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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 Day of Languages on 26th September, originally conjured up in 2001 by the European Union and the Council of Europe. Specific languages often have their…

Having mulled over the review process in a previous blog, this week I take a tour through some classic linguistic features that are red flags to any reviewer of German to English texts. Every language has its own formulaic features, expressions that often have no literal meaning but may be…

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 high quality to deliver to the client. It’s tricky work for a freelancer to take on because when you agree to a review assignment you…

I cannot pretend to be a cricket aficionado but, many years ago, on returning from a spell living in Germany, I found myself obsessed with the radio commentary. It seemed to supply a quintessential British ingredient that had been missing during my time abroad. Undoubtedly, much of that pleasure was…

I was recently summoned to stand on the pavement and inspect the newly installed roof-mounted bike rack on our car as my partner took it on a test drive round the block. Unfortunately, we had not worked out a signalling system for what I would do to communicate any kind…

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 of” due to the closure of her local pet store. This was the perfect excuse for my husband to recount for the thousandth time the…

When the world undergoes rapid change, language also evolves at pace to keep up. Over the last few months, we have all seen our vocabulary enriched with various scientific and sociological terminology to describe the experience of dealing with the corona virus. Much of this new vocabulary involves existing words…

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 not be surprised to come across them in their source texts. The number of typos can be a good indication of how much care the…

Instead of scrolling blankly through Twitter during my solo lunch hour, I am now surrounded by stuck-at-home family with the result that actual conversations take place. A new favourite activity is “Where’s that word from?” and I have been appointed chief etymologist with research responsibilities. Often etymological origins are lost…

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 audio files available to download for listening. You might be less familiar with another portmanteau phenomenon: the “podfasters”. These are people whose time is so…