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xl8 review

30 May, 2018

xl8 review: combatting air pollution with AIRY

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All translators and other freelance professionals realize that there is something wrong in their offices at times. The air smells strange, and something seems to be wrong with the ventilation; perhaps the office environment is really causing health problems. At such moments air pollution might be the cause, and the AIRY Flower Pot might be the solution. That’s why this xl8 review is about the AIRY Flower Pot.

by Pieter Beens

15 May, 2018

xl8 review

The xl8 review project goes travelling

With the upcoming summer months and a whole bunch of translation conferences ahead, the need for great travel gear increases among both consumers and professionals. The xl8 review will therefore focus on some great gadgets for translators who will be off the grid in the upcoming months. Read this sneak preview.

by Pieter Beens

New trends in the development of CAT tools

8 May, 2018

Translation practice

Smart devices and the future of CAT tools

CAT tools have already been on the market for many years now and yet they are still improving. New technologies and emerging needs from translators are triggering a shift from computer-aided translation tools to smart device-aided translations tools. Does the future of productivity lie in web-based translation environments?

by Pieter Beens

25 April, 2018

xl8 review

Spino review: improve your posture at work

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It is obvious that good posture is important for your health and well-being: bad posture not only harms your back and causes pain, but can also influence your productivity. Sitting upright all day can be a challenge however. For people suffering from poor posture there is Spino – a simple yet nifty tool to help with that.

by Pieter Beens

Translating Trump's announcement of the War in Syria

23 April, 2018

Translation practice

Moral convictions in translation

Translators often pride themselves that they are translating the work of their clients irrespective of their own values and perceptions. But is it really possible to deliver a translation without taking other values into consideration? Two recent projects I did made me think about how value-free a translation actually can be.

by Pieter Beens

10 April, 2018

Translation practice

Sorrow with smileys

Thanks to the popularity of social media, it is impossible to imagine life without Emojis. Meanwhile, real attempts are being made to translate literature into smileys. How well does that work?

by Pieter Beens

28 March, 2018

xl8 review

Review of MySun Desk Lamp

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One of the advantages of working as a freelance translator (or other freelance professional) is the almost total freedom to determine how to work and when to work. Some translators choose to stick to a fixed schedule, while others work on a more ad hoc basis and fit their schedule to their lifestyle. For those professionals working a great deal in the evening there is the MySun Desk Lamp. In this xl8 review I evaluate this innovative desk lamp.

by Pieter Beens

26 March, 2018

Translation practice

Why some source texts deserve not to be translated

Bridging cultures and conveying messages from one language and culture to another is one of the most important aspects of translation. It is not without reason that translators pride themselves on the important role they have played in making knowledge and culture accessible to a global audience. Yet history shows that some source texts are best not translated, simply because their words are then far more powerful.

by Pieter Beens

Cover of thesis "In de studeervertrekken van de Statenvertalers" by Dirk Jan de Kooter

20 March, 2018

Book reviews

Unveiling the details of a Bible translation

While the Bible is not quite as popular nowadays as a few centuries ago it still remains one of the most read books (if not the most read) of the world. In The Netherlands that is no different than elsewhere in the world. In January, Dirk Jan de Kooter defended his doctoral thesis on the origin of the most popular (and one of the oldest) versions of the Holy Book in Dutch. In this blog post I provide a review of his thesis.

by Pieter Beens

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