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How do you make a foreign word readable? What are we doing when we write the correct pronunciation of a foreign word in the margins of a book? Why are foreign names spelt in so many different ways? The answer to these questions is transliteration. The meaning of the word…

Hreflang tags are necessary attributes that improve the recognition of multilingual websites by search engines and facilitate their correct indexing. Learning when and how to implement hreflang tags correctly on multilingual websites is a key step towards reaching international users who might be interested in browsing your website in different…

E-learning is the final frontier of the training world. E-learning platforms are interactive, extremely user-friendly, and can be moulded to suit any topic. And that’s not all: they’re also revolutionising the business training world. What is e-learning? E-learning involves teaching individuals using video streaming and/or videoconferencing systems. E-learning helps trainers…

A wide range of factors can influence where a company is based. For example, many companies choose their industrial location based on factors concerning production and business processes. These factors are in continuous evolution and make choosing a permanent industrial location a difficult and complex task. Over time, and with…

There are several steps involved in website localisation. Each step ensures that a company’s website is accessible to foreign users, giving them the impression that it was written in their native language. For example, if a website has been localised successfully, a French user will get the impression that a…

Do hotel translations have an impact on sales? There is only one right answer to this question: 100% yes. In fact, holiday homes and resorts thrive when they manage to attract international tourists and pitch themselves as important destinations to visit. It is therefore necessary to win over international customers…

Translating children’s literature is a particularly difficult task for translators, who need to mediate between the source and target language, and between the language spoken by adults (which they will be used to) and children. Given these difficulties, what sets apart a good children’s literature translation from a poor one?…

Restaurant translations should have all the characteristics of a good dish. They should be captivating, high in quality and not too complex. But where do you start, and why is it so important to produce quality menus, brochures and food industry translations? Restaurant menu translations: when dodging social media is…

Subtitles for people with hearing loss differ greatly from those made for other groups of people. Deaf people and people with hearing loss have different needs when it comes to audiovisual content and these needs must be kept in mind when producing or translating subtitles for them. But what are…

Audiovisual translation is a sector within the translation industry. If we were to define audiovisual translation, we would call it a form of translation that ‘transmits’ multimedia content (i.e., film, television, theatre and advertising) from one culture to another. Multimedia content is complex and normally comprises images, sounds, and verbal…

Translation techniques are strategies that allow professional translators to tackle common problems encountered in literary or commercial texts. They are often used in combination to produce a flowing and understandable text that is high in quality and can coherently convey the message and atmosphere of the source text. Literal translation…

Typesetting a book is a very intricate task requiring detailed technical knowledge, some of which has been passed down through generations since the first printing presses were invented back in the fifteenth century. But how do you typeset a novel? Or a poetry anthology? And what are the best fonts…

By “voice over”, we essentially mean an audio track that narrates the images on screen. By definition, the person narrating a video does not usually appear on screen. We’ve been used to hearing voice overs on nature documentaries and in adverts for decades. What’s the difference between a voice over…

Website rankings rely on search engine optimisation (SEO), which is performed on individual pages of a website. But is multilingual SEO really necessary? 100%. And there are several reasons why. What’s the point in multilingual SEO? Any company looking to approach an international market needs to know what multilingual SEO…

SEO copywriting plays a very important role in how search engines decide to rank websites. In fact, the term is used to describe the act of writing content that is considered relevant by search engines (and helpful to users). Search engines use a variety of parameters to evaluate the relevance…

Pharmaceutical translation is a highly sensitive field and incorrect translations of medical and pharmaceutical texts can risk directly impacting people’s health. Translators working in the pharmaceutical field take on a considerable amount of responsibility towards consumers and patients, as well as towards the manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and machinery.…

Software localisation is a complex task but a very necessary one, especially if you’re looking to expand the market of the software you want to sell. But what does it really mean to localise software and why is it so important? Localising software doesn’t just mean translating it A software…

Website localisation is a very powerful marketing tool that allows companies to connect with a huge number of potential customers living overseas. The meaning of localisation goes far beyond that of simple translation, as it often requires the complete reworking of a text from a cultural point of view. Since…

Patent translation is an extremely delicate task. The approval of an international patent can determine the financial success of an inventor, entrepreneur, or anyone who makes a living from their intellectual work. For a patent to be protected in other countries, a precise bureaucratic procedure must be followed. Once approved,…

A proofreader is a writer’s best friend. Proofreaders are tasked with finding and correcting typos and grammatical errors in a text. Do you really need to hire a proofreader before publishing a text? 100%, which is why proofreading is an extremely sought-after profession. What does proofreading actually involve? Proofreading is…

Catalogue translation is an extremely specialised field and is in great demand among companies operating in the international field. Catalogues allow brands to achieve a range of objectives, such as advertising products in detail and presenting an overall brand image and set of corporate values. They may seem somewhat perfunctory,…

The term “voiceover” is used to describe an off-screen voice in a film or TV series. Voiceovers often describe scenes with no dialogue, such as nature documentaries, for example, but they can also be used to describe or comment on a plot or storyline that has just unfolded or is…

Formal letters are required in some business situations and are written for a range of purposes.  To give some examples, you often write formal cover and motivation letters in English to attach to a CV for a vacancy or educational course, when you need to invite someone to an official…

How many ounces are there in 100 grams? This is a minor issue that most of us will have encountered when following an international recipe. The food and drink sector is an extremely specialised technical sector but it is rarely perceived as one. You might think you can improvise quantities,…

Translating comic books is no child’s play. Emerging comic book translators will know this all too well, and will often find themselves writing and rewriting translations featured in speech bubbles a hundred times before finding the perfect solution. So is translating comics any more difficult than translating books? The sectors…

The term “transcription” is used to describe the act of transcribing an audio file recorded during an event or conversation. The Italian word for transcription (sbobinatura) derives from the reels of magnetic tape used to record audio before it was transcribed. This term has remained in use in Italy even…

Telephone interpreting is a form of remote interpreting that some might refer to as “remote” or “agile” in the current climate. It is a type of service that can solve many of the logistical problems that come with working as an interpreter. With telephone interpreting, you need less time to…

Intellectual property is a right exercised by an author over a creation of the human intellect. You can claim the intellectual property rights of literary works and artworks as well as names and images, which are often used in the business world and can contribute significantly to building a brand.…

Deciding on a layout for your project is as important as creating the actual content. Precise page layouts help to showcase individual elements, highlight certain strengths, and aid an understanding of the project’s overall meaning. When devising an architectural or design project, you need to make sure the text is…

Chucotage is one of the oldest, most famous simultaneous interpreting techniques. The name of this technique literally means “whispering” and it involves absolutely no technical tools. How common is this type of interpreting nowadays, and how useful is it? All the pros of chuchotage Chuchotage is one of the cheapest…

The revision of a translated text undergoes various corrective phases carried out sequentially to fine-tune the end product on all levels. In general, there is always some confusion between editing, or “cross-checking” and proofreading: here we define them in detail and explain their specific uses. Editing: the correction of a…

Designing the layout for a book is an extremely complex operation, as it must ensure satisfactory compliance with all the requirements of the text and, at the same time, make it possible to create an object that meets the buyer’s expectations, also aesthetically speaking. Choosing the right layout is therefore…

The role of a content manager is vital when it comes to managing a website. Whoever is assigned this role is responsible for planning, organising and allocating content to be written and subsequently published online. Once published, said content must be constantly updated and eventually archived. Once upon a time,…

The web exists in parallel with our real lives and has developed its own language and code of conduct (or ‘netiquette’) over the years. Using the web every day does not necessarily mean that you’re familiar with all web language. In fact, it’s entirely possible for ‘normal’ Internet users to…

Translating into or out of a dialect is no mean feat. Dialects tend to tell us a lot more about a country’s history, culture and society than its official language(s). Dialects are also able to express infinite shades of meaning, some of which are bound to get lost in translation.…

Localisation is used to adapt a translation so that it can effectively communicate with a different culture, so much so that it might even be confused with an original text. Of course, localisation is not only applied to written texts. All media requiring translation can, and often must, be localised,…

Subtitling is in very high demand at the moment, thanks primarily to the success of platforms such as Netflix. The content available on streaming sites reaches millions and millions of people around the world, all of whom speak dozens of different languages. A lot of this content is made available…

Conference interpreting has played a key role in world history and has undergone some profound changes over the last two hundred years. (more…)

Medical translation belongs to the broad field of technical translation and is one of the most difficult areas to get into. The main difficulties that come with medical translation are usually to do with the very high specificity of the terms used and the significant variation in terminology from one…

Video game translation is quite a niche area of the profession, but that being said, it’s vital when looking to successfully market a game abroad. It would be absolutely unthinkable to release a video game that could only be played in one language, given that the international gaming community is…

Literary translation involves translating texts intended for publication. We must first answer the million dollar question: what’s the difference between a literary translator and a translator who works for the publishing sector?

Translating manuals is one of the many branches of professional translation and comes with a unique set of difficulties. But what are they and why is it important to manage them correctly?

Lots of foreign citizens apply for Italian citizenship each year, and the application process entails the translation and legalisation of certain documents. But which documents need translating and how do you request a translation that’s valid for legal use?

Sworn translations give translated documents the same legal validity as the original document. The apostille translation process is not altogether that different from the sworn translation process and is only used in some foreign countries.

Over the last twenty years, Europe has opened its borders, adopted a single currency and grown its tourist information network exponentially. As such, requests for translations into various European languages have grown dramatically, as has the demand for tourist translations to and from non-European languages.

Criminal record translations are usually required when applying for residence or work permits in abroad, as well as for a range of other legal practices.

In principle, scientific translation is one of the most complex fields of professional translation. Unlike literary texts, scientific language must be precise and leaves no room for interpretation.

Interpreting is a fundamental branch of translation. It acts on what we call “living language,” spoken by people on a daily basis for a wide range of reasons.

Translating foreign documents such as marriage certificates is key to their use in other countries. However, merely translating documents does not validate them for use in Italy.

The number of financial translation requests has grown dramatically in Italy in recent years. Much of Italy’s economic strength derives from its international trade relations. As a consequence, various types of financial translation are necessary to help facilitate business.

Digital marketing has changed dramatically over the years. Its development has undoubtedly been aided by the rapid expansion of the mobile web and the increasing number of people using websites to buy goods or services, or to look up information about a product or company.

Working as an interpreter is a courageous choice. In reality, it’s an incredibly stimulating profession and often involves learning new things, meeting people from all walks of life and forging professional relationships with individuals, companies and institutions.

Translating and legalising documents are two of the most complex tasks a translator is likely to tackle. The reasons vary but often come down to complex technical jargon and the lengthy bureaucratic processes required to attribute legal value to a translated foreign document.

The task of translating poetry has given rise to countless musings on how best to translate poems into different languages over the centuries. The ultimate goal of poetry translators is to convey the original poem’s intent, meaning and style as faithfully as possible.

Interpreting is a type of translation work that is done orally on the spot. Unlike translators, interpreters have very little time at their disposal and must provide live translations that allow foreign parties to understand each other.

Sworn translations allow foreign documents to carry the same legal value both within and outside the country in which they were issued.

Carrying out negotiations in one's mother tongue involves substantial communicative and diplomatic effort. And when the negotiation is due to take place in a foreign language with the help of an interpreter, things get even more complicated.

Working as a translator in the digital world: how have things developed and how will professional translation work change in the near future?

The fashion industry is complex and continuously evolving, which means that specialised professionals need to be competent, reliable and up-to-date...