How to be good (2). Tips for clients

In my last post, I gave some tips on “How to Be a Good Translator”. Good translators (editors, web designers, accountants, insert profession of your choice) tend to be even better when they’re working with good clients. The tips listed below (from my website article How to Be a Good Client) were written with translation clients in mind but many of them apply more generally.

I’m a client myself (to my web designer and accountant, for example) so I’ve been examining my conscience as I write. I plead guilty (sometimes) under point 18, my only excuse being forgetfulness.

  1. Give praise when it’s due.
  2. Give constructive feedback.
  3. Pay promptly.
  4. Be clear about deadlines. Don’t ask your supplier for an estimated delivery time if you already know you need the work tomorrow. Tell them your deadline at the outset.
  5. If you change your administrative procedures, let your supplier know in good time about the new arrangements. Please, do not suddenly suspend payments without prior notice while you get your new system up and running.
  6. If you have to follow public procurement procedures, keep tender eligibility criteria proportionate to the size and scope of the contract.
  7. Consider your translator/writer as part of the team. Let them communicate with content providers, web designers and anyone else involved in your projects.
  8. Provide your translator/writer with any background material, glossaries, terminology, style guides etc that you use. This will help them avoid errors and misunderstandings and produce work that suits your organisation’s style.
  9. Get your translator/writer involved in your project as early as possible. Send them a draft text if available so that they can familiarise themselves with the subject matter and make a start on the research. But make it clear that it’s only a draft.
  10. Edit your documents — surgically — before sending them for translation. You’ll trim a lot of fat and duplication, especially if the document contains contributions from different authors. And by having less material translated, you’ll save time and money.
  11.  Be open to input and suggestions from your translator/writer. They have lots of expertise, which they are happy to share with good clients.
  12. Understand that translators and writers are not glorified bilingual typists.
  13. Understand that translators and writers are skilled professionals.
  14. Understand that language students are precisely that: students. With very rare exceptions, they’re not able to produce usable, professional-level translations. (Would you entrust your defence in a court case to a second-year law student?).
  15. Understand that translators and writers sometimes have to do hours, indeed days, of research on your projects. And that their fee will reflect that.
  16. Understand that cost is what you pay, value is what you get.
  17. Remember that your translator/writer is on your side.
  18. If you ask for a quote and decide not to go ahead with the project, let your supplier know.
  19. Acknowledge receipt of completed projects.
  20. Say thank you.

Some of these points were covered in more detail in my Resolutions for clients post in 2011.

Comments and additional tips are welcome — from clients too, naturally.

By Marian Dougan

How to be good (1). Tips for translators

I got a pleasant surprise a couple of weeks ago when I logged on to Twitter and found that several translators had been tweeting and retweeting the link to the “How to Be a Good Translator” page on my website. If you haven’t seen them, here are the tips from that page — I hope you find them helpful.

  1. Love language, especially your own. And keep studying it.
  2. Learn to write well.
  3. Learn about and study your passive language and the culture it comes from.
  4. Only translate into your own language.
  5. Select a specialist area of expertise, and study and be prepared to learn more about your specialist subject. Constantly.
  6. Read: books, newspapers, blogs, magazines, adverts, style guides, cereal packets…
  7. Listen: to TV, the radio, friends and family, strangers in the street, on the bus, in bars, in shops…
  8. Attend workshops, seminars and conferences in your subject area – listen to the experts, absorb their language. Even their jargon – but try not to use it.
  9. Keep up with current affairs.
  10. Keep your IT skills up-to-date.
  11. Practise and hone your skills — keep up with your training.
  12. Listen to the words that you write (some writers and translators read their texts out loud to themselves). Languages each have their own rhythm. If your writing doesn’t “sound” right, try changing the word order, not just the words.
  13. Use your spell-checker. Use it judiciously, but use it. Always.
  14. Print out your translated text and read it on paper before delivering it to your client. Always. Especially if you use computer-assisted translation (CAT) software. Print it out.
  15. Ask yourself if your translation makes sense. If it makes you stop, even for a second, and think “what does that really mean”?, then there’s something wrong.
  16. Write clearly and concisely, using the appropriate sentence- and paragraph-length for your target language. Use simple vocabulary. You can convey even complex ideas using clear, straightforward language.
  17. Inform your client of any mistakes, typos or ambiguous wording you find in the source text.
  18. Find ways to add value for your clients.
  19. Always keep your reader in mind.
  20. Always use your brain. That’s what makes a good translator a really good translator.

The list is of course subjective, and not complete (just take a look at Lanna Castellana’s description of the translator’s ideal life, training and career path!). So if you’ve got good tips that I’ve missed out, we’d love to hear about them in the comments.

By Marian Dougan

Music (2): Lucio Dalla, R.I.P.

One of my very first dates with my (now) husband was a concert by Lucio Dalla and Francesco De Gregori in Taranto, in 1979.

We were to meet in the doorway of the apartment block where I was living. Vito was about half an hour late, having forgotten the time while in the shower. For a young and conspicuously non-Italian female (for which read, fair game to all the town’s many male sleazebags), waiting in a doorway for any length of time on a Saturday(?) night in 1979 Taranto was not a pleasant experience.

I persevered and, when Vito eventually turned up, went to the concert. It was wonderful. But 33 years on, I still take second place to the shower.

Lucio Dalla died yesterday, 1 March 2012, of a heart attack. Like Davy Jones, who died a couple of days ago, he was only in his ’60s. Here he is, singing “Caruso”.

By Marian Dougan

Music (1): Davy Jones, R.I.P.

This blog is primarily about language, but words take on a special power when they’re combined with music. So I’d like to dedicate this and the next post to two singers who died this week and who both meant a lot to me at different stages of my life.

The first is Davy Jones, an actor/musician who gained international fame through The Monkees.

I was about 12-13 when The Monkees were “manufactured” as an American response to The Beatles. I was B-E-S-O-T-T-E-D with them, the burning question being whether Micky Dolenz or Davy Jones was the hottest (we didn’t use “hottest”, of course, but I can’t for the life of me remember what we did say).

To this day, their songs resonate with me in a way that the Beatles’ never did and never could. They still make me pause and smile, every time I hear them. Here they are, singing “Pleasant Valley Sunday”. Enjoy the song and check out the outfits. Groovy.

The next song I’m featuring isn’t by The Monkees but by one of their members, Mike Nesmith, much later on. So a slight tangent. Here he is, singing the lovely “Joanne”. I hope you enjoy it.

By Marian Dougan

Modern Languages at the University of Glasgow (2): help needed for Slavonic Studies

In my last post I mentioned Glasgow University’s School of Modern Languages and Culture’s success in fending off most of the course cuts threatened in 2011.

Sadly, the Slavonic Studies Department isn’t out of the woods yet. The following is a message from Jan Culik, asking for support in the Department’s petition to the Scottish Parliament.

The petition in support of targeted funding for strategically important,
lesser taught languages and cultures at the University of Glasgow was
discussed by the Scottish Parliament Petition’s Committee on
Tuesday 21st February 2012.

The committee has noted the support given to the cause by the
Scottish Education Secretary Mike Russell, MSP and it expressed
displeasure over the fact that the Scottish Funding Council has not to
date responded seriously to the request to introduce targeted funding
for Czech, Polish, Russian and Slavonic Studies.

The Parliamentary Petitions Committee has decided to write to the
Scottish Funding Council asking its members why are they trying to avoid
this issue considering that the Scottish government has just given them
30 million pounds extra for the funding of Scottish universities.

Jan Culik would like anyone concerned about this situation to send an email to Mark Batho, the Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Funding Council. Mr. Batho’s email is: mbatho@sfc.ac.uk

Here’s a template you can use:

Mark Batho
Chief Executive
Scottish Funding Council
Donaldson House
97 Haymarket Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5HD

Dear Mark Batho,

I am writing to ask you to introduce targeted funding for lesser-taught languages and cultures at Scottish universities, in particular the Czech, Polish and Russian language-based cultural courses and the intercultural Slavonic Studies programme, which are currently taught at the University of Glasgow.

As you know, Glasgow University is the only university in Scotland to offer a full range of language-based cultural studies of Central and Eastern Europe. These programmes may never bring large fiscal gain to the university, but are nevertheless strategically important to Scotland, to its economy and to Scotland’s relations with the region. Hence targeted funding is essential.

If such funding is not introduced, the unique provision for the language-based study of Central and Eastern Europe will disappear in Scotland, which will suffer strategically, economically, culturally and politically as a result.

[signature]

Thank you.

By Marian Dougan

Modern Languages at the University of Glasgow (1): great new post-grad courses

On 28 February the Guardian newspaper published a list of Modern languages and linguistics postgraduate and master’s courses available in the UK in 2012. For some reason, the list doesn’t include the post-grad courses available at Glasgow University from academic year 2012-13.

Glasgow’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures will be offering an MSc in Translation Studies: Translation & Professional Practice and an MLitt in European Studies: Cultures, Societies & Languages.

Both these courses are great news in themselves, and especially welcome after the threats of drastic cuts to  Modern Languages teaching. I’m sure the Translation Studies course in particular will tick the right sort of “employability” boxes for the University management.

Here are more kudos for Glasgow:

According to the International Student Barometer 2011:
International students report satisfaction levels of more than 97% with the expert lecturers in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
International students in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures report more than 90% satisfaction with their learning at Glasgow.

According to the Times 2012 League Table:
French at the University of Glasgow is ranked number 1 in Scotland and is in the top 10 in the UK.
German at the University of Glasgow is ranked 2nd in Scotland.
Italian at the University of Glasgow is ranked first in Scotland.

Well done to all at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures!

By Marian Dougan

Work experience schemes. Not just for big business

I’m glad the UK government and big businesses have got the work experience issue sorted out.

(Very briefly: businesses can offer unemployed young people unpaid work experience, during which the youngsters continue to receive their unemployment benefits. After protests claiming that the scheme amounted to unpaid forced labour, and criticism of the government’s threat of sanctions for youngsters dropping out, several companies withdrew. The government has now announced it will not withdraw benefits for young people dropping out of the scheme, except in cases of gross misconduct).

I’ve seen big business+government employability schemes in action and they provide a huge boost for unemployed people’s self-esteem. It would be a shame if employers were frightened away from such programmes.

In my experience, young people are not employment-ready when they leave school or university. This isn’t the fault of the youngsters themselves, or of the education system. There’s just so much for them to learn nowadays.

Over the last 3 years I’ve provided work experience ranging in duration from 3 days to 4 months for young graduates, college and university students, 6th year secondary school students, and school leavers. Some of them were receiving grants, others were not. Some were local, i.e. from Dunbartonshire, others were from Italy and France.

Here are some of the things they learned from their placements:

  • marketing for small businesses
  • social media for business uses
  • how to use Macs and Mac programmes (Address Book, Mail)
  • advanced features of Word
  • how to use email marketing services like the wonderful Emma
  • the importance of language-learning
  • the importance of good writing style
  • networking and its role in business
  • how to write a decent CV.

These placements didn’t cost me anything in money terms, but as you can imagine from the above list I invested quite a lot of time and effort in them. In return, I got help with some of the day-to-day tasks that take up so much of my time as a small-business owner. And I also learned a few IT tricks myself.

If you’re interested in offering work experience placements, contact your local Chamber of Commerce or the education department at your local council. You can offer placements even if you’re a sole trader, and even if you work from home (the placement provider may need to carry out a health and safety assessment, and of course you may not like the idea of a stranger working in your home office/kitchen table).

It’s up to you. But offering placements can help you out, and is a way to give something back to your community and help young people get a start in their careers.

By Marian Dougan

Global. It’s, like, a relative concept. Whatevs.

A recent article in the New York Times entitled “They’re, Like, Way Ahead of the Linguistic Currrrve” suggests that there’s a lot more method in teenage-girl-speak than young women are usually given credit for. The article’s worth reading (especially if you’ve got a teenage daughter…).

The author cites a Saturday Night Live sketch with Maya Rudolph mimicking Maya Angelou, as an illustration of “vocal fry” (“a raspy or croaking sound injected (usually) at the end of a sentence”). It turns out the clip isn’t available in the UK, as this TV channel informed me. I think a name change might be in order, don’t you?

The other clip does work, so here’s a crash course in vocal-fry chat-up technique, by Mae West and Cary Grant in She Done Him Wrong.

By Marian Dougan

Buzzwords

A buzzword, according to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary, is:

1. a voguish word or phrase —called also buzz phrase

2. an important-sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used chiefly to impress laymen

You can tell by the definitions that Merriam Webster isn’t very keen on buzzwords/phrases.

Neither am I. And two that are really bugging me right now — they set my teeth on edge — are “postcode lottery” and “devo max”.

Here in the UK, “postcode lottery” usually refers to regional inequalities in access to health care. It’s become ubiquitous, very tired and can be confusing, not least because there actually is a lottery called the “Postcode Lottery” (the prizes are shared out among all ticket-holding residents of the winning postcode).

“Devo max” is a more recent buzzword and one that I fear we’ll be hearing a lot as Scotland gears up for its independence referendum.

Based on abbreviated forms of the words maximum and devolution, devo max refers to the concept of Scotland having full economic independence from the United Kingdom, but remaining part of the union and subject to UK governance in a minimal number of areas, crucially foreign policy and defence issues. Also often referred to as devolution max (or simply maximum devolution), devo max […] is sometimes also referred to as independence lite […]. A further alternative expression is independence minus.

Heaven preserve us from “indep min”.

The above explanation, by the way, comes courtesy of a much more useful BuzzWord, as featured on the Macmillan Dictionary website, which looks like a great language resource, especially for people learning English. I love the clean, clear look of the site — it’s beautifully designed.

Anyway, back to the peskier form of buzzword. Are there any voguish words or phrases that particularly annoy you? Get them off your chest in the comments — it’s therapeutic to vent.

By Marian Dougan

Google adapts its terms and conditions – and its language

I’ve got Google.com set up as my browser home page. I usually just glance at the little announcements under the logo and search box. However, this morning I noticed the announcement on the changes to their terms and conditions. It said:

We’re changing our privacy policy and terms. Not the usual yada yada. Learn more

I was curious to see if the UK site also used the term “not the usual yada yada”. It didn’t:

We’re changing our privacy policy and terms. This stuff matters. Learn more

The French site has:

Nos règles de confidentialité et d’utilisation évoluent. En plus clair et plus concis. En savoir plus

And the Italian site has the bald:

Stiamo cambiando le norme sulla privacy e i termini di servizio. Ulteriori informazioni

So in Google’s view, do Italians dislike a touch of informality in their terms and conditions announcements ? Is the concept of “clearer and more concise” anathema to them? (Judging by the material I translate, I’d have to answer “yes” to that one).

Any thoughts? Italian readers, your views are very welcome! What do other countries’ sites say?

By Marian Dougan