Vol. 49 January, 2005 |
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Happy New Year
Maybe this will be the year that I lose that five pounds, remember my mother-in-law’s birthday, and notice my husband’s haircuts. Or maybe not. As I ring in 2005 with good intentions and worthy goals my perspective will be broader. Our prayers for tsunami victims and their families remind us that life is fragile. Can I live each day to the fullest and realize how richly I am blessed? I charge into 2005 loving my family, enjoying my colleagues at McElroy, and appreciating our translators and clients. I think I’ll forgo the more specific resolutions. |
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ACTFL Launches 2005: The Year Of Languages At Annual Conference
December 6, 2004, Alexandria, VA – More than 5300 foreign language educators celebrated the kick-off of 2005: The Year of Languages at the 38th Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, November 19-21 in Chicago, IL. Addresses from French Ambassador to the U.S. Jean-David Levitte and U.S. Ambassador Michael C. Lemmon, Dean of the School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute, applauded ACTFL’s leadership for taking the initiative to coordinate the year-long campaign to heighten public awareness of the critical importance of language learning. Keynote speaker Chief Red Hawk, co-founder of the United Indian Nation, Inc., highlighted the role of heritage and indigenous languages in American culture. More information is available at www.yearoflanguages.org. Read more... |
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In this issue:
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Here’s to your Health – Cheers!
January promotionIf this is the year that you resolve to lose 5 pounds, gain 5 pounds, increase your cardiac endurance, build muscle mass, increase flexibility or just plain sweat regularly this promotion is for you. This month McElroy is offering a Bally’s annual fitness membership, or the equivalent membership at a fitness center of the winner’s choice. Bally’s is one of the largest, most experienced health club chains in North America with over 400 clubs located in 70 U.S. cities and Toronto and with clubs recently opened in South Korea, China & the Bahamas. Check out www.ballyfitness.com for more information. This membership is valued at $500. Click here to enter our January raffle.
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This article by Maurine McLean appeared in the January 2005 “AATIA Letter,” the newsletter of the Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association. Olympic, Paralympic Interpreter SpeaksSteve Mines shared his recent experience interpreting at the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games with AATIA’s Interpreter Special Interest Group meeting December 11. The official languages of this year’s games were French, English, and Greek, so hiring preference was given to interpreters who had one or several of these as active languages. Relay interpreting was also used when, for example, a Mongolian athlete was asked a question by a German-speaking journalist. Some 200 hired interpreters covered communication needs at hundreds of competitions, press conferences, administrative decisions, and appeals before the Court for the Arbitration of Sport on questions such as athlete eligibility for a given event, as well as sessions of the International Olympic Committee. Interpreters were issued cell phones for last-minute assignments and changes, since the language needs of medal ceremonies could not be predicted with certainty or much advance notice. The Olympic interpreting experience mimics that of the athletes—there are long waits, furious preparation, and brief flashes of intense performance. Interpreters were supplied reference brochures and terminology glossaries for each sport and had access to websites throughout the grounds to help them acquire background information. However, an interpreter would not likely understand all of nuances and politics behind each sport event, as Mines realized when he found himself assigned to interpret a press conference for an equestrian event that was won by a rider on an Andalusian horse, to the great consternation and even unbridled hostility of the defenders of traditional Hanoverian horsemanship, a group that even included other Olympic interpreters. Many jobs were in consecutive mode, often with relay interpreting, thus increasing the importance of the accuracy along the communication chain. Steve recounted moments of high emotion, as when he interpreted a press conference for the Brazilian marathoner who lost his lead when attacked near the end of the course by a crazed spectator, causing him to come in third and win bronze. The dramatic, unexpected attack and the athlete’s quick reaction and recovery stole the limelight from the gold and silver medalists, making the Brazilian runner the true Olympian hero of the final day at the Games. Steve described the Paralympics as having “all of the energy and twice the amazing heroics of the regular Olympic games, as the disabled athletes broke world records and overcame their physical limitations to achieve true feats of greatness.” The most notable contrast was shifting from the spectacle of very young athletes with near perfect bodies to working with athletes of varying ages whose physical disabilities included amputated or congenitally deformed limbs, blindness, and palsy. Competitions were adapted in inventive ways. Steve described a soccer game between blind athletes who play with a ball that makes a sound as it rolls on the ground, so players can run after it and kick and score. All players except the sighted goalies wear eyemasks to equalize their level of visual impairment. Crowds are hushed by the announcers with the cry, “Silence! Ball in play!” For a free kick, the official taps a coin on the edges of the goalposts so that the blind kicker knows where to aim. When asked if he would accept a similar interpreting assignment again, in the intense heat of an Athens summer, under the pressure of working on so many different vocabularies, in the spotlight of press coverage, and with the far-flung commute from Austin, Mines said, “In a heartbeat!” We hope he’ll be working in Beijing in 2008. —Maurine McLean |
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This article describes a very real challenge that our translators face daily. Language is always evolving and rules change. When preparing translations for use outside the U.S. translators must know when techincal terms are more acceptable in English than their foreign language counterparts. Marketing materials which rely heavily on nuance and tone can pose even greater challenges. Translators are challenged to make choices which bridge the gap between protecting native language and evolving with prevalent usage. December 21, 2004
BERLIN JOURNAL A Snappy Slogan? In German? Don’t Smile. Try English.By RICHARD BERNSTEINBERLIN, Dec. 20 - Not long ago, Lufthansa, the airline, made a bit of news when it changed its slogan from “There’s No Better Way to Fly,” in English, to the German, “Alles für diesen Moment,” or “Everything for This Moment.” What was the German national airline doing with an English slogan aimed at its German clientele in the first place? Who knows really? But whatever it was doing, many companies in Germany have used English, or some mishmash of German and English - the not very beautiful term for this is Denglish, a combination of Deutsch and English - to appeal to their German customers. Now, as the Lufthansa example illustrates, there are some signs of a reversal, or, at least, the German press has reported on a few other companies reverting to the language that the population of this country actually speaks. The chain of perfume shops called Douglas (a German company, pronounced DOO-glahss) went from “Come in and find out,” to “Douglas macht das Leben schöner,” or “Douglas makes life more beautiful.” Similarly, German McDonald’s switched from its previous slogan, “Every time a good time” to “Ich liebe es,” German for “I love it.” Certainly, McDonald’s could have used its current English motto, “I’m lovin’ it,” here, and everybody would have understood. But lest you think that there is a paradigm shift going on, McDonald’s competitor, Burger King, went the other way, from the German “Weil’s besser schmeckt,” “Because It Tastes Better,” to “Feel the Fire,” in English. In fact, the news here in the land of Goethe, Schiller and Thomas Mann is that Denglish is on the march, and, as always, there are people who find it amusing and others sort of tragic. A private company in Hanover, Satelliten Media Design, in conjunction with Hanover University, keeps track of one key aspect of the entire mixed language phenomenon, annually tabulating the 100 words most used in German advertising. In the 1980’s, only one English word made the list. The word, a bit improbably, was “fit.” By 2004, there were 23 English words on the chart. The first four words are still German - wir (meaning we), Sie (you), mehr (more) and Leben (life). In fifth place is the English “your,” followed farther down the list by world, life, business, with, power, people, better, more, solutions and 13 more. The situation seems to be similar pretty much everywhere in Europe and in many other parts of the world as well. And everywhere there are those who care deeply about protecting the native language and others who feel that languages have always borrowed from one another. And, anyway, what, in a democracy, can you really do about it? The Nazis tried to invent more German-sounding words to replace the many Latin-root words that had crept into German over the centuries. Nobody seems to be complaining today that interesting is “interessant” in German, as it is in French, or that floor is “etage,” and that when audiences clap, they “applaudieren.” Regarding Denglish, it’s not hard to see the appeal of English, its ability to provide a kind of quick verbal punch, compared with the polysyllabic nature of German. That’s probably why, on the cover of the newsmagazine Focus, the health headline was about your “Herz-check,” your heart checkup, the standard German word for check being the more dilatory “Untersuchung.” Deutsche Telekom, the phone company, used to use the phrases “German calls” and “City calls” in itemizing phone bills, though these days, apparently in consideration of those people in this country who prefer their bills in Goethe’s language, it uses the terms Deutschlandverbindungen and Cityverbindungen. There are mysteries in this, not least of them why that’s Cityverbindungen rather than the more purely German Ortsverbindungen. But this is not a subject where rigor and consistency prevail. Why does the popular Chinese restaurant on Berlin’s Kantstrasse call itself Good Friends, rather than Gute Freunde? Why, in an opposite sort of example, do the posters for “Phantom of the Opera” call it “Das Phantom der Oper,” when, in this particular instance, everybody would understand the original English? Who knows really, but one can guess. In the subway station at Savignyplatz in the old West Berlin, there’s a poster advertising a nearby shop for “Tattoos and Piercing.” The German word for tattoo is Tätowierung. There is a word for piercing, “Hautstechen,” but nobody uses it. Maybe the store owners thought that clients would find German a bit staid and formal for those particular services. The truth seems to be that English is hipper and quicker in general. Almost all pop music is in English, whether sung on the radio or by the high school rock band practicing in the garage. At the other end of the culture, English is the everyday language of the European Union. If you bump into somebody at the supermarket cashier, it’s a lot quicker and easier to say “Sorry” (pronounced with a guttural “r”) than “Entschuldigung,” with its four syllables (though, of course, many Germans do say “Entschuldigung”). Still, for many Germans, it seems a lot simpler and maybe more cheerful to say “Happy Birthday,” than “Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag,” which sounds a bit like a streak of Hegelian metaphysics. Or, if you are promoting a retail bonus points program, would you call it HappyDigits, or would you, in the interests of linguistic authenticity, invent a German term, maybe “Fröhliche Zahlen?” Doesn’t seem quite as catchy. But how to explain the Denglish verbs? Smalltalken, brunchen, mailen, floppen, managen, abcoolen and many others? These are not used to save syllables or avoid complexity. They are simply in vogue, whether for better or worse. For the verbs, linguistic globalization, or, if you prefer, linguistic imperialism, seems the only explanation. |
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ACTFL Launches 2005: The Year Of Languages At Annual Conference(continued)This initiative is intended to emphasize and celebrate the benefits and value of language learning! Educators across the country recognize that there has never been a better time to focus public attention on the personal, professional and cultural benefits of gaining proficiency in English as well as other languages. ACTFL and other organizations will coordinate a comprehensive schedule of events and activities at the national, regional, state and local levels. |
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TRADOS and McElroy Translation Team Up to Support Global Non-Profit(continued)
“As a translation service provider, we’ve always been about bridging language and cultural differences,” explained Shelly Orr Priebe, general manager of McElroy Translation. “We’re happy to share our success by helping those in most need around the world to bridge economic and social gaps and to become self-sufficient, contributing members of the global economy.” Founded in 1968, Austin, Texas-based McElroy Translation has its roots as a small family business, growing to become a success story in the translation and localization services industry. As the industry evolved, TRADOS has helped McElroy to stay on top of the competition by enabling the company to reach new heights in efficiency and speed without sacrificing the company’s reputation as a premium quality service provider. Extending that successful relationship, McElroy Translation is currently assessing how TRADOS TeamWorks, an industry-first localization process management solution, can combine with its proprietary workflow system ELJOTS® to cut project cycle times and localization costs as well as to increase collaboration and efficiency—thereby driving customer satisfaction and operating margins. “We’re thrilled that McElroy approached us with this opportunity to team up with them for such a great cause,” added Mike Kidd, vice president of sales for TRADOS. “Of course, we’re proud to be able to contribute to the mission of Trickle Up, but to be able to partner in a common interest with such a loyal and long-standing customer like McElroy makes it even more special.” About McElroy Translation McElroy Translation Company has provided technical, scientific, and legal document translation services to and from all languages for 36 years. From historical roots in Austin, Texas, as a family business, McElroy Translation has emerged as an industry leader in translation and localization that enjoys high-profile visibility and a reputation for excellence. Please visit www.mcelroytranslation.com for more information. About TRADOS The worldwide leader in globalization software and services, TRADOS empowers multinational organizations to speed the delivery and improve the quality of multilingual content to global markets. Through software that captures, stores, analyzes, standardizes, and reuses chunks of previously localized content, TRADOS has enabled 3,500 corporations—including Microsoft, IBM, Deutsche Bank, Wal-Mart, Sony, John Deere, and others—to reduce costs and drive greater revenues with a more efficient and accurate globalization process. More translators, localization service providers, and companies use TRADOS products than all competing products combined. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, TRADOS has offices worldwide. Please visit www.trados.com for more information. About Trickle Up Founded in 1979, the Trickle Up Program’s mission is to help the lowest income people worldwide take the first step up out of poverty, by providing conditional seed capital and business training essential to the launch of a microenterprise. This proven social and economic empowerment model is implemented in partnership with local agencies. |
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McElroy Profile – Laurie Marder - Proofreader(continued)Despite how seriously she takes her work with words, photography is still her first love, feeling most at home either behind the camera or in front of PhotoShop. She has hundreds of strong photographs, primarily of musicians, patiently awaiting exposure. She usually volunteers for South-by-Southwest (SXSW) where the scope of her interest has expanded beyond music to include a fascination with film, thanks to three “movie extra” experiences, the first of which was in her own backyard—literally! On a more personal note, Laurie has been an ethical vegetarian for 15 years (she likes cheese far too much to go vegan), lives with her three beloved kitties, and is an unmarried “law school widow” to her punk-rock drummer/history-fanatic/special-ed teacher-turned-1L boyfriend. Her mother, now a Brit-by-marriage, met her Manx husband on-line 3+ years ago and has been living on the Isle of Man ever since. Although Laurie has never been overseas, let alone to the Isle of Man, she hopes this will be the year she finally puts her own passport to use! What is next for Laurie? Assuming that she isn’t going to be a professional proofreader forever (or even for the rest of her natural life), and barring paying photography gigs or sneaking back into historic preservation, a master’s degree in educational psychology may be her next pursuit. |
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Country Profile Switzerland(continued)Dress
Gifts
Helpful Hints
Especially for Women
-- Excerpted from the “Put Your Best Foot Forward” series by Mary Murray Bosrock. These publications are available for the U.S., Asia, Mexico/Canada, Russia, Europe and South America. |
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