Bonne route – Process, pleasure and AI

 

[Painting by Dina Levin]

In one of La Fontaine’s fables, a pig, sheep and goat are on a wagon on their way to the market. The pig squeals in fear (justified in the case) but the sheep and goat prefer to enjoy the view. I cannot say who is more correct or whether this fable applies to AI. However, after listening to my engineering students make oral presentations about processes pre- and post-AI, I definitely understand that there is a certain pleasure in the actual process independent of the result as I will demonstrate with three examples provided by my very talented engineering students.

Among the many lectures were presentations on the revolution in  travel planning, translation and image creation. Specifically, before AI, travel planning necessarily involved either consulting a travel agent or spending hours finding appropriate flights, assessing hotels and investigating potential tourist sights. With AI, a series of prompts with follow up questions can theoretically create a complete vacation plan in minutes. Likewise, as I know too well, human translation involves a significant investment of time and effort to reproduce a given text into another language. With AI, this same process can take less than a minute and involves almost no effort at all, leaving plenty of time and energy to edit and improve the created text. Even more extreme, AI makes it possible for the artistically-limited to create any image, real or imagery, without any skill  in graphic arts or software. AI can take over the process of creation, benefiting people by saving time and effort.

Granted, at least at this point, AI often produces a flawed product, sometimes to the point of non-relevancy. For example, the AI engines I tried for finding flights failed to identify the most convenient flight of a given route (Tel Aviv, Israel to Portland, Oregon) , which I was able to find. It may be a matter of the nature of the prompts or the type of AI but the results do not seem sufficiently exhaustive. In language, AI translations of specialized texts exhibit far too many serious terminology and syntax issues. This tendency means that a skilled human translator must invest time and energy in reviewing the text before the text is relevant. AI images quite often look artificial, which can be a detrimental feature in many of their uses, especially commercial. Furthermore, humans creates images that are much more individual and unique. Thus, AI is not yet capable of  fully replacing the process of human creation.

For me, the greatest issue is that I enjoy the challenge of creation both despite and because of its challenges and investment. It is strange but one of the greatest pleasures of traveling is planning it, including finding the “best” flight. My father took great pleasure in that art as do I. It is my trip as I have invested in it. Similarly, translation is an act of writing and creation just as much as writing the original version. The transformation of a text from one language to another can be challenging but that aspect is precisely what I seek, at least up to a certain degree. It is the pleasure of learning and testing oneself. As for pictures, I find an artist’s rendition of a scene in pencil, oil, watercolor or even using a digital photograph is far more impressive than any AI image. The reasons may be that I have no talent in that direction and find the process magic or that I seek the privilege of seeing the scene exactly how the artists viewed it. Human creation has a far greater impact on me regardless of whether the creator is someone else or myself.

It is clear that there are solid economic reasons for adopting AI processes whether on an industrial or smaller scale. However, as a matter of personal taste, I tend to focus on the experience of the process more the result. In fact, I wish myself and others what Serge Reggiani sang in “Ma fille” (admittedly in another context): “Bonne route” – a good journey.

AI and I – an attempt at perspective

 

I admit to feeling somewhat hostile about the idea of using AI in my work as a professional translator.Thus, I felt (and still feel) a need to ascertain whether my internal resistance is stubbornness or intuition, two similar but not identical impulses. Consequently, I invested the time to listen to Doron’s Tzur excellent 2-hour presentation to the Israel Translators Association on March 26, 2025 on the subject of AI for translators. He gave an excellent introduction to the approach of AI as well as its practical use in translation, providing examples using several different AI applications. Granted, this presenting does not make an expert on the subject but the lecture did provide me with some updated data. I thus feel more at ease discussing my perspective. I now understand that an AI-based translation method does not fit me in terms of task/time allocation, the resulting standard and the produced style. Yet, while I do not see AI as a practical tool in the initial translation phase, I definitely can see its value in the editing stage, when it is possible.  In short, my personal answer is: “No, but”.

One of the Doron’s first points is that AI can and does change the time relationship between translation and QA, which include both finding errors and improving style. Specifically, he noted that the initial translation process, what he called the white paper stage, using AI takes minutes, if not less, allowing translators to focus their energy and skill and improving the text, rendering it both accurate and human. It should be noted that many translators, including myself, actually prefer the creative stage, the writing of the first draft, over the editing stage. An important passion in translation is the joy of playing with words, preferably in at least two languages. Thus, as demanding and time-consuming as translation can be, the work is fascinating and satisfying. By contrast, editing is a technical skill requiring great attention to detail and great discipline. Consequently, as I have no great desire to specialize in editing, I prefer the traditional method of translation, i.e., without AI.

Another point made by Doron is that AI is becoming or has become the new standard. He noted that it is possible to produce a workable translation of even long texts in hours, not days. I certainly do not dispute his assessment of time requirements or creation of a standard. However, I do challenge the worthiness of the standard. Written communication, especially in English, necessarily involves polishing and repolishing. Each QA session reveals more underlying issues, theoretically infinite but in practice limited by delivery deadlines. Clearly, any translation produced and edited in three hours lacks that polish if even it suffers from no concrete language error. Thus, it is possible to produced rushed translation but the issue is to what standard.  I am aware that, historically, people have come to accept lower quality standards, e.g. cars and clothes, but I find that disturbing.

Finally, AI, because it is based on statistics, not intelligence (Doron’s words), produces a clear but somehow flawed text based. To paraphrase Doron, average is never good as the 50% of the other texts are better.  The actual level of finishing depends on the skill and knowledge of the editor, many of whom are not even native speakers. Consequently, the AI-produced and human-edited translation often is correct but off, like a fluent but non-native speaker telling a story. Everything is clear but a real person would not write that. For many purposes, this artificialness is not an issue, in particular when a person only requires the translation to ascertain the main idea or find a detail. However, if the writer wishes to move the reader to buy, be inspired or any other action, this dissonance ruins the effect. People believe writers and speakers because they are authentic even if their facts are not quite accurate. Effective written communication must reflect the writer’s voice, not the statistical average. Therefore, I feel that using an AI-produced translation does not serve the needs of most if not all my customers’ needs.

One of the most attractive features of AI was its editing capacity. The ability of AI to identify errors of all types, including context-based spelling errors on some applications, is highly useful and a significant improvement on Word’s Spellcheck and even Grammarly, to name a few non-AI applications. However, to use these AI-tools efficiently requires consistent effort and time investment in attaining the computer skills and keep up with the weekly changes and newest versions. Moreover, translators cannot upload many legal, commercial and medical documents  due to confidentiality issues. I would love to upload the first draft 18,000 words I am working onto AI but will not do so because of the fear of it entering the public realm. Finally, it should be noted that most older people and quite a few younger people are not native to technology.  Yet, for many translators, using AI for editing makes sense both in terms of effectiveness and economics.

If I view the translation economic equation as time/effort as compared to income, at this moment at least, I feel that it is correct decision for me is to ignore AI but to keep an eye on it. AI is not the end of translation just as Computer Aided Translation and Google translations did not destroy the profession. Clearly, AI will change the industry but in what manner and which degree, nobody can say. It remains for each translator, or any other professional for that matter, to examine and decide, as Kirstie and Phil would say, to love it or leave it. I am leaving it for the moment.

Endearing words – price, value and the English language

 

Individual words have a unique and rich texture, describing a reality far more complex than their formal equivalents. To illustrate this texture, I will analyze words that describe prices and their accompanying value perception to show that these words are not true synonyms but instead complementary words.

On the upper side, some items are expensive, which merely implies that the price is above average with a tad bit of judgment regarding its worthwhileness, which can be explained. For example, I can say that that that the cake is expensive but worth every cent. On a more generic note, a purchase may involve a big-ticket item, such as a truck, which, by definition, costs more money objectively. People with a desire to impress or a need for quality may choose to purchase a top-of-the-line or high-end model, the fanciest option, or make their purchase at a high-street location, where the most expensive stores are located. What is lost in savings is gained in prestige and quality. For elegant parties, hosts may choose to invest in premium products, such as imported ham, or lavish entertainment, such as full orchestra, which do luxuries. Swanky hotels are really good at impressing but come at a high price. Many guests will appreciate the effort. Somethings that glitter are gold in price and quality.

However, far more people and cultures frown on wasteful spending. In other words, they hate to overpay and avoid buying overpriced goods and services, defined as more expensive that they “should” be. If people feel that the price is above the market, i.e., too high, they might be embarrassed to discover that they had paid a pretty penny, which is not attractive at all, or been a victim of highway robbery, as the cost of an ice cream from a beach vendor, which borders on criminal. If goods are in short supply, sellers ask for an exuberant price, which is far more than it should be, meaning it is sky high. Of course, nobody wants to pay an arm and a leg for anything if they have a choice.

By contrast, many families are proud of being thrifty, knowing how to the get the most from their money. They appreciate a good value, one where the quality and cost reflect each other. They have no problem being popular priced items, those are inexpensive, and get by with budget options, those costing less. Everyday low prices are what they seek.  Even better, they relish finding items on sale for that day or discounted for any reason since these prices are especially low. They enjoy making a real steal if they can find an item at wholesale prices, which are clearly less than any retail ones. Low-street vendors, located far from the main shopping areas, and the bargain basement, the lowest floor of many department stores where one can find a real buy, are their favorite venues. Many people by choice or necessity must be very economical.

However, everything has a limit. Cheap goods are, unfortunately both low in price and quality. If it is a dime, a dozen, it fails to impress those in the know. If someone buys cut-rate or insists on dirt-cheap goods, it is clear that quality is completely irrelevant. Items bought for a song are often too good to be true but not always. For example, the Dutch sold New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York, for the equivalent $24. Anybody selling at rock-bottom prices is not making money, which makes no sense in most cases. Thus, there is a floor somewhere in low prices.

Therefore, when choosing which word to describe a price, consider all elements, not only the direction but also the connotation. Calling your mother-in-law cheap or accountant exuberant could have unpleasant results. In practice, choosing the wrong word can cost you dear, meaning have a high price beyond your expectations. May this column enrich your knowledge and save you from misunderstandings.

A rose is not always a rose – on bagels, biscuits and ice cream

 

Casual travelers reading foreign menus may find themselves surprised but disappointed when they see a treat from home. Towards the end of a long trip in a distant land, it may seem such a relief to find a familiar food item on a menu, creating an expectation of a certain known taste. However, in some cases, the name of the item is the same but the form and/or taste can be quite different. Some examples of this are bagels, biscuits and ice cream.

Bagels are technically dough that is boiled and then baked. That said, their texture varies from country to country. In the United States, especially New York, bagels are hard on the outside, dense in the middle and relatively small. They are generally cut in half, with each soft side generally coated with butter or cream cheese. By contrast, the bagels in Germany are quite big, rather hard and served as sandwiches. My wife and I especially enjoyed the brie bagels, probably the best dish we ate there. In Israel, a bagel, generaly referred to as a "bagelleh", generally has the texture of white bread with a slightly harder outside, sprinkled with sesame seeds or nuts. A bagel toast in Israel tastes a bit like a brioche toast in the US but the bread is round with a hole in the middle. To be fair, it is possible to buy hard pretzels, but they are the exception. All bagels are tasty but their exact form can differ.

Biscuits can refer to very different goods depending on country. In England, any small, sweet and thin baked item is a biscuit, ideal for tea time (or any time for that matter). In the United States, the same treat is called a cookie. In Israel, biscuits mainly refer to Petit-Beurre or similar crispy bites but definitely not a Moroccan ghoribas, a honey and orange delicacy. Strangely enough, in the United States, especially in the southern part, the biscuit of biscuits and gravy is doughy and soft, ideal for absorbing the gravy. KFC biscuits somewhat replicate its texture and flavor. Regardless, this biscuit is worlds away from the British dessert.

Finally, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream but the actual product varies by country. A scoop of ice cream in the US is generally creamy and large, more sugary than tasty unless you go luxury. By contrast, Italian ice cream, gelato, is far more icy and finely flavored, not to mention served in smaller portions. Quality is more important than quantity. TypicalFrench ice cream is somewhere in between them. Most do have a decent cream content but also contain quality flavor ingredients. As for Israel, as should be in a country of immigrants, there is everything from delicate gelato to pure creamy decadence. Whatever the form, everybody loves ice cream.

In terms of managing expectations, when ordering foods abroad, I suggest keeping an open mind. The flavor or form may be different but it may be quite tasty in itself. Expecting the same everything as at home is a bit unrealistic and ultimately boring.

War and Remembrance – the challenge and satisfaction of translating Holocaust related documents

 

[train to Auschwitz]

Technical translators generally translate, well, technical documents, whose drama is in the subtext of the document, i.e., how the specific details are somehow extraordinary. On a few occasions, I have had the opportunity to translate documents related to the Holocaust. These documents are in most cases stories of tragedy with some rays of light, storytelling at its simplest and grimmest. Interestingly, I find these document far more challenging to translate than any legal or financial document. Yet, despite these difficulties, I take on these projects as they are important to both past and present.

I have had the privilege of translating several Holocaust-related documents. My first serious translation were the memoires of Jewish partisan from Minsk, Belarussia. I later translated the memoires of a German Jew that was sent to a camp in the Baltic, who described that particular hell. For several years, I would translate the requests of Jews submitting requests to Generali, the insurance company, to receive the benefits of insurance of their long-perished parents. Just this week, I began translating a monograph on a “Righteous among nations”, a person that helped Jews survive the Germans. Each of these documents were both historical and personal documents filled with pain and joy.

In practice, translating these tragic narratives might seem rather straightforward but they are far more complex than any technical document. First, my source language, whether Hebrew, French or Russian in my cases, was not the original language of the memoires or, in one case, the native language of the narrator. Thus, as in all translations of translations, the text lacked elements of the writer’s voice while the translators down the line added elements. As a result, it was extremely difficult to be certain of the writer’s way of expressing and, thus, almost impossible to precisely recreate it in English, the target language. Second, while literary translators are expert in identifying stylistic elements and finding their equivalent elements, technical translators tend to focus on precision with the style a matter of an accepted standard. As these are both personal and historical documents, both precision and style are important and unique. Unfortunately, translation suffers to a certain degree an inherent conflict between faithfulness and beauty. Finally, these documents are very precious to the people commissioning their translation, who often have limited budgets. This combination of high expectations and a limited ability to pay naturally creates a tension. Since the budget does not allow for the editing framework involved in commercial publication, there can be dissonance between the expectation and result. Translating holocaust material, as in all literary work, is a labor of love and challenging.

Yet, I welcome such projects because the stories enrich my understand of my family’s experience, illustrate human nature and remain so relevant to the present. To explain, my mother survived the German occupation of France as did her mother and sister but lost her father and many others in her family. Her stories and letters from that period show the strength and luck that certain people had and how they survived against all odds. Her story is mirrored in the memoirs I translate. On a mixed note, we see how the Holocaust brought out the best and worst of people. Some people risked to lives to save Jews as a matter of principle while others willingly participated in murder whether by informing the authorities or even carrying out the killing. Everybody had a personal choice just as we have today. As for the relevance of such stories to the present, evil has become even more banal in current times, to quote Hannah Arendt. Worldwide, regimes and those that cooperate with them are repressing and oppressing minorities with greater cruelty than ever, showing no compassion or empathy. In such tough times, it is important to read about the choices of a previous generation faced with such choices and educate people that there are consequences to actions or inertia. I believe that Holocaust documents are far more than historical records; they are timeless calls to conscience.

Thus, despite the challenges, I choose to take on translation of Holocaust-era documents. The material, maybe because of its disturbing nature, enriches my life, my appreciation of human strength and weakness, which actually gives me hope, and allows me to do something, however small, to fight those that do not value human life. Contributing to the remembrance of that war is a call to action in the present.

A catfish perspective – understanding bottom feeders in the translation market

 

[catfish]

“The agency offered three cents a word! How shameful! Even worse, there are translators that will agree to it!” Almost every experienced and not a few not-so-experienced translators have expressed that anger and probably quite often. The existence of the rock-bottom market creates the hostile angry thoughts that high street stores have in reaction to a Walmart branch. This low-price niche seems an insult, if not a threat, to the profession. However, putting emotion side, there are solid, if not always justifiable, reasons, why certain agencies offer so little and certain translators are willing to take those offers. In practice, the “high street” translator can and should ignore this market as it does not actually pose an actual threat.

There is an economic basis for agencies offering low rates, whether it is type and location of their customers, their business location, their marketing limitations or their business strategy. Many agencies, especially small ones outside of the expensive European/US markets, work with customers that have low demands in terms of quality and even lower budgets in terms of their ability to pay for translation. A classic example is Russia, where traditionally business used Russian native speakers to translate into English and, in many cases, t at local rates. Furthermore, for agencies working in countries with low-costs, notably in many parts of India and China, agencies earn reasonable profit even if they do not add excessive profit in the price-to-customer. A far more common cause of such rates is the inability of an agency to negotiate higher rates. For example, in Israel, some agencies succeed in attaining much higher rates than others even if they work the same market. Finally, of growing importance, worldwide LSPs (Language Service Providers), such as RSW and TransPerfect, use volume to cover their expenses and make profits, with their revenue reaching very high levels. Of course, some agencies do offer low rates to translators but charge high rates to the customers, earning disproportionally high profits, but this is not always the case. Thus, many agencies often offer low rates for legitimate business reasons.

Many translators often accept these rates for legitimate business reasons as well as ignorance First, newcomers to the professions often treat these low-paying jobs as a practical way to gain experience. If translation is a second income, the amounts they earn, however low, may provide a significant boost to their income, especially in poorer countries. As a primary income, the cost of living varies significantly between country to country, meaning that these rates may be higher than other available income options where they live. Sadly, many translators have no margin for slow months and must take on any relevant job.  Of course, many translators taking on these jobs are unaware that they can attain higher rates through active marketing in their country or abroad. They erroneously believe that these low rates are the market. Still, one person's "shocking rates" is another's way out of poverty.

If, as in all markets, the low budget niche exists and may be expanding, experience translators need to stop wasting energy on decrying it and focus on the better-paying niches. First, low-cost translating has always existed to one extent or another with Google Translate, machine translation and AI expanding customer options. There is no point in complaining about the rain. That said, many specialist niches not only involve deep-pocketed payers but also require high quality translation. Such niches include the medical, legal and financial fields. Another strategy is to leverage AI in translation and/or administrative tasks to increase productivity, thus creating more opportunity for high income. Translators that are so interested have a wide choice of webinars and methods. In the long term, it is possible that AI will not be able to provide the quality required by many translation buyers, causing disappointment and leading these customers to return to reliable human translators, this time with a better understanding of the cost/quality payoff. Finally, as there is no translation market in the sense that translation buyers and providers lack convenient and complete access to all offers, translators have to seek out those customers that are willing to pay the rates they wish to receive even if they are higher than the budget ones too often seen in forums. Many customers still value quality and reliability. It is a matter of finding them. That is a far better use of one’s time and energy.

Catfish are a very successful species of bottom feeders. They may look ugly (unless you are fond of long fish whiskers) but not only do they thrive, they serve an important purpose in the biosystem. Likewise, inexpensive rates interest a wide community of translation buyers and providers. At the same time, numerous companies in many industries worldwide need and demand high quality translators and are willing to pay for it. It takes effort and knowledge to reach them but they are a better option for many experienced translators. As Voltaire would say, cultivate your garden.

The koshering of Israeli restaurants – the challenge of finding a “bite” on Friday night

 

In the last few months, I discovered a major change in the status of restaurants in northern Israel: almost all of them are closed on Shabbat, Friday night through Saturday night. In the past, all the great fish restaurants in Tiberia on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (“the Kinneret” to Israelis) were open 7 days a week as were the many eateries in my not-very-religious hometown of Karmiel, in the Galilee. To understand this change, it is vital to understand the complexity of religious observance in Israel, the matter of Kashrut and the effects of the events of the last 5 years on the restaurant sector in northern Israel. In terms of my emotional reaction to this change, my thoughts are also far from black and white.

To state that Israel is a Jewish country is as meaningful as saying that the United States is a Christian country, i.e., “yes but”. 73% of the citizens of the country are Jewish, meaning that the remaining percentage is Muslim, Christian, Druze and other religions. Even among the Jewish population, 45% identify themselves as secular; 33% are “masorti” traditional, 10% consider themselves religious, referred to as national religious or “kippa sruga”, the knitted kippa; and 10% are ultra-religious, Haredim, of various kinds. The significance of this spectrum is that there is a wide variance in the attitude of various populations in Israel to the keeping of dietary laws, to be explained in the next paragraph, and religious rules in general. Of course, in traditionally religious cities, including Jerusalem and Tzfat, as well as Bnei Brak in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, homogenous religious communities, Jewish rules of life and behavior are strictly followed, as compared to Tel Aviv, which is essentially secular and western in thought and deed. Thus, the daily reality of Jewishness in Israel is all over the spectrum.

One of the essential pillars of the traditional Jewish way of life is kashrut, whose specific details are an extremely complicated subject way beyond my knowledge. However, in simple terms, “kosher” refers to the nature of the ingredients of the food, how it is prepared and, most importantly for restaurants, when it is served. Kashrut laws specifically forbid the use of certain foods, most noticeably pork and shellfish, possibly originally due to health issues involved in storing and preparing them. It also specifies the characteristics of animals that can be eaten, whether meat or fish. Kashrut also relates to the preparation of food in terms of how animals are slaughtered and the strict separation of milk and meat. Yeah, no butter on steak in kosher restaurants. Thus, kosher homes and restaurants most have separate dishes, silverware, sinks and even dishwashers for milk and meat. Finally, as it is forbidden to light a fire on Shabbat, people keeping full kosher do not cook food on Saturday but may keep food that is prepared beforehand warm on a hot plate. Therein lies the dilemma for restaurants: if they are open from sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday, they are not kosher.

The events of the last five years have changed the equation in restaurants’ decision on whether to be kosher or not. Before Covid and the Gaza war, foreign tourists flooded Israel, including the northern part of the country. In 2018, 4.12 millioin foreign tourists visited in Israel and needed to find a restaurant on Shabbat. In 2024, only some 800,000 came. They certainly did not visit the north because rockets and drones were firing off alarms several times a day, not to mention the fact that most of the nature sites were closed due to the war. Yet, tourism did not completely die as Israelis, finding it ridiculously expensive to fly abroad as the foreign airlines suspended their flights to and from Israel, chose to visit relatively safe places, such as Tiberias on the Sea of the Galilee. A very high percentage of these people were religious at least in terms of keeping kosher, meaning that they would not eat a non-kosher restaurant. The few open restaurants, struggling to survive in this difficult situation, apparently had to become kosher and close on Shabbat. Thus, today, for secular people looking to “go out for dinner” on a Friday night, the best option is an Arab restaurant, which generally offers excellent food and service at a reasonable price.

I personally have very mixed reaction to this situation. On the one hand, having had to work weekends in my younger days and knowing how hard restaurant work is, it may be a blessing for all those in the industry  to spend Saturday together with their families. On the other hand, these restaurants lose an important part of their income in a traditionally difficult industry to survive. Furthermore, as a secular person, I find it disturbing that Israel is becoming more religious. By the way, far more Muslims fast during Ramadan than they did 25 years ago. For those that desire an Israel that is more faithful to the religious laws, I imagine that this change is good news. On the longer term, it will be interesting to see what happens when the pre-corona tourism levels return and more restaurants reopen.

In the meantime, it is interesting to watch what kind of new Israel will arise from the ashes of Covid and war years. It is certain the food, which is already  excellent, will improve even more. For those that don’t want to cook Saturday lunch, it make take more effort to find an open restaurant. May that be the least of our problems.