The Translator's Handbook

The writing in this handbook for novice technical (as opposed to literary) translators may be workmanlike, but the information is invaluable. The author, Morry Sofer, has been translating for 30 years and has run a translation service contracting with hundreds of translators for the last 15 years. Among the many fields requiring technical translation are automotive, computers, engineering, law, medicine, and telecommunications. The Translator's Handbook includes chapters on the history of translation, sources of translation work, and the quirks of translating in various languages (for instance, in four different U.S. Hispanic communities, there are four different words for "eyeglasses"). More than half the book is composed of appendices, one more useful than the next. The first features 64 pages' worth of dictionaries and reference volumes for a whopping 64 languages. Others list agencies, organizations, and companies likely to require translation work; information about translation courses and accreditation; and periodicals for professional translators. --Jane Steinberg