Tune into Planet Word - it’s an eye-opener!

I’ve just managed to catch up on this week’s episode of Steven Fry’s new series Planet Word thanks to the BBC iPlayer. If you haven’t already watched it, it’s well worth it. Even if linguistics is not your “thing” Fry manages to make it interesting and even a bit funny.

This second episode raises some really interesting questions about language and identity and the preservation of minority languages. He takes a look at Irish, Basque and Occitan. There’s a couple of eye-opening comments about minority languages from someone at the Académie Française - note to self: is there such a word as “linguaphobic”?

The episode also explores the development of Global English or Globish - how the use of a lingua franca like English has spurred on globalisation but may also be contributing to language death because minority languages are seen as “going nowhere” (yes we’re back to the Académie Française!) Interestingly there was an article in the October / November issue of The Linguist magazine on a similar theme and it is an area of concern for many.

Personally, having watched the first two episodes, this is the type of series that can help foster a real interest in the practical aspects of linguistics. When the book comes out - and believe me, the BBC will end up bringing a book out - it would be the perfect Christmas gift to rouse someone’s interest in languages.

Is it worth sending your CV to translation agencies?

For new translators there can be no doubt that the hardest thing is to get your foot in the door and convince an agency to give you some work - unless of course you have a personal link to an agency through marriage, friendship or a previous business!

Usually a new translator will send out hundreds of CV’s to agencies and get a response rate of about 5-10%, of which a few might send you their terms and conditions and add you to their database, one or two might well ask you to do a test translation and then if you’re lucky you might get work from one or two agencies on a steady basis. Time consuming? Yes. Discouraging? Yes. Soul destroying? Yes, and all the while you still have to pay the bills!

The bad news is that most freelancers tend to go through the same nightmare, the good news is that those who stick it out tend to see some results in the long run. So is it worth even sending your CV to agencies in the first place? Is there a better way to break into the industry? Should the new translator use their time more productively to get better results?

The fact is that there are benefits of working with agencies - you have control over your work schedule because you chose the jobs you want to do (and in turn determine your own income level), you can develop excellent working relations with specific project managers, you don’t have to worry about marketing to direct clients in fact, you can even spend most of the time communicating by email without ever having to speak to real people! (Believe me if you’ve ever had a job working with the public that is a real positive point in favour of working with agencies!)

There are a few positive steps that can make this process slightly more productive:

Be selective

Get a “feel” for the agency by looking at their website. Do they look professional or do they have a slightly tacky look to them? What does the website say about them? For example, are they offering the “fastest turnaround at the lowest prices”? Do you really want to work for a pittance? Don’t fall into the trap of sending out mass emails to hundreds of agencies at the same time.

Be specific

Try to send a brief cover email with your CV rather than just emailing out CV’s to everyone. Show that you have at least know something about them - for example, what the agency specialises in and how you can help them. So, if you want to specialise in the arts why contact an agency that specialises in pharmaceuticals?

Be business savvy

Use common sense. If an agency prefers contact via an online form, use an online form. If they are looking for freelancers with specific qualifications do you have those qualifications? there is a balance between promoting your skills and wasting your time. Remember too that some agencies have a very bad reputation when it comes to project management, people skills or payment practices.

Most freelancers - regardless of whether they are translators, writers or web designers - find it hard to get a “foot in the door” so be realistic in your expectations. There are however, a few other steps you can take to encourage work to come to you, and these will be discussed in the next post

Sending your CV to translation agencies - Is it a waste of time?

Most new translators start off by sending out CV’s to translation agencies. This strategy is both time consuming and actually quite ineffective, many because few translation agencies actually pay attention to them let alone respond to them.

To be fair some agencies receive as many at 70 CV’s a day, ranging from nothing more than a blank e-mail with a CV attachment to “all-singing-all dancing” CV’s with colours, photos you name it! Responding to them requires a significant amount of labour, something that most companies cannot afford.

Of course, you could argue that agencies should invest more time in finding qualified linguists - after all every agency website seems to claim that they are “the fastest growing agency in the country” using only “the most qualified linguists”. Such claims are a ridiculous marketing tactic designed to attract clients who know nothing about the translation process. If such claims were really true all of these translation agencies would be industry leaders, there would be a massive shortage of qualified translators and agencies would meticulously check CV’s just in case they were losing a potentially amazing translator.

Despite claiming that they work with “thousands” of freelancers the reality is that most agencies actually work with a small number of skilled - but preferred - translators who are the first port of call when a job comes in. When this small group is working to full capacity or the source document is out with their translation speciality then the agency will look further afield and other translators might have a chance.

Sadly translation agencies seem to forget that many new translators are not necessarily new professionals but are individuals who may have spent decades working in other fields. As such their lack of experience as translators is outweighed by their knowledge of their specialist subjects.

So is it worth even sending your CV to agencies in the first place? Is there a better way to break into the industry? Should the new translator use their time more productively to get better results? 

5 Tips for Beginners Using Social Media

The use of social media is seen as a key element of business development for many professionals. Yet many small business owners often see the time required to develop and maintain social media sites such as LinkedIn or Twitter as a major obstacle to their use.

How can you effectively manage all the different social media sites without getting “maxed-out”? Well, there’s lots of advice out there, but here’s 5 tips that I’d recommend:

• Have a plan

Very few businesses need to use everything that’s out there. So it’s important to think about what you want to achieve with social media. Do you want to attract new clients, keep existing clients informed, follow market trends or establish yourself as a bit of an expert in your field? Pick the social media mix that best suits your goals.

• Learn, learn, learn

It’s far better to use one or two social media formats and use them well, than have poor blanket coverage of everything that’s going. So if you want to use Twitter, for example, take some time to learn how to use it properly and get the most out of it. Look for blogs that can give you some hints and tips about improving your use of different sites such as http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

• Dedicate time to participate in social media.

“That’s just the problem I don’t have time!” I can hear the screams. Random participation can send out a negative message to your audience, so set aside specific dedicated time to maintain the profiles you set up. This can be as little an 10 minutes twice a week or one morning a fortnight.

• A little (but often) goes a long way.

While many professional bloggers post as often as once a day, let’s face it, the rest of us humble mortals can only probably manage 2 or 3 posts a month. If your readers see a regular pattern in your activity they will continue to follow you, but there’s nothing worse than looking at a blog month after month only to find that there’s no new posts.

• Cross post where possible

You don’t have to spend hours posting different items on each site you use. It is often possible to adapt or reformat posts to several social media sites at the same time. There are some great tools out there - like Tweetdeck - which allow you to do this. Often a comment on your Facebook business page can direct readers to your blog etc. So if you have some good, regular content spread it round the sites you use, that way whatever form of social media your client is using they can pick up on it.

Do you have any good suggestions about using social media effectively? Why not leave a comment and share it.


You can find me on some popular social media sites:
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER (3)

While it is true that learning a new language takes time and a real sense of commitment, the whole process can be made easier when you work smarter not harder - thinking about the language learning strategies you are using.

In this post we want to look at a memory tool that can help you learn more in less time - a mnemonic. Mnemonics are memory aids that involve using a rhyme or phrase to jog your memory. Let’s look at an example:

Problem: You are trying to remember which French verbs use  être in the past tense (passé compose) rather than avoir.

Solution: “Dr & Mrs P Vandertramp”. In this case each letter of the phrase represents the first letter of a verb that uses être:

Devenir

Revenir

Monter

Rester

Sortir

Passer

Venir

Aller

Naître

Descendre

Entrer

Rentrer

Tomber

Retourner

Arriver

Mourir

Partir

Mnemonics can be used in a variety of ways - why not leave a comment explaining what your favourite memory trick is!

Translators Needed for World Trade

Once more we read that small and medium sized businesses are losing because too few of them are exporting overseas. Failing to plan an export strategy, lack of confidence and - surprise - poor language skills are among the reasons why some SME's shirk back, according to a report in the Financial Times.

How long will the UK moan about poor language skills without actually taking positive steps to solve the problem? English may be known as the language of international trade, but it is foolish ignorance to think that "everyone speaks English".

The economy needs to look outwards and more businesses must look overseas to succeed. That means employing more linguists in the long run, and using qualified translators and interpreters in the meantime.

Pragmatic Failure - The Test for Language Learners

In the globalised world where English is regarded as a lingua franca (at least by most native English speakers), it can be easy to spot the native from the non-native speaker. Sometimes the accent is the give-away because it is often the hardest thing to achieve - as most of us who have learnt another language will appreciate.

However, even the most accomplished language learner will experience what is known as pragmatic failure and that’s a serious fault because it can have dramatic consequences.

Pragmatic failure takes place “whenever two speakers fail to understand each other’s intentions” (Blum- Kulka and Olhstain, 1986). Thomas (1983) described it as “...the inability to understand ´what is meant by what is said´”. It does not spring from a lack of knowledge about how to handle the ‘technical aspects’ of language such as grammar, syntax of phonology but from failing to understand how language may be used in a social or societal context.

In other words, we might see an error in grammatical structure, word order or pronunciation as part-and-parcel of the language learning process, and let the error pass because “we know what you mean”. With pragmatic failure what is said may be grammatically correct but come across as harsh, rude or inappropriate - not because that is the intention - but because the learner is unaware of how a native speaker uses the language.

Examples of pragmatic failure would be asking someone about a taboo subject or failing to understand the meaning of a colloquial metaphor. In some cultures it is inappropriate to ask someone how much money they earn, so raising this topic may be perceived as vulgar in some cultures while completely acceptable in others.

For the language learner, it is essential to have more than a purely linguistic knowledge of the languages you speak - a deep cultural knowledge of the countries where those languages are spoken is important, which is why it's good to spend time visiting the countries themselves. Thomas (1983) proposed that “linguistic competence” must be composed of both “grammatical competence” (i.e. knowing the syntax, phonology and semantics of the language) and “pragmatic competence” (knowing how and when to use language correctly.)

This “linguistic competence” equips the learner to convey the correct meaning and sense of the language so as to avoid giving the wrong impression. So pay attention to the way language is used, put things into context, watch native speakers and observe how they use language. Become culturally aware and this will help you to avoid pragmatic failure. 

References:

Blum- Kulka, S and Olshtain , E. (1986): “Too Many Words: Length of Utterance and Pragmatic Failure”, SSLA 8: 165-180.

Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural Pragmatic Failure, Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 91-112