The Rosetta Blog is a collection of material relating to translation and language in a wider sense. Some of it discusses aspects of the translation business, of client issues, of common pitfalls. Some of it touches on general difficulties in translation (such as the lack of exact equivalents for concepts in other languages), and there is also a running discussion of ongoing changes in the language industry (AI, of course, but also for example the usefulness of Simplified Technical English for translation).
If you are interested in discussing any of these topics (whether directly in relation to a translation need, or out of general interest) or if you want to suggest new topics, feel free to add a comment and start a discussion. Alternatively, you can contact the two main current custodians of the blog directly: our head of the London office, Rossella Mastropietro, at rmastropietro@rosettatranslation.com and/or our founder and managing director Eric Fixmer, at efixmer@rosettatranslation.
We look forward to hearing from you.
I cannot profess to paying much attention to the New Year Honours list, but anything relating to language is always likely to catch my eye.
English is a linguistic melting pot: much of our vocabulary is derived from Latin, sometimes via French, but other influences include Celtic, Greek, Norman, Dutch,
Translating idioms is one of the hardest challenges a translator will face. Often there is no direct equivalent in the target language, or you may
The world is awash with obscure celebratory days to mark pretty much anything you can think of, and languages are no exception. There’s the European
Reviewing translation work is an essential part of the QA process to ensure no errors have slipped through and the text is of a sufficiently
My daughter recently revealed that a friend had become an unlikely corona virus lockdown hero by adopting two geckos that were due to be “disposed
When the world undergoes rapid change, language also evolves at pace to keep up. As the obvious recent example, Covid-19 and language change have gone
Typos can crop up even in documents that have been carefully proofed, particularly if the typographic mistake involves a real alternative word. So, translators should
The recent blog post about portmanteaus could have included the ubiquitous “podcast”, a blend of iPod and broadcast, coined in about 2004 to describe digital
Vocal fry has been my latest experience of frequency illusion, or the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, as it is sometimes known. In other words, the experience of
In 2002 David and Ben Crystal published “Shakespeare’s words: a glossary and language companion”, a detailed linguistic analysis of Shakespeare’s texts, giving up-to-date definitions
Over the Christmas season this blog debated politically correct seasonal greetings, reflecting on a phenomenon that has been referred to a as a
The fun of colour etymology: the colour orange or the fruit My previous blog on the differences between languages in the way they categorise the
A while ago, esteemed linguistic tweeter @HaggardHawks recounted: “Not all languages have words for all the basic colours. But a study in 1969 found
Earlier this year, women’s rights activist Maria Beatrice Giovanardi found herself looking for synonyms for the word “woman” using various online search engines. She was
A trip abroad offers ripe pickings for the travelling translator. On our recent trip to Spain my kids developed a real knack for tracking down
Let me introduce Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translation. Who knew we translators even had one? Not me, that’s for sure. I first stumbled
The mystique of untranslatable words A while ago a friend gifted me a little box set of “Untranslatable words”. Inside is a set of cards,
Over the years I have translated a number of cookery books and back in 2017 I wrote about some of the challenges involved in this
What on earth is a malaphor? At school I remember rather tedious lessons learning the distinction between a metaphor and a simile. How much more
When it comes to translations, turning to an external partner isn’t always a company’s first move. So why outsource my translations, and to whom? For
Were you one of those kids who effortlessly scored 10/10 in spelling tests at school? Me too! My husband, on the other hand, has an
“Language poisoning” is a term used to describe a phenomenon I’m sure all translators will have experienced, namely the insidious influence the source language can
Linguistic fluency for translators “So, are you fluent in X?” Translators have surely all been asked that question by their non-translator friends. Personally I’ve often
I spend much of my day grappling with German texts, wrestling complex sentences into passable English and cursing the German penchant for burying the verb
“Freelance translator”: it’s hardly a thrilling job description. Imagine how much more exciting it would be to have “Knight adventurer” printed on your business cards.
Last month I wrote a blog post about the title of the latest instalment in the Star Wars movies series, “The Last Jedi“. I confessed
English winter weather words are more fun than the season The British weather has a certain notoriety and for me January and February are when
As an avid knitter and occasional crocheter, I was really excited recently to deploy my yarn-related knowledge to translating knitting patterns for a publishing company.
For a little while now, I have been contemplating writing something about the way different languages are related to each other. Then I stumbled
“The babel fish is a small, leech-like, yellow fish, and by putting this into one’s ear one can instantly understand anything said in any language”
Rather belatedly on September 1st I stumbled upon an article informing me that August had been Women in Translation Month. In a spirit of “better
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past seven years, it will not come as a shock that the fantasy world
Scanlation refers to the process where foreign language comics are scanned, translated and then edited to make them available to a wider audience beyond
What could be more British than an afternoon cup of tea and a scone with jam and cream? Visitors to Britain need to be
Previously in this blog I wrote about the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film and, in particular, the somewhat arcane nomination process for this award. Here
I’ll confess up front that I’ve always been something of a sceptic when it comes to claims that
Rosetta’s London office is located on Whitechapel High Street near Aldgate, very much in the heart of cockney London. The traditional definition of a cockney
Recently I have done several projects which involved translating recipes. On the face of it this seems like a simple task: take the list of
Can prejudice against a dialect potentially influence decisions made in the criminal justice system? That is the question at the heart of a fascinating
Excitement is mounting in the film industry at the prospect of the annual Oscars ceremony on February 26th and there is one award category in
I spent Christmas in my home town of Aberystwyth in Wales and this gave me a chance to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes,
We naturally assume that being a native speaker brings advantages in terms of being able to communicate clearly. Native English speakers, in particular, often feel
Choosing a translation provider can be a daunting and intimidating experience for some. For anyone who hasn’t used a language services provider before or needed
As we’ve said before in this blog, just being able to speak another language does not make you an interpreter. Professional interpreters have done much
At Rosetta Translation, we value proofreading. We handle myriad of documents on a daily basis for varying purposes, audiences and publications. Often, a translation only
The mighty United States of America is never far away from our news pages, particularly recently with the pending presidential election. The next few weeks
The origins of English sayings: The Rule of Thumb A friend and I recently went on a Jack the Ripper walking tour of London
Languages in focus: Basque I’m spent a few days in Northern Spain (around Bilbao) this August with some Spanish family and friends who speak
Facebook: paving the way for intelligent auto translation We’ve discussed in several previous posts about the perils of auto translation, machine translation, the delights of
What is the UN French Language Day? On 20 March, we once again celebrate UN French Language Day, a global celebration of linguistic diversity and cultural exchange. Created by the United Nations in 2010, this day is to remind us …
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