“la parole exportée”

Today is World Environment Day, and this post will try and identify the changes that have taken place in this office, more specifically in the last 10-15 years, that help save some of our forests.

The Paperless Revolution

As someone who has been handling paper throughout my life in various forms (books, textbooks, newspapers, dictionaries, formal paperwork…), I can tell that one of the most important changes has been the shift to a paperless, or quasi-paperless office (although you couldn’t tell, by looking at my desk!). Whereas a total paperless solution is not possible yet, huge advances have been made.

Translation projects:

I used to work on big projects that were fully paper-based, involving the processing of printed copies of documents received by post or by courier. I was lucky to be able to use PC’s at a very early stage, but for practical purposes it was necessary to print many files: not only to preserve eye sight when checking translations, but because word processing wasn’t always reliable for text and picture placement. (I’ve always worked for publication.) Likewise spellcheckers, however great, don’t catch every single mistake, and it was easier to do one last quick check on a printout. Also, with the kind of translations I specialize in, style is important and I find a printed copy easier to check. Finally, one printed copy of the translation (if not more…) had to be delivered.

Interpretation projects:

This is less obvious, but until fairly recently, I was receiving huge piles of printed documents for a 2-3 day conference, with perhaps 6-8 presentations per day, sometimes both in English and in French, printed on one side. These made for very thick and heavy envelopes sent by mail. And those collections were sent to 2, 3, 4 or more interpreters at a time…

General information:

Keeping on top of what’s going on in the world is essential for interpreters and translators. Unfortunately for the printed press, I don’t buy newspapers anymore, I now read every article on the computer. Everything is fast, easy to bookmark and retrieve if necessary, and the papers don’t end up in a pile on the floor. Del.icio.us, instead of scissors, has become my best friend.

Dictionaries and Reference:

Yes, I still use dictionaries, but I don’t buy the printed copies anymore. I don’t buy printed reference books either, or only the ones that I fall in love with.

There are other components, such as bookkeeping. Although I use a software package, and the French Government is pushing for all-electronic procedures, the required archiving of invoices, receipts, etc. is still more secure on paper for a small business like mine.

Now what?

This is not enough, of course, but it’s a step in the right direction. I do print things off the Internet, but I use much less paper nowadays, and I never throw away a sheet of paper that’s blank on one side.

What about you? In what areas do you feel you are helping the environment best?

A few years ago, when my younger daughter was very much into web design, she offered to set up a website for me. We discussed it sporadically, but my list of requirements (it had to be in English and in French, to start with) grew so long that it would have taken years to complete, so we ended up doing… nothing.

I started this blog in the meantime, and to tell the truth, I don’t think that I needed a website at all. I am not overly interested in the institutional side of translation websites, there is something too impersonal and static for me there.

Yet when I started this blog I was well aware of the shortcomings in terms of official information, which is why I was glad to discover this Problogger’s post a couple of weeks ago, because it seems to match exactly what I had in mind. Darren Rowse lists 20 different types of pages to use in a blog, and I’m thankful to him for publishing it, even though not all types will find their way here. The Web is like one big library and if you browse long enough, you end up finding exactly what you were looking for.

So I’ve started experimenting with a page about my areas of specialization, and I will probably continue to customize the blog along those lines.

If you’ve been through this kind of inner debate, what kind of pages would you consider essential to a translator’s blog? Any ideas?

May 1st is a holiday in France (see post below) and I was invited to a barbecue-birthday party all afternoon and evening.

May 1st may be a holiday in France, but it doesn’t seem to be in England, and already in the morning I received a short translation with a long deadline, so I didn’t have to process it immediately.

I left mid-afternoon, but I was careful to place my gmail account on autoresponder. This way my clients and contacts get notice of how long I may be away from my desk. The message also includes instructions on how to contact me in an emergency, i.e. on my cellphone.

I have access to my e-mail account from my cellphone, using the Opera Mini browser. Those who own Blackberries, don’t laugh. I access the internet via a tiny (and not too cheap at the time) Sony Ericsson, I read my e-mails (but not attached files) and I respond to them from it. Previously I used my mobile operator’s wap access to go to the internet, but after suffering major frustration and ruining many a holiday when the ‘thing’ wouldn’t work, I’ve turned to a more secure alternative. I have had that kind of system in place for 5 or 6 years now, and it works well. So far it has allowed me to be anywhere, even at the checkout of my local supermarket, without any interruption to my business. The only place I can’t use it is when I’m actually driving, although it has patched up things between traffic jams and me.

Yesterday, as I knew only one person at the party, I spent a lot of time networking initially, but after a while I checked my e-mails, and well… there was another translation offer. Seems that in France we celebrate labor by not working (a totally acceptable proposition if you ask me), whereas the rest of the world celebrate labor by working. Another aspect of the ‘French exception’ that I totally subscribe to. And the entire French working population doesn’t stop dead on holidays either. Beware of sweeping statements.

So it’s back to work for me today. Some employees are lucky enough to be taking what we call “un pont,” a bridge between the holiday and the first day of the weekend, a.k.a. a long weekend. Not for me. That offer that I was able to accept from my cellphone has materialized and I may be well-advised to work at the weekend. Another feature of self-employed flexibility.