{"id":724,"date":"2022-07-27T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/?p=724"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:27:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:27:30","slug":"sharpening-our-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/?p=724","title":{"rendered":"Sharpening our skills"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

By Harriet Cooper<\/a>, Sue Farmery<\/a>, Tania Lines<\/a> and Beth Squires<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As our Events Team, Holly-Anne and Alanah, have recently launched an initiative to help put FrenchNetters in touch with each other to form revision clubs, we thought it would be an opportune moment to write about how we\u2019ve benefitted from being part of a French into English revision club, which we formed in January this year. In true revision club style, this article is a collaboration!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Besides the obvious value of helping us to become better translators, belonging to a revision club provides significant social benefits. At the beginning of every Zoom meeting, we spend a few minutes checking in with each other, seeing how things have been in the last month, both professionally and on a personal level. We usually get carried away chatting and then one of us remembers we have a text to dissect!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Joking aside, the time spent updating each other is really valuable: it combats the isolation you can feel as a freelance translator, provides us with \u2018colleagues\u2019 to bounce ideas off and offers a supportive ear or two and some problem-solving when something hasn\u2019t gone well. Conversing more broadly about our lives encourages each of us to have a healthy work-life balance too! We also have a WhatsApp group, where we ask each other for advice, for example on rates or agency tests. As we are all reasonably new to the translation profession, the advice given is usually very relevant and helpful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As with any new digital venture, there are technical learning points, and not just in our chosen CAT tools. To easily compare our translations and the ST, we use a five-column layout in a Google Doc. Whilst we may still have the occasional technical hitch, our Google Docs, Windows and Zoom skills are all coming on in leaps and bounds as we learn from each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In terms of developing our translation skills, the process of working through four different translations of the same source text is fascinating. Often the challenges of a text are common to all, such as whether to keep the original term \u201cv\u00e9lorail<\/em>\u201d, anglicise it or provide a gloss translation (e.g. \u201crail bike\u201d). Sometimes we\u2019ll get a laugh as the MT struggles to parse such creative prose: \u201cla p\u00e2te \u00e0 choux<\/em>\u201d becoming \u201ccabbage dough\u201d. The best moments are when one of us is struck by a moment of creative genius, inspiring us to think outside the box: \u201c5 espaces sauvages et (encore) pr\u00e9serv\u00e9s<\/em>\u201d became \u201cWhere the wild things (still) are\u201d.\u00a0 Here are some of our favourite examples from previous texts which showcase the different ways we have approached the same word\/phrase:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
ST<\/td>\r\nTT1<\/td>\r\nTT2<\/td>\r\nTT3<\/td>\r\nTT4<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
C’est faux. C’\u00e9tait un Troll !<\/em><\/td>\r\nDon\u2019t worry, that was just troll talk, lol!<\/td>\r\nOnly joking. That was a Troll.<\/td>\r\nOnly joking! Trolololol!<\/td>\r\nNot actually true. We\u2019re just trolling you.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u2026c’est un jeu dr\u00f4le sur les travers de l’interweb\u2026<\/em><\/td>\r\n\u2026it\u2019s a fun game about the idiosyncrasies of the internet\u2026<\/td>\r\n\u2026it’s a funny game about the dark side of the web\u2026<\/td>\r\n\u2026it’s a funny game about the foibles of the Interweb\u2026<\/td>\r\n\u2026a fun party game about everything that\u2019s wrong with the interweb\u2026<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Paris enchante papilles et pupilles\u2026<\/em><\/td>\r\n\u2026wowing the city with its tastebud-
<\/del>tantalising eye candy.<\/td>\r\n		A delight to the senses\u2026<\/td>\r\n\u2026eye-catching confectionery to make your mouth water.<\/td>\r\n\u2026charming the eyes as well as the taste buds of Paris\u2026<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Le buzz est tel que toutes les foodistas de la capitale se pr\u00e9cipitent pour d\u00e9couvrir en exclusivit\u00e9 les nouvelles cr\u00e9ations p\u00e2tissi\u00e8res.<\/em><\/td>\r\nThese sugary gems have created such a buzz that the city\u2019s foodies are all flocking to see the new pastry creations for themselves.<\/td>\r\nIt is creating such a buzz that all the French foodies in the capital are rushing to be the first to discover new sweet creations.<\/td>\r\nThe buzz is such that foodies across the capital are scrambling to be the first to savour the latest pastry concoctions.<\/td>\r\nThere\u2019s such a buzz around these newly created desserts that foodistas are jostling to get an exclusive tasting.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u2026la star des p\u00e2tisseries<\/em><\/td>\r\n\u2026p\u00e2tisserie superstar<\/td>\r\n\u2026the star of the show<\/td>\r\n\u2026pick of the pastries<\/td>\r\n\u2026the star of the patisserie<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u2026fait fantasmer tous les gourmets.<\/em><\/td>\r\n\u2026the stuff of dreams for all gourmets.<\/td>\r\n\u2026what gourmets\u2019 dreams are made of.<\/td>\r\n\u2026one to make dessert lovers drool.<\/td>\r\n\u2026what gourmands dream about.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source texts:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/tendances\/voyage\/5-espaces-sauvages-et-encore-preserves-pour-s-evader-en-auvergne-rhone-alpes_2128103.html<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

https:\/\/www.ulule.com\/dont-feed-the-troll\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

https:\/\/www.parisinfo.com\/ou-manger-a-paris\/infos\/guides\/ou-manger-a-paris-selon-vos-envies\/patisserie-haute-couture\/patisserie-haute-couture<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Our thanks to Stephanie Martinez-Hill for sharing the first two Revision Club texts to get us started.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Harriet Cooper, Sue Farmery, Tania Lines and Beth Squires As our Events Team, Holly-Anne and Alanah, have recently launched […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=724"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2130,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions\/2130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iti-frenchnetwork.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}