Nov 23, 2010

Something completely different: Language2Language

Janet Rubin has been one of my best recommendations for a while for certain specialties in my German to English language combination. My former partner has proofread her work for over a decade, and every time I saw a contract or other text she translated, I was pleased with the result and found very little if anything to criticize.

For years, her web site consisted of a quick list of contact information (sort of like mine at present, after I took it down for re-planning). With active telephones for the US, Germany and Australia, the list reflected her fast-paced international lifestyle. I copied and pasted it into more recommendation e-mails than I'll ever remember. All the time, however, she kept telling me about the web site that was "in the works" and "coming soon".

When I needed to look up her e-mail address to check her availability for a proofreading job recently, I went to http://language2language.net as usual expecting to find the old list. There I discovered that I had missed the rollout party. Instead I was greeted by one of the most interesting, sophisticated web sites I've seen in a while for a freelance translator. I worry about how it will play for customers with lousy bandwidth, but it looks rather good on my DSL connection, and the information on it is comprehensive and well-organized. I like it, though I'm not generally a fan of fancy animation on web sites.

The site is available in English and German. Have a look; I'm sure you'll agree that it is something completely different!

5 comments:

  1. Yes it is different, indeed! I like it very much and I think it reflects Janet's attitude to doing business very well. Good idea to post it here!

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  2. Thank you to two of my biggest fans. ;-)

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  3. I think it looks great. Very innovative. Since it looks targeted at corporates, maybe the broadband issue is a bit of a non-issue?

    (OK I concede that those looking on mobile devices may not have a lot of bandwidth to play with.)

    My main gripe with flash though is the inability to resize it so that the text is the size I want it to be. (Although it gives the designer full control, it takes it away from the user).

    It does look fantastic though. Well done Janet.

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  4. Good point about mobile devices, Alex. That's been an issue for some service provider sites I work with, and I suppose this is something to consider in design.

    @Janet: It's hard not to be a fan of your work. I've been thanked by quite a number of discerning clients for recommending you, and you've done a great job for me as an editor cleaning up my muddle-headed text.

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  5. @Kevin: One of these days I will ask you to type all that out in a glowing testimonial that I can put on the website. Your own url and logo will be shown there - free advertising! :)

    @Alex: Thank you for the props! Much appreciated!

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