Language nonsense – phrases from a foreign point of view

 

[the Mad Hatter*]

People make language but don’t necessarily understand it. In other words, native speakers use phrases to signify a certain meaning even if the literal meaning of the words is not in alignment, never even noticing the contradiction. Foreigners, struggling to understand the language, then ask “why” questions, to which native speakers have no logical answer besides “because”. This phenomenon is not limited to English but applies to all human languages.

English is filled with strange phrases whose parts do not equal their sum. Why do slow up and slow down mean the same? Should the verb slow function like the volume button on a keyboard, i.e. more slow and less slow? Likewise, I cannot explain why a person drives a car on a parkway but parks a car on a driveway. This is extremely illogical, as Spock would say. Finally, consider the expression never mind. The word mind means “pay attention” as the phrase at rail stations mind your distance. However, I cannot grasp where the never came from. We use this phrase to express dismissal of a comment or event, similar to forget it. However, if I never mind anything, I would never get upset or listen to anything or anybody, which is not the essence of the expression. Thus, when asked by students about these and similar expression, my only answer is “never mind”.

Other languages are no less guilty of sloppy constructions. The French dis donc, literally means “say then”, but actually means “wow” or “what are you saying”.  As an example, if someone experienced an extraordinary event, the listening might say "dis donc". The Hebrew  שים לב [seem lev] means pay attention and is a common phrase in both writing and street signs. Yet, it consists of two words, put and heart, which, put together, do not reflect the use of the term. Similarly in Russian, the answer да нет наверное [da nyet navernoe] consists of three words: yes, no, maybe. In practice, it means I refuse but I have doubt[example credit]. These are merely three examples of myriads of accepted insanity in language.

Lewis Carroll and Dr. Seuss touched on this issue with their famous quotes about meaning and saying. Apparently, if native speakers understand each other, there is no need for strictly logical language. As for foreigners, these expressions are just another element of mastering a foreign language. In practice, nobody is going to change a language just to make it logical.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit

Making price exceptions – a case study

 

[axe in wood*]

Quite recently, one of my longest-standing clients, a smaller translation agency,  contacted me and requested a quote for translation of a death certificate from Hebrew to English. The project manager wrote that the customer budget was limited and offered me two thirds of my standard rate. It is important to note that in recent years, I have received far less business from this agency. As I was in the quiet period of the feast or famine work cycle, I considered the pluses and minuses of compromising on my rate.

In theory, when deciding on whether to bend on price, three elements, among others, are relevant. First, the freelancer has to take into account how much work is coming in at that moment since more getting work  in busy times is less important than during a dry period. The second question is whether the customer is established or new. It can be good practice to show some flexibility with established customers as a way of strengthening the business relationship. On the other hand, new customers have this nasty tendency to come to the conclusion that the “exceptional” discount is the rule. Finally, when a special request comes after or during a large project, the translator easily makes up any “loss” that is incurred on the larger project. The supermarkets called this a loss leader. Thus, I balanced all these factors in my mind and made a decision.

I responded by telling the project manager that, while I understood the situation,  I do not compromise on quality and expect not to have compromise on price. What I was really thinking was that the difference in price was the cost of a coffee and croissant in many countries. Not only that, if I didn’t get the project, I still would be able to buy bread next month.

I did not get the project but did not lose the client either. In my opinion, there is a justification for making discounts in certain circumstances, but they are truly the exceptions.

 

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit

You are not alone – the benefits of student self-identification as a classroom activity

 

[university classroom*]

The first lesson of any course sets the tone for the whole class. The students size up the teacher and make assumptions about his/her approachability, flexibility and personality. After 45 minutes of technical details on the course, the students have identified the technical specifications of the teacher, often correctly.

Unfortunately, the process is a bit one-way. The teacher is focused on presenting an organized and comprehensive description of the course and providing the relevant information. In the first hour, at minimum, the students sit quietly and politely, with maybe a few questions from the more confident ones among them. In practice, the teacher knows absolutely nothing about the students except their names. They are literally a sea of faces.

I teach English to first-year engineering students from all departments at the Braude School of Engineering in Karmiel, Israel. I have more than 30 years of experience and have learned that, regardless of the students’ age, which in my case ranges from 18-30, learners that feel some connection with the teacher try harder and have a greater chance to succeed.

Our task schedule is rather tight, especially with the war-shortened semesters this year, in terms of the amount of material to be covered as we aim to teach four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Notwithstanding this pressure, I choose to dedicate the second 45-minute period of the first lesson to student self-introduction, which can take 30-40 minutes with a class of 30 students. I ask each student to state their name, what type of engineering they are studying, where they are from and something that makes them special, such as a hobby, skill or achievement. I always pose a short question after each introduction regarding some matter about which I am curious. I am aware that this activity is at the expense of a formal learning experience, e.g., articles and sentence structure, but I do not regret this choice as both the teacher and students receive far more benefit.

My benefits include:

1.   It slightly increases the chance I will remember their names although I tell them on the first lesson that I tend not to retain names (unless the students has a “special” personality or the name and face seem to match perfectly).

2.  More importantly, I catch of a sense of who they are in those few sentences, including their level of confidence and skill, emotional state and general personality.

3.  I quickly learn to appreciate and respect them as adults as I discover their amazing achievement as such an early age. I have had students that won awards in numerous sports, founded businesses and, in general, achieved more than I would have thought possible in such a short time as an adult. I may know more English than they do but they are far more talented than me in other areas. It teaches healthy humility.

The students also benefit:

1.     They discover the other students, especially the ones outside their department.

2.    They begin the process of believing that that they can orally express themselves coherently in English. Granted, it is a small step towards the final large presentation before the class. However, for many, especially the more timid among them, this success leads to more confidence.

3.    It allows them to express themselves as adult individuals and see how unique and talented they are. Chronical age and emotional age are far from identical. By being treating as an adult, they tend to take responsible for their actions, one of the key elements in effective learning.

For these reasons, I invest 45 minutes of class time to get to know my students, however slightly, as individuals. Learning is an activity that involves two parties, a teacher and a student, not merely a distant figure talking to the air. We are not alone, neither students or teachers, in this process. It is for teachers, who have the power to set the tone, to create the connection.

* Picture captions help the blind access the Internet.

Picture credit

Certified madness – what is an official translation

 

[official stamp*]

In translation, one of those simple questions that requires a long answer is “can you provide a certified translation”? The reasons why no simple response is possible are that no single set of criteria apply to a certified translation or no uniform nomenclature exists. Having just profited from an excellent and well-organized ATA (American Translators Association) webinar by Robert Sette on certification in the US market as well as having immersed myself in the intricacies of the French system this summer at the SFT (Société française des traducteurs) conference and being familiar with the Hebrew-English market, I would like to present a short overview of the certification situation for the benefit of both translators and translation buyers. As I see it, the main cause of the confusion is the confusing use of the terms certified translation, certified translator, notarized translation and apostille.

When a person needs and requests a certified translation, the first and most important requirement is to ascertain the requirements of the demanding agency. In the United States, each court establishes its own regulations while, in Europe, national regulations set the criteria (as Gomer Pyle often said, “surprise, surprise”). Some embassies even insist that only their official translators do it for it to be official, including Austria (See Gomer Pyle above). Government agencies worldwide set their own rules and are not always very specific. Universities can be even less precise. On the other extreme, Israel, the land of administrative organized chaos, the issue is often rather vague except for financial matters such as wills and estates. So, it is necessary to confirm the actual requirements of the party requiring certification.

A far more complex issue is who exactly is a certified translator, or, in some jurisdictions, a sworn translator or other official title. This question is essentially a national issue. In the United States, it is person that has passed the specific ATA certification test and maintained his/her status or a person authorized by a court. Alas, the ATA does have not tests in many language combinations, including Hebrew-English, meaning that any person claiming fluency in those language combinations can certify the translation. In most parts of Europe, only translators that have been recognized by the State, usually through the regional courts, can claim that title. In Israel, the only official translation qualification is a certificate of Recognized Translator, issued by the ITA (Israel Translators Organization). Interestingly enough, the existing structures allow such translators to certify documents translated into their foreign language, i.e., they do not limit the direction of the certification. For example, certified court translators in Europe or the United States can certify a translation from English to Spanish even if they cannot actually produce a proper Spanish document because their native language is English.

As Mr. Sette explained, the key for a valid certification is the phrasing of the certifying document. The qualifications and actions of the translator must be accurate and clear. For example, it is only acceptable for a translator  to use the statement a certified translator translated the document if the person actually has such documentation and actually produced the document. It would be perjury to claim either if the person merely is fluent in both languages and/or only checked an existing translation.  On the other hand, it is possible to specify general language knowledge and state that the document is an accurate translation. The devil is the details here.

Notarized translation is a bit of misnomer. Public notaries in the United States merely confirm the accuracy of signatures. They can certify that the signature on the translator statement of accurateness is real, no more than that. Clearly, translators in the US cannot notarize their own signature. By contrast, notaries in Europe have much wider powers and roles. They can in some cases both translate and notarize translation, with the government so empowering them or even given them a monopoly in certain circumstances.

Apostilles are actually the simplest. Established by the Hague Convention (Convention de la Haye du 5 october 1961), it creates a manner for governments to recognize official documents issued by foreign governments. In practice, it is possible to submit any official document with a signature of a public figure to the entity and receive an apostille of its genuineness. To paraphrase that song by Lou BegoVO, “a little bureaucracy in my life”.

In summary, if a person needs a “certified translator”, the steps are to ascertain what the actual requirements are; identify a translator with the corresponding credentials; phrase the certifying statement in a precise and accurate method; and,  if required, have the signature of the statement of faithfulness notarized. Simple, isn't it?

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit

Fossilized footprints – modern words with ancient roots

 

[fossilized  human foostep in stone*]

Very few people strive to understand the basic elements of their life. For example, Only paleontologists seek and find fossils or even ancient footsteps on rocks that most of us merely treat as a static and firm foothold. Likewise, writers, translators and editors consider words as distinct units, each with its unique past and characteristics, beyond its role in the context of a sentence. Here are five examples of words in English still used today that have retained their historical roots.

[compass]

Orientate – This word means to find one’s way. The Swedes used it practically to describe navigating blindly at sea to arrive at a specific point. However, it actually comes from the Latin oriens, meaning “the rising sun”. In other words, you need to find your “east”, not your north as they would say in Hebrew. By the way, the French town of Lorient was named after a ship, "L'Orient' that was built to sail eastward to the French colonies in India. Go east, young man.

[bale of straw]

Threshold – This word today means “on the edge of”  as in the team is on the threshold of gaining respectability. Its origin is actually as it sounds, i.e., it is the barrier that held the thresh, generally known as straw, within the floor area of medieval houses. Tiles and other hard materials were for the rich. For many centuries, the poor had to be satisfied with straw. On the other hand, replacing the floor was much less expensive and faster than it is today.

[dripping faucet]

There will be the devil to pay – This expression sounds rather straightforward: if you break the rules, the punishment will be serious. Actually, it probably comes from the nautical tradition, where the devil was the bottom beam of a ship that had to be tarred, paid, from time to time to prevent leaking. It was hot and unpleasant work and reserved for those sailors that were not sufficiently cooperative. I was told that on modern ships, it is necessary to periodically paint the engine room, also a quite difficult environment. However, at least now those tasked for this job get extra pay.

[kitchen pipes]

Plumber - All of us have had to call a plumber, a person that actually knows how to attach those pipes under the sink. The interesting aspect of the name of the profession is the root plumb, which refers to lead, the metal. People forget that for centuries lead was the metal of choice for many household items, including pots and pans, because it was strong, light and easy to shape. Today, plastic, iron and ceramic are the standards because lead is actually a slow-working poison but hindsight is always wonderful. To paraphrase a well-known movie, lead and lace in the kitchen is not a healthy combination.

[coach with 4 horses]

Teamster – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a powerful union representing truckers and warehouse workers, among others, in the United States. The word team in the title does not refer to any sports organization but instead grouped beasts of burden, e.g. horses, oxen, donkeys and mules, that were used to pull heavy loads, with the driver of such arrangements referred to a teamster. It has been a few generations, at least in the Western world, since motor vehicles replaced these animals but the name stuck. The horsepower remains even without the horse.

Like an ancient footstep immortalized in hard stone, many words show their past as well as the past of the humans that created them to those that keep their eyes and mind open. The process is still continuing. It is possible in the future that people will pen their thoughts without knowing what a pen is. For linguists, these roots add to the pleasure of language.

 

* Picture captions help the blind full access the Internet.

Top Picture credit

Other picture credit

In solving C – the mental travails of translator

 

[cartoon face with tongue sticking out*]

Every crossword solver hates the moment: the word is on the tip of your tongue but it refuses to come out. In my latest case, it was “inability to pay" – starting with “in”.

While I also enjoy crossword puzzles, I experience this phenomenon on an almost daily basis as I am a professional translator. Aside from subtle issues with the language from which I am working, I face the problem of finding the exact word in the language to which I am translating, which happens to be English, my native language. It should be easy as pie (easy-peasy as the British might say) but sometimes I simply cannot recall the exact word.

As I often do not have the luxury of waiting for another clue or waiting for later and hoping the word will come, I have to resort to mechanical means. As usual, the Internet serves as one savior. When the context is general, Google Translate or Reverso provides some options with the former less effective as the result  is limited to one option. When the context is specialized, online dictionaries (WordReference.com, Multitrans.ru and Wellisch.co.il  are my favorites, depending on the language combination) provide a quick list of synonyms. Sometimes my printed dictionaries are the fastest and most accurate reminder. My last trick is typing “synonym for xxxxx”, which give me a list of words, which usually jogs my memory. (BTW – I used the last technique to remember the verb jog in the phrase.) With that challenge overcome, I can now continue translating until the next memory challenge.

For those that could not think of the word, it is insolvency. Do not feel bad if you failed to identify it. Translators after many hours sometimes struggle to recall much simpler words. So, translation buyers, don’t ask your translators to work 12-hour days. Imagine trying to do crossword puzzles for that long. To paraphrase Nat King Cole, a person may be unforgettable but words, especially after many hours, are quite forgettable.**

 

 

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

** According to my numbering system, this is my 600^th post I have written. Time flies when you are having fun.

Picture credit

The devil is in the details – QAing financial documents

 

[buildings and reflection on water*]

One relatively stable translation niche is financial translation, which involves any document required in the flow of money as well as various documents proving place of residence. Many of the requests are for translations from PDFs that list personal specifics on a standard form such as a tax declaration or utility invoice. In practical terms,  a previous translation can be used as a template. However, entering different details onto an existing form is not as simple as it seems. In first drafts,  it can happen that the translator introduces errors, namely in numbers, names and formatting. A proper QA process can essentially ensure that the client receives a completely accurate translation.

To a non-translator, translating a water bill or bank statement may be simple. It seems that all one has to do is run the PDF through a decent PDF-Word converter and out comes a nice Word document. Alas, in almost all cases, the resulting Word document is a mess, requiring more work to fix the formatting than to translate it manually, i.e., line by line. This means that the first translation of any such PDF can take significant time, up to 90 minutes for one page if the format is complicated as in tax forms or some utility bills. On the other hand, assuming the translation is accurate, that resulting Word document can be used for any other customer requesting translation of a document in the same format. Thus, it is worthwhile for the translator to invest time and effort to produce a proper template. However, when entering the new details, the translator faces the danger of introducing errors. These can be eliminated by appropriate checking.

One major issue is incorrect numbers. One challenge is when a page is extremely “busy” with numbers of which some change, e.g., the amount due, while others remain the same, e.g., the company number of the utility. Furthermore, since the numbers are being entered manually, the translator may reverse two numbers, e.g. "27" becomes "72", creating an error. Finally, while the forms may be same, some documents may include or not contain specifics appearing in the template, such as a certain fee or service. Thus, the translator should compare all the numbers on the original and translation and make sure that they are identical. The ideal time for this process is the next day when the mind sees the actual details much clearer.

Names can also be tricky. First, when working from a different alphabet (Hebrew to English in my case), it is vital to confirm the relevant spelling of any name on the document. Aside from any hurt feelings, it may impact the legal validity of the document. Once the translator completes the translation, it is important to confirm the name was spelled identically throughout the document. The human mind is more than capable of switching spellings in the middle of a project. A quick check of names identifies any such error before the client discovers it.

The last issue, formatting, while generally irrelevant in terms of content, is vital for customers. The translated document should look as identical as possible to the original. If an item is boxed, bold, underlined or white-in-black in the original, it should also be so in the translation just as a text without margin lines should look the same in the translation. Adding items to a template can further disturb the formatting. Thus, the translator needs to compare the visual aspects of the target and source documents to make sure that they match as much as possible. Customers value this result with the users of the documents appreciating the ability to easily compare data. Proper formatting is an essential part of a professional translation of a financial document.

The QA processes described above involve checking multiple aspects of the document. Ideally, the translator should do each one in turn, i.e., first comparing numbers, followed by names and then formatting. Of course, the translator should also take into account the time involved in this process in setting the price. Not only does this QA process produce a proper translation, it leads to repeat business from the same customer and recommendations. In other words, proper QA of financial documents is time well spent.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access at the Internet.

Picture credit