Regular blog readers and site users will already know I recently divided the Useful Links & Resources for Translators & Interpreters page into five distinct sections. Today I’d like to share with you my three favourite links in each of those sections. They’re basically the ones I use the most.

Let’s start with the first section, General Dictionaries and Glossaries, currently divided into five categories.

1. Reverso Dictionary is probably the link I use the most as it’s my go-to dictionary to make sure I’ve understood all the possible meanings of a word.

2. Reverso Context is the close runner-up as this gives me more possibilities for a variety of contexts that are not necessarily listed in the dictionary entry. You can read more about why I prefer Reverso to Linguee here.

3. I’ve loved the Oxford English Dictionary ever since my dad got me a two-volume printed edition years ago. You need a subscription to access it (currently £90 per year) or a UK library card.

Section 2 is Subject-specific Dictionaries and Glossaries, with 20 categories. I’m sure your favourites in this section will differ to mine because it depends on the type of texts you translate.

4. Back in the day when I used to do a lot of technical translations, the Paving Expert site was useful for understanding how surfaces work and explaining terminology.

5. Similarly, but this time in Spanish, Términos de Carreteras helped me make sense of difficult terms many times.

6. Although the Foods and Wines from Spain site doesn’t always provide a translation, its Food Glossary is useful for getting to grips with terms that can crop up in tourism texts. It also provides a Wine Glossary.

The Writing-related Resources section is probably the one I turn to the most. And with ten categories, it’s also been tough limiting myself to only a top three.

7. First up is Ozdic in the Collocations category. It’s a great site to use when your source language interferes with your thinking processes and you want to see which verbs or adjectives are typically used with a particular noun, or adverbs and prepositions with a verb, etc.

8. I use most of the links in the Harvard Referencing category, but Citing & Referencing: Harvard Style, a PDF by Imperial College London is probably the most useful and accessible.

9. Lastly (because I have to choose just three) is Power Thesaurus. This crowdsourced thesaurus has been put together by a community of writers. I like its format, the fact I can contribute to it and that it contains loads of ideas when you know the word that’s popped into your head isn’t right for your context but cannot think of an alternative.

The penultimate section is Translation-related Tools & Links. This is another large section with 15 categories. Again, it’s not easy to pick just three favourites as I use so many, but here goes.

10. I primarily use TransTools for removing tags from Word documents after I’ve converted them from a PDF and before using them in a CAT tool. The site is well worth exploring as it also offers other tools to help translators.

11. What a lifesaver WeTransfer is. My clients and I use it for sending large files that would otherwise clog up our inboxes.

12. If you’re going to spend half your time searching the Internet for terms, why not help plant some trees at the same time by using Ecosia? Based in Berlin, this search engine donates 80% of its profits to reforestation organisations.

The fifth and final section is Other Links of Interest, which is not nearly as boring as it sounds! It’s got 12 categories at the moment, but I’m constantly adding to all these pages and making them as user-friendly as possible.

13. When deadlines are tight or I’m feeling tired or just need to concentrate, I go to Focus@Will. This site provides specially sequenced background music to increase your attention span. It’s not free (although there is a 15-day free trial), but I think the cost is worth it.

14. Most of the photos on this blog come from Pixabay. They’re free, good quality and I usually find one I can use for my purposes easily.

15. On a site like mine with over 300 pages of content, the Online Broken Link Checker is a godsend. Nothing is constant on the Internet and pages and even sites often disappear. This tool helps me find links that are no longer working so I can improve reader experience and make sure Google won’t stop sending people my way.

I hope you enjoyed this post and discovered a link or two you might like to try. I’d be interested to know what your favourites are, so please comment below.

1st image by Pixabay from Pexels, 2nd by Priscila Sanchez from Pixabay, 3rd by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay, 4th Image by ejaugsburg from Pixabay, 5th by Draguth Leon from Pixabay

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