Blogue 90 degrés

Internet users have become so accustomed to the Web and its protocols, that content developers and designers occasionally try to innovate by giving old standards a new twist. Not only does the new twist alleviate the frustration of a 404 error or a broken link, but it gives the impression that a lot of effort and care was poured into all aspects of the website design.

»

I’m back!

For those of you that don’t know, thanks to the kindness of my boss, I spent the month of June pursuing yoga teacher training at a local studio in Montreal. At first glance, yoga has seemingly nothing in common with writing concise copy for the Web, but you’d be surprised how one can influence – and improve – the other.

»

Sometimes I so envy the French. You have so many words that perfectly encapsulate a feeling or a concept. Words that have no direct equivalent in English. Like relève. And farfelu. And intervenants. Yes, I could offer “emerging professionals” and “eccentric” and “stakeholders”, but none of these English translations equal the French in terms of succinctness, range and mouthfeel.

»

I have the good fortune of working very closely with a French copywriter, with whom I can more confidently ensure the quality of texts we produce. One of the advantages of this relationship is an increased awareness of anglicisms and literal translations.

Why is this important for an English copywriter? Keep reading.

»

The most authoritative French-English dictionaries offer a surprising variety of options:

• Québécois (Grand Dictionnaire)
• Quebecker, Quebecer, Québécois (Robert Collins)

Termium offers the same basic translations as Robert Collins, but with one notable difference: Québecois without the second accent on the other ‘e’.

»

This article was originally written in French.

“Price is what you pay, value is what you get.”
Warren Buffett

These words always come back to me during initial client meetings when talk inevitably turns to our rates. Almost invariably, a calculator appears on the desk and the client breaks down the cost per word.

At this point, the client slips in something to the effect of, “That’s more than what our freelancers charge.”

“True, we may be a little more expensive than your freelancers…”

“No, really, it’s far more expensive than our freelancer rates.”

And thus arrives the moment of truth. »