Different roads to Rome – multiple paths to a successful freelancing career

 

[bird's eye view of highway and side road*]

If you ask most adults over forty how they entered their chosen profession, especially freelancers, a rather high percentage of them will admit that it was serendipity. Rare are those that knew what they wanted to do at 18 or younger and actually made a career of that ambition. By contrast, today it is far more common for people at the beginning of their professional life to immediately strive to open their own business, whether that is being an attorney, freelance translator or any other form of entrepreneurship. The need to first work for someone else is no longer assumed.

Thus, there seems to be two ideal types of freelancers active in translation now: those that “fell” into the profession later in their life and those that had no doubt that they wanted to be their one boss from day one and trained for that goal. Each path carries its own strengths and weaknesses and shapes the learning experience of the freelancer. Of course, individual tendencies also influence the nature of the professional growth. However, regardless of the initial approach, circumstances require all business people, including freelancers, to constantly learn and adapt.

Many older translators began their freelancing life later in life. Due to technological limitations, in the not-so-distant past, translation, especially technical translation, was largely in-house or local and thus difficult to enter. Freelancing often began as a source of second income and capitalized on years, even decades, of experience and knowledge of a certain industry. Thus, such accidental entrepreneurs brought with them a rich background of subject knowledge but often much less of technical knowledge of translation and business management, especially marketing, which they had to learn on the fly.

By contrast, the last decade has seen a growing number of people at the start of the professional life choosing the path of freelancing in general and translation in particular. Consequently, even before earning any significant money, they seek detailed knowledge and take courses, both free and paid, to prepare themselves for the challenge. This focus, fueled by ambition and the need to make a living, gives them a huge advantage in grasping trends and applying technology. On a technical level, they are off to a flying start. The issue sometimes is the depth of knowledge of the actual area of technology, e.g., medicine and law, as compared to their more experienced colleagues. Of course, both paths are legitimate.

Clearly, personal traits influence how people approach a profession. Elements such as income, technical success, comparative performance and life style balance have a varying impact on how people run their business. For me, money beyond a certain amount has never been a great motivator. (Otherwise, I would have never become a teacher first.) I also have a tendency to not ask questions and try to figure things out by myself. The reason for this stubborn insistence is that I enjoy the learning experience as much as  the actual result. The charm of working in translation is the joy of constant learning, whether in regard to content, business management or marketing. It is the complement of teaching, whose main variable is the students, not the process. Thus, I, maybe peculiarly, feed off the process of running a freelance translating business as much as the income. I freely admit that many freelancers have neither the inclination nor the luxury of relishing the road and must focus on making a living. Circumstances and tendences are very individual.

Regardless of the initial approach of freelancers to the business, incredibly rapid changes in technology, marketing, communication and business structure, to name a few, render any lesson learned today obsolete in five years. It is extremely difficult to find anybody whose client body, business practices and work  volume have not changed radically in the past few years, for good or bad. In practice, all freelancers, for that matter all businesses, must both plan for an uncertain future and learn by trial and error. Since nobody can accurately predict the future beyond the fact that much of life, including business, will be quite different in a decade, people, including freelancers, are left to the heuristic approach, ideally striving to learn from the experience of others, if possible, but mainly from their own experience, including mistakes. No business, small or large, is protected from constant change.

 It turns out that the roads to Rome, regardless of their classification, today have an amazing resemblance to the random staircases of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. The most efficient route is never quite certain. Thus, in my opinion, whether labeled the express route or service road, the road of a successful freelance translator is filled with surprises, which adds spice to it, at least in my opinion.

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Picture credit

Travel jitters

 

[Paris roofs*]

Travelling to an unknown location is exciting, at least for some people. The prospect of encountering a new culture, hearing a foreign language, tasting local foods and seeing unique places breaks up the metro, boulot, dodo routine, enriches the mind and even creates a purpose for working so hard on a day-to-day basis. However, this unknown also creates a certain anxiety, differing by person, whether it involves food, language, loss of orientation or any other familiar aspect in life. I personally have experienced these jitters in the past. Moreover, I am experiencing them right now as I am about to travel to a SFT (the French translators association) conference in Angers and then to Paris to see my family. I find myself a bit nervous about what I will encounter when I leave the airport despite the fact that I am quite familiar with France.

I begin by saying that these pre-trip nerves did not stop me from travelling and enjoying my travel experiences. When I and my wife flew to Budapest, I was troubled by the fact that I did not know a single word in Hungarian and could not pronounce it when if I heard it. Hungarian is not a Latin-based language and has a rather peculiar rhythm. In fact, I could not nor did not try to speak any Hungarian but found it quite easy to read the signs and attain essential information. My trip to Poland for a legal language conference created much more emotional ambiguity due to the close geographical connection to the Holocaust. The trip was indeed emotionally challenging but enriching as I learned how complex the connection between past and present is. For more thoughts, see this post. In both cases, I enjoyed the discovery, each in a different way.

My upcoming trip to France has created a different type of worry. To explain, I am half-French (my mother), lived in France for a short time in my 20’s and speak nearly fluent French, one of the languages from which I translate. I even have family there. A minor worry for me is entering a more formal society after more than 30 years of living in a “direct” country. Thus, I am a bit nervous about making some social faux-pas that are not as excusable for a person of my age (as compared to when I was younger). However, my greater fear is the potential disappointment on what I will see in Paris. To explain, I lived in that city some 40 years ago and last visited some 14 years ago. Neither I nor the city are same. You can say that we have evolved or, possibly, devolved. Thus, our upcoming meeting will much more similar a first date than a reunion. I confess that this uncertainty makes me a bit nervous.

Still, as Doris Day sang so wonderfully, che sara, sara. Whatever the case, it will be nice to see my cousins, stroll through a European city, enjoy the food, appreciate the lifestyle and, as I did some 40 years ago, let my American self  laugh at the French while my French side enjoys every bit of the experience. Even if I am not fond of how the city has changed, it is, to paraphrase Shakespeare, better to have seen and been a bit disappointed than never to have travelled at all. I accept travel jitters as an essential part of discovering the world. Of course, I will report how justified or unjustified my fears were when I return. The only thing to fear is fear itself?

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Interview with Uri Bruck

 

The following is an interview with Uri Bruck, who just stepped down as the chair of the Israel Translation Association. His perspective is different and may be relevant to all translators, especially in regards to technology and translators.

 

[cup of tea on books&]

First, thanks for inviting me to do this interview. Having mulled over these questions a bit, I made myself a nice, fresh, hot cup of tea and sat down to answer them

 

1.       You have a wide variety of skills not limited to translation. What is your background?

 

There is some background information, and a few links here: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A7

 

I can expand on that a bit. I was born in Haifa, Israel. I spend some of my formative years in English speaking countries. After my military service I went to study in the Technion in the applied math faculty and eventually earned a BSc. That discipline also included some comp sci courses. That was also the time I started translating, at that time mostly for other students. After graduating, I got my first job at Actcom, the first commercial ISP in Israel. I bean inn tech support, advanced to a programmer and eventually became head of software dept. At Actcom, I also took on some documentation roles, both internal and external. This documentation included installation instructions, solving common problems and the company’s support site.

Actcom supported the open-source community in Israel and open-source tools.

During that same period, I continued doing small translation job and also participated in some of the online translator communities. At that time, it was mostly mailing lists. Then Dr. Hannah Amit-Kochavi came across one of my translations about an art exhibition and suggested that I might enjoy studying translation. I enrolled in the Beit Berl translation program. My then employers at Actcom were very supportive and accommodating.

Translation studies marked for me the difference between being someone who translated and being a translator.

I continued developing in both translation and programming. I became a freelancer, both as a translator and as programmer, and continued developing my skills in both. I added more tech skills and roles over time.  I worked in a few startups along the way. Including as  dev lead, or CTO, which turns out this doesn’t stand for Chess and Tea Overlord. I’m rather fond of both.

After graduating the Beit Berl translation program, I joined the ITA or rather stormed into it. That was back in 2002.

I suppose both translation and the various tech jobs were natural paths for me. 

Of course, it’s not all work. Among my hobbies are photography and has been ever since my grandfather, who was also a translator, let me use his camera on holiday. I’m an amateur musician (I always add “amateur” because my sister is a professional musician who teachers, performs, and has produced and organized concerts and international festivals). A few years ago, I studied electro-acoustics, which combines technology and music. More recently I took up painting and drawing.

I’m also into board games, especially chess variants, both playing and designing.  I like learning something new every few years.

 

 

2.      In your 5 years as the head of Israel Translators Association (ITA), what do you consider to be your successes? What major challenges does the new chairperson face?

 

One of the issues many organizations have – any type of organizations  - is lack of communication between administrators and technology. Some organizations have technical communicators – people who learn to speak to both administrators and tech people. I leveraged my knowledge and experience of web technology to answer a question, one that is very significant to our on-going recruitment efforts. The question being “Why join the ITA?”. There are quite a few answers on the ITA site. One answer I gave was: because you’ll have the best bloody professional online profile, which can serve as a digital business card and as part of your overall web presence, all that at a fraction of the price if you were to do it yourself. Of course, there are lots of other reasons to join, including networking, conferences and CPD. But networking is somewhat abstract for lots of people. Good online visibility is something I can point at and say: “You’re getting this!”

 

Another thing I’m happy with is events and conferences. I promoted diversifying the kind of events and the type of content in conferences. I also ended up organizing conferences and managed to fill them up with good professional content. This was not something I originally planned on doing. In fact, if someone had told me five years ago that I’d be organizing conferences, I would have probably told them  that he is crazy, but it needed to be done. So, I went ahead and did it. The first second one I organized was just before the Covid lockdowns. Then we all had to adapt. We had to take the lectures and conferences online. One of the perks of organizing lectures and conferences is I get to pick the celebrity speakers. Actually, it’s the only perk. Moreover, following some of these events, we have been invited, as an organization, to participate in other translator organizations online/hybrid events and, more recently, in FIT projects.

 

I think I worked both on improving both technological and administrative infrastructure.

 

As for the challenges the new Chair will face – one big challenge is getting more translators to join the ITA, i.e., finding creative ways to get to more translators to join the ITA. We need to get more translators to see the ITA as the professional organization they want to be a part of. Also fostering cooperation with more organizations, both in Israel and abroad is important.

3.      What is your impression of the future of freelance translation?

It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. On the one hand, we’re living in a time where there seem lots of changes in both in the tools we use for translating and in the tools we use for communicating about ourselves. On the other hand, I still hear translators wary of CAT tools, which have been around for a long time, saying things such that’s only for technical stuff, with lots of repetitions.

On my very infrequent blog, I wrote about this https://bruck.translation.org.il/word-processor-not-a-translators-tool/  

 

One of the issues I have with translators and technology is that even the many translators that embrace technology don’t drive the technology advances but at best accept them. That’s still better than being dragged kicking and screaming. That’s really an issue I have not just with translation tech, but also with a lot of technology. Operating systems and application, including lots of online applications are still built more for the convenience of engineers than for the convenience of users. Users need to learn a lot of things that make no sense just to write simple documents. The systems we use are based on concepts that have been part of commercial systems for at least three decades. There have a lot of good ideas in HCI research but users are just content with nicer looking and faster implementations of half-baked ideas.

Following up on the above linked blog post, the next stage of CAT tools is domain specific CAT tools. e.g. - CAT tools specific for literary translators, or tools specifically for technical translators. If anyone is already on that, kudos to them. Still, the people  that should pushing for that, what specifically they need, are the translators specializing in those domains – the practitioners. They should be working with the developers. There might even be some overlap there.

           

 

I don’t have any insights about marketing, except for re-iterating that it’s all about communications  However, it’s possible to do everything right and still not get the results you want. While some translators will manage to get repeat business from direct clients, most will get all or most their work through agencies. So freelance translation will depend a lot on finding the good agencies, as well as  maintaining good working relationships with them. That also requires solid interpersonal and communications skills. AI tools have the potential to enhance our work and our CAT tools. That’s the proper way to use them, not as competition, but as better tools. Unfortunately, one of the current trends is to marginalize the translators and get them to do lots of MTPE. Those are not the better agencies. One of the next steps for AI in translation is likely to be measuring translation quality. Some QA is already automated. Some translators are not happy with agency reviewers today. For translators working mostly with agencies, the next challenge might be dealing with AI reviewers. AI reviewers might also be used to attempt to detect machine translation.

4.      In your view, what are the roles of translator associations in promoting the profession?

The most brilliant marketing person I ever met told me: There is no such thing as marketing – it’s all communications.
Promoting something is done by showing, not telling. For translators associations that means creating increasing visibility of both the associations and its members by showing that these are clever, skilled, interesting people. And they have interesting things to say about what they do. The more one hears people say something interesting about this profession and why they do it, the more one sees them as people and less as stereotypes. Consequently, you benefit them and their profession. Some of what translators do is very useful and often essential to other people. This can be done through media, such as blogs, podcasts, videos and social media posts. Show, don’t tell.

 

Furthermore, organization can promote their own members as presenters outside translator conferences and thus reach a larger audience. This reflects well both on the individual members and the organization. Highlight the everyday benefits of translation and interpretation.

5.      What did you personally gain from your experience as head of the ITA?

 

It’s a position that gets exposure. I’m not very good at networking. That’s one of the reasons I started lecturing at conferences. When you’re the one presenting, then people come to you to talk to you. They already sort of know a bit about you. You receive the benefits of networking, but you don’t need to initiate as much. Of course, you can take it from there. As the ITA Chair, I got a lot more exposure. To organize a successful conference, and cooperation I did need to initiate a lot more contacts, but it’s easier when there’s a title to go with it. With exposure, one gains new contacts.

 

I have significant project management experience and some middle management experience. I’m also told that I’m pretty good at organizing a vacation. However, as I wrote in my reply to (2), organizing conferences was new to me - at least it was five years ago. I think I managed to leverage my organizational skills and  put together several conferences with quality content while keeping the costs relatively low even for the pre-Covid in-person conferences and the more recent hybrid events. The conferences, even when drawing initially on what I’ve seen previously as a participant and later on my own growing experience, were all different. Constraints encouraged us to be creative. Keeping costs was one constraint. Then Covid came and brought a whole new set of constraints and some interesting opportunities as well. Now everyone is doing hybrid conferences and online events. I also learned that one really shouldn’t be both the organizer and the tech support for an event, let alone an entire conference.

My work on the ITA site, the accompanying mobile app and other extensions of the ITA’s online presence were based in part on my experience in project management. I also described it above as partly a technical communicator job, but, since I was one of the administrators to communicate with, in practice I also filled the role of Product Manager. While this was not my job description in any previous job, I believe I did well. So, I learned that I can do that as well. Another line for the resume.

I learned a lot about the inner workings of a non-profit organization in Israel. It expanded my knowledge that I didn’t need previously as a freelancer but might some in useful in the future in some other job or role.

 

PS

I ended up writing this in two sessions, each with a cup of tea. The tea for the first season was the mix inspired by Sir Patrick Stewart – half Earl Grey, half English Breakfast. It sounded odd when I first heard of it, but once I’ve tried it, it became one of my favored choices. For the second session, I made the classic Wissotzky. It’s often perceived as more common, but I think it’s underrated. It’s a comfortable choice.

Thank you for the questions. It was certainly interesting to dive into them. I hope you find this useful or, at least, interesting.

 

 

 

 

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Translating If - Essential learning for new and renewing translators

 

[world map on hands*]

Freelancer translators, as one-person businesses, must become multiskilled to one degree or another. They must be market- savvy, linguistically proficient and technologically nimble. Clearly, no newcomer to the profession can claim all three. Moreover, given that the rapid and constant evolution of the world of business, even successful and  experienced translators cannot rest on their laurels.  Thus, translators of all tenure must keep an open mind and actively learn. This continuing skill and knowledge education is an ongoing process throughout a translator’s career.

The price of having no boss or employee is that freelancers must wear all the hats. Since translation, like many online services, is a home-based industry, there is no storefront sign to bring in customers. Therefore, service providers must actively strive to get their name out to their public. They also must have thorough knowledge of their professional task. In the case of translators, that requires continual exposure both their target and source language. Finally, every year new technology enters the market. The current Chat-GPT hysteria is merely one example of a new technology that may affect an industry. Ideally, a freelancer would be expert in all three phases of the business.

In reality, newcomers to any field, including translation, may be quite proficient in one area but often are weak and/or uncomfortable in others. They may not even be aware of what they do not know, as I was when I started. For example, brilliant linguists often feel uncomfortable with marketing while savvy IT people may lack sufficient background in their languages. To clarify, lacking proficiency or knowledge in any of the fields is not a barrier to entering the translation field. Not only are these skills learnable but the reality of making living forces even the most reluctant to either improve or quit. Clearly, freelance translators have their own individual strengths, tasks they love, and weaknesses, tasks they try to avoid. However, successful freelancers are at least “good-enough” in all three to prosper.

Of a more troubling nature, at least to experienced translators, is that yesterday’s skill set can mean very little today. It is very disconcerting to discover that the financial certainties of the past, including their standard jobs, regular customers and established rates, are no longer to be taken for granted. The causes of this business earthquake include industry structural changes, in particular the purchase of boutique agencies by large agencies; technology changes that eliminate market niches, such as machine and neural translation; world market movements such as the Covid crisis and recessions; marketing trends, including the switch from physical to virtual sites and social media; language development as younger generations use different vocabulary and bend “iron” rules of grammar and syntax; and newcomers to the profession, who often arrive with more advanced skills in certain areas and greater openness to change. Many established translators experience a “what have you learned lately” syndrome.

The solution for this syndrome for “old” and new alike is continuing education and openness. Any freelancer that is interested can investigate countless free video and articles on any technological or marketing development and/or invest in affordable workshops on it. Information from all points of view is readily available if one searches for it. That said, depending on the person and market niche, many of these new trends may not be relevant for the meantime or ever. Given the learning curve involved in any change, slow and steady is a legitimate approach to change in many cases. For example, I personally do not see how Chat GPT can help me as a translator or even threaten my business although I could be wrong. Long-term players in this business keep aware of the latest developments without panicking.

In summary, to localize Kipling:

If you can continually strive to master all the needed skills

        while knowing that you cannot be great at everything,

If you can follow changes and trends with interest

        without being uncontrollably swept into the current,

If you can feel confident in your skills

        but know that you must always look to improve.

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

         And—which is more—you’ll be a translator, my son or daughter!

 

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Tales of the unexpected (results of taxation)

 

[clay tax collector figure*]

What do Irish traditional houses, California avocados and Hungarian sausages have in common? They are all the unintended results of government tax policy. While those tax laws are long off the books, their impact is still visible.

[Irish traditional stone cabin]

A traveler in the countryside of Ireland immediately notices that the traditional cottages have tall doors and very few windows. While such a layout may be logical in terms of insulation, i.e., keeping in the heat during the cold winter, the actual reason is far more fiscal, specifically to avoid the heavy English tax on houses with more than six windows. The Irish referred to this levee as the “typhus tax” as the lack of air circulation created ideal conditions for the disease. This strange result demonstrates that what is convenient for the tax collector is not always beneficial for the taxpayer even beyond the financial element.

[avocados]

California is a major player in the world food production market, producing just about everything, including rice. Avocados are a more recent significant addition, dating from around 1970. The state now provides the vast majority of US domestic production, almost 140 thousand tons. While the tree does produce commercial amounts quickly and the product has a high commercial value, the actual trigger for the massive investment in this fruit was US income tax policy. Apparently, there was a closing of a loophole in the federal tax code for citrus and almond orchards, which had allowed the rich to avoid paying taxes for many years. Instead, in compensation, for seven years, from 1970 to 1976, the congress made it very worthwhile to invest in avocados. The government has long since eliminated this tax break but avocados have gone from being exotic to common. They are an example of a fruit of the IRS’s labor.

[Hungarian sausage with cabbage]

Finally, Hungary has hundreds of types of sausage, ranging in size, taste and spiciness. However, most of them are made from pork, not beef. Pork is often the preferred meat in counties where the land is insufficient or does not support cattle. In Hungary, the cause of this preference is actually tax, notably that not imposed by the Ottomans when they ruled the country from 1541-1699. As Muslims, they did not eat pork. Consequently, they did not tax pork, rendering it the least inexpensive meat. Even today, the tax is relatively low, at 5%. This preference shows that the belief that taxing a forbidden item is to recognize it and therefore encourage it is apparently incorrect.

Every country has had its own style of taxation weirdness. Some of the results were temporary and disappeared upon cancellation of that policy. Others have impacted a nation long after the knowledge of the law disappeared from people’s memories.  In any case, the results of taxation policy can be very surprising.

* Picture captions allow the blind to fully access the Internet.

All pictures via Pixabay

Coming out smelling like roses – Successful selling to the reluctant in Los Angeles

 

[red rose*]

My bi-annual trip to Los Angeles to see my aging mother does also lead to marketing insights as I have written about before. This time, I discovered how a successful chain actually caters to a customer that does not even want to enter their shop and thus created loyalty. I will also add a few actual humorous street signs just in case the tone of the material is too heavy.

I begin with a confession: As long as I can remember,  I cannot stand entering the perfume area of department stores. The cacophony of odors create a mélange that is far heavier and more unpleasant than that of my garden compost pile, at least in my opinion. 

Therefore, it was with heavy heart and nose that I entered the world of scent to purchase a perfume for my beloved daughter. Ah, what parents are willing to do for their children! An employee at the first department store pointed toward a vague wall where someone told they were out of the product. The salesperson at the second department store also said the product was missing but had the “gentilesse” to tell me that I may find it at Sephora. As I approached the door of my last chance, the overly fragrant breeze emanating from the store was already starting to get me to regret my decision to try it out. Fortunately, two sales people standing strategically at the door immediately smiled at me and asked what I was looking for. After hearing the name of the perfume that I needed, one of them immediately proceeded to enter the store, without me, and returned saying that they also were out of the product. She then suggested that I could have it shipped for free and it would arrive within three days. Two minutes later, I had provided my delivery and payment information and was back into the fresh air of the mall (everything is relative). My trip was Sephora was successful in terms of both finding the product and not suffering unduly.

I would even say that I would return there to buy more perfume for my daughter because their service matched the requirements of this unwilling buyer.  First, they had enough trained staff to efficiently handle my transaction. The employees were familiar with both the store’s inventory and procedures. Third, they treated me with respect although I am far from representing their target audience. It went from “Ca pue! to “Ca peut” [“it stinks” to “it is possible”]. My experience reinforced my opinion that service, not price, is the dominant factor in customer impression. Sephora came out smelling like roses.

On a less serious note, I present two pictures from actual, long-standing signs on the street near my hotel. There are no marketing lessons in implied but still they are somehow worthy of note:

 

[street for axe-throwing store]

This is called having a narrow niche!

 

[hotel sign "color TV]

What is the last year you could even purchase black and white purchases?

 

Lastly, since it’s my blog and I can post any picture I want to, here is my 95-year-old mother in whose honor I travel to LA twice a year:

 

my mother

For those going on vacation this summer, enjoy.

 

*Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit: Rose

                          

The sound and the fury? Interpreting foreign pitch and volume

 

[multiple converations*]

Consider these two scenes: (1) I remember hearing my ex-neighbors, of Iranian and Tunisian background with four kids, always speaking very loudly, giving me the impression that they were screaming all the time. In fact, I came to understand that was their normal tone of voice; they reserved a much louder tone for their fights; (2) My wife and I are enjoying a delicious goulash in a Budapest restaurant and sitting at a table just outside the party hall of the restaurant where some 30 Hungarians are busy drinking. I have heard more heated discussions at a funeral.

I bring up these examples, maybe extreme, to illustrate how difficult it is to interpret the pitch, linguistically referred to as the intonation, and volume of foreign cultures, not to mention to imitate them. Normal conversation tone varies from culture to culture and language to language and defies any universal rules. One person’s argument is another person’s small talk. A person wanting to correctly interpret the mood of a discussion has to be acquainted with the pitch and volume patterns of that language and culture. Over time and with enough practice, it is sometimes possible to adopt and apply those patterns.

Changes in pitch vary from language to language. On the one extreme are the flat languages where no vocal emphasis is placed on any specific word or phrase. For example, normal Russian conversation typically has no ups or downs and disappears into the sunset at the end, often running out of gas before the last word. People add emotion and interrogation through even minor pitch changes. By contrast, Latin languages, including Spanish and French, involve multiple peaks and valleys with the exact pattern depending on the local variant. Natives often interpret flat speech as either angry or non-native. Language has a song ranging from rap to opera but its meaning is contextual.

Furthermore, some countries are louder than others. Some people by nature and convention naturally speak at a high volume than others. Of course, listeners from other countries may consider this level screaming. On the other hand, those used to high decibels find the relative quiet of English conversation, to name one example, a bit disconcerting as it seems so lifeless, even disinteresed.  Curiously enough, in some cultures high volume expresses anger while in others it is normal excitement. When abroad, wise travelers should avoid jumping to conclusions about the emotion behind the speech. It could be just a normal conversation or a pleasant chat. Your native language reference may be completely irrelevant.

If a person is planning to spend any significant time in a country and wants to effectively interact with the locals, it is good idea to listen and learn. There is no sin  in asking someone about the exact content and specific tone of a conversation. Within a short time, it become increasingly easier to interpret the situation. As for speaking like a native, that is a far longer process. To apply a foreign intonation, the learner must practice saying common phrases with the correct intonation. Overtime, the throat learns to modulate as a native speaker does but such training does take time and effort. Then, and only then, can a person truly speak a native.

Based on a person’s native tongue, it may seem that people in a foreign country are constantly furious or bored. However, as Sporting Life said in Porgy and Bess, it ain’t necessarily so. Conversational tone and volume are not universal.

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