Succeeding as a freelance translator David Charlston 2013 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Succeeding as a freelance translator

David Charlston 2013

Introduction

• 1.

Our experience of multiligualism

• 2.

A Multi-Purpose Metaphor

• 3.

Surveying the field of opportunities

• 4.

Business practice and the translator’s voice

• 5.

The text as a frozen social space

• 6.

Translation theory as an end in itself

Our experience of multilingualism and interlingual communication

• Brigitta Busch: “We are all multilingual”
• Write notes on your experiences:

– languages you have learned formally – dialects, regional varieties in your experience

• Tell you neighbour what you have written
• What distinguishes a freelancer?

A Multi-Purpose Metaphor

Surveying the field of opportunities

• How can you make money out of interlingual

skills?

– Full-time employment – Working for agencies/companies – Direct clients

• Identifying demand in the market
• Tailoring your situation and skills to meet

demand

• Curriculum vitae: writing and dissemination

Business practice and the translator’s voice

• Judging and interacting with prospective

clients

– Small UK Translation Agent – Large US Translation Agent – My invoice – Certification

Small UK Agent’s Webpage

Large US Agent’s Webpage

The text as a frozen social space

• Find out as much as you can about the

participants and processes surrounding the text

• Analyse and research the text in detail until

you know who is saying what to whom and why

• Translate, read and re-read the text from

several different perspectives

Translation theory as an end in itself

• Disadvantages

– Isolation, vulnerability

• Advantages

– Independence, flexibility, learning

• Understanding yourself as a multilingual

participant in a multilingual world

• Acting and responding creatively to a changing

environment

Freelance translation as an inter- perspectival, participatory activity