Letter to Pammachius | Carta a Pamáquio
You probably have heard about a letter written around 396 AD by St. Jerome to Roman senator Pammachius, on the “best method of translation?” It went down in history as the Magna Carta of translators. But there is more to the story than you may know. Here’s a video –in Portuguese with closed captions in […]
Portable Interpretation Equipment: What to Get and Why
Portable interpretation systems get a bad rap, and the names used to designate them leave no doubt: tour-guide system; bidule (the thingy); valisette (the briefcase). Yet there are settings where they are the only practical solution available, which explains their increasing popularity with many international organizations for use on field missions and in meeting rooms […]
7 Things a Chief Interpreter Wishes You Knew
There are arguably some disadvantages to being a chief interpreter. One doesn’t get to interpret as often. One has a clock to punch, reports to write, long staff meetings to sit through, and scores of managerial chores that are not necessarily fun. And while one free-rides occasionally on collective success, failure is no longer circumscribed to one’s own mistakes. If an interpreter on […]
How to Land a TED Lesson
As I write this post, my TED Lesson on How Interpreters Juggle Two Languages at Once has been viewed nearly 800,000 times. In an animated video that is barely five minutes long, the lesson sheds light on an insanely stressful occupation most people know nothing about. The TED lesson makes viewers aware of the key […]