AI writing – fancy or highfalutin?

 

[rainbow over my parents' house]

I had the peculiar experience of seeing my parents’ house advertised for sale after my mother died. I have to admit that I found it difficult match the description of the property to the actual house. It read:

“Nestled within the Encino Hills, near Mulholland Dr, in the acclaimed Lanai Road Elementary school district, sits this charming mid-century 4 bedroom, 2 bath 2,202 sq. foot home ready for its new owner. Don't miss the chance to reimagine this nearly 16k lot surrounded by flourishing foliage and citrus. Enter through double doors into a foyer which connects to a spacious vaulted ceiling formal living room with a fireplace and adjoining dining area….”

In reality, it was an expanded but simple aging wooden house but clearly the AI-created description makes it seem far more attractive to buyers.

This personal example highlights the strength as well as the dangerous temptation of AI writing. On the one hand, it is an expert-system, creating a text that only highly experienced and talented copywriters can write. On the other hand, in many cases, the resulting text is not actually effective in communicating the message as many English speakers consider overly fancy language either exaggerated or intended to deceive.

To be clear, AI produces text according to the prompts that the writer enters. The parameters include, among other, level of vocabulary, purpose of the document and educational level of the reader. Thus, in theory, AI should be able to produce a text that is tailored for the intended goal. Accoridingly, the skill of the programmer has a dominant influence on the relevance of the text.

One of the major problems is that a significant percentage of those using AI to write their texts are not fully fluent in the language and often unaware of the nuances of communicative language. Thus, based the concept that more the better or, as in the case of writing, the higher, the better, users tends to aim to write highly sophisticated texts. The resulting copy thus chooses the elegant and indirect route instead of the simple and direct approach. For example, compare “visitors have the possibility of observing a myriad of animal species at the local zoological center” and “visitors can view a wide variety of animals at the zoo.” Clearly, the first shows a far richer level of vocabulary but many adults, even some native speakers, not to mention children, would struggle to understand the meaning or find it off-putting.

The cultural background affecting this reaction to high-level language partly stems from a preference in English for content over style. For many English speakers, using sophisticated language in terms of vocabulary and structure is viewed as an attempt to prove personal superiority or hide the truth. In simple terms, English speakers often expect to a person to say something directly and not decorate it. Americans in particular expect their leaders to “tell it like it is” and value that type of communication even if the form is rather simplistic, even crude. For example, many voters truly respect Trump because of his manner of answering questions but he is not the first president to be overly direct. Even modern legal language strives to be simple and direct and drop its pretensions as many modern scholars consider the use of legalese as an elitest and dangerous practice.  See my previous post.

This insistence on clarity at the price of elegance is contrast to the situation in many other countries and cultures. In France, for example, listeners are often quite willing to forgive a complete lack of content if the language is elegant enough. Almost all French politicians and even masters of ceremonies sound almost royal in their speech. It is hard to name one French president that was not an elegant speaker. Thus, AI creates more benefit in some languages than in others.

Thus, an AI user without the knowledge of when high-level language is appropriate can unintentionally create an artificial and/or ineffective text. People seeing a marketing text with such language know that it is not written by a human as almost no one can or wants to write in that style. Thus, the alien text only highlights the fact that they cannot write. Even worse, if the purpose of the copy was to sell or persuade, the AI-generated copy will tend to create distrust, the exact opposite.

To give a concert example of power of short direct speech, note that most Americans know by heart at least a part of Abrahams’ Lincoln’s Gettysburg address  (1863), which totals 272 words, while nobody remembers a single word from the preceding two-hour speech by Edward Everett. English speakers prefer, to paraphrase Lincoln, English “of the people, by the people, for the people.” It does not mean that that there is no place of AI texts. My parents’ house sold quite fast in fact. However, direct plain English, edited until it is clear and smooth, often produces better results. Simply put, highfalutin AI English is often not an appropriate manner of expression.

The shortest distance to the customer – The Israel Translators Association Town Hall meeting

[right triange]

The business world is dynamic. If, in the past customers, almost always purchased from middle party, whether a store or an agency, today consumers, whether business or private, more and more frequently choose to work directly with the provider of the good or service. Thus, the opportunity, albeit challenge, for many freelancers is to reach these customers. Translators have experienced this transformation to one degree or another for over a decade. On December, 3, the Israel Translators Association (ITA) hosted an online open Town Meeting on the subject of direct customers. The participants, members of the ITA, suggested several ways to find non-agency customers, notably linking with complementary services, contacting previous customers and getting listed on the sites of national associations. These methods, among others, are tools to help translators as well as other service providers reach their customers directly.

The translation business has fundamentally changed in 20 years in terms of structure and method.  A few decades ago, the vast majority of translation jobs flowed through an agency, which served an intermediary. Translators would connect with these agencies, many of them small and local, which would then refer  work to them. Furthermore, humans did all translation, great and small, with the sole help of translation-memory based tools. Today, in terms of volume, the vast majority of translation volume passes through large international agencies, some of them public companies, referred to LSPs, language service providers. As occurs in most conglomerated industries, the per-word unit price has decreased significantly, which translators experience as pressure to lower rates if they want work. Moreover, AI and simple machine translation allow many customers to avoid paying a translator or, at worst, send to an agency at a reduced rate, which uses machine translation or AI to produce a basic draft to be edited at a lower cost by a linguist. Thus, depending on their niche, many translators find themselves with less business at lower rates, which is a depressing situation.

The ITA Town Hall brought together experienced translators to share ideas how to find the direct clients and escape the difficult agency situation. One of the key ideas was to connect with services and business that offer complementary products. For examples, graphic artists, PR campaign managers, business planner, financial product experts and attorneys often need translation services. The connection can be virtual or physical. LinkedIn and relevant  Facebook forums provide an ideal place for freelancers to make themselves known. It is even more effective to physically meet other businesspeople especially in business networking organization such as BNI and Rotary as well as at professional conferences. Emphasizing and nurturing the symbiotic relations can bring in customers directly and indirectly.

It is also important to use the hidden resource every established business has, namely its previous customers. When business is slow, some established translators contact previous customers that have not used them in a long time. The content could be a holiday greeting or a simple statement such as “I am between projects and am available for any translation you may need”. If the provider did a proper job in the past, the email may result in a new order or a reference to another potential customer as people often forget with whom they worked several years in the past. This action is simple to undertake and can yield positive results.

In my experience, one of the most effective methods is to join and be listed on the site of national organizations. For instance, translator organizations, including the ATA in the United States and ITA in Israel, have a list of translators and their specializations on their sites  that is accessible to the general public. Potential translator buyers, looking for some kind of assurance of professional quality, seek and appreciate membership as it shows a level of seriousness and professional investment. Furthermore, through cooperating with colleagues in these organizations, it is possible to send and receive referrals, another source of direct customers. Being part of a professional body provides many opportunities to find direct customers.

To make it clear, the translation buyer also benefits. Many agencies, especially public ones, emphasize the bottom line, profits often at the expense of quality. By contrast, freelancers succeed or fail on the quality and timeliness of their service. Their clear interest is to provide the best quality product that circumstances allow. As there is no additional cost for the intermediary, the agreed price is often less than those charged by an agency, an important factor in many buying decisions. Thus, direct connections are of mutual benefit.

In many niches in translation, it has become necessary to bypass the agencies and work directly with customers. In this manner, translators can attain the price and volume of work they desire. The ITA Town Meeting suggested several methods of finding the shortest route to professional rates, the hypotenuse if you will, from the service provider to the translation buyer without an intermediary. It takes some effort but the direct way is the most efficient.

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