Welcome to the Blog of a Freelance Interpreter and Translator
by Tatiana Kaplun
This was my first AIIC General Assembly, and I know some were worried I would come back disappointed, given the somewhat reduced format, and the complicated nature of some of the topics up for discussion. And yet... I don't think I could ever go with that. I was indeed disappointed to go back, but only… Continue reading It’s not all about Chocolate
Some commutes are better than others. And I think I am going to take it as a good sign that my last assignment of the season took me outside of Strasbourg... Especially as The Economist keeps insisting that "this era of unpredictability is not going away soon", and nothing that's been in the news lately… Continue reading Not all Commutes Are Created Equal
You live for days when you get speakers that actually care, seem to have a decent understanding how interpreting works, and are ready to jump in and reign in their over zealous and more unruly colleagues: "The problem, you see, is that while I and the rest of us are just here to listen, our… Continue reading Clients and Sunsets to Remember
If you haven't seen it yet, Tony Rosado's latest post on the influence of the pandemic on our profession is just out on his blog. And even though I cannot fully subscribe to what he says about agencies - there are different agencies, after all, just as there are different clients, and I am lucky… Continue reading How COVID-19 is Affecting the Interpreting Profession
I definitely like taking my time, which is why it has taken me this long – almost a week actually, as I’ve just realized – to sum up my impressions from last Friday’s #AIIC talk on Automated Speech Translation, aptly title “2020: A Speech Odyssey”. But give me tea, time, and a good soundtrack, and I will… Continue reading 2020: A Speech Odyssey. A Brief Recap of a Fascinating Friday Evening
Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch painter, whom some only know for going crazy (some say) and cutting off his ear. Others know him for painting bright flowers, a large number of self-portraits, and landscapes of Provence, as he got to spend quite some time in the south of France, although a large share of it… Continue reading The Pros and Cons of Dummy-boothing, or does your Brain need tricking?
It's been a while since I've posted anything on the blog, but now that the holidays are over, and the new year is well underway, I've decided it was high time to resume my 'blogging duties'. And what better way to do so than by sharing some advice that I find can be useful for… Continue reading Working with conference interpreters
'Weeping Willow' by Claude Monet. A few days ago a friend and colleague of mine (you can take a look at her blog and thoughts on the matter here) suggested that I read an article on different interpreting styles by Cyril Flerov for The Linguist. In the article, the author draws a clear line between… Continue reading What Kind of an Interpreter are You?
As interpreters, we complain quite a lot. To be fair though, most of the complaints we have are not totally unfounded. That is why I would like to share with you today this brilliant post by Ewandro Magalhães: http://ewandro.com/public-speaking-secret-3/ It would be only fair to say that interpreters have a unique position to judge whether a speeach is… Continue reading Some useful tips from the booth
I guess there is nothing left to add to this post except that practice takes a lot of time, it’s almost never easy, but is always rewarding. Maybe not right away, but most likely sooner than later. And I would also like to express my gratitude for such a thoughtful and comprehensive list of links and sources of practice material.
Readers of the Diaries will have noticed that I have not been very active on this blog lately. Yes, well, busy busy and all that… Still, I’m pleased to say that I have not given up writing altogether!
Just this week I produced my first piece for AIB’s new blog, Simultaneous Interpretation. It’s all about where you can go to find useful speech resources for practicing interpreting. If you’re interested in finding out more, go and check it out!
Practice makes perfect – but where do I find the speeches?
Image courtesy of winnond at freedigitalphotos.net
Welcome to the Blog of a Freelance Interpreter and Translator 