Welcome to our blog! More than just a blog about translation and languages, this is a place for stories, ideas and reflections. Here you’ll find technical articles alongside topics for every taste, all written in a warm, personal and conversational style. Some pieces are designed to inform, while others invite you to think, smile or see the world from a different perspective. From behind-the-scenes insights into the translation profession to reflections on communication, culture and much more, we write as though we’re having a conversation with you. Step in, explore, pick a title and let yourself be surprised. Who knows… you might just find the article you never knew you were looking for.
Considerations on the Portuguese Language and the Orthographic Agreement – Part II
The pursued unification is utopian, in addition to being unnecessary, and the changes in the new agreement give rise to a series of linguistic problems for which the experts have not yet found an answer. The addition of optional rules and double spellings has only aggravated the problem and further disfigured our centuries-old and very rich language.
Considerations on the Portuguese Language and the Orthographic Agreement – Part I
Portuguese is a Latin language, yes, but only because, along with other prior influences, it is derived from Latin just like languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian. Latin is a dead language, disseminated by the ancient Roman Empire, in times when the Roman and Greek people were the pinnacle of Western civilization and considered all other cultures mere “barbarians.”
Certified translations & “certified” or “sworn” translators
Nor is it necessary to hire an “official” translator, i.e., a member of the Portuguese Translators Association—as some institutions unknowingly demand—to carry out a certified translation. Any professional translator can perform the translation, which will subsequently be certified by the competent authority, and the document produced will have legal validity.
Technology: what’s in store for translators? – Part 3
The border between literary and non-literary translators is now becoming a bit blurred. Non-literary translation has also expanded rapidly from being mostly technical, legal, and medical to include a much wider range of content, such as marketing and publicity, business, scientific, pharmaceutical, digital content, video games, subtitling, etc.
Technology: a two-faced game changer – Part 2
Technology has also brought up significant changes in the perspective and approach of multilingual communication.
On one hand, this is mutually beneficial: just as technology benefited translation professionals, technical translation is also vital for multiple technological fields—from construction and engineering to automation and robotics.
Technology: the evolution of translation – Part 1
All the way back in 1964, to describe the phenomenon by which the world’s culture was simultaneously shrinking and expanding due to the instantaneous sharing of culture originated by technological progress, the media and communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the term “global village.”
Copywriting and brand success – Part III
You may think that you don’t want your readers to skim the page, but you actually do! So go ahead and help them skim through the text. Making it easier for them is how you can catch their attention and make your message easier to digest.
Copywriting and brand success – Part II
Creative copywriting requires not only getting the information across but also getting it across in the most interesting, appealing, and relatable way. This requires a creative mindset and will often force you to think out-of-the-box.
Copywriting and brand success – Part I
Your best bet is hiring an experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled copywriting professional to offer you the right words that communicate your brand identity and your vision to your target audience in the tone of voice that will work better for them.