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an archive of content from ≈ 2005 - 2015, relating to international business, translation, freelancing, and working online.

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Experts in the Industry: Paul Appleyard, French to English translator

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Paul Appleyard is a French to English translator and Director of Manzana Business Solutions Limited, a translation company specialising in work between English and French. He has worked in a range of roles within the industry since finishing his studies in translation over 20 years ago, including Software Support Engineer, Computational Linguist, Terminologist, Translator, and Translation Manager. He is Coordinator of the ITI French Network and will be sharing his experience in a panel discussion called Where to draw the line? on Sunday 17th May.

Check out the rest of the ITI Conference programme here. [Read more…]

Tuesday Chuckles

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This was posted to the ITI’s French Network egroup last year, and I’ve just come across it again while trawling my archives. It’s been circulating the internet for some time now and although its origins are a little suspect (as explained in painful detail here), I reckon it’s still quite amusing:

Mensa Invitational

The Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year’s winners:

  1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
  2. Ignoranus : A person who’s both stupid and an asshole.
  3. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
  4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
  5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
  6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
  7. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
  8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
  9. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
  10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
  11. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
  12. Karmageddon : It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer.
  13. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
  14. Glibido : All talk and no action.
  15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
  16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
  17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
  18. Caterpallor (n.): The colour you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you’re eating.

Of course, if I were really eager, I’d come up with a few more of my own (think of how it would enhance my professional image!) But I’m not…