Your professional translator

You should be proud that your child is making an attempt to learn a foreign language, as this is a skill that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. Don't worry if you do not know the language yourself; you can still play an important part in the child's learning process. It can even be a great opportunity for you to learn as well. Break the learning down into three main areas: oral, written and verbal. At each stage, there are many useful things you can do to expose them to the new language and help them get a quicker grasp. Let's check out each of these below:

You think speaking Italian is chic. Of course you do! I do too! But just for the record: For me vino and latte are NOT trendy words that I have incorporated into my vocabulary. They are plain items on my shopping list (I’ve always wanted to say this!!!).

Translation played a huge part in Russian history. It all started in 864 AD when the two Byzantine Greek brothers Cyril and Methodius were sent as Christian missionaries to the Slavs . They were the authors of Cyrillic system that is now considered one of the most used writing systems of the world (this is not my opinion, that's what Wikipedia says ). And then they translated the New Testament, the Psalms and some more religious books.  So our nation, our Orthodox church and our mentality now are to a great extent based on what those two brothers did, including their translation work. Later in history, a  lot of famous Russian writers and poets were also brilliant translators. They opened a whole new world of prose and poetry to the Russian people. And I am sure you have heard at least some of these names I am going to share with you today!

If you have been following my blog for some time you might remember this post where I talked about my experience in social media. Well, there have been a few changes since then in my social media preferences. One of the huge changes happened when Jonathan Senior , the head of Sharp End Training, and I decided to create a special group for freelance translators. LinkedIn group . My first reaction to any changes is always panic. I have no clue why. But as a grown-up person and a business owner I understand the value of change and going beyond the limits of my comfort zone . So I did it. I became a manager of our group and you know what? I love it now. I absolutely love it. We now have over 400 members and have some interesting discussions going on. You can see the group profile and enter the group here if you want. This group also gave me the urge to start exploring the options that LinkedIn gives to its users. I started participating in the discussions not only in my group, b...

I know freelancers normally hate those times when they have little or no work. Especially if they are just beginning their career. But on the other hand, living constantly in a hectic rhythm isn't good for us . Moreover, those "famine" periods can even be useful for us and our businesses! Let me show you some things that I do when I am not overloaded with work. Maybe this list will give you an idea about things you can do! And if you have something to share, please do!

Financial matters is the hardest part of freelancing for many people. And for me, too. It can be a real nightmare, because your income can change month after month. Hopefully this will be a good change, but there will also be slow periods with almost no work and thus no payment coming in. I am still learning to manage my finances. The fact that I am a registered individual entrepreneur motivates me to keep the budget and not spend all the money at once (though at times I do feel like spending it all on shoes, makeup and other absolutely necessary things ;)) So here are my financial tips or rather lessons that I've been taught. Please feel free to add yours in comments!

First of all, I'd like to remind you about the contest that we are running at Sharp End Training Russia . A simple tweet or Facebook "like" can make you a winner of our Complete Blogging Toolkit for Translators! It's a wonderful opportunity! The contest will be running until October 20, so don't miss your chance! You can read more here . For those who are interested in translation and especially for my wonderful colleagues all over the world, I decided to make a list of 10 cool facts about our profession . I am sure you wouldn't mind if we celebrate our profession once again, would you? So here are the facts: