Your professional translator

  Dear readers! Isn't it amazing how time flies? I think it's my third time sending to you my best wishes and I am so happy to do it!  Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate! I wish you lots of joy, smiles, laughter, blessings and precious moments that you will never forget! May 2013 be even better for you than 2012. Olga

This post is meant for those people and businesses that need translation services. Before you hire a translator, please first think about your priorities concerning the translation project. What's most important for you? Often people ask for these three things: high speed, low rate and premium quality. But is it possible to get all three of them at once? Let's have a look at all these points and then you decide what's more important for you, ok?

This post was inspired by the posts of my colleagues. I thought it would be good to look back and see what I did right and where I didn't do such a good job. That would probably give me some basis for defining my goals for the next year. Overall, I can say that 2012 was a good year for my business.

I obviously caught some very mean malware while doing a research for a project, so I had to completely restore the system. Luckily, I have a habit to always backup my files, so I didn't lose any of my business stuff. But I do feel very sad that I didn't backup my pictures and some other personal files. So I thought I'd make a list of useful software that can help me and you to keep your data safe. I thought I'd mention 5-6 most used programs, but as I began researching the subject I suddenly found out there are so many great options! So even though my list is not huge, some links contain a wealth of highly useful information.

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!