Recently, the American Translators Association (ATA) reprinted a news brief from the Associated Press in its newsletter. It concerned translation for the armed forces overseas — and should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone looking for a translator or interpreter. Continue reading “Know Your Interpreter”
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Google Translate: Friend or Foe?
Recently I put a Farsi-language ad in a Facebook group that said:
If anyone needs any type of translation to and from Farsi, Please contact us at (212) 304- 4400. With over 25 years of experience in translation we have produced books, articles, and document translations to individuals and professionals all over the world. For a list of our services visit https://farsilanguagecenter.com/services/
Email: info@farsilanguagecenter.com
Website: https://farsilanguagecenter.com
Member of the American Translators Association (ATA)
Within 24 hours, somebody wrote a comment saying, “OR, you can use Google Translate, which is free.” Continue reading “Google Translate: Friend or Foe?”
Scam Alert: Fraudsters Target Interpreters and Clients
Perpetrators of business fraud are getting more sophisticated everyday, and the translating and interpreting field is no exception. All the familiar scams involving everything from impersonated or “spoof” email accounts to “overpayments” with counterfeit checks are present in this industry. As problematic as schemes like that are, today I want to talk about a different kind of business fraud: CV or resume theft. Continue reading “Scam Alert: Fraudsters Target Interpreters and Clients”
Ethical Considerations for Interpreters
Today, I wanted to address ethics and ethical considerations in my practice. It’s a very important part of our practice, mainly because I work in the courts. However, I would like to stress that having a very strong sense of ethics is important for all translators and interpreters, even if they don’t work in a legal setting. Continue reading “Ethical Considerations for Interpreters”
Four Things to Know About Our Practice
I’m lucky to be a translator and an interpreter. My work is an intellectual exercise that reveals to me the common concepts that underlie the grammar of my three languages (Farsi, French, and English). In this post I would like to address some common questions we field “in the trenches” at The Farsi Language Center, on any given day. I hope it answers some of your questions, too! Continue reading “Four Things to Know About Our Practice”
Doing Business in Iran: The French Connection
Farsi, or Persian, is my mother tongue. Like English, Farsi has taken a large amount of loan words from the French language, despite being structurally different from it. Continue reading “Doing Business in Iran: The French Connection”
What’s in a Name?
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously sums up her exasperation with the war between the Capulets and the Montagues by lamenting, “…a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” I think Shakespeare was showing that Juliet was wise beyond her years when she made that observation. Continue reading “What’s in a Name?”
