The Style Files
My thoughts on design, writing and entrepreneurship.
Photo credit (background): www.pexels.com
Photo credit (background): www.pexels.com
Translators make remarkably ineffective bloggers. Photo source: www.pexels.com As a former translator, I'm awfully opinionated about my previous industry. Many translators are excellent writers; they're just woefully inadequate at every other aspect of effective content creation. Here's why. I'd first like to clarify that I do not mean to suggest that every single translation blog falls short of the mark. (Let's be real, though: the good ones are few and far between.) Most are written by linguists who post for cathartic reasons rather than income so their writing objectives are entirely different from the jump. No matter the reason, here's what I found time and time again: 1. Wall of words Many translation blogs look like novels in a digital format. There are pages upon pages of long paragraphs and a few headings or subheadings sprinkled throughout. Unlike a normal blog which is deliberately designed to be balanced by white space and other visual interest like photos, videos or varied text, translation blogs are dense walls of solid words and heavy reading. 2. Diary format Translators have a tendency to live in their own little bubbles and these blogs are a representative microcosm. Many blogs seem to be written about events that happened that day not unlike a diary. In the same way, diaries are usually written for an audience of one; I would argue that most translation blogs have the same limited appeal. Isn't knowing your audience rule no. 1 for writers? 3. Excessively long posts Much like no. 1 on this list, the wall of words that constitutes a translation blog is often impossibly long. Reading an actual book isn't a chore with the separation of pages but scrolling a translator's blog can feel like an eternity. It's not that some of the posts aren't relevant; they're just inexpedient. 4. Lack of structure The theme so far seems to be writing in excess. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks and obviously, translators are used to writing in volume. Structure is regrettably all but absent in the translation blogosphere. Aside from a few headings here and there, the writing itself tends to wander aimlessly without any semblance of organization or an outline. 5. Inner monologue encyclopedia This one strikes me as odd considering translators have to account for consistency and organization within a text on a daily basis. Many translation blogs have a giant list of every blog ever written in chronological order but no other groupings by topic or blog type. That's likely because the only category is miscellaneous musings ad nauseum but it's no excuse! A year in the life of a translator's thoughts. Photo credit: www.pexels.com 6. Poor website design I get it: the platforms are free and translators are writing pros, not graphic designers. The problem is posting a chunk of text on a website meant for blogging doesn't make it real. Where is the menu? What about a link to your actual business? I've seen my fair share of translation blogs that feature nothing but itsy-bitsy words on a depressing grey background. If I came for the content, I'll still leave for the layout. 7. Mysterious author Do you know how many translation blogs seem to be written by an invisible hand? A bio should be easy to find on any website regardless of how much you'd prefer to hide behind a screen. (Believe me, there are a million things I'd rather do than have my face plastered across a website but it's par for the course.) Keep it short and sweet if you want but throw us a bone, please! 8. 1980s headshots While I'm on the subject, 1980s headshots need to be a thing of the past. I grew up in the 90s and wouldn't dream of showing my high school headshots to anyone. It's possible this is mainly a problem in my language pair since German speakers ages 40 and over have a real affinity for outdated pics. Please, take a selfie and get it over with. 9. Preaching to the choir The thing about translation blogs is they mainly pertain only to fellow translators. We're likely all too familiar with the latest gripes you have or problems facing our industry since our jobs are nearly identical. If translators could figure out a way to make their content marketable to other audiences (and get with the program in terms of blogging in general), they could be a real asset to the writing world. 10. New/old divide Technology has rocked the boat across many sectors but it's wreaked real havoc in the translation industry. There's a huge divide between the new and old generation because technology has completely transformed the way we work, for better or worse. For the most part, it's usually younger linguists making YouTube videos and joining social media groups for translation content. The blogs I've seen often represent the older generation of translators who are less receptive to tech changes and know their craft like the art form it is. The problem is we need to bridge the gap! We need older and younger translators equally. Photo credit: www.pexels.com What's the lesson to be learned from all of this? For one thing, older and younger translators need to come together. Being a linguist is hard enough with increasing pressures facing our industry so it's time to learn from each other. I'd also suggest increased levels of visual literacy and marketability on the blogging front and sharper content.
Those are my two cents, anyway, and you're welcome to give your take down below. Take care, thanks so much for sharing your valuable time and I hope to see you again soon!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHi, my name is Martha Oschwald and I'm a content writer focused on design. This page is meant to give you a taste of my writing style and latest musings. Archives
April 2022
Categories |