16 January 20183 February 2023 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

A New Year’s approach to exercising for freelance translators seeking a perfect work–life balance

Many freelancers start their solo career with grand visions of achieving a perfect work–life balance. They plan to shop when the supermarket is quiet, go for long runs on sunny days or take extended lunch breaks to meet up with friends who have also seen the freelancing light.

Six months of working ten hours per day later, and the dream turns out to be somewhat different from reality. Of course, although this isn’t the case for all freelancers, it is for many. Underestimating the time drain that running your own business can entail can play a key role in this. Tasks like marketing, networking and VAT returns (for starters) all take time away from hours that can be spent actually billing clients. This is part of what chips away at that initial vision.

19 December 201715 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Review of MA in Conference Interpreting at London Metropolitan University

What made you choose London Met?

I studied a BA in Translation and Interpreting in Spain and I loved interpreting. However, after university, I got a full-time job and never worked as an interpreter. A few years later I still wanted to give it a go and become a professional interpreter so I decided to move to the UK to brush up on my English. I worked in PR for two years and then I started looking for MAs in Conference Interpreting. I was already living in London and the MA at London Metropolitan University offered the possibility to work into your B language, which caught my attention. Not all MAs offer this option and I thought working into a B language would be crucial for the private market.

10 December 201727 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Books on My Shelves – Don’t Trust Your Spell Check

According to the back cover of Don’t Trust Your Spell Check, “Everybody makes mistakes”. Unfortunately, its author, Dean Evans, is no exception. In a book that promises “pro proofreading tactics and tests to eliminate embarrassing writing errors”, nothing could me more disappointing than finding some of the latter in the body of the text and the tests. Given that this is an independently published book, I guess there was no money for a copy editor and/or proofreader, which is a shame.

Having said that, as an experienced editor and content writer, Evans describes strategies and gives explanations that are well worth noting. And the many tests in the second half of the book are extremely helpful as a training exercise. Although it would be more useful to discuss differences of opinion in person with an experienced tutor, tackling the tests is far better than doing no practice at all.

14 November 201715 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Review of the Distance-learning MA in Translation at the University of Bristol

Flexibility

This is the Bristol MA’s USP. For a start, it’s entirely based on distance learning. All teaching is on-line: there’s never any need to visit the campus. This is of course invaluable for anyone who has other commitments to juggle, as I did at the time (I graduated in 2015). What’s more, the course can be completed either in one year full-time, or over two to three years part-time, starting in either September or January.

2 November 201715 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

M.A. in Translation from Kent State University

I received my M.A. in Translation (Spanish concentration) from Kent State University’s Institute for Applied Linguistics in 2013, and I have been working as a freelance translator and editor since graduation. I entered the master’s program directly from my undergraduate studies with significant interest in translation but very little knowledge of the industry, and right away I recognized that the program was exactly what I was looking for. I was selected for a graduate assistantship, which involves teaching undergraduate language or translation-related courses. I taught two undergraduate Spanish courses per semester my first year, and I taught a hybrid Spanish course and worked in the language lab my second year. Since I did not have another job while being enrolled in the program, this allowed me to pay for my degree, and it also created opportunities for teaching after graduation.

6 October 201715 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

How the MAAVTS at Leeds Changed My Retirement

Today’s MA course review has been written by my fellow ITI Wessex member Sue Fortescue. For more information on MA courses and links to other reviews, see the European MA and the non-European MA pages on this blog.

Please get in touch if you completed your MA recently and would like to take part in this series. You’ll find more information about writing for this blog here.

If you would like to help with me this MA review project, please read this post.

Introduction

I came to translation quite late in life, and was 67 when I started the MA. I spent the first part of my career as an English Language teacher (in Italy, Nepal and the UK) and the second part as an IT Manager (in Belgium and the US). My first degree was in Italian & French, and I also have an MA in Linguistics & English Language Teaching (from the University of Leeds) and an MSc in Knowledge-Based Systems from Heriot-Watt University.

10 September 201712 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Why it’s not OK to say “a little bit OCD”

As wordsmiths, translators need to use language and terminology as correctly as they possibly can. And that’s why I believe we shouldn’t perpetuate the common misconception that it’s good to be “a little bit OCD”. Because it’s totally wrong to assume that being a super-organised person who pays attention to every detail and likes everything to be just so means you’re a bit OCD.