Not your regular freelance translator in English, Slovak and Czech
What do Belgium-style heatwaves and lynch by media have in common? Let’s take a brief look on the creeping devaluation of words.
Continue reading “From heatwave to lynching – words are stronger than you may think”From the moment humanity first sent up smoke signals, information has been on a killing spree. Well, maybe not information per se, but the means we use to spread information around are definitely killing our planet.
Information society – a world where every single fart gets converted into a piece of data that needs to be disseminated, contributing to a never-ending depletion of our limited resources and shovelling pollution in all directions along the way.
Revisiting Anthony Burgess’s novel ‘A Clockwork Orange‘ after nearly 30 years, I found it equally disturbing, if not more so, as when I was 15. The dark vision of a totalitarian government hell-bent on eradicating crime and criminals, even at the cost of suppressing the free will of its citizens, makes for a real horrorshow story. But apart from the profound ethical questions the book raises, it was the language of the novel that appealed to me more this time.
Continue reading ““What’s it going to be then, eh?””Owing to my growing paranoia and recent developments on major social platforms, I have deactivated all but one of my accounts on centralised corporate social sites and moved to a federated multiverse. From now on, you will only find me on Mastodon (main account: @xl8freelancer, kind of a backup account: @TDonoval@mastodon.sk) and Instagram (because they have nice pictures there). My accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are deactivated so you won’t find me posting there. However, if you do, please note it’s not me.
Times are difficult now, especially for small businesses and freelancers. We all need not just a little patience, but solidarity too.
Continue reading “It ain’t much, but it goes from heart”
Have you ever wondered what you need to start a freelance translator career?
Apart from perfectly mastering at least two languages and having great research skills, there’s not much you actually need. In fact, there are exactly four essential things that come to my mind.
Continue reading “Tips: Starter Pack for Freelance Translators”
The last weekend everyone – well, at least all the sane people – in the Czech Republic and Slovakia celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution that put an end to the totalitarian Communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia. Now that the celebrations are over, I have been thinking what this event meant to me as a translator.
Continue reading “HOW THE 1989 VELVET REVOLUTION CHANGED THIS TRANSLATOR’S LIFE”Point one on the list, checked. Working hard on point three, point two definitely needs more effort and commitment on my part.
It took me a couple of years to redesign my business website. Not because I didn’t know what I wanted but just because I am so lazy.
Continue reading “Video: Introducing the #xl8freelancer”
February 13, 2019 by #translationfreelancer
Just a regular pissed translator’s rant.
Deadline? Maximum an hour.
Rate? A free test!?
I’ve never heard of such a fancy thingy.
Well, dear job poster, FUCK OFF. Continue reading “Translator’s Rant”