If I were consistent enough to have a core business instead of dabbling in too many things, it would be translation – at least, it is my steadiest source of income. If you happen to be looking for a Spanish-English translator, I hope you don’t need a detailed CV as I haven’t updated it in a long while, but here is a kind of mini-profile:
Languages: Spanish to English. Accepted good practice is to translate only into your native tongue, so under normal circumstances, I only translate from Spanish to English. I occasionally translate into Spanish, but there needs to be a good reason. I have varying degrees of proficiency in other languages – French, Portuguese, even Latin – but don’t work with them.
Specialities: air traffic control; civil engineering tenders; radar systems; presence and access control, etc. The full list is very long, as I have been translating professionally since 1991, approximately. Inevitably, I have worked with most language areas, though the bulk of the work that comes my way is technical.
Availability/Output: I am usually available for translation work. I turn out around 3,500-4,500 words a day comfortably and can accept up to 2,000-2,500 words a day from a single client, more when a relationship of trust has been established.
Rates and Payment: normal Spanish rates, by which I mean rates in Spain, that being where I live and have to buy my groceries. I rarely haggle, but the better the rate you offer, the more likely I am to be available. Payment on delivery would be nice, but the truth is most people pay me at 45-60 days.
Contact: send queries to webmaster AT mediterraneanblue.com, please.
And now, for your edification and amusement (if you are interested in language at least), the following are feeds from some of the sites I browse regularly to keep up to date or put myself in a translation frame of mind (this page is about the translation business – you’ll find more general, usually lighter articles about linguistics and language on the Language Stuff page). If you know a site related with translation or the translation business that would be in good company on this page, do drop me an e-mail or, better still, a comment.
Translation Journal Blog
Brave New World of Translation
No one disputes the fact that the translation industry is undergoing fundamental changes, which are affecting what we translate, the way do it, and the compensation we receive for our work. The basic (interrelated) factors in these changes areTechnology,Globalization, and Concentration of the Industry.Technology—computers, CAT tools, and the Internet—has dramatically increased our productivity in the past decades, and this trend … [Link]
Translators and the Recession
For us translators recession means not only that fewer translations are being done, but also that clients are making an extra effort to cut costs, usually at our expense. You can almost measure the severity of the recession by the delays with which invoices are getting paid. This means our clients are using us as a source of interest-free loans. … [Link]
Musings from an overworked translator
Revenge of the Sith… Errr I mean Backstroke of the West
One of the folks I follow on Twitter recently posted a link to hilarious screencaps of English subtitles for a Chinese DVD of Revenge of the Sith (Episode III of the Star Wars film series). As the author explains, “a couple of years ago when i was living in shanghai i bought a revenge of the sith dvd off the … [Link]
Caution is good, but trust is better
I was sitting at my computer the other day and received a Skype message from one of the agency owners with whom I work, out of the blue, thanking me for being such a professional. I believe the quote was, “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for being such a professional.” Turns out she was filling in for her Director … [Link]
yndigo
Vote for the Top 100 Language Blogs
Lexiophiles is now hosting its annual competition for top language blogs. We at yndigo would be extremely humbled by your vote, given the competition, and especially in light of the fact that we have not been the most frequent posters lately. Clicking the link below will take you to the voting page where you can vote for yndigo or any … [Link]
Twitter to Become a Charity
According to ReadWriteWeb blog, Twitter’s plans for international expansion will need to include translation, and just like with Facebook, it will likely come from free translation work. “We’re pretty sure Twitter would have no problem finding some Chinese speakers to translate the login page and the account settings and whatever else, pro bono,” writes ReadWriteWeb’s Mike Melanson after discussing Twitter’s … [Link]
Translating is an Art
Transcreation: translating and recreating
Some clients may ask you to “transcreate” (or “adapt”) a text rather than simply translating it. But what is transcreation? Transcreation basically means recreating a text for the target audience, in other words “translating” and “recreating” the text. Hence the term “transcreation”. Transcreation is used to make sure that the target text is the same as the source text in … [Link]
Poll: Is the recession over?
View This Pollonline survey Filed under: business, english, poll 
[Link]
Thoughts On Translation
New site banner!
As part of an upcoming overhaul of my professional website, I decided it was time for Thoughts on Translation to get a nice custom header image instead of the stock photos I’ve been using for the past two and a half years. Thanks to Brandon Kellogg of Denver-based Superfluent Design for this beautiful (in my opinion!) design inspired by the … [Link]
Great translator vacation photo
Summer always brings great opportunities for travel, especially in our internationally-minded industry. And along with those travels come some great vacation photos from colleagues! Here (reprinted with Jiri’s permission) is one that made me laugh out loud: former ATA President Jiri Stejskal having trouble getting any work done during his vacation to the Czech Republic, because… 
In his blog entries … [Link]
About Translation
Logical word order
It is sometimes easy to be misled by he word order of the source text, and to translate using a construction that means something different from the original. From a contract I recently edited: English: “Please read the following penalty schedule carefully” Italian: “Leggere le seguenti informazioni sulle penali con attenzione” Here, the position of “attenzione” is only awkward, rather … [Link]
Which free machine translation works best? The results are in
Some time ago I wrote about the study that Chinese translator Ethan Shen was conducting to compare three different free MT engines (for my earlier articles about this study, see Google, Bing and Babelfish and Google, Bing and Babelfish: some preliminary results). Ethan has now completed phase 1 of his study, and the results are both interesting and – for … [Link]
Beyond Words – Language Blog
5 Must-See TED Talks on Language
The 2010 Technology Entertainment Design conference wrapped up on February 13, in Long Beach, California, and the new talks are just now making it online. If youre not familiar with the conferences, they started in 1984, and showcase some of the worlds most engaging thinkers in short talks about specific topics. Before we have to time to sort through all … [Link]
Haitian Creole In Translation: Medical Phrase Pronunciation Guide
Since the earthquake in Haiti, thousands of medical workers, translators, and interpreters have organized for specialized relief efforts. Translators Without Borders will soon offer a medical triage dictionary for use with Haitian Creole, and ALTA has enlisted our resources to translate and record Haitian Creole medical phrases for aid workers and volunteers. Based on selections from the Emergency Multilingual Phrasebook … [Link]
Archive
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