Friday, December 22, 2006

Winter Solstice Party \Party du solstice d'hiver

Around Christmas time, many people find various subtle and not so subtle reasons to have a party. I have just come back from a very special one called Winter Solstice Party which was organized by Helen and Keith of Capstone communications. As this is a third year that I have been invited, I thought I would share this rather original type of party with my readers.


Les deux hôtes travaillent dans le domaine du marketing et du créatif et ont établi un vaste réseau de contacts non seulement dans la ville de Markham mais également à Toronto et dans la province. Il s'agit d'un souper-partage (potluck dinner) auquel chaque invité apporte un plat de son choix. Ce soir, parmi les mets apportés par les quelques 60-70 invités, j'ai remarqué une très grande présence de suchi. Il y avait également de charcuteries, des plats aux légumes (couscous, aux fèves). Il y avait également beaucoup de trempettes, mais également des pâtisseries. du gâteau aux fruits (Christmas cake), des sablés (shortbread) de toutes formes, etc. Les tables croulaient sous la nourriture. À mesure que premiers plats se vidaient, Helen, les remplaçait par d'autres, l'un plus appétissant que le suivant. En plus des deux punchs (au vin rouge et au vin blanc), les vins de toutes origines se côtoyaient sur une table adjacente.


I remember the first time I attended a Solstice Party a few years back: I did not know what to do, what to say, how to behave. Experience has taught me to just be myself, be friendly, be curious and see to find out who the person opposite you is. It is amazing what variety of replies one gets to "And what do you do?"


Il y avait des gens d'affaires, des politiciens locaux, des amis de Helen par l'entremise du Club de femmes de l'université de Toronto, des membres de l'AIC , une foule de gens intéressants. Au cours de la soirée, j'ai renoué connaissance avec des gens que j'avais rencontré l'an dernier et qui se souvenaient de moi mais j'ai également fait connaissance de gens nouveaux.


There was the proverbial Christmas tree in the living room and the house was certainly decorated for the seaons but without any religious overkill. It was an occasion for people to renew their friendships and to make new friends. What a nice custom!



Thursday, December 14, 2006

MICROSOFT PEOPLE READY/Publicité boiteuse


When Microsoft started running its People Ready advertising, I wondered immediately how they would get around the French equivalent. In my experience with an international company, we often had problems rendering a vague idea into French. Consider the tag line “It’s time”. At the beginning, it referred to the fact that it was the right time to purchase a new automobile. Then, in the subsequent years, different meanings were attributed to the words and the French creative people ran into problems of finding the equivalents (there were none to be found).


Another time, emphasis was placed on a device in the trunk of a car that would allow a small child trapped in it, to open it from the inside. I remember a whole booklet being put together where in addition to the copy, a drawing of an elephant trunk, was used. That is what killed the French. Indeed, “tronc” is the appendage of the elephant but “coffre” is the box into which one can place luggage, etc. The play on words just was not possible. You can image how lame the booklet was.

Today, I opened a French magazine (L’Actualité) and found a full-page Microsoft ad, in perfect French, which read as follows:


« Dans une entreprise people XX ready, le marketing et l’ingénierie sont sur la même longueur d’onde. »


In English, people ready appears to be a play on words. My understanding of it is that people are or become ready (and therefore productive) if they are provided the right tools (Microsoft). It took me several repeated readings of the English text to understand the message.


Why does Microsoft think French speakers (and readers) in
Canada would understand the idea of “People ready” when it was left in English. If I had taken a complete French sentence and inserted an English colloquialism in the centre of it, how many French speakers would understand it?

Here is what the ad says:

« Des employés unis par des données sont des employés unis. Microsoft. Des logiciels conçus pour les entreprises où les employés sont toujours prêts. Microsoft.ca/peopleready. »


Is there a difference between people ready and ready people? There certainly is in my mind.


Bilingual creative advertising is always the result of cultural and linguistic consultation. That is why most of the ads in
Quebec are rewritten in the French context, using French themes, and personalities. Microsoft fell asleep at the wheel.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Le tour du monde en moins de 80 jours/Around the world in less than 80 days


J'ai installé il y a moins d'une semaine un compteur de visites sur mon blogue et je n'arrête pas de m'émerveiller sur la variété de mes visiteurs. Le logiciel permet d'afficher les pays d'origine des lecteurs - voici ma liste :


Canada, Belgique, France, États-Unis, Malaisie, Indonésie, Australie, Argentine, Algérie et Irlande.


Je n'aurais jamais imaginé un public si vaste, dans le monde entier. Une grande partie des visites provient du programme blogger, donc une personne faisant de la cyber-recherche. Mais il y a également des recherches ponctuelles sur certaines expressions utilisées dans mes blogues. Les commentaires sont moins nombreux - je pense que les gens hésitent de s'exprimer, même s'ils peuvent le faire de façon anonyme.


Je tacherais de chroniquer ces développements dans les semaines suivantes.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Cap guns and translation/Le pistolet à amorces et la traduction


"A cap gun or cap pistol is a toy gun...

As I was reflecting upon the mechanism of translation, I remembered how fascinated I had been, when around the age 8 or 10, I received a cap pistol for Christmas. In addition to the novelty of the item and the noise it could make, I was immediately intrigued by how it worked. I had noticed several screws in the metal and proceeded to take the gun apart, revealing the springs, ratchets, and magazine for the cap tape. Over the next while, I attempted many times to put the gun back together, without success. Finally, one day, things fell literally into place and I was able to put the gun back together.

I am realizing that translation is a bit like that too, and that may be the reason that I like it so much. Indeed, one has to completely understand the message, be able to recognize its component parts, be able to see how they work with each other, and then put (back) a translated original, making sure that the parts are similar, that they work together properly, and that the whole piece holds together.

In commercial translation, one does not always have the leisure of unlimited time but a conscientious translator will demand and allow enough time to disassemble, analyze and assemble the piece again. Machine translation can remember the parts, can line them together but so far has been unable to reason and therefore to think things through.

I have read about machine translations from English to German or Danish, which stick to the English syntax (word order), therefore completely taking the German or the Danish "spirit” out of the text. It is this feeling that one has reading some of the recent translations from Chinese into English. The words are there but the meaning has been missed. Do you wish to send out messages without "feeling"? Hire a machine, it will be fast and cheap and the reader will probably be insulted. Great for repeat business!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

A little zoom may be what the doctor asked for

Un collègue qui n'avait pas encore lu mon blogue m'appelé immédiatement pour me féliciter de mes efforts et me suggérer une petite modification. Celle d'agrandir la photo et de tourner le visage vers la droite, c'est-à-dire vers le texte. Voici ce qui est fait....

It appears as though my previous picture was turned away from the text and therefore the reader. A well-meaning colleague and friend suggested that I zoom it a bit and turn the face inward. You be the judge.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

English Advertising/Italian song/French translation


Some time ago, a new client asked me to translate the packaging copy for one of his famous chocolate cakes. The approach was to liken chocolate to love and the vehicle used were the famous lyrics from the song “Amore” , by Dean Martin (and Perry Como fame):

"When the moon hits your eye/Like a big-a pizza pie/That's amore", "When the stars seem to shine/Like you've had too much wine/That's amore", and "When the stars make you drool/Just like pasta fazool'/That's amore."

Another panel extolled the virtues of the chocolate, using Jewish humour.

The song was well-known in Canada and in Quebec in the 50’s but appeared to exist only with the English lyrics. Translating the lyrics into French might have been a solution but the translator did not feel sufficiently qualified to write poetry in French. Using English lyrics on the French panel also felt like a no-no.

What absolutely stymied me is how to render English-Jewish humour in French (for the Montreal market).

I called the client, explained my predicament and suggested that the copy be reworked. He was disappointed and thanked me for my opinion. Several days later, he called me, thanked me for my comments and told that he had spoken with a very good, bilingual friend in Ottawa who had totally agreed with my opinion.

The translation was not done but I still had a grateful client who thanked me for helping him avoid a cultural and linguistic faux pas.

Toenail Health / La santé des orteils


Biology 101: Toenails are living tissue so they grow and need trimming. Just because the spike was removed, that did not mean it won’t regrow – it did. Fortunately, the chiropodist was monitoring the situation and was able to trim the nail again.

La solution à long terme est une chirurgie locale qui consiste à supprimer au phénol une partie de la racine fabricant la portion d’ongle qui s’incarne. Cette procédure est effectuée sous anesthésie locale, avec quasi-absence de douleur et aucune cicatrice visible.

It is amazing how much one can learn on the Internet. The procedure was explained to me in English and I was able to find the corresponding French text. A text written in the original language uses the proper syntax and wording whereas a mere translation might be stilted or take the wrong point of view.

That is the reason for having technical translations validated by an expert in the target language who can vouch for the proper tone, proper terminology and syntax. Using machine translation for this sort of copy is obviously very dangerous.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

An evening at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

The construction of the building appeared to take a lifetime, so it was with great interest that I read the article in the February 2006 issue of Canadian Geographic:

After having endured years of discomfort (in the seats and on the ears) at the old O'Keefe Centre, my wife and I were really looking forward to the performance of the Canadian National Ballet, the Sleeping Beauty. We were not disappointed.

The venue feels cosy and intimate, in a way the O'Keefe was not. Light coloured woodwork and stainless steel give the place a sense of airyness. Inside the hall, another surprise: it is light beige and silver. The seats appear to be larger than those of the O'K. and have a ventilation outlet underneath them - what a clever idea!

In the past, our seats were in row T, which felt quite far from the stage. In the FSC, it felt like some 30 feet had been removed in front of us. The orchestra pit is larger and shallower but it is the sound of the music which really surprised me. It did not sound like music coming from a loud-speaker! As the Canadian Geographic article describes it, acoustician Robert Essert used a "sound-burst diagram" in which sound emanating from the stage is depicted as tiny points radiating through the hall and reflecting of its every surface. ....."as the particles reflect back toward the stage, up to 90 percent of the sound audible to the audience will have bounced off the walls".

Pendant le ballet, un petit détail: les lumières dans les allées indiquant les rangées de sièges restent allumées (par précaution de sécurité?) mais sont distrayantes. Les services techniques devraient les mettre en veilleuse.

Le spectacle lui-même s'est mérité les éloges du Globe & Mail :

Les artistes de la soirée, Sonia Rodriguez et Alexandr Antonijevic, se sont admirablement acquittés de leurs rôles et ont bien mérité les applaudissements de l'auditoire.

En un mot, une soirée bien agréable, précédée par un repas for appétissant au nouveau restaurant Tundra de l'hôtel Hilton, sis à une rue au sud du FSC.

De passage à Toronto? Ne manquez pas une visite au FSC.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Adaptation is more than translating/ L'adaptation dépasse la traduction


In 1982, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman wrote the influential book "In search of excellence" which created new approaches to business. The book served as an inspiration to many companies and its title was used for many different programs aimed at improving sales.

When GM used the title as a tagline, a challenge presented itself for the Quebec market. A translator will always look for the "official" rendering of a book in another language. I thus discovered that the book had been translated in France by "Excellence intégrale".

It was thus decided that this tagline would be used on nametags connected with this particular sales activity. I remember witnessing the meeting of two sales people, one English and one French: the French one looked at his colleague's nametag and said "you are still looking for excellence, we have found it"!

This is a typical example of the French "way of seeing things", usually as a final result, not as a process. As long as the two titles are not set side by side, each one is ok. Side by side, they can create misunderstandings.

C'est pour cette raison que lors de l'élaboration d'un slogan pour le Québec, je le crée toujours à côté de l'anglais, pour m'éviter des surprises comme L'excellence intégrale. Ainsi, pour un récent client, j'ai trouvé l'équivalent suivant :

XX company delivers more than ideas, we deliver results

La XXX : plus que des idées, des résultats


Notez la disparition des verbes et du "we".


Pour indiquer que les clients du client sont également ceux du propriétaire du site Web, j'ai modulé

ABCD: Recognized by your customers

par

ABCD : Vos clients sont nos clients!

Ingrown toenail II (Onychocryptosis)

In my first post, I was proud of myself for having found the answers on the Web. I must admit now that I learned much more speaking with Lada Milos Lee, the Chiropodist, who performed a small operation on my toe and removed the nail spike that was giving me so much pain.

An injection of anesthetic really helped as I am sure I could not have stood the pain without it.

On m'a informé que mes visites quotidiennes au gymnase doivent être interrompues pour laisser à la plaie le temps de guérir. Un suivi dans une semaine devrait donner au pédologue un aperçu de ma guérison.


Une autre leçon: surveiller son corps, et en l'occurrence ses pieds pour remarquer à temps toute modification : douleur autour d'un ongle, rougeur ou boursouflure. Les personnes à risque sont celles qui ont des ongles incurvés et les personnes âgées (c'est bibi).

Conseils: ne pas porter de chaussettes ou bas trop ajustés et porter des chaussures qui laissent assez de place aux orteils.

Monday, October 16, 2006

When ingrown is incarné

About a month ago, I remember stubbing my right toe while wearing sandals but did not think anything of it. Time went by and I noticed that the toe was sore and inflamed. To make a long story short, today I went to see my Family Clinic and was told that I had an ingrown toenail.

Some would go home and play “sick” to get all the attention they can. I went and surfed the internet to find an explanation.

In English, I found the following:

which explained in simple terms the problem, the cause, the symptoms and the treatment.

Du côté français, j’ai trouvé

It is interesting to note that the English description uses ingrown, i.e. having grown into the flesh.

The French uses the verb incarner, meaning to move into the flesh. Notice the Latin root incarnare which we find in the English word incarnate. Interestingly, English has lost the meaning of moving into the flesh, keeping the meaning to embody, to personify.

Un traducteur doit constamment être à l’affût de divergences de ce genre et trouver l’équivalent linguistique correspondant. A translator must watch out for this sort of linguistic trap and use the proper corresponding expression.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Wedding video making – Tournage d’un film d'un marriage

A cousin on my wife's side was getting married last week and his parents asked me to videotape the ceremony. I had filmed the parents' wedding some 30 years ago so it was assumed I could do it again.

Incertain de mes compétences, j'ai décidé, avant d'acquiescer, de rafraîchir mes connaissances en matière de vidéographie. Un saut chez mon spécialiste (magasin Vistek, de Toronto), j'ai appris que la cinématographie avait abandonné la pellicule de 8 mm et l'avait remplacé par un disque numérique. Les différents sites spécialisés mentionnaient également les appareils à grand disque DVD, ceux à ruban numérique 8 mm et ceux qui fonctionnent sur carte mémoire (comme les appareils de photo numériques).

Fortunately, I had one week to practice with the digicam so I proceeded to get to know the device. I downloaded a copy of the owner's manual from the Internet and went over the various operations, how to recharge the battery, how to operate the controls, and how to view the results on the LCD viewer.

La pile au lithium était à plat; il a donc fallu la recharger avant de faire fonctionner l'appareil. Il m'a fallu également apprendre comment reconnaître la condition de la batterie sur l'écran à cristaux liquides et manipuler les différentes commandes. Le caméscope dont la taille avait diminué de moitié de l'appareil que je connaissais, n'était plus muni d'une poignée et le commutateur marche/arrêt était un bouton sur lequel il fallait appuyer à plusieurs reprises au lieu d'être une gâchette, qui relâchée, arrêtait immédiatement la machine. Donc toute une série de mouvements et d'actions qui étaient nouveaux.

The weather did not cooperate on the wedding day - it was around 11-12° C and raining all afternoon long. Fortunately, most of the proceedings took place indoors, in the Eagle's Nest Golf Club House. Using information I found on the Web, I fashioned a plastic cover out of a food zip-bag to protect the digicam.

Un des principaux défis était la durée de la pile : elle n'était que d'une heure et je m'aperçus que la pile s'épuisait très rapidement au cours du filmage. Heureusement, j'ai trouvé une prise murale dans la salle et ai pu reprendre mon filmage des invités et de la cérémonie.

Fortunately, the reception hall also had a number of handy wallplugs so that I could power my digicam that way when the battery started to run down. I managed to take a number of clips of the dancing, the toasts, some of the speeches and the cutting of the cake.

Une semaine plus tard, les parents du mari sont venus chez nous récupérer le caméscope. Nous avons visionné les 18 minutes d'enregistrement ensemble et ils étaient tous les deux ravis des résultats.

Taking movies must be like riding a bike, once you learn, you never forget. It was fun taking on the assignment and realizing what good results I was able to obtain after all these years of inactivity. Is amateur digital movie taking something that I should resume doing? Time will tell.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Particle-size-analysis

A colleague sent me a request for assistance. She said:

"The bibliography in English which reads XXX(brand name) Particle Size Analysis and has been translated by Analyse de taille particulaire Helos. Is this correct or should it read Analyse de taille particule Helos or Analyse de dimension particulaire Helos? The study is in English and there is no French equivalent."

My response:
) Particle size may be translated as taille particulaire, where the last word is an adjective qualifying the type of taille (size). What is harder to tell is whether the placement of Brand XXX is correct or not. It appears to be a brand name.

2) Termium, the Canadian Government Terminology Database, gives dimension de la particule as equivalent to particle size (in the chemical structures and medication field). That, still, does not mean that taille particulaire is wrong.

3) Particle Size Analysis - An Internet search under analyse granulométrique (particle size analysis) shows that this expression is used extensively in the pharmaceutical field. There are, nevertheless, many entries under analyse des particules.

From what I understand of the context my colleague provided, "XXX particle size analysis" is to be considered as one translation unit and should be translated as "analyse granulométrique XXX".

What is extremely gratifying is to find that here is a designer who cares enough about the project to double check things she was not responsible for. It is the final result that counts.

In the automotive industry, where I spent many years, we used to call this "Do it right the first time".

Thursday, September 28, 2006

ROOT CANAL AND CROWN/TRAITEMENT RADICULAIRE ET COURONNE (End/Fin)

During the following appointment , Dr. Kubieniec proceeded with planing down the temporary crown so that there would be room to drop in a temporary crown and took impressions of both the top and bottom teeth in that area.

Les filets nerveux de la dent étant supprimés, les douleurs associées aux traitements dentaires ordinaires n’existent plus. Cela ne veut pas dire que les travaux de renforcement et de reconstitution de la dent ne provoquent pas de traumatisme. La dentiste m’avait prévenu que les sensations d’irritation persisteraient pendant 2 à 3 jours. Quelle fut mon agréable surprise lorsqu’elles disparurent dans les 24 heures suivantes!

Today's appointment saw the removal of the temporary crown and the fitting of the permanent one. Again, no pain! There was some discomfort with the final grinding and planing, but after a couple of tries, the permanent crown was dropped into place and felt like the tooth had never been absent from that position. One last check in about a month's time and I am done!

A few words about the dentist that performed this work: she is Dr. Kinga Kubieniec, a new associate of Dr. Lloyd Koutsaris, of Toronto. He has been looking after my teeth for the last 28 years and it is only because I came in on an emergency that I was asked if I would allow Dr. Kinga to do the job. An associate of Dr. Koutsaris must be a top dentist, I thought to myself. And I was right: she was professional, she was precise, she knew her stuff but she also was kind, understanding, listened to my occasional ravings, and always responded with enthusiasm and a smile.

Il faut absolument que je donne quelques précisions sur la Dr Kinga Kubieniec, nouvelle associée du Dr Lloyd Koutsaris, de Toronto, qui me traite depuis 28 ans. Étant arrivé en urgence au cabinet, on me propose ses services. Je me dis, si le Dr Koutsaris l’a choisie comme associée, c’est qu’il lui fait absolument confiance et qu’elle est une excellente dentiste. Je n’ai pas eu à regretter ma décision : c’était une dentiste de carrière, précise, compétente mais qui possède également des qualités humaines admirables : gentillesse, compréhension, attention et enthousiasme et un sourire réconfortant.

Patient/dentist and customer/professionals relationships are built on trust. Dr. Koutsaris has seen me through thick and thin and has always come through. That is what I aim to do with my professional customers - help them understand the service they are getting, provide top notch service and trust will surface all by itself.

Les relations entre patient et médecin ou professionnel et client reposent sur la confiance. Le Dr Koutsaris est passé par des tas de choses avec moi et les résultats ont toujours été excellents. C’est ce qui est mon objectif dans mes relations avec mes clients : les aider à comprendre les services que je leur rends, leur fournir une aide sans reproche et la confiance s’établira toute seule.

The result in both cases: a smile on the customer's lips. Dans les deux cas, un sourire aux lèvres du client.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Editing an English Newsletter

One of the major components of translation is revision, i.e. the detailed and careful analysis of a translation to ensure its accuracy. It is a form of editing. Traditionally, translation students learned it from their professors, employees from their company revisors. Debuting freelance translators are at a disadvantage because they do not have a second pair of eyes looking critically at their work.

I was fortunate to have had good revisors and later on carried out an extensive study of translation quality control using statistical analysis. In recent years, I have used my critical skills while assisting ATIO's certification exam candidates during their preparatory work.

In the present world of the Internet and Websites, many business people resort to E-letters and Newsbulletins to reach their potential clients. In many cases, these are professionals who have embarked on a second or third career in the independent world. They are well educated, knowledgeable and have years of experience in their field but they have, in the past, relied on writers or other staff to do the bulk of their writing. Some have discovered the advantages of speech recognition and dictate their letters. I myself have tried it and find it quite effective once you have mastered the media and the method. The problem is that people have little time to do the editing work or they are too absorbed in it to see the errors or areas for improvement.

In the last six months, I have had the opportunity to provide editorial (i.e. revision) services to several very capable independents and was amazed by their reaction. They absolutely welcomed my comments, asked for opinions and generally made me feel that the service provided was worthwhile.

What has been your experience?

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Cerveau – Université McGill – Broca, Wernicke et autres aires du langage

Je viens de découvrir lors d’un moment de cybernautisme, un site très intéressant sur le cerveau et en particulier sur le langage.

Je connaissais déjà les travaux de Broca et de Wernicke, mais ici le site en donne des explications sur plusieurs niveaux : débutant, intermédiaire et avancé. Donc, le lecteur peut choisir le niveau de technicité qui lui convient.

McGill’s site on the Brain contains a very interesting section on language. The link above will get you to the French section from which you can transfer to the English one.

Root canal treatment 2nd step – Traitement radiculaire - 2ème étape

Once this space has been cleansed, the next treatment involves filling in and sealing up the interior of the tooth. The antiseptic compound used will harden and seal the canal to prevent any bacterial reinfection.

Le canal est élargi, désinfecté puis obturé avec une pâte antiseptique qui durcira et donnera une étanchéité à ce canal afin de prévenir toute nouvelle infiltration par des bactéries.

At this stage, the tooth may be more fragile and breakable so a crown may be required. One first has to reinforce the tooth and rebuild it, then take an imprint, have an artificial crown made by a specialized lab and cement the crown in place.

La dent dévitalisée est fragile et cassante, il est préférable de la couronner. Il faut d’abord la renforcer et la reconstituer, préparer et prendre une empreinte, faire réaliser une couronne prothétique par un laboratoire de prothèse et sceller la couronne.

In my case, I actually enjoyed the procedure since there was no pain (since the tooth nerve had been removed). The traditional reaction of fear and pain created by the sound of drill was no longer there. Keeping one’s mouth open for a long time was tiresome but not painful.

Dans mon expérience personnelle, cette étape du traitement était agréable car elle était sans douleur (le nerf de la dent ayant été enlevé). Ma réaction habituelle de crainte et de douleur suscitées par le son de la fraise du dentiste n’avait plus de raison d’être. Il est vrai que rester la bouche ouverte pendant longtemps est pénible, mais sans douleur.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Root Canal / Traitement radiculaire

A recent dental emergency required a root canal treatment, which I never had had before. I decided to write several bilingual entries in my blog on the experience and at the same time illustrate some of the ways a translator goes about gathering information on his work.

Une récente urgence dentaire a nécessité une intervention chirurgicale appelée traitement radiculaire. J’ai donc décidé d’en faire l’objet de plusieurs articles dans mon blogue, ce qui me permettrait également d’illustrer le cheminement d’un traducteur lors d’un travail de documentation.

Root canal treatment is a situation in which a dentist treats the inside of a tooth, its pulp, or its nerve tissue. Both Termium and the Grand Dictionnaire Terminologique give “traitement radiculaire” as an equivalent. Whereas the word “dévitalisation” (suggested by one Internet source) is found not only in dentistry but in skin aging (poor diet, exposure to sun) and in agriculture (procedure which renders vegetables incapable of germinating).

En anglais, le terme descriptif root canal (canal de racine) représente l’objet de l’intervention. Le GDT et Termium donnent tous les deux l’équivalent « traitement radiculaire ou pulpectomie". Cette dernière enlève la pulpe pour empêcher la détérioration de ou des racines. Il est important de remarquer que dévitalisation (donné par certaines sources sur Internet) peut également se produire dans la peau humaine (sous l’influence du soleil ou de l’alimentation) ou pour rendre des végétaux ou produits végétaux incapables de germer, de se développer ou de se reproduire.

According to sources on the Internet, teeth are calcified objects that have a centre which contains their nerve tissue. This tissue plays an important role in the growth and development of the tooth, and, in a mature tooth, a sensory function (ability to feel hot and cold).

Mes recherches sur Internet révèlent que les dents sont des objets calcifiés mais dont le centre contient une pulpe (c.-à-d. un filet nerveux et de très fins vaisseaux sanguins). Ces derniers jouent un rôle très important dans la croissance et le développement de la dent ainsi, qu’après sa maturation, aux sensations de chaud et de froid qu’elle permet.

During a root canal treatment, the infected or inflamed tissue is removed so as to provide a healthy environment for the tooth. A drill or reamer are used to thoroughly clean each root canal (depending on its placement in the mouth, a tooth may have from one to four roots).

L’objet d’un traitement radiculaire est d’enlever le centre de la dent (la pulpe) pour lui redonner un environnement sain. Une fraise de dentiste est utilisée pour évider le canal dentaire, l’élargir et le mettre en forme. Selon leur position dans la bouche, les dents peuvent avoir d’une à quatre racines.

The resulting holes are then plugged with a special compound and the tooth is restored to its original shape. On obture (ou bouche) ces cavités avec une pâte spéciale et l’on referme l’orifice.

(to be continued / à suivre)

Monday, August 07, 2006

A basic rule of punctuation

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060806.wr-rogers07/BNStory/Business/home

It looks as though Rogers lost out when the CRTC ruled that:

The agreement "shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party."

really meant that the contract:

"allows for the termination of the [contract] at any time, without cause, upon one-year's written notice,"

Another possible solution would have been to rewrite the sentence in Plain English, possibly in shorter, well-connected sentences. Asking the opinon of another person, preferably not connected with the item, might have revealed the flaw.

A technique used in translation may have helped: that of writing the original message in a two-column box and the "interpretation" in the other. Each translation unit (cluster of words connected by meaning) would appear on each side of the box and should be the same.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

ATIO Preparatory Exam

Realising that some candidates are fearful of a traditional exam or may have an inaccurate picture of their proficiency, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario has for some years now had a exam preparatory course that aspiring translators can take.

It usually consists of 4 separate texts that the candidates are required to translate. Their work is then critiqued by an experienced revisor/tutor whose main purpose is to give guidance and point out areas which may need further work. My experience in the last five years has been that there are three kinds of candidates: 1) those that are competent translators and whose work would be valued by their employer; 2) those that are on a learning curve and who need to do further work to hone up their skills and 3) those that, despite their claims, are not experienced enough to provide a reliable, quality product to their customers and who cannot claim to be a professional translator.

I tutored three candidates last year and was just recently advised that one of them passed the exam and is now a Certified Translator.


Is the translator you are using a Certified Translator?

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

ATIO Admission Exam

Nancy McInnis, the vice-president of ATIO, shared with the members, in a recent issue of the newsletter "Informatio", the new steps being undertaken to better screen the competency of candidates, help them prepare for the CTTIC exam and ensure that the profession, and therefore its customers, is protected.

The exam would be made up of three sections: one on ethics, one on reading comprehension (texts in French and English only), and one on grammar (in the target language). Applicants would have to receive a mark of 70% in each section. In other words, they would have to pass each part individually, before the could be considered to have passed the exam. Then they would have to write and pass the CTTIC exam within five years of passing the admission exam. Should an applicant fail the exam, they would have to wait one year before writing it again.


Further information may be obtained at:

http://www.atio.on.ca/Main/Welcome.asp

I welcome this initiative and fully support the Board's decision. Let us hope this will remedy the situation.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Tomography for Michaelangelo?

It is amazing how my Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling reading has made me attuned to news about art and frescoes in particular. When I chanced upon the following article

(http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2106360,00.html)

on the German Deutsche Welle Website, it was like revisiting the book again. To discover that medical apparatus will be used to analyse paintings just blows your mind.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Fresques italiennes/Italian frescoes

Toronto, 30 degrés à l'ombre, facteur d'humidité de 34.

La lecture, depuis une semaine et en pièce climatisée, du livre "Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" de Ross King, est une activité qui ne demande pas d'efforts physiques. Après avoir dévoré une centaine de pages, je suis complètement absorbé par les détails sur le travail de fresques italiennes. Une idée: regarder l'Internet et voilà que je tombe sur le site très contemporain de l'Atelier Saint-Honoré, qui donne une description détaillée des techniques nécessaires, en espagnol, italien et français, avec schémas à l'appui.

http://www.atelier-st-andre.net/fr/pages/technique/technique_fresque/definitions_fresque.html#Anchor-La-3504

Pour un traducteur, c'est également une mine de terminologie. Tout à fait par hasard, je passe d'une page à l'autre et je tombe sur une page anglaise:

http://www.atelier-st-andre.net/en/pages/technique/fresco_technique/wall_fresco.html

Je remarque ici l'ajout d'un drapeau anglais. Donc, pour nos collègues anglophones, il y aura une version anglaise!

Je continue à lire le site et je tombe sur une page sur la Chapelle St-Georges, à Publier (en Savoie).

http://www.atelier-st-andre.net/en/pages/gallery/publier1.html

Suivent une série de pages détaillées sur les travaux dans la chapelle. Chose absolument étonnante est que j'ai passé plusieurs étés à Publier, dans la colonie de vacances de l'ancien Internat St-Georges (de Meudon). J'y avais été pensionnaire au début des années cinquante!

Que le monde est petit! Pour les intéressés aux fresques, voilà une source de renseignements précieux.


Merci au Père Egon Sendler!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Where an idiomatic expression is misunderstood by a non-native speaker

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060615.PARLDECORUM15/TPStory/?query=hands+wrung%2C+Bill+curry

Further to the Globe story about "vulgar gestures" used in the House of Commons, what apparently happened is that the MP who was offended, the Government House Leader Rob Nicholson , was not familiar with the expression "faire un bras d'honneur" which my dictionary describes as "to put two fingers up at somebody; to give somebody the V-sign, give somebody the finger (US)."


The interpreter made a mistake and said Italian arm, instead of An arm of honour (the literal translation of the above expression). Because of the Italian element, Mr. Nicholson felt that the expression insulted some of his Italian constituents.

There are many expressions, both in English and in French, where a particular nationality is used as a qualifier:

1) In the culinary arts, cuit à l'anglaise means boiled
2) In the world of movement, filer à l'anglaise means to take French leave (to run off or run away)
3) In sexuality, une capote anglaise is a French safe a.k.a condom
4) And a French kiss is a patin or se rouler un patin (not to be confused with the word skate, as in ice-skate)
5) In architecture, a French door is a porte-fenêtre
6) and a Dutch door is a porte d'étable
7) In clothes making, French chalk is craie de tailleur (as if all Frenchmen were tailors)
8) In geography, The English Channel is called La Manche (the sleeve) in French.
9) To go Dutch for a meal, the French says "partager les frais",
10) That's Greek to me in French is C'est de l'hébreu ou du chinois (it's Hebrew or Chinese to me).

Monday, June 12, 2006

Protect your left caudate

An recent article in the Technology section of the Globe & Mail, entitled "Wire for sound", describes the following:

"Brain-imaging studies have shown that people who are fluent in two languages use the same brain circuitry for both. This left scientists wondering how the brain differentiates between two languages.
in Britain, Germany and Japan have found evidence that part of the brain known as the left caudate helps bilingual people distinguish the language they hear and control the one they speak.

Researchers
The study involved a group of people comfortable in both German and English and another group fluent in Japanese and English, but the researchers suggest that the same system is at work in all bilingual brains.

They say their conclusions are supported by a trilingual woman who suffered damage to her left caudate. She retained her ability to speak all three, but would involuntarily jump from one to another."


As a bilingual person, I am not aware of my mental processes to that extent but I do know that if I am tired, my English is greatly interfered by French than when I am rested.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Un néologisme boiteux : carbumodulable

Voici un extrait d'un article récent paru dans Le Monde :

Les constructeurs automobiles restent réservés
LE MONDE 08.06.06 14h09
Le soudain volontarisme du gouvernement sur l'éthanol E85 provoque chez les constructeurs automobiles un sentiment partagé. Ford, qui a joué les francs-tireurs en proposant le premier des véhicules carbumodulables (Le Monde du 5 novembre 2005), capable de rouler à l'E85, voit son lobbying récompensé.
....
PSA, comme Renault, ont néanmoins promis de proposer des véhicules "flexfuel" dès 2007. Pour joindre l'acte à la parole, le président de PSA, Jean-Martin Folz, s'est rendu à Bercy, mercredi 7 juin, en Peugeot 206 "flexfuel", tandis que le PDG de Renault, Carlos Ghosn, avait présenté la veille au ministre des transports, Dominique Perben, un modèle de Clio capable de rouler à l'E85.


Une recherche sur Internet révèle que c'est le mot bi-carburant qui est le plus souvent utilisé. C'est un peu comme le mot caoutchouc qui se prononce élastique ou le beurre de cacahuètes que l'on trouve dans les magasins sous le nom de beurre d'arrachides.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Please provide a translation sample

A new restaurant opened in the neighbourhood - so do we rush to get a free sample of their food before going there for a meal? Unless they are advertising an unusual specialty, I do not think any restaurant would give way food.

Why then would a translator provide "a sample translation" of a client's job in the hope of getting the whole job? That is what happened to me today when a new prospective supplier asked me to translate a small sample of a job I was asked to quote on, so that their Montreal people can give their ok. The dark side of this can sometimes be that a dishonest client who will parcel out the text to be translated, sending out the various pieces to be translated for free to various freelancer bidding for the job, and pronto, reassemble the translated bits to obtain a completely (??) translated text.

It would be useful in these circumstances to have access to previous company French communications and to a copy of their corporate terminology. Then the only area that could be criticized would be style - which can be adjusted to suit the customer.

A graphic designer friend of mine follows the same rule when people ask for a sample design - makes sense, doesn't it?

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Are you left out or excluded?

A recent poster from the Government of Canada 2006 Census was asking passers-by whether "They had been left out? " and encouraged them to contact a special number to help them fill out the census questionnaire.

What was troubling was the French side of the poster, which asked "Have you been excluded" (Étiez-vous exclus?). Any native English speaker will confirm that to be left out usually implies a mistake or an oversight. Although the dictionary states that leave out and exclude are synonymous, native speakers will make a difference and use each expression in different circumstances.


I quickly called Elections Canada and spoke with a very understanding new Canadian clerk who took down the details of my complaint and promised to forward it to the proper authorities.

I just hope that those French-speaking citizens who read the sign did not feel Excluded, just Left out.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The power of Blogs

A colleague of mine, Donna Papacosta, viewed this page recently and in her enthusiasm wrote a very flattering piece. At the end of it, she got carried away in her French. I provided a correction. Read the full story:

http://trafcom.typepad.com/blog/2006/05/inside_the_tran.html

Moral of the story: 1) it is great to have supportive colleagues, 2) things that appear to be easy to translate aren't always so.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Challenges of multilingual media production

While discussing the challenges of the production of multilingual training films, videos, CD'S and DVD's, a prospective customer shared with me the tribulations that they encountered. When adapting material from another province or country, the customer's company discovered that settings and symbols used in the English (in this case American) original production did not produce the expected result with French (Quebec) customers. The presence of a US flag lost its significance and some of the cultural aspects of the production did not find an equivalent in the French version. A wise producer will localise its production, i.e. adapt it to its destination country.

With an Englishman as president and a New-Zelander as another executive participating in company communications, the client realised that a well-done dub would be much more effective. That is, provided that the fading of the English voice is done properly and that the main French narrative replace it completely. The communication in this form was well received by its French-speaking employees.

In my own experience, I witnessed a case where a French-speaking female actor, dubbing a female executive, decided to carry out the French "liaison" only when she liked the sound of it. (see:
http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-liaisons-L.htm?terms=French+%22Liaison%22.) In standard "broadcast" French, the liaison is done throughout, as it forms part of the speech. Our female president sounded like an uneducated hick in this presentation, not the savvy and experienced lawyer that she was. Fortunately, we noticed this discrepancy early on and were able to redub the broadcast, with the liaison performed properly.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Gerbera Daisy


This is a Gerbera Daisy; I photographed it several years ago in a quaint flower shop in San Francisco. What appealed to me were the softness of the colours and the delicacy of the petals. Research on the Internet reveals that it belongs to the sunflower family, and has some 30 species. Its habitat extends to South America, Africa, Madagascar and tropical Asia.

What is interesting is that Ontario nurseries now carry this plant and we now have two of these daisies planted in our front yard. Their colour matches that of the nearby geraniums. Our world is shrinking . . .

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Dumplings of the world, unite!

An observing and inventive marketer realized that “dumplings” exist in many countries – why not make a dumpling mould for them? I did not know, when I was asked to provide the French for the package, that the job would take me on a virtual world tour in search of dumplings.

The first use mentioned was for making Potstickers – I had never heard the word and my regular on-line dictionaries did not recognize it. A Google search brought me to Wikipedia which gave a description, the Chinese word 锅贴 and an equivalent spelled in Latin characters: Jiaozi. The French version of Wikipedia gave a detailed description of the item, stating that in France, it is sometimes called “Ravioli pékinois”. The package being made for Canada, I decided that the word Jiaozi would be more readily recognized (like the currently popular Italian porcini which is also known as a boletus or cep(e) but that is another story).

The word Piroshki was no trouble for me as my Russian family used to have them quite often when we were children. They were the baked ones, stuffed with meat and rice, as opposed to the Polish ones, which are boiled. The boiled one we called Vareniki. The only thing that I had to do is to confirm the proper spelling in French, which turned out to be Pirojkis (the j being sounded like a g – in George).

Raviolis did not pose a problem in French. The word is spelled exactly the same way. It is only when it is pronounced that the emphasis is on the final “i” whereas in Italian, I believe, the accent falls on the “o”.

Termium Plus, the Canadian Government trilingual database, provided me the equivalent for empanadas, which is the same word. Through About.com, I learned that this is mostly a Chilean and Argentinean food although other Latin American countries have their own versions of this.

I had heard the word Kreplach and knew that it was Jewish or Yiddish. What I did not know was its country of origin and therefore could not tell whether consumers in Montreal would understand it. Fortunately, 86-year –old Saul who frequents the same Fitness Centre as I was able to straighten me out: “My parents who were from Poland, used to cook these quite often” he said. “They looked like raviolis”, I said. “” I don’t know”, said Saul, “I do not eat raviolis.”

Finally, Termium gave pâtés pantins as the French equivalent for pasties, which my Canadian wife confirmed as being a type of ravioli in England (i.e. the Cornish pasty).

Will the package appeal to the Canadian multinational customers? I hope so – for me it sure was a pleasure discovering all these details. I am bilingual but it is my multilingual heritage, which helped me with this assignment.

Monday, May 08, 2006

L'aire de Broca

Pour les langagiers intéressés par la biologie, voici un lien menant à l'université McGill

O
n ne pense pas souvent à la façon dont on parle et comprend les langues - voici une explication.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Rembrandt - délicieux à croquer

Le site multilingue hollandais sur Rembrandt nous dit en anglais/The multilingual Rembrandt site gives the following copy in English :

Dec 16, 2005 until Mar 19, 2006. The exhibition Rembrandt’s Mother, Myth and Reality explores the mystery around the old woman reading the Bible. Rembrandt has portrayed this woman tenderly more than once. As early as the 17th century she was thought to be Rembrandt’s mother

et la version française dit /and the French version says:
16 décembre 2005 au 19 mars 2006. L’exposition La mère de Rembrandt, mythe et réalité explore le mystère qui flotte autour de la vieille femme qui lit la Bible. Rembrandt a croqué cette femme plusieurs fois de manière tendre. Dès le 17ème siècle, elle fut identifiée comme la mère de Rembrandt.

French in bold says: " Rembrandt tenderly bit this woman several times."

Monday, May 01, 2006

Want to fly a kite?

As a child and young adult, one of the most freeing activities that I can recall is going to fly a kite. In Toronto, all young and no so young kite fliers have a special day coming


The Toronto Conservation Authority organizes a kite flying at the Kortright Conservation Area.

Translation Fishbone Diagram


Business people, especially those familiar with
manufacturing and production, understand process charts and cause and effect charts. That is reason why I put this chart together which attempts to show the various elements that enter into a translator's work.

An exercise such as this helps to refine a process
and illustrate every discrete part of it. I hope that my detail oriented readers will enjoy it.

P.S.. I have found how to perform a spellcheck while writing this Blog. Please ask me for details. To enlarge the diagram, double click on it.

Guide pratique: Écrivez clairemement et simplement

J'ai trouvé, il y a quelque temps de cela, l'article en titre en version PDF, qui est publié par Options Consommateurs du Québec, dont voici le site web :

http://www.option-consommateurs.org/guidespratiques.html

Une page entière est consacrée aux guides gratuits dont celui sur la composition de communications. Je l'ai trouvé utile dans mes travaux mais surtout dans mes discussions avec des clients francophones dont les avis sur la façon d'écrire différaient des miens.

Il est toujours utile d'avoir une opinion des experts. À vos plumes!

http://www.francparler.com/membre_rec.php?PHPSESSID=b1e9ea17256a7a225481c5837a386b1e

Francparler

Comme je me le suis promis, je vais communiquer dans ce Blog dans les deux langues officielles du Canada. Je viens de découvrir un site appelé Francparler qui traite de la langue, de son évolution, de ses caprices et de ses inventions. Je le recommande aux languagiers et aux autres francophiles. Bonne lecture.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

ATIO Annual General Meeting - Toronto

Attended the yearly Annual General Meeting of my professional association and enjoyed seeing old-time colleagues. There were former co-workers, employees, and suppliers.The meetings venue alternates between Ottawa and Toronto. Professional training seminars were also available - in particularly enjoyed the one on Copyright and translation. This is an emerging field and ought to be watched as the globalization of business blurs national borderlines and jurisdictions.

Some of the topics covered were the expansion of the role of the translator, professional qualification and criteria and entry exam requirements. Professional conduct and defense of the customer have always been my top priorities. Education of the public at large and translation customers in particular will help bridge the gap between the practionner and the users.

The some 1400-strong member provincial association site is at http://www.atio.on.ca/

Friday, April 28, 2006

Spring vs. Springtime explanation

An English speaking colleague has asked me to explain the problem with the Spring translation. The word spring has several meanings in English: the noun can mean a place where a river is born, or the river itself, a season of the year, or, in the technical world, a helical device that changes shape (like the springs in your mattress).

While I do not know what the translator actually understood, he/she obviously chose the wrong equivalent. This most likely happened because of his lack of knowledge of English.

This has consequences not only for the translator but for the supplier of the water and Air Canada, who chose to purchase mislabeled merchandise. A French speaking customer may deduce that the airline's committment to bilingualism is not genuine and decide, next time, take another airline.

As they say, "Get it right the first time".

News for slave-drivers (Globe & Mail 28 Apr 06)


The article on page A24, says:
"Recent Windows and Mac computers ...can operate with multiple monitors, writes Ivan Berger in the New York Times. Once I saw how it improved my productivity, I was an instant convert....Survey after survey shows that ... adding an extra monitor will give your output a considerable booster - 20 to 30 per cent, according to a survey by Jon Peddie Research."

I have used two monitors for about 6 months now and can attest to this. In my case, I can display a dictionary on one monitor while my translation is shown on the other, or I can do Internet research on it. Also, because my new monitor is larger (17 in vs 14), I do not have to strain so much to see the text.

Another benefit is that while I use the main monitor for work, like when I write this blog, the second monitor shows my screen saver, in this particular case a view of the Marina Yatch Club in San Francisco, taken during my trip there in 2004.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Origin of water served on Air Canada


A colleague of mine sent me this picture taken on a plane coming back from China. I suppose the bilingual requirements were met but somehow the meaning escaped. Has anyone seen it?

P.S. In case the type is too small, the product name says Eau de printemps canadienne naturelle/Natural Canadian Spring Water.