A Computer Journal For Translation Professionals
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This edition of the Tool Box Journal provided to you by
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Issue 22-6-338
(the three hundred thirty eighth edition)
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Can I share a little insight with you that I recently had? It's not
translation-related (I tried hard to somehow tie this to translation,
but I failed), so you're free to skip this part and jump right to the
parts of this Tool Box Journal that deal with more "professional" (and,
if I dare to say so, very rich) matters.
Anyway: A few weeks I shared the arrival of sweet Simon Jerome,
grandbaby No. 1 in this Zetzsche family. My wife and I were lucky to
recently spend yet another week with him and his parents (they
unfortunately live in a very different part of the country), and while I
was holding him it finally occurred to me what makes being a
grandparent so special. Yes, I deeply and profoundly love my grandchild
(but then I loved and still love my children also). And, yes, there is
that oft-cited carefree attitude of the grandparent who is (typically)
less involved in the mundane day-to-day activities of raising a child
and more engaged in doing the "fun things." But I believe there is
something beyond that, something that might be even more profound.
As I held and gazed at Simon for hours on end, I realized that he
is perfect as he is. Not because of his potential to be someone good or
meaningful at any point in the future, but because of what and how he is
right in this moment. And the next. And the next. And so on. I don't
mean to make that sound like a sweet "Awww" moment of an emotional
grandparent. I mean that as something really different from what the
parent sees. Of course, the parent also loves this little person -- more
than anything in the world. But I think it's almost impossible for them
to feel that and not think of the future: of what's going to happen
with this child, of what they as a parent can do to make the
possibilities in the future as deep and wide as possible, of how they
can protect that little person from any harm that might befall them.
The grandparent marvels at the finite, at the present perfection,
the parent at the (seemingly) infinite and their role in it. While both
are beautiful and important notions of love and survival, I've been
overwhelmed with the power of the former. If Simon is complete and
perfect at this point, then anyone is, no matter who they are, what they
do, and how potentially broken they might be. I don't know about you,
but I so often have a sense of impatience with others (and myself) about
how much more they (or I) could do or be. And that's true -- they (and
I) can grow. But since there's never a moment -- except the one where
life on earth ends -- when the growing will stop, they are at this and
any point in their lives completely lovable and, well, perfect.
Take it from this grandpa!
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Contents
The all-new Trados
Is the pen mightier than the sword, or how much do words really matter? (by Isabell Otterbein)
The
best multilingual AI-powered writing and editing tools for translators,
proofreaders and language professionals (Column by Josh Goldsmith)
"I've always done it that way!" -- Breaking out of old habits (Column by Dorothee Racette)
Earl Grey
New password for the Tool Box archive
The last word on the Tool Box Journal
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Unify information from authoring, translation to omnichannel delivery with:
Solutions to accelerate performance and transform information into an asset.
STAR Group – your single-source communication partner for products and services
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I had a conversation about the new Trados with Daniel Brockmann,
the evergreen "Principal Product Manager" at RWS (who despite his
evergreenness now sports an all-grey head of hair) and his colleague
Andrew Thomas, the Senior Director for Trados Marketing. Before the
conversation I felt pretty sure we would be talking about Trados 2022,
which was just released at the end of May. It turns out that we did
talk about that -- but really only very briefly. The rest of the
considerable time we spent together was devoted to the new Trados, as in a "newly recalibrated Trados product offering."
Trados is the market leader among individual translators and
non-cloud-based installations at organizations, including translation
agencies and translation buyers. This has been the case for a very long
time. The fact that there is a qualifier ("non-cloud-based") in here has
been somewhat of a stumbling block for RWS's Trados team.
Accordingly, we talked a lot about being an underdog vs. being the "top
dog" during our conversation -- a topic that never would have come up
in any of the previous discussions we've had over the many years that
Trados and I have been in conversation.
Let's start by looking at the language technology situation at RWS.
After they took an inventory of what they had available they organized
the many different parts into one business unit with a more or less
coherent strategy and goal.
As you likely know, the Trados brand used to be owned by SDL, which along with Trados and
all the other SDL technology puzzle pieces was bought by RWS.
(Incidentally, RWS has lost about 40% of its stock value in the past six
months.) The other puzzle pieces related to translation technology that
came with SDL were either acquisitions that SDL had made over the years
(Trados itself was an acquisition, as were Idiom with its WorldServer product and MultiTrans via
Donnelley Language Solutions, not to mention a barrage of other
non-language-related products) or a number of in-house solutions (TMS, GroupShare).
Most of these are products that are directed toward similar customers
on the high and high-ish end of the market. Customers that you don't
want to frustrate with discontinuing any of those products because, as
in the case of SDL/RWS, they might well also be buying language services
from you.
On top of that, none of these products is a new-generation
cloud-based product. (And when I say "new generation" I'm being kind --
it's really not that new anymore!) All of these products employ a
server-client-based infrastructure, the kind of infrastructure that was
en vogue in the noughts and early 2010's and that allows for
collaboration and centralized data hosting but is not in the less
strenuous cloud environment that even the more cautious customers are
now asking for.
With the ongoing integration of the MT system Language Weaver
(another technology purchase, and incidentally the only one that has
not been grouped in the newly formed translation technology unit), a Language Cloud product was introduced in 2014 (see edition 238 of the Tool Box Journal). This Language Cloud product
was built upon and eventually became its own full-fledged and
stand-alone translation management system in 2019 and is now being
marketed as Trados Enterprise, the cloud-based translation management solution that SDL is offering to translation buyers.
While RWS has not end-of-lifed (the fact that you can come up with
constructs like that is one thing I love about the English language!)
any of its other translation management systems and will still provide
updates to customers, it will develop new features more slowly for them
and "assumes" that the clients who still use them will eventually switch
to Trados Enterprise. (This
was -- at least from Daniel's and Andrew's perspective -- the preferable
solution to switching to a competing product 😁.)
So, Trados Enterprise is
the full-fledged translation management solution that RWS is now
actively promoting and selling (and I was promised that in the
not-so-distant future, pricing and such things will be much more
transparent on RWS's website).
The product for translation teams of all sizes is now called Trados Team. RWS bills it as a "cloud-based translation project management solution." It's very similar to the GroupShare product, except everything is cloud-based. (By the way, GroupShare is
the only one of the old guard of products that is still being
proactively offered on their website -- but just kind of tucked away
between marketing copy for Trados Team.)
This leaves the last of the three products, and the one that is the most familiar to all of you: Trados Studio. Trados Studio
obviously is the solution for the individual translator and, if used in
relation with one or both of the other products, forms the tail-end of
any line in the language business, i.e., the one where translation is
taking place (aka "the most important one").
Unlike the two other products that have completed the switch to an
online, web-based environment, Studio is still a decidedly hybrid
product, with the hybridization process in the 2022 edition mostly
complete. What I mean by that is that the Online Editor (which,
when I first wrote about it in 2016 in edition 263, really was "only" a
secondary environment for maybe proofreading purposes) is now a
feature-rich environment that allows for productive translation work.
(Of course, this doesn't mean all of you will like it -- I know that the
prejudices against a browser-based translation environment run deep for
many.) You can switch between the desktop and the online editor
seamlessly -- and you'll be able to do it even more seamlessly when the
desktop editor in an upcoming service pack is updated with data from the
online environment in a more automated fashion.
Also, Trados Studio 2022 gives
you access to all "base level of cloud computing," so there shouldn't
be any extra cost for any online resource you create and use.
Other changes, aside from the typical bug fixes, etc., include relatively minor features such as multilingual Excel, a handful of binary software file formats (there is still a new version of the localization tool Passolo --
but my sense is that it won't have a particularly illustrious future as
a standalone tool), and a new "view" in the desktop's main interface.
This view is called the Manage view and essentially combines the Project and Files views. This is still in beta, so you'll have to activate it if you want to use it.
What does all this mean? Overall, I think it's positive that in the midterm view Trados Studio
will no longer have to serve all kinds of unconnected and
discombobulated translation management systems. It should certainly be
easier for the technology teams at RWS to move forward with further
development now that everything is all in one business unit. ("The
current reorg is the best reorg ever" because "it was centered around
technology and not corporate," according to Daniel, and I can testify
that he has gone through a lot of those reorgs.)
The Trados Studio user can
be pretty certain that the desktop environment is going to stay for the
foreseeable future, but they can also know that the Online Editor is actually productively usable.
For larger clients, this looks like another "TSO" moment. That's what I called the (Trados Studio) opportunity when Studio 2009 was first released as a complete redesign of the previous Trados (oh,
and was it buggy!). Back then I thought this was a great opportunity
for a real market shakeup. Everyone who was using the earlier Trados version,
the gorilla in the market, had to decide whether to eventually upgrade
and relearn a new tool from the same vendor or switch technologies and
learn that technology. Amazingly enough, SDL was able to "squash" the
"Trados Studio opportunity" and maintained its top dog position --
partly because competitors did not present attractive enough
alternatives. Today, RWS is in a different position when it comes to
translation management systems. Between XTM, Memsource, memoQ,
and a couple of others there are very strong contenders, some of which
are in fact already stronger than RWS in the cloud TMS space. RWS knows
that, so it'll be fun to see what happens.
Oh, and with the strong reliance on the Online Editor for Trados Studio, I cannot imagine that RWS will offer perpetual licenses for Trados Studio
all that much longer. Subscription-based models have been too
successful and make too much business sense, especially when an online
environment is frequently updated anywhere. But that's just my guess.
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Is the pen mightier than the sword, or how much do words really matter?
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[Jost's note: I asked Isabell to
write this interesting article about inclusive language and translation
because of the many job opportunities that are available in this
particular field for the foreseeable future. Thanks, Isabell!]
The saying that words can be more powerful than weapons reportedly
dates back to the 7th century BC and has since found its way into
literature in many forms. And indeed, one could argue that many a
written word has led to some incredible changes in the real world --
take Martin Luther's 95 theses, or perhaps a newer example of Elon Musk's tweet causing Bitcoin to crash. But how much of an impact can words really have? Do they really matter that much?
Even in our modern world today, we still see many inequalities
between genders, people, ages, or abilities. In recent years, however,
people have become more aware of how language, specifically
inappropriate terms (such as the frequently used IT terms
"blacklist"/"whitelist" or "master"/"slave") further sustain these
inequalities and decided that it is time to retire them for better terms
to reflect a more inclusive world.
But while replacing outdated terminology with new, more
appropriate, and inclusive words seems straightforward enough and can
solve concerns around racist, ageist, or ableist terms, using inclusive
language to remove inequalities does not stop there. One of the biggest
considerations -- and current challenges -- of inclusive language is the
topic of gender visibility or gender inclusion.
You may have come across the riddle about a father and son being in
an accident. The father is killed, and the son is gravely injured. He
is taken to the hospital, where the surgeon on duty says, "I cannot
operate on this child, he is my son." This makes us wonder for at least a
moment, because all too often (and despite the many seasons of Grey's
Anatomy), we still think of a surgeon being male. While this in some
respect may give the English language an advantage in terms of gender
inclusivity -- as it already includes all genders in the generic term
"surgeon" -- things are not as straightforward in many other languages.
Take the German language, for example, where an "engineer" is
either explicitly male ("der Ingenieur") or female ("die Ingenieurin").
Classroom experiments with Dutch and German primary school students
have shown that girls are more likely to pick a STEM career option if
the job titles are presented in pair form (for example, "Ingenieurinnen
und Ingenieure," female and male engineers) instead of just the generic
masculine form. This strongly supports the idea of "what you can't see,
you can't be" and highlights why representation, even "just" in words,
is so important.
Here at HubSpot,
inclusive writing is one of the key considerations for all of our
content, and to achieve this we follow an Inclusive Writing Guide that
highlights the things to consider when writing, such as age, gender,
ability, or ethnicity.
In the guide, we explain: "Words
matter and the language we use should be inclusive and welcoming to our
community of readers and end-users who have layered identities."
This guide was initially created in English, but with HubSpot
operating in many countries across the world, it soon became apparent
that similar guidelines are required for the supported languages such as
French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. A working group within the
in-house Localization team set out to establish the language-specific
counterparts -- Operation Inclusive Language was born.
As we got to work to create these language-specific guides, we
realized that each language came with its own set of challenges. One of
the biggest was often the rephrasing of gender-specific language.
As mentioned, the English language often uses gender-neutral terms
("the customer"), whereas in German, for example, the generic masculine
is used. Here, the subject of gender poses the biggest challenge. There
are male and female versions of most terms to describe a person. For
example, we have "Kunde" (a male customer) and "Kundin" (a female
customer). The plural would be "Kunden" -- the so-called generic
masculine. This used to be defined as describing all genders, but as the
language has been evolving to reflect culture, this is no longer
considered inclusive.
For German, using the pair form (male and female), as in our
example "Kundinnen und Kunden," is an improvement over the generic
masculine form, but it still leaves out non-binary genders.
There are other options for writing gender-inclusively, such as
using an asterisk to write "Kund*innen" or a colon for "Kund:innen";
both options are understood to include all genders. But these forms may
pose a challenge for screen readers and therefore potentially exclude
visually impaired readers.
Although inclusive writing is gaining momentum, there are no
established rules (yet) from the German authority on grammar and
spelling, the Duden.
So, there is currently a mix of the forms described above -- some more
popular than others, and all of them also heavily disputed by purists
who consider them an unnecessary interference with the language as it
is.
Many other languages face similar challenges (see this wonderful graphic article created to highlight the particular challenges around gender in the various languages around the world).
In most, there isn't a perfect solution out there (yet), but that
doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be more inclusive in all of them.
Add to that the complexity of pronouns, which are currently very
binary in most languages, with "he" and "she" in English and "er" and
"sie" in German, leaving no room for other genders and therefore
requiring the invention of new terms such as "ze" or "hir".
While some may still consider inclusive language to be the latest
"politically correct" fad, this movement is long overdue and not going
to be stopped. Inclusive language is already an obvious choice to many
organizations, media outlets, and even government institutions, although
many practical questions still remain, not least for the translation
and localization trade: How far can translators assume their author
supports inclusive language? Do we have the freedom to potentially
change a tone of voice by adopting an inclusive style? Should we
proactively ask our customers to make this choice upfront, if only to
put it on their radar?
An additional challenge is added by the fact that the translation
industry increasingly relies on machine translation engines which are
not (yet) trained to understand the complexities involved in avoiding
potentially problematic terms or to pick up on the more subtle tones of
specific words in context in order to be able to filter them out, let
alone replace them with more appropriate terms in the specific context
or even decide to use "Kundinnen and Kunden" for the simple "customer."
Certain types of text (think UI, where space is at a premium, or legal
documents that must be very close to the source) also warrant careful
considerations.
Bearing all these things in mind, it becomes clear that we still have quite a way to go towards a fully inclusive language.
However, I believe we at HubSpot
can play a part in making a positive change, at least within the scope
of the content we create. Not only is writing inclusively now doing the
right thing, but it is also very important in order to shape the world
we want to see -- one of which our grandchildren can be proud. In this
day and age, many more people have access to a pen (thanks to social
media, among others) than a sword, making it even more important to
choose our words wisely.
Isabell Otterbein is Senior
Localization Specialist in the German team at HubSpot responsible for
developing and shaping the HubSpot voice and style for the DACH market
to ensure that it's clear, accessible, and culturally relevant. She
established the Operation Inclusive Language group at HubSpot to
facilitate the creation of Inclusive Writing Guides in German, French,
Spanish, and Japanese. She is based in Scotland but often works from her
campervan at various locations across the EU where she travels with her
trusty Border Collie Finn.
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The Tech-Savvy Interpreter 2.0 - The best multilingual AI-powered writing and editing tools for translators, proofreaders and language professionals (Column by Josh Goldsmith)
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What if the best editing tool you never knew about was in the palm of your hand?
If you've been thinking about tapping into artificial intelligence
(AI) to help you write copy or edit translations, you're in luck.
- Fix your spelling and grammar
- Find synonyms and improve your writing
- Write or edit texts -- in multiple languages
Ready to improve your writing? Read on!
Spelling and grammar checkers
As language experts, we frequently write in non-native languages --
whether for sending a quote to a client, penning a note to a colleague,
or writing blog or social media posts.
Spelling and grammar errors can shoot us in the foot, ruin our image, and determine whether we land a job.
That's why having a solid spelling and grammar checker that covers all your working languages is essential for language professionals.
Although spellcheckers are built into most word processors, we're a
big fan of finding a multilingual tool that works across a range of
software, including right inside your browser, email, and word
processor.
Some better-known tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid are only
available for English, so they may not be the best option for
multilanguage professionals.
Instead, try LanguageTool. This freemium tool provides spelling and grammar tips in 30+ languages!
With automatic language detection and plug-ins for most web browsers,
word processors and operating systems, LanguageTool is our go-to
spelling and grammar checker. And at just $4.99 a month or $59.90 a
year, the Premium version is an investment that's worth its weight in
gold
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A brief introduction to GPT-3
As its name suggests, GPT-3, or the Generative Pre-trained
Transformer, is the third in a series of predictive models that have
been trained with a huuuge amount of data across tons of languages.
Let's dive into some ways language professionals can use AI-supported writing tools!
Finish your sentences with Google's Smart Compose
Email can be the bane of our existence. What if we had a tool that would learn to complete our emails based on our style?
Enter Smart Compose.
Currently available for English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, this
built-in Google tool will predict your sentences and complete them for
you. Time saving, here we come!
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Rewrite entire sentences with AI-based paraphrasing tools
Imagine your AI buddy reading your copy -- and rewriting it for you!
Paraphrasing tools will do just that, offering up new sentences or entire paragraphs.
Tidy up text with the Neural Text Improving App
Interpreting technology researcher Claudio Fantinuoli -- the mastermind behind InterpretBank
-- recently released an experimental "neural text improving app."
Available in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian, it will
correct grammar errors and rephrase sentences. Why not take it for a spin for free?
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Tune up your prose with Wordtune
Our favorite paraphrasing tool is Wordtune.
Draft a sentence, select it, and with a single click, Wordtune will
serve up some impressive suggestions to improve your text. Scan through
them and pick out the one you like. The free version offers plug-ins for
Chrome, Edge and Word and 10 free rewrites per day, while the
professional version ($9.99/month) includes unlimited rewrites and lets
you choose a formal or casual tone and decide whether you want to expand
or shorten your writing!
Although Wordtune only offers writing suggestions in English, you
can give it a starting text in Spanish, Russian, Korean, Hebrew,
Mandarin, and Arabic and get recommendations in English. Machine
translation + AI paraphrasing all bundled into one -- pretty nifty!
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Rewrite entire paragraphs with Writesonic
Looking for an AI-based tool that can rewrite entire paragraphs for you? Look no further than Writesonic, which will generate copy and rephrase texts in 24 languages!
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Generate texts with AI copywriters
From articles to blog posts and emails to sales copy, AI copywriters can dish up copy in a vast array of genres and styles.
Simply pick the type of writing, language and tone and let the machine do the rest!
Popular multilingual options include Writesonic (24 languages, $15+/month), Jasper (26 languages, $29+/month), Copy.ai (25+ languages, $35/month), and Rytr (34 languages, 5K characters free, then $9/month).
Our favorite, Rytr, takes the cake for its low price point,
generous free tier, and impressive output. Pick your output type (from
blog ideas to email and profile bios to longer-form copy) and tone (with
20+ options like "earnest," "casual," "convincing," "enthusiastic" and
"formal"), give the machine a few bullet points to get started, and get
ready to be amazed.
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How translators and interpreters can use AI writing assistants to write faster and better
As multilingual language professionals, we write -- a lot.
Emails. Social media copy. Our websites and professional profiles. Speeches. And of course, our translations!
Our words matter. And we're judged on them -- even in a foreign language.
But coming up with the perfect turn of phrase, an email pitch to a
prospective client, or a relevant blog post isn't always easy.
After using AI-based writing assistants for over a year, we're huge
fans. They've saved us tons of time and offered up interesting copy
ideas -- like the introduction at the beginning of this post. 😅
As with any new technology, always use AI with caution.
These tools can offer up impressive suggestions, but you're the one
in charge! Simply mix those robots' ideas with your own for optimal,
creative results.
So what are you waiting for? Instead of staring at a blank screen
or fretting about your grammar in one of your foreign languages, why not
take one of these AI writing assistants for a spin?
Josh Goldsmith
is a UN and EU accredited translator and interpreter working from
Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan into English. A
passionate educator, Josh splits his time between interpreting,
researching and teaching through www.techforword.com, which empowers language professionals to make the most of technology.
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Do you feel stuck with your interpreting practice? Like you're
struggling to find the right tools, speeches or practice partners?
The Interpreter's Practice Toolkit is for you!
Discover the exact tools I used to graduate interpreting school,
expand my language combination, and pass the UN accreditation exam.
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"I've always done it that way!" -- Breaking out of old habits (Column by Dorothee Racette)
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Our brains are wired to resort to tried-and-true recipes in times
of uncertainty, but old approaches are not always the most productive
choice. The work of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman has helped us
understand that our decisions are always driven by an "impulsive" and a
"deliberative" system. When we have enough time and feel calm, it is
easy to make well-reasoned, balanced decisions, but the impulsive system
takes over on autopilot when we need to make choices on the spot or
when we feel rattled. This distinction explains why it is so hard to
break out of patterns that have long stopped serving us.
In this article, I want to share a few ways to break out of
freelancing habits that make you feel stuck. The impulsive system uses
pattern recognition, which means we respond in predictable ways to
similar situations. Understanding the patterns that guide your choices
can be helpful to find a different approach.
Pattern 1: Saying yes to too many things
Have you ever wondered what makes you say 'yes' when there is a
chorus of voices in the back of your mind yelling "No! Your plate is
FULL!! You can't even handle what you already have!"? And yet, despite
feeling stressed, you calmly type a response, telling the client you
will be delighted to accept their new project.
Pattern 2: Clinging to old business partners
You know those clients everyone loves to complain about? They may
have annoying shortcomings, but you can't quite bring yourself to say
goodbye to them. And when their next project comes in (always at an
inopportune time), you accept it, even though the pay is bad, and the
work is no longer a good fit for your skills. You grumpily do the work,
and grouse to a colleague that the translation industry is going down
the drain.
Pattern 3: Playing it safe
When you have a choice between a dull, but doable project and a
more challenging work offer that would demand research and exploring a
new field, you feel doubtful. Aren't other people more qualified to take
on such a difficult project? What if you make mistakes and submit work
that is less than perfect? Suddenly discouraged, you choose to decline
or ignore the demanding offer and go for the generalist text that feels
more familiar.
Here are a few motivations the "impulsive" system may be driven by:
Worry -- Your decision is motivated by fear that a client may look
elsewhere and will never come back or that you will not be considered
when future opportunities come along.
Aspirations -- You want to be a person everyone can rely on. You
like to keep other people happy, even if it means working unreasonable
hours or accepting poor terms.
Doubt -- You are concerned that other people have higher
qualifications and can demand better client terms, but you lack X and Y
and therefore need to accept what is offered.
In a well-established business, such fears and doubts are no longer
fully justified. Giving in to their urgency means making commitments
that consume your time, but are not entirely to your advantage.
Something has to give -- typically activities with a long-term benefit
such as exercise, marketing or relaxation. More importantly, you won't
have enough time for strategic work on your business.
The best way to break out of "impulsive" decisions is to notice
when you are making them. First, give yourself a few moments before
accepting new projects. (Competitive systems that won't leave you enough
time to deliberate are a red flag).
Then look at the following factors:
What will it cost to do the project? This
may sound odd, but your labor and productivity aren't free, even though
you are self-employed. Your screen time must balance with the time you
spend with others or taking care of yourself. (This is especially
relevant if you are considering working nights or weekends). If you can,
decide on a threshold value for your screen time that will allow you to
evaluate the quality of work offers.
Is there opportunity value? Will
the work offer any opportunities for professional growth, learning,
future earnings potential, or networking? If the answer is no, will
accepting the project prevent you from doing other, more interesting
work?
Does the work fit your production schedule?
That question can be challenging to answer for large assignments. Your
scenario calculations must include potential assignments from steady
clients, your own time needs, and your tolerance for stress. Notice the
assumptions you are making about your own time -- does the production
schedule realistically allow for downtime, emergencies, and disruptions?
Asking these questions will help you assess your own value as the
"language engine" that keeps your business running. Enjoy your summer!
Dorothee Racette,
CT has been a full-time freelance GER < > EN translator for over
25 years. She served as ATA President from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, she
established her own coaching business, Take Back My Day, to help
individuals and organizations solve problems related to workflow and
time management. As a certified productivity coach (CPC), she now
divides her time between translating and coaching. Her book Complete What You Started (2020) provides a blueprint for carrying big projects across the finish line. You can read her blog at takebackmyday.com/blog.
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The power of stories! I'm not sure who told me that Earl Grey tea's
distinctive aroma comes from a substance produced by muskoxen. Yes, I
was a very trusting child, embarrassingly enough so that I believed that
nonsense deep into the tea-by-candlelight-and-incense-sticks days of my
mid-teens. Oh well. Turns out that muskoxen do produce a smell but one
that is far less pleasant, and the Earl Grey aroma is derived from the
peel of the bergamot fruit.
After this long introduction: Enter the Bergamot project,
an EU-funded project between the universities of Edinburgh, Prague
(Charles University), Sheffield, and Tartu, and Mozilla (the makers of
Firefox, etc.). One of the goals of the Bergamot project is a
client-side machine translation engine (i.e., a machine translation
engine where the processing takes place on your computer rather than on a
cloud-based server).
Now Mozilla has unveiled its first iteration of the engine in a beta version
that supports the translation of 12 languages into English. It's a
browser plugin that does pretty much exactly what other browser plugins
for machine translations of webpages do, only that the data is strictly
processed by your machine and not by some server in the cloud.
Naturally, Mozilla is very prominently touting the security aspect of
the new software. I confess that I often get kind of annoyed with this
seemingly hypocritical approach. After all, most of the cloud-based MT
engines, among them Google, Microsoft, and DeepL, assure their users
that they are not going to use their data if the users use their paid
API access -- which most professional translators do within their
translation environments. But of course, this is not a product for
professional translators -- at least as of yet. It is used to translate
webpages as you visit them (websites that typically don't have much
private data to start with), but it is also employable for forms. Forms
are essentially text boxes used for text input, much like in most online
translation environments. So theoretically one might assume that this
could be an option for the use of this MT engine in those kinds of
translation environment tools -- but since the forms translation feature
is really not yet working satisfactorily, it's hard to say whether it
ever will be useful for professional translators. So, for whom will the
Firefox MT plugin be helpful? Likely for people who browse intranets and
other non-public websites with confidential information and in
languages they can't read, and eventually for people who want to make
sure that their data entry in foreign languages is somewhat correct and
not recorded and analyzed anywhere else (as it would be if you used
publicly available MT without an API key).
Oh, and the quality of the machine translation data? In the
German-to-English combination, it's comparable to Google, Microsoft, and
co.
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