Translator Makes Me a Better Blogger!

Translators are constantly writing. Writing messages from one language into another; it’s the most basic part of our daily tasks.

Writing a lot forces translators to look for better, more innovative and less tedious ways to get the job done.

And working as a translator makes me a better blogger, too.

For many translators, speech-to-text solutions are a great first step. Speech recognition software, or speech-to-text as I refer to it, is certainly not new. Many industries use speech-to-text solutions to get their jobs done faster and smarter. Many people turn to a software solution because of health issues like carpal tunnel syndrome or neck pain. Luckily, I don’t suffer from any of those very uncomfortable ailments. But I tried text-to-speech on a whim, and fell in love.

I feel that I am a much more fluid thinker when I speak my thoughts out loud. There’s something very permanent about writing out my thoughts, on paper or on my computer. But speaking them? It feels more freeing, more fluid and more relaxed.

Many translators use a speech-to-text program like DragonSpeak or others (there are too many to list) to get an initial first draft for their translation work. The art of translation lies in the creative part of the brain and for some translators, speaking their messages out loud creates an end product that is more fluid and natural sounding – kind of like the feeling I get when I speak my blogs, text messages, emails and anything else that needs to be written out.

And while I’m not a professional writer, I enjoy writing and have learned over the years that the best communicators write really well. And writing really well requires a lot of practice. And practice takes time, a lot of time. And I don’t have a lot of time. So I need to make the best use of the time that I have. So I use speech-to-text.

Without even thinking twice, I decided to put the same translation practice towards my blog writing.

You know how ideas strike at the most inopportune time? Like driving through rush hour, at 3:00 am when you can’t fall back asleep, on the treadmill, or in the shower. Thanks to a variety of speech-to-text programs, I can grab onto those ideas at any time and just get my thoughts out and trust that the computer is transcribing my words onto paper. And yes, even at 3:00 am or on the treadmill, my phone is usually in reach and I can spit out my thoughts as incoherent as they may be in hopes that they will turn into something great.

So yes, I’m one of those people that as kids we made fun of because it looks like I’m talking to myself as I’m cruising down the freeway. But no! I’m actually creating such literary acts of greatness including this blog. (Don’t burst my bubble – it seems pretty darn good to me as I spit this out at 7:23 am.)

So maybe this is nothing groundbreaking and maybe this idea is not new, but it’s new to me and it saves me lots of time and multiple rounds of edits. And for that reason, I’m happy to share because at the end of the day, we are all looking for a little more time in the day.

Translators find inspiration in the strangest places and as it turns out, being trained as a translator makes me a better blogger. But what we’re really good at is translation, so let us know if we can help provide great language solutions for your biggest translation headaches! Contact us today.