I wrote an article in German for the latest edition of Universitas Members Magazine, which has just been published. Thanks are due to Tamara Paludo and her editorial team at Universitas for putting together a beautiful edition of the magazine. It was also particularly satisfying to hold a physical copy in my hand before reading online. Never underestimate the haptic quality of print media!
In addition, thanks are also due to the participants at the ASTTI Financial Translation Summer Conference at which I participated and held a workshop, especially Michael Dever and Beata Marchand for all their hard work in organising the event in Spiez.
My article contains a summary about the event, as well as some thoughts about the role of the “Expert in the Lead” in human-machine translation as well as my role as an in-house embedded translator in banking supervision. Some thoughts originally came from fruitful and enjoyable chats with other participants in Spiez and on Lake Thun.
The Mitteilungsblatt also contains some really interesting articles by the speakers at Universitas’ 70th anniversary event, which I attended back in September.
Today’s tale starts back in late 2015, when I addressed an OeNB/JVI seminar in Vienna for translators from Central and South Eastern Europe. My presentation was about my first year of life translating at the FMA. I also spoke about the role of translation in the SSM, and being directly embedded in a supervisory division. I recounted my experiences as a “party of one” in establishing language services at the FMA. In my slide deck that day, I alluded to John Donne’s “No man is an Island”. Hugh Grant’s character in the 2002 film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s “About a Boy”, Will Freeman, however attributed “No Man is an Island” to Jon Bon Jovi.
Fast forward to 2024, and John Donne’s poem celebrates its quatercentenary. Recently I talked to my development coach, about how well my job title reflects what I do and my professional aspirations. I explained how, if asked, I often answered that I was a “rock star” rather than a “translator”. Or occasionally a “rock star translator”. I had cultivated the image of being unconventional (e.g. by being directly embedded in banking supervision) and working directly at the “Wordface”. In translation circles, in the last three years “SPLSU” (pronounced: Spool-soo”) has become my go to term. It gets people interested and generates greater interest than replying “translator”.
Rockstar Stadium Tour: Cancelled? Postponed?
After a while of the “rock star translator” moniker, I decided that it didn’t fit. Why? It didn’t seem appropriate any more. I didn’t want to be in danger of becoming the “washed-up” rock star. Translators are resourceful types and grow and reinvent themselves: this approach is key to longevity as a translator. Offering premium services involves constantly learning and adapting. Rock star thrash out old favourites ad nauseam – sometimes until they are far too long in the tooth. Mind you, that doesn’t stop adoring fans from attending every farewell tour due to the fear of missing out.
Turn that noise down…
Similarly, daily tinnitus management efforts render me the antithesis of the rock star. Gone are the crashing electric guitar solos and amps turned up to eleven that go with the territory. Translation and its intellectual challenge continues to drive me. This is why I have sessions with a development coach, talk with premium translators, and why I attended an inspiring conference in Spiez. Self-improvement steps are necessary for skirting the doldrums about the state of the profession at the hands of the industry.
Or getting sucked into the whirlpool of gloom and doom. I’ve charted my course – I’m the “Expert in the Lead”, rather than a mere cog in a “Machine in the Loop” or “Human in the Loop”. This approach keeps me upbeat about the profession vs industry situation. If anything, being that “one-man show” plays to my advantage, in that I am incumbent and difficult to dislodge – like a barnacle, whereas amid larger teams headcount is a more frequent issue – particular when a retirement wave rolls into view. Now is the time to seize upon and consolidate my position of linguistic leadership – rather that resting on my laurels.
The elephant in the room
I am realistic that Machine Translation will impact my workflows at some stage, but made my peace with this eventuality by settling on an expert in the lead strategy. The situation would be vastly different, if I were to resign myself to being a mere Human in the Loop. When recently appraising a proposed MT solution, I actively choose to be realistic and objective, rather than protectionist and defensive. That being said, I was cautious in my appraisal of the solution, voicing concerns about it should be used properly, and with due care. My appraisal of the situation was far less binary than a simple yes/no view that a non-linguist might take.
Not the only inhabitant on the island
My work is a complex blend of new and repeat translations. Different areas of supervision result in different translation tasks. As a supervisory authority’s remit constantly expands, borders blur and fray, while new areas emerge. By working for different “customers” you are not nearly as “cut off” and remote as you think. In terms of knowledge and skillset, I might live on in a secluded part of the main island, away from the main settlement (those of a legal background), but the Wordface is not a multi-day trek from civilisation, food and water. Similarly, my customers can find me too, and most importantly, I don’t need a helicopter in a storm or rowing boat amidst choppy seas to get off the island.
It is easy to take stable island life for granted – it provides me with everything I need: shelter, food and water (and hopefully interesting wildlife!) However, it is important not to stop exploring or to allow the grass to grow under your feet. But it is reassuring to have a spot marked as your home. However, the moment you stop exploring you become complacent, and maybe even miss out on exciting new projects.
It is good to consider my island as not being miles from anywhere or out of sight over the horizon. It is probably more sensible to think of it as an archipelago, where I enjoy distinctly warm relations with the neighbouring islands. My lighthouse might not be the tallest, or have the brightest light, in an archipelago of language technology expertise. The neighbouring islands are frequently larger and more densely populated – the working groups, professional associations, freelance translators, fellow governmental translators and terminologists, the growing gaggle of language technologists.
And then there are the contacts through blogs and social media whose “despatches” I tune into and regularly interact with. They might be a long way over the horizon, but whose message comes through loud and clear. And sometimes it is very useful to be use similar outlets to broadcast – even just to raise your flag to find out which way the wind is blowing.
Despite having a sheltered island life, it is essential to be actively involved in different communities – based on other (less) neighbouring islands. The communities on other islands help in my continuing professional development. A brief sortie can provide me with intensive training. They also provide much-needed “time off the island” in terms of working groups and speaking engagements. And of course you also have a view back to your island, rather than just the view from your island. These communities provide me with insights for understanding the sentiment of the profession and the industry. Professional alliances are essential for discussing issues of professional importance with kindred souls. They also bring together those who choose to excel, rather than subsist and stew in their own juices.
It’s good to explore…
In Spiez, Chris Durban gave an inspiring presentation. It was the first time I had heard her speak “live” after many Translating Europe Forum events online. She addressed the need for translators to visit “Clientland”. For me, Clientland involves trips away from my part of the island – and talking to the other islanders. Some work may materialise like a “message in a bottle” on the shore, but many projects need a spark. In Clientland, I push that translation should not be an “afterthought”, as it might be if outsourced. When I started out at the FMA, I highlighted a need to be agile, and move quickly between projects. Helping customers realise how, when, and why to use you is time well spent. It also prevents misunderstandings.
A man, a plan…
I returned from Spiez with a full reading list. On the flight back from Zurich, I also sketched a five point plan about getting into Clientland, based on Chris’ presentation. Here were some “quick fixes” I came up with.
Translation to a brief. I looked through my Language Services Handbook after I returned to the office. I saw that there was very little about translation briefs. I put together a non-exhaustive questions based on jobs from the last year from infrequent customers. This allowed me to compile a decent brief – especially about who you are really translating for. (It’s not Herr Schmidt or Frau Braun who e-mailed you that attachment!)
Spell out how you can best be used. In-house translation isn’t just about massive projects, but also “quick and dirty” projects – a page here or two paragraphs there. Your customers might not be fully aware of all the possibilities.
Highlight the premium nature of your service. Customers may use your services for low impact or low importance work – try to nudge them gently towards more substantial or higher impact work.
Look forward not back. There is a temptation to try to look at an Annual Report to establish emerging territories. An Annual Report is frequently quite retrospective publication. It might highlight existing areas that are thematic blind spots. However, you should also explore reliable sources regarding forthcoming developments (e.g. legal policy blogs).
Cut out the doom-scrolling. Rather than doom-scrolling through the “woe is me” content from LinkedIn or elsewhere, fill your commutes with content that enlightens, educates and informs.
Since we gathered in Spiez, I have updated the list of resources that I have made available on this website. In case you attended and don’t have the password – feel free to drop me a line!
I’ve just returned from a wonderful conference in Spiez, on the shores of Lake Thun, organised by ASTTI. The event – in reflection of Switzerland’s multilingual composition – had streams of the programme for German, French, Italian and English. I followed the English and German streams, as well as briefly attending the French into English Translation Slam (or traduell). I’m still digesting the rich programme, but have been posting on LinkedIn about the event. Over my morning coffee on the terrace yesterday, I came up with ten takeaways to communicate to my employer about what I have gained from my participation.
Being the consummate professional
The need to fight the translation profession’s corner. The conference focused on the translation profession, rather than the translation industry. There was also a presentation of a customised AI translation solution by Supertext x Textshuttle. I personally side strongly with the profession rather than the industry. I advocate an Expert in the Lead approach, championing professional expertise over Machine in the Loop or Human in the Loop approaches. In December 2023, I expressed my feelings on the matter here. While the conference might have been a “safe space” for the profession, it did remind me about who and what I am fighting for.
All translators – regardless of whether you are in-house or self-employed – need to visit Clientland. Chris Durban’s presentation at Spiez was inspirational in terms of seeing the big picture. This includes also what she calls “Visiting Clientland” – i.e. getting into the world of your clients/customers. This approach is useful for in-housers to make people aware of what a professional translator can do. I need to revise my own “Clientland” roadmap to ensure my newer colleagues know about the value I add. Currently it is the exception rather than the rule that I translate to a brief. I’ll add materials about translating to a brief into my in-house Language Services Handbook (LaSH). I will certainly revise further aspects about the business of translation itself. For freelancers the key takeaway was about running a professional business – and charging premium rather than low rates.
How can professionals steer clients about their added value
Professional translators need to heighten awareness about Barnes’ Iron Triangle regarding translation. One speaker talked about translation as “just translation“, so I engaged with her about its incompatibility with expert professional translation. Another presenter failed to land a point where they had intended to by recounting a personal translation experience. They considered browser-based machine translation coupled with a “language check” through a dumping rate to be a valid approach. Proof of how from another angle, delivering “good enough” translation is apparent all clients need. How does this takeaway apply to in-house translation? I need to ensure that people know about how best to use my services and the value I add. Unlike the stochastic parrot, I understand the figures, and scrutinise their fit – and catch mistakes/typos before a publication goes out. The approaches mentioned by the speakers above illustrate the continuing need for work on educating clients about Barnes’ Iron Triangle.
Specialise – and don’t be afraid to have very precise specialisations – or to say “No!”: From talking to other participants, it was clear that everyone has their own specialised area within financial translation. This is what makes people stand out from the crowd, and also command a premium rate. In this regard, there is also scope to say “I’m not who you need for job XYZ, but when it comes to job ABC – I’m exactly the translator you need“. Positioning yourself and selling yourself properly is far more likely to bring you success rather than “hoovering up” any job that comes your way. Part of the issue of dumping rates has also come about by poor translation – and so this makes it essential for premium translators to set themselves apart from the field by really offering a top notch service.
Build and revise your skills and habits
Reinvent your presentation technique: one presentation that worked particularly well used a Miro tableau rather than PowerPoint. The speaker “flew” around his presentation impressively – he always knew exactly where he needed to be. I’ll certainly look at Miro as a tool for future presentations. I have used it a bit as part of a Data Storytelling in the Public Sector course. I think it offers further possibilities to lift my presentations to the next level. CAMELS have a great seminar in Frankfurt in October that Christof will be speaking at.
Always be reading: receiving confirmation about a belief that you hold dear is always good. Reading about the subject matter is part of my “Always Be Curious” approach. Many presentations at the conference came with reading suggestions. They ranged from reliable websites of authorities and ministries, through to subject-specific book recommendations, and reference works. I also finally met Bettina Stoke-Borchert, the author of the Fachwörterbuch der Rechnungslegung nach IAS/IFRS und HGB, which I use regularly for accounting-related translations.
Mind your own business: while many of us connected over LinkedIn and networking is essential, one thing struck me from many of the participants, was that we “mind our own business” – in the sense that we do not try to be social media influencers. We understand LinkedIn as a tool to connect, share content, but not to the extent of it taking over our actual business: i.e. that of translating. It really shone through that I was among translators who live to translate, and turn out high quality translations – never “just translation”.
Go for the experience
Meet your heroes and heroines: I finally met Bettina Stoke-Borchert and Chris Durban in person. I have heard Chris speak multiple times online at the Translating Europe Forum. She had commented on a couple of my blogposts before now, but hadn’t expected her to remember my blog. During the conference I also got to talk to my counterpart as a German>English translator from the Swiss supervisor (FINMA). It was also pleasing that there were some younger and less experienced translators in attendance too. I also really enjoyed talking to them too – from talking about their posters, through to their starting out in-house. The boat trip and dinner on the Thunersee yielded two particularly interesting conversations.
Listen to bankers, insurers, finance professors: presenters included members of the upper echelons of banks and insurance companies – it is a privilege to be able to listen to speakers from this level of an organisation, and an opportunity that is a rare one. And being able to ask questions to speakers was a definite bonus. In addition, there were some prominent academic experts, who provided digestible overviews of various facets of finance. This was really refreshing – and I felt privileged to have this kind of access to such lectures.
Make your CPD special: The ASTTI Conference in Spiez is an institution and a tradition. The town is a place of beauty. Having been to Spiez privately as a child and an adult, it was still a very special feeling alighting from the training in the evening petrichor and walking down to my hotel. The combination of the lake view, the castle and the alpine backdrop add to it. The conference is a small and intimate one. It has a remarkably broad thematic focus spanning multiple languages for a professional audience. I enjoyed the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and left feeling happy, tired, and with plenty of food for thought. “Klein, aber oho!” or “Small is beautiful!” could be two ways to describe it.
The wrap-up
Finally a word of thanks – to ASTTI, and its team of conference organisers, for laying on such an intensive, constructive and enjoyable three days, the participants for making this such a special event and Spiez for being a wonderful location for the event. The next edition is due to take place from 1-3 July 2026 in Spiez. I very much hope to be there!
I will be leading a workshop for financial translators at ASTTI’s Summer Conference, to be held on 3-5 July 2024. This is the abstract for my workshop:
THE NEW BANKING PACKAGE (DE>EN)
The workshop also draws on practical examples from primary and secondary national banking legislation relating to banking supervision translation from German into English on subject matters that are currently in and out of the news headlines, and some of the typical communications by supervisory authorities towards supervised entities, sister authorities, or the public.
A set of exercises for consideration in small groups will cover frequently encountered issues in banking supervision translation, focusing on stylistic elements like rendering issues from German into English and differences in the primary and secondary legislation of different German-speaking countries. The exercises will also reflect the broad spectrum of activities that fall within banking supervision and focus on aspects of translation for different target audiences (e.g. fellow supervisors, employees of supervised banks, and the public).
