All published articles

ProZ.com AI Expo: Empowering translators with cutting-edge training

On March 7th, 2024, ProZ.com hosted its 73rd TV event, the AI Expo, marking a significant milestone for the translation community. Building on a legacy that began with the first ProZ.com TV event in July 2017, this virtual expo empowered over 1,000 attendees with the latest advancements in AI for translators.

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How do I get a credential verified at ProZ.com?

Language-related credentials reported by ProZ.com members may be verified. These credentials are shown in the professional profile, some pools, and might be used to restrict job postings.

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Empowering Women in Translation: Celebrating International Women's Day

The Essence of International Women's Day

Every March 8th, the world pauses to celebrate International Women's Day—a day dedicated to honoring the achievements of women across all spheres of life, advocating for gender equality, and reflecting on the ongoing struggle for women's rights. In the translation and interpreting industry, this day serves as a poignant reminder of the vital role women have played and continue to play in bridging languages and cultures.

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Bridging Cultures on World Peace and Understanding Day: The Translator's Role

Understanding the Essence

World Peace and Understanding Day, observed on February 23rd, is more than a call for global harmony; it's a reminder of the power of communication in bridging divides. This day challenges us to reflect on how we, as a global community, can contribute to a more peaceful world.

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Getting attention from freelancers at ProZ.com

Are you capturing the interest of the best language professionals at ProZ.com? Recruiters are actively seeking out the most sought-after experts in rare languages, those with expertise, certifications and a proven track record of excellence.

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Cantonese and Mandarin linguists, be sure your languages are setup for searches

If you are providing language services in Cantonese or Mandarin, please be sure your profile at ProZ.com reflects your working languages as expected. Outsourcers for interpreting opportunities have suggested high demand in Cantonese and Mandarin. To be found at ProZ.com, be sure your profile is complete.

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Strengthening the ProZ.com community: The power of powwows

What is a ProZ.com Powwow?

Powwows are informal gatherings of groups of ProZ.com users living in close proximity. The events are organized by local translators for local translators. 

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AI Revolution: Navigating challenges and opportunities

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a distant future, but a present reality that is reshaping the world as we know it. AI is transforming various industries and sectors, including the language service industry. Will you stay behind? 


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ProZ Pro Bono Update 5 Feb 2024

The ProZ Pro Bono Newsletter

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Ace your interpreting exam: Join Corinne McKay’s comprehensive webinar for success

Are you a court, conference, or medical interpreter gearing up for a high-stakes exam? Don't let fear of failure hold you back. Join ProZ.com’s upcoming 150-minute webinar, "Court, conference, or medical: Creating a training plan for any interpreting exam," hosted by Corinne McKay, designed to equip interpreters with the skills and knowledge needed to confidently tackle their exams and, hopefully, pass on the first try!

 

 

Corinne McKay is an ATA-certified translator, a court-certified interpreter, and holds a Master of Conference Interpreting from Glendon College. She is also an ATA past president and an author. This webinar stems from her experience preparing for and passing (on the first try!) three sets of high-stakes interpreting exams.

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ProZ Pro Bono Blog

The ProZ Pro Bono Newsletter

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How to increase views on your business page

The business page makes it easier to connect businesses with their employees and for those employees to share business identification, membership and act on behalf of a business at ProZ.com.  Profiles are for people (freelancers and employees), while these pages can show information about the business. 

Business pages have been showcased in the Translation Company & agency directory, added to employee profiles, and have been linked other places on the site.

How can your business increase views to its business page? 

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The ProZ Pro Bono Newsletter

The ProZ Pro Bono Newsletter

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Shaping the Future: ProZ.com's Mentoring Program 2.0

Hello, vibrant ProZ.com community! I’m Tanya Quintieri, and I’m thrilled to be leading the ProZ.com Mentoring Program 2.0. My journey in the ever-evolving and never-dull language industry started in 2002 as a freelance translator, working with direct clients exclusively. At the time, I didn’t know translation agencies existed, and to this day, the agencies I work with are few and far between.

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The $100 audit : Checking how you get paid

Freelancers receive payments from different companies, using different payment systems and many times that can involve different ways of transmitting the money. When you are paid, it is important to receive as much of your money as possible in a timely fashion.

To make sure payouts are meeting your needs, I suggest trying the $100 audit.


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Giving Tuesday 2023


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Giving Tuesday 2023

Join the virtual conference Giving Tuesday on November 30th at 13:00 
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AI: How can we use it to our benefit (as freelancers)?


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Contest: Submissions open for the new translation contest "Movie Night"

 

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Translation and transcreation from Chinese into Italian of video games: challenges and successful strategies

 

Explore the fusion of cultures: Join the online workshop on translating video games from Chinese into Italian! Dive into the intricacies of language adaptation, cultural nuances, and the art of preserving gaming experiences across borders. Uncover the secrets behind bringing Chinese gaming magic to an Italian audience. 

Event Details:

When? November 14
What time? At 13:00 GMT 
Where? Online at ProZ.com, training.proz.com

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Contest: Congratulations winners in "A translator's life"

 

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CAT tools in 2023: part six

The next wave, already upon us: Artificial intelligence

In 2023, the scramble is on to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) wherever possible. Machine translation (MT) options have already made their way into many or most CAT tools, as advances in MT and translator adoption of its benefits increase. But with the sudden popularization of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Bard, Claude, and others, AI may have already come to a CAT tool you own too, and if it has not, it most likely will soon.

 

Some people have asked, “What’s the fuss?” or “What’s the rush?”

 

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PhraseExpress and AutoHotKey: make your daily work easier with these automation tools

The ProZ.com team recently attended the 1st International Congress of Translation and Interpretation hosted by the Public Translators and Interpreters College of the Province of Buenos Aires (CTPIPBA). This groundbreaking event in La Plata brought together translators and interpreters from all generations, providing an invaluable platform for learning and networking.

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A Client's Guide: How to Vet Freelancers to Ensure Reliability

Hiring a trustworthy and qualified language professional is crucial for the success of your project; but evaluating the reliability of an online freelancer can seem like an impossible task the first time you set out to hire a linguist through the Internet.

Here are six key steps to ensure you find the right candidate:

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Contest: extension of finals phase. Vote now!

 

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Contest: Vote now! The Contest closes in two days.

 

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CAT tools in 2023: part five

Translator recommendations

Just to make sure the reader of this report would not be steered wrong about which CAT tools come most recommended, translators were asked which tool they would recommend to someone who is looking for their first CAT tool. The top ten here are the same as the top ten favorite CAT tools, as you may have guessed.

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CAT tools in 2023: part four

Tell a friend...

If you are looking for a new CAT tool, having a wider array of options to choose from can be great, but it can also make the decision process more confusing, too. If you are searching for your first CAT tool, feedback from fellow translators on what they use and why is the first thing you might seek out (and is probably why you are reading this, if you are in that situation). But how did those translators giving you recommendations choose their primary CAT tool?

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Contest: Vote for the best translations (Finals phase)

 

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The transformative leap: exploring tradition and innovation at the ITD 2023 ProZ/TV event (September 28-29)

 

We are thrilled to invite you to the upcoming ITD 2023 ProZ/TV Event, hosted exclusively on ProZ.com. This event promises to be an engaging and enlightening experience for anyone involved in the world of translation, interpreting, dubbing and localization.

Event Details:

When? From September 28 to September 29
What time? From 13:00 GMT to 19:00 GMT
Where? Online at ProZ.com

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CAT tools in 2023: part three

Ten years on... comparisons with the 2013 report

The big players in CAT tools in 2013 are still with us in 2023, but in some cases you will see that popularity and use have changed. MemoQ has moved from third into second position as the most reported CAT tool, for example. Tools such as XTM, MetaTexis, and Wordbee made interesting jumps in the percentages of translators reporting using them. And Memsource, which was relatively very new to the game in 2013, has moved up most notably since then, going on to occupy third place as the most widely-reported CAT tool.

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CAT tools in 2023: part two

 

Who uses a CAT tool

Just over 93% of full-time professional translators use at least one CAT tool. Not a surprising percentage, especially if you take into account that ten years ago, the percentage of translators using a CAT tool was already at or above 80%, and the trend has been steadily upward.

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CAT tools in 2023: part one

 

 

The first full ProZ.com report on Computer-aided Translation (CAT) tools was published in 2013. In the last ten years, translation-related technology has changed a lot. And more recently, some things have started to change at a pace which can leave your head spinning. But some things have not changed, at the same time. Let’s get into it.

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How machine learning transforms TM from knowledge to context

 

 In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, virtually every industry has experienced significant transformation. The field of translation is no exception, and it's on the cusp of a revolution that's reshaping the role of translators as we know it. In this blog post, we'll explore how machine learning is ushering in a new era, transforming Translation Memory (TM) from a repository of knowledge into a dynamic context-driven tool, and examine the profound implications this has for the future of translation.

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Surviving cataclysms in the language services industry

 

 In the rapidly evolving landscape of translation and interpreting, the advent of Machine Translation (MT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a cataclysmic shift that requires professionals to adapt and rethink their roles. Claudia Brauer, a distinguished figure in the industry, will be shedding light on this pressing matter during our Pre-ITD Meetup event: Surviving cataclysms in the language services industry. In this blog post, We'll provide you with additional insights about the subject and explain the significance of watching the Meetup.


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Remote interpreters in 2023: part three

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ProZ.com Meetups

 

Imagine a place where language professionals from around the globe converge, where words dance in the air, and where networking feels like a friendly fiesta. That's right, we're talking about ProZ.com Meetups – your ticket to linguistic revelry, camaraderie, and endless fun. So, what exactly are these meetups and why should you be excited about them? Buckle up and allow your hyperbole detector to go into overdrive because we're about to spill the tea!


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Introducing AI-powered KudoZ answers: a new dimension to term help

The KudoZTM community is now enriched with an additional layer of support —a fusion of human expertise and AI technology designed to enhance requests for term help.

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Remote interpreters in 2023: part two

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More Ratings needed in the latest ProZ.com translation contest

We need your vast experience to rate translations to determine finalists.

Ratings are  still open for two weeks in the latest ProZ.com translation contest, A translator's life, but if you were thinking about participating, don't wait! The hybrid phase closes on Friday, Sepetember 8th. Source texts are available in English, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Italian.

Don't miss it!

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Remote interpreters in 2023: part one

 

If you read last year’s ProZ.com industry report for freelancers-- or maybe you heard the audio version narrated by Paul Urwin on the ProZ.com podcast-- you may remember that we looked at two main trends that were affecting interpreters...

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Survey on rates, earnings, income among language professionals

I am currently running a survey aimed at getting some insight on issues surrounding earnings, income, rates and other financial considerations among language professionals. The survey consists of 25 questions, and takes about eight minutes to complete. Would you be willing to add your input?

 

Complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LVBW3X5

 

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Last 4 days to rate or submit entries in the latest ProZ.com translation contest

Ratings and submissions are  still open for 4 days in the latest ProZ.com translation contest, A translator's life, but if you were thinking about participating, don't wait! The hybrid phase closes on Friday, August 24th. Source texts are available in English, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Italian.

Don't miss it!

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Examples of Localization: Going Global by Thinking Local

 

Circle Translations is one of the leading localization agencies in Baltic states offering a diverse set of services: Translation, Localization, Subtitling, Subtitle translation, Closed Captioning, Transcription, Data Collection, Annotations, Speech recognition.

Circle Translations are ProZ.com Enterprise Business Members. Today they will be sharing some short case studies dealing with localization.

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New industry report on CAT tools now available



A follow up to the report on CAT tools from 2013 has been published. A lot has changed in ten years. And other things have not.

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CV theft: how the scam works and how you can protect yourself

We have written before about six steps to evaluate a new potential client, three steps to spot a potential scam and, more specifically, how the overpayment scam works on freelancers. In this post, we cover how this scam works and how to protect yourself from having your CV stolen or falling for a stolen CV. Resume theft has become increasingly widespread in the last years, and today it’s perhaps the second most common scam affecting both online freelancers and outsourcers. 

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Meet the trainer: Tess Whitty

 

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Rate and vote for your favourite entries in the current translation contest

 

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Meet the speakers of the ProZ/TV event on artificial intelligence in Spanish.

 

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Last week to make your submission in the latest ProZ.com translation contest

Submissions are still open for the latest ProZ.com translation contest, A translator's life, but if you were thinking about participating, don't wait! The submissions phase closes on Friday, July 28th. Source texts are available in English, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Italian.

Don't miss it!

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Submissions open for the new ProZ.com translation contest

A new ProZ.com translation contest, A translator's life, is on and submissions are open, with source texts in English, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Italian.

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The Power of CAT Tools

Are you a new translator or someone returning to the profession after a long time? Welcome! In this rapidly evolving industry, keeping abreast of the latest tools and technologies is crucial to thrive in the translation journey. One such indispensable tool is computer-assisted translation (CAT) software. 

In this blog post, we will explore the importance and advantages of CAT tools for translators. Let's embark on a journey that will equip you with the essential knowledge to navigate the translation landscape with confidence.

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Develop your skills to find new direct clients

 

As a translator, finding direct clients is crucial for your professional growth and success. While there are various avenues to explore, it's important to have a clear strategy in place to connect with the right clients directly. In this blog post, we will outline five essential steps that will help you navigate the process of finding direct clients in 2023 and delve deeper into the first step.

The five steps

✓ Find out who your ideal client is
✓ Know what your ideal clients need
✓ Help them know what your brand is all about
✓ Decide where to look for clients
✓ Pick 2 to 3 marketing mediums and tactics you enjoy using


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ProZ/TV event: Power Up Your Translation Work with ChatGPT

 

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Keep track of (and showcase) your continuing professional development using ProZ.com

Dear members,

It is now possible to report and track all of your continuing professional development (CPD) activity through your ProZ.com account. You can keep it as a register just for yourself, or display it as another way to differentiate yourself to potential clients and collaborators. Paying ProZ.com members also have the ability to add certificates of completion where relevant, and request verification of CPD items from ProZ.com staff.

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Save hours, unload bulk payments to freelancers to ProZ*Pay



Using freelancers for language jobs can help save time and make language service companies more efficient. Paying freelancers from around the world is not efficient. The international banking systme is complex with many obstacles and individual needs for specific language professionals.

Imagine if the time to onboard and pay those same freelancers were eliminated.

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Venmo added as withdrawal option for ProZ*Pay

ProZ*Pay has added Venmo as a withdrawal option for your payouts in ProZ*Pay. So now, when it comes to getting paid as a language professional, you have even more choices. If you want to set up Venmo as your preferred payout method, simply head over to your ProZ*Pay account and make the update.

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156 hours of continuing professional development for language professionals, free with the ProZ.com Plus subscription



Dear members,

Last year, 26 hours of interpreter training were added to the basket of goods, services, tools and other resources available with ProZ.com Plus membership.

New courses have been added to this part of the package, representing 130 more hours of training that you can take for free if you have a Plus subscription.

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Get 30% off memoQ translator pro until May 24th

In the market for a new CAT Tool? You can't go wrong with memoQ! Designed by translators for translators, memoQ will help increase productivity and quality for all those who perform, edit and review translations.

From now until May 24th, you can get memoQ translator pro at 30% off, and access to a free live masterclass as well.

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Guest post: Boost Your Translation Efficiency with ChatGPT, CotranslatorAI, and Shortcuts: Overcoming Workflow Pitfalls (Part 3)

 

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Guest post: Maximize Your Translation Potential with ChatGPT: Expand Beyond Your Client'sPlatform (Part2)

 

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Elevate: The Trados online conference series, May 23rd and 25th

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Guest post: Revolutionize Your Translation Process with ChatGPT: Moving Beyond Sentence-by-Sentence Translation

 

I’m happy to present a guest blog post for translators and interpreters who are interested in boosting their speed and elevate their craft with the ChatGPT featuring Steven S. Bammel and Revolutionize Your Translation Process with ChatGPT: Moving Beyond Sentence-by-Sentence Translation.

Steven S. Bammel, PhD, is a seasoned technical translator specializing in Korean-to-English translation who is actively harnessing the power of AI-based tools like ChatGPT to revolutionize translation work. As the President of Korean Consulting & Translation Service, Inc., he has nearly 30 years of experience in Korea, business, and translation fields. 

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The people behind ProZ.com: Kodi Dotterer


It's time for another in our series of posts introducing you to the people behind 
ProZ.com...
 
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30% off Trados Studio Freelance and a free certification course (ends April 28th)

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Grow Your Market: Learn to Create Netflix-Quality Subtitles

by Max Troyer

 

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's partners, Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

 

Content creators are increasingly turning to video to expand their audience. This proliferation in video content has created a new market in video subtitling, but do you know how to take advantage of this opportunity? 

As a freelancer, you may not be sure how to start offering subtitling as a service. Or, you may already be doing so, but you’d like to improve the quality of your work. You can find plenty of online examples of subtitling, but creating world-class subtitles is part art, part science, and it’s also the result of quite a bit of research into what the human body is capable of doing. (Really.)

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What are the "must have" tools of the modern interpreter?

Earlier this year, over a thousand interpreters participated in surveys designed to look at trends, challenges, and opportunities in the current landscape of interpreting. If you are interested in some of the results, along with advice and strategies from experts in the field, be sure you are tuning in to the free online event ProZ.com is hosting for remote interpreters, happening this Tuesday, March 28th.

One question interpreters were asked was:

"What hardware or software would you consider as part of your list of 'must haves' for the modern interpreter?"

A lot of recommendations were made, and so I thought it might be fun to share a compiled list of those recommendations, and maybe also build off it, to create a more or  less comprehensive list of tools that anyone can go through to get ideas which might help improve how they work.

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Virtual conference for remote interpreters schedule for Tuesday, March 28



Join interpreters and language enthusiasts at the ProZ.com Virtual Conference for Remote Interpreters on Tuesday, March 28. The event is free of charge and will be broadcast through ProZ.com/tv. View the event page for event times in your location.
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CSV files for ProZ*Pay payroll

For language companies with large or small payrolls, if your payroll data can be formatted or entered into a spreadsheet, it is easy to share with ProZ*Pay. This gets your payment instructions out to your payees, and makes freelancers happy in minutes.

When you have a large amount of data in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet format, an easy way to share it is to export it as a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file and then share the output file with ProZ*Pay.

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Getting a personal assistant to help you find freelance work

As a language freelancer, juggling client acquisition while completing your work can be challenging. You may find yourself juggling multiple projects and clients, leaving little time to do your own business development - searching for new opportunities. 

To keep you on track and chasing every great opportunity, get someone to do it for you.
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Transcreation Atelier: free online (Zoom) event organized by Women in Localization UK, March 10th

If you're like me, you might have to occasionally Google "transcreation" when you see the word pop up, just to make sure (again) that you are clear on what is being talked about. 

 

I think I get the idea now. I think.

 

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Blog Publishing in Multiple Languages Made Easy

by Cintia de Melo Dias Kanowitz

 

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

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Guest post: Tips for Getting Started as a Tech Translator

 

I’m happy to present a guest blog post for translators and interpreters who are getting started in their careers featuring Tianci Hu Marrero (Iggee) and Tips to Get Started as a Tech Translator

Iggee is a full-time freelance translator and software developer based in New York. In the 7 years of her career, she has worked on numerous tech translation projects such as blockchain whitepaper, software localization, optical hardware, and API documentation.

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5 Myths About AVT


Audiovisual translation (AVT) has many myths associated with it. Let me share 5 perceptions about AVT that are simply not true.

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Guest post: Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Medical Interpretation

 

I’m happy to present the first guest blog post for translators and interpreters who are getting started in their careers featuring Robert Rutledge and Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Medical Interpretation. Robert Rutledge is a Spanish medical translator and interpreter from Dayton, Ohio. He holds an MA in Spanish Translation from Kent State University and a 40-hour Bridging the Gap medical interpretation certificate. 

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Save the Date—The 1st ProZ.com Virtual Conference for Remote Interpreters

On March 28th, the conference will focus on a selection of learning materials for language professionals and bilinguals interested in entering the remote interpreting market, and resources and platforms to help grow your remote interpreters' business.

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The people behind ProZ.com: Fawad Aslam


It's time for another in our series of posts introducing you to the people behind 
ProZ.com...
 
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Book translation overview

Book translation is a unique field that requires both deep knowledge of the languages and the culture involved. It is not even translation but rather “rewriting” in another language or “re-authoring”, a process which is now referred to by many as transcreation. A book translator does their best to deliver the same idea as the idea of the original text, conveys the style and the energy of the original, and even may create new words in order to show a reader the fantastic world that the author created in their masterpiece. 

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The people behind ProZ.com: Kevin Kiprotich


It's time for another in our series of posts introducing you to the people behind 
ProZ.com...
 
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Explain the difference between a translator and an interpreter

We asked the popular artificial intelligence tool for the answer.

A translator and an interpreter are both language professionals who facilitate communication between people who speak different languages. However, they do so in different ways and in different settings.

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Middlebury Institute of International Studies Scholarship for ProZ.com members

Dear members, ProZ.com paying members are now eligible for a 25% scholarship toward the following Middlebury Institute in-person or online, degree or nondegree localization programs: Read More

The 2nd Pro Bono Newsletter: all the latest from the project...



 
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Trends in the language services industry: Outlook

Freelance language professionals' outlooks on the future of their work and careers run the gamut, of course. But in general, positivity is up and negativity is down from 2020. The percentage of language professionals who would recommend their line of work to someone who is currently weighing their career options is also up slightly, which is good-- the industry will need all the new talent it can get.
 
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Trends in the language services industry: Clients

Let's take a look at freelance language professionals and their clients.
 
In 2022, a higher percentage of translators reported not having any "regular" clients at the moment: 15%, versus less than 10% in the previous 14 years. Of course, "regular" is somewhat subjective, but it might be slightly more meaningful than a simple total number of clients. The largest group, between 20 and 30% over the last 14 years, report working with 4 to 6 "regular" clients at a time. 
 
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Trends in the language services industry: Income, planning, investments

So let’s talk money.
 
One tendency is to focus too sharply on rates. To be fair, a successful freelancer pays attention to their rates, charges accordingly for their work, and sets rates which allow them to deliver good work and make the living they want to make. However, it can be easy to miss the “income forest” if one is staring too hard at an individual “rate tree”.
 
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Trends in the language services industry: A demographic interlude

Because everyone likes a nice chart or graph, right? Here we go.
 

Years in the industry

 Respondents to surveys and other participants in this report are a relatively “mature” crowd in terms of professional experience. Almost half fall into the range of between six and eighteen years in the industry.
 
Surveys outside of the ProZ.com site indicate the percentage of newer language professionals may be higher than shown here, however, with 10% having been in the industry for just under two years, and another 10% in the 2 - 4 year range.
 
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The ProZ.com Translation and Interpreting Podcast

 

Key Insights from 2022

It's been another great year for the podcast, with a wide range of guests and lots of amazing discussions on translation and interpreting. It really has been an honor to host the show, talk to such fantastic guests and interact with our very supportive listeners.

We're growing as well, with streams up 127% and listeners from 77 countries around the world.

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Trends in the language services industry: Turnover and Attention Economy

You win some, you lose some

 

The percentage of people who are leaving the industry had declined somewhat by 2019. Just under 21% said they were planning on leaving, or had already left the industry. There was a small uptick in this percentage in 2022, to 23%. 
 
Now, bear in mind that these percentages include people who are considering leaving but who have not yet left, and they also likely leave out some who have already left as well. In 2022, roughly 37% of freelance translators and interpreters reported knowing friends or colleagues who had left the industry in the past couple of years.
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Trends in the language services industry: The continued rise of the remote interpreter

There was probably a sort of Golden Age of the Interpreter, where technology had gotten good enough to support and facilitate an interpreter’s work, but where for the most part the interpreter needed to be on site. So you saw a lot of interpreters traveling here and there, near and far, to work at conferences, job sites, business meetings, court hearings, and so on. It sounds almost glamorous, doesn’t it? 
 
Tech advances then reached a point where those plane tickets and travel expenses began to dry up, as it became easier and easier and more and more cost effective to bring the interpreter onto the scene either over the phone or virtually. Not only can remote interpreting be more cost effective, it can also be safer-- think of military applications, war zones, language support during epidemics, and so on. Smart phones allowed us to go mobile with a distant interpreter, and platforms geared towards finding and engaging with a distant interpreter began to pop up across the internet.
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Trends in the language services industry: The need for experts on tech applied to language services

In a previous industry report, we touched on the dynamic of machine translation and the translator, machine translation and the company or client, as well as the segments of freelance translators who were:
 
  1. Embracing MT and MTPE
  2. Diversifying within the industry
  3. Diversifying out of the industry
     
As we saw a moment ago, some translators are getting trained or training themselves in the application of post-editing and dedicating at least some of their work efforts to these projects. Some translators are diversifying the services they offer within the industry, and others are transitioning out of the industry altogether. We’ll look at these last two groups in just a moment, but first, let’s look at this from a different perspective.
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The people behind ProZ.com: Benedict Ouma


It's time for another in our series of posts introducing you to the people behind 
ProZ.com...
 
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Trends in the language services industry: Machine translation, part 2

Actual post-editing work (MTPE)...

 

Quotes from language professionals:

I'm training automated translation engines and I therefore know firsthand these need to be 'tweaked' to deliver proper suggestions.
 

I am used to post editing now more than ever, and that has been a significant contribution to the number of words I am able to translate per day.
 
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Trends in the language services industry: Machine translation, part 1

Machine translation and post-editing. Won’t it just go away on its own?

 

In order to look at machine translation (MT) here, we will use three different categories: 
  1. MT applied by translators, 
  2. MT applied by clients or others who are not the translators, and 
  3. Actual machine translation post-editing (MTPE) work.
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26 hours of interpreter training added to ProZ.com Plus membership

26 hours of interpreter training has been added to the basket of goods, services and resources available with the ProZ.com Plus membership subscription.

As discussed in this year's language services industry report, many interpreters are getting involved in translation. And even more translators are getting involved in interpreting.

In 2017, ProZ.com began, through its partnerships, providing direct paid work for those in the remote interpreting world. Support, project management, and payments are handled by the ProZ.com team in order to facilitate this work and to keep up the quality and consistency of the service provided. In 2022, the average earning from this single channel of work was 2,791 USD among those interpreters who were working. The ProZ.com team intends to increase that average while increasing the incoming work and the number of interpreters who are getting work.

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Trends in the language services industry: Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence. Forget whether it's really intelligent, it's here. What is it doing?
 
Quotes from language professionals:

An interpreting contract was cancelled because AI was implemented to LIVE translate & subtitle a news show where I was working.
 
Technological advances are not only exciting, but greatly impact the development of our industry. We need to adapt and transform ourselves, since technology is dynamic as well.
 
I am not extremely worried about technological advances, on the contrary I am trying to specialise so that I can make them work to my advantage.
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Trends in the language services industry: What, me worry?

What concerns freelance language professionals most at the moment?

 

There is a lot to worry about, and everyone’s situation and career path is different. But there are recurring concerns that come up over and over in general among freelance language professionals. Most of the concerns themselves are the same, and most of them are shared concerns with freelancers in any industry, but by paying attention to changes in priority or prevalence it is possible to get a feel for what, if anything, is new.
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Trends in the language services industry: general industry trends

The events we've looked at so far probably took most of us by surprise. General trends in the language services industry are much less surprising if you have been in the game for a while. We can say that some of these trends have been intensified over the past two years or so, but for the most part they were all pre-existing. In general, we can say that:

 
1. Demand for language services continues to rise.
  • Content creation continues to grow exponentially,
  • Spending on language services will continue to increase,
  • More languages are being added to the demand in order to reach more people.
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What Meets the Eye: Design Differences and Effective Translation

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

 

By: Kyle Chow

 

What’s obvious to translators isn’t always so obvious to clients. I’ve found this to be especially true when encountering the impact of major design differences between the same online content in different languages. Helping our clients figure out how to navigate the design differences between cultures is one of the most valuable services we as translators can offer. 

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Trends in the language services industry: Global concerns, part three

The Great Resignation, The Big Firing, and Other Epic Names

You have probably read terms such as The Great Resignation, The Big Reshuffle, The Big Firing, Quiet Quitting, and others which are commonly being thrown about nowadays, and which make for great clickbait in our news feeds. While the media coverage seems to focus mostly on these phenomena as they affect workers in the regular 9 to 5, it is important to keep in mind that they are also feeding into the pool of available freelancers in many industries, including language services. Many employees leaving their 9 to 5 jobs are going into freelancing; one estimate is that in the United States alone, 50% of the total workforce will be (at least partially) freelance by 2028. Having gone remote during the pandemic gave a large segment of the population a small taste of one part of the freelancing life, and most are currently grappling with remote work vs. back to the office. So now you have both necessity and desire fueling a shift to freelancing as a way of life.
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About that one ProZ.com team member...

Some of you may or may not have received an email recently, related to the year-end campaign discounts on membership, training, and software, with a ProZ.com team image that had one extra, rather canine-looking team member added to it. And some of you caught it, and asked about it. The truth is, there is an odd number of people on the team at the moment, so we weren't sure how to best add a team pic with just two rows and have it look neat. So: meet Max.
 
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Trends in the language services industry: Global concerns, part two

In early 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine, setting off a chain of events the full results of which we have yet to see. In the immediate aftermath, a great number of people in Ukraine were either forced to leave their country or internally displaced. Again, it was the freelance translators and interpreters who had the skills and tools available to weather the storm with just a tiny bit more of certainty when it came to securing an income, in a moment where everything was uncertain. 
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ProZ.com/TV Donation Drive to Celebrate 2022 Giving Tuesday Day

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving back. With the support of language professionals and trainers, ProZ.com organizes this free conference which, over the years, has raised money for many different charities.

The event includes sessions from experts in the industry and a free networking space. This year, we want to support Ecologi in planting trees to help restore nature, improve the climate and positively transform society.

Participate in this virtual event by attending and making a one-time donation. As always, ProZ.com will match, dollar for dollar, the first $1,000 USD donated.

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Music to translate to: a collaborative playlist

 

Some need absolute silence while working. It might also depend on the job, or the part of the job. For some, they work best when the music is just right.

 

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Trends in the language services industry: Global concerns, part one

The past two to three years have been, as many a corporate email would remind us during the COVID-19 pandemic, “challenging times.” A great many things changed from one day to the next, and now in 2022 we’re still figuring out what some of this means for our work and our lives moving forward. What does this look like to freelance professionals in the language services industry? This report will take a look at both global and industry-specific challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves since the last report, and how freelance language professionals are dealing with those challenges and taking advantage of those opportunities.

 
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Submissions open for ProZ.com's 30th translation contest

ProZ.com contests started back in 2007. Time flies, and so do submission phases of contests, so if you have a moment, don't wait! The latest translation contest, ProZ.com's 30th, is now open for submissions. There are source texts in English and Spanish, authored by two members of the ProZ.com community. 

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ProZ.com Awarded MCIS Professional Partner of the Year!

MCIS Language Solutions announced at their Annual General Meeting that ProZ.com is a joint winner (along with the Social Purpose Institute) of their Professional Partner of the Year Award! MCIS gives the award to a business partner that has contributed substantially to their growth and development. MCIS initially partnered with ProZ.com in 2019 and this year has strengthened the relationship further, with ProZ.com offering more of MCIS’ high-quality translation- and interpreting-related courses on its platform.

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Words that make a difference


This is the latest in a series charting the development of the embryonic Pro Bono Project, which matches volunteer translators with worthy non-profit causes. Our first “clients” have been environmental agencies, and few could be more urgent and important than the cause of Professor Bill Ripple and his film, the  Scientist’s Warning.

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Pro Bono Project: one month in



ProZ.com’s Pro Bono Project has completed its first real month in action, and there’s been a LOT of action, especially when it comes to environmental projects.

I thought the easiest way to tie the threads together would be via a monthly newsletter, keeping you updated on the non-profit clients and the translators involved, as well as updating you on other must-know areas of the project.

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Good money habits for freelancers

As a freelancer, you know that managing your money can be a tough task. You may not have an employer to help out with benefits like vacation time and health insurance. It's up to you to make sure you're saving enough for retirement and investing in ways that will grow your nest egg over time.

Here are some money habits that can help any freelancer stay financially secure:

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When is a workshop not a workshop?

When it’s an unworkshop, obviously. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

Perhaps you’ve heard of Translation Mastermind, a group that I’ve been running for a few years now, several of which have been in partnership with ProZ.com. The participants (around 1,350 translators) are made up of a small minority who’ve joined independently and the vast majority who enter the group as one of the benefits of being ProZ.com membership Plus subscribers.

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Politely asking for invoice payment

I'm sure you've been there: you've finished a project for a client, and they're supposed to pay you the agreed amount. But they haven't paid yet, and now it's been weeks since you sent them your invoice. So what do you do?

You can keep calling or texting them every day asking where the payment is until they pay up. Or, you could be polite and friendly while also making it clear that this isn't acceptable behavior anymore—and how soon would it be possible for them to send over that wire transfer, PayPal, Payoneer, whatever?

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First pro bono translation delivered!

Shout-out to Anna Tribó who has just delivered the first completed translation under our new Pro Bono Project!
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Eliminate distractions from your work day

Time is money. If you're like most people, you probably think of this as an excuse to work harder and make more money. The truth is that time really does equal money, but only if you're working efficiently and not wasting your precious hours on distractions or unproductive tasks. The key to doing more with less time isn't just about working harder—it's about working smarter too.

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Multilingualism in Africa and its cultural impacts on communication from iVoice Africa

Oluwatobi J. Oladipo, founder and CEO of iVoice Africa, shared his presentation "Multilingualism in Africa and its cultural impacts on communication" at International Translation Day 2022. Oluwatobi, a voice over artist, describes how having a natural conversation differs from being able to communicate effectively - especially as it relates to communication in Africa.

His presentation has been shared on YouTube and is available for viewing below. 

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ProZ.com's Pro Bono Project

All over the world as we speak, good work is being done by volunteers. From aiding refugees to rescuing animals, from teaching underprivileged children to staffing a local charity shop, this quiet work goes on day after day, carried out by unsung heroes. And at times, as in the recent case of Ukraine, we witness mass mobilizations of people power that are truly inspiring. 

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International Translation Day: celebrating and raising awareness

It is said that Gabriel García Marquez liked the English translation of his book 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' more than his original Spanish version, and that King Edward III gave Geoffrey Chaucer a gallon of wine a day for the rest of his life as an award for his literary works and translations (that's more than 3.5 liters a day!) Historically, women would not sign their translations with their names , but used pseudonyms to avoid rejection of their work, while 'The Adventures of Pinocchio' by Carlo Collodi would become the most translated piece of all times (leaving aside religious books). No matter what period in history we check for facts, translation is always there --or better still: it's there, but most people are not aware of it.

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International Translation Day 2022 live video event features 34 free presentations and 2 members-only networking events

Join the ProZ.com community in celebrating International Translation Day with two full days of online sessions, panel discussions, live interactions and more. Each day, the events will include a remote networking session in the final hour.

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Find your way through the maze at the ProZ.com's annual conference

ProZ.com's 14th annual online conference to celebrate International Translation Day is happening soon. If you have created an account at ProZ.com with the objective of meeting clients, don't miss the session "Finding ways through the maze: how clients and professionals meet at ProZ.com" on September 28th.

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How to create a great professional profile

As a freelancer looking for opportunities on ProZ.com, your professional profile is your most important tool. Here are some ideas to take your profile from good to great, and attract clients' attention at a higher rate.

The first thing you need to know is that, while many agencies and end clients post public job openings on ProZ.com, the great majority (up to 80%!) of the work volume that flows through the site actually comes from job offers sent privately via profile messages. 

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4 tricks for better ranking in the agencies and companies directory

The Translation agencies and companies directory is where you can find translation agencies and end clients on ProZ.com.

It's easy to see where your business page ranks if you're a confirmed employee you just need to head over to the directory and you'll see it:

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Get the best match with ProZ Find

Looking for language professionals on ProZ.com for your projects? 

If you've outsourced work before on the site, then you probably have seen and even used ProZ Find to make your searches. But did you know that you can personalize your searches with many filters to find the best match?

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Mistakes to avoid when posting a job

Have you ever posted a job on ProZ.com and wondered why you didn’t get as many quotes as you had expected? 

With over 150 jobs posted in a day you need to make sure you get the attention of the right professionals.

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3 tips to get the attention of a freelance translator

Do you have an urgent request for translation? Are you screening language professionals for future opportunities? 

If so, it is likely you are contacting linguist profiles at ProZ.com. Can your message reach the right translator? Are there secrets to getting their attention? How do you break through the noise?

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Should you publish rates in your profile?

As a freelancer at ProZ.com, you have the option to include rates. Some do, some do not.

In a previous ProZ.com Facebook group discussion, Andrew Morris suggested that he always preferred not to in the early days when seeking out new clients all the time, because some clients surprise you by offering you more than you’d have naturally stated.

That seems like a simple explanation for one side of the debate.

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What are the benefits of working with direct clients?

Editor's note: This blog post was written by Andrew Morris - and posted as part of the Translators and Interpreters (ProZ.com) group on Facebook. It has been edited for use here. Direct clients also might be known as end clients or end customers. They provide language work directly to the translator without use of an agency, LSP or other intermediary. 
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Face to Face with Patricia Ferreira

All our lives are marked by milestones which appear clear in only retrospect. Each time we make major decisions or react to unexpected circumstances, we never really know what lies ahead. But looking back, we see how each key event – whether welcome or unwelcome –played a part in making us into the person we are today. A chance meeting, an unplanned travel experience, a divorce, a disease – all emerge along the journey as seemingly random events, and it’s only later that we recognise them as real turning points. That is certainly true of English and French into Italian and Spanish translator Patricia Ferreira, whose life and travels have taken her far from home, given her a varied career in languages, and culminated in an inspiring triumph over adversity.

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Email me, call me, text me

The ability to establish real-time communication at the click of a button -- by text, voice or video -- is having a significant impact on business in general, and on the translation industry in particular. Meanwhile, translation companies are under pressure to complete translation projects more quickly. Given these factors, being able to make yourself readily available to a project manager in a time of need is a significant competitive differentiator.

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Face to Face with Mario Freitas

Many translators speak of how their final career choice was somehow the result of an action or decision by one or both of their parents, but few trace the journey back two generations to a grandparent. However, that’s exactly the case with long-term ProZ member Mario Freitas, whose grandfather – even though he wasn’t a career diplomat – served as Brazilian ambassador to El Salvador, Honduras, and Lebanon. It was in Beirut that Mario’s parents met – his father was of course Brazilian, and his mother Lebanese – and it was precisely because of that cosmopolitan experience that his father later placed Mario in an American school in their hometown of Belo Horizonte.

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Face to Face with Elisabeth Fuchs

While some translators had jet-setting parents who carted their kids with them across the globe, complete with international schooling, and others grew up amid several languages, surrounded by grandmothers or uncles muttering away in exotic tongues, Élisabeth Fuchs begins her interview by saying “My background’s not very interesting.” Ah, but appearances deceive. It may be true that she has lived her entire life in a 200-km radius, and that the most adventurous move was from Lorraine, in the northeast of France, to Alsace in the…er…northeast of France, when she was still a young child. But when you zoom in and look at the detail, every human story, every background, has its fascination, and Élisabeth’s is no exception.

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What are the challenges of working with direct clients?

Editor's note: This blog post was written by Andrew Morris - and posted as part of the Translators and Interpreters (ProZ.com) group on Facebook. It has been edited for use here. Direct clients also might be known as end clients or end customers. They provide language work directly to the translator without use of an agency, LSP or other intermediary.
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How freelancers bank without a home



Are you a freelancer constantly on the move? In a world where living as a digital nomad is again an option, it leaves us wondering how to transition from a traditional lifestyle to one unencumbered by physical boundaries. 

One of the largest concerns is financing; how do freelancers bank without a home? Let's discuss how freelancers can bank while on the move.

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Face to Face with Tvrtko Štuka

Imagine growing up in one country and enjoying your late adolescence and adult life in another – but without ever leaving your home town. Such was the experience of Tvrtko Štuka, who was born in Zagreb, in what was then Yugoslavia, although the city is now of course the capital of Croatia.

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World Refugee Day: an interview with Aimee Ansari

Every June 20th, the world celebrates World Refugee Day to honor refugees from around the world. The day, formerly known as Africa Refugee Day, was established in 2001 in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and designated as an international day in 2000 by the United Nations.

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Does your profile reflect the translator you are today?

It’s vital to inhabit the right mindset as a freelancer, which includes both the story we tell ourselves, and the emotional state we inhabit. But none of that means we don’t have to have the core skills to do the job, day in day out, or the strategies to get the word out and begin to interact with clients.

Whether that’s in your website, your marketing, your social media pronouncements, or your attendance at trade fairs and industry conferences… the list goes on.

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One post, dozens of vendors, quick quotes management

Any business or individual can outsource via ProZ.com using any of these two methods:  job postings and the directory.

The directory allows outsourcers to search over 1 million linguists with over 20 search criteria, and contact them directly through their profiles. The directory represents the primary means that outsourcers use to find translators and interpreters at ProZ.com.

Job postings, on the other hand, allow outsourcers to share an offer and receive quotes from suitable language professionals. 

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Video: ProZ.com membership benefits

Professional membership puts ProZ.com to work for you as a marketing tool that helps freelancers connect with outsourcers - even when you are not working.

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Face to Face with Stefan Paloka

Just close your eyes for a few seconds and type a sentence or two at your keyboard. Then open them and see how you got on. If you’re a touch typist, chances are you didn’t do too badly, but nevertheless you’re keen to check – a task for which you use your vision of course. Now imagine operating “in the dark” throughout your professional career, typing sentence after sentence, translation after translation, without ever being able to see the page, and without using any kind of speech-to-text software. The trick? Well, on your keyboard, there are tiny key bumps on the F and J keys, as well as on the number 5 on your numerical keypad. Perhaps you’ve never stopped to give them much thought. But for a blind person, they are essential, and orientate the fingers around the entire keyboard.

Welcome to the extraordinary world of Stefan Paloka.

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Language pairs on your profile are start to freelancer success

The language pair is a combination of a source and a target language, for describing a translation. At ProZ.com, language pairs are essential to the site's operation as a the world's largest community of freelance language professionals. Be sure yours are appearing as expected.
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Face to Face with Lola Sugimoto

Ah, now you have an advantage over me, because you’ve seen the photograph. But when the online interview window opened to reveal Lola Sugimoto, my initial surprise was that she’s not Japanese at all, but rather Italian American (née Calabro), with bits of the original Dutch settlers in New York as well as a smattering of Irish and German genes thrown into the mix. All the same, she’s married to a Japanese, speaks the language fluently – although she speaks English to her son –and has been in the country over a decade, so we’re definitely talking bicultural here…

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Face to Face with Achille Yaya

Imagine speaking one language at home, another while shopping in town, and yet another every time you come across someone who greets you in a third. That was a daily reality for the young Achille (pron: a-SHEEL) Yaya growing up in the central region of Benin in West Africa, tucked between Togo to the West and massive Nigeria to the East.

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Do you ask clients for a PO?... Think again

A Purchase Order (PO) --or Project Order-- is a commercial document issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller will provide to the buyer. Sending a project order to a supplier constitutes a legal offer to buy products or services. Acceptance of a project order by a seller usually forms a contract between the buyer and seller, so no contract exists until the project order is accepted.

On today's quick poll, freelancers are being asked whether they required a PO before starting a project or not.

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Face to Face with Caroline Durant

Some translators end up feeling like fish out of water in their own families, where they are the only one with a penchant for languages, as if their gift sprang out of nowhere. Others are lucky enough to have parents who carefully foster and encourage a love of languages. Such was the case of Caroline Durant (stress the first syllable of the surname), whose mother was herself an aficionado of all things linguistic, and carefully nurtured her daughter’s interest. 

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Getting paid with ProZ*Pay: the real story of Epiphane Adjadji

Epiphane Adjadji is an English <> French and English <> Fon translator from the Republic of Benin in West Africa. Despite the fact that he has been registered at ProZ.com since 2014, I virtually met Epiphane a few days ago when he replied to one of my email messages about the ProZ.com invoicing tool and ProZ*Pay.

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Simple accounting and on-time payments: dream or reality?

While most experienced language professionals know how to invoice their clients, sometimes calculating taxes, keeping a good backup or sending reminders complicates the process and takes time, extra time they could use on actual projects, marketing or learning. Not to mention the number of late or incomplete invoices that result in non-payment issues!

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Translation Crowdsourcing: Channeling a Community for Quality Results

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

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Face to Face with Islam Younis

To some it might seem like a dream childhood. Based in glittering Dubai, but travelling the world with your parents, as your Egyptian father does a hush-hush job in military intelligence, working throughout the Middle East. Spending two-to-three months at a time in countries as diverse as Turkey, Iraq, Greece. Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Syria, Algeria and Morocco. But alas, the attractions of nomadism were lost on the young Islam Younis, who felt quite bitter about it at the time. Just imagine – the moment you make friends, you move on. You’re rootless, endlessly on the road, and your whole life lacks a sense of being settled.

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Need to attract clients? Your project history can help you

 

At the end of 2005, ProZ.com released a feature called "Project history".  The tool was created to allow freelancers to track past projects completed and list them in profiles with information such as language pairs, fields, volume, keewords, clients and collaborators. Since then, more than 17,300 site members have listed projects, 11,733 of which show as corroborated.

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The Blue Board record: a good rating matters

The ProZ.com Blue Board is the complete, searchable database of business records containing service providers' feedback and rating.  When leaving feedback on a client / translation agency / company, linguists are asked to enter a number from 1 to 5 corresponding to their likelihood of working again (LWA) with them. Entries may also contain information about quality management, on-boarding processes and payment procedures. 

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Face to Face with Martina Russo

Sometimes when we look at translators who have achieved a notable level of success, we imagine that it must have been plain sailing, or that they just “got lucky” somewhere along the way. We forget the years of hard work, the risks taken, sacrifices made, the wrong choices and the lessons learned. The story of Martina Russo’s career is a case in point. She may well be CEO of a company today, with a finance officer and an entire admin team, but she’s worked hard to get there, and done several other challenging jobs as part of that journey.

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Why is a complete business page important?

Your business page at ProZ.com is the way you present your business to the world. It does not matter if the viewer is a potential vendor or a potential client, if it is incomplete, you likely will not achieve your desired results. 

So...is your business page complete?

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Face to Face with Stephen Rifkind

Many a translator ends up living in a different culture, far from home. That’s often part of the deal. But few are those, it could be argued, who don’t feel at home until they reach and settle in that second country. It’s as if they were simply born in the wrong place, and had to pack their bags and journey across borders or even continents to find the right one…

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TranslateLeiria event on April 23!

This guest post was written by the Portuguese Association of Translators and Interpreters (APTRAD). APTRAD will be hosting its first in-person event since 2019 on April 23, 2022.

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Making your own luck: An interview with Sheila Wilson

"I officially retired" said Sheila Wilson in a recent email message. "Thank you and all the team at ProZ.com for everything the site has provided for me since 2007."

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Virtual conferences – the pros, cons, and future

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, XTRF. XTRF is a Polish company providing a leading cloud-based translation management system to translation departments and LSPs around the globe.

By: Karolina Galek

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Create, send and track your invoices online

Have you recently completed a job? Do you need to send your client an invoice? At ProZ.com, it is easy to create, send and track your invoices online through the invoicing tool. 

Membership allows you to create as many invoices as needed. Non-members are afforded five invoices to try out the platform.

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Face to Face with Anne Rametsi

For many translators, a love of the magic of foreign tongues is the springboard in to the profession. But of course that’s not the only gateway… For Anne Rametsi, for example, it was a passion for human rights discovered early in life that eventually led her to a life as a professional translator and university lecturer designing and delivering courses on translation. 

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Faster solutions for non-payments on your Blue Board

Just like Business Pages, the ProZ.com Blue Board works as a business card. Not only are Blue Board records an important risk management tool for language service providers since 2001, but they also show a company's reliability in terms of payment and commitment.

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Face to Face with Christian Nielsen-Palacios

Christian Nielsen-Palacios is a man who has learned the meaning of the word “enough”. At 65, with two grown-up sons, a steady stream of texts from his favourite agencies, his house in upstate New York paid for, and all his essential bills covered, he’s reached a place of satisfaction that will no doubt be the envy of many. But it’s been a long and winding journey, which began far from where he is now, with several serendipitous events as milestones along the way...

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Web Accessibility: Making Sure Your Localization Work Is Inclusive

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

By: Emily Cipriani

Laptop with refreshable braille display [Photo by Elizabeth Woolner on Unsplash]

 

What is web accessibility—and how can you best incorporate it into your translation or localization content work?

Web accessibility is an inclusive practice that ensures that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. My recent project with Olivia Plowman, my colleague in the MA in Translation and Localization Management program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, investigated web accessibility from a localizer’s perspective. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

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Keys to getting a good response to job posts

Many jobs are posted by outsourcers at ProZ.com every day. Each one competes for the attention of the 1.2 million registered language professionals. 

How might your business get great responses to job posts?

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Six ways to assess new outsourcers

 

ProZ.com has over 20 years of success as the largest, most trusted online community where language professionals can freely form transparent and open working relationships. For these relationships to continue, there are important basics for freelancers to remember when being approached by an outsourcer.

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Face to Face with Leda Costea

Generations of kids have been transfixed by the cartoons of Loony Tunes, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck into global celebrities. Cartoons are said to increase creativity, language development, promote laughter and relieve stress, while giving toddlers a window on another world. Detractors say they encourage violence and lack of empathy. Whatever the pros and cons, they played a significant role in the living room of a family home in Moinești in Eastern Romania, where the young Leda Costea was fascinated by the characters and the strange sounds that came out of their mouths. 

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Ukrainian list of 500+ available linguists added to crisis response page

Here is the latest update to the challenges involved with meeting Ukrainian language needs. The updated list of available professionals working in Ukrainian languages already features 580 linguists offering services in Ukrainian language, with more currently being processed.

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Want to Avoid the Bad Apples?

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

By: Emily Cipriani

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Translators connecting with clients for long term relationships and no commissions

ProZ.com's unique membership model means that when outsourcers and service providers connect via ProZ.com, neither side is charged any commissions or fees. When a translator, interpreter, subtitler or transcriber meets a client or provider, the relationship is yours, unencumbered, forever.

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Face to Face with Aktan Aydoğmus

Aktan Aydoğmus is firing on all cylinders – a man at the top of his game. When not interpreting at international conferences for the UN or NGOs, he’ll be at the Ministry of Family, or of Justice, or Health or Fisheries, in his home city of Ankara, attending high-level talks on the pandemic, the ongoing war, fish stocks in the Mediterranean or other weighty political matters. Given that Turkey occupies a very strategic geopolitical position, there’s always plenty to say. And seeing as these talks often spill over into dinners, the working day can be long. But Aktan has all the energy required for the job, and plenty more to spare…

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Fund freelancer payments with PayPal using ProZ*Pay and allow payout choice

For two decades, freelance translators and language companies have met at ProZ.com and often completed transactions with payments through PayPal. The two companies were founded around the same time and PayPal has made it easier for freelancers to receive money, fast.

In some places, however, government regulations do not allow receipt of funds via PayPal. This adds complication for the language company in its payment processes and makes it difficult on the freelancer.

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Face to Face with Bella Nazaire

What chance do you have when your grandmother steals into your bedroom and whispers “Bonne nuit, good night, Gute Nacht and buona notte” – along with your native Martinican into your ear every night as she tucks you into bed? None, basically – you’re hooked on the incantatory magic of foreign languages from your most formative years. Languages come intimately bundled up with feelings of warmth, security and love – and you’re won over for the rest of your days.

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Companies looking for Ukrainian language professionals available to work now



ProZ.com expresses its heartfelt solidarity with all translators and interpreters in Ukraine. All team members feel a particular connection to the country as we have an office with four close colleagues operating out of Ukraine. We are monitoring the situation with alarm, but also with solidarity and hope that the situation will be resolved peacefully and quickly.

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Face to Face with Daniel Coria

Whatever route our journey towards freelance translation or interpreting has taken, the chances are that along the way, there have been a few key figures who’ve helped us, and pointed us in a certain direction. A parent, perhaps, a boss, or a mentor within the profession. In the case of Daniel Coria in his late teens in Buenos Aires, that role was played by an inspirational English teacher, who not only spotted his classwork but actively encouraged him towards a career in translation, putting him in touch with contacts of hers in the local industry. And the rest, as they say, is his story.

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Face to Face with Ana Laila Hagen

Back in our schooldays, our teachers would tut-tut if we ever used the expression “very unique”. “Unique” is an absolute, they’d say, with no degrees of relativity. Well, having spent an hour in the delightful company of Ana Laila Hagen, I beg to differ. “Very unique” is the perfect way to describe her…

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3 Killer Tips to Land your Next Remote Interpreting Job

Your profile picture

 

Nowadays your profile picture is required almost everywhere: networking platforms like ProZ.com, resumes, and even interpreting platforms. So you should know how to use your profile picture to your advantage.

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Face to Face with Bart Roelands

In our younger years, our dreams of what we’ll do when we grow up can vary wildly. Firefighter? Astronaut? Sports star? Or perhaps increasingly these days, the most common aspiration is merely to be famous…

 

Now picture a young Bart Roelands growing up in the southern region of the Netherlands, not far from Eindhoven, feasting on TV series featuring famous lawyers such as Perry Mason or Matlock, and planning to follow in their footsteps, valiantly convincing judges with the sheer force of their arguments. Or alternatively reading One Hercule Poirot novel after another (in English, if you please), being transfixed by David Suchet’s definitive onscreen performances, and harbouring hopes of one day being a great detective.

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Reductionist takes on multilingualism and ethnicity in Myanmar

— by Katie Craig (Myanmar Indigenous Community Partners)

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You say Potato and I say ProZ



All around the world, translators go to bed each night haunted by an existential question that keeps them awake into the small hours. No, nothing to do with pandemics, impending ecological doom or financial meltdown – it’s far more serious than that. At issue is how you pronounce “ProZ”.

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Face to Face with Anne Masur

Some translators are born into cosmopolitan, international households. Others have linguistic aptitude in their genes because of a long family history of learning and speaking foreign tongues, along with copious amounts of travel and exposure throughout their childhood and adolescence… and still others appear out of nowhere, landing like alien beings in a family with neither an interest in nor a history of languages, inexplicably showing up with the language gene. And not only that, but going on to make a living out of it.

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Networking for language freelancers in a globalized world

ProZ.com and other translation workplaces have been created based on the premise that translators will be willing to cooperate if given the appropriate tools and opportunities. At ProZ.com, there are several areas where you can establish relationships with colleagues and potential clients and share experiences:

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Face to Face with Simon Barnes

For some of us it’s the first magical encounter with an exotic culture on a childhood holiday, or an (imaginary) love affair with a faraway star singing in a foreign language, but for the young Simon Barnes, it was the quiet presence at home of his father’s French and German books that provided the first gateway to a new world. There can’t have been many shelves lined with such books in the small Leicestershire town of Market Bosworth (the scene of a defining battle in a civil war that marked England’s history), but then again his father had started out as a French and German teacher, before leaving to work for Rolls Royce.

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Face to Face with Elke Fehling

Like a trail of breadcrumbs in a fairytale, we can trace Elke Fehling’s love for languages all the way back through the decades. Her mother, who had been an au pair, was keen for her daughters to learn to speak other languages, so she encouraged them to watch Sesame Street from a young age (in English with German subtitles, which the 4-year-old Elke couldn’t read). Along with family trips to Italy and Spain, that early exposure sowed the seeds and inspired a sense of the magical properties of foreign languages.

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Crowdin introduces apps to search terms, post jobs, hire and pay freelancers via ProZ.com

Crowdin, a cloud-based localization management solution that speeds up and automates localization, has integrated with the ProZ.com API and added three new apps to its store that can enhance the experience of its users. Managers and translators can benefit from these additions to search multiple glossaries, hire freelancers, and make payments. 

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Congratulations to the winners of "Ilustraciones"

In celebration of 2021 coming to an end, the mini translation contest "Ilustraciones" was held during December. There were three comic stripes in Spanish, German and English for participants to choose to translate into numerous target languages during this month-long competition.

The translations are available here for users to discuss and provide feedback, and winners were selected in the following language pairs:

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Face to Face with Jonathan Downie

In some ways, Jonathan Downie’s journey to the prominent position he now occupies within the interpreting industry occurred against the odds. Being born on a working-class council housing estate in the West of Scotland to a father who worked on the country’s railways, and a mother who took on various jobs over the years, didn’t exactly point straight to a degree, a Master’s, a doctorate, and a career in languages, with extensive research work and the publishing of two acclaimed books along the way.

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Last campaign prize drawing: these are the winners

The 2021 year-end membership campaign, Stay safe, ended last week. (What? You missed it? Send me a line and we'll figure something out). After three full weeks of intense work, sixteen staff members involved, and great conversations with new and returning members, the largest community of language professionals just got bigger. Thank you, members, once again for your support!

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Congratulations to the winners of "Stories about nature"

The translation contest "Stories about nature" has come to an end, and winners have been selected in the following language pairs:

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Welcome new year, new members, new clients!

A new year is getting started, and so are some of our new site members.  At ProZ.com, there are members who are starting out, also some who have been in the profession for a while, and even many who have a steady list of clients. What do they all have in common? They have invested in their businesses through membership as a smart strategy to be prepared for whatever tomorrow brings. So, congratulations for such a smart move, members, and welcome!

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"Keep it safe" ends tomorrow: meet the winners of week two

The 2021 year-end membership campaign, Keep it safe, is about to end. Since it started, hundreds of users have decided to keep their income safe in 2022 no matter what the new year brings, and they are participating in the campaign prize drawings. Meet the winners of the second week:

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Meet the companies participating in the ProZ.com Job Fair - Part 3

With the ProZ.com virtual fair on December 30 at 12 PM GMT fast approaching, it's time to meet more businesses and read what advice they can give to freelancers when approaching a translation agency for collaboration. 

Don't forget to register for the fair »

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Meet the companies participating in the ProZ.com Job Fair - Part 2

 

What better way to prepare for the ProZ.com virtual fair on December 30 at 12 PM GMT than by meeting more businesses and learning about their advice for freelancers who'd like to cooperate with them?

Kick off your shoes for a couple of minutes and dive right in! Don't forget to register for the fair »

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Top 13 language blog posts on this site published in 2021



Did you enjoy articles on the ProZ.com blog in 2021? Over 100 posts were written and shared with the language community over the last 12 months. This post lists some of the most popular... in case you missed any.

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Campaign prize drawings: are you one of the winners of the first week?

We are in the second week of the 2021 year-end membership campaign, "Keep it safe". Last week, a good number of users decided to keep their businesses safe no matter what the new year brings, while taking advantage of the special offer included in the campaign:

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Meet the companies participating in the ProZ.com Job Fair - Part 1

This December 30 at 12 PM GMT, ProZ.com will be having its first virtual job fair, where Plus subscribers will be able to network with over 25 businesses' representatives and give them their CV or ProZ.com profile links. 

As a way to prepare for the job fair, we asked some of them about their mission and some DO's and DON'Ts  for freelancers when applying to projects. Keep on reading for their answers!

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Do you give year end bonuses to freelancers?



Do you tip your hairdresser, taxi driver, lawn mower, or any other small business owner? Most likely, the answer is yes because it has been a cultural expectation to tip these individuals for providing a service. Now that we live in a digital world, do you extend the same courtesy to those providing services behind the screen? 

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ProZ.com/TV Giving Tuesday Donation Drive Succeeds in Bringing Together the Community

Another fantastic virtual event, dedicated to celebrating 2021’s edition of Giving Tuesday Day at ProZ.com, took place from November 30th- December 2nd. It featured over 7 hours of free content, a networking session, and giveaways.

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See what happened at ProZ.com in 2021

Year 2021 is almost over and the site team would like to thank you for spending it with us!

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Sending holiday cards to your clients

As a freelancer, you are likely booked out with year-end projects and your own personal events, but maybe it is time to add one more thing to your to-do list -  holiday cards.

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Holiday gift ideas for freelancers

Are you a freelancer looking for fun and functional gift ideas to share with loved ones this holiday season? When you work from home, there are a number of gifts you can ask for that will aid your freelancing career and make the holiday extra fun! This blog post includes a few favorite categories and ideas to share with you. 

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III Language Industry Conference in Latin America – A game changer for the region

This is a guest post from one of ProZ.com's advertising partners, Translated in Argentina (TINA).

 

New reality, new normal, new challenges. We have all been affected by the worldwide changes, regardless of our role in the industry. Therefore, Translated in Argentina, a non-profit association of language service companies whose objective is to promote the local language industry, train resources, and build awareness of the industry within the local business environment, organized its third event, #CLINT21Virtual and it was a huge success. 

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ProZ.com/TV Giving Tuesday Donation Drive is coming up!

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Translation Postcards: Donika Nasto, DE/EN>AL translator in Pogradec, Albania

When Donika Nasto was growing up in rural Albania, chewing gum was a scarce luxury, and you could only sink your teeth into an orange at New Year. The only bread available tasted so bad it needed toasting to be palatable. And the clothes you wore were likely to be hand-me-downs from older cousins…


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Language Advocacy: Meet the Global Coalition for Language Rights

The Global Coalition for Language Rights (GCLR) is a group of individuals and organizations working at the intersection of languages and human rights.

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