Meet the Community: Serdar O.

How did you get into this field?

I started by translating a popular software company's press books into Turkish.  At that time, there were no translation tools yet, so I used to keep a spreadsheet to track the translations for frequent segments. The company then decided to use an at the time new CAT tool in localization process. This was a long, long time ago!

What do you like most about being a part of the Lionbridge Community?

People! People all over the world, people from different cultures and different time zones, the hard-working and committed people that build up this fascinating community.

What advice would you give your younger self if they were just starting out in this field?

Do not even think about buying yourself a laptop—you will never switch it off!

What is your favorite food and why?

Beer. I enjoy tasting beer from different countries. Cheers!

What is your favorite word or phrase in your native language and why is it your favorite?

It is the Turkish translation of the English word “click,” since there is quite a story behind it, and we were part of it. I think about it as a grammatical revolution to kick off “The Modern Voice."

This was an iconic change for the Turkish translation of the English sentence: “Click or tap Restart." It all started with the introduction of touchscreen-enabled devices. We had used “tıklat” until then, but as we started to touch (or tap) the devices as well, Turkish language had to adapt and innovate.  We started using “tıklamak,” a smarter alternative that covers both mouse- and finger-triggered actions.