I’ve spent twenty years helping interpreters improve their retour (at least I hope my techniques are helpful! 😉), but I’ll let you into a little secret: I’ve hardly used my own (French) retour in ten years.
When I was last in Brussels on a temporary contract with the European Commission, I added a French consecutive retour. I was assigned to a handful of high level meetings, usually involving Ministers and Commissioners, before turning freelance and going back to the UK. I stopped working into French with the exception of a mission in Manchester (about young people and contraception!) three years ago.
Reactivating my retour has been on my to-do list for a long time, but there’s always something else that’s a higher priority, and I’m much more valuable to the European institutions as an English booth interpreter with Greek and German in my combination, than as an English booth interpreter with a French retour – after all, they have a whole booth full of French A interpreters with English in their combination!
It seems the time has finally come for me to dust off my French, though, and I’ve spent the past month working hard on it.
I’ve done all the things you would expect: listening to French podcasts, shadowing, reading blog posts and articles, noting down vocabulary, interpreting practice speeches, etc. etc. [If you want to hear more about reactivating your retour, you can listen to my podcast on the subject.]
Times have changed since I last worked so intensively on my French (I think it was 2014), and I wanted to share a couple of fun activities I’ve been playing with. They didn’t exist back in the day, because the technology wasn’t there.
You may, of course, have discovered these tricks already, especially if you’re tech-savvy. 😉
1. Sight translation – with a secret weapon
I often suggest sight translation as an exercise to help with retour training. It’s an opportunity to come up with one or multiple ways of rendering a text in your A language, and it affords you more thinking time than interpreting a speech. [By the way, I do think the word ‘sight translation’ is a misnomer, and it should be called ‘sight interpretation’ to avoid giving the impression we’re looking for some sort of ‘perfect’ version.]
If you’re a retourist, perhaps you’ve had practice sessions where you pick a text, sight interpret into your B language, record yourself, listen back, try to identify awkward passages, and then try to come up with better solutions. This is not always easy to do, and we all sometimes wish we had a tame native speaker to hand to give us suggestions (there are ways to improve your chances of success even if you don’t have a native speaker helping; I explore these in this blog post).
Now you can – at least partially – compensate for the lack of a practice partner, trainer, or coach, by using the fruit of machine translation.
Don’t get me wrong, we all know Google Translate, Linguee et al aren’t perfect, and depending on the corpus they’ve been trained on, the results sometimes have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but they can produce useful results.
Method
Here’s my new and improved version of sight translation.
Choose a text in your A language.
Read through the first paragraph.
Switch on your recording device, and sight interpret this paragraph into your B language, aiming for a smooth and confident delivery.
Copy paste paragraph 1 into e.g. Google Translate or DeepL.
Review the output. Are there any useful terms or phrases that you can steal?
Have a second attempt at sight interpreting this paragraph.
Rinse and repeat with paras 2, 3, etc.
Caveats
There are three obvious caveats:
Make sure the material isn’t confidential.
The quality of the output depends on the topic, because machine translation tools are dependent on a certain corpus of text. Some topics yield better quality results than others; for example, I recently worked on cattle farming and whisky distilling. One of these yielded markedly better results in Google Translate than the other.
If your B language is fairly weak, you will find it difficult to discern whether the output in Google Translate or DeepL is overly literal, unnatural, or simply incorrect. This technique works best if your B language is already strong, i.e. if you can’t always come up with inspired solutions yourself, but you can recognise them when you see them.
Read on for a few examples of French>English and English>French translations. You can skip to the section about flashcards if you don’t have these languages in your combination.
Example 1: Speech in French by Bruno Le Maire (France’s Minister of Economics)
This extract is taken from a speech about France’s financing of climate change measures in developing countries.
“Ces excellents chiffres démontrent l’engagement et la constance de la France en matière d’aide à la lutte contre le changement climatique. Dans le même temps, ils montrent aussi que la finance climat ne peut s’appuyer sur les seuls financements publics pour changer la donne, y compris ceux de la France qui compte parmi les principaux contributeurs à la finance climat dans le monde. Il nous faut passer à l’échelle supérieure et, au-delà de la cible des 100 milliards de dollars, mobiliser les financements de toutes sources et en particulier entraîner davantage de financements privés au service des stratégies climatiques des pays en développement. À cet égard la feuille de route issue du Sommet de Paris pour un nouveau pacte financier mondial doit nous permettre d’améliorer collectivement notre efficacité et notre impact.”
This passage contains a few challenges for retourists (although you may have encountered these expressions many times before, depending on the type of interpreting you do). I have highlighted in bold some of the phrases that you might have to give a little thought to.
Here’s what Google Translate offers:
“These excellent figures demonstrate France’s commitment and consistency in helping to combat climate change. At the same time, they also show that climate finance cannot rely on public financing alone to change the situation, including that of France, which is among the main contributors to climate finance in the world. We need to scale up and, beyond the $100 billion target, mobilize funding from all sources and in particular attract more private funding to serve the climate strategies of developing countries. In this regard, the roadmap resulting from the Paris Summit for a new global financial pact should allow us to collectively improve our efficiency and impact.”
There are some useful options here, including “commitment” (“engagement” can be a little tricky, and 90% of the time is best rendered by something other than engagement in English), “scale up”, “attract funding”, and “roadmap”.
“Changer la donne” has been translated by “change the situation”, which is quite a plain version, but gives the idea clearly.
The Google Translate version also demonstrates one of the pitfalls of this method, which is that the English translation has changed the meaning of the French, or is at the very least ambiguous. The French reads “la finance climat ne peut s’appuyer sur les seuls financements publics pour changer la donne, y compris ceux de la France qui compte parmi les principaux contributeurs à la finance climat dans le monde”; but the English makes it sound as if we’re talking about changing France’s situation: “climate finance cannot rely on public financing alone to change the situation, including that of France”.
Make sure you read the output carefully to check the meaning. If you’re having a second attempt at sight translating the passage, don’t copy anything that’s plain wrong or badly expressed! I find the translated version is often too literal or sticks too closely to the input language’s sentence structure, i.e. by all means pick up useful terminology, but don’t expect the output to give you ideal solutions for sentence structure.
One more possible problem to point out: the translation renders “efficace” as efficient. Alas, “efficace” in French means both efficient and effective. The choice of term depends on the meaning. Personally, I think the meaning here is “effective”.
Let’s compare this with the DeepL version:
“These excellent figures demonstrate France’s commitment and steadfastness in helping to combat climate change. At the same time, they also show that climate finance cannot rely on public funding alone to make a difference, including from France, one of the world’s leading contributors to climate finance. We need to move up a gear and, beyond the $100 billion target, mobilize financing from all sources, and in particular attract more private financing to support developing countries’ climate strategies. In this respect, the roadmap that emerged from the Paris Summit for a new global financial pact should enable us to collectively improve our effectiveness and impact.
Here we have a few more options: “steadfastness”; “make a difference” (for “changer la donne”), “move up a gear”.
Example 2: short passage about whisky in French
“Si cette production en quantités limitées peut être un frein au développement du whisky français, notamment à l’export, elle a tout de même un avantage, celui de répondre à la tendance actuelle du « craft ». D’autant que les producteurs français ont tendance à privilégier les circuits courts et à miser sur la transparence et la traçabilité.”
Let’s say you want to sight translate this from French into English. It may take you a moment to think of good solutions for “un frein au développement” (maybe the first thing that springs to mind is “a brake”, but that doesn’t sound right), “répondre à la tendance actuelle”, “privilégier les circuits courts”, and “miser sur la transparence”.
The risk if you’re working from French into English is that you will stick too closely to the French (i.e. copy the word “privilege” for instance). The result will be over-literal and sound unnatural.
Let’s take a look at what Google Translate gives us for this paragraph.
“If this production in limited quantities can be a hindrance to the development of French whisky, particularly for export, it still has an advantage, that of responding to the current “craft” trend. Especially since French producers tend to favor short circuits and focus on transparency and traceability.”
Now we need to assess the output.
I rather like “be a hindrance” for “un frein au développement”. You could take things a step further by looking it up on Linguee, for instance, where you would find alternatives such as “an impediment” or “an obstacle”.
“Favor” is a good solution for “privilégier” (we obviously want to avoid saying “they privilege short circuits”), and “focus on” works pretty well for “miser sur” (the literal meaning is “bank on” or “rely on”, but these are not so successful).
On the other hand, I’m not so keen on “short circuits”, which I don’t think is the most commonly used expression in English, and clauses beginning with “si” always ring alarm bells, since they’re not always true conditionals in French. If I were interpreting this into English, I would not begin with “if this production…can be a hindrance”.
Let’s take a look at DeepL:
This version has fixed the “if” problem, and offers us “short distribution channels”, which I think is clearer in English than “short circuits”. To be honest, I often go for something that emphasises local production or direct sales, since that reflects the idea in French.
Example 3: Wagyu beef, English>French
A seemingly random topic – I’m sure you will have guessed I was preparing for an assignment.
This is the paragraph I put through Google Translate.
“We also have a small but wonderful fold of Highland cattle. Our mission is to produce the best beef in the world from our 25,000-acre estate, set within the majestic highland landscape of Perthshire, Scotland which offers rich, fertile grasslands on which all our herds graze.
Established by husband and wife team Mohsin Altajir and Martine Chapman in 2011, our ethos of quality, respect and precision underpins everything we do. What should have been a hobby turned into a full blown business overnight. Mohsin was playing golf six days a week and Martine was looking for something to sink her teeth into.
They had never set foot on a farm before or been up close and personal with cattle. It was their passion for great quality produce and their love of animals that saw them move to the Highlands of Scotland and so Highland Wagyu was born.”
If you’re not Scottish, you may not know what a “fold” of cattle is. There are also a few idiomatic expressions in this text that might give you pause if you’re working into a B language.
Here is Google Translate’s version:
“Nous avons également un petit mais merveilleux élevage de bovins Highland. Notre mission est de produire le meilleur bœuf au monde à partir de notre domaine de 25 000 acres, situé dans le majestueux paysage des hautes terres du Perthshire, en Écosse, qui offre des prairies riches et fertiles sur lesquelles paissent tous nos troupeaux. Créée par l’équipe mari et femme Mohsin Altajir et Martine Chapman en 2011, notre philosophie de qualité, de respect et de précision sous-tend tout ce que nous faisons. Ce qui aurait dû être un passe-temps s’est transformé du jour au lendemain en une véritable entreprise. Mohsin jouait au golf six jours par semaine et Martine cherchait de quoi se mettre à pleines dents. Ils n’avaient jamais mis les pieds dans une ferme auparavant ni été en contact étroit avec du bétail. C’est leur passion pour les produits de grande qualité et leur amour des animaux qui les ont amenés à s’installer dans les Highlands d’Écosse et c’est ainsi qu’est né Highland Wagyu.
And DeepL’s:
“Nous possédons également un petit mais merveilleux troupeau de bovins des Highlands. Notre mission est de produire le meilleur bœuf du monde à partir de notre domaine de 25 000 acres, situé dans le majestueux paysage des Highlands du Perthshire, en Écosse, qui offre des prairies riches et fertiles sur lesquelles paissent tous nos troupeaux.
Fondée en 2011 par Mohsin Altajir et Martine Chapman, une équipe composée d’un mari et d’une femme, notre éthique de la qualité, du respect et de la précision est à la base de tout ce que nous faisons. Ce qui aurait dû être un hobby s’est transformé en une véritable entreprise du jour au lendemain. Mohsin jouait au golf six jours par semaine et Martine cherchait quelque chose à se mettre sous la dent.
Ils n’avaient jamais mis les pieds dans une ferme auparavant et n’avaient jamais côtoyé de près le bétail. C’est leur passion pour les produits de grande qualité et leur amour des animaux qui les ont amenés à s’installer dans les Highlands, en Écosse, et c’est ainsi qu’est né Highland Wagyu.”
Let’s go through the two translations and see what we can pick up:
“nous possédons” gives us a more formal version of “nous avons” un troupeau
a cattle fold is clearly a “troupeau” (or “élevage”)
“s’est transformé en véritable entreprise du jour au lendemain” works well for “turned into a full blown business overnight”
“jamais mis les pieds” is good
“contact étroit avec le bétail” and “côtoyer” could both work
I have concerns about “quelque chose à se mettre sous la dent”! It sounds as if Martine wants something to eat, as opposed to sinking her teeth into a new project. In other contexts, I might try “s’attaquer à”. What about “un nouveau défi à relever”, or simply “un nouveau projet”?
I’ve deliberately chosen not to share “perfect” versions from DeepL or Google Translate (I doubt that there is such a thing anyway).
Instead, I hope I’ve illustrated for you how I use this tool in practice. It can be a useful shortcut, because it saves time on looking words up in the dictionary or using a collocations dictionary. It can partially compensate for the lack of a practice partner or coach, but it works best if your B language is already strong, so you can filter out the dross and spot little gems.
2. Flash cards with a twist
Now let’s turn to my second technique, which is one you may very well have used when trying to add a new C language: flashcards.
Old-style flashcards (literally small rectangles of card on which you write with a pen) are as antiquated as the abacus, I suppose. Nowadays you can choose from a plethora of apps with flashy features to improve the efficiency of your revision (and make it more fun).
I’ve been familiar with some of these apps, e.g. Anki and Quizlet, for a long time, but haven’t really used them myself, since I haven’t added a C language in living memory.
However, I recently decided to help my daughter with revising biology, chemistry, and physics, and I thought electronic flashcards would be more fun than paper.
I tried Anki first, but I didn’t like the look or features. I wanted something very intuitive, quick to learn, and fun to use. So then I tried Quizlet, and loved how easy it was to add audio to the flashcards, or even images. You can even pick from a gallery of suggested images. When it comes to using the flashcards for revision, you can set them to play a matching game, or use them in a variety of different ways to learn or revise the material. The magic algorithms will ensure you spend more time on the cards you get wrong initially.
From there it was a small step to thinking “aha, I’ve been writing down vocabulary about cattle farming/barley production/distilling whisky, so I’ll create some flashcards with key words”.
Obviously if you’re working on a B language, the point isn’t to recognise and understand vocabulary in a passive language, but to be able to think of the equivalent in your B language as quickly as possible (i.e. to activate your vocabulary).
Here’s some vocabulary I was working on, related to salmon farming:
The basic version of Quizlet is free, and took me less than five minutes to set up.
You can go the DIY route and create your flashcards from scratch. Here’s an example. I’ve typed in my first two terms, finfish and halibut. You’ll see that once I typed in ‘halibut’, the system offered me suggestions for the French equivalent.
There’s an even faster way to create cards, though: use the ‘import’ function. Just copy/paste the Excel cells into the ‘import’ box:
Bob’s your uncle! The system creates 10 cards for you (or as many as you like) in one fell swoop!
Back in the day, to try to anchor this terminology in my mind and make it part of my active French, I would have reread my vocabulary lists several times (jotted down in a notebook, two decades ago, then typed into an Excel spreadsheet more recently).
My aim with the flashcards is to see the word on the front of the card and be able to come up with the French equivalent immediately, to help develop faster reflexes. Using an app is a targeted way of making improvements, since you can mark the flashcards you know well, so the algorithm only shows you the ones that still need work.
One more feature that might be helpful to retourists: you can add audio to the flashcard, to help you with pronouncing tricky words in your B language.
Now it may well be the case that everybody out there has been using these techniques for age already, and I’m behind the times. 😁 That’s OK…I’m increasingly aware that I am gradually becoming a technological dinosaur.
[By the way, if you’re interested in using AI to help you with your language learning, why not join the new AI Language Club, from the indefatigable Josh Goldsmith and Kerstin Cable? If you follow the link, you’ll find a free webinar to start you off.]
What are your fun techniques for improving your retour?
4 thoughts on “Two fun ways to work on your B language”
Hi Sophie and everyone!
I loved reading the post. It was very interesting and helpful content.
If I may make a suggestion, AI has been developing and improving quickly, so I believe there’s a new step we could add to the process you provided to take advantage of this new tool. After you “Copy paste paragraph 1 into e.g. Google Translate or DeepL,” but before you “Review the output,” you can paste the output into an AI chatbox like ChatGPT or Gemini and prompt it to “edit the text.” The AI will make it much more natural compared to what Google Translate and DeepL can do. It does make mistakes sometimes, like awkward passages, but overall, it provides amazing solutions, especially in English, the language in which it was trained.
As always, thank you again for all your help, Sophie!
I so agree with the fact that the English name for ‘sight translation’ is very misleading. I teach interpreting and I am very sensitive about the difference between translation and interpreting. When it comes to explaining the difference and introducing different modes of interpreting, I always have to ‘apologise’ for the English name for this mode. Reading a text in a different language is an act of interpreting and the word ‘translation’ has nothing to do with it. ‘Sight interpretation’ should be made official!! It is going to be my narrative now 🙂 Thanks, Ewa
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Hi Sophie and everyone!
I loved reading the post. It was very interesting and helpful content.
If I may make a suggestion, AI has been developing and improving quickly, so I believe there’s a new step we could add to the process you provided to take advantage of this new tool. After you “Copy paste paragraph 1 into e.g. Google Translate or DeepL,” but before you “Review the output,” you can paste the output into an AI chatbox like ChatGPT or Gemini and prompt it to “edit the text.” The AI will make it much more natural compared to what Google Translate and DeepL can do. It does make mistakes sometimes, like awkward passages, but overall, it provides amazing solutions, especially in English, the language in which it was trained.
As always, thank you again for all your help, Sophie!
Mauro
You’re quite right, Mauro! AI is developing so fast that there are more and more options for using it as a tool for language learning.
I so agree with the fact that the English name for ‘sight translation’ is very misleading. I teach interpreting and I am very sensitive about the difference between translation and interpreting. When it comes to explaining the difference and introducing different modes of interpreting, I always have to ‘apologise’ for the English name for this mode. Reading a text in a different language is an act of interpreting and the word ‘translation’ has nothing to do with it. ‘Sight interpretation’ should be made official!! It is going to be my narrative now 🙂 Thanks, Ewa
Agreed!