George Orwell, passionate advocate for plain writing Using jargon instead of plain language, favouring big words when two short ones would be more appropriate, misuse of punctuation: since George Orwell wrote his essay “Plain English”, anyone who has had to sub-edit or proofread text has been aware of the cardinal sins of over-complicated English prose. […]
Language interest
How to approach the art of proofreading and what to look out for
Britain has now triggered Article 50 to start the Brexit negotiations. However, even with Britain out of the EU, Lacrosse Experts in Translation is not concerned that English will lose its position as the main language of discourse for business and news in Europe. As the majority of written material in English is now penned […]
Its not about you its about the Big Man
You have had a long day and you are thinking about going home for a sleep. You have spent the evening translating for a septuagenarian and he has got to a passage where he is saying his farewells. Not long and you can head off to bed and you just live round the corner. You […]
How do you translate “Brexit” into language business terms?
Polish news channels have been calling Lacrosse for interviews on Brexit, asking for our view as a media monitor on what might happen now. The honest answer is that we are just trying to keep up with events, and our guess is really as good as any other’s. Radio Scotland’s Saturday morning show talked […]
Self interest of translators a reason to vote to remain in the EU?
Adding to the confusion in people’s heads on the subject of Brexit, according to a blog piece written earlier this year on the subject, quoted below, the translation market in the EU would shrink and English would lose its status as one of the three key languages in European administrative procedures. The panic is a little premature. The […]
ELIA members meet in Mallorca to talk business strategy and M&A
Last week I had the great pleasure of returning to the Balearic paradise of Mallorca, to attend the European Language Industry Association (ELIA) two day ND Focus meeting. The event which took place in the secluded yet sublime environment of the Hotel Formentor, was an opportunity for translation and localisation business owners from across the […]
Soft steak: does international English need to be correct?
Should I be critical or just let it go? After 30 years (sic) of learning Polish I still get endings wrong, so why criticize the language teaching in Poland when it is “nearly” right? 20 April is the date of the English exam for gimnazjum pupils, sat by over 85% of 15 Polish year olds. […]