Most of these places in Spain in the list below are obvious and/or there’s no change. However, surprisingly (and randomly), some lose their accents and others don’t. The English versions all appear in the New Oxford Spelling Dictionary and/or the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors.
Just like last time, when we had any more written as two words in UK English, but as one word in US English, this week highlights another couple of differences between the two.
Unfortunately, the spellchecker in Word doesn’t catch all our errors, especially if we hyphenate words or it doesn’t agree with the style guide we’re using (in my case, for my work and this post, the New Oxford Style Manual). Below is a list of ten spellings that I have come across in my work and which sometimes cause difficulties. This is the second of the spelling lists in the bite-sized tips series.
A recent Proz.com quick poll and discussion focused on whether translators buy the latest versions of the dictionaries they use when they are published. This quickly turned into a debate on whether to ever bother using paper dictionaries given that everything is now online, and even whether professional translators need dictionaries. As long as we are in our comfort zone (and shouldn’t we always be?), then there should be no need to refer to anything at all.
Unfortunately, the spellchecker (one word according to Oxford, by the way) in Word doesn’t catch all our errors, especially if we hyphenate words or it doesn’t agree with the style guide we’re using (in my case the New Oxford Style Manual). Below is a list of ten spellings that I have come across in my work and which sometimes cause difficulties. This is the first of the spelling lists in the bite-sized tips series.
Honesty is the best policy, so I will admit that when I first heard of this book my reaction was firmly in the “why is diversification necessary” camp. After all, I gave up teaching to translate because heading off to classes for a few hours every day was not compatible with being available to translate for clients full-time, at least not as far as I was concerned. And I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to teaching part-time out of necessity. It might surprise you then that I bothered to buy it if that was how I felt. Why did I feel the need to read a book that announces on the back cover that it “will inspire today’s translators and set them up for success beyond translation” (their italics, not mine)?
The services I offer include editing papers for publication. As most of these have been written directly into English by Spanish university researchers, more often than not they contain a number of errors. In this first of what I hope will be many blog posts on the subject, I have highlighted ten mistakes which crop up again and again. I base my work on the New Oxford Style Manual, but I have also indicated the preference of The Chicago Manual of Style where this differs.
The Chicago Manual of Style is a much thicker tome than New Hart’s Rules, the guide I normally use for my translation and editing work as it refers to UK English. Chicago’s index is also far more comprehensive than the index in the UK book and it is relatively simple to use.
However, it is far easier to turn to the online version of Chicago to find specific answers to queries quickly, even if you cannot see the full text unless you subscribe ($39 per year). Although it is handy to have a print copy of the book, when the next edition is published I will probably opt for online access.
The problem with revising or reviewing other’s translations or original work in English is that you need to justify any changes you make. This is easy when there is a simple mistranslation, or another phrase sounds better because it is less clunky or more common in the context in question. But there are many other occasions when proclaiming that your version is preferable without an explanation just won’t cut it. That’s where a style guide might come in handy.
In many respects, 2013 was quite a good year professionally. After spending many years chained to the house as a result of childcare duties, I was finally allowed a pass to attend my first ever conference (although that probably had a lot to do with the venue only being a few miles or so up the road). The conference also inspired me to get around to writing something for the blog at long last (my take on the IAPTI event in London). I had such a good time and found the experience so rewarding that I cannot wait to find an opportunity to escape again in 2014. There are quite a few events to choose from, and which one (or ones—I can live in hope) I end up at will no doubt depend on family circumstances, since we have quite a lot in the pipeline this year. Under consideration so far are:
Nikki Graham - Translation & Editing Services 