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Every one of us can take advantage of positive thinking to improve different aspects in our life including, of course, our approach to work. Even when we find ourselves immersed in the frenzy of a stressful situation as, say, when we have a deadline for a translation job and we feel it more and more difficult to produce the results on time, we can help ourselves by changing the mental attitude by admitting into the mind thoughts and words that are conductive to development, expansion and success. This mind-set gives favorable results. A positive mind anticipates joy and a thriving outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.
Not everyone understands or accepts as true the importance of positive thinking. Some consider the subject gibberish, and others laugh at people who believe and accept it. How many people do you know, who think about what the power of positive thinking means? I earnestly wish that you are surrounded by positive - and not negative - thinkers as it is definitely contagious!

It is a matter of attitude. Obviously, confidence in your abilities based on the proper qualifications for the job is the platform where we have to build our career but we have to approach things in a different way, in a positive way, to guarantee our success. By being positive we become more alert and it shows externally: we turn out to be faster as our body language shows the way we feel inside.
Get rid of negative thoughts, words and attitude. Pay no attention to what others might say or think about you, if they notice that you are changing the way you think. Visualize only favorable situations. Disregard any feelings of laziness or a desire to quit. Develop concentration, will power, and self-discipline.

Paulina Torres De Witt
www.goihata.com

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Dictionaries tell us that a Freelancer is one who pursues a profession under no long-term contractual commitments to any one employer or company. They are on their own to find work, negotiate the terms and compensation for that work, and deliver the work to the satisfaction of the paying client. Related terms are independent contractor, consultant, and vendor. Most of us in the translation industry enjoy the freedom, independence and absolute command of our business affairs.
It is very important to be true and honest when you play your professional role to stand out from the rest. We must feel and be truly unique and well prepared and on top of it enjoy what we do: that renders great benefits, both professionally and personally. We have qualities or characteristics that distinguish us from our competitors and colleagues and we have very special personal traits that are worth mentioning to boost our reputation in this career.
It is also essential to build online presence and make yourself noticed to reach potential customers requiring your services. You have to be where people can see you so that they become familiar with your name and the way you work. And the very famous “word-of-mouth” marketing, really works: satisfied customers, in a way work as your sales agents, telling partners and aquaintances that your work is excellent value. Thus, you start building a good portfolio as your professional reputation grows.
You must keep up with technology as well; this is a key issue as those who evolve are the ones who survive, especially in this area. Study; keep on learning and researching to be always on top.

Whenever possible try to join a Translator’s Association or Directory in your country or abroad to get exposure and enhance your practice, as you are backed up and get spotlight benefits. Feel confident and pursue your goals of expansion and stability. This is a wonderful profession!

Paulina Torres De Witt
www.goihata.com

www.goihata.com
Whether you are a translator or an aspiring one, I’m sure you must have heard thousands of times about the evolution of language and how it changes with time. I myself have been living and breathing the English language for over twenty years now, but how quickly some words enter the mainstream English lexicon still amazes me, especially loan words. The use of words borrowed from other languages seems to be one of the latest trends today and little by little it is conquering the journalism and publishing worlds.

That is why a reporter might write about, “the ‘it’ girl of the moment dining alfresco with his beau on a balcony overlooking the sea,” or, “the famous Hollywood couple enjoying some drinks at a trendy brasserie.” Of course you and me can dine outdoors or hang out with our boyfriends, but God forbid these mundane words should ever be associated with the rich and famous! And I wouldn’t mind having a drink at a bar like the rest of the world. What about you?

Of course loan words are used for their prestige value and because they add an air of sophistication to the text. And that is exactly why they often pose a special problem in translation. What are we translators supposed to do then? Do we keep the French or Italian versions of these words in our translations so that they can have a similar impact on the target readers? Or do we replace them with their “simpler” counterparts and risk losing the eccentric flair they are supposed to render? And, most importantly, in case we replaced them, wouldn’t we be missing the whole point of language evolution and ignoring a language trend altogether?

After all, a farewell fête is not the same as a farewell party just because they aren’t equally sophisticated. They also differ significantly: the first one belongs to the modern language of today, and the other one doesn’t. And that is why a trendsetting teenager would probably say that his favourite actor is über-talented, since super-talented is “so yesterday.” And, once again, a journalist might report on some juicy gossip and say that “the famous singer went out clubbing sans his girlfriend,” as if using a simple without were not enough.

It is hard to keep up with new trends. Right?
Clarisa Attademo
www.goihata.com

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Have you ever felt you missed out on a joke even though you understood every single word of it?

Have you ever felt lost in translation?

When I was younger I used to believe that learning a foreign language was not a difficult task. Words could be memorized, I thought. I remember thinking that one day there would be no more tenses to learn and that sooner or later I would be done with grammar. Boy, was I naive! The truth is that mastering a foreign language is actually an incredibly complex task. A language is not just reduced to dictionaries and grammar books. There is much more to it than that. Mastering a foreign language is getting to know every little aspect of it. It is understanding all its nuances and subtleties. So, probably you heard someone tell a joke and you didn’t get it. Well, the truth is that in order to understand a foreign language you have to be open and embrace its culture as well. Cultural differences, for example, play a big part in understanding jokes. And so do idioms and collocations, which might sometimes get a non-native speaker quite confused. That’s why a native speaker of English won’t have problems understanding the meaning behind “101.” And when his high school buddy didn’t mince his words and told him, “You’re in desperate need of a crash course in Dating 101,” he immediately understood what his friend was getting at. He soon got the idea that he needed to know the basics of high school dating as quickly as he could. A set of simple rules he should follow in order to get a date.

Mastering a language is much more than words, or numbers for that matter. Is is being able to see through cultural differences, to grasp the meaning of idioms and collocations and the contexts they are used. So, whenever you feel you’ve missed out on a joke, try to see what’s beyond the surface, try to see if there’s something more.

Clarisa Attademo
- www.goihata.com

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Once I had to work on an editing project where the document had been previously translated from Spanish to English… it was difficult to understand but not because of the subject – philosophy – but for the inappropriate wording and the lack of structure and order in the choice of those words.
As I have mentioned in several occasions before, the final translation must not seem a translation. On the contrary, it must be rendered in a professional manner, written by a certified and trained person who has great command of the language, uses excellent grammar and style, fully understands the topic in order to offer an impeccable work and is humble enough to accept that even the shortest text requires revision by a second person and subsequent editing applied when needed. When in doubt, we have to research at length in order to use the appropriate terminology as to not neglect the quality of our work relying on the idea that the editor will correct all of our errors… That, in my opinion, would be a symptom of mediocrity. If the translation is poor, a good editor could get it better but the final result would never be as good as when the editor works on a good translation.

Also remember about concordance between the information on the text and its style, e.g., a press release would use different style and wording than the one needed for a business proposal or marketing material. The translation must obviously have the correct meaning and it should also reflect the tone of the original, as in the case of a business letter in which the tone shows a sign of irritation as immediate payment of a long due invoice is requested; our translation should reflect that tone but maintaining good manners all the time.
Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

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I remember being a little girl and attending English classes. What must have meant to me back then, I wonder? Having a good time as I sang along with the rest of the class, I guess. Or maybe listening to some tape completely unaware that while I was enjoying myself so much I was also learning a language that later in life would open doors to a whole new world.

Little did I know that some day I would come to learn that language even more than I learn my own. Since that is what translation is all about: the process of learning a whole new world. Whether you decide to do legal, technical or any other type of translation, you will surely enter a world that was probably unknown to you before. And from that moment on, I’m sure that with every single document you’ll have to translate you will learn more than you could possibly dream of. Whether it’s technical terminology or a particular jargon, every translation will teach you something new. Every text will give you an enriching new experience.

Never in a million years would I have imagined any of that when I was a kid. But one thing I know for sure: learning English must have been fun for me back then, but I still get a kick out of it. Translation is an entertaining process, an activity that will surely get you hooked. I love having the chance of researching, of getting to know new vocabulary and feeling wiser as I go on. From the moment I discover there are words in a text I’m not familiar with, I know that several doors will be open for me. I know that soon I will enter a never-ending process of learning … I will enter a whole new world.
Clarisa Attademo
- www.goihata.com

- www.goihata.com
En el pueblo de Nagareyama-Provincia de Chiba-Japón, se extravió un loro de la especie “Psittacus erithacus”, que en inglés se denomina Loro gris (Grey Parrot), que respondía por el nombre de Yosuke-kun., (Equivalente a Joselito en Español) Gracias a que el citado loro hablaba con soltura y repetía sin cesar su nombre y su dirección pudo ser devuelto a su cuidador sano y salvo. Y digo cuidador, porque un loro así no puede tener dueño.
El día 6 de este mes, se encontraba posado el loro en una verja particular y fue apresada por la policía de Nagareyama. Al principio guardó un férreo silencio, a pesar del intenso interrogatorio policial. Una vez supo de las buenas intenciones de los agentes, les empezó saludando con Konichiwa “Buenas tardes”, y cantando el “Hatopopo” (canción popular que cantan los niños japoneses mientras dan de comer a palomas y pájaros)…..

Terminó la canción recitando su dirección, con números incluidos, lo que condujo a la policía hasta su residencia habitual el día 19 de Junio.
Ahora el loro ya ha vuelto a su rutina habitual y es el encargado de despertar a la familia Nakamura con un “arriba, arriba, que ya es la hora”.
O sea que el japonés no es tan difícil.
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A- “What did you say you did for a living?” asked me someone once.
B- “I’m a freelance translator,” I declared proudly.
A- “That sounds pretty glamorous. So you translate what important people say at press conferences and events and work with politicians, actors and actresses?” he added.
B- “No, that’s an interpreter. I work as a freelance translator,” I replied.
A- “And what do you do exactly?” he muttered, with an expression of total confusion on his face.
B- “I translate written documents, mainly legal and technical stuff,” I said.
A- “Oh, I see,” he exclaimed, as if showing disappointment and a complete lack of interest.

So what? Maybe being a translator is not a glamorous profession and you surely won’t make tons of money as probably a lawyer or a doctor would. But one thing’s for sure: if you’re up for a challenge, enjoy being alone for long periods of time and you don’t mind unreasonable deadlines, you’re on the right track. And let me tell you, there is something about this profession that is extremely rewarding. Once you get used to being completely isolated in front of your computer for days at a time, and you come to understand that you won’t be having any co-workers with whom to make small-talk or share a cup of coffee whenever you feel like taking a break, you’ll realize that this could even be a blessing. You might probably feel the need to make any type of contact with another human being once in a while – though I honestly don’t mind the solitude of my home or the fact that I might be considered a complete recluse – but once you’re past that, you’ll clearly understand what I’m talking about. I mean, nothing beats the luxury of being able to work in your pj’s if you want to.

And nothing can be better that arranging your own schedule: no need to set the alarm clock at unreasonable hours and no need to wait for the bus to go to work at 6.30 in the morning when it’s still dark outside. And if you’re thinking that having to endure the pressure of yet another deadline would be completely unbearable, you’ll see how that pressure will soon be part of a constant challenge that not only will you get used to, but you will also come to need. Since that is what makes this adrenaline-driven profession so alive in the first place. So what if being a freelance translator is not glamorous and you won’t become rich overnight? There is nothing like a good adrenaline rush when you’re alone late at night.
Clarisa Attademo
- www.goihata.com

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Some of the differences you may notice between the Spanish used in Spain and the one used in Latin America:
Pronunciation: One of the main differences is that many Spaniards often pronounce the z and the c like the “th” in “thin,” while many Latin Americans pronounce it the same as the s. Also, speakers in some areas (Argentina in particular) often pronounce the ll and y like the “s” in “treasure.” In southern areas, you will hear some speakers drop s and r sounds, so “esto” sounds like “eto” and “pagar” sounds like “pagá.” In some areas, the j sounds like the “ch” in “loch” like in “reloj” while in others it sounds like the English “h” like in “jarra.” You’ll become aware of other differences as well, particularly in the rhythm or cadence in which Spanish is spoken in the different countries.

Grammar: Among the differences, we can find the use of the pronoun “vos” and “tú” (the singular familiar for “you”) in Latin America and “vosotros” is often used as the plural of “tú” in Spain, while in Latin America “ustedes” is by and large the word used.
Vocabulary: The use of suffixes is widespread, for example, a lápiz is a pencil or crayon everywhere, but a lapicero is a pencil holder in some areas, a mechanical pencil in others, and a ball-point pen in still others. There are also fair numbers of obvious differences, such as a computer being an ordenador in Spain but a computadora in Latin America, but they are probably no more frequent than the British-American differences. Of course, every area also has its peculiar words: as an example, a biscuit in Ecuador is called an allulla, but you will not run across that word in other countries of the region.

Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

- www.goihata.com
When the Spaniards ‘discovered’ and colonized the Americas, the language of Spain was still undergoing change. It was the tongue of Castile (land of castles) which was destined to become not only the principal language of Spain, but also of the Latin American countries.
As to be predicted, the native population of Latin America exerted a great influence on the Castilian language and differences between the two types of Spanish emerged chiefly due to the diminishing contact between Latin America and Spain, coupled with the use of their own languages.
The influence of American English and French was present as well as the words were absorbed with a Spanish pronunciation which was based on what was heard with no regard for the correct spelling, e.g., ‘guachiman’ (watchman) or ‘chofer’ (chauffeur)

Even though there are some differences between Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish – particularly relating to pronunciation – they do not prevent mutual intelligibility because people from throughout the Spanish-speaking world can converse with each other as easily as people throughout the English-speaking world can. The differences are mostly observed in the spoken language rather than in writing, but they aren’t so extreme as not to reach mutual comprehension.
Also, while it’s easy to think of Latin American Spanish as one unit, as textbooks and lessons often do, you should note there are differences in the Spanish of various countries in the Western Hemisphere. But again, the differences aren’t so extreme that they avert communication.
If your pronunciation is reasonably good, whether your accent is Castilian, Colombian, Mexican or Venezuelan, you will definitely be understood. Latin Americans watch movies from Spain and Spaniards watch Latin American telenovelas (soap movies), so you can be assured the differences aren’t all that great especially if you avoid slang or extreme colloquialisms.
Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

- www.goihata.com
5月は夏休みをどう過ごすかを考える月のようです。最近のラジオのコマーシャルは旅行会社の宣伝が休みなく続いています。また観光フェアも開かれるとあって「今年の夏はどこへ行く？」というのがすでに話題の一つになっています。今年のコマーシャルの特徴は何といってもユーロ高を反映したアメリカ合衆国への旅行案内。旅行するのも買い物をするのも今までにない安さというのがその宣伝の趣旨です。
その他、大型テレビが当たる、今予約すれば７％引きなど消費者の気持ちをくすぐる魅力的なキャッチフレーズが何度も繰り返されます。こうなると最後の最後まで、なかなか旅行の準備をしない（ずるずると延ばしてしまう）、しかししっかり者のバスクの人々は、早めに考慮し始めざるを得ません。
もちろんしっかり者の若い人たちは旅行会社よりもインターネットを使って計画を立て、すでに手を打っている人も少なくないとか。こうなると思うように休みの計画が立てられないために最後の最後まで手を打てないのは、通訳・翻訳者だけなのかも…？

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I have been informed about a “new” (but this is actually an old swindler process) form of ‘Nigerian scams’. These crooks contact Translators via their personal contact form disguising themselves as Translators or potential clients and their modus operandi is as follows:

A (false) cheque is sent to you but banks need 4 or 5 weeks to identify a swindling. The cheque amount is always higher than previously agreed (they would say it is an “error” or give you any other pretext) and then the crook asks you to pay the difference to another account ASAP… by bank transfer from your bank account or using a postal order. Next thing… you are trapped!
Crooks of this type can get away with it for a long time before being caught in the act because they use a number of plausible addresses and a number of Internet Service Providers all at the same time.

So, please beware of e-mails like this:

Sender IP: 208.78.63.210 [Port: 1885] or
Sender IP: 41.204.224.24 [Port: 22413]
———————-
Sender : Juliet Brown (whoever@yahoo.com)
Recipient : xxx (xxx@gmail.com)
Attachment : — —

Subject : Translator needed (URGENT REPLY ) !!!

My name is Juliet Brown and I am a Canadian translator from Prince Edward Island currently living in West Coast Africa and I was granted a
3-month contract to translate from English to French. I would like to know your fees to translate the attached project. Please review it and inform me if you are available and can take this responsibility.

I look forward to hear from you as soon as possible.

Best regards,
Juliet

Recommendation I was given to disable dangers of the internet? To check a freeware version for Windows which is available from Trace Route (http://www.d3tr.de/) to identify the origin of any Sender IP address.

Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

- www.goihata.com
I love my native language and would like to share some interesting facts related to it for those of you who want to know a little bit more about our rich Spanish.
Spanish is the official tongue in Spain, Balearic Islands, and Canary Islands, as well as all the South American countries except Brazil and Guyana. It is also a common second language of some areas in the United States (Texas, Arizona, California, and Florida), parts of Morocco and even the west coast of Africa. Today, Spanish is the most widely spoken of the Romance languages, both in terms of number of speakers and the number of countries in which it is the dominant language. It is the mother tongue of some 320 million people scattered worldwide.
Regarding its origin, it is a Romance language (the roots are in Latin) which is an influence from the Moors who occupied Spain in the 7th century the regions to the north of Spain which had not been conquered during the Moorish invasion, saw the creation of Christian kingdoms which began to expand southwards and set the emancipation in motion.
Obviously, the Spanish spoken in all these countries appears with great variety. In fact the dissimilarities between Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish are correspondent to those between British English and American English.
The Roman alphabet is the one in use and the Spanish vocabulary comes from Latin, though many of the words clearly differ from their equivalents in French and Italian. Also, prolonged contact with Germanic and later Arabic affected its evolution but did not threaten a decline in Romance use. Germanic and Arabic have left their mark on the Spanish language as words like ‘guerra’ – war and ‘algebra’ – math can both be traced back to their respective Germanic and Arabic origins.
Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

- www.goihata.com
I love reading tips that are useful in our work and even though we have seen the following several times already I still continue checking them up to keep the information always fresh so, here I go once again!

- Our final translation should never look like a translation. It should look like it was written by a professional who has a good command of his/her language (excellent grammar and stylistic
- The style of the translation should always correspond to the text. If the text is a newspaper article, then a journalistic style should be used. If the text is a business letter or some marketing material, then the appropriate style should be used.
- The translation, inevitably, should have the right meaning, but should also reflect the tone of the original. Therefore, if the translation is of an angry business letter demanding payment, then the final translation should express the same tone (with appropriate taste of course). It may occur though that certain points cannot be translated well considering the differing customs and cultures of the respective languages as we always strive to focus more on the language being translated into rather than the language being translated from. If you feel some major changes should be made to the text, you should immediately contact your customer or agency.
- Choice of terminology is most important so having good dictionaries is a must. Of course we have access to wonderful computer translation dictionaries but I still keep my “oldies” and they have a prominent place and are highly important in the final phase of revision. But when everything else fails I also try searching the term on Google as it usually clarifies ideas.
Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

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欧州人の名前を日本語に翻訳するという作業は実際には音訳になり、語順も外国語の順番が変わることはありません。日本語には外国の言葉を記す便利なカタカナという文字があるので、この作業は簡単です。しかしながらこれが中国語への翻訳となると、一筋縄ではいかないようです。
名前はローマ字のままで漢字に置き換えることはしないというのが基本だそうです。ところが名刺などに自分の名前を記す際に、漢字を使って欲しいという希望者が多く、翻訳者はなるべく原音に近くてイメージが良い漢字を探すのに苦労することになります。これはカタカナ表記でも同じですが、もともと共通の音を持たない二つの言語を他方の文字を使って音で表すというのには限界があります。バスク語にはスペイン語にない“ツァ、ツィ、ツ、ツェ、ツォ”の音があり、それぞれ“tza, tzi, tzu, tze, tzo”の文字で表されます。現代日本語の書きことばをローマ字で表記する体系を国際的に確立したISO3062に準拠すれば日本語の“つ”は、“tsu”で、例えば津波は“tsunami”。“tsu”はバスク人にとって日本語にすれば“チュ”に近い音なので、どうしても発音すると“チュナミ”になってしまいます。一時期ニュースで頻繁に“チュナミ”と発音されていた時には、仕方がないとはいえ“tzunami”と表記されていれば、バスク人ならちゃんと“ツナミ”発音できるのに…と音を同じ文字の物差しで表せない文字の限界を感じました。ただしマドリード発の日本語新聞がバスク警察Ertzaintzaをエルチャンチャと書くのは限界ではありませんね。
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