Translators Love Presents Too
Perhaps, no person in the world wouldn’t love to get a present in the first place, not even mentioning a great gift. Still, it’s always nice to get something that you want or that might find of use once in a while. Picking a helpful present, in particular, is quite a challenge and, aside from occupation, there are lots of factors that get thrown in as you start thinking about what would make the receiver of that present happy. Believe it or not, professionals are human beings as well, so there are lots of things they might want, aside from something related directly to their occupation. So, giving a translator a dictionary is not a good idea and might even be taken as an insult. You can read our translation service reviews and see how many times customers offer translators to buy a dictionary, much to their irritation. Still, it’s overwhelmingly hard to choose a present for someone knowing just their age, gender, and occupation, because any gift, picked after those criteria can be not very pleasant in some way. You can always ask a person what they would want to get on holiday, but there are arguments against that. First, that’ll spoil the surprise and make the present pointless. Second, that’ll scream to the person that you don’t know them well enough to get them something they might love, even if that’s not true. Some people are just not good at making presents. There are many more arguments as to why you shouldn’t consult the receiver, but that’s a different story. And here are some of the hottest ideas to impress any professional translator. Such a present would be viewed as useful professionally, personally, and just as a fun thing to own.- An ergonomic wireless keyboard. Regardless of whether your translator friend works full-time or as a freelancer, a comfy keyboard is something they would love. In the age of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, most translators work at home, so they have the opportunity to organize their place in the most comfortable way for work. And a keyboard that can make life much easier and less painful would be the final element of such a workplace. Ergonomic keyboards are designed to relieve various pains and aches related to sedentary work and fixed hand position. Also, a wireless keyboard allows the translator to work in any part of their house or apartment. So, by presenting this kind of stuff, you also give a translator a dream workplace.
- Coffee maker or grinder. There’s nothing better at the start of a workday or in the middle of a hard worknight than a good warm cup of refreshing coffee brewed right before drinking. The only thing that can be better is coffee made out of freshly ground selected beans. On top of that, professional habits took aside, a coffee machine or a grinder is a great product on its own as it can become an ultimate kitchenware element in any house. Presenting a coffee maker, you provide a person with a sense of warmth, comfort, and a tasty coffee each day.
- Useful software tools subscription. Nowadays, translators use much more than a pen and paper, or Microsoft Word and a dictionary. Depending on the specialization of your translator friend, they might use various digital tools. Many of them are subscription-based. Project management tools, translation memories, transcription software, and even some text editors (Microsoft Office) included might be vital to the translator's professional advancement. At the same time, these tools might be a bit too expensive for them. So, by giving such a present, you might even change your translator friend’s life for the better.
- A lap desk. Just like with an ergonomic keyboard, a lap desk can be a great addition to the comfortable workspace for a language professional. If your translator friend is not a big screen person and prefers a laptop overall, a lap desk would be a wonderful enhancement in his workspace as it can become a portable workspace in its own right. With a lap desk, you can use your laptop anywhere: at home, on a train, at a co-working space, literally everywhere. Also, many lap desks can be adjusted, making them a perfect present for any translator, freelance or full-time.
- An e-book reader. If your friend is a professional translator and loves what they do, chances that they like books are high. And chances that they love reading literature in the original language are even higher. At the same time, it’s not always easy to get a grip of a nice physical copy of the book in a foreign language. An electronic book reader can easily solve this problem. On top of that, there are numerous readers to choose from. So you definitely won’t be limited in your choice.
- Courses subscription. In the modern fast-paced and information-driven world, one of the best gifts a person can give to someone is knowledge. Giving that knowledge in a form of a textbook or dictionary might be insulting for a translator. But buying access to courses will not. First, most courses are interactive and fun. Second, they show better results at learning. And third, they might provide your friend with some extra skills. Some of the best courses for translators today are specialized translation classes. After passing such courses as medical or legal translation, your friend might even improve their career prospects, which is one of the best presents of all.
