May 11
LaurentBob et La Rousse
As the title more than suggests, this post is about the plural of colors in French, which is one of many tricky rules of this language. And also about the sad story of a mispelled brand new football/soccer jersey.
So let me be honest : I don't really see the point of translating it into English.
Think of me as a lazy blogger (which I am), but if you don't speak French, you probably won't be interested by this article. And if you do, then you can just go through the article in French. I tried to make it as clear as possible, even for non-French readers!
Apr 25
LaurentMes Outils
I wrote about it almost a year ago here (Dropbox & Google?) and here (Dropbox & Gdocs: conclusion): why, oh why Google don’t launch a service "à la Dropbox" to sync files and edit them online?
Well it seems Mountain View heard me (because we all know they thoroughly read my blog).
Let’s come to the facts: this week, Google Drive went public. This service replaces Docs and works pretty much like Dropbox, synchronizing one folder between all your devices (smartphone, tablets, etc.) and with Drive homepage. But it offers the possibility to edit and create new documents directly online, which can be quite useful when you don’t have access to your computer.
Also, both services allow for only one folder to be synchronized. Don’t worry, if you’re a classifying crank and you don’t want to mess up your folders, here’s a solution: symbolic links.
But I’ll stick to what I’ve said: Google own file format (gsheet, gdoc) is not 100% compatible with MS Office. This means if you want to modify a Word document on Drive, you’ll first have to convert it, which can cause loss of format and maybe data (imagine converting a pretranslated doc with Crados...). For this reason, I cannot recommend Drive for a professional use. The risk of modifying my clients’ source documents is just too great at the moment. And contrary to Dropbox, you can’t retrieve older versions of your files.
And there’s the issue of available storage space. Drive offers 5 Gb; Dropbox only 2, but you can extend it to 18 Gb with referrals and various promotional offers. You can also buy space, and in this case Drive is much more attractive (even if prices skyrocketed with Drive: from 5$ per year, the 20-ish Gb cost now 2,50 $ per month).
So: Drive or Dropbox? Personally, I’ll use both: Dropbox for my professional files, as I am assured they won’t be deteriorated, and Drive for all other file types, such as drafts for my blog, letters, images, eBooks...
Anyway, be aware that Dropbox recently improved its referral system and offers now 500 Mb for each referral (vs. 250 Mb before). So if you don’t have a Dropbox account yet and want some extra storage space, click on this link.
Mar 16
LaurentArnaques crimes et traductions
12. The Translator abstains from causing harm to the profession, in particular by accepting working conditions incompatible with this code of ethics.
Translators' Code of Ethics, ATLF, 1988
A much needed call to order when you stumble, in a Book Fair in 2012, upon editors who are not ashamed of offering €3 for 2000 characters (for "typing compensation").
Mar 14
LaurentBob et La Rousse
French is a fascinating language. And Antidote is a fantastic tool to discover new stuff.
For example, I just learned the origin of the phrase "il y a belle lurette" (it was ages ago). I use Antidote (Ma Voisine Millionnaire presents the software here, in French) for its powerful spellcheck, but also for its various guides and dictionaries, such as the synonyms dictionary that saved many a translation. I was looking for a colourful synonym of "longtemps" and found "il y a belle lurette". As I was looking for something specific, donkey-related (don't ask why), I decided to find more about this strange word, "lurette", as I never saw it alone, out of this phrase.
Well, Antidote taught me that it is simply a derivation of "il y a belle heurette" ("heurette" standing for "petite heure"), which sounds quite nice by the way.
Now I'm tempted to tackle some French question now and then, or share basic but tricky rules (such as the plural with non-integer numbers, inversion subject/verb, etc.). Would it sound good to you?
And don't forget : the 2nd Translation Forum opens tomorrow at the French Book Fair in Paris. Will I meet you there?
