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isabeltranslates.bsky.social
isabeltranslates
@isabeltranslates.bsky.social
1.2K followers 610 following 1.8K posts
Translator of Czech, Slovak, German & occasionally French into English. European, wordsmith, word nerd, foodie, reader, yogi and chocoholic. Childless not by choice. New Glaswegian. She/her. 🦔
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isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Screenshot. The answer to yesterday's Lingule game. The word was -ngxama (I can't reproduce the IPA, sorry!), which means hurry. My first guess was Zulu, and my second Xhosa, which was correct.
November 22, 2025 at 10:11 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Galactic Hellcats, by @reasie.bsky.social

Street thief Ki, unemployed army vet Margot & bored little rich kid Zuleikah get into, & out of, a number of life-&-limb situations, then kidnap Thane, the unhappy, gay crown prince of Ratana, a matriarchal dictatorship. He's pleased! Enormous fun!

💙📚🪐
The front cover of the novel Galactic Hellcats, by Marie Vibbert. The cover shows the heads of three women in flight helmets, with the falling body of a man and a moon or planet in the background.
November 19, 2025 at 10:34 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Sometimes two languages have the same word for something because one has borrowed it. Sometimes it really is a coincidence.

As many of you already know, I lost my beloved dog at the weekend. Here we are, together, the last-but-one photo ever taken of her.

#langsky #linguistics #snootsky
Meme. Tumblr user lesbianshepard: fun fact about languages: a linguist who was studying aboriginal languages of Australia finally managed to track down a native speaker of the Mbabaram language in the 60s for his research, they talked a bit and he started by asking for the Mbabaram word for basic nouns. They went back and forth before he asked for the word for "dog" The man replied "dog" They had a bit of a "who's on first" moment before realizing that, by complete coincidence, Mbabaram and English both have the exact same word for dog. Photo. Myself, a middle-aged white woman, dressed in a black fleece and navy walking trousers, with a blonde brindle greyhound in a chocolate-coloured coat. We are standing on a carpet of autumn leaves with some evergreen shrubs in the background. Photo. A plastercast of a dog's pawprint.
November 18, 2025 at 11:49 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Anyone else?

#langsky #xl8
Meme. Satan: You can have anything you wan-- Me: LANGUAGE. Satan: What? Me: GIVE ME EVERY LANGUAGE. Satan: What the—? Me: YOU SAID ANYTHING. GIVE ME EVERY LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD. Satan: Wouldn't you rather have love or money? Me: EVERY. LANGUAGE. MASTERY OF EVERY LANGUAGE. NOW.
November 14, 2025 at 12:09 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, by László Krasznahorkai, translated by @ottiliemulzet.bsky.social

Prince Genji's grandson arrives in Kyoto by train & searches for a perfect garden in a ruined monastery, in an imperfect world. Gorgeous. 💙📚 🌐
Photo. The front cover of the novel A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, by László Krasznahorkai, translated into English by Ottilie Mulzet. The cover is black, showing a mountain peak crowned by yellow clouds at the top, a blue lake at the bottom, a blue river flowing into the lake down the right-hand side and paths leading down the mountain to the left.
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Muž na dně [Man at the Bottom], by Iva Procházková; the 1st in the Vraždy v kruhu [Zodiac Murders] series.

Chief Inspector Holina uses astrology to help him investigate the murder of a corrupt colleague, & is surprised & convinced by the results. There may be an English translation one day!
💙📚🇨🇿
Photo. The front cover of the Czech novel Muž na dně (Man at the Bottom), the first in the Vraždy v kruhu (Zodiac Murders) series, by Iva Procházková. The cover is black at the edges, fading through grey into white in the centre, with the symbols of the zodiac arranged in a circle in pink.
November 10, 2025 at 8:04 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
I wrap this blessing around you like a shroud, so that no ill can find you, and every warmth is held close.
Meme. Tumblr user tropics 777: And in these next 50 years you will eat so many delicious meals, laugh so many times with so many people you love, shout and scream and sing and cry and smile so hard your face hurts. And you will see such beautiful sunsets and feel fresh cold air on your face and feel warm and safe wrapped up in your favourite winter coat. Tumblr user wizard-council-bureaucrat: I wrap this blessing around you like a shroud, so that no ill can find you, and every warmth is held close.
November 9, 2025 at 12:21 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
This probably doesn't answer your question, but the serendipity of the post directly beneath yours in my feed was worth recording!
Screenshot from bluesky. user Callmeike Dr. @adapalmer.bsky.social: Christianity seems to have been incredibly successful. Are there studies into why? user Thomas J. Kitson The Deity was human. #BevisTheStoryOfABoy #RichardJefferies #Bevis
November 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
It was a bit 'ard to find something to say about this, so I'll just leave it there.

(Though the etymology of custard is, of course, entirely different... www.etymonline.com/word/custard)

#xl8 🌐 #langsky #linguistics
Meme. tumbr-use the-macra: types of stard • mu • ba tumblr-user brunhiddensmusings: this is oddly close to real ‘ard’ is a real suffix in the english language just like ‘ly’ or ‘ify’, it just isnt common enough for us to notice its usage, ‘ard’ means ‘too much’ or ‘too easily’ so ‘mustard’ is something that is ‘too pungent’, just as ‘wizard’ is someone who is too wise, ‘coward’ is someone too easily cowed, and ‘drunkard’ is someone too often drunk this implies that ‘bastard’ is someone who is too ‘bast’ and this needs experimentation and research tumblr-user the-macra: Are you fucking serious omg tumblr-user exeunt-pursued-by-a-bear: ok I looked and “bast-" as a root may have meant something like marriage/lust/passion so a bastard is someone who comes from too much lust tumblr-user mandywondering: So if I swear enough someone will give me custard?
November 3, 2025 at 11:31 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
The Rose Field, by Philip Pullman.

I don't want to say too much about this, because a lot of people won't have read it yet, and spoilers, but Lyra's story is concluded meanderingly, thrillingly, and with just enough loose ends to be not quite satisfying.

💙📚🪐
Photo. The front cover of the novel The Rose Field, volume three of The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman. The cover image, in pinks, yellows and oranges, shows a desert scene, with dunes in the far distance, and two silhouetted figures on camels in the middle distance. The sky above is full of clouds. In the D of Dust there is a pine marten looking up to the right, and in the second O of book there is a ginger cat looking down to the left.
November 3, 2025 at 10:21 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Screenshot. The correct answer to yesterday's Lingule. The word was singgasana, which means throne, in Indonesian. I got it first guess, and on this occasion it definitely was a guess!
October 31, 2025 at 7:26 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
It's finally arrived! I'm so excited and can't wait to get stuck in!

💙📚🪐
Photo. The front cover of the newly published novel The Rose Field, volume three of The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman. It shows a desert scene with two silhouetted figures riding camels in the middle distance, dunes on the horizon and clouds swirling in the sky above, in oranges and yellows and pinks. The D of Dust contains a marten standing on his back legs, looking up to the right, and the second O of Book contains a ginger cat, looking down to the left.
October 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Dvaadvacet fragmentů [Twenty-two Fragments], by Bianca Bellová.

I'm often not convinced by short stories. I was by these. I'm going to start work on a sample soon!

💙📚
Photo. The front cover of the book of short stories Dvaadvacet fragmentů (Twenty-two Fragments), by Bianca Bellová.
October 22, 2025 at 9:06 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Sigh. I go away for a few days and Mount TBR grows *spontaneously** in my absence.

(*Possibly... or maybe I ordered these, who knows?! 🤣🤦‍♀️)

💙📚 #translatedlit 🌐
Photo. Two books side-by-side, both by László Krasznahorkai and both translated from Hungarian into English by Ottilie Mulzet (whose name appears on the back cover but not the front). To the left, the book A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East. The stylised cover image shows a cloud-topped mountain at the top, a lake at the bottom, a river to the right and a path to the left. To the right, Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming, showing a number of concentric arches in blue and black, arranged to look like a tunnel, with a yellow arched door shape at the end.
October 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
I have long maintained that the Isle of Wight is actually Middle Earth, and now I have proof!
💙📚🪐
Photo: a street sign plus house name signs, arranged perpendicularly, in Brighstone, near Newport, Isle of Wight. The bottom sign, red lettering with a red border, says: private road, no parking. The other signs, reading from top downwards, are: Ming House, Hobbits, Fairwinds, Watersmeet, Gembrook.
October 19, 2025 at 7:37 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
In the Isle of Wight for my annual visit. Today the weather is discouraging most outdoor activity, but yesterday we visited Mottistone Manor and gardens.
Photo of Mottistone Manor house in the Isle of Wight. It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but most of the building dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. The building has two wings, south-east and north-west, both seen here, with two floors and a low roof. Above the house is a sky moody as a teenager. Photo: closeup of a perfect, bright pink dahlia from Mottistone manor gardens. Photo: view of a small flight of steps in Mottistone Manor gardens. There are bright yellow flowers to either side at the bottom; top left of the steps are some tall plants with white flowers (possibly a variety of dahlia?) and to the top right some plants with orange and red flowers. The path at the top of the steps is bordered by a hedge and some autumnal trees are visible beyond it. Photo: view of some plants in Mottistone Manor gardens. Some lilac-coloured spiky flowers, to their right some small, bright blue flowers, at the edge of the photo some bright yellow flowers. Behind them is one plant with bright orange flowers and another with white flowers. I can't identify any of the species, sorry!
October 19, 2025 at 2:42 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
The solution to yesterday's LINGULE. The word was tukdaa.át (I cannot replicate the IPA transcription, sorry!) My guesses were: Greenlandic (West): right geographical area. Mi'kmaq: right geographical area. Cree (Plains): right geographical area. Chipewyan: right geographical area, language family and subfamily. Tlingit: correct answer.
October 19, 2025 at 2:09 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Renewing my #proofofcat with Bluebell and friends!
A house window, taken from the inside, overlooking a garden. On the windowsill is a toy black cat (right), a carved wooden cat (centre) and a real black cat (left).
October 18, 2025 at 9:20 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
#babylossawarenessweek
#waveoflight
A flower-shaped floating candle in a bowl.
October 15, 2025 at 6:56 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
S orlem na zádech [In the Talons of an Eagle], by Iva Pekárková.

The people trafficked to Marcel's house are desperate: drug addicts, orphans, r*pe victims, hopelessly in debt, and are promised a new life in London.

I really hope to translate this one day!

💙📚 🇨🇿
The front cover of the Czech novel S orlem na zádech [In the Talons of an Eagle], by Iva Pekárková, subtitle Na motivy skutečného případu novodobého otrokářství [Based on a True Story of Modern Slavery]. The cover shows pink bathroom tiles, of which two are broken.
October 10, 2025 at 7:15 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Expanzní sektor [The Expansion Sector], by Jan Kotouč.

The sequel to Komanda Omega above. Can Hila Eban and her team – or what is left of it – prevent the monstrous crime and save the lives of 2million people?

💙📚 🇨🇿
The front cover of the novel Expanzní sektor [The Expansion Sector], by Jan Kotouč. The cover image, in shades of black and blue, shows a spaceship travelling past a planet, or maybe a moon.
October 10, 2025 at 7:03 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
Not sure why my photo above isn't displaying properly... here it is again!
The front cover of the short story collection Unholy Compromises, by Czech SF author Jan Kotouč. It follows on from the four-book Central Imperium series, though many of the stories only take place in that universe and do not include characters from the novels. The front cover shoes a spaceship flying over a surface full of lava.
October 10, 2025 at 6:52 AM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
I translate mostly science fiction & fantasy from Czech & Slovak into English. My most recent is in the image below & I'm currently working on a standalone by the same author.

I also translate literary fiction, non-fiction & academic books/articles. I love it!

#literarytranslation #xl8 🌐 💙📚
The front cover of the short story collection Unholy Compromises, by Czech SF author Jan Kotouč. It follows on from the four-book Central Imperium series, though many of the stories only take place in that universe and do not include characters from the novels. The front cover shoes a spaceship flying over a surface full of lava.
October 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
💙📚
Meme – black background, white text, no images. "You read so much. You're going to lose touch with reality!" OF COURSE I AM, GREG. Have you seen the world we live in? That's precisely what I'm trying to do!
October 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
isabeltranslates.bsky.social
It's been a productive few days in the kitchen. This is the first pumpkin spice latte cake of the season, and yes, it does contain pumpkin (OK, butternut squash!) and coffee and spice.

#bakingsky #homebaking 🧁
A pumpkin spice latte cake – round and dark brown in colour, with cream cheese frosting, on a white plate on a wooden table.
October 5, 2025 at 5:05 PM