As a freelance translator, you probably have both a virtual library of resources and tools as well as an actual resource library.  Most likely your virtual library is beefier because so much of a translator’s work is done on the computer.  Translation memories, glossaries, forums that help you with difficult terms, translator community forums all make freelance translation work much easier.  Online resources have the added benefit of being constantly updated and through online communities, you can get answers and advice almost in real-time.

But having paper resources available can get you through times when your Internet connection fails and reacquaint you with the tactile pleasures of flipping through a book for help rather than scrolling through yet another web page.

Your translation library should have a selection from each of the following categories: the general practice and craft of translation; translation theory and study; works devoted specifically to your specialty in both the target and source language; and comprehensive dictionaries and grammar books.

Where can you find exhaustive lists of books and articles that can facilitate your work? Online, of course!

Transpanish’s online list of translation books for the Spanish-English translation is the first place to start when considering what you’ll need for your library. This list includes not only general guides for English-Spanish translation and grammar but also more specific dictionaries for various specialties, such as finance, law, and medicine.

While many books and articles in this bibliography are specific to Bible translation, others are more general resources about translation theory.  The bibliography also includes a few works about using gender-neutral language.

Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications, written by Jeremy Munday and published by Routledge is not only an introductory textbook but it also includes an extensive bibliography from which you can take notes to expand your collection.

SIL International offers the granddaddy of all bibliographies online, with over 20,000 entries in various topics both directly related to translation and ancillary to the field.  Click here for an overview of this bibliography.

Translators are researchers and information gatherers at heart, so please enjoy some of these resources to start a collection of books that will enhance your practice of the translation craft!

English to Spanish translators who live in urban areas or even rural areas with many Spanish speakers can find translation work close to home.  It’s just a matter of knowing where to look and knowing how to sell your Spanish translation services.  Mining your local resources to find new clients who need documents translated from English to Spanish can help you land a variety of translation assignments.

Below is a list of ideas and resources for you to get started:

1. Local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Association:

Reach out to potential clients by attending meetings, networking functions, or putting an advertisement for your services in their newsletter.

2. Local Translation Agencies:

Most cities have a number of translation agencies that work with freelance translators, and in many U.S. cities, there is a high demand for English to Spanish as a language pair.  Some nonprofits also have a for-profit branch in which they employ freelancers to do translation work.

3. Nonprofits:

While a nonprofit may not have a big budget and many projects for you to work on, this is an extremely close-knit community.  A nonprofit focusing on education may only need you for a one-time English to Spanish translation of a letter to parents, but you can be sure that this agency has close connections to agencies providing other services with similar translation needs.

4. State and city government departments:

State and city agencies have to comply with laws regarding dissemination of information regardless of native language, and approaching these places may yield some English to Spanish translation work.

5.  Networking with Acquaintances, Friends, and Family:

Even at social events, you know full well that the subject often turns to work, and the business card exchange isn’t far behind.  This tactic may not bear immediate fruit, but you never know when the business card you gave to someone at a cocktail party last year will find its way into the hands of a small business owner who wants to market his services to Spanish speakers.

These five resources are only a start, but as an English to Spanish translator, you understand the importance of marketing your services in creative ways.  Keep in mind that some of the translation work you find might be outside of your specialty area. If you have a medical terminology background but not a legal one, you can’t provide the highest quality translation for a law office.  But that lawyer you turned down may appreciate your honesty and refer you to a doctor he knows needs English to Spanish translations.

The online translation community is abuzz with the news that Google has announced the start of a Google Translation Center.  The discussion revolves around two main questions: how exactly the service will work and how having an Internet giant like Google providing a platform for translation services will affect freelance translators’ business.

How Will Google’s Service Work?

Clients will be able to upload the documents they need translated and then choose from the price quotes that individual translators will provide.  Translators will use Google’s web-based tools to create and review translations and the “Translator’s Workbench” will provide translators with tools such as a revision history, a glossary, or a history of previous translations. Google, at least as currently explained, will simply serve as a middleman, coordinating services and providing the platform and tools for clients and translators alike.

Throughout the preliminary discussions, one topic on which everyone still seems unclear is that of Translation Memory (refer to previous Transpanish posts for an intro to TM here and here) and how Google will implement it.  It seems that Google wants to create a meta-TM through which individual translators will have access to all similar translations previously inputted into the system.  This raises the question of ownership (clients usually own the rights to translations input into TM, as they’ve paid for the translations) and quality of what is uploaded into the global TM (Google states that individual translators will be solely responsible for quality control of what they produce).

How Will the Service Affect Freelance Translators?

Since Google has not yet unrolled its Beta version, professional translators can only speculate on the effect that Google Translation Center will have on their business.  On the Proz Forum discussion of this topic, translators are understandably concerned about the quality of the output, especially since creating a solid, accurate TM takes time as texts are translated and fed into the system.

Google Blogoscoped offers a preliminary analysis of the service’s features and included screenshots of the tools that GTC will offer to the translator.  Access to these free tools (questions about the TM aside) could be very good news for freelancers and GTC may very well open up a world of freelance gigs to professional translators.  However, freelancers are concerned about whether potential clients will be willing to pay market rates for translations when looking for a translator on GTC.

Of course, the online translation community can only speculate on GTC’s effects on the translation industry until the service is actually rolled out.

To read more commentary on the service, read Brian McConnell’s blog post, “GTC: The World’s Largest Translation Memory.”