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Poll: Have you been able to impress friends/family with knowledge you learned from translating?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Mar 31, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you been able to impress friends/family with knowledge you learned from translating?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:41
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Mar 31, 2017

Quite often. It's surprising the things you can learn when translating....

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:41
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Mar 31, 2017

I'm not out to "impress," but things I learn from my translations come up quite often in conversation.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 10:41
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Mar 31, 2017

Like Muriel I'm not out to "impress", but one of my daughters (she is also a translator) calls me half jokingly, half seriously “The Encyclopedia”. She just means that it’s much easier asking me rather than wasting her time…

 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:41
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Happens all the time Mar 31, 2017

It amazes me sometimes how little some people know about the world around them - I don't mean technical expertise, but just simple general knowledge. On the other hand, I know there are people out there, translators in particular, who know far, far more than I'll ever know. So I don't find my level of knowledge impressive at all. It is what it is - the result of hours of research into incredibly varied subject matter, and of course an enquiring mind that has to be dragged away from the Internet,... See more
It amazes me sometimes how little some people know about the world around them - I don't mean technical expertise, but just simple general knowledge. On the other hand, I know there are people out there, translators in particular, who know far, far more than I'll ever know. So I don't find my level of knowledge impressive at all. It is what it is - the result of hours of research into incredibly varied subject matter, and of course an enquiring mind that has to be dragged away from the Internet, a novel, a dictionary... even the Yellow Pages on occasions. My husband often jokes about it.Collapse


 
Katrin Taouinet
Katrin Taouinet
France
Local time: 11:41
French to German
+ ...
Never wanted to impress Mar 31, 2017

I don't care about impressing others, but I love to learn new things every day and some of them are useful for my personal life.

 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:41
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Quiz team Mar 31, 2017

I belong to a local pub quiz team. I'm pretty ignorant about UK hit singles, football managers, TV soaps and celebs generally, but occasionally my arcane knowledge wins my team the modest jackpot. I'm not sure if it impresses them, but they like getting the odd extra tenner.
This week, watching University Challenge, I was able to answer two questions correctly with information I'd picked up from a translation I'd done that very day. There was nobody around to impress at the time but I cert
... See more
I belong to a local pub quiz team. I'm pretty ignorant about UK hit singles, football managers, TV soaps and celebs generally, but occasionally my arcane knowledge wins my team the modest jackpot. I'm not sure if it impresses them, but they like getting the odd extra tenner.
This week, watching University Challenge, I was able to answer two questions correctly with information I'd picked up from a translation I'd done that very day. There was nobody around to impress at the time but I certainly impressed myself ...
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Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 11:41
French to English
yes Mar 31, 2017

Like others, I am not out to impress.

There was a time when I had to translate the Champions League agenda and I certainly did impress my son since I could remind him when a match he wanted to see was coming up. It was all the more impressive given my total lack of interest in football.
I often come up trumps in an argument over trivial pursuit type general knowledge and when wiki proves my point, a family member now groans that "I suppose you did a translation about it" and
... See more
Like others, I am not out to impress.

There was a time when I had to translate the Champions League agenda and I certainly did impress my son since I could remind him when a match he wanted to see was coming up. It was all the more impressive given my total lack of interest in football.
I often come up trumps in an argument over trivial pursuit type general knowledge and when wiki proves my point, a family member now groans that "I suppose you did a translation about it" and it's almost invariably true
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Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Absolutely Mar 31, 2017

Luckily my family, friends and neighbours all have a keen interest in central banking and econometrics and never tire of learning more.

Down the pub, I am now the life and soul. "More, Chris, more!" they all cry. "Tell us more about what you learned today about the agency problems inherent in long-term incentive programmes for company executives!"

In town, I'm regularly mobbed by groups of locals clamouring for the latest on manufacturing sentiment in Denmark and gover
... See more
Luckily my family, friends and neighbours all have a keen interest in central banking and econometrics and never tire of learning more.

Down the pub, I am now the life and soul. "More, Chris, more!" they all cry. "Tell us more about what you learned today about the agency problems inherent in long-term incentive programmes for company executives!"

In town, I'm regularly mobbed by groups of locals clamouring for the latest on manufacturing sentiment in Denmark and government debt management in Sweden.

Thank goodness I've never let on that I also have quite an insight into the Norwegian derivatives market, or I'd never make it round Sainsbury's before they close.

Although it can be tough dealing with all the fanmail and fending off the groupies, I'm still grateful to translation for putting me where I am and making me the person I am today. Thank you. I'll never forget.
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Mónica Algazi
Mónica Algazi  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 07:41
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
Sheila said it all Mar 31, 2017

In all respects.

 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 19:41
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Yes Mar 31, 2017

All the time

The locals I hop to and from - I'm so popular that I have to rotate them on a regular basis - are full of people from the local chapter of Mensa dying to know more about industrial robots, programmable controllers, grinders, borers and other machine tools.
Like Chris, when I order a pint of special, I'm the talk of the town. And one-liners like "Are you regularly lubricated?" and "How often do you need an overhaul?" emit a charismatic aura that makes me an instant
... See more
All the time

The locals I hop to and from - I'm so popular that I have to rotate them on a regular basis - are full of people from the local chapter of Mensa dying to know more about industrial robots, programmable controllers, grinders, borers and other machine tools.
Like Chris, when I order a pint of special, I'm the talk of the town. And one-liners like "Are you regularly lubricated?" and "How often do you need an overhaul?" emit a charismatic aura that makes me an instant hit with the ladies. It's really tough being Mr. Popular.
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Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 11:41
English to German
Other Mar 31, 2017

I usually impress people with my knowledge of memes and internet jokes. Now how is that related to being stuck in front of my PC translating all day ...

 
Chié_JP
Chié_JP
Japan
Local time: 19:41
Member (2013)
English to Japanese
+ ...
Probably for myself Mar 31, 2017

I quietly learned that Japan power consumption has decreased by 15% from documents assigned.
Never seen it on TV or paper featured. Related to cumbersome nuclear power around...

Anyway most are happy to have a translator friend who reads three languages who is independent,
than an ordinary unknown office workers.


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:41
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Nothing to add Mar 31, 2017

Mónica Algazi wrote:

In all respects.


 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 11:41
English to Italian
Other Mar 31, 2017

Impress sounds to me like "showing-off".
Let's say that I have learned a lot of things that gave the basis to discuss about things in a different way, with more facts...


 
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Poll: Have you been able to impress friends/family with knowledge you learned from translating?






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