Paine-ful wisdom – on translators, editors, between them and beyond them

 

[The Odd Couple]

This week, I sent the following email to a trusted project manager (PM) after reviewing the changes her editor had made to my translation: “I reviewed the edits and noticed that the editor found a few minor errors [ones that do not affect understanding], introduced a few minor errors, improved the phrasing in a few places and mainly made preferential changes. The most important thing is that the customer receives the best possible translation.” The translation involved was a two-page bank declaration in convoluted Hebrew (aren’t all bank documents in convoluted language?) on a poor PDF delivered in 24 hours.

This unpleasant interaction between translator and editor, with the PM in between, led me to reconsider the Odd Couple-like nature of the relationship between technical translators and editors. Limited by time constraints, translators must convert a text in the source language, often not very easy to read due to the quality of the PDF, into a Word document in the target document acceptable for use by the customer. This task involves reading the document many times in several forms, including bilingual and monolingual as well as on screen and on paper, all within a short period of time. Not only is it difficult to read the document “freshly” every time without sufficient time gaps, another pair of eyes will always find ways to improve the translation. Thus, the even the most professional translations are not perfect. 

By contrast, the editor’s task is read the monolingual document, comparing it when necessary to the source document, identify any errors and refine the existing text until it shines. They, of course, apply their judgment and opinion of correct language, which may not be identical to the translators’ view. The task is far more focused and involves many less read-throughs. Details matter, as Felix Ungar would say, without consideration of the emotional reaction of the translator that had put so much effort in producing the text. The result is that many translators feel that editors abuse them, as reflected in a typical emotional response: ”This editor had to prove his/her existence.” Clearly, there is generally little love between technical translators and editors.

However, if the goal of the translation process is to produce the most faithful and well-written document for the customer, i.e., to provide value, both the translator and editor are essential to the process. No one pair of eyes can attain that goal regardless of the amount of knowledge and experience. In the best possible world, the PM understands this.  In my case, she will continue to work with me as she has done for many years as I provide a solid translation on or before the deadline, exactly what is required of me. Likewise, she will continue to depend on that editor to improve translations in order to retain her customers. Unfortunately, this global understanding of the goal is far from universal. Still, it is important for translators to keep it in mind when receiving "massacred" versions of their translation. In fact, the words of Thomas Paine ring true: “The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.”

Home furnishings – an (almost) full house of English expressions

 

[house plan]

Home is where the heart is. Apparently, as in most domestic situations, all those feelings are somewhat at the expense of logic and consistency, at least in terms of language. While non-native English speakers can easily remember the names of the various elements of a house and their literal meanings, they often struggle the more figurative senses of these terms. It is possible to understand these expressions through the prism of a meeting of a board of directors or the exact material involved but more often only by context. In my opinion, this partial logic makes English an entertaining and human language.

In a formal meeting of directors, the chair, i.e., the person leading the session, may table a motion. Curiously, in the US this term means to take it off the agenda while in the UK it means to discuss it. In the first case, the reasons for avoiding a discussion range from it being so off-the-wall, ridiculous, that it would be absurd to waste time on the matter or, more sinisterly, the chairperson received money under the table, a bribe, not to discuss it. The criminal involved would rather sweep it under the rug, make it disappear, at least visually. On the other hand, if the members do discuss the issue, some may consider it a window of opportunity (even though most people do not enter a house through a window if you think about it). It could open the door to a better future, allowing it to happen. Opponents, by contrast, fear that it would slam the door on a better opportunity. The mere thought of adopting the motion makes them hit the roof and get very angry. Of course, interested people wait for white smoke to come out, meaning that the board has made a decision one way or another.

Sometimes the material or location provides a clue to the meaning. A pioneering person can break a glass ceiling, a illusionary limit that a society has placed on that person. In matters of window covering, a curtain call involves a very large amount of fabric as used at the theatre. So, it means getting a second round of applause at the theatre. On the same note, if it is curtains for the villain, the curtain has come down, ending his/ her plot or even life. On an even larger scale, the iron curtain was the political and military barrier separating the Soviet Union and its allies from the West. Today, its form tends to be electronic and virtual but that is a matter for another discussion. Regarding police matters, a stool pigeon may see a bit vague until you see a pigeon tied to a stool in the field as was done in the 1800’s to hunt those birds. The police still use this aviary tool in a way by placing an informer. Back to the house, if your sports team is in the basement (which is the almost annual place of my favorite teams), they are in last place in the division. By contrast, a bargain basement is where department stores sometimes concentrate their discounted products to get rid of them and implies cheap items. Details matter.

Alas, there are terms that simply have to understood in context. A couch potato rarely moves from the sofa, watching TV and eating all day. Regarding the ground below you, flooring a pedal means pushing the accelerator to the maximum while being floored by the news involves falling to the ground. Pharmacies can sell an over-the-counter  (OTC) drug without a prescription. Since the 1940’s and Curtis LeMay, some Airforce generals insist that carpet bombing, the general destruction of a city or country,  will persuade a population to surrender. Remember the classic definition of insanity: doing something over and over again, expecting a different result each time. If you are in the dog house, it means that you are not feeling loved and welcome at home. Of course, every pub visitor loves it when the drinks are on the house, i.e., free. These expressions make some sense in a certain sense.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of the house and will find it easier to navigate through the rooms. If a home is a castle, an English house is rather peculiar, with many quirks but also much character (which is a synonym for wooden beams on real estate TV programs). If English is not your native language, I hope I furnished you with some knowledge of useful idioms. It make you feel more at home in the English language.

In praise of disorder – the joy of Mediterranean messiness

 

[cluttered desk]

Some 40 years ago, I took the train to Rome after having spent a month in Germany. I vividly remember the feeling of chaos at the Rome train station, the confusion due to the lack of signs and my discomfort with the chaos of the city.  Still, I said to myself that I would love to have the German transportation in Italy and enjoy the best of two worlds. A few months ago, I flew to Nurenberg through Heraklion, Crete. This trip made me realized how much today I prefer the chaos of the Mediterranean to the orderliness of the northern Europe.

To paint a picture, Heraklion is similar to many other urban areas in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of aesthetics and manner of living. The sidewalks are often partial; the parking is improvised; trashcans, not to mention recycling bins, can be few and far between, with the results evident in the gutter sometime. The occasional rain turns some streets into Venetian canals. In terms of sounds, loud car honks and louder conversations are the norm, creating an interesting cacophony, exaggerated for those that do not speak Greek. As for signing, the panels at Knossos (for those that did not buy the video player) left much to the imagination. By the way, the Heraklion airport deserves its awful reputation. On the other hand, the food was rich and tasty, featuring fish, meat and vegetables. The desserts were tasty. The people were friendly and helpful, happy to share their culture even in non-tourist areas. In summary, Heraklion, like Cyprus and Israel, was loud and genuine, for better or worse.

By contrast, Germany, like Holland, was clean and orderly but socially structured. The streets were sterile, with not only trash cans but also recycling bins in all public squares. The signing was complete and without translation errors, not a given in the world. (FYI, translators love discovering amusing translation errors.) The buildings were impressive and well maintained. As for the food, in that part of Germany, it was primarily meat in various forms, with a few vegetables, primarily the potato in French fries (chips). The bread was as heavy, albeit tasty, as the meat. The beer was plentiful and justified its reputation. On the other hand, people spoke quietly and interacted with foreigners and, as it appeared in some restaurants, even among their family, formally, without great emotion. I understood that clear limits of public expression existed. Northern Europe is clearly an calmer place to visit.

As I boarded the plane for Israel on my way home, I remarked that if I could not live in Israel, I could imagine myself living in Crete. To quote Baloo, they have the bare necessities of life down pat, i.e., good food and real social relations. As for the administrative chaos, it can be amusing, even an advantage sometimes. By contrast, I could not see myself fitting in Germany, Holland or any other northern European country as, after 35 years, I do not want to play by strict rules set by others. As Jacques Prévert wrote, je suis comme je suis; je suis fait comme ça – I am what I am; I am made like that. I not only enjoy the food of the Mediterranean but also relish in the dramatics of its human interactions. Some 40 years ago, the disorder was too much for me. Now, at this stage of my life, I prefer my society to be like my desk, a bit messy.

Focus – how large business do and entrepreneurs can stand out above the crowd

 

[pencil]

Businesses large and small struggle to distinguish their products and services As a rule, a multitude of enterprises strive to sell similar products and services, making it difficult for customers to identify and remember the best option. Larger corporations, having the budget to hire branding experts, are often proficient in creating an identity for a product, generic or not. The result is successful advertising campaigns. By contrast, entrepreneurs, often working alone with little knowledge of the market and marketing, generally create muddled messages. Regardless of actual work experience, it is advisable for freelancers and small businesses to hone their message as the larger corporations do in order attract more customers.

It is fascinating to observe how certain companies brand their products in highly competitive markets. Proctor & Gamble, the owner of head and shoulders shampoo brand, does not emphasize esoteric chemicals or exotic ingredients but instead hammers the message that the product eliminates dandruff, employing an attractive actor in various action segments whose only line is “I don’t” in response to the statement “I didn’t know you have dandruff”. In this manner, the brand is identified with elimination of dandruff. Likewise, Mark Jacobs reinforces the name of the perfume “Daisy” with advertisements filled with models surrounded by daisies, creating an impression of the scent, true or not. In the UK, McCain advertises its frozen French fries (chips in UK English) as the old friend of the family, a part of past and current memories. In practice, they probably taste the same as their competitors but the TV adverts emphasize how one can depend on this brand for a familiar taste. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, these companies focus on one aspect that supposedly sets their products apart from their competition.

Translators, as do many other freelancers, tend to aim wide and, consequently, miss their mark. Many translators have a long statement on how many languages they work to and from, sometimes as many as five languages, with several areas of specialization. Even colleagues ultimately do not remember the exact combinations, not even one sometimes, in the presence of so many details. Potential customers, those that may one day need their services, will almost certainly not recall the message. Almost all translators (mea culpa) tend to list all their combinations and skills on their marketing sites, including their CV’s and websites, on the hope that they will attract more customers. In practice, most translators earn most of their income from one language combination with the other options barely impacting their business. Thus, the wide net approach actually is counterproductive.

Instead, based on the successful campaigns of large companies, freelancer translators  should identify their main service and emphasize it in every manner possible. They can mention other combinations and services but in a form that does not distract from the main message. The goal is identification between the service provider and the service, e.g. Jane Doe, certified Spanish to English medical translator.

Thus, focus is the key for product and service branding. I personally intend to apply this approach on my next website (whenever that is) as well as on any other current or future marketing efforts. In practice, I am a recognized Hebrew to English legal translator, period and want my potential customers to remember it. If the message is clear, the next time potential customers need such a service, they may remember the name. To stand out, being the sharpest pencil in the box is the key.

Talking about the elephant in the China shop – should translation buyers use AI/machine translation?

 

[elephant]

The most common question non-translators ask (in one form or another) after I say that I am a professional translator is whether anybody needs me anymore. Likewise, when translators gather, the hot topic is the impact of AI on the business in general and the person in specific. AI carries the image of a drum roller machine, flattening anything in its path and whose existence many prefer to ignore out of dread. Going beyond this fear, it is legitimate to consider the role of machine translation, whether of the simple Google translation, more complex neural network or Hogarthian ChatGPT type. More specifically, I will address the blunt question when a translation buyer should pay money and employ a human translator.

As a matter of introduction, each of the three main machine translations types in their various guises attain their translation results in slightly different ways. The simplest, Google Translation and its cousins, search for the most common translation of the term as it appears in bilingual texts in the Internet and any online glossaries. The results are free but not always very relevant for the context. Neural translation and other more specialized methods selectively pick corpuses, including approved high-level bilingual texts such as from the European Community or the UN, and search for terms based on the type of the texts, e.g. legal and financial. This data base is more precise but is time-consuming to build. However, the results are generally far more relevant Accordingly, this method often involves some buyer cost to cover the development costs. Finally, AI translation uses a probability algorithm based on a broad internet data base and uses prompts to fine tune the results. The costs vary on the engine. Accurate results are somewhat dependent on the ability of the person to write prompts and specify the desired result. Even in the best circumstances, AI results tend to be a bit idiot-savant, i.e., ranging from brilliant to imbecile.

Here are some pointers regarding the appropriate use of machine and human translators:

·   To state the obvious, there is no need to pay a human translator to translate most texts for private use. If the goal is to understand more or less the content of an email or website text, any of the three types of machine translation will produce a sufficiently clear result, albeit occasionally with amusing terminology errors.

·   For longer texts, when time is a premium, it is possible to use a neural network or ChatGPT to produce a reasonable translation for a small internal audience. The purpose of such translations is essentially to share information, reducing the impact of any inaccuracies.

·   For mass translations where the cost of human translation is prohibitive, such as in identifying the content of  a large volume of legal documents or producing descriptions for a multilanguage low-cost online site that does not have the profit margin to employ human translators, machine translation might be a solution although the poor quality of the less expensive options may negatively affect results.

·   For texts aimed to make an impression on the public, including marketing and menus, businesses should employ a human translation. In these cases, it is not sufficient to transmit the facts. There is a need to persuade and impress. The public often equates the care invested into the text with the care invested in the product. Seller, beware.

·   For texts with legal and medical consequences, among others, translation buyers should avoid using machine translation. The consequences of a poorly translated legal brief or medical device instruction manual far outweigh the cost of a proper technical translator.

·   In some cases, government authorities require human translation and a signed certificate of accuracy. They do not accept self or machine-made equivalents. In these cases, read the requirements very carefully. For more information on what exactly a certified translation is, see here.

In summary, if you desire more than to attain information, employ a human translator. The costs of the poor results will far exceed any savings from free or low-cost machine translation. In other words, to talk about the elephant that is machine-translation, it should not be let into a china shop of fragile words as it tends to be somewhat clumsy but it is acceptable to let it into the gym as long as you clean it up afterwards, no bull.

The 65th ATA Conference – on matter, antimatter and the translation business

 

[man on an island]

I had the pleasure of attending the American Translators Association conference in Portland, Oregon and have even recovered from the jet lag (more or less). As with all packed events, it takes some time to absorb all the impressions and information, especially when more than 1500 people attend and share their perspectives. Looking back, the conference was remarkable for the matters people discussed and no less for what they did not discuss, producing great food for thought on the future of the profession.

This large national conference featured, as always, a great variety of lectures, amazing networking opportunities and a national, if not global, view of the profession. The presentations, with a choice of 9 different topics in each time slot over 3 days, varied widely with topics ranging from approaches to technological matters and specific markets to directed advice to experienced and new translators alike. The two most striking features were the quantity of presentations for interpreters, which indicates the vivacity of this field, and the emphasis on specific markets and issues for translators. I confess that while I gave two presentations (project-based quotes and how to make a presentation), I failed to attend a lecture not because I was not interested but because the conversations in the hallways were far more tempting,  relevant and important. I had learned from my previous ATA conference 5 years ago (BC – before Corona) in Palm Springs that it is impossible to talk to each to each and every person at a conference with more than a 1000 people. Therefore, this time I strived to have longer and more impactful conversations with fewer people. This approach was less stressful and more effective in building contacts, the most important purpose of an industry conference. From these conversations, I received a feel of the spectrum of the language specialist industry, the business trends, and the hopes and fears of translators and interpreters in all fields. This conference provided much information on the state of the industry.

Of no less importance were the topics and statements I did not hear. First, nobody expressed the thought that AI was the death of the industry. As in all technological innovations, some language specialists were more enthusiastic about ChatGPT than others. However, I did not hear any extreme forecast of the imminent disappearance of AI or it replacing human translators. In the same vein, I did not hear about people wishing to leave the industry due to the changes in the market and translation technology, only the search for how to adapt to and effectively adopt them. Finally, I did not hear complaints about low rates. To clarify, people mentioned irrelevant and/or ridiculous rates proposed by certain agencies. However, the translators stated them as facts that are a part but not the whole of the industry. In short, I heard no prognosis of the impending death of the human translation industry.

Between the said and unsaid, I understand, perhaps incorrectly, that the future of the translation industry depends on adaption to the everchanging landscape of technology and markets and the providing of support to new translators to help them navigate it. AI, just as machine and neural translation, is changing the manner translation providers and buyers operate. This process began decades ago with the major difference today being the pace of the development. This rapid evolution creates a “future shock” syndrome even for younger professionals. Yet, each person has the freedom to leverage technology depending on the individual niche, willingness and skill. It is not an all or nothing matter but a much more subtle evolution. Concurrently, markets are changing. Some 20 years ago, local or national agencies dominated the industry, handling all types of texts. Today, multinational agencies rely on volume, causing freelancers to specialize and reach out directly to customers in order to achieve rates that allow them to earn a living. Moreover, customers no longer need to pay a human translator to handle a simple text for personal use as ChatGPT or even Google Translate handles them quite satisfactorily. As in many industries, translators must specialize, such as in the fields of medicine, law and marketing. Finally, while it was never easy, new translators find establishing a translation business quite complicated and confusing. The relevance of national translator organizations has thus only increased as they can and do provide vital information that allow newcomers to quickly find and establish themselves in this complex market. The road alone is more difficult than ever. The world of translation and interpreting is not disappearing but constantly evolving, required language providers to adapt accordingly.

One of the purposes of national conferences is to provide a wide-angle picture of the industry, similar to the image produced by the multiple eyes of a fly. ATA65 presented an industry in transition but healthy and vibrant not to mention ambivalent about the changes that are occurring but facing them at the same time. Attending it was an intense but rewarding experience for me personally. I strongly recommend any translator or interpreter, whether experienced or new to the profession, to attend such events and join your national or regional organization. To paraphrase John Donne, no translator must or should be an island. Each is part of a larger and inspiring industry as I rediscovered this month. Translators, interpreters and conferences do matter.

Rolling on to the Columbia – the upcoming 65th American Translators Association (ATA) conference

 

[Columbia River]

In around one week, the ATA conference will open in Portland, Oregon. If you have never attended a large national translation/interpreter conference, it is a special experience involving bountiful opportunities to network, learn and expand horizons. The ATA annual conference generally attracts around two thousand people.  This year, I personally have a special interest in it not only professionally but also personally but any person that is currently a part of or considering joining the language industry can benefit.

One of the amazing riches of the conference is the overwhelming choice of lectures. During each lecture period, a participant can choose among nine different presentations. It is almost too much especially since conversations in the hallway on the way to the lecture often prevent you from getting to them. This year, I will be giving two presentations, one on project-based quotes and the other demonstrating a step-by-step approach to preparing presentations. For a full program, see here. Clearly, regardless of a person’s actual area of specialization, there are numerous lectures of interest. Notwithstanding this opportunity to gain knowledge, the most important benefit of the conference is the creation and reinforcement of the feeling of a translator community, a large one even, so often lost as we work alone in our (office) caves, isolated from others. I finished my last ATA conference in Palm Springs, before Corona struck, exhausted but inspired. If you have a chance to attend this year or in the future, it is a worthwhile investment of time and money.

On a personal basis, I lived in Oregon before I immigrated to Israel 35 years ago. I am looking forward to seeing both the friends and place I left behind. Aside from attending a reunion party of Hopa, the Balkan dance troupe in which I was a member back then, I plan to rediscover and show my wife the beauty of Oregon as I remember it: Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, the Oregon Coast, the 5^th Street Market in Eugene and any of the places I can get to. Of course, rain is forecast. The joke is that it rains twice a year in Oregon, from January to June and June to January. My wife and dealt with killer humidity in Shanghai in July; we will deal with frequent pissing from the sky in Oregon. Another, albeit unfortunate, personal benefit is that we will not have to be on constant alert for air raid warnings as is the situation right now in Israel. They do get one one’s nerves very quickly. Thus, I am looking forward to returning to Oregon even if you cannot go home again as Thomas Wolfe wrote.

Therefore, if you can attend the conference and are interested in any aspect of the translation and interpretation (including the effect of AI on the business), it is not too late to register and profit from an amazing event in all aspects. Contact me if you want to meet at the conference. As follows from the words that Woody Guthry wrote in the song about the building of a hydroelectric dam on the Columbia river, you can see the power of language turn the darkness to dawn. Roll on to the Columbia, roll on.

Inn come issues – the essentials of a comfortable hotel stay

 

[hotel room]

The British television program Four in a Bed is a reality program on hotel stay, whether a full hotel or glamping site or anything in between, and its ultimate measure, the value for the price. On that subject, ny wife and I have just completed a trip involving several, maybe too many, hotels in Crete and Nurenberg (Germany). Each of the hotels, while in a similar price category, had its unique elements that added or subtracted from the ease and comfort of the stay. I am aware people have individual priorities, e.g. the cleanliness and quality of the linen and variety of teas and coffees in the room. I am less critical of such details, within reason, but wish to share which elements influence my perception of these temporary abodes.

Two essential factors for any stay over one night are a comfortable mattress and room to open two valises. A good night’s sleep is the basis for a good day. By contrast, back pain from a poor mattress is a good reason to find another hotel if the management cannot find a solution. In fact, I stopped going to Marriot Hotels for that reason. It is important to be aware that many major chains use the same category mattress in all of their hotels. As for room size, unless I plan to spend significant time at the hotel, the physical dimensions of the room are primary visual until it is too small to lay out two valises without blocking access to the bed. European urban hotels understandably tend to be rather limited in space but proper room planning can at least allow this action. I will put up with such a small space for one night but that is all. I am happy to report that I was satisfied with all of the hotels in these respects.

The most variable room in hotels in the bathroom. I have the impression that, unlike in truly luxury hotels, nobody in the management actually spent a night in the room and tried to take a shower. In some cases, the height of the shower forces the bather to adopt a strange posture while in other cases much of the water ends up on the floor near the toilet. In terms of safety, I have experienced numerous bathrooms in which entering and exiting the shower required great dexterity and seemed an accident in waiting. I believe that the fanciness of the pieces does not make a good bathroom but instead its ergonomics. As poorly designed bathrooms are the rule, not the exception, we just have to put up with the them and complain, just like the weather.

An important factor that many hotels, even otherwise quality one, ignore is hanging space. When traveling in wet countries or in the wet season, it is often necessary to hang jackets and sweaters to dry out. The closet is not an ideal option for obvious reasons. It is sometimes possible to do so in the bathroom but that creates other issues. It is so convenient where there are pegs or other designated places to air or dry out the day’s clothing. The floor lamp works but was clearly not designed for that purpose. When the hotel considers this need, it rates higher in my eyes.

Location was a surprising unclear factor. We stayed in a non-touristy business area on the main road, a hotel in the old part of the city one block from a red-light district and in the middle of a tourist area surrounded by restaurants and shops. Curiously enough, I found advantages in each area and ignored the less attractive elements of the location. The actual surroundings had relatively little impact on the pleasantness of the experience.

By contrast, the level of service was the key for me. When I interacted with friendly and helpful front desk people that understood English to a reasonable level, I enjoyed the stay and was willing to ignore the quaintness of the hotel. On the other hand, dealing with service people that neither really understood English nor truly attempted to resolve issues was a major turnoff regardless of the fanciness of the hotel. A manager at a major international chain actually told me that it had subcontracted room service and had no direct control of room cleaning. As in all service businesses, customers want to feel appreciated and understood. Otherwise, they do not come back, in this case physically.

Clearly, each customer and each hotel have their specific demand and capacities. For me, the bed and a reasonable room size with a friendly staff available to solve a problem is the key to a return visit with other elements of less importance, depending on the daily rate even if it involves only two in a bed.

Through the looking-glass – the pleasure of technical translation

 

[photographer and a mirror*]

Most people connect translation with literature and believe that it must be a fascinating to render Tolstoy’s Russian or Balzac’s French to another language. By contrast, translating official documents or financial reports seems as dry as Alice’s history lesson. In practice, the vast majority of commissioned translation is highly technical by nature. Contrary to the general impressions, these documents often create drama by opening up a privileged view (both in terms of special access and confidentiality) of people lives. To illustrate, I will present some examples of what I look for and follow when plowing through my day’s tasks.

Marriage certificates – thought for speculation  - Israeli marriage certificates include a wide variety of information, including the age, profession and place of residence of the couple  as well as the background of parents. Sometimes it is clear what the bride and groom have in common while other times it is not.

Death certificates – the unknown – due to the vagaries of documentation in some parts of the world, the family or the deceased sometimes don’t know the date of birth, leaving the wonderful statistic of 1920, without day or month. Of course, translating the certificates of those that died very young or very old sometimes leads to personal contemplation.

Divorce agreements – priorities – What is a single mother willing to give up to be able to live abroad with her children? How strict are the arrangements for paternal visits? You would be surprised.

Commercial contracts – local character – if you want to know what problems are typical for a certain area, professional and/or geographical, look at the relative weight of the words. BTW, based on the number of pages dedicated to this matter, drinking is a problem at Russian oil fields.

Salary slips – addition with subtraction – It can rather disturbing to have to note how much of the salary or wages disappears in taxes or how much more money other people earn. On the other hand, it can be merely interesting or even encouraging.

Grade transcripts – student life – It is amazing how some students seem to wake up in 12^th grade or college and start achieving high grades. Until then, I imagine that their parents were pulling their hair. On the other hand, I wonder whether certain people ever had fun during their years of study.

Medical questionnaires – awfulness – Ignorance can be bliss. Many diseases have extreme effects on people’s lives.  I always feel appreciative that I don’t have that problem.

As you can see, while numbers and facts can appear to be dry and uninteresting, all it takes is a small leap of imagination to see the story being told and discover an unknown world. Technical translation is similar to looking at Alice’s looking glass, seeing both the subject of the document but also reflecting on the translator. I consider that far more interesting than literary translation, having no desire to get into Dostoevsky’s head, but chacun son gout, to each his/her own.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit: Pixabay

The not-so-straight line – the art of finding convenient flights in the age of the Internet

 

[calcuations of the hypotenuse*]

One of my father’s favorite pastimes was arranging trips. He relished the process of making a few phone calls and then triumphantly telling my mother that that they were going to San Francisco, Las Vegas or even Paris in two weeks. While the means of locating flights have clearly changed (travel agents to online searches), the process can still be quite challenging and ultimately emotionally rewarding. Having had to fly quite often, sometimes on short notice, in the last few years, like my father, I have developed the skill, art if you will, of searching for the best flight, for me at least. This ability has become quite valuable as the current war has turned Ben Gurion Airport into a non-hub, with only a few airlines regularly serving it.  I will share my tips to finding the almost perfect flights in the age of the Internet. I will use my preferences and limitations but obviously these are individual.

Personal preferences:

1. Due to the distance to the airport and the security procedures, which in practice means leaving the house five hours in advance, I take no flight that departs before noon. I need a good night’s sleep before I began a day of travel.

2. I try not to arrive at the destination after midnight. I intend to enjoy the next day.

3. I will not spend more than 4 daylight hours at a connection airport but will insist on at least 2 hours in case (or is that when?) the plane is late.

4. I am willing to spend overnight at a connection location and have learned to enjoy my mini-stop.

Hub to Hub

For discussion purposes, a hub is major international airport, e.g. Frankfurt and Newark, to which there are many flights. By contrast, a non-hub has limited national and international flights.

1. I check the direct routes. They can be more expensive but are easier on the body.

2. I check flights from another hub to the destination with a short wait over seeing if their price justifies the extra flight time. Total flight time is a key statistic here.

3. When flying international, such as to the United States, I try to stay on the international flights as long as possible as the plane is more comfortable. For example, it is more pleasant to fly from Israel to San Francisco and then to Los Angeles as compared to the Israel to Newark and then to LA.

Non-hub to hub

1. Due to limited and expensive direct options, I look for convenient lower-cost flights to other airports that may have better direct flights to the destination.

2. It is vital to check the arrival times in order to allow for late arrival but avoid wasting too many hours in the airport. Duty free is not that interesting regardless of the airport.

3. I reconsider the direct option and make a choice, i.e. time vs. money.

Non-hub to non-hub

1. This is the fun one. Here, I work backwards. I ask Dr. Google “from which city can you fly directly to X” and get a nice map with lines indicating various cities.

2. I crosscheck that list with the cities to which I have a direct connection.

3. I then spend time trying to ascertain which combination of dates, times and price is the most practical, all issues considered.

In this manner, after several hours of intense effort, I found a convenient way of getting from Israel to Portland, Oregon, site of the American Translators Association conference next month where I will make two presentations. If you are wondering, the connecting flights to Portland is to and from Amsterdam, with an overnight stay on the way there and three hours wait at the airport on the way back, all without losing a night’s sleep. When I completed the purchase of the tickets, I experienced the thrill of victory just as my father would do. I suppose if you turn trip planning into a game, it becomes a rather fun challenge. The shortest line takes some calculation.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit - Pixibay

Words and their derived meanings – how far does a ball roll in different languages?

[Effy the kitten with ball*)

 

If we look at the idea of a word, it is fundamentally a concept that human beings apply to various objects, real and theoretical. The Chinese language is the perfect embodiment of this vocabulary building approach but the process also occurs in alphabetical languages. For example, a round object is called a ball, balle, шар [shar] and כדור [kadur] in English, French, Russian and Hebrew, respectively. While each refers to the ball that is the fascination of children, puppies and kittens (especially mine currently), the word also is used for many other round objects with slight differences.

While the origin of the word ball in English is rather fuzzy, its primary meaning is quite clearly, i.e., according to the Oxford Dictionary, a solid or hollow spherical or egg-shaped object that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game. Clearly, a really heavy one that requires explosive power to launch is a cannon ball, not an object to play with. On a smaller basis, balls can be loaded into cartridges and cause terrible casualties. For that matter, a great ball of fire is also rather threatening. On a less serious note,  ball in baseball can mean that the pitch fails to cross the plate between the knees and numbers of a player and within the side boundaries of the home plate. Not surprisingly but quite differently, testicles are sometimes referred to as balls., This may explain the application of the word to describe the willingness to take a great risk as in the sentence General MacArthur had the balls to land at Inchon. Confusingly, derived from a completely different root, a ball is a formal dance from which probably the term having a ball, i.e., having a good time, may have been derived, although my forementioned kitten might disagree.

The French balle also is generally used to refer to the toy as in the short form of ballon. However, it refers to pills, which are round, and bullets and slugs, which generally are not. In the days of the French Franc (pre-Euro), it was another term for that national currency. In agriculture, a balle refers to a bale in English and  applies to any similar bulky packaging, round or not.

Russian is even more generous is the use. шар [shar] refers to the toy but also to a globe and bowl and other round objects. In the plural, it is another term for eyes. It is used as a term for a lightbulb. Russian even uses it for a vote or ballet. (If a language refers to communication tower as an “object”, everything is possible).

Hebrew almost equates ball and round in the word כדור [kadur]. Sports equipment, pills and tablets and well as spheres and planets are balls. In line with the old traditional ammunition, so is ammunition for rifles and machine guns (despite their modern long shape).

So, as true for many languages, words evolve to expand their meaning to directly and not-so directly connected items and sometimes retain the use when the original shape of the object changes.  Balls really roll far away sometimes.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Beyond language – the extraordinary skill set of a professional translator

 

[quarterback*]

There is a common misperception that a professional translator only requires certain, easily attainable language abilities. These include thorough knowledge of the target language, which is shared by any person raised and educated in a country whose official language is the one required; and a reasonable knowledge of a foreign language learnable through a couple of years of high school study or a few months of Internet effort. Add a bit of machine translation or AI magic. Voila, you too can become a professional translator in a few months.

Reality is quite different. Clearly, the above-mentioned qualifications do not guarantee any language proficiency. Furthermore, professional translators require subject-matter knowledge so they can understand the material and use the correct terminology. However, beyond the required language and subject matter proficiency, professional translators must also be adept in the following technical skills:

Word – The visual aspect is an essential part of a professionally translated document. Therefore, translators must know how to fully format documents, including charts, margins, fonts, paging, borders and colors. As they must do their work efficiently, they must be familiar with the short cuts and professional tricks of using Word. If you think you really know Word, try taking any serious Word proficiency test. In practice, most casual users are aware of only a small percentage of the program’s abilities.

PDF – A significant percentage of original documents received by professional translators are in PDF or jpg. It is often necessary to process these documents to ascertain the number of words, categorize the documents as convertible or not and convert the documents into a useable Word document if possible. Experience is vital.

CAT tools – Just as you would not expect a professional carpenter to tighteen each screw manually, whenever possible, most professional translators use computer aided translation software (CAT) tools, often MemoQ or Trados, to efficiently and effectively translate texts. These programs cost money and require time to learn. The failure to use them often leads to a lack of consistency and avoidable errors, not to mention a large waste of time.

QA – Just as there is no such thing as good writing but only good rewriting, there is no submittable first draft, only a final document that underwent directed and thorough rereading and checking. Therefore, an essential part of the translation process, sometimes taking 50% of the time, is the quality assurance. Programs such as spellcheck, Xbench and Grammarly provide effective ways to review large amounts of texts. Customers should be aware that  AI can be a problem as the quality of its suggestions depends on the prompts it receives. Furthermore and more importantly, use of AI can create a serious breach of security since the material generally enters public domain. Most customers insist on confidentiality.

Social Media – Translators work to make a living. Therefore, they require customers. One methods of attracting customers is the correct use of social media in all its forms. Using this application for business purposes is actually quite complex and requires expertise. By contrast, using them improperly is a waste of time. Depending on their area of specialty, professional translators must gain some proficiency in branding and marketing.

LinkedIn – For legal, financial and other business-oriented fields, LinkedIn is the most focused of all social media and is effective for B2B contacts. However, it takes skill and knowledge of the system to actually benefit from this platform.

Scheduling – Professional translators often work on many projects simultaneously. Being a professional means that the person delivers on time. Thus, serious freelancers take advantage of software that helps them prevent “forgetting”.

Billing – Customers and tax authorities alike require proper billing. Freelancers also need to keep track of payments if they wish to stay in business. So, professional translators must know how to use accounting programs.

For professional translators, this skill set involves constant learning. First, nobody is naturally proficient and/or even open to all skills. Even if a freelancer has background or knowledge, technology is constantly evolving. The modern dynamic business world forces professionals of all types to never stop developing their primary and secondary skills. The cost of the failure to do so is irrelevance.

For translation buyers, it should be clear that a professional translator has for more than basic language skills. Accordingly, such professional deserve to be paid. As this is the start of the American football season, I will compare translators to quarterbacks. It would be foolish for a professional NFL team to use a high school quarterback, no matter how skillful that person is, as they are simply not up to the task. Using a rookie or a low-cost option may be effective in certain situations but won’t get the team to the Superbowl. Paying a top player appropriate money is a major factor in raising the trophy at the end of the season. Translation buyers interested in creating an effective document in terms of content and impact should go with a pro, a person with many talents and skills.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit - Pixabay

Spelling out the differences – Thoughts on why most of us do not pronounce the word exactly as it is written

 

[frustrated Spock*]

One of the claims to fame of Esperanto is that the learners can pronounce words as they see them. As the exception proves the rule, almost all alphabet-based languages exhibit a marked difference between the letters on the paper (or screen) and how the speaker says the word. This linguistic schizophrenia often serves a purpose but more often derives from the fact that written script is snapshot from a given, often distant, time and place and rarely updated to another time and place. Thus, students, both native and non-native speakers, must do as all previous generations do, i.e. learn by heart how to spell the words.

One notable complication of spelling is the multiple manners of expressing the same vowel sound but this redundancy serves a practical purpose. Latin languages in particular use verb endings that sound the same but are written differently. For example, French speakers pronounce é, er, ez, ai, ais, ait and aient exactly the same. Thus, touché, toucher, touchez, touchai, touchais, touchait and touchaient sound alike despite their spelling differences. While this may seem confusing to listeners, mix-ups are rare due to the human ability to apply context. On the other hand, these multiple spelling allow French and similar languages to get more kilometers to the liter for its sounds; due to limited number of phonemes available to Latin languages (as compared to Arabic most notably), having numerous ways of writing them significantly adds to the number of possible visually distinct words. Thus, while such a tendency does add difficulty to learning spelling, it also enriches the vocabulary.

Yet, in most cases, it is the actual process of determining the official spelling that creates the mismatch between the oral and written form. Clearly, pronunciation is a dynamic process specific to a given place and time. It is true that people tend to speak like their family and surrounding neighborhood when they were growing up. My Fair Lady very musically portrayed that phenomenon. Their children may pronounce the same word differently if they move elsewhere or another form becomes fashionable By contrast, at some time or another, somebody writes a dictionary, which establishes the “approved” spelling. At the moment of writing, the composer writes the words exactly as s/he says it or, at best, most people in that area. The spelling is phonetic for that time and place. Thus, in parts of England, then and now, the sentence “the girl went through tough times, I thought” would include 4 guttural g’s, specifically girl, through, tough and thought. Alas, the vast majority of English speakers today would pronounce the each of those consonants a bit differently but the damage is done. There is no choice but to memorize the spelling.

In some cases, such as Hebrew, the actual ability to distinguish a sound from a similar but not identical one has disappeared or is disappearing. Hebrew has two related vowels א, alef, which is pronounced [a] and ע, ayin, which is pronounced [a’] (as in when the doctor checks your tonsils. Furthermore, there are two forms of the sound t, ט, tet, [t] and ת taf [t’], which resembles a soft th historically. Unfortunately, many if not most Israelis do not clearly pronounce the ayin, blurring the distinction. As for the “t” situation, aside from religious Ashenazi Jews who received formal training in biblical Hebrew and Arabic speakers, modern Hebrew speakers make no distinction. See the modern Hebrew Shabbat as compared to the Yiddish shabbas or English sabbath. To take an extreme example, in Hebrew, את ,אט, עת and עט all are generally pronounced the same, [et], but mean moment, slow, a particle to signal a direct object and pen, respectively. In some cases, speakers actually say the letter to make sure of the meaning as in אושר ועושר, [osher v’ o’sher], happiness and wealth, adding “with an ayin” for the second one. Once again, the spelling reflects a reality that barely or no longer exists.

Some languages have managed to clean up their spelling act to a certain degree. The Russian government after the 1918 revolution reformed the language and eliminated numerous historical legacies. The post-revolution version of War and Peace is several pages shorter as compared to the 19^th century edition. The Turkish government in 1928 changed the alphabet, which provided a clean slate for the spelling. Even in English, the distant colonies, notably the United States and Australia often took the liberty of removing the silent and meaningless letters. Some examples include thru instead of through, honor instead of honor and shop instead of shoppe. As there is no official academy of the English languages, such efforts will always be local and limited, unfortunately for learners of English. Comprehensive language reforms are few and far between.

The legacies of the past define a language’s spelling system and lag far behind the changes in actual pronunciation. While sometimes a linguistic factor may justify the gap between the oral and written forms, in most cases, learners have no choice but to depend on their memory and, in these modern days, some kind of digital spellcheck. For me, complaining about illogical spelling reminds me of complaining about the weather. It is an entertaining  topic for a few minutes but, ultimately, people adjust to it. Spelling is what it is, often locally illogical.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit - Pixabay

Rue de Paradis – freelancing and the past, present and future of commercial concentration

 

[crystal vase*]

When I visited my family in Paris at the age of 16 in the mid-1970s, I was amazed when I discovered Rue de Paradis (10th arrondissement, near Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis). In a small geographical area of a few streets were a hundred crystal and porcelain stores, if not more, as well as workshops producing these goods. I enjoyed my purchase of a crystal vase for my grandmother (see picture) but found it amazing that the stores had chosen to locate themselves in such extreme proximity and create such intense price competition. Many years later, as a freelancer, I now view the choice as far more sensible and maybe even a model for entrepreneurs in the future.

Despite or possiblly due to its concentration of one trade, the European urban tradition of concentrating similar businesses in one area provides economic efficiency, increases sales, and creates solidarity. Since customers can quickly and easily identify and price competing products, the producers, wholesalers and retailers must hone their target market and create a competitive advantage. As conditions change, they can easily identify the trends and adjust their approach. It is easy to track both the price and product preferences of buyers. As purchasers know that they can find the best choice and prices in this one location, they are sure that they can maximize their budget and time. Thus, it takes relatively little effort to decide where to go. That means the vast majority of customers of these luxury goods in Paris choose to visit that location, increasing the potential market. Therefore, while the supply, the competition, is much higher, the number of customers, the demand, is also significantly greater, ensuring a livelihood for most businesses. On a human level, I saw how the craftspeople, salespeople and managers from all the establishments had their coffee or lunches at the various cafes and created a community that kept them up to date and provided them a with a feeling of belonging. They may have been competitive over buyers but also were all part of the same industry. Overall, this concentration benefited the businesses, customers and the workers.

Much has changed since then, notably due to the Internet, the pace of life and connectivity of the market. The new model for selling goods and services is freelancing from one’s home. The entrepreneur sits at the computer and, with a click of several buttons, sends goods from one location to another or produces and delivers a service such as translation or accounting documents. Providers do not even have to get dressed, let alone talk to their colleagues. They are free to work any hours and are not obligated to answer to any boss except the customer, of course. Even more importantly, they set the rate for their work without having to look over their shoulder to see what others are doing. The new model, whether in wholesale, retail or the service industry, is essentially an island.

While clearly fitting the personality of many people, this solo business structure creates serious challenges in terms of marketing, pricing and social connections. For most freelancers, reaching customers and getting them to finalize the purchase are the most difficult tasks. Even the largest corporations struggle with those goals. As for pricing, it is shockingly difficult to actually know how much a specific item or good will cost. It is true that the nominal price is posted front and center but often the potential purchaser only discovers the shipping costs and taxes when it comes time to pay. That means customers only have the patience to visit two or three sites, often the most well-known, leaving the less obvious sites in the cold. Even worse, customers find shopping for services, which tend not to be of standardized quality, to be extremely confusing. As usual, the conglomerated international agencies, including in translation, tend to dominate the first page of the search results. Yet, in the long term, the most difficult aspect of going solo is being solo. Without a communal coffee machine or café, there is no natural way to meet colleagues and talk. Freelancers feel little sense of comradery with their colleagues because they rarely, if ever, see them. They are on an island and usually unaware of vital information, including competitor prices and market changes. In many countries, the law does even allow them to state their rates to a colleague. Ignorance is not bliss over the long term. Going solo means going alone and is not always a successful strategy or a sustainable approach.

The vacillating  physcial concentration levels in business models are not a modern phenomenon. In medieval European markets, the farmers selling their foodstuff would push their carts throughout the city in search of customers while the sellers of writing tools, stationery, which was a luxury at the time, would remain in one location, stationary, knowing that the customers knew where they plied their trade and would come to them. The Internet has, to a certain extent, brought us back to those olden days as customers surf the Web in search of the best deal often based on how active and optimized a site is. With the number of consumers that order everything online, including food and even cars, as well as the volume of sales increasing especially since the start of the Corona period, merchants of all types cannot afford to sit still.

As I try to look into my crystal ball, not one purchased on Rue de Paradis, I would hope that it would be possible to create some Internet market for both goods and non-standard services that would combine the advantages of both extremes. On the one hand, it is nice to wear or not wear any clothes when working and avoid commuting as well as suffer no boss. On the other hand, it would create great satisfaction to experience the sense of belonging to a community on a daily basis and gain access to updated information on the current market. Both the purchaser and provider would undoubtedly profit in the long term. For freelancers, paradise would be a compromise somewhere in the middle of the street.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.