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
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