eSense 13 - September 2008

eSense
SENSE’s digital newsletter
Issue 13 September 2008
In this issue:
New SENSE-ITV team member Helen West
Workshop reviews:
Making psychological sense
Met de billen bloot
The Task of Revision - how to edit commercial texts
Book review:
How to report statistics in medicine
Plus:
Translate the index or index the translation?
A look back at the launch of SIG FN
New members
And much more on the SENSE website!
Note from the Editor: To follow the links in this issue from a “Read
only” file, such as Adobe Readable pfd, you may need to hold the
control key down [Ctrl] while left mouse clicking on the link.
SENSE walk
This year’s annual walk in Eindhoven on Saturday 21 June was an education in old and modern
architecture. Find out more in Jean Vaughan’s report.
Translate the index or index the translation?
Pierke Bosschieter
Indexing is a vak apart, even though most people in the publishing trade don’t realize this. This attitude is especially common in Holland, but even in the UK and the US, editors
and authors usually think of indexing as a boring menial task that can be done by hitting a few keys on your computer’s keyboard. Nothing, however, is further from the truth.
Indexing is an exacting science that involves analyzing the text and translating it into succinct and to-the-point index entries.
Indexing has a long history in English speaking countries where there are professional associations for indexers and special courses and training programmes. The Nederlands
Indexers Network (www.indexers.nl) was started here just a few years ago. One of its main purposes is to promote awareness about indexing. As a member of NIN, I had this
goal in mind when I wrote an article after the Dutch publisher Nieuw Amsterdam asked me to provide the page numbers for a verbatim translated index to Saul Friedländer’s
“Nazi-Germany and the Jews”. It first appeared in the German journal Information Wissenschaft & Praxis in November 2007, but it will also be available on my website www.
isbnindex.nl in the near future. The article is also available on the SENSE website.
A look back at the launch of SIG FN
Robert Olsen
SIG Far North, whose members include Pierke Bosschieter, has just celebrated it first anniversary. Robert Olsen’s article looking back at the launch of this now firmly established
group can be found on the SENSE website.
The SENSE workshop Practical Copywriting on Saturday 1 November
Sue Henry
Write effective copy for different media. Copywriters use proven techniques to sell products and services including
their own. But not all sales materials are the same. What’s more..? Much more; follow the link, read on and sign up today!
Book review: How to report statistics in medicine
Ed Hull
Statistics are frequently used to report medical data, but many authors, researchers and editors working in medicine lack confidence and skills in this area. Ed Hull reviews How
to report statistics in medicine, a book designed to help editors, peer reviewers and readers understand statistically-based scientific reports.
Making psychological sense - SenseMed workshop on 18 April 2008
Dave Thomas
This fully-booked event was held at the familiar Park Plaza Hotel in Utrecht. Yet
as one participant said afterwards, it was definitely not a typical SENSE event.
Rather than learning lots of new information, the emphasis was on raising
awareness of various medical translation issues and in one session literally
experiencing medical practice.
Seasoned speaker Simon Andriessen (Director of MediLingua Medical Translations
BV) kicked off the event with a presentation on back translation, a process
designed to check the accuracy of medical translations against the source text.
This often laborious and expensive process involves translating the translation
back into the source language as literally as possible. This so-called back
translation is then compared to the original source text as a means of assessing
the quality of the translation. Simon’s conclusion was: back translation is here to
stay but may not be the most effective form of quality assurance.
SenseMedder Jim Caulfield literally allowed us to experience the challenge of
psychology. In a highly memorable performance, Jim played the role of an
autistic 17-year-old, while (nurse) Daphne Lees played the role of his mentor
at a day care centre. For a brief moment we could literally enter into the world
sketched by the dry psychological descriptions that some of us are used to
translating.
After lunch, Arnoud van den Eerenbeemt from Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum took us
behind the scenes of the Pinkhof Geneeskundig woordenboek. Over the course
of several decades, this medical dictionary has evolved from a paper-based
product to a large, complex electronic database published in many different
electronic and paper forms.
We were then treated to an overview of DSM IV, the “bible” for mental health
diagnosis presented by Josefien de Bruijn and several more sessions on
psychology by Jim Caulfield. The day closed with a proposal for a SenseMed
portal by Dave Thomas.
The strength of the SenseMed network was reflected by the fact that most of
the workshop participants adjourned to the Park Plaza bar at the end of the day.
This relaxed atmosphere was later continued in the surroundings of a nearby
Tandoori restaurant where we sampled the delights of an Indian buffet. A meal
with plenty of variety and therefore an appropriate ending to a workshop that
had such a diverse menu.
Helen West
The SENSE-ITV Editing Course team was recently joined by Helen West, one of the founder members of
SENSE. Helen will be teaching the course alongside Ruth de Wijs, and will replace Jackie Senior, one of
the original designers and teachers of the course, who is retiring.
Helen West has worked in the Netherlands as a freelance editor, copywriter and writing trainer since
1979. She works with technical specialists and managers on structuring documents (substantive editing),
editing for clarity and conciseness (readable writing), and copy editing. Her assignments are highly
varied and include technical reports and proposals, manuals, guidelines, scientific papers, speeches and
presentations, and website content. Clients are also varied and include the European Commission (in
Brussels), Netherlands Ministries, Multinationals and Companies, Universities and Research Institutes.
Another string to her bow is writing marketing and public relations communications for
multinationals, companies and government organisations. Helen has experience in writing
annual reports, customer and in-house newsletters, brochures, websites, speeches, voiceovers,
press releases, and trade fair displays.
Against this background, it was only a short step to training in writing and editing. Helen
designs and conducts in-house workshops and individual coaching on clear, concise writing in
English for managers, consultants, engineers, scientists and other professionals. Workshops
are conducted in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia and the Balkans for professional staff working
on the European Commission projects, and for major companies and research institutes in the
Netherlands.
Australian by nationality, Helen West was born and grew up in Papua New Guinea. She was
educated in Australia where she graduated from the University of New England. After teaching
in high schools in Australia and United Kingdom, she lived in Nigeria for three years before
moving to the Netherlands in 1979.
Effective Information Packaging Workshop, 30 May 2008, Utrecht
Tony Cunningham
Mike Hannay repeated the workshop he first gave last November for SENSE members. Read all about it in Tony Cunningham’s report.
The Task of Revision - How to edit commercial texts
Vivien Cook
Ever considered attending one of Lisa Friedman’s workshops in Amsterdam but don’t know quite what to expect? Read Vivien Cook’s report on the SENSE website.
Advertisement
SENSE event: Queen Victoria High Tea and a guided tour of Breda
What: guided historical walk followed by a Queen Victoria High Tea consisting of: chicken salad sandwiches, crab salad sandwich rolls, smoked salmon & scrambled eggs, fried
fish in batter with Rochester sauce, pickled herrings, mozzarella cheese & tomato, bacon & leek flan, turkey pie, scones, muffins, marmalade, honey, cakes, chocolates, fresh
fruit with yoghurt & sour cream, Victoria sponge cake and a glass of champagne.
Who: VVV guides and Dickens & Jones.
When: Sunday, 16 November 2008 at 12 noon.
Where: outside VVV Breda near to NS railway station.
Costs: €15 pp - any other items ordered are at participants’ own expense - feel free to bring a friend.
Contact: e-mail John Edmund Hynd by preference at johnedmund25@aim.com or dial 040-2920701 and leave a message on the voice mail.
Wine tasting - wining (and dining) in Nijmegen
Steve Schwartz
Something non-work-related, something that was actually fun, and in a social context. Read
Steve Schwartz’s report on the SENSE website.
Met de billen bloot - Teamwork workshop, 20 June 2008, Park Plaza Hotel, Utrecht
Alison Gibbs
The workshop set out to provide practical guidance on revising translations. Dik Huizing, deputy head of the European Commission’s Dutch Language service in Brussels, opened
the day with a lively and interesting presentation on how the principles the EU applies to translations and revisions/reviews have developed over the 30 years that he has worked
in the field. His presentation included examples showing the gap that sometimes exists between the ideal of what should be done and the reality of what can in practice be done.
Clearly even an organization the size of the EU sometimes has to opt for pragmatism rather than perfection. Many of us certainly also recognised the phenomenon of one reviser
taking something out, only for a second reviser to put it back in.
We spent the rest of the morning in groups of four revising translations done by people in other groups. The aim was to draw up a series of guidelines that we could use when
revising our own and other work. Before starting we spent a few minutes discussing our experience of revision, either as freelancers or employees of translation agencies or
other organizations. The extent to which translations are revised seems to vary greatly and bear little relationship to organizational size. Some organizations and translators insist
on everything being revised, while time and capacity constraints often force others to accept significantly lower degrees of revision.
After lunch it was time to do justice to the title of the workshop and have the other members of our group revise our individual translations. Having to tell group members why
you would alter their translations was certainly more difficult than hiding behind “Track Changes”, but luckily everyone in the group was as good at taking advice as giving it.
As with many workshops, the most useful part of the day was the opportunity to discuss with other professionals, both at an individual and group level. Although we were
broadly able to agree on many guiding principles and our responses to the various statements that were used to provoke discussion during the practical sessions, we all had our
own ideas on when it is time to stop making changes, what the translator can be expected to check and what the responsibilities of the original author or reviser are.
All in all, a useful day, and one where I enjoyed spending most of the time discussing rather than translating. There was little specific discussion of the European standard for
translation services (EN 15038) that was introduced two years ago. Then again, SENSE members had the opportunity to find out more about that in the previous issue of eSense.
Press release - Teamwork’s new, interactive website launch
Teamwork PRO
PERSBERICHT
Bunde, 22 september 2008
Teamwork lanceert nieuwe, interactieve website en start meteen met de eerste cursus van het nieuwe seizoen
Voortaan online informatie over en registratie voor workshops en cursussen van Teamwork
Teamwork organiseert al ruim 15 jaar cursussen, workshops en congressen voor professionele vertalers en tolken. De informatievoorziening en registratie voor de evenementen vond tot nu toe plaats via papieren inschrijfformulieren, maar sinds 18 september werkt Teamwork helemaal digitaal. Dat begint met een speciale eendaagse cursus over
Engelse interpunctie: "Leestekens: geen punt!".
De nieuwe website geeft niet alleen informatie over alle activiteiten van Teamwork. Iedereen kan via de site voortaan ook zijn of haar eigen gegevens beheren. Dat betekent
dat alle persoonlijke gegevens op een afgeschermd deel van de site kunnen worden ingevoerd en gewijzigd en dat het niet langer nodig is voor elk afzonderlijk evenement
opnieuw alle gegevens door te sturen. Het is bovendien heel eenvoudig om bijvoorbeeld het eigen e-mailadres voor de mailings of de werktalen aan te passen.
De eerste cursus die via de nieuwe website is aangekondigd, en waarvoor de inschrijving sinds 18 september is geopend, is "Leestekens: geen punt!". Het is een nascholingsdag voor vertalers Engels-Nederlands en Nederlands-Engels die alles willen weten over de huidige conventies op het gebied van de Engelse interpunctie. Het is een heel
praktische dag met inleidingen en workshops met professor Mike Hannay. De dag vindt plaats op maandag 3 november en wordt herhaald op vrijdag 14 november. Meer
informatie over deze cursus vindt u op de website.
Wilt u geheel vrijblijvend op de hoogte worden gehouden van de cursussen en workshops van Teamwork? Ga dan naar de website, klik op Workshops & cursussen en vervolgens op “Mailinglijst” U kunt zich dan registreren voor de mailinglijst. En wilt u zich later weer uitschrijven? Geen enkel probleem: u bepaalt zelf of u al dan niet informatie
wilt ontvangen.
Website: www.teamwork-vertaalworkshop.nl
E-mail: info@teamwork-vertaalworkshops.nl
Editors note: eSense has neither translated nor edited this release. This has to do with the fact that we received this release at the layout stage.
New
members
Every issue, eSense introduces
members who have recently
joined SENSE. The newsletter
team would like to extend
a warm welcome to all new
members.
SENSE membership is
open to English-language
professionals. Native speakers
of English may become full
members; others may become
associate members. The annual
membership fee includes a
subscription to the Society’s
electronic newsletter. For
information about membership,
contact SENSE’s membership
secretary, Brigid de Wals.
If you would like a full list of
SENSE members, or just the
list of freelancers, then please
contact SENSE’s membership
secretary.
You can find many of the faces
behind the names on the e-mail
forum on the SENSE website’s
Names & Faces page.
Corbin Collins
Haarlem
Self-employed editor and author, Partner at Wordarts VOF
(technical and scientific subjects, fiction)
Vivien Doornekamp-Glass
Barneveld
Freelance translator and editor (art)
Fiona Lake
Amsterdam
Freelance copy editor (education, environment, ethics)
Anna Penta
Rotterdam (rejoined)
Translator EN-NL, editor, writer (software, Internet, dogs, cooking)
Lynn Packwood
Enschede
Project Manager HMI, University of Twente (medical, computer science)
Yvette Blankvoort
Wassenaar
Freelance translator (legal, financial)
Prilly Haroen
Utrecht
Senior Editor International at Rabobank Nederland (business-to-business, banking,
pharmaceuticals, food, hospitality management)
Kari Koonin
Reading, UK
Freelance translator (technical documentation, environment, health and safety, IT),
member of ITI and CIOL
Anne Marieke Booij
Hoofddorp
Freelance translator (general, subtitling), member of NGTV
Nicolette Cameron-v.Driel
The Hague
Translator at NUFFIC (higher education, IT, finance, tourism), associate member of
Institute of Linguists (UK)
Petronella Kievit-Tyson
Leiden (rejoined)
Policy officer/English editor at Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities
and Social Sciences (NIAS) (medical, humanities, social sciences)
Pamela Coombe
Amsterdam
Freelance trainer/editor, director of Real English (business, financial, legal, general)
Zoë Yule
Amsterdam
Freelance editor (science (biosciences), literature, arts), member of Society of Editors
(QLD) and Aus. Science Communicators
Hedda Archbold
London, UK
Chair of Hidden Flack Ltd (film and media)
Bard Jansen
The Hague
Interpreter/translator at Blankvoort en Jansen Translations & Copywriting (legal university
training)
SENSE
SENSE is the Society of English-Native-Speaking Editors in the Netherlands. Established in 1990, SENSE has over 300 members who specialize in editing, translation,
copywriting, journalism and teaching.
Executive Committee
Chair - Peter Melville
chair@sense-online.nl
Forum Moderator - Tony Cunningham
forum-moderator@sense-online.nl
Membership Secretary - Brigid de Wals
membership-secretary@sense-online.nl
Newsletter - Lesley Langelaar-Thomas
editor@sense-online.nl
Programme Secretary - John Hynd
programme-secretary@sense-online.nl
Secretary - Susan van der Werff-Woolhouse
secretary@sense-online.nl
Training Secretary - Sue Henry
training-secretary@sense-online.nl
Treasurer - Francis Cox
treasurer@sense-online.nl
Webmaster - Lesley Walker
webmaster@sense-online.nl
Editors -
Graphic Designer - Vicky Trees
Newsletter team
Managing Editor - Lesley Langelaar-Thomas
Hans van Bemmelen
Liz Cross
Brian Jones
Dave Thomas
To access previous issues of the newsletter or any files referred to in this or other newsletters, visit the eSense page in the members-only section of the SENSE website.
Readers are encouraged to contribute articles, letters, reports and other items of interest to SENSE members, such as stories or anecdotes about professions involving the
English language or about the English language itself. Please e-mail your letters, comments and articles to the editor.
Please send copy no longer than 500 words. Guidelines for submitted copy is published on the SENSE website and largely follows the Economist style guide with Oxford
English spelling. Materials originally published elsewhere must include the source and the date of publication. Copy deadline for the next newsletter: 15 December 2008.
Tip of the iceberg
•
•
Add SENSE’s 18 April 2009 AGM to your diary: a fun experience you should not miss. Read our next issue to find out why.
How should the talent and expertise of SENSE members be promoted? eSense, in an interview with EC member-at-large Ruth de Wijs, tackles promotion.