Translator's Blog
Top 20 translation blogs
** This article is updated regularly. It was last updated in December 2021. **
When did you last read a translation-related blog post? Other than this one, that is!
Whether you have a casual interest in languages or spend your working life providing professional translation services, translation blogs have much to offer. They range from serious sites focused on the finer points of grammar to more whimsical musings and personal tales.
Whatever your motivations, if you have a passion for languages, it’s well worth checking out some of the many translation blogs that are out there. Here are Tomedes’ 20 top translation blogs, to get you started!
Translator Blogs
Where else could we start but with the Tomedes blog? Updated every week with articles covering translation, interpretation, localization, freelancing, popular culture and more, the Tomedes blog is here to provide your one-stop-shop for all things language-related!
"A lot of people can be busy bees sometimes. Here’s a short video for people like you that prefer to keep buzzing instead of reading."
The wide-ranging My Words for a Change blog from translator Nikki Graham is packed with useful information and covers a wide range of topics. Nikki writes about everything from translation qualifications (and how to get them) to working freelance. Some of her articles around freelancing are particularly useful to those based in the UK and those looking into graining translation-related qualifications. There’s also the occasional post in another language, which is a nice touch and entirely fitting with the focus of this interesting blog.
Adventures in Technical Translation
With a keen focus on all things Greek, the regularly updated Adventures in Technical Translation blog is a great place to catch up with all the latest translation news. Their weekly roundups of industry posts cover translation, localization, interpreting, languages, social media and business, so are a great way to keep up to speed with all things language related. There are also some lovely personal insights into life as a translator, with the new ‘translators on parenting’ series promising to be of particular interest to all those juggling translation work and young children.
If you’re looking to boost your skills, then Training for Translators is the ideal blog to keep you motivated and inspired! This US-focused site has posts that span a good range of subjects and which are particularly useful for those translating on a freelance basis. There’s a keen legal focus, so if legal translation is your thing then this is a site that’s well worth checking out.
The Identity Blog from Want Words is an interesting read. There’s a strong educational focus, with each post presented as a lesson. These range from a freelancing and business mindset to more personal reflections on life in the world of professional translation.
If you’re short of time but still wanting to enjoy a translation blog, then Translation Times may well be the ideal site for you. Posts are interesting, informative and varied in their subject matter. They’re also usually pretty brief – often bite-sized chunks of just a few paragraphs. A great site to fill a few spare minutes while you eat your lunch or for a bit of light relief at the end of a long day.
Another great blog for brightening up your day is the aptly named Translator Fun. The site provides a series of humours glossary cards, with entertaining definitions that the articles then expand on very briefly. Short, sassy and well worth a few minutes of your spare time.
Translation technology is a huge topic. This insightful site aims to get to its very core. eMpTy Pages takes an in-depth look at all things MT-related. Articles are long and informative – a great resource for those with a serious interest in machine translation.
Between Translations is a great site for those who are committed to lifelong learning. The site focuses on continuing professional development, with plenty of content around translation tech thrown in for good measure. Translation can sometimes feel like a pretty lonely career choice, so this blog is a great way to motivate yourself when you need a bit of encouragement in terms of your professional development.
Some bloggers are hesitant to put forward their personal opinions too strongly. That is not the case with the About Translation blog. The forthright posts are opinionated (in a good way!) and offer plenty to get you thinking. Posts are rather sporadic and there are rarely more than one or two per month, if that, but this is still a blog that’s well worth keeping an eye on.
There’s a distinct focus on German-English translation at Transblawg, but also plenty of content to appeal to those whose work encompasses other language pairings. Subjects are wide-ranging, covering everything from legal translation to politics and citizens’ rights. It’s heavier reading than a lot of our translation blog recommendations, so great to get stuck into if you’re in a serious frame of mind.
The long-established Unprofessional Translation blog is anything but. Professionally written, in depth posts cover a particularly interesting range of subjects, including the history of translation and interpretation. The blog has a scholarly feel, with sources provided for each post so that you can go off down a rabbit hole on each topic, should you have the time and inclination.
Musings from an Overworked Translator
Thankfully the overworked translator behind this site still has time left to update her blog regularly – a fact for which we are most grateful! Musings from an Overworked Translator is a delightfully quirky site. If you’re in need of language-related humour, this is the place – it’s a blog to counteract those days when clients are irritable, deadlines loom menacingly and awkward paragraphs drain too much of your time. Read it and smile!
Another site to make you smile, Mox is the place to enjoy pictorial language humour. It’s one of the quirkiest blogs we’ve come across and one that always serves to brighten up our day!
Despite often going a long time between posts, The Translator’s Teacup is well worth keeping an eye on. The blog is a useful resource for freelancers and those in need of a bit of professional input. Content is varied, ranging from translation industry scams to marketing techniques. All in all, a handy read for all those providing translation services.
Language blogs
English to French translator Céline Graciet provides plenty of content to keep readers entertained with her Naked Translations site. This whimsical blog features posts on all manner of language-related themes, from the origins of obscure and little-used words to charming expressions and how they translate from French to English. A pretty, light-hearted site that’s ideal for a quick break from the daily grind. The site is also available in French, for those who prefer to read it in that language.
From the minds behind the Oxford English Dictionary, Lexico is a true celebration of the English language. Posts are focused on all things English, from word origins to different types of nouns. There’s also a word of the day feature and a list of trending words to keep you up to speed with the latest linguistic developments.
Marketing, parenting, freelancing, productivity, payment methods… this blog covers anything and everything with a connection to language. Speaking of Translation is also peppered with interviews and resources that you can listen to as well as read, so is ideal for those who like to enjoy their web content in multiple formats!
Sector-specific blogs
Signs and Symptoms of Translation
If you live and breathe medical translation, then look no further than Signs and Symptoms of Translation for the blog of your dreams! This medically focused site spans everything from clinical terms to technical tools and how to get the best from them. A great resource that’s both interesting and informative, albeit one that’s only updated on a monthly/bi-monthly basis.
Diary of a Mad Patent Translator
The Diary of a Mad Patent Translator is a quirky site that airs the views of a well-travelled and opinionated patent translator (the clue’s in the name), interspersed with music videos. It’s certainly unique and a blog that you’ll either love or you’ll hate – we’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our round-up of the top 20 translation blogs. Feel free to add to our listing by sharing the details of your favourite translation blog in the comments section below!
December 2021 Update
Since I originally wrote this article, I’ve come across numerous blogs that I’ve found useful, so I just wanted to do a quick update to share them with you. Ranging from translation blogs such as Intertranslations (thanks to Maria for recommending this in the comments below), to productivity-focused contributions such as those from Zoom and Trello, each of these has earned a place in my list of blogs to check in with regularly. I hope you find them as useful as I have.
Packed with tips and industry insights, this is a great blog to browse to keep your knowledge of all things translation-related up to date. A great option if you’ve got a spare 15 minutes and want to curl up with a coffee and check in on what’s going down in the translation industry.
Productivity, remote work, tips for success… all of this and more can be found on the Trello blog. Well written and engaging, these blog posts are usually bursting with helpful snippets of information that you can easily incorporate into your working life to boost how efficiently and how well you do things.
With so many more people working remotely these days, it’s well worth getting all you can out of video calling technology. There’s plenty to glean from the Zoom blog in that respect, with helpful ‘how to’ articles encouraging you to think differently about your usual ways of approaching things.
When it comes to authoritative voices about the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary blog is right up there. The OED blog covers everything language-related that you could wish for, from how to pronounce words that have recently come into common usage, to new expressions, to etymologies of words with fascinating histories and a whole heap of other fascinating insights into the English language.
Merriam Webster’s blog is a treasure trove of linguistic rabbit holes – so much so that you should make sure you don’t have anything pressing to do in the next 20 minutes when you visit it. Topics often relate to popular culture and recent happenings in the world, taking a language-related look at everything from TV shows to video games, while also addressing the finer points of everyday language. This is a great site – you can’t help but learn a few useful, language-related pointers every time you visit.
If you do anything blogging-related or marketing-related online, this is a great resource to dip in and out of. The content is detailed, knowledgeable and well thought out. The site also has a great podcast if you prefer to absorb information through your ears instead of your eyes.
This blog is full to bursting with useful tips, ideas and information for freelancers and language professionals. Content is posted regularly, so there’s always something new to discover and always something with practical advice that’s easy to incorporate into your workflows.
That’s it for this December 2021 update, but I’ll be adding more blogs to this list over time, so feel free to leave your recommendations for useful sites in the comments below.
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