November 2nd-5th saw ATA‘s 57th Annual Conference held in San Francisco, and colleagues Paula Arturo and Claire Cox have both blogged about it. The list of future ATA conference sites and dates is here. Anyway here’s your November round-up of popular articles about language and translation.
- Do you practice spider or tiger marketing? Colleague Simon Berrill talks about how he spins his (marketing) web.
Simon explains how to get clients to come to you
- ‘Shitloads’ as a synonym for ‘lots’? Well-known translator and academic Arthur Goldhammer looks at the perils of machine translation.
- Do you know how far back the origins of translators in warfare go? Here’s a brief history of translation during times of conflict.
- Lynne Murphy examined different US & UK uses of the word ‘mad’, and in another post asked whether we preach to the choir or to the converted.
“It looks, especially if you speak British English, as if Clinton was making a claim about the sanity level of Jeremy Corbyn”
- Eponymous words are more common than they first seem. Here are ten words derived from people.
- How do you write the perfect pitch e-mail to get the job or assignment of your dreams?
- A new survey looked at the swearing habits of British men and women over the past two decades, and how they have changed.
- Here are 17 French words English speakers have stolen and reinvented.
- Remember Mr Men books? Here are 24 examples of how other languages translate their names – sure to bring a smile to your face.
The Norwegian Mr Bump.
- Finally a quiz: Do you know these 25 Scottish words and phrases?
Further reading:
A Smart Translator's Reunion 