The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform industries, many translators and interpreters are asking themselves: Is there still a place for me? The answer is a resounding yes, but it comes with an important caveat. The future of translation and interpretation belongs to those who can do what machines cannot, that is, bring cultural competence, empathy, and context to language. At least, thus far. Cultural competence has always been at the heart of effective communication. It enables professionals to interpret meaning beyond words, including humor, idioms, tone, and intention within specific cultural frameworks. While AI can process vast amounts of…
Conference Wrap-Up
By Helen Eby & Jamie Hartz The 54th annual 情侣自拍 conference was held this year in downtown San Antonio, Texas, just a short walk from the Alamo and the beautiful Riverwalk. The conference was a huge success on several fronts: it drew over 1,400 attendees from all over the world, and it was the first year that featured…
Building Your Presence Offline
By Daniela Guanipa I am a big proponent of making communications more effective, handling matters electronically as much as possible, and I really enjoy the enormous benefits of being able to connect with people anywhere in the world, from the comfort of my computer or any other electronic device. However, in this era of Internet, emails, and social media, it…
From ATA’s Divisions: The Portuguese Division
By听Mirna Soares Member of the PLD Leadership Council It took me many years to join a community of translators. When I started, I was unaware of best business practices, I missed all the interesting conferences and I never got any specialized feedback. Everything seemed to happen very slowly. Looking back, I realize I could have taken some shortcuts. I wasted…
Finding your First Translation Clients
By Corinne McKay Reblogged from Thoughts On Translation with permission from the author I receive a lot of inquiries from people who would like to become translators, and most of these e-mails have something to do with finding those first few elusive translation clients. If you ask 100 translators how they got started in the business, you鈥檒l probably get at…
How Do I Get My First Paying Gig?
By听Giovanna Lester Let鈥檚 start from the premise that you already have some training, you know the language and culture you will be working with, and now what you need is some exposure, some clients. Where do you go from here? The answer is multi-tiered and demands determination. These are my recommendations to anyone about becoming a freelancer: 1. Identify your…
Why Be a Buddy?
By Helen Eby At my first ATA conference, back in Denver, I felt overwhelmed by the newness of it all. My roommate, however, acted as a buddy. She was great! 听I met her through the Roommate Finder, so she was a total stranger. We didn鈥檛 share a language, a specialty, or anything of that nature. Just a desire to have…
Dear Newbie,
By Jamie Hartz We鈥檝e been in your shoes. In fact, I鈥檓 personally still in your shoes. Last year was my first time at the ATA annual conference, and let me be the first to tell you: it鈥檚 overwhelming. But take heart! 鈥淏uddies Welcome Newbies鈥 is here to help. I was a first-time attendee and an undergrad student looking to learn…
How to Market Yourself at the ATA Conference
By Kevin Hendzel Reblogged from Word Prisms听with permission from the author I鈥檝e hired thousands of translators and interpreters for over 20 years, many from ATA conferences.听听 Here鈥檚 how to attract attention, stand out from the crowd and win new clients. You鈥檝e arrived in sunny San Diego to 70-degree, zero-humidity weather and spectacular views from your room of sailboats, cruise ships…
Computing for the Newbie
By听Jost Zetzsche First of all, technology does no good if there are no skills to use it with. No, I’m not talking about great programming or software development skills, but instead very fundamental skills that can’t be assumed to be present. Typing: I’m an OK typist now, but I’m sure that I lost a few thousand dollars in my early…
Why the 情侣自拍?
By Daniela Guanipa When I first joined ATA back in 2003, I knew it was the organization to join if I wanted to be serious about my language career in the United States. But the truth is I did not know exactly why. During the fall of 2002 I had had the opportunity to attend my very first ATA Annual…