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Off topic: "Smiles 'n' tears"
Thread poster: Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
MollyRose Sep 17, 2017

Smiles and tears and tears and smiles. Can't be bad! Well done, and "May your God go with you", as Dave Allen used to say to end the show.

 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Simultaneous smiles and tears Sep 19, 2017

I was once taken by car by the owner of an agency in the pre-Internet days out to an industrial plant in the middle of nowhere to discuss the upcoming translation of a revamp of their catalogue of cutting and boring tools. The manager at the plant showed me the old catalogue in English, and said I should base it on that. It was a terrible trashy translation job, and I said so, and also said I'd have to change most of it.

I couldn't figure out why the manager was all smiles after th
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I was once taken by car by the owner of an agency in the pre-Internet days out to an industrial plant in the middle of nowhere to discuss the upcoming translation of a revamp of their catalogue of cutting and boring tools. The manager at the plant showed me the old catalogue in English, and said I should base it on that. It was a terrible trashy translation job, and I said so, and also said I'd have to change most of it.

I couldn't figure out why the manager was all smiles after that, and even brought out a bottle of whisky and gave everyone a glass. Going back in the car, on the other hand, the bloke from the agency was pretty glum, and I asked him what was going on. He said the agency had handled the first translation, and now the company knew they were either going to get the new one for free, or at a big discount. "We should have mentioned it to you beforehand", he said.

Well, yes, they should have. I only did that one job for them, and never heard from them again. I suppose they were miffed with me, but what a daft way of doing business.
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Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:25
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Oops! Sep 19, 2017

My late father was a wine maker (in Kent) and wine writer of some renown. I helped him research his book The Great Wine Blight - about the phylloxera - a dire pest of the vine in the 19th century which threatened to destroy the French wine business. He was often invited to wine tastings. When I lived in London and was starting out as a freelance translator he sometimes asked me to attend these cheerful events in his place.
One was at the Café Royal, organised by a prestigious French vigne
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My late father was a wine maker (in Kent) and wine writer of some renown. I helped him research his book The Great Wine Blight - about the phylloxera - a dire pest of the vine in the 19th century which threatened to destroy the French wine business. He was often invited to wine tastings. When I lived in London and was starting out as a freelance translator he sometimes asked me to attend these cheerful events in his place.
One was at the Café Royal, organised by a prestigious French vigneron. I looked at the brochure accompanying the event and saw that it had been poorly translated into English. As I was seeking direct clients at the time and thought I saw an opportunity, I politely approached the patron and said "Je note, monsieur, que malheureusement votre plaquette contient plusieurs fautes. It me semble qu'elle a été traduite par quelqu'un dont l'anglais n'est pas la langue maternelle".
Stony-faced, monsieur replied "Madame, le traducteur c'était moi-même".
Surprisingly, he didn't offer me the job.
Tears, definitely.
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
His ... Sep 19, 2017

... loss.

 
MollyRose
MollyRose  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:25
English to Spanish
+ ...
He has turned my sorrow into joy, my mourning into dancing Sep 20, 2017

"Smiles and tears and tears and smiles."

As is written in Psalm 31:11: You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. (New Living translation)

Also prophesied in Jeremiah 31.


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
And ... Sep 21, 2017

... "Always look on the bright side of life."

 
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"Smiles 'n' tears"






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