Winter in Madrid

Posted on 8 January 2015 by Emma Goldsmith

CoverI’ve just finished reading Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom. It’s not about medical translation or Trados, so I’ll have to label it “uncategorised” in this blog, but elsewhere it could be classified as a thriller, political or historical novel. If you haven’t read it yet, put it on your reading list for 2015. Read more…

Posted in Book reviews, Spanish-English translation | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The funny side of Google Translate in medical communication

Posted on 29 December 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

Logo_Google_2013_Official.svgEarlier this month The BMJ published an original research article on the use of Google Translate in medical communication. The aim of the authors was to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of Google Translate in translating common English medical statements. Read more…

Posted in Medical, Terminology | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

memoQ 2014 R2

Posted on 11 December 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

MemoQ ribbonmemoQ 2014 R2 has just been released. I’ve been playing with the new version for a few weeks, and yesterday I updated my Studio and memoQ side-by-side blog post to add the latest features in Studio 2014 SP2 and memoQ 2014 R2. But I ran out of room there, so here’s a post to share what strikes me about the new memoQ version. Read more…

Posted in Tools | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

EDQM standard terms: New interface and free access

Posted on 1 December 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

logoIn November, the EDQM (European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare) launched a new version of its Standard Terms database. Access is now free of charge (it used to cost €70), which is good news for new medical translators and those who hadn’t accessed the database until now. It’s a little tricky to reach the new Standard Terms, and both new and old users have to complete the same registration process, so I thought it would be useful to share some step-by-step instructions.  Read more…

Posted in Medical, Regulatory, Spanish-English translation, Terminology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

How and where to download and install SDL Trados Studio: risk management basics

Posted on 24 November 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

I’ve read some great comments on Twitter, ProZ and elsewhere about SDL Trados Studio 2014 SP2, which came out last week. Most people seem to be delighted with the new features and found the upgrading process easy. A few users have had problems installing the new version. Was I too hasty when I recommended installing the latest version immediately? Read more…

Posted in 2. Beyond the Basics, Trados Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

SDL Trados Studio 2014 SP2: goodbye Java!

Posted on 19 November 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

java cloud_2SDL has just released Studio 2014 Service Pack 2. The big news is that Studio and MultiTerm have finally got rid of their dependency on Java for terminology. Woohoo! Other new features include TM sorting by date, global tag verification and alphanumeric string recognition. Let’s look at all these one by one. Read more…

Posted in 2. Beyond the Basics, Trados Studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

10th Mediterranean Editors & Translators Meeting

Posted on 11 November 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

MET_logoAt the end of October, I went to the 10th annual MET (Mediterranean Editors & Translators) meeting in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, just to the north of Madrid. Last year’s MET meeting was my first one and it set a high bar in terms of quality content and relevance for me. I’m happy to say that my expectations for this year’s conference were amply met. Read more…

Posted in Conferences | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SDL OpenExchange: a rant and a rave

Posted on 22 October 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

SDL OpenExchangeI’ve been meaning to write a post about the SDL OpenExchange since I published a comparison on Studio 2014/memoQ 2014 a few months ago. I didn’t mention the OpenExchange in that post, mainly because I’ve got mixed feelings about it. Read more…

Posted in 2. Beyond the Basics, Trados Studio | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

MedTranslate 2014: a review

Posted on 10 October 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

MedTranslate 2014MedTranslate Conference took place just last weekend, 4-5 October, in Freiburg, Germany and I thought I’d write a review while it’s still fresh in my mind. It was organised by GxP Language Services and The Alexandria Library. There was a day of pre-conference workshops, given by Ed Zanders, Alessandra Martelli and Siegfried Armbruster. Over 100 delegates attended the main conference and there were 20 presentations. In terms of delegate profiles, apparently 60% of attendees were freelance translators and 40% were LSPs. Those are the facts and figures. Now for the content. Here’s a summary of five of the talks. Read more…

Posted in Medical | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The dangers of blogging

Posted on 3 September 2014 by Emma Goldsmith

Toolbox logoI’m a keen reader of Jost Zetzsche’s monthly Tool Box Journal, a newsletter for translators about techie developments in the industry. Jost usually starts with a reflection on a translation-related topic. In August, he wrote a particularly incisive piece called Blazing Trails That Never End, about technically adept translators who reach a certain level of competence and then rest on their laurels, confident that there is no room for improvement. Read more…

Posted in 2. Beyond the Basics, Trados Studio | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments