The Top Translation Blogs to Inspire you


Translators are an afterthought to most.

Even though every product you encounter has required translation in some form before it reaches you.

Fortunately, there are translators who provide vital info on the industry.

Best-Translation-Blogs

Key Takeaways

  1. Thoughts on Translation
  2. Translation Tribulations
  3. Translators Anonymous

Starting a blog takes time and effort. We’ve gained a wealth of knowledge from reading these blogs and feel that they deserve recognition.

We would not be where we are today without these dedicated translators who contribute so much.

1. Thoughts on Translation

One of the most user-friendly and helpful translation blogs out there.

Corrine McKay is a certified French to English translator who has written a treasure trove of information on subjects ranging from how much to charge for translation and how to market oneself.

She even has a book out, How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator, which helped me a great deal when I first started out.

2. Translation Tribulations

This blog has useful info on translation software including memoQ and Trados.

It also covers a wide range of subjects from marketing techniques to workflow optimization.

Created by Kevin Lossner, a German to English translator, who has also written 4 books, all of which are about memoQ.

His posts, which date back to 2008, are written in a conversational style that is very easy to read.

3. Translators Anonymous

While not the prettiest girl at the dance, this blog has a lot of personality and humor.

The site is run by two girls who are well, anonymous, and is updated regularly, sometimes twice a day.

It’s a great place to laugh and forget the tedium of translation for a few minutes, or hours.

They also have a sister blog called, A Day in the Life of a PM, which has the same brand of humor and irreverence.

4. Brave New Words

Although this blog hasn’t been updated recently, it contains extensive info on translation, language, literature, and other related topics.

It’s run by B.J. Epstein, a Ph.D in translation studies who is a Swedish to English translator, writer and editor.

There’s 10 years’ worth of bite-sized blog posts here that cover a variety of subjects.

His post on machine translation is especially informative for translators who are into that sort of thing.

5. Transblawg

A blog that focuses on German to English legal translation with useful resources including links to legal dictionaries and usage cases for terminology.

It’s well-organized by category, with content dating back to 2003.

6. Musings from an overworked translator

Jill Sommer is a freelance German to English translator who provides a number of entertaining exerts on what it’s like to be a translator, along with entertaining memes.

Her post on certified translation is especially informative for those who are unsure of what it entails.

7. Translation Times

Judy and Dagmar Jenner are twins who translate between Spanish, German, French and English.

Their blog contains a wealth of info on court interpretation and ways to acquire new clients.

Their post on machine translation demonstrates ways to utilize MT to improve the quality of human translation.

They also offer a course on translation marketing.

8. Blogging Translator

If translation, linguistics, and freelancing interest you, look no further.

Philippa Hammond is sharing her experience as a 21st-century freelancer who translates from French, Spanish, and Portuguese into English.

You can get easy-to-read tips on navigating a career in translation, including reviews of the latest software.

9. Want Words

Losing the passion for professional translation can take the wind out of your linguistic sails.

Thankfully, Marta Stelmaszak turned her blog into the Business School for Translators to help others find their inspiration again or for freelancers to learn more about the business side of translation.

Aside from offering these lessons, including a particularly popular one on how personality impacts your translation career, Marta offers her book, “The Business Guide for Translators”.

*** Update ***

Want Words is currently down and will hopefully be back online soon.

10. Swedish Translation Services

Tess Whitty’s Swedish Translation Services helps companies market in Sweden or the U.S.

Tess is an English-to-Swedish and Swedish-to-English translator with a marketing background and more than 10 years in the field.

Mistranslations are sloppy mistakes to avoid; therefore, when translating your marketing material or anything business related, it’s best to contact a professional translator.

Swedish Translation Services offers presentations to businesses, as shown in their media kit.

11. Lingua Greca

The adventures in technical translation and translations into or from Greek abound at Lingua Greca.

The freelance translating duo of Catherine Christaki and Christos Floros offer a one-stop shop for Greek technical translation services for local and international companies.

The blog posts date back to 2011 and offer tips on social media, public speaking, marketing and more.

12. Naked Translations

Naked Translations sounds naughty, but it’s actually a reputable translation site that’s totally bilingual, including its blog posts.

Céline Graciet is the owner who offers freelance English-to-French translation services.

She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Toulouse.

Céline explains that the best translations are done by native speakers, so she only translates into her native language of French.

In her words, “If I am not the right person for the job, then I will help you find The One.”

The blog is not longer under development, so no more suspense!

13. Translator Fun

Who knew some translators moonlight as cartoonists?

Romina Bona is doing just that at Translator Fun, a blog that features cartoons about translation to bring a smile to your day.

The hilarious cartoon posts, such as A Translator’s Flexibility Towards Proofreading, cover everything from translation jargon and working environment to challenges translators face.

Romina is an English-to-Spanish translator for social media, translation news, and fun projects.

14. A Smart Translator’s Reunion

Meet Catharine Cellier-Smart, a British-born French-to-English translator.

Catharine has one of the few translation blogs (if not the only one) from Reunion Island, a French island in the Indian Ocean.

Her resume is full of acronyms that we have translated at no cost to you.

She is certified by IQC and Proz.

She’s also a member of the Syndicat National des Traducteurs Professionnels (the French national translators’ union), and UNETICA (French national union of sworn translators and interpreters).

Learn the languages of different regions, such as Oman, plus roundups of language-related events happening around the globe by reading her blog.

15. Translating is an Art

Are you looking for a native Dutch speaker to translate English-to-Dutch or German-to-Dutch for an artsy project?

If so, check out Percy Balemans of Translating is an Art.

Percy specializes in translations of advertising material (transcreation), fashion, art, travel, and tourism.

Find out more about transcreation, common misconceptions about translation, and other useful tips from this creative person’s fashionable blog posts.

3 Types of Translation You’ll Need

1. Personal Use

Individuals for images, shopping websites, webtoons, signs and menus while traveling

  • Quality: the overall meaning with potential errors
  • Delivery: Immediate

Use Papago or Google Translate

2. Professional Use

Startups and new business for internal communication, social media posts, user reviews, emails and letters

  • Quality: human translation without QC
  • Delivery: At least a day

Use Fiverr

3. Advanced Use

Established companies for presentations, legal documents, reports, mobile apps and website localization

  • Quality: human translation usually with QC like proofreading and review
  • Delivery: Longer than a day

Use a reputable company specialized in the language pair you need