Intrawelt

wishes Happy Holidays

to all of our past and future clients

and to all of our colleagues who helped us grow

in 2015

Our offices will remain open except on the dates 24/12 and 25/12/2015, and 01/01 and 06/01/2016.

The in-house position we offer is for our headquarters in central Italy (P.S. Elpidio – FM – Marche region).

The linguist (IT-EN Translator-Proofreader) will look after the internal translation workflow and will coordinate the work of English native freelance translators and proofreaders.

He/she will be responsible for communicating specific detailed instructions to translators and external proofreaders and managing workflows and processes.

He/she is accountable for the final quality assurance of translation activities.

TASKS:

• Review/Proofread translation projects completed by native English professional translators;
• Complete small translation projects and provide language assistance (IT-EN) to clients and colleagues;
• Assess needs for additional information, e.g. compilation of glossaries, previously translated similar documents, list of acronyms, technical terminology, and translation memories;
• Manage translation teams and linguistic assets to ensure compliance with Intrawelt productions workflows and that quality and turn-arounds standards are met.Exercise sound judgment in keeping supervisor informed of potential difficulties;
• Inform supervisor of all issues affecting cost, quality and turn-around;
• Check final accuracy of IT-EN translation projects prior to sending them to client.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• College degree and degree in Translation and/or interpretation or equivalent experience;
• Perfect command of English (native language) and Italian plus one, ideally two additional languages to mother tongue standard;
• Strong computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Acrobat, html, xml);
• Familiarity with desktop publishing software (Indesign, QuarkXPress, Framemaker);
• Language skills to include ability to create glossaries, assess quality and completeness of translations;
• Advanced translation memory experience (e.g. SDL TRADOS) management;
• Preferably 1-2 years previous proofreading/translation experience in translation services;
• Ability to prioritize while handling multiple projects simultaneously in a hectic, time-sensitive environment;
• Detail and service oriented;
• Clear sense of accountability.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Flexible team player;
• Superior interpersonal skills;
• Can mix and relate well to all levels;
• Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and unsupervised;
• Flexibility to work overtime required;
• Professional demeanour;
• Focused on goals and the overall team and company objectives;
• Self-motivated and proactive;
• Can improvise and innovate;

If you are interested in joining us, please send your cv to inhouse@intrawelt.it

It is possible that due to the large number of applicants, only successful candidates will be informed.

Please only apply if you are interested in the IN-HOUSE position offered for our headquarters in Porto Sant’Elpidio (FM), Marche, Italy.

Dialects have existed for many years and in many languages; some languages are known to have more dialects than others, and Italian is certainly up there.

Halfway through the 20^th Century, Italian dialects became less prominent due to a series of different factors; families began to replace dialect with standard Italian to communicate amongst themselves and academic staff were required to master standard Italian as this was the language taught in schools. Despite perhaps not being as prominent as they once were, dialects are still present throughout Italy. Italians often switch from dialect to standard Italian, depending on how formal they need to be and who they are talking to. Non-native speakers of Italian have all encountered dialects when travelling in Italy, finding some easier to understand than others. The ones we’ve personally struggled with the most are bergamasco (Bergamo), romanesco (Rome), messinese (Messina, Sicily) and the Veneto dialect.

Regional Italian is a version of standard Italian that is unique to a specific region; mostly spoken, regional Italian is the language used in everyday life. Linguist Tullio De Mauro states that there are four main varieties of regional Italian: the Northern variety, the Tuscan variety, the Roman variety and the Southern variety.

Meanwhile, dialects are not a variation or a derivation of standard Italian; instead, they simply exist alongside it (and existed many years before it). Mostly spoken, rather than written, there are hundreds of Italian dialects and they are often non-intelligible between different regions, as they are often more similar to other European languages than to Italian itself. The La Spezia/Rimini isogloss (an imaginary line that creates a geographic divide between one particular linguistic area and another) divides northern dialects, belonging to western romance languages, and central and southern dialects, belonging to eastern romance languages. To see just how many dialects are used in Italy, have a look at the following map:

As part of working in a linguistically diverse environment, surrounded by colleagues from different regions of Italy, here at Intrawelt we notice a selection of different dialects around us. Some words of the dialetto marchigiano are relatively easy to work out as they are similar to standard Italian; others however are completely undecipherable to other Italians, let alone non-natives!

 

For example, Italians outside the Marche region might be able to understand these dialectal words:

gambià = cambiare (to change)

pacènsa = pazienza (patience)

trosomarì = rosmarino (rosemary)

arburu = albero (tree)

vusciardo = bugiardo (liar)

 

Whereas these may prove slightly more difficult to decipher:

mizzù = ubriaco (drunk)

frélla = zanzara (mosquito)

acciaccarelle = nocciole (hazelnuts)

cillittu = uccellino (small bird)

ciucu = piccolo (small)

mandì = tovaglia (tablecloth)

schiantulìn = racemolo d’uva (bunch of grapes)

Dialects can be complicated, but here at Intrawelt we don’t let that phase us! Just like Giacomo Leopardi, our neighbour from Recanati, we appreciate that “a dictionary can embrace only a small part of the vast tapestry of a language”, and we want to embrace all of it!

(Un vocabolario può contenere solo una piccola parte del patrimonio di una lingua). Source: omniglot.com

Alessandro Potalivo, CEO of Intrawelt, takes care of the admin and management of personnel and connects the various parts of the Company. He told us that he’d always imagined creating Intrawelt, but it became a reality on a dreary morning, 26 years ago, 14 January 1991 to be precise.

We conclude our Intraview series on the Intrawelt Blog with our interview with Alessandro, and we take this opportunity to extend our warm wishes for this festive period. See you in 2017!

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Harriet: Good Morning Alessandro. In 2016, an important year for Intrawelt, what would you say have been your highlights?

Alessandro: The business has grown in 2016 and there have been some significant events, such as the confirmation of framework agreements with high profile clients which shows us that we’re on the right track, instilling trust and motivation within the whole group.

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H: What’s been you greatest challenge this year?

A: The biggest challenge is always the next project we have to do that we still know nothing about! Every client and every project presents a challenge; in terms of timing, management, the high levels of specialisation involved and so on. If, on one hand the nature of the work wears you out mentally with the continuous excitement and tension that it generates and the extreme stress it puts you under, on the other hand it increases our resilience and the professionalism with which we tackle each day of work, weekends included!

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H: What do you look for in your employees? And in clients?

A: The majority of our employees have grown with us and over the years they take on our policies and our modus operandi. As a joke, we have coined the term ‘intraweltian’: is a type of alien-linguist that flies through the “word-universe”. Joking aside, I think I share a similar vision of work with the Japanese and I would like my employees to believe in this vision too, I’d like them to see the company as an integral part of their lives (and in reality a lot of them do!), but I know that that’s asking too much. From clients, I ask for loyalty and a win-win relationship, once this is established we’ll do anything to meet their demands.

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H: How have work methods changed within the company with the arrival of new technology?

A: In 25 years I’ve seen an incredible evolution in our profession and I’ve noticed that only those who have adapted and accepted the new technology, combining it with their linguistic skills (which are essential) have been able to successfully remain in business. Technology will always help, but the expertise of a linguist will remain vital in order to apply the tools that become more powerful every day.

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H: Among the achievements and goals you’ve reached, which are you most proud of?

A: Our client portfolio is one of the feathers in our cap, a sign of our reputation within the industry (which at times even surprises me!) and I’m very proud of our group of colleagues, from the sales team, the project managers and IT managers, to those in charge of administration, that make all of this possible.

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H: And what are your hopes for 2017?

A: I hope to continue down the path set out in 2016, to introduce new job roles within the team and to strengthen it in various ways, and increase our visibility abroad.

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H: If you had to choose three words to describe yourself, in any language, which would you choose and why?

A: I’d choose Italian because it’s my mother tongue, even though at times it’s flawed due to being such a traveller; but I have a profound respect for my language and my country. If I had to choose three adjectives to define myself, I’d say pragmatic, resilient and determined; although some might say laid-back, lucky and stubborn! But that’s just the haters; it’s a well known fact that fortune favours the bold!