Struggling to get apostrophes right. An epidemic? I am one of those annoying people who likes a language to be spoken 'just so'. As an 'alien' in this green and pleasant land I have strived hard for the past 28 years to perfect my English. Hence I tend to notice...
Receiving spam is one of the most annoying side effects of having an email address The best way to deal with spam is to avoid getting spam in the first place. That is not always an easy or obvious task. However, if you receive spam, the first question you need to ask...
What do you need to look out for when hiring a translation agency? Or: how do you find a good agency? Translation agencies come in all shapes and sizes. From the one-(wo-)man-band to the multi-million-dollar-worldwide-enterprise. As ever, size isn't everything. While...
How even Google can get it wrong Having chosen the outlandish name "Iolante" with the original Greek spelling, I have become exasperated at Google over the past 15 months. Google insists that it is much cleverer than its users. If you put in a word they think you have...
In the early days of search engines, websites used to list misspelt words within their meta tags. They thus improved their chances of key words being found when users misspelt the search term, e.g. "trnalsators" or "transaltors" instead of "translators". This is no...
Repeat clients are the best indicators that you're not a bad translator You'll get an indication that clients perceive you as a bad translator, if a lot of your clients don't call you more than once. "Bad" translating is usually not just one thing, it tends to be a...
You may have obtained a degree in modern languages, specialising in translation or a BA in Translating and Interpreting or a BSc in Translation Studies. Or you may have few language qualifications but simply have lived in a different country from your native one and...
The top ten reasons to call ourselves Iolante There are a hundred reasons to call this website Iolante. Here are the top ten. 1) A safe choice The Internet has been going a few years now. A lot of translators and translation agencies have websites and need...
I have lived in the UK for more than half my life now (and I'm no spring chicken). My English is excellent - or so clients and British people I meet keep telling me. However, occasionally, my "foreignness" still trips me up. A couple of weeks ago my husband and I...
Professionally qualified German translator into English and English into German, offering first class translation services for commercial, industrial, governmental and private clients.