Monthly Archives: August 2012

Plain language in Portugal

Posted in Articles by

I watched this excellent TEDx talk some time ago, but mentioning it to someone recently reminded me that you might be interested. As you may know through the blog, my position on plain legal language is somewhat mixed – due to concerns about precision and expert interpretation. However, I certainly do agree with improving accessibility.

Sandra Fisher-Martins runs Português Claro, a training and consultancy firm that introduced plain language in Portugal and has been helping Portuguese companies and government agencies communicate clearly since 2007.

Continue reading →

Online volunteering with the United Nations

Posted in Articles, Training by

Surprised that you can volunteer online? Well, you can! I’ve been doing this for a number of years now, and thought I would share the information with you, because I don’t think that many people are aware that they can help out from their desktop.

Why volunteer online?

“Volunteering online is an opportunity to support the cause of sustainable human development working from a computer anywhere in the world. Volunteers do not need to travel and have a great degree of flexibility in volunteering the hours that fit their schedule.”

Continue reading →

Translation studies days in Brussels

Posted in Conferences by

On 20 and 21 September 2012, the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission (DGT) will organize the second edition of its Translation Studies Days in Brussels.

At this event, representatives from academia, public translation services and the language industry will meet to discuss studies covering a wide range of topics regarding translation, multilingualism, and international legal terminology.

(Note: you can click on the poster to enlarge it.)

Continue reading →

Measuring how well contract attorneys speak foreign languages

Posted in Guest posts by

Today I am delighted to introduce a surprising insight into foreign language testing for contract attorneys in the United States, by Andrea Kaluzny. As well as being a contract attorney herself, providing multilingual support for litigation, Andrea is very committed to volunteer work in several areas including, amongst others, animal welfare and human rights.

Continue reading →