http://belletra.com English Translation from German, Spanish and Catalan; English Editing and Writing Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:02:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Guy La Roche at A Fistful of Euros is a career subtitler. I have subtitled a few indie movies, but most of the subtitling work in Europe is on English-language films. As a native English speaker and translator, that leaves me out. La Roche has a great explanation of why the ... http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/why-european-subtitles-can-be-cringeworthy/ My friends have fallen prey to an engagement epidemic. And when you’re the first to know, you want to tell everyone else you know, too. But spreading the news that your two best buds are affianced can be tricky. You can look up both spellings to make sure you get the mass ... http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/fiance-fiancee-how-do-you-pronounce-them/ The Belletra blog has been on hiatus. I was translating a very large project that was followed immediately by a vacation and Internet fast. Photo by Kim Baird The project is now published, and I am returning to blogging forthwith! Thanks for your support. http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/hello-again/ Even when it seems like the silliest term you've ever heard. The Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz in German) was passed by the Reichstag (Germany's parliament) on March 23, 1933 and signed by President Paul von Hindenburg the same day. It was the second major step, after the Reichstag Fire Decree through ... http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/translation-lesson-sometimes-an-enabling-act-is-just-an-enabling-act/ I’m working on a very large and very urgent translation project this month. While being so busy has its drawbacks for updates, the job I’m doing does provide a lot of inspiration for posts. For example, I could swear that the only time I’ve ever heard the expression “eyes wide shut” ... http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/how-do-you-keep-your-eyes-wide-shut/ The word nerd wins American Idol! http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/a-victory-for-logophiles/ Obama pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in the superdelegate count two days ago, and is poised to bag a major endorsement this evening in the U.S. So when Edwards takes the podium after I'm fast asleep in Berlin, take a moment to consider Obama's latest grammar mistake, memorably noted by http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/the-obamas-when-grammar-gets-political/ Emoticons: to use or not to use? I often think there should exist a special typographical sign for a smile-- some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket, which I would now like to trace in reply to your question. Vladimir Nabokov, 1969 Emoticons, those smiling/frowning/Homer Simpson faces that come out of ... http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/raise-your-hand-if-you-hate-emoticons/ This is why today's entry is so short. http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/fielding-media-inquiries/ I had what the Spanish call a "lapsus" today (no, not a lapsus freudiano) and completely forgot how to spell a certain word. I was writing an e-mail to my grandmother, meaning to tell her that I would gladly give up hypothetical thing A for hypothetical thing B. Though I chose ... http://belletra.com/editor-at-large/forgo-or-forego/