The Cornish translator

French-English and Spanish-English translator with 3 years experience. Literary translation and environmental/sustainability translation are my thing!

[thecornishtranslator]

So I’m new to this whole blog thing and I wasn’t sure what to post or how to make this into what I want it to be... but I figure the best way is to just start, right?

Let’s start with me and who I am:

My name is Emma, I’m 28 and based in Cornwall, UK. I’m a qualified French and Spanish teacher and I’ve been teaching for 4 years now. But I’ve also just finished my masters in translation and I’m looking for a career change.

It’s not that I dislike teaching- on the contrary I love being in the classroom and languages are my biggest passion- but my heart really lies with translation, it’s always been something I would love to do for a living. A few years ago I was doing a maternity cover in a school, the contract ended early and I was faced with half a school year stretching ahead of me. So I decided it was crunch time. After some gentle nudging from my partner I applied to do a masters in translation via Bristol university part time whilst still doing some supply teaching part time also. (We also ended up renovating a house at the same time but that’s another story.)

2 and a half years, lots of blood, sweat and tears later... here we are! Finished and only 20days away from getting my final result!

The question now, however is: where do I go from here? And that, my friends, is what this blog is dedicated to: the goal I am aiming for and how I’m going to get there.

[thecornishtranslator]

Strange work habit: I love a dance break

Some context: I always listen to music when I work, in fact I always have? I got into the habit during my GCSE's when my teacher recommended I listen to music in whichever language I was currently revising, to help me focus but also improve my listening skills ready for my exam. It worked a treat and I guess it's a habit that stuck as I still tend to do that even now.

(I once made the mistake of listening to Spanish music whilst planning a French lesson though. I planned it all in the wrong language and had to spend ages changing it!) So now, my noise cancelling headphones and a good playlist often get me in the right frame of mind for being productive. Most of the time once I get going I'm not really listening to the music all that much... But I am partial to the odd dance break when a really good song comes on. It's a good 3 minute screen break! 🤷‍♂️ Anyone else have any odd habits you've picked up over the years?

[thecornishtranslator]

Continuing Professional Development

So I am a full member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and one of the (many) things I like about it is the My CPD section.

As a huge list maker it's very satisfying to see all of the things I've done together in one place. Plus, at the end of the year it's useful to look through it all and decide what was useful and where the gaps are so that I can prepare for the year ahead. Last year I clocked 30 hours of CPD so this year I set myself the target of at least 35. One of the big things I did last year was Bristol Translates but this year I did the London Book fair and I didn't really know how many hours of CPD that would actually involve. (So I played it safe and set the target for 5 more hours than the year previous.)

Well, imagine my surprised when I logged in this morning to see that I've already racked up 37 hours this year?! Maybe my target should have been 40 hours!

[thecornishtranslator]

It's #mentalhealthawarenessweek and as someone who has struggled with Imposter Syndrome and anxiety a lot over the years I thought I would share some of the things that have helped me manage it:

1. Positive self-talk!

I've tried hard to be nicer in my own head- I wouldn't let anyone else be that unkind to me so why am I doing it to myself?

2. A break.

When I feel those thoughts becoming unmanageable I try and take a break from whatever I'm working on- luckily having an active Collie helps a lot as he's always keen for a trek round the local field!

3. People

Having people around me (family, friends, my fiancé) that are aware of the things I struggle with and are happy to let me talk about it really helps. A problem shared and all that!

4. Knowing I'm not alone.

Imposter Syndrome (and my anxiety that comes from that) is a real thing and there are loads of other people that suffer with it. I'm not alone and there are people who can help.

5. Last but not least- I LOVE my Mind Wellbeing journal!

It's got lots of space to write when I need to get thoughts out but it's also got colouring sections and mindfullness activities too! (It was a gift from my sister years ago and it's been so helpful!)

What do you do when your mind starts getting the better of you?

[thecornishtranslator]

#LBF23 I went to the London Book Fair!

So I spent most of this week up in London attending the book fair- here’s how I found it:

I attended some REALLY interesting seminars (Highlights were money, money, money and gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Run by the society of authors)

I got to meet and chat to some other translators thanks to both the book fair itself and a drinks reception run by The Emerging Translators Network (being based in Cornwall I don’t really know any other translators so I found this really valuable)

Now I feel like I have more direction when it comes to literary translation- before I went I didn’t really know how to get into it or really where to begin but now I feel a lot more confident.

Some tips for anyone thinking of going:

- You don’t have to have loads of meetings with publishers lined up: if you just want to attend the seminars and meet new people then that’s okay!

- I think it’s one of those things that will pay off more if you attend multiple times and nurture the connections you’ve made there

- Wear comfortable shoes!! I’m so glad I wore my Dr Martens because it’s a lot of walking and standing around

- Take your own Lunch: it’s quite pricey in the event itself

[thecornishtranslator]

Editing/ proofreading

I'll be totally honest here- proofreading my own work is the BANE of my life. I can edit other people's work without too much issue but editing my own is tough and takes me a lot longer than I would like. My use of commas is frankly shocking and I'm constantly googling when I should/shouldn't use certain punctuation marks. (Semi-colons baffle me!)

At the moment I rely rather heavily on my partner who, luckily for me, is an English major, but it's time for me to make more of an effort to improve and stand on my own two feet. So I’m looking into proofreading/ editing courses that could help me.

Any suggestions or recommendations are more than welcome!

[thecornishtranslator]

I'm back!

I took a bit of an end of term/ start of summer holidays break to re-group. It's been lovely to catch up properly and get my bearings again- the end of term is always a bit manic!

What I've been up to: - I spent most of the academic year in a long-term placement teaching French to both primary and secondary students - Finished a voluntary book translation I've been working on for a while - Re-wilded a section of my garden to help local wildlife

What's coming up:

-Next week my family and I are off to Crete on holiday so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore another language a little. (It's been a while since I was in a country and not spoke the language there at least a little!) I know ZERO Greek so it'll be a good experience- I spent tonight googling useful phrases I definitely can't pronounce yet but it's a start at least!

-There's an interesting proof-reading and editing course I want to try and complete (another string to the bow so to speak)

-I have another long-term supply teaching post coming up in the autumn term so I need to start gathering stuff for that

What's everyone else up to?

[thecornishtranslator]

Sustainable business goals

So I have also been looking into ways to keep my business green! I'm hugely passionate about looking after the planet in my personal life (I'm a vegetarian for one thing!) so it makes sense to have the same principles in business. So I thought I would share my current pledges:

1. Try to keep things digital. So I'm a sucker for a notebook. I ADORE pretty stationary but it's not very environmentally friendly. So I recently made the switch to Google drive and it’s been a bit of a game changer really- it's easily accessible from anywhere and less paper wastage!

2. Ecosia I'm going to try using a greener search engine. Translation usually means that I do a lot of research and google was always my go to but Ecosia use 80% of its advertising revenue to plant trees which I think is awesome! So if I can still do the same thing and save the planet as well... then why not?!

3. Business cards I've been considering whether or not to invest in these for a while but I think if I decide to bite the bullet I would definitely look at some eco-friendly ones! Maybe recycled paper ones? (Any recommendations welcome)

Has anyone else set some sustainable business goals? I'd love to hear them!

[thecornishtranslator]

It’s the end of term!! It’s been a long old slog this term. But a quick round up:

Teaching: I’ve done 4 days a week in a school doing all the planning and marking and everything else. I really enjoyed it but I’d forgotten just how much extra work that involves! Between the planning, marking, actual teaching, meetings, parents evenings and tutor duties I feel like I’ve hardly stopped this term!

Translation: I took on a short (ish) book translation in February and I’m finally nearing the end of the first draft! It’s taken longer than I would like but I’m having to fit it around everything else.

Other:

I got asked to judge the south west entries for the Anthea Bell translation prize for the second year running which I’m really looking forward to.

I started renovating the garden at home- I’m hoping to ‘wild’ a portion of it and bring back some wildlife! (Once I’ve finished waging war on brambles and stinging nettles that is!)

I’m looking forward to a restful two weeks off to catch up with family and friends and celebrate my 30th birthday!

[thecornishtranslator]

Mental Fatigue

Burnout/ brain fog/ mental fatigue whatever you call it, it happens to the best of us. But what I didn't really pay attention to was the physical symptoms:

- Physical fatigue

- Trouble sleeping/ disrupted sleep

- Headaches/ muscle aches

- Poor eating habits

It can have a really negative effect on more than just your brain! I’ve felt really stressed lately about fitting everything in: it feels like there’s just not enough hours in the day. But I just kept pushing hoping it would just get better. When I started not sleeping well and getting achy muscles I didn’t think much of it, but it turns out it’s all linked!

So I want to share a tip that really helps me:

On a page I draw a big recycling bin and then dump all my 'brain junk' inside it. (I confess this is not my idea I took it from Stacey Solomon!)

It really helps offload some stress and I love my Wellbeing journal by Mind Charity for this but any piece of paper will do!

[thecornishtranslator]

Imposter syndrome

Imposter Syndrome: doubting or feeling inadequate about your abilities and/or accomplishments. I've suffered with this a lot over the years. There are officially 5 different types and I'm in the superhero category (overworking yourself to make up for your feelings of inadequacy). I've been working hard at finding a balance and working through those feelings though, so I thought I would share things that help: 1. making more time for non-work related interests. I'm an avid reader but I'd not read for pleasure in a long time, so I take at least an hour at the end of my day to get away from a screen and it's really helping me wind down. 2. Stop comparing! I'm making a consious effort to recognise my own achievements (however small they may be) and not compare myself to someone else. We're all on our own journey after all so I can't expect mine to look the same as someone else's! 3. Being kind to myself It can be really easy to dwell on negative things and berate yourself if you don't achieve your goals right away. So I'm trying to focus on the positive and engage in positive self-talk and so far, so good! I'd love to hear anyone else's experience with this or tips for overcoming it! Leave a comment below :) 

[thecornishtranslator]

Gool Perran lowen!!

So it’s St Pirans day(the patron saint of Cornwall) and despite being a linguist (and Cornish) I don’t actually know an awful lot of the language but I thought I would share what little I do know!

Gool Perran lowen= happy st pirans day

Dydh da= Good day

[deth da]

Pyth yw dha hanow? = what is your name?

[Pith os da hano]

Ow hanow yw… =my name is…

[oh hano ew]

Yeghes da!= Cheers! (As in the toast)

My Cornish may be limited but the one thing I do know is that I will be having a pasty for my lunch!

[thecornishtranslator]

Dictionaries.

Sometimes I think my students just consider me a walking French dictionary and then look at me shocked when there’s a word I don’t know. Well you don’t know every word of English do you? Is my usual reply but it did make me think…

Maybe there’s a similar perception in translation that ‘good translators’ don’t need to look many words up when in fact it’s often the opposite. It’s not that you don’t know lots of the words it’s often that you don’t know the RIGHT word in English- I find looking up the TL word in a dictionary gives me a greater list of options to work with and then if needs be I can always put one into a thesaurus if it still doesn’t ‘feel right’.

A translator needs to understand the semantic, cultural and contextual differences between each of the options presented so I find it’s usually better to just check your instinct is right- it saves having to go back through and do extra editing later!

Anyone else find the same?

[thecornishtranslator]

Half term round up

So it's almost half term already and I thought I would do a bit of a round up.

It's been quite a long time since I took on a post that involved all the planning and marking and I've enjoyed it for sure. But I've also realised how much has changed for me since I was in a full time post:

- I'm a lot more organised than I used to be: I'm much better at prioritising what needs to be done immediately and what can wait until another day

- My work life balance has definitely improved! I used to get home from school and work constantly until the sun went down. Now I very rarely work in the evenings: when I get home that's time for me to unwind. (I'd rather stay a little later at school and know I don't have to work when I get in)

- I'm more confident in my abilities. I used to constantly doubt that what I was doing was the right thing and worry that I was doing things differently to someone else: but so what if I am? The students still meet their target grades and the learning objective and surely that's the end goal?

What's great is these are definitely transferrable skills for when I eventually find more time to dedicate to translation again!

[thecornishtranslator]

Organisation

So it's about half way through the term now and I feel like I'm finally in the swing of things! I even found a little time this evening to have a look at some translation! Most of this is down to me trying to be super organised so I thought I would share some tips that have been helping: 1. A physical planner. Having a hard copy of a planner that I can carry around and make notes in has been so worthwhile! I don't know why I ever stopped having one? 2. Google drive! I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to normal microsoft products to be honest? Having a gmail account anyway it made sense for me to try drive and being able to access things anywhere has been super helpful for times where I find myself with a little extra time. 3. Leaving work at work I'm doing my best to make a time in the evenings where I totally switch off from work. If I'm honest I'm trying to cut down my screen time all together so I'm trying to commit to an hour of reading a night and It's done wonders for my mental health as well as my sleep pattern! 4. Don't sweat the small stuff. I can get quite stressed and panicky if I don't achiever everything on my list so I'm trying to split it into things that NEED to be done that day and things that I COULD do if I have extra time. By having the list split that way I don't feel to stressed if I have to carry things over. Anyone else got any organisation habits they swear by?

[thecornishtranslator]

Saying NO

So I currently juggle supply teaching (which pays the bills) and trying to get my translation career off the ground (which currently does not pay my bills.) It’s tough because ideally I would reduce my teaching hours and dedicate more time to translation but I can’t currently afford to do that. I accepted a long term cover, 4 days a week, for next term because it was more pay. The downside is that I have to do all the planning and marking, and plan the cover for the one day a week I’m not there. (I don't usually do that- very rarely do I accept a cover that requires me to do the planning) I don't mind this but I haven't planned a lesson in so long I feel like I've forgotten how to?? I’m really nervous at having to go back to that and it’s a really small school so I’ll be the ONLY languages teacher. Which means it’s all on me and there’s not really anyone to turn to for advice unless I go to another dept. Luckily the first two days back are inset days so I'm actually only teaching one day that first week and I’ve got some time to get myself together. I'm nervous about fitting everything in: planning and marking, teaching the lessons, having time for translation and still having a life outside of work too. I have the tendency to be a bit of a workaholic but I'm realising that I can't do it all! My health and well being has to come first and if that means saying NO to a translation project for now then that's okay.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this: what do you do that helps you balance the two? Any tips for making good habits?

[thecornishtranslator]

Translation tests

Where does everyone stand on these?

I've just been asked to complete one for a potential client and I have no real issue doing one (I'm fairly new to the profession anyway and my portfolio is still a little skinnier than I would like.) but it will be unpaid and take 2 hours of my evening to complete. I can find the time for that if I have to but why is a test necessary?

I already have an MA in translation and a BA in French and Spanish. Once I have a bigger portfolio I will also have some sample work to show. So why is that not proof enough that I know what I’m doing? It’s not like I just woke up today and decided to have a go at being a translator! It’s something I’ve been working towards since I started my BA TEN YEARS AGO!

I’d love to know your thoughts and experience on this!