isabeltranslates
@isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Translator of Czech, Slovak, German & French into English. Literary translator of genre & other fiction, & occasional non-fiction. European, wordsmith, word nerd, foodie, reader, yogi & chocoholic. Childless not by choice. New Glaswegian. She/her. 🦔
Pinned
A year in reading, 2026!
The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Alma Whittaker thirsts for knowledge. She has the money & social position to pursue it, & this desire takes her from Pennsylvania to Tahiti, then Amsterdam. An incredible book that may be my book of the year already!
💙📚
The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Alma Whittaker thirsts for knowledge. She has the money & social position to pursue it, & this desire takes her from Pennsylvania to Tahiti, then Amsterdam. An incredible book that may be my book of the year already!
💙📚
I might have just lost a client forever by telling them that EUR 0.06 per word was "way too low".
I provide a professional service and I expect to be paid professional rates. This is not unreasonable.
Some clients aren't worth keeping!
#xl8 🌐
I provide a professional service and I expect to be paid professional rates. This is not unreasonable.
Some clients aren't worth keeping!
#xl8 🌐
February 10, 2026 at 9:20 AM
I might have just lost a client forever by telling them that EUR 0.06 per word was "way too low".
I provide a professional service and I expect to be paid professional rates. This is not unreasonable.
Some clients aren't worth keeping!
#xl8 🌐
I provide a professional service and I expect to be paid professional rates. This is not unreasonable.
Some clients aren't worth keeping!
#xl8 🌐
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 305: V Zátiší, built in 1925.
It was looking a bit slippery when I was round here, so here you can see the street at the end, rather than a street sign.
It was looking a bit slippery when I was round here, so here you can see the street at the end, rather than a street sign.
February 9, 2026 at 4:39 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 305: V Zátiší, built in 1925.
It was looking a bit slippery when I was round here, so here you can see the street at the end, rather than a street sign.
It was looking a bit slippery when I was round here, so here you can see the street at the end, rather than a street sign.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
Budapest was created out of the cities of Buda and Pest (and the oft-forgotten Óbuda). The place-name Pest likely comes from a Slavic word meaning 'oven, furnace' – compare Slovak pec.
I find it strange that one of the cities had the alternative German name Ofen (literally 'oven'), but it was Buda!
I find it strange that one of the cities had the alternative German name Ofen (literally 'oven'), but it was Buda!
February 9, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Budapest was created out of the cities of Buda and Pest (and the oft-forgotten Óbuda). The place-name Pest likely comes from a Slavic word meaning 'oven, furnace' – compare Slovak pec.
I find it strange that one of the cities had the alternative German name Ofen (literally 'oven'), but it was Buda!
I find it strange that one of the cities had the alternative German name Ofen (literally 'oven'), but it was Buda!
London Book Fair starts in a month's time, and I'm getting ready for it. I already have a few appointments, and I'm waiting for a number of #publishers to come back to me and say, yes, they'd love to meet me and to publish every book I want to #translate.
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February 9, 2026 at 4:34 PM
London Book Fair starts in a month's time, and I'm getting ready for it. I already have a few appointments, and I'm waiting for a number of #publishers to come back to me and say, yes, they'd love to meet me and to publish every book I want to #translate.
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Reposted by isabeltranslates
imagine being alive in this world and only wanting to know one language, what the fuck, boring
February 9, 2026 at 3:59 AM
imagine being alive in this world and only wanting to know one language, what the fuck, boring
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 304: Československého exilu, built in 1979.
February 8, 2026 at 8:04 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 304: Československého exilu, built in 1979.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 303: Pod Lysinami, built in 1991.
February 7, 2026 at 8:13 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 303: Pod Lysinami, built in 1991.
We've got a special Sunday treat for you! Here's Antonella Lettieri reading from THE DUKE, a sweeping feat of literary imagination that asks some big twenty-first-century questions about our relationships with privilege, the past, the natural world, and each other. Enjoy!
Antonella Lettieri reads from Matteo Melchiorre's THE DUKE (Foundry Editions, 2025n
Outside Vallorgàna, a tiny, isolated village high in the foothills of the Dolomites, the ‘Duke’ lives in the villa of his aristocratic ancestors. The last in the centuries-old line of the Cimamontes,…
youtu.be
February 8, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Another interview series that's on the Big Bearded Bookseller blog is the Translator Q&A, there are three interviews up there but I'm always looking for more
#translation #BookSky #BookTranslation
bigbeardedbookseller.uk/questions-fo...
#translation #BookSky #BookTranslation
bigbeardedbookseller.uk/questions-fo...
February 8, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by isabeltranslates
LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 7, 2026 at 5:01 AM
LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
Reposted by isabeltranslates
OH, Look! Another game translated by magic!
This right here is quite dangerous in these times. Why? By erasing us translators from our jobs it makes it easier to replace us with GenAI.
We've always been invisible. That gave them a leverage in introducing MTPE and lowering our rates.
This right here is quite dangerous in these times. Why? By erasing us translators from our jobs it makes it easier to replace us with GenAI.
We've always been invisible. That gave them a leverage in introducing MTPE and lowering our rates.
Nioh 3, developed by Koei Tecmo and localized in 11 languages, does NOT feature any #TranslatorsInTheCredits. A few members of Localization staff are included in the LQA credits, but none of the actual translators are credited. Source: GamersPrey
February 6, 2026 at 9:54 AM
OH, Look! Another game translated by magic!
This right here is quite dangerous in these times. Why? By erasing us translators from our jobs it makes it easier to replace us with GenAI.
We've always been invisible. That gave them a leverage in introducing MTPE and lowering our rates.
This right here is quite dangerous in these times. Why? By erasing us translators from our jobs it makes it easier to replace us with GenAI.
We've always been invisible. That gave them a leverage in introducing MTPE and lowering our rates.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 302: K dubinám, built in 1935.
February 6, 2026 at 5:21 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 302: K dubinám, built in 1935.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 301: K Zátiší, built in 1983.
February 5, 2026 at 8:08 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 301: K Zátiší, built in 1983.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
To translate is to leave something, almost everything, out.
Translation is a conscious process where the elements that are put aside are as important as those that we choose to keep. AI, thus, cannot translate because it is incapable of understanding the act of leaving behind.
Translation is a conscious process where the elements that are put aside are as important as those that we choose to keep. AI, thus, cannot translate because it is incapable of understanding the act of leaving behind.
December 27, 2025 at 2:41 PM
To translate is to leave something, almost everything, out.
Translation is a conscious process where the elements that are put aside are as important as those that we choose to keep. AI, thus, cannot translate because it is incapable of understanding the act of leaving behind.
Translation is a conscious process where the elements that are put aside are as important as those that we choose to keep. AI, thus, cannot translate because it is incapable of understanding the act of leaving behind.
Anyone??
While I of course encourage you to buy the magazine – the New Welsh Review is a very good read – I do have a pdf of the story, if anyone would like it? Please let me know!
Very pleased and excited to announce that the forthcoming New Welsh Review contains a lovely story by Czech author Markéta Pilátová #inmytranslation!
#xl8 #literarytranslation 🌐 💙📚
#xl8 #literarytranslation 🌐 💙📚
February 5, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Anyone??
We’re delighted to announce that 18 titles from 14 publishers, 12 languages and 16 regions have won #PENTranslates awards.
www.englishpen.org/posts/news/p...
www.englishpen.org/posts/news/p...
PEN Translates winners announced - News & Events - English PEN
www.englishpen.org
February 5, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 300 and not nearly out of Prague 4 yet: V lučinách, built in 1925.
February 4, 2026 at 7:44 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 300 and not nearly out of Prague 4 yet: V lučinách, built in 1925.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
An extraordinary opportunity, and so heartening to see this support from UCL-SSEES for fragile yet extremely valuable fields of scholarship!
🔊 Job vacancy: Lecturer in Czech and Comparative Literature
The post-holder will specialise in the literatures and cultures of Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular emphasis on Czech literature.
🗓️ Deadline: 26 February
➡️ Apply here: bit.ly/3Moi6gj
The post-holder will specialise in the literatures and cultures of Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular emphasis on Czech literature.
🗓️ Deadline: 26 February
➡️ Apply here: bit.ly/3Moi6gj
February 5, 2026 at 6:49 AM
An extraordinary opportunity, and so heartening to see this support from UCL-SSEES for fragile yet extremely valuable fields of scholarship!
While I of course encourage you to buy the magazine – the New Welsh Review is a very good read – I do have a pdf of the story, if anyone would like it? Please let me know!
Very pleased and excited to announce that the forthcoming New Welsh Review contains a lovely story by Czech author Markéta Pilátová #inmytranslation!
#xl8 #literarytranslation 🌐 💙📚
#xl8 #literarytranslation 🌐 💙📚
February 4, 2026 at 11:24 AM
While I of course encourage you to buy the magazine – the New Welsh Review is a very good read – I do have a pdf of the story, if anyone would like it? Please let me know!
Reposted by isabeltranslates
La vache qui rit
or, as I like to call it,
A moo's bouche.
(Thank you, 6.35am brain.)
or, as I like to call it,
A moo's bouche.
(Thank you, 6.35am brain.)
February 4, 2026 at 7:15 AM
La vache qui rit
or, as I like to call it,
A moo's bouche.
(Thank you, 6.35am brain.)
or, as I like to call it,
A moo's bouche.
(Thank you, 6.35am brain.)
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 299 (yes, yesterday should have been 298 and not 297): Večerní, built in 1973.
February 3, 2026 at 7:42 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 299 (yes, yesterday should have been 298 and not 297): Večerní, built in 1973.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
I’ve not followed up on the evidence in the article, but NG posted for the first time today about a project to exonerate him, by an apparently independent journalist.
There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the allegations are false, because outwardly he was an advocate and an ally.
There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the allegations are false, because outwardly he was an advocate and an ally.
February 3, 2026 at 7:31 AM
I’ve not followed up on the evidence in the article, but NG posted for the first time today about a project to exonerate him, by an apparently independent journalist.
There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the allegations are false, because outwardly he was an advocate and an ally.
There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the allegations are false, because outwardly he was an advocate and an ally.
Reposted by isabeltranslates
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 297: Jitřní, built in 1965.
February 2, 2026 at 8:27 PM
1) What's in a Prague 4 Street Name, day 297: Jitřní, built in 1965.