Lost in Translation?

Some of the gurus in our industry and some of my coworkers might object but localization remains a fairly new industry. The reason I say this is because most people, let me rephrase, 95% of the people out there just have no clue about what we do.

When I introduce our business to people and talk about localization whether at networking events, meetings or parties, I usually get a blank stare full of questions marks. And it happened again, as recently as last night! Usually people try to be polite: "So what is that you do?" This is when I try to tell them about translation. And then usually I get something like: "Oh, how interesting, you work for a train station!" Now I know I still have kept a bit of my French accent but still that‘s a bit of a stretch!

My favorite answer after I have mentioned that I work in the translation industry is followed by the following questions. Not in a specific order but I swear I get at least 2 of them every time.

First question: How many languages do you speak?
My typical answer... “Lemme see, if you count ancient Greek and Latin that would be 14 languages total! And yes, I am absolutely fluent in all of them. In Europe, it is compulsory to study all the languages from the EU so we get a bit of a heads start. How about you?” Smile. No seriously, sorry to disappoint but I only speak 3 languages so do most of my coworkers and it is hard enough to keep up... Because I work in the translation industry does not mean I need to speak 14 languages. Myth #1.

Second question: Oh, so you translate into French?
Now did I say at any time that I was a translator? Nope, I did not! I said I worked in the translation industry and that I was French. That does not automatically make me a French translator. I could be a million of things ranging from Sales to Graphic Design to Engineering or Project Management. But no! It is a weird syllogism:
A. Marie is French.
B. Marie works in the translation industry therefore…
C. Marie is a French Translator!
Hmmm! Well it so happens that I got one of my degrees in Translation so I guess the syllogism kind of works. But the answer is NO, I am NOT a translator. Sorry to disappoint again!

I have been in the US more than 10 years and my French is not as good as it used to be. And as much as I don't mind doing French QA or helping with a few sentences once in a while, I would be a lousy translator. Just as bad as some client distributors who have been in the US for 20 years and claim they can still write perfect French and just know it best! Or even worse, people who have taken 2 years of French in high school or college and claim they are bilingual. The latest trend is when a client quotes Google translate: "But Google Translate says it that way therefore it must be right!". Ah, now please tell me how does one respond politely to this? Here… You know how long it took me to become bilingual French/English? My parents worked in languages, and I started when I was 6, spent every summer with host families abroad, studied linguistics and translation in college, read books in French and English all the time and work on my languages every single day! But the short answer is I am not a translator. I work with translators who are trained, bilingual, work in their native country, stay current with linguistics and idioms and write every day for a living. And just as you do a good job at what you do, they do a good job at what they do. And if they only charge you 6 cents a word, you might want to think again! So my job, among a million other things, is to manage them and make sure clients are happy :-)

Oh, and while we are at it, I am not a dictionary either! That is usually the best part when I attend a French party. After I have mentioned that I work in the translation industry, I have people run to me every 5 minutes saying "So how would you translate this in French?" or "How do you say this in English?". And it is not things like "What's the weather like today?" They try to get you on the tricky stuff. Like how do you say "glittering" or "mischievous"... It is as if they are testing you to see if you deserve to be a translator! My answer is: Refer to answer #2 above!

Third most common asked question: So what do you interpret?
Ah, that is an interesting question. How did we jump to interpreting all of a sudden? I guess I missed the train from my train station. Woo, tough to get out of that one... That is usually when I try to explain that translation is about written languages while interpreting is about spoken languages. And that they are usually quite different and require a different type of training. Second blank stare: "Oh, so you can write the language but not speak it?" Noooooo, I did not say that either...

This question also reminds me of a translation company I used to work for (that I shall not name), and my boss would look me in the eye and say very seriously: "So, how are the interpreters doing today?" or “Show your translation to the accountant, she is bilingual. She took Spanish in high-school and she will be able to help” or "Did you work on the quote for the client. How much did you charge per minute?" It just proves my point. And let me just add that those were not just misuse of words. My boss simply had no clue what difference there was between interpreting and translating. Or really what the art of languages was all about! And how long had they been in the translation business exactly? I won’t even go there. It is usually about the time when I politely excuse myself and throw the sponge - which I did...

So I make a sensation and I stand out when I go out and talk about my job. As I am sure most of my friends and colleagues in localization do - though none of us want to admit it! We are all so proud to be part of the localization industry. We have our own LinkedIn groups, discussion topics and even publications. Heck, BeatBabel's motto is "The Art of Localization". But I will believe that we have all succeeded when I stop getting the 3 questions above at networking events and parties. So how about we all work together and make it happen? What do you think? Are you up for it? See you all at "Localization World” in October. And maybe next year we can make our “World” a little broader ;-)

Marie and your BeatBabel Team: www.beatbabel.com

Lost in Translation?

Tea in the Sahara, and elsewhere. Or why I hate German "Frühstücksbretter"...

The other afternoon, we were talking about cultural differences over a cup of tea and we came to talking about what we have for breakfast in our countries. Some were shocked to hear that our Chinese, Korean and Japanese counter parts never have tea or coffee or anything sweet in the morning... They enjoyed starting the day with a nice bowl of soup, rice, sea weed and a bit of salmon if available! In turn, most of our Asian managers were shocked to hear that I enjoy a dark coffee and a sweet croissant... Yet another proof that cultural differences encompass much more than languages...

This morning I stumbled upon this video about the power of tea, accent and all: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/08/13/nannar.uk.tea.relief.itn
This reminded me of a discussion I have had with a few of my taiji and martial arts friends over the years. They tend to be more inclined to drink tea and always remind me of all the benefits of a good cuppa green tea. Being a fairly stressed person in general, watching the video made me reconsider. Should I trade my morning coffee for a nice, warm, soothing cup of tea? It also took me back to my younger days and reminded me of some of the breakfast and tea experiences I had while travelling around…

Growing up, with both my parents working with languages and interested in cultural experiences, I was lucky enough to travel a lot and spent many summers with host families outside of France. And after the language shock, breakfast was always the second thing that astonished me the most. I used to drink a big bowl of hot cocoa and a warm croissant when I was little. Sometimes I would trade them for a “tartine de nutella” – a slice of fresh bread with a hazelnut cocoa spread. Needless to say that my few experiences abroad were quite different!

My first trips outside of France were to England and Ireland. I believe my first time abroad was in Abingdon, small town around Oxford. After many hours on the train and on the ferry and then on the train again, the first 2 things that I remember are those red tall mailboxes and red phone booths. The second one of course is tea. Tea is not something we indulge much in over in France. As a kid my grand pa always used to add a drop of wine in my water. Yes, I know I started early but in Ireland they put Guinness in baby’s bottles so they train them much younger! So wine I already knew, but tea was quite new to me. In any case, I think I was able to adapt fairly well to my cuppa tea and a cloud of milk.

However, I will always remember my first trip to Germany... It was just after the wall came down and I was staying in a tiny little village about 3 hours south of Berlin. Don't ask me for the name, on the life of me I can't remember! So here I am, sitting with my host family at the kitchen table, struggling with the few words of German I had learned in school, trying to make a little conversation. And all of a sudden they put this wooden chopping board in front to me. A "Frühstücksbrett" they called it. Then they bring this giant knife and put it on the chopping board. Let’s remember here that I am just a tiny little one at that stage, who never really wanted to study German in the first place and was far away from home... And my eyes are just getting larger by the second. I was just plain terrified wondering what in the world they wanted me to do. Was it some kind of a ritual where we were going to kill a lamb and I was chosen to lead the ceremony? Was I just about to be sacrificed to the newly liberated East Germany? I finally felt a little relieved when they brought a bunch of cooked pork and dry meat, some cheese and pumpernickel bread and put those on the board. And then brought me a cup of tea! I was never so relieved to see tea in my life! But let me tell you that on this particular morning, I felt millions of miles away from my mum's comforting hot cocoa! I drank my tea with a bit of bread, nicely declining meat and cheese. Don’t get me wrong, French people are big on meat and cheese, just not for breakfast and not on a wooden chopping board! And that is one of the first cultural shocks I ever had...

This experience apart, I have enjoyed several types of breakfast while travelling around the world over the years and learnt to adapt to the foods I was offered – for the most part :-). Tea always seems to be the common denominator of my travels - outside of Southern Europe!

I tried about every type of tea for breakfast while travelling in Asia, where coffee is just simply not an option. I must admit that I really enjoyed chai when going through India though it has nothing to do with the deceptive Venti Chai Latte they offer at Starbucks. And in India, I always made sure that the water was boiling hot!!! I am also a big fan of the sweet Moroccan mint tea they serve in North Africa. In Vietnam, most teas have flowers floating in it. Though they taste ok, I still prefer my flowers in the front yard. The one time I could not finish my cup though was in one of the Dong villages of Chengyang China, when no matter how much I tried, my tea tasted like they had just shoved a spoonful of dirt into it.

So no matter how many breakfasts and tea I have tried or how many places I have travelled to, no matter how healthy it is… Just as the Brits cannot do without their cuppa, being French and from the South, I am sticking to my guns! It is coffee for me, short and black please!

Tea in the Sahara, and elsewhere. Or why I hate German "Frühstücksbretter"...

Enjoyed reading some good articles about translation and the benefits of being multilingual! So now we have scientific proof that translations are good for people and languages are good for you. It might even make polyglots live longer... Good to hear!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215111433.htm

added new features to our client and vendor management portal. It even has a new name... BABEL! Go figure ;-)

Foreigners abroad

It is amazing what you can learn about your fellow country-men and -women when you look at travel information.

The other day I had a visitor here from another country. Among other things he had brought with him a travel brochure. As I was leafing through the pages I found some interesting tips for visitors to the US. Here are some examples:

• Smile more often ...
• Say "Thank You" ...
• Tip generously ...
• Don't just smoke when you feel like it ...
• Don't leave your kids alone in the car or hotel room ...
• Don't forget to introduce yourself ...
• Keep your bikini top on when you're at the beach ...
• Don't discuss certain topics publicly ...
• Don't carry open containers with adult beverages ...
• Don't pay with $100 bills ...
• Don't cut in line ...

I look at these tips through a localizer's eyes. They tell a visitor how things are different where they are going. And, they tell the hosts that things may be different where their visitors come from.

I wish localization were as simple as that - a brochure to give to our clients and we'd be done.

BeatBabel is a translation and localization provider based in San Diego, California. We focus on software and web localization, multilingual content management and internationalization consulting.
If you want to know more about us, please visit BeatBabel.com

Foreigners abroad

Why would anyone call their company "BeatBabel"?

BeatBabel is not like one of those names that use "translation", "localization", "consulting", "network" or variations of "…lingual" to give the reader a hint at what they're doing. The story is simple at first. My daughter had the idea, and I snatched it away from her. I hope it doesn't happen too often that parents steal from their kids, but this one was just too good to let pass. And I know she doesn't mind.

But it got a little more tricky as the idea of "beating what Babel stands for" became more and more intriguing. So – why BeatBabel? Frankly, if it hadn't been for the Babylonian language mess, we all would be out of business. And you wouldn't read this, at least not in English, and most likely not at all.

The fact that we want to communicate to a broad audience makes it necessary that we not only do that in our native language but in as many other languages as well. We have all seen those "mis"-communications, where a translation lead to misunderstanding and possible damage - or to the joy of those who like to learn of others' mistakes. I will not add any of those here, but feel free to fill in if you have new ones that we have not yet seen.

The term "beat" has many meanings. Obviously, we are not interested in the "punishing" sense of the word, nor the competitive one in sports. The musical one already sounds better, but "beating the odds" is what we had in mind, and we are using it in one of our tag lines: "Beating the language odds".

Imagine what that tower in Babylon would look like if everyone involved in building it had spoken the same language. If they would have had good translators and interpreters, the result would have looked better. But that's still not enough.

To build that tower they needed lots of people, and since they did not have them locally they needed to "hire" them from elsewhere. And these "foreign" workers brought with them their own sets of cultural rules and parameters. Do you remember the Mars orbiter SNAFU? The one where one NASA team was using metric units while another one was using imperial measurements? The resulting crash cost about $125 million and embarrassed a whole lot of people. This took place only 10 years ago. They were using computers, spoke the same language, were well educated and trained, and still didn't get it right.

Now transfer this to Babylonian times. Imagine the "localization" necessary to get it right under their circumstances. That's why we used the name. My partners and I have been in the business of translation and localization for many years. As a matter of fact, I consider myself a dinosaur of localization, having been around and involved in Microsoft's first steps into fully localized products. And we share the same passion for communication across cultures, borders and languages.

Let's work on that and beat those Babylonian language odds.

BeatBabel is a translation and localization provider based in San Diego, California. We focus on software and web localization, multilingual content management and internationalization consulting.

If you want to know more about us, please visit BeatBabel.com

Why would anyone call their company "BeatBabel"?