Which languages do you speak, Amila?

The first language I learned to speak was , which is a Slavic language. I was born in Bosnia, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. After the war broke out, we had to leave Bosnia. The UN placed us in Denmark as refugees. It didn鈥檛 occur to us that we were going to stay beyond the summer, so we just had summer clothes with us.

When we first arrived in Denmark, we were placed at a refugee centre, so I started going to school there. After two years, we got asylum and I changed to regular school with the other kids. I consider Danish my first language in addition to Bosnian; almost all of my schooling was in Danish, and so were my studies at university.

Apart from my two first languages, I speak English, German and French. I have a degree in French, but I haven鈥檛 used it actively for a while. At STP, I translate from English and German.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be a veterinarian to save all the puppies! That was literally my thinking. This was before school. After that I thought I鈥檇 also like to be an astronaut. Maybe I could go to space for a while and come back and then be a vet!

Later on, when we had already settled in Denmark, I decided I would become a translator and an interpreter.

What was your first job?

I worked in a toy shop. I had a few hours of work each week: shelving, tidying up and stockroom work. Many years later I actually got a job as a translator at their headquarters!

How did you end up working in the translation industry?

At the refugee centre, kids were much faster at picking up languages than the adults, especially when the adults were severely traumatised. We were all acting as translators and interpreters from a young age.

My career in translation evolved from that; I was interpreting for refugees and others as a teenager. Apart from that, I had really good language classes and language teachers at school. Because French and German are important in international organisations, I took those languages. We had English classes as well, of course. I continued with French and German at university.

I think of translation as a craft: the languages you know are the tools you have. Your craft, your skills are transferable between the different language pairs you translate in. I suppose I鈥檝e been training and developing my craft since I was at school!

In the end, you decided to focus on translation rather than interpretation?

Yes. When you do community interpreting, you go with the clients to hospitals, to court, to schools. You are constantly faced with unpleasant situations; it can be scary. I did even do a course on simultaneous interpreting at university; I鈥檓 very impressed by people who do that every day. Consecutive interpreting was my forte 鈥� I had done so much of it already. But I don鈥檛 regret shifting away from that.

What differences are there between working at the office and working from home?

I did enjoy working at the office in Whiteley and later in London. Now I work from home, so I can listen to music while I work and look out the window 鈥� when the trees have leaves I have a nice view. Working from home suits me well 鈥� there鈥檚 no commute. That鈥檚 a big plus! There鈥檚 also another benefit: I bake sourdough bread, so I can check on the dough during my breaks. That鈥檚 quite handy, too!

What does a normal day look like for a translator at STP?

Usually when I log on in the morning, I already have a good idea of what鈥檚 in my workload for the day ahead. I鈥檒l often have some quick questions and updates in my inbox that I need to respond to. Then I just crack on with the first thing on the menu. Sometimes things go very smoothly, sometimes there are more emails to answer 鈥� but the main focus is the translation work.

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good translator?

To not be afraid of using your expertise: you don鈥檛 need to 鈥� you shouldn鈥檛 鈥� follow your source text word for word. You are the authority, you know what you鈥檙e doing 鈥� you need to have that confidence in your skills.

How do you look after your target language skills?

To stay current, I listen to podcasts and read books in Danish. I try to surround myself with Danish as it鈥檚 used right now. I try to keep it diverse 鈥� I鈥檓 quite systematic about it, there鈥檚 something almost clinical about how I try to make sure I get a good variety. I also like to watch Danish stuff on Netflix 鈥� I love and !

What is your favourite part of your role?

I get to focus on my craft and on the language. I want to play with words 鈥� build castles with them!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?

I鈥檝e seen it be useful in specific categories. I find machine translation post-editing a productive way of working in certain domains, especially with technical texts. You have to strike the right balance between under-editing and over-editing machine-translated output.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?

I鈥檇 like to be a travel writer or a photographer. That鈥檇 be cool. I鈥檇 go somewhere warm! It鈥檇 be interesting to visit somewhere new, like Greece or Japan.

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?

A coding language maybe! Or Japanese, just because it鈥檚 so far removed from the other languages that I speak. I would gain a different way to view the world 鈥� and I like the way Japanese sounds.

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?

Yes! 滨迟鈥檚 something that happens in Danish, which has a lot of compound nouns. People don鈥檛 always write them together or forget to write the hyphen. You see it in the news and online and it鈥檚 so annoying! Writing compound nouns together is logical, it impacts meaning!

An example would be a shop sign that says 鈥淏edstemor cykler, DKK 500鈥�. If you write the first two words separately, 鈥済ranny cycles鈥� becomes a statement and no longer refers to the old-timey bicycles the shop is probably selling for 500 Danish kroner 鈥� instead it suggests some kind of senior citizen cycling spectacle.

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

滨迟鈥檚 (鈥淪aturday鈥� in Danish). I like the way it sounds. I remember learning it when I was little at the refugee centre. This one girl taught me the days of the week, I remember her saying 鈥湵裘赴宀共碘��: the /艙/ sound was new for me, I think 鈥� it鈥檚 not a phoneme in Bosnian.

What鈥檚 the one thing about you that surprises people?

In Manchester, people are perhaps sometimes surprised to learn that I鈥檓 both Danish and Bosnian. In Denmark, people don鈥檛 seem thrown by it.

Describe yourself in three words.

Traveller, foodie, adaptable.

滨迟鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

I鈥檇 go for tea. I wasn鈥檛 a big tea drinker before I came to the UK, but tea is different here 鈥� I like it. Coffee has too much caffeine, I can鈥檛 handle it! I take my black tea with plant milk, like people do here.

Who do you most admire, and why?

I admire people who get up after they fall and people who are not afraid to fall 鈥� people who have the courage to take risks. I think I worry too much about failing at something. I鈥檓 just cautious, I suppose. I find people who manage to bounce back after adversity really impressive.

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

Often I watch something on Netflix 鈥� fantasy or science fiction. I like to read novels as well; that鈥檚 my form of escapism! I also find cooking quite relaxing.

What are you reading right now?

I鈥檓 reading a Danish book I picked up from the bring-and-share book shelf at our head office in Whiteley: Rouletten by Niels Lillelund. 滨迟鈥檚 a crime novel: a police officer is investigating a case where some casino workers have been murdered. I haven鈥檛 guessed who the killer is! It takes place in Copenhagen, which is interesting and a bit nostalgic for me, as I used to live there.

Where is your favourite place to be?

In water, swimming. Or, hiking somewhere far away from towns and cities. The Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales are great for hiking and walking 鈥� they鈥檙e so close and there鈥檚 always something new to see.

Describe STP in three words

Diverse, welcoming, sociable.

The post Q&A with Amila Jasarevic, Danish Translator appeared first on sa国际传媒.

For us, quality is all about our culture, our people and their skills. It means meeting the expectations of every client, whose demands may vary significantly. For a mature translation buyer, achieving high volumes of quality translated material is a complex production process. For a client with a one-off translation request, a translation and revision workflow will provide the quality they are looking for.

In all cases, a high-quality translation involves the following:

1. Adherence to the standards and requirements of the target language
2. A linguistically correct rendering of the source text
3. Adherence to the linguistic conventions of the target language
4. Compliance with client-specific style guides and glossaries, and consistency with existing texts
5. An idiomatic style appropriate for the target audience

Looking behind the scenes at STP, we see other factors contributing to a quality service: from the management and company culture through to talented translator and project management teams and advanced language technology specialists.

I鈥檝e always respected the way quality of service is engrained in STP鈥檚 ethos, from our company vision, mission and values through to our business planning and strategy.

I asked my colleagues to tell me what quality means for them. Here鈥檚 what they told me:

Jacob Hansen, Account Linguist Team Leader

鈥淲hen training new translators for a specific account, one of the objectives is to encourage linguistic creativity while ensuring a certain level of uniformity with others working on the same account.

You want the linguist to use their own style of writing to ensure a naturally flowing target text, but at the same time you don鈥檛 want the external reviewer or consumer to be able to tell the individual translators apart.

From my experience, the best way to ensure consistency without tying the linguists鈥� hands is to get nerdy and have open discussions on how best to phrase even the most common expressions.鈥�

Janina Kosma, Senior Swedish Translator

鈥淚 have to run thorough quality checks with specialised software before delivering my work, and of course the all-important spellcheck, but in truth I find the best quality assurance tools to be a keen eye for detail and an ability to envisage the translation in its intended environment.

In a way, starting a new job is like a brand-new morning 鈥� I have to open my eyes to whatever lies ahead and let my mind loose in the realm of Who? 鈥� Why? 鈥� How? to produce an accurate text that sounds natural 鈥� that does not read like a translation.

Then, the best way to end my day is to read through only the target text to make sure I got it right. If it鈥檚 marketing, does it make me want to buy? If it鈥檚 instructional, do I understand what to do? Would my sales rep, doctor, accountant or IT support guy speak like this? Pausing to ask myself these things is just as important as the automated glossary check that reminds me of the terms required.鈥�

Mattia Ruaro, Language Technology Specialist

鈥淲ith the way the industry is developing, it is absolutely pivotal to stay up to date with the latest tech developments.

In my team we look after production workflows, software and training to make sure everyone in the company is confident using translation tools to their full potential. A project managed by a well-trained project manager and translated by a linguist who is a proficient user of CAT tools will result in a delivery of higher quality text in the end.

That鈥檚 where we can make a difference: we take care of the technology in the background so they can focus on the details of their work.鈥�

Jennie Bentley, Vendor Manager

鈥淎s well as ensuring the ISO compliance of all our freelance translators, we also offer on-going support to our translators both via our project management team and our online FAQs on processes and tools. We also work with our language technology team and training manager to provide training for our translators on pertinent topics within the industry, which serves as worthwhile CPD.鈥�

Megan Hancock, Project Manager Training Specialist

鈥淭raining every PM begins with a week-long induction, orienting them both within STP and the translation industry as a whole. Formal induction is then threaded together by a modular training structure spanning their first year at STP; this covers the specifics of translation technology, selecting suitable linguists, and successfully meeting client expectations.

Each new PM also has an in-team learning plan, which outlines the work they鈥檒l deal with in their first months, generally introducing them first to a defined set of accounts, projects or CAT tools, which they are then able to apply to a wider context.

In this way, we balance the practical advantages of learning on-the-job without compromising our high service levels and focus on a quality deliverable.”

Emma Tamlyn, Project Manager

鈥淓nsuring quality starts as soon as we get a request email. We always ask for a source or sample file, so that we can check the text type and find the most appropriate translators for the job. This is particularly relevant for medical, legal and marketing texts. We pass on all reference material provided by the client so that the translator has as much context as possible. We offer query sheets to the linguists in case they need to check anything with the client. We also maintain project management instructions for all our clients to ensure necessary information and preferences are shared with all of our PM team.

After the job is completed, if the client comes back with any changes or feedback, we make sure that this is passed on to the linguists for any future jobs, and we will also ask them to update any translation memories or term bases to help future jobs stay consistent too.鈥�

The quality standard we adhere to defines our quality processes, but it takes the talent of the right people to implement them.

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The post A guide to delivering quality translations appeared first on sa国际传媒.

In early 2019, STP opened a new UK office in Leeds, which is now our fifth European branch. Leeds and Yorkshire are familiar territory for many among STP鈥檚 staff who have studied or lived there. In addition to having staff members with links to the Leeds area, STP enjoys close collaboration and knowledge exchange with local universities, particularly with the University of Leeds鈥� Centre for Translation Studies (CTS).

The new office was made ready for the first staff members at the beginning of February after securing a central location for the new space.聽 Setting up this small branch of STP in Yorkshire is an exciting beginning in a new 鈥� albeit familiar 鈥� home.

Championing green values

In 2017, STP took action to make environmental issues part of everyday business at our offices by creating the company鈥檚 first environmental policy. One of the items on the list was recruiting 鈥淕reen Champions鈥� from the offices to act as volunteers who make sure that the environment is on the agenda when the offices make purchases, organise events and make decisions about products and services.

In 2019, our Green Champions will be involved in organising and supervising environmental activities and initiatives and promoting environmental awareness at the offices and at STP in general. In addition to the many office-based volunteers, we even have two who work remotely!

This year so far, the Green Champions have organised a company-wide vegan fika (or coffee morning), set up a battery collection point in our Whiteley office, arranged a plastic bottle top collection drive in our Varna office and made energy savings in Varna by lowering the thermostat temperature and turning off air-conditioning units and water heaters when they are not needed.

Daniel Field is a Project Manager and one of STP鈥檚 newest Green Champions. He joined the Whiteley volunteers this year. He finds even the small changes that the team are able to make encouraging: 鈥淚f a few people can instigate small changes across a company and reach perhaps more than 150 people that way, our actions have a much bigger impact than just me doing the same thing at home.”

The post Company news: March 2019 appeared first on sa国际传媒.