con muy contadas excepciones, cualquier estudio universitario puede ser cursado en Andalucía. Todas las universidades participan en los diversos programas de la CE, tanto de investigación como de movilidad estudiantil, y sostienen amplias relaciones internacionales con especial proyección en […]
Collaborators Wanted
Would a few people be interested in collaborating on my blog? I endeavour to reach out to an editor and a couple of translators-revisers when I want to talk about a general topic related to the language industry. These include summaries of events, book or dictionary reviews, software for professionals, or terminology usage. Subjects regarding […]
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, […]
“Do not put statements in the negative form.”
This was one of many writing techniques rules I learned a few years ago. Why should writers avoid putting statements in the negative form? According to KwizNet’s website,[1] putting statements in the affirmative form “tells or asks about what is.”[2] It is important to tell readers what they want or need to know, not what […]
Overused Words & Conciseness
During the summer, I have had several opportunities to read publications on a variety of topics: film archives, shyness, music—the list goes on. I also listened to several breaking news headlines on television. As I was reading and listening, I couldn’t help but ask myself why authors and spokespeople loved long-winded, overused words and structures […]
Montreal’s Subway Stations & Articles, Prepositions
Recently, the Société de transport de Montréal, Montreal’s transit commission (STM), announced name changes of some subway stations. According to the STM, these changes ensure consistency with subway station names and their corresponding thoroughfares. For instance, instead of Acadie Parc L’Assomption the STM will now rename these stations as De L’Acadie Du Parc De L’Assomption […]
Potpourri of Texts: Language, Translation, and Interpretation
I have had the pleasure of reading a number of interesting texts related to language, translation, and interpretation this week. If you have some down time, I suggest you read them. You’ll find some texts informative and others humorous. Any interpreters in the house? Tony Rosado, an American English<>Spanish interpreter, recently wrote an informative and […]
Language Services: More than Translation!
I am often asked what I do for a living. I tell people that I am a self-employed worker in the language services industry. At the sound of that answer, some become perplexed; I must therefore specify: “I am a freelance writer, translator, and editor.” But it seems that many ignore the writer and editor […]
Because, Owing, Due to…
I have taken a leaf from André Racicot and have decided to consecrate this blog entry to a specific English grammar concept. Since I have recently been fascinated by the use of because, owing to, and due to in English writing, I thought about writing something on the subject. How many times have you seen […]
Dwain Richardson 