Why fidus interpres?

The name fidus interpres is Latin for “the faithful translator“. It comes from Horace’s poem Ars Poetica. While in Horace the term has a negative overtone, it has been seen under a positive light by later writers. It relates to the century-old question of whether a translator should translate words or meanings. (Of course, this question has grown and become much more complex than this.) But one can also think of fidus interpres as a translating as “your faithful translator”, like when a translator is writing letters to someone and commenting on translation and related topics and giving insider tips – which is exactly is done here on fidusinterpres.com.

The image you see on the blog’s header is an extract from a portrait of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translators, librarians and encyclopedists. The painting dates from the 16th century, was made by an unknown Flemish painter and now belongs to Moldova’s National Museum of Fine Arts.

Content and target audience

fidusinterpres.com is a blog about translation and translators. It targets primarily at language professionals and students, as well as buyers of translation. Here you will find information about the world of professional translators and interpreters. This includes topics on the translation industry, translation software, translation courses, translator fees, dictionaries, glossaries and books for translators, terminology and specialized translation. It focuses on my own language combinations (German to Portuguese and English to Portuguese), as well as on my domains of specialization (Law, Business/Finance, Philosophy, Industrial Engineering, Quality Management and Third Sector). But it sometimes also features other languages and domains.

Blog posts are written primarily in Portuguese, but sometimes also in English and German.

The blog has been published with daily updates since March 2008, and all posts remain in the archives for future reference. You can access past posts by browsing the Categories and Tags sections on the right column, or doing a search with one of the search engines located throughout the blog.