| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Off topic: "Smiles 'n' tears" Thread poster: Mervyn Henderson (X)
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Nikolaki 
France
Local time: 13:30
French to English
Dash it, Henderson, you published first !
| | | | | Tears (of laughter) | Sep 14, 2017 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Lucky the maiden surname wasn't Copper. Or Steel. Or Galvanised Wrought-Iron.
Your comment has brought tears to my eyes, from laughing. Thank you for cheering up my afternoon
Edited to comment that when I wrote this, I hadn't read the other comments. I was too busy laughing!
[Edited at 2017-09-14 17:12 GMT]
| | | | | My professional life is quite boring really. | Sep 14, 2017 |
Tears - four days ago I was working on a particularly difficult text and it took me four hours to translate the first 229 words! Although after doing all the difficult bits, I more or less managed to make up for lost time.
Smiles - an email I received a few weeks ago that included the following comment from the end customer: 'The quality exceeded our expectations',
| | | | Jan Truper
Germany
Local time: 13:30
Member (2016)
English to German
Smiles:
- I was once paid my full per runtime minute rate to translate a spotted subtitle template for a silent film which contained about eight title cards.
- For reasons beyond my comprehension, I was once hired by an agency to translate a text that I had previously translated for another agency. Thank you, TM!
- On two occasions, I was looking up difficult legal text passages on Linguee and picked the best option ... which I then realized was my very own work.
Tears:
This is what my right elbow looked like last weekend, following a heroic inline skating 180° jump (over 4 feet of grass) with a backwards landing gone awry.
For the coming two weeks, I'll be working one-handed -- with dictation software and a gaming mouse for left-handers with 13 assignable buttons.
Luckily, I'm currently working on a project with long flowing text passages, which do not require a lot of typing or mouse work.
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 13:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | All those smiles and tears | Sep 15, 2017 |
Helena: thanks, but on reflection it's more like a gag from "The Two Ronnies", a British TV comedy show in the late 70s and 80s. All plays on words. Here's the "Four Candles" sketch for your amusement, although Ronnie Barker (the big one) has a very thick accent in it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_6SaqVQSw
Jan:
In the same vein as what I said to Hel... See more Helena: thanks, but on reflection it's more like a gag from "The Two Ronnies", a British TV comedy show in the late 70s and 80s. All plays on words. Here's the "Four Candles" sketch for your amusement, although Ronnie Barker (the big one) has a very thick accent in it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_6SaqVQSw
Jan:
In the same vein as what I said to Helena (only written this time):
Tear? Looks more like a dislocation to me. Hope that one-handed dictation goes well!! ▲ Collapse
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Mervyn Henderson wrote:
... although it may depend on the kind of business that was actually conducted during your contact with Randi.
Once you've had dealings with Fanny Pong, you learn to keep your business contacts at arm's length.
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Tear? Looks more like a dislocation to me.
Boom, boom!
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 13:30
French to English
being sent a franglais text to be turned into a decent English text. ("he thought he could do it directly in English, but there were hard bits)
having to reschedule everything to fit it in
then having to redo it the next day (oh so it wasn't that urgent after all)
because they forgot to specify that the person giving the speech has the vocabulary of a five-year-old
and deriving immense satisfaction from the fact that half the terms highlighted... See more being sent a franglais text to be turned into a decent English text. ("he thought he could do it directly in English, but there were hard bits)
having to reschedule everything to fit it in
then having to redo it the next day (oh so it wasn't that urgent after all)
because they forgot to specify that the person giving the speech has the vocabulary of a five-year-old
and deriving immense satisfaction from the fact that half the terms highlighted for me to dumb down were words that were already in English in the franglais text I had to polish up. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Laugh and cry at the same time | Sep 15, 2017 |
I always have to laugh (and cry) whenever this happens (which is remarkably often): agency sends a, lets say 700 word text in the morning and asks when I can get it done. I write back immediately and say how about the day after tomorrow, sob? Agency gets back to me several hours later and says they'll ask the client. Agency writes again late the next day and says client agrees, can you still deliver by tomorrow morning? I say um, no. Then we repeat the above steps.
Olly
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 13:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 13:30
French to English
having to explain why I used the word "badass" in a translation
being subjected to several very telling questions about why I used this or that term in a translation, to then be told that the client wants me and only me to do their translations because of my detailed, prescise answers and immensely rich vocabulary
having a client of the agency I used to work at chase me up on LinkedIn because she noticed that their translations were no longer nearly as good once I left<... See more having to explain why I used the word "badass" in a translation
being subjected to several very telling questions about why I used this or that term in a translation, to then be told that the client wants me and only me to do their translations because of my detailed, prescise answers and immensely rich vocabulary
having a client of the agency I used to work at chase me up on LinkedIn because she noticed that their translations were no longer nearly as good once I left
having to explain to a client that I couldn't translate "la coupe David Bowie" as "the David Bowie haircut" because any native English speaker with an ounce of culture would just say "which David Bowie cut", getting to view then send a slew of gorgeous photos of the most beautiful being ever to fall to earth to illustrate my case ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jan Truper
Germany
Local time: 13:30
Member (2016)
English to German
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Tear? Looks more like a dislocation to me. Hope that one-handed dictation goes well!!
Actually, some crucial ligaments are torn
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 13:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Elbow guards? | Sep 15, 2017 |
Were you wearing them at the time? When I used to skate, I discarded them and the knee guards in the end because one, I couldn't be bothered since I hadn't fallen in years, and two, I suspected they wouldn't be much good in an extreme situation. Was I right?
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Jan Truper
Germany
Local time: 13:30
Member (2016)
English to German
| wrist guards only | Sep 15, 2017 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Were you wearing them at the time? When I used to skate, I discarded them and the knee guards in the end because one, I couldn't be bothered since I hadn't fallen in years, and two, I suspected they wouldn't be much good in an extreme situation. Was I right?
I fall regularly, because I do some pretty gnarly stuff. But I've trained falling -- I usually fall onto my hands, stiffen my body and just slide on my wrist guards.
Elbow guards wouldn't have helped. I fell backwards onto my hands with my arm too straight, so the elbow popped.
[Edited at 2017-09-15 12:56 GMT]
| | | | MollyRose
United States
Local time: 06:30
English to Spanish
+ ...
| tears and smiles, sorrow turned to joy | Sep 16, 2017 |
Sorrow turned to Joy
I studied and passed tests to become a “registered” court interpreter (and it paid well). I had 3 years to pass 3 more test to become “certified.” I did well with sight translation the first time and passed the simultaneous interpretation test the second time. (Joy and smiles!) I missed passing the consecutive test by only 1 point (still keeping my joy through the disappointment: surely I would pass next time!)
I kept on studying and pr... See more Sorrow turned to Joy
I studied and passed tests to become a “registered” court interpreter (and it paid well). I had 3 years to pass 3 more test to become “certified.” I did well with sight translation the first time and passed the simultaneous interpretation test the second time. (Joy and smiles!) I missed passing the consecutive test by only 1 point (still keeping my joy through the disappointment: surely I would pass next time!)
I kept on studying and practicing with CDs (simultaneous and consecutive) as I found time. I thought I was in faith, speaking the right things, but the Lord told my pastor to tell me that I really was in fear, not faith. (shock, then angry at myself) I realize it's because my thinking wasn't in line with what I was saying; I really was scared and wasn't on top of fighting the thoughts. Well, about that time I had to take the test because they weren't offering it again before my 3 years were up. I didn't pass, so the court where I had been working quit calling me, and I didn't have much income. (Sorrow)
Somehow an agency found me and offered me a trial interpretation assignment in a county about 2 hours' drive from my home. (mixed joy and fear) I told my pastor and he prayed that the Lord Jesus would manifest and reveal His glory. I was expecting—based on his faith and not mine! I thank God for His mercy. As it says in the Bible, His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. I thought that somehow He would miraculously make the job easy for me and give me all the right words, and fluently. It turns out He made it a WHOLE LOT easier than I could imagine!
I went, we waited and waited for one of the attorneys to show up. Finally after lunchtime they decided to continue the case. I only had to interpret 1-2 sentences from the judge, and I got paid (regular court interpreting rates) for all that wait and travel time (about 8 hours total) and gas mileage! Whew! (Relief and joy!)
It's only fair to give the rest of the story and not leave you hanging, wondering whatever happened. I tried and tried to find work and nothing was happening. But I kept on praying and seeking the Lord's will, and He gave me a job at a place where I never would have looked! Someone from my church called and told me that the Lord told him to ask for my resume. I immediately e-mailed it to him in obedience to the Lord. (Hope!) The Very Next Day someone that he sent the resume to called and asked me to come in for an interview the following day! It is a translating job (both directions, but mostly from native to second language). I did better on the tests than the other 36 candidates (almost all were native Spanish speakers, too). It doesn't pay like court interpreting, but it's steady income and enough for all I need and to give generously without fear. (Relief, joy, and continuing to be thankful to my God!) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The good old days | Sep 16, 2017 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Helena: thanks, but on reflection it's more like a gag from "The Two Ronnies", a British TV comedy show in the late 70s and 80s. All plays on words. Here's the "Four Candles" sketch for your amusement, although Ronnie Barker (the big one) has a very thick accent in it.
I remember 'The Two Ronnies' very well. Ah... (says she sighing) I also remember the good old days... with a few tears and lots of smiles!
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