Blog Archive

There is a widespread belief that Sir Walter Scott was the first to use the term “freelancer“ meaning “freelance“, in his novel Ivanhoe: —I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused them. Although Ivanhoe was published in the early 19th century, freelancing as a format is a rather new phenomenon. Today, a growing number of experts […]

In this article, we will talk about the tools used by translators, editors, and managers of translation agencies, for translation quality assurance. We will review their functions, their strengths, and limitations, as well as common misconceptions about their efficiency. How it works Software products, for translation quality assurance purposes, are tools that assist in identifying […]

In this article, we will tell you how to destroy a prosperous company whilst having the best intentions. By following business coaches’ tips, but ignoring corporate values and culture, anyone can fall into this trap. The following situation can arise in any business but is particularly crucial for companies whose major asset is qualified staff. […]

Clients and translators do not always fully understand the role of a project manager within a translation agency. It may seem to others that a project manager, or PM, is just a dispatcher who gets files from a client, sends them to the translators, and then sends the translated files back to the client, thus […]

In this article, we will talk about communication between a translation agency and translators, and how it affects their cooperation. In our experience, at least in 30% of cases, relations between a translation agency and a translator are suspended because of a mutual misunderstanding, or difficulties in cooperation, even when the main criteria, such as […]

Test translations are one of the most disputed matters in the translation industry. Clients use them when selecting a translation agency and the latter uses them to hire translators. Some people think tests are a necessary evil; others believe they are compulsory; while some question their usefulness altogether. Let’s consider this phenomenon from different points […]

This article is intended for people who do not speak Ukrainian but have to order, manage, and coordinate Ukrainian translations. Below we present some simple facts that will allow you to avoid common mistakes and misunderstandings when working with your Ukrainian suppliers. We note that similar problems exist with other Slavic languages (e.g. Polish, Slovakian, […]

In this article, we will tell you about the technical side of translation agency work. Many new translators and inexperienced clients of translation services are not always aware of this side. We are speaking of so-called CAT tools (CAT means computer-aided translation) and CAT systems. These are software applications using translation memory (TM) technology. Translators […]

In this article, we will tell you what happens at a translation agency after your order has been received. It would seem that there’s not much to tell: the text is received, sent to a translator, received from the translator, and sent back to the client. Not only is the process more complex than that, […]

Balloon flies in the skies In our kindergartens, teachers play a merry game with children. First, all the children sing a rhyme in chorus: Balloon flies in the skies,Up in the skies it flies.But we know, though it tries,It’ll never reach the skies! Then, the rhyme is repeated, but the word “balloon” is omitted—the children […]