While my intention is not to offend anyone or underestimate the lack of intelligence or knowledge about the obvious differences between translators (a category of human professionals) and photocopiers (machines), I feel the urge to recapitulate some observational differences in a good faith effort to help understand what might be the reasons behind receiving a no for an answer from a translation service provider.
The whole truth must be told, so help me God.
1. Translators operate on the basis of biological energy that translators define as large coffee mugs and energy drinks. Our fellow photocopiers rely on electrical power to operate. (EDL or the neighborhood generator providers, a.k.a Moteur)
- 2. Translators read the data visually within the naked-eye visibility range. Photocopiers scan the document once and create replicas digitally.
- 3. No depreciation value. The higher the number of years of experience, the more valuable the translator.
- 4. Translators undergo maintenance over the weekends while they remain able to answer urgent client requests. Photocopiers will go for maintenance for a number of days and their safe return is neither guaranteed nor predictable.
5. Kicking the machine to force its operation helps sometimes. (I tried it and it works) Interacting with translators without a fair estimate of the translation value will result in a No answer. (I had to give it occasionally because things don’t work this way.)
Now, upon the facts stated above
700,352 pages cannot be translated into another language within three hours. Magic Wands coming soon, in the meanwhile stay tuned via our blog for updates.
Most people in most parts of the world speak more than one language to varying degrees of fluency, but knowing the language is one thing and translating is another. Translation is much more than the substitution of the words of one language with the words of another language.
“If I had the time, I would have translated it myself!” – We hear it every day.
Nonetheless, here at DITTO, we achieved records in both numbers and quality of translated words. While we don’t pretend to be able to operate in the speed of photocopiers, we do, however, serve our local and external clients to the best of our human capabilities.
Try us and spread the word.:)
In other words, I owe all respect and gratitude to the man who invented the Copy and Paste and made my words run at a faster pace!
Technology is altogether cool and helps simplify many aspects of our day-to-day operations and communication.
Emails definitely made the world a smaller place. Attachments surely saved us roundtrip flights in a few megabytes. However, that copy and paste feature, all-praised, all-blessed, all-gracious, Function of the hard workers, save my day.
On a random day in the life of moi, a translator, repetitions and recurrences do happen sometimes. When they do, they colonize my screen like ants coming in tons and tons of them to blur my vision, kill the joy of dealing with new words, bore me, and eventually slow down my strides.
Then gracious Gates makes a heavenly appearance and says:
“Copy and you shall paste, my child!”
Thanks Bill. I don’t know what my hands would have done without you, but I’m curious to know how far will you go. Are you guys considering extending this marvelous function to other aspects of our life? Will it come a day when I will be able to cut myself from a present location and paste the same self into a different place? How about copying my winter wardrobe into storage to make room for the pasted summer attire! And when the other speaker doesn’t comprehend the meaning of my frontline statement, will you copy my concepts and perceptions and paste them in the same order and manner so they think, believe, and see the same?
If you consider these aspirations of mine to be way too imaginary, please do not panic as this too may be possible. We made it possible at DITTO! Not only that, but we’re also good enough to show you how we are capable of conveying an idea from one language into another in a way easily understood by a native speaker. Meaning copying and pasting is our thing too.
Therefore, please allow us to help you acquire the technique of transference that we achieve linguistically and then we shall wait for you to apply it technologically.:)
Let me rephrase. How many times have you addressed an email message and you never received a response?
Just when you decided to break up with your “evil” partner who seldom dignified you with the answers you deserved and you finally resolved to shift the focal point to your career, you sit at your computer and you start applying for jobs. One day, two days, three days, you wait, you wait some more, you wait too long, you wait in vain, and here we go again, you’ve got no mail!
Then you think to yourself “Tu quoque, Brute? Life is so unfair!” Is it?
Whether life is fair or not; it is about the reality of what has happened. Life may not be fair, but life is life and life has its rules. Did you abide by the rules? If you tell me “Only fools play by the rules”, I will sue you for misappropriating my copyrighted doctrine without quoting my name. In other words, I have invented this unorthodox mindset, but applying it in the professional life is another story. Failing to comply with the professional email etiquette is a deadly end to your story. So…
Dear Translation Job Seeker,
My name is Ditto Translator. I come from the Resumes Container Land and I would like to share with you few tips that might help you increase your chances of receiving responses to your emails.
Prior to tackling the content of your application, the first thing you might have to reconsider is your email account name.
Whether you were honored with the Miss Pageant title or won the hearts of Hercules and King Arthur, sending from your “Invincible babe”, “Sweetie Pie” or “Ammoura Sammoura” accounts is not an option.
Whether you have six pack abs or your whole neighborhood sweats at the sight of you driving your Harley Davidson, sending from “007 Bond” or “Abu Hadid el Batal” is not an option.
It only takes few seconds to create a new account. Have you done it yet? Good. Now, let’s talk about the content.
If you start your email with “Dear Sir”, don’t be surprised if you receive a reply with “Dear Spammer, I have just deleted your email. Love, Ma’am.”
If you don’t know the name of the Human Resource person, it should go without saying that you should know the name of the company you are addressing. Greeting with “Dear Messrs Company Name” is a good start.
The following body could be a brief introduction or a small paragraph that serves as a concise cover letter. Whatever you choose, please make sure you start with a Capital Letter and you finish your sentence with a period.
The metaphorical phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” does not apply here.
If you want to be considered in the Translator Idol competition, remember that your application email will be your first writing audition.
Finally, please end your email with a “Thank you”, “Sincerely”, or “Best regards”, and then give your FULL name. Ending with “Bye bye or ciao” will cause your application to go with the wind. Please don’t go with the wind, we want you on board.
Thank you for reading my letter.
Sincerely,
Ditto Translator
We don’t need to learn Greek to know that Greece is not only about ouzo, olive and feta cheese.
Greece is the cradle of civilization from ancient times, the origin of drama and philosophy, the land where democracy was born. Greece is the basis of the European culture and of almost all the European languages.
Speaking of which, did you know that word “Europe” is Greek and that the Greeks named the continent? The word “Europe” is derived from Euros and Opi. Euros means Wide and Opi means the eye. The word Europe translates into “as much as the eye can see”. This probably explains why we kept reading, “Europe without Greece is like Cheeseburger without Cheese” before it entered the European Union.
Greece is also the place where West meets East, and Arabs have always favored Greece as a vacation destination for its Greek music, food, and culture that incorporate aspects of the Arab world as well. You will no doubt sample a Greek kebab whilst you are in Athens.
While trying to learn more about this colorful country, I asked a fellow translator from Greece to describe what Greece is to her in one word. She said, “In only one word: “Θάλασσα” (pronounced “Thalassa”). It’s the Greek word for the sea…And I use it in a literal but also in a metaphorical way.”
“The Greeks, more than any other people in the world, have remained mariners throughout history. Their lives are bound up with the sea; it is a love affair, an inseparable couple, two inseparable elements of life.”
I have to say Ditto for that! Ditto? Now, what does this word mean?
In (Ancient) Greek, the masculine adjective “dittos” (διττός) means “double”, the neuter form of this adjective is the well known “ditto” implying the duplicate usage of certain things. “Ditto” is a slang word related to the Latin “dictum.” Its use implies copying or reiterating an idea. This makes sense as DITTO Translation Agency reiterates your ideas and texts back to you in other languages.
On this etymological knowledge occasion, kindly note that DITTO Translation Agency is currently looking for Greek translators to work on various translation projects in legal, medical, and marketing fields. Please send your Curriculum Vitae to info@dittotranslation.com
And if you are wondering, a curriculum vitae (singular form, noun), meaning “course of (one’s) life, (vee-tie or vi-tee) is a document that gives much more detail than does a resume about your academic and professional accomplishments.
On a final note, I would like to finish by friendly reminding you that Criteria is the plural form of Criterion, hence Criterias is absolutely incorrect.:)
The Mobspeak is the secret anti-language that the Mafia created using cryptic words to exclude outsiders and hide the activities of The Familia.
For instance, there are over twenty words for the verb “Kill”.
If someone were to disrespect The Family’ somebody might do a “piece of work on” him. He could get whacked, erased, burned, clipped, iced, or hit — just to name a few.
Following is a Mobspeak lexicon that should help fellow subtitlers when translating mafia movie scripts:
INDICATIONS AND USAGES: USE ONLY IN THE TRANSLATION FIELD.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: THIS LEXICON IS CONTRAINDICATED IN TRANSLATORS LIVING IN PLACES FREQUENTED BY MOB FIGURES.
A Friend of Ours: Mob shorthand for introducing one made guy to another made guy. “A Friend of Mine” is just another jamook on the street.
Administration: top-level “Management” of an organized crime Family—the boss, underboss, and consigliere.
Babbo: A mafia term for an underling who is considered to be useless – you don’t want to be one of these or your days may be numbered.
Big Earner: Mafia lingo for someone who makes a lot of money for the family.
The Books: A phrase indicating membership in the Family. If there is a possibility for promotion, then the books are open. If not, the books are closed.
Boss: Head of the Family who runs the show. He decides who gets made and who gets whacked. The boss also gets points from all Family business.
Cafone: Peasant or lower-class.
Che Bruta: How ugly you are.
Che Peccato: What a pity, what a shame.
Clock: To keep a person under surveillance.
Code of Silence: Not ratting on your colleagues once you’ve been pinched—no longer a strong virtue in organized crime families.
Come Heavy: To walk in carrying a loaded gun. You should not have lunch with a Russian drug dealer unless you “come heavy.”
Consigliere: The counsellor to the boss.
Contract: A murder assignment.
CW: FBI shorthand for Co-operating Witness.
Do a piece of work: To murder; see burn.
Don: The head of the Family; boss.
Family: An organized crime clan, like the Genoveses, the Gottis, or the Sopranos.
G: A grand; a thousand dollars; also see large.
Guests of the State or Guests of the Government: Going to prison, doing time.
In the Wind: After you leave the Witness protection program you are “in the wind,” meaning you are on your own somewhere out there.
Made Guy: An indoctrinated member of the Family. Essentially, you pledge your allegiance to the boss and the family for life. To even qualify, your mother has to be Italian.
Mobbed up: Connected to the mob.
Moe Green Special: Getting killed with a shot in the eye, like the character, Moe Green, in The Godfather. One form of “sending a message.”
OC: FBI talk for Organized Crime.
The Program: The Witness Protection Program.
Rat: One who snitches or squeals after having been pinched.
Schifosa: Ugly woman.
Spring Cleaning: Cleaning up, hiding or getting rid of evidence.
Through the Eye: A message job through the eye to say “We’re watching you!”
Va Fa Napole: ”Go to Naples” (i.e., “Go to hell.”).
Please keep safe and decent.
Yes, we all bleed red, but did you know that blue-skinned people exist?
If you happen to hear from someone of usually normal intelligence insisting they saw little blue men, they did not lose all their mental faculties. They might actually be right.
We are not talking about the Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs) or the Navi’ people in Avatar, we are talking about real blue people who have existed here and there in the real world.
Blue skin is caused by a rare disease known as hereditary methemoglobinemia, or met-H. Methemoglobinemia is a condition in which the blood carries less-than-normal amounts of oxygen, making the blood appear blue. It is a recessive gene and can only occur if both parents happen to carry it.
You might want to read about the blue Fugates of Eastern Kentucky if you haven’t already.
Some of us are born blue and Caucasian babies are born blue-eyed.
Some play the blues and white artists sing blue-eyed soul songs.
Some linguists enjoy collecting slang terms, but idioms are my blue-eyed favorites.
Here is a list of blue-based idioms that I would like to share on a blue-sky day like this.
Blue around the gills
If a person looks blue around the gills, they look unwell or sick.
“You should sit down. You look a bit blue around the gills.”
Blue chip company
This term refers to a company with a solid reputation for the quality of its products and the stability of its growth and earnings. “It’s usually safe to invest in a blue-chip company.”
Blue in the face
If you do something until you are blue in the face, you try unsuccessfully to do something for a very long time.
“I explained the situation until I was blue in the face but she wouldn’t change her mind.”
Scream blue murder
Someone who screams blue murder shouts or complains very loudly as if something very serious has happened.
“The crowd started screaming blue murder when the football match was interrupted.”
Blue-eyed boy
A blue-eyed boy is somebody’s favorite e.g. he’s the director’s blue-eyed boy!
Out of the Blue
If something happens out of the blue, it happens unexpectedly.
Blue collar
It means someone who is a regular everyday hard working person.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea
If you are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, you are in a dilemma.
Once in a Blue Moon
This just means that something rarely happens. For instance, if you never see someone drink a beer and then one night they drink a beer. You could say “Wow that only happens once in a blue moon.”
Finally, if you are Feeling Blue or Having the Blues, Let Doris Day help you Shake the Blues Away. Enjoy!:)
“Where are the gentlemen gone?” Marisela asked looking at her friends for answers.
“Probably they all immigrated to Japan,” Natasha laughed.
“I think they’re all gentlemen until you scratch the hiding skin away,” Jennie wised them up.
“To me, the genuine gentleman is he who reflects nothing but authentic gentleness in his attitude towards the other people.” Lissa sighed. “I will explain,” she added trying to reassure the bewildered faces of the bounty hunters women. 
The definition of the gentleman should be translated beyond the context of “Let me light your cigarette (and I hope you will make it to Heaven sooner)”, “Let me open the car door for you (and I will kill you if you will flick the ashes in my Lamborghini)”, “Allow me to pay the bill now (and cancel the second outing attempt)”
“Gentleman-ness”, as far as Lissa is concerned, lies in the power of mastering the combination of the ultimate supreme human values: the Middle Age French nobility with the acknowledged German honesty-humility-chivalry attitude; the word “gentleman” being formed by combining the French and Old English components – the French “gentle” and the Germanic “man”.
The gentleman achieves harmony with the woman. Harmony is like a stew that cooks in a made of water, salt, vinegar, and fire. The gentleman harmonizes them, brings them into equality with seasonings, compensating for what is insufficient and diminishing what is too strong. The gentleman serves it to the woman and thus calms her soul.
However, if this ideal was only attainable for a very select few, then it would be wise not to dispense with the conventional gestures of apparent politeness. Better would be to learn how to say them in different languages to cater for the needs of women of different nationalities.
When you charm works and you wind up tying the knot, remember that DITTO will be happy to translate all your official documents into several languages.
Good luck and see you soon!
Why am I writing an article about Argentina?
Because a close friend of mine is cheering on the Argentina team in the World Cup 2010 and asked me if I could write a “GO GO ARGENTINA” kind of blog. 
So here I am, staring at the screen, with my finger poised over the middle of the keyboard and a blank expression on my face. What do I know about the Argentina team? I think Maradona is a great player. Period.:) Excuse my ignorance about football as I had an intensively Barbie-focused childhood and I have been favoring language-oriented and culturally-relevant activities as an adult, but I won’t leave you empty-handed. Here are some football expressions and idioms that have become commonplace in everyday English in the UK, and many people now use language borrowed from the world of football without even realizing it.
Kick it into touch
Football: When a footballer kicks the ball into touch, he puts it out of play and concedes a throw in. Non-Football: often used in conversation to mean cancel, reject or quit something.
Kick off
Football: Term used to describe the start of a football match Non-Football: It can mean the start of trouble or a fight.
Play it safe
Football: A team that plays it safe doesn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Non-Football: To be careful. Someone talking about a meeting or project might talk about getting the ball rolling (starting it), kicking an idea around (passing it from person to person to see if it is any good) or giving a job their best shot (putting a lot of effort into it). There are negative phrases too; perhaps you will hear complaints because the management has moved the goalposts (made unfair changes without warning). Maybe someone could find themselves in trouble if they let the side down and a person who makes a problem for themselves has scored an own goal. May the best team win!
Once upon a time, in a far far land, a British nation used the expression “French leave” when referring to an absence or leave without asking permission.
To return the compliment, a French secret agent went on distributing flyers promoting the expression “Filer à l’anglaise”.
Rumor has it this game amused the Italians as they circulated the idiom “Filarsela all’inglese” from Sicily to Sardinia.
To keep the balance, the Spanish added to their native idioms the expression “Despedirse a la francesa” to mean leaving without saying goodbye.
Then every nation lived happily ever after.
Obviously, this is based on an untrue story, but aren’t you curious to learn idioms based on nationalities and countries?
Here are few idioms I came across in the learning process.
Pardon my French: This is a swear word or asking apology.
French leave: To take leave without permission or saying goodbye.
It’s all Greek to me: If you don’t understand anything, then it is Greek to you. (Here in Lebanon, we say “It’s all Karshoune to me”)
Chinese whispers: It is just inaccurate information passed on from person to person such as scandals or rumors.
Dutch courage: It is reckless courage got after drinking too much of alcohol.
Young Turk: A person who is young and rebellious, and a very difficult person to control. (Being a distant descendant of a Turkish immigrant, I confirm.)
To go Dutch or Dutch treat: splitting bill between everyone after eating in a restaurant. (In Lebanon, we say “Sherke Halabiyeh” that translates into “an Aleppo Partnership”)
Slow boat to china: This describes something that is very slow and takes a long period.
Scotch mist: This is something not existing and only imagined.
Like Chinese arithmetic: This phrase refers something that is very complicated to understand.
Indian file: This means one after another.
Indian summer: This phrase refers to warmer weather condition.
If you know other idioms on nationalities and countries, please enlighten us.
Say the word Hawaii and many things come to mind. Palm trees, white sand beaches, surfboards and swimsuits…
If you’re considering basking soon in the warm sun on the pristine beaches with fragrant local flowers placed around your neck while enjoying contemporary Hawaiian music, sipping a tropical drink and sampling pupu (appetizers) in a nice little lounge chair on the beach or at the bar, and gazing out at the clear azure waters until the sun sleeps beneath the ocean, you might want to learn some Hawaiian words – as if you needed another reason to visit Hawaii – but anyways, I’m just happy to serve.
Ae (eye): The Hawaiian translation for yes, to consent or agree.
A‘ole (ah-oh-lay) The Hawaiian translation for no, not, or never. Most common use: No.
Aloha (ah-low-ha) The Hawaiian translation for hello or goodbye; signifying affection, sympathy, kindness and love. Aloha is the spirit of friendliness and hospitality.
Braddah: Brother; Bro.
Eriding: Everything; all of it.
Hana hou (ha-na ho) The Hawaiian way to ask for an encore after a performance, or to say do it again. Most common use: To do it again.
Jalike?: Would you like to (do something)?
Hele (hey-lay) The Hawaiian translation for go, walking, or going. Most common use: Go.
Kai (ky) (with ky as in sky) The Hawaiian translation for ocean or the sea.
Lani (la-nee) The Hawaiian word for sky, the heavens, or heavenly. Most common use: the heavens or heavenly.
Mahalo (ma-ha-low) The Hawaiian translation for thank you.
Maika‘i (my-ka-ee) The Hawaiian translation for good, fine or excellent.
Pehea‘oe ? (pay-hay-ya oy)? The Hawaiian meaning for “How are you?
Enjoy your trip and keep me posted!:)
