Interpreting Blunder of the Month

We are quite fond of highlighting our own mistakes to share them with our readers, so here we go. Read on for Judy's most recent not-so-great interpreting blunder.

A few months ago, I was interpreting for a Spanish-speaking witness at a relatively routine deposition for a civil litigation matter. I've done hundreds of these, but they are always exciting, challenging  and potentially contentious. There's nothing like being in the middle of five lawyers barking at each other, but alas, this particular assignment was very civil on every level.

Without divulging any details about the case (all identifying details have been changed), the deponent was testifying about a trip to a supermarket. The deposing attorney asked her about which articles she had purchased. Here's what happened.

Deponent (Spanish): Bueno, compré calabacín, zanahorias, papaya, plátanos y romero.
Judy (interpreting into English): Well, I bought zucchini, carrots, papaya, bananas and..... um, excuse me, the interpreter is drawing a blank. Allow me to briefly come up with this term. (5 endless seconds pass). Um, I am very sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but may the interpreter look up this term in an upcoming break and then supply the correct term for the record?
Opposing counsel, smiling: If the interpreter will allow it, I think I know the term. 
Judy (happy): Certainly, counsel, thank you.
Opposing counsel: It's rosemary. I believe the word you are looking for is rosemary. 
Judy: Yes, of course. Thank you, counsel. Counsel, would you please repeat the question for the deponent so we can get her full answer this time? Apologies for the confusion. The interpreter will be buying lunch.
Deposing counsel: No problem. I am craving lamb chops with rosemary.

An hour later, the deposing counsel called the firm that had hired me for this deposition and requested that he not work with anyone else but.... me. I was afraid he'd call and say the opposite, but my fears were unfounded. Turns out he was impressed with my performance, blunder and all, and it's reassuring that no one expects perfection 100% of the time: it's how you recover from potential errors that matters. I have done many depositions at this particular firm since then, and a few weeks ago, I saw opposing counsel in the elevator. He said hello, and then he said he might consider calling me Rosemary so I wouldn't forget (I won't anyway). We both laughed all the way to the top floor.

Would you care to share (that rhymes!) one of your interpreting blunders, dear readers?

Bad Habits, Part II

Junia, the American-born cat. She now resides in Vienna.

As promised, we are back with Dagy's bad habits. Many of you have identified with Judy's bad work habits, and it was lovely to hear from so many of you. Read on for Dagy's challenges.

Getting side-tracked by low-hanging fruit.  Instead of wrecking my brain about the translation of a particularly tricky sentence, I will sometimes drift off to take care of low-hanging fruit, like answering a quick e-mail or reading my Twitter stream. It's easier and also more fun.

Having too many browser tabs open. This bad habit of having countless tabs open on my browser used to slow down my previous laptop. My brand-new computer can handle it just fine, at least for now. Our techie is a strong advocate of having just a few browser tabs open. I have certainly tried, but I have not had much success. I'll keep on trying.

Excessive multitasking. I am known for having my internet radio on a French station, trying to listen to the German livestream of an interpretation of an EU session on my computer while trying to get actual work done. The obvious result: I don’t remember a thing about what I heard on the radio or the livestream and the translation takes forever. Not a very good strategy, is it?

Reading my favorite newspaper  (the German weekly “ZEIT”) on Thursday afternoons. Add my Thursday morning Yoga class and that doesn’t leave a lot of time for paid work. J

Letting the cat, Junia, hang out on the desk, which means that I am constantly picking cat hair out of my keyboard. I try to accomplish this by using my beloved Chilean letter opener with the cute penguin on the handle. I am a bit obsessed with having a squeaky clean keyboard, but I have no illusions about actually reaching that goal.

Dear colleagues: what about you? Care to share your bad habits? We'd love to hear about them. 

Source Text Blues

One of the many challenges translators face is one that many newcomers don't anticipate: poorly written source texts. We frequently get some very good questions about how to deal with awful source texts, and we thought we'd address this issue here. This is a difficult topic, and as with most business-related issues, there are few black/white answers, but read on for our thoughts on source texts and the role of the translator. 

1. We are not the language police. Stick to your role: the client has hired you to perform a specific service, which is translation, so you should focus on that (of course, there are always exceptions).  Now, if the client asks for feedback on the source text, that's a different story. Hiring a translator who then critiques your source text is a bit like hiring an architect who comes to your house to talk about the new backyard porch and then points out that you have poor interior decorating skills. Some of our trusted clients do want us to put together a list of source text errors that we might come across, and we usually put together a very matter-of-fact list and refrain from making any unsolicited comments.
2. Consider the possibility that you might be wrong. Many times, translators don't fully understand some of the sentences in the source text, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's where the international networks of linguists come in: we help each other! It is part of our job to dissect very complex documents and to produce a linguistic equivalent in the target language. However, consider this: perhaps a translator is not understanding the text (or a portion thereof) not because it is so poorly written, but because the translator has not kept up with current usage in his or her source language. It happens. Translators must consider the possibility that they are wrong, especially if they have not lived in a country in which their source language is spoken in many years. For instance,  we are very aware of the fact that the Spanish we grew up speaking in Mexico City has changed and evolved, and to stay on top of it, we read Spanish-language newspapers, magazines or books on a daily basis. Many times, certain passages initially strike us as being slightly off, but turns out that we were out of the loop!
3. Read the entire source document before you accept a project. If you feel that the source text is so incomprehensible that you can't possibly translate it, then decline the project, and do so politely. If it's a long-time client, you might want to point out some of the shortcomings of the source text, but before you say these things with iron-clad conviction, check with a trusted colleague to get a second opinion. 
4. Source texts are almost never perfect (unless you get very lucky). Expecting the perfect source text (easy to read, no strange abbreviations and acronyms, no formatting issues, perfectly written) is similar to a doctor expecting the perfect patient who describes her symptoms with razor-like precision or a CPA who expects her client to be obsessed with Excel spreadsheets. Poorly written source texts will be a big part of your life as a professional translator. Look at the bright side of poorly written source texts: any grammatical or style issues can usually be eliminated by translating the text!
5. Research before you ask/comment. Knowing when to ask the client for clarification is another tricky subject. We wrote more about that here. But before you comment on any source text, you might want to do some research about the source text in question. Google a few lines and see if your client is the author -- now, then you must really use kid gloves. We heard about a colleague who a few years ago told a client that the source text was "terrible," only to be informed that the client, a highly respected economist, had written the text herself. Our hunch is that our colleague wasn't familiar with the highly specific way of writing for academic journals, but tried to shift the blame to the source text, which brings us to the next point.
6. Stick to your areas of expertise. There's a reason we don't translate documents for the pharmaceutical industry: we are not qualified. The source texts wouldn't make sense to us not because they are poorly written, but because we lack the expertise to understand them.
7. Now, different standards apply to homemade "translations." Many clients think their foreign-language skills are so strong that they can translate the text themselves. Then they simply request an editing job from a professional translator, but oftentimes, the "translations" are so poor that you have to start over. In this case, we think it's perfectly acceptable to state that you recommend a new translation (you don't have to go into great detail). But again, be kind: the misguided "translator" might be very proud of his or her work. We like our colleague Chris Durban's line about refraining from finger-wagging. 
8. No public complaining. Don't mock a client's source text (and don't make fun of any clients, period) online or anywhere else where the client might see it. It's unprofessional. If you have to ask for clarification on a source sentence from colleagues, stick to members-only listservs or to close friends and colleagues. Never identify the client by name. 

Again, there are no easy answers, but we hope to have contributed some food for thought to this interesting topic. We very certainly don't have all the answers, but we try to be remember that we are in the customer service business. 

We would love to hear from our colleagues -- how do you deal with sub-par source texts? Have you ever said something about a source text that you wish you could take back? What's been your best/worst experience/resolution? Please leave a comment and let's continue the conversation. 

Cringe-Inducing Translation Errors (Spanish/English)

As seen in Las Vegas. Photo by Judy Jenner. 

It's time to laugh, dear colleagues! Well, or cry, or cringe, or be mortified. Have a look at these hilarious Spanish-English translation errors, mainly found on signs in public spaces, courtesy of the Huffington Post. We've been taking pictures of bad translations ourselves for years, sometimes risking our personal safety to do so  (turns out that some business owners don't appreciate this!) , and it's great that Huff Post is spreading the word, too. Perhaps the general public will start thinking more about the importance of professional translators.

We find it particularly cringe-inducing that big companies such as Starbucks have been photographed "in the act" of abusing the poor, poor Spanish language. Have a look at the Huffington Post slideshow here.

Bad Habits

It's time to confess that, not surprisingly, we have plenty of bad habits. Some of them are translation-related while others have to do with business practices. We would love to hear yours, but we figured Judy would start out with a list of her bad habits:

• Eating at my desk. I know it's good for you to sit at an actual table, enjoy a meal and not multi-task while eating. However, for one reason or another, I frequently find myself at my desk, wolfing down my miso soup or organic kale salad while trying to prevent getting food on my keyboard. This is not a very relaxing way to spend my lunch break, and I shall improve on this.
• Shiny object syndrome. While I am quite proficient at working at several projects and assignments at the same time, I do have to admit that I frequently stop what I am doing to turn my attention to new and perhaps more interesting (if not more pressing) things. I've tried to not check my e-mail every five minutes, but that does not to seem to work very well. Going after shiny objects is definitely a bad habit.
• Not getting up from my desk frequently enough. While I try to do some sort of physical activity every day (Bikram yoga, running, tennis, stretching, weight lifting), I do have a tendency to get very highly focused on some projects and tend to forget time. My unofficial goal is to get up once an hour to do sit-ups and triceps dips, but I must admit that doesn't happen that often. I must improve on this.

Next time we will bring you a list of Dagy's bad habits. In the meantime: what are your bad habits? Please share them by leaving a comment!

English-Spanish Contrastive Analysis Workshop

On April 6, well-known Spanish translator and trainer Xosé Castro will come to this side of the pond to give a full-day workshop on contrastive grammar analysis. The event will take place in southern California, at Cal Poly Pomona, to be specific. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of hearing Xosé speak at an annual American Translators Association (ATA) conference or elsewhere, you are in for a treat: Xosé's sessions are always highly informative and also highly entertaining. This event will be presented entirely in Spanish.

We are not affiliated with this event in any way, but we are merely posting this information here as a courtesy to our dear readers. Unfortunately, Judy has an interpreting project that day (at a long-planned wedding) and will not be able to assist. What a bummer! To register and read more, please visit this link.

Here are some more details about the workshop:

ENGLISH-SPANISH CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, COMMON PITFALLS AND NORMATIVE SPANISH

By Xosé Castro

Does speaking and writing correctly in Spanish matter to you? Are you interested in getting current on the RAE’s latest changes to academic Spanish since the last update in 2010? Whether you are a Spanish  translator, interpreter, journalist, educator or student, or are simply interested in improving your Spanish language skills for professional or personal growth, you will not want to miss this opportunity to update your knowledge on the latest norms and usage of Spanish.

This hands-on workshop will be conducted by internationally-renowned Spanish translator, proofreader, copywriter, and trainer Xosé Castro. This rare opportunity is not to be missed!

Location: Kellogg West Conference Center and Hotel @ Cal Poly Pomona 
Time: 8:30 – 5:00 PM
Social/Mixer: Immediately following event (Live Latin Music)

NOTE: This workshop will be conducted in Spanish.

About the workshop:

This is an introductory English-Spanish contrastive grammar analysis workshop. It will focus on common challenges translators and interpreters face when translating into Spanish, particularly in terms of grammatical structures, discursive elements, personal and impersonal styles, idioms, false cognates, loanwords and barbarisms, among others.

We will review some of the most common orthographic and grammatical pitfalls faced by translators from English into Spanish, especially when they live in an English-speaking country. 

Entrepreneurial Linguist Workshops in Europe

In Utrecht, the Netherlands.

It's official: Judy and her Entrepreneurial Linguist workshops will come to Europe again this summer -- in August and September, to be precise. While we are still working on finalizing dates, we are already talking to some associations in several countries about coming to their neck of the woods to share what we know with their linguists. There are several workshops to choose from, including Lessons from Business School: The Entrepreneurial Linguist, Pricing Strategies for Translators and Interpreters, 10 Habits of Highly Successful Interpreters and Translators, No Pain, No Gain: Active Marketing to Direct Clients, Web 2.0 for Entrepreneurial Linguists, etc. Judy can also customize a keynote speech for you. Have a look at her workshops here.

We will admit that we are a bit behind schedule in terms of setting our schedule in stone this year (it's been a crazy/busy year thus far), but the good news is that your association/organization still has plenty of time to get in touch with Judy for a late summer workshop! Judy has had the pleasure of giving workshops and classes in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, etc. These are usually a lot of fun, and it's great to meet colleagues and connect with new friends! Some workshops have included once-in-a-lifetime adventures, such learning the Scottish wedding dance. See you in Europe?

You Don't Need an Interpreter!

Those who interpret in community and court settings will probably be quite familiar with this interesting species: the person who does not really need an interpreter, but who requests one (and is certainly mostly entitled to one) anyway. We've never personally seen this happen in conference interpreting settings (or at least we don't find out, but we have heard of conference attendees who get a headset to listen to the interpreting just to see if it's good). Those who DNRNAIs (=do not really need an interpreter) can present a wide variety of potential challenges, and it also makes for an interesting interpreting assignment. Here's our take on how and why this happens and how to deal with it.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the interpreter is there to interpret and has not been retained to give an expert opinion of the person's ability (or lack thereof) to speak the language. Many times, attorneys, especially during highly contentions civil depositions, will try to pull the interpreter into the argument, asking him or her to "tell us if the deponent (the person who has requested an interpreter) speaks _________." When we are in that situation, we politely say that we are not qualified to give an on-the-spot language ability assessment  nor has it been agreed upon which criteria or scale should be used. Our advice: don't give an opinion. While you may have some insight into the person's language ability, you are probably not qualified to give an expert opinion, so you should not. Stick to your role.

Who needs an interpreter?

Now that it's probably been established that the interpreter should stay (after much bickering between attorneys or other parties), the tough part starts. For example: it is probably quite true that the person in question (the DNRNAI person) understands the source language quite well. That means that the DNRNAI person doesn't really need an interpreter to understand the question, but does need one to answer, as he or she is simply not that strong in the second language -- understanding is always easier than speaking. There are a variety of reasons for requesting an interpreter when you don't truly need one (again, there's a lot of debate as to who needs an interpreter):

• For tactical advantages in court. We've seen this a lot during divorce and custody proceedings. Sometimes things are so contentious that the parties don't want to leave anything to chance, even though they can communicate in English with their attorneys just fine. However, once proceedings start, the parties (or party) do want an interpreter, many times in the hopes that court interpreters will simplify or explain the proceedings to them, which of course we cannot.
• As a security blanket. Some parties just want an interpreter present in case they don't understand something and request the interpreter to be on stand-by. Usually the other party loudly protests this and demands that the interpreter either interpret everything or nothing. Of course everyone knows things will take a lot longer with an interpreter, which is why occasionally attorneys will kindly suggest sending the interpreter home. Again, as the interpreter, we don't chime in. We sit there, looking pretty (if we can), smile, and let the parties sort it out. 
• Because they can. Depending on the state, the jurisdiction and the type of case, people have a well-established right to an interpreter (Civil Rights Act of 1964, etc.), so many times people just want their interpreter, period. Sometimes, this can get a bit odd. Judy has interpreted for well-known business owners who've lived and worked in the United States for years, yet want an interpreter for their native language (Spanish), which is no longer their dominant language. The problem: when you interpret correctly into their native language, they oftentimes don't understand it, because English is really their dominant language. Still, they insist on answering in half-English, half-Spanish. We just keep calm and carry on.

Now, during the actual proceedings, DNRNAI persons will routinely NOT wait for the question to be interpreted, since they understand it just fine in English. They will start answering the question in their foreign language immediately, even while the interpreter is still rendering the (unnecessary on all fronts) interpretation. Usually, their counsel will instruct them to let the interpreter finish, but that rarely works (in our experience). One must be prepared for hours of constantly being interrupted. This also really confuses the court reporter, and it's one of the big problems of interpreting for someone who doesn't need an interpreter. In addition, their attorney will usually instruct them to answer exclusively in their native language and let the interpreter do the job. The problem with that is that they are no longer fully fluent in their native language and thus speak Spanglish, Denglish, etc., which is of course also challenging  on all fronts, especially since they use many terms incorrectly.

As you can see, interpreting for people who don't really need an interpreter (DNRNAI persons) is full of potential landmines, but somehow, we manage to enable communication without too many problems. What's your experience? We'd love to hear about it. 

Client of the Month

A few weeks ago, Judy had just sat down to eat her all-organic kale salad when she got a call (of course, fork was in mid-air). It was a frantic client, asking if she could come interpret at a deposition. Now. Always eager to help a client, Judy left the kale salad sitting on the table, threw her hair into a less-than-perfect ponytail, changed from yoga pants into a suit, put on lipstick in the car and drove the 3 miles to the client's office. Time elapsed between phone call and arrival: 13 minutes. Not bad. Lunch was a bag of chips in the car. The client was truly stunned that Judy showed up so quickly (living down the street and being familiar with the law firm helps), and was very grateful. For this project, the court reporting firm hired Judy, and these guys are really, really nice.

We found out how nice they are when they paid their invoice within a few days and also included a Starbucks gift certificate with a handwritten note thanking Judy for her assistance. How nice is that? We are grateful to have wonderful clients who go above and beyond -- we would have been happy with just the check, but the small gift certificate is a truly lovely gesture.

What's the nicest thing a client has done for you? We'd love to hear about it!

AIIC Event: Austrian Culture and Language

This announcement comes courtesy of AIIC, the International Association of Conference Interpreters. This prestigious association is co-organizing this event with UNIVERSITAS Austria Interpreters' and Translator's Association, of which Dagy is the secretary general.

The Albertina museum in Vienna. With horses.

A few years ago (in 2009, to be exact) the two organizations teamed up to provide a multi-day refresher course on all things Austrian culture. The Austrian language and the wonderful peculiarities of Austria may be a mystery to many who have German as a "C" language, and AIIC and UNIVERSITAS are here to help. This event  is back by popular demand, but its still in its planning phases, so don't buy your tickets to Vienna yet. If you are interested, please have a look at the AIIC events page (information available only in German). Please note that this is not an interpreting workshop. Rather, the course will focus on Austrian culture, specific language issues, politics, art, food, society, etc. Here's a link to the 2009 program.

Austria at its best.

The course will be held in Vienna, Austria, from July 8th through July 12th. The organizers need at least 20 participants to hold this event. If you are interested or have any questions, please e-mail Alexander Zigo at office@zigo.at before February 15, 2013. The course costs EUR 650 for AIIC members and EUR 800 for non-members. Course registration will close on April 30, 2013.