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Translation Business

Can You Learn Translation from “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”?

Can You Learn Translation from “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”?

The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation is based on a decade of Yoko Hasegawa’s experience teaching translation theory and practice at a University level in the US. It’s designed to be a complete guide for aspiring Japanese-English translators, but is

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Jennifer ODonnell December 5, 2020December 5, 2020 Education, Improve Translation Tips, Translation Review No Comments Read more

A Summary of “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”

A Summary of “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”

This is a breakdown summary of The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation. If you would like a review into how useful this is for translators please read Can You Learn Translation from “The Routledge Course in Japanese Translation”?   The

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Jennifer ODonnell December 5, 2020December 5, 2020 Education, Improve Translation Tips, Translation Review No Comments Read more

How To Get into Video Game Localization – JAT PROJECT 2020

How To Get into Video Game Localization – JAT PROJECT 2020

On September 13th 2020 I held a talk for the Japan Association of Translators (JAT) online conference PROJECT. Each talk focused on a different sub-genre of Japanese English translation. Literary, medical, legal, interpreting, how to use CAT tools, and entertainment.

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Jennifer ODonnell October 10, 2020October 10, 2020 Advice, Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

Webinar for Freelance Entertainment Translators: Finding Clients, Writing Cover e-mails, Resumes

Webinar for Freelance Entertainment Translators: Finding Clients, Writing Cover e-mails, Resumes

This article is a summary of a webinar I held on the Hon-yak’s discord on 5th July, 2020. The webinar was for freelance Japanese to English (and FIGS+) translators in the entertainment industry, but could apply to editors, letterers, etc.,

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Jennifer ODonnell July 10, 2020 Translation Business No Comments Read more

Understanding Source Texts – How to Improve Your Translations Skills

Understanding Source Text - How to Improve Your Translations Skills

Translation is a highly skilled career, yet the majority of translators are self-taught. Perhaps a class at college or a seminar here and there, but the majority of translators don’t tend to go to school for formal training. Even those

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Jennifer ODonnell April 13, 2020August 6, 2020 Education, Improve Translation Tips, Japanese Language, Localization No Comments Read more

What Went Wrong with Netflix’s Neon Genesis Evangelion Translation?

What Went Wrong with Netflix’s Neon Genesis Evangelion Translation?

The first thing I heard about the Netflix’s re-release of the 1996 cult-classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion was: “WTF? They’ve removed Fly Me To The Moon.” Shortly after my Twitter was full of angry and confused people talking about the new

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Jennifer ODonnell June 28, 2019June 30, 2019 Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

How To Turn Down a Translation Job

How To Turn Down a Translation Job

Earlier this year a friend said something along the lines of; “I’m too busy to take this translation job, but I don’t want to say “no” in case they never want to hire me again.” Obviously this friend is amazing

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Jennifer ODonnell May 25, 2019May 25, 2019 Advice, Freelance Life, Translation Business No Comments Read more

Never Assume – The Importance of Research in Translation

Never Assume – The Importance of Research in Translation

One of the best pieces of advice I received as a beginner translator was “never assume”. Never assume a kanji reading or a word meaning. Never assume you know what someone said. Basically, never assume the Japanese and never assume that’s

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Jennifer ODonnell May 2, 2019May 4, 2019 Advice, Literary Translation, Localization No Comments Read more

Articles for Localizers – Translation Link Roundup [Winter 2019 Part 2]

Articles for Localizers – Translation Link Roundup [Winter 2019 Part 2]

The following is a collection of interesting articles I found. These are not necessarily recent articles, some are a few years old. But they’re ones I’ve read recently. It’s been a little while since I’ve gathered my bookmarks of interesting

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Jennifer ODonnell March 7, 2019March 10, 2019 Link Roundup, Translation Business No Comments Read more

8 Exercises To Teach Yourself Japanese-English Translation

8 Exercises To Teach Yourself Japanese-English Translation

Novice and aspiring translators are often hit with this seemingly impassable wall when they start. You may think Japanese-English translation is doable as long as you know Japanese, but it’s not that simple… Translation is a skill separate from Japanese

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Jennifer ODonnell February 23, 2019 Advice, Education, Literary Translation, Localization No Comments Read more

Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2019

Japanese - English translation competitions

[Updated: 14-Oct-2019] Japanese – English translation competitions are a great way to improve your translation skills and get your name out there. They can be particularly great for people new to the industry for putting on resumes. If you win

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Jennifer ODonnell February 8, 2019October 13, 2019 Link Roundup, Literary Translation, Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

What Qualifications Do I Need to Become a Translator?

What Qualifications Do I Need to Become a Translator?

Spoiler Alert: NONE! But read on if you’re interested in why… Do I Need a Degree? A Brief History in Translation Studies Translation as a field of academic study seemed to emerge in colleges and universities around the 1950s. Initially

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Jennifer ODonnell January 3, 2019June 8, 2019 Advice, Education, Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

An Exercise in Research – The Extremely Hard Take Home Anime Quiz

An Exercise in Research – The Extremely Hard Take Home Anime Quiz

The Extreme Hard Take Home Anime Quiz is a fun fan-made quiz. It is held twice a year at a few anime conventions in the US, and has been for about 10 years. It’s an open-book quiz that you have

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Jennifer ODonnell April 8, 2018January 3, 2019 Education, Personal No Comments Read more

TED Talks On Translation

TED Talks On Translation

TED Talks are always great resources for various information and new insights. But sometimes it can be hard to find subjects that interest you. I love watching TED Talks about science, computing, new ideas, learning and, of course, translating. Here

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Jennifer ODonnell March 7, 2018 Literary Translation, Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

What a Course in Translation Should Include

What a Course in Translation Should Include

In September 2015 I finished my Translation MA at SOAS University in London and was… disappointed to say the least. I felt it had been sorely lacking and wrote What an MA in Translation Doesn’t Teach You. It’s been a

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Jennifer ODonnell January 28, 2018January 30, 2018 Education, Translation Business 4 Comments Read more

Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]

Translation Link Roundup [December 2017]

Translation Books on Translation and Interpreting – A list of pretty much any major book about translating and interpreting out there. How to Be a Better Translator – Some book recommendations for improving quality control in localization. “How Long Will It

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Jennifer ODonnell January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 Link Roundup, Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

New Video Game Translator – Beware the Jabberwocks

New Video Game Translator – Beware the Jabberwocks

Are you a new video game translator? Many beginner Japanese to English game translators struggle to find work. It’s the ever frustrating catch 22 of “you need experience to get the job, but need the job to get experience”. It’s

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Jennifer ODonnell December 5, 2017December 7, 2017 Advice, Game Translation, Translation Business No Comments Read more

Education for Literary Translators

Education for Literary Translators

I attended a round table discussion on education for literary translators organized by NOTIS last night, and it was fantastic! I wanted to write my own thoughts regarding education for literary translators with resources and points that were discussed. A

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Jennifer ODonnell November 9, 2017January 21, 2018 Advice, Literary Translation, Translation Business 1 Comment Read more

Game Translation Scams

Game Translation Scams

So the other day I got a message from a friend saying he might have a game translation for me. But he also mentioned that something wasn’t quite right about this ‘job’. He was messaging me to check it out

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Jennifer ODonnell September 11, 2017September 11, 2017 Advice, Game Translation, Translation Business 2 Comments Read more

Translating Japanese for Beginners

translating Japanese for beginners

Are you studying Japanese and interested in translation? But you have no idea how to translate something from Japanese into English? This article on translating Japanese for beginners is for you!   A few years ago I completed an MA in

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Jennifer ODonnell April 24, 2017May 5, 2017 Advice, Localization 1 Comment Read more

User Experience for Freelance Translators

User Experience for Freelance Translators

Have you ever had an experience with a company that has stuck with you forever? Have you made a simple inquiry only to get a non-professional, badly written, or rude response? Or no response at all? How did that experience leave

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Jennifer ODonnell August 26, 2016November 8, 2017 Advice, Freelance Life, Localization, Translation Business No Comments Read more

How Much Does Translation Cost?

How Much Does Translation Cost

With global communication becoming more and more essential for many businesses, translation services are becoming even more important. Yet the range of pricing can vary so much depending on so many factors, it’s often hard to find the right price

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Jennifer ODonnell August 6, 2016 Advice, Translation Business No Comments Read more

What an MA in Translation Doesn’t Teach You

MA in Translation

I completed my MA in the Theory and Practice of Translation at SOAS last September 2015. I was eager to learn a subject that would be useful to my career, yet by the end of the year was disheartened by

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Jennifer ODonnell May 10, 2016January 13, 2018 Advice, Translation Business 8 Comments Read more

Working With Translation Agencies

Translation Agencies

Towards the end of my MA in Theory and Practice of Translation I attended a Q&A session held by a translation agency in London. Their Q&A sessions was a way to improve the quality of the relationship between translators and

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Jennifer ODonnell May 10, 2016May 23, 2016 Agencies, Translation Business 2 Comments Read more
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