Number theory

Numbers have significance well beyond their quantitative meaning.  For example, the term 24/7 is universally understood to mean around the clock without mention of the units, i.e., hours and days per week. The challenge for translators and non-natives is understanding the localized meaning, which may or may exist in the culture of the person trying to understand the term. Misinterpretation can lead to confusion at best and wrong conclusions at worst.

The most obvious number issues are quantities, dates and time.  Some languages, notably English, use the decimal point to distinguish the whole numbers from the decimal and lower numbers, e.g. 5.547 percent is 5 and 547/1000 percent.  By contrast, the comma is used to divide between each three places in whole numbers, e.g. 7,890 is seven thousand and eight hundred and ninety. By contrast, the French, among others, reverse this convention such that 5.547 is five thousand, five hundred and forty-seven while 7,890 is 7 and 890/1000 percent.  What a difference a punctuation mark can make.  The date issue can be critical.  The United States is almost the sole country that places the month before the day with most other countries starting the date of the month. Thus, translators often write out the name of the month to avoid any potential confusion. Europe traditionally has used a 24-hour clock such that each hour has a specific number. For example, 12:00 and 24:00 are clearly different times.  By contrast, in the United States, while few institutions use “military time” as the 24-hour clock is referred to, most people add am or pm or morning and evening. The problem is even Americans are confused whether 12 am is midnight or noon (it is the latter). 

In some cases, each county has its own variation of important numbers.  For instance, to call for an ambulance in the United States, you dial 911 while in France it is 112, Israel 101 and Russia 02, to name just a few.  For those who still have perfect vision, in the United States, you have 20/20 vision, meaning that you can see a certain image at 20 feet while France you have 10 vision and Israel 6/6. As they say, to each his own.

The United States has some of its specific terms.  A company filing Chapter 7 or 11 is going bankrupt. 9/11 is day of mourning that will not be forgotten for many decades. Any baseball fan knows that a 300 hitter is pretty good (for those not in the know, he gets a hit 30 percent of the time) while a 500 team has the same number of wins and losses.  In colleges, any 101 course is introductory, e.g., Economics 101 is the initial course. On the financial front, most Americans file a 1040 form of some type and know that the IRS requires it if they may not know how to fill it in. For that matter, Israeli get a 106 form from their employer every year reporting their income and deductions for the entire tax year. You got to be there to understand.

Culture also has added significance to numbers but the effect is often generational. Depending on the age, people may remember Adam 12, a patrol cop show from the 1960’s, Room 222, a TV program about a school in the early 1970’s and Beverly Hills 92010 for those a bit younger.  In terms of books, 1984 is a well-known book by George Orwell. Of course, all living generations know that 007 is a spy.

If I live until 120, as they say in Hebrew, I will probably witness the appearance of num(b)erous digital terms. Some will stick while others will be forgotten as in Bug 2000. Yet, numbers are here to stay.

Traveling post - ATA Law Division

 This week, I am posting on the ATA Law division:

https://www.ata-divisions.org/LawD/386-2/

Starting up the freelance business leanly

This week, I attended a short lecture and workshop given by Prof. Rami Gazit from the Braude College of Engineering.  The subject was the lean startup model, which was new to me.  In a few hours, he provided the background and main points of this business model.  As a freelancer translator for 15 years with a formal business background (MBA), I could not help but consider whether this knowledge would have helped me when I started and how much it is relevant now.  My conclusion is that while freelancing and startups are not identical situations, some of the basic concepts to which I was exposed would definitely apply to a startup and established freelance translator.

To begin with, I clearly see three important differences between technical startups and freelancing.  The first involves the environment in which the business begins. One of the definitions of a startup business provided us was an attempt to create a viable business model in an essentially uncertain world, i.e., to introduce a new product or service into the market.  By contrast, freelancing involves providing a known product or service in a relatively stable existing market, i.e. specific and complete business models already exist.  

Another important difference is the end goal of the activity.  Ultimately, the startup entrepreneur wants to succeed in creating a business that is sufficiently large and viable to sell for millions. By contrast, the more modest end goal of all freelancers is to make a living in the long term on their terms.  The money involved is in thousands, not millions. Granted, in the translation business, more and more successful freelance businesses are being bought in the recent of conglomeration.  Still, the vast majority of freelancers are in for the long term to make a living. Finally, new freelance translators, unlike a budding startup company, has nothing new to offer. Their service is superficially identical to that of countless others. The only changes in the service will be the product of outside technological change, such as machine translation, not any innovation they can bring.

That said, freelancers can learn from the lean startup model. First, in both, it is essential to focus on the customer, not on the product or service. This emphasis is vital both in the starting and later stages of the business. In the beginning, it is necessary to talk with companies and translation project managers to ascertain what they look for, i.e. the characteristics of a successful service provider. For example, in translation, on-time delivery and effective communication create the basis for a long-term customer.  As the business grows, these same customers can provide information regarding QA issues and other required services, i.e. areas to which the service provide can expand, such as transcreation or post-MT editing in the translation field today. Only after entrepreneurs understand their customers can they tailor their skills and knowledge to the market.

Proper scaling also applies to freelance businesses. Scaling applies to the speed of expansion of business activities.  The relevant key lesson from lean startup is that trial and error on a small scale is vital for long term success.  In other words, in the beginning, freelancers should focus on a single specialization within their repertoire of skills and knowledge. For example, translators should market one language pair in one direction in one specialization.  When translating or marketing errors occur, the lessons learned from this experience will significantly increase the efficiency in later stages. Not only that, a small controlled start will avoid burning customers for the later stages. Once the basic technical issues are clarified and resolved, it will be possible to expand to further niches (and higher income). Thus, while there is a tendency to throw out a wide net, a narrow focus in the beginning can better serve a new freelancer.

The third aspect is the need to be able to pivot, i.e. flexibility. Whether due to market changes or incorrect assumptions, some marketing ideas or potential niches do not produce results. After a certain point, it is pointless to invest more time and energy in them, at least for the meantime. A successful entrepreneur seeks another area in which the same set of skills and knowledge or an additional one will apply. For example, the knowledge of legal and financial accounting terminology is also a key in translating documents for international development marketing as I learned in a recent ATA webinar by Corinne Mckay. Since the business world is only relatively stable, the ability to pivot is relevant for the entire lifetime of a freelancing business. Change can be a curse or an opportunity. Flexibility is an important relative advantage of a successful freelancer.

I make no claim of being an expert of lean startup after a two-hour lecture/workshop.  Yet, I found many of its lessons relevant to both new and established freelancers, including but not limited to translators. The need to be customer focused by asking questions, walk before running and identify and react to changes applies to all businesses, freelancers, startups and even corporations. All entrepreneurs that start up a business can lean on these principles.

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