Prelude

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”

[Proverb]

Some people may think that wisdom and knowledge are synonyms, but they are different in the way they procede. While Knowledge [1] associates with facts, truths, or principles from study and investigation; Wisdom [2] is the knowledge of what is true or right just from judgement. A good translator should have both: knowledge of theories and methods of translation and the wisdom to judge what is the most convenient way to procede while translating, because sometimes experience helps more than knowing all theories by heart.

It is enticing how wondering leads you to wisdom and knowledge. I spent 2 days thinking on what to write on this blog, so I thought that maybe a quote would help me find my way. I wanted something related to "beginning", and as soon as I saw that quote I knew it was the right one. Curiousity aroused in me; I looked up in a dictionary to know the meaning of wisdom, not because I did not have an idea of what it means but because I wanted to differentiate it from knowledge, and that lead me to the first paragraph I wrote. It is wonderful how events relate between themselves.

Shouldn't that be an actitude proper of a translator? To 'wonder' and find out words' meaning while increasing considerably our vocabulary in the process.

By Denisse Martínez.

[1] American Psychological Association (APA):
wisdom. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wisdom

[2] American Psychological Association (APA):
knowledge. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knowledge


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Want to practice...

Reading:

I know some of you might not have time to drop by the SIL and read, or just don't feel like doing it (Like me haha ;D ) So you may be interested in reading online. Today I'll share a link where I did most of my English and American Literature's homework!

Bibliomania: http://www.bibliomania.com/

Listening:

Want to practice Listening AND pronunciation? What about some tongue twisters? Or maybe you would like to read Children's stories out loud? Why don't you try this site out?

Repeat after Us: http://www.repeatafterus.com/

Writing:

I can see a headache coming! How many of you have ESSAYS to write and don't even have an idea of where to begin?! If you're one of the ones that gets a huge headeache everytime teachers say "Essay" then maybe you should visit this site.

Basic guide to Essay Writing: http://lklivingston.tripod.com/essay/

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Leave a comment if you want to leave a suggestion, you can also tell me about any mistakes you find. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks!