Entry 3 - Diving In

During the week, I had to translate a section of the website that is called "About Us". Since the objective of this section is to present the workers and officers behind the organization, I learned many corporative terms and expressions. It was a challenge for me, since I don't have a lot of knowledge in the coporative world, even in French. I also had the opportunity to make pertinent observation during my first official meeting with my host.

Intonations and rhythm

This week, my meeting with my internship host through Skype has allowed me to notice differences in the rhythm of the speech between French and English. Indeed, English speakers tend to separate the parts of speech in a sentence. For example, they will pause in between the verb and the rest of the sentence. They also emphasize the verbs a lot more than we do in French, rising their tone and making the verb last a bit longer that other words. On the opposite, French speakers won't pause to distinct part of speech, speaking a lot faster and more fluently I believe. This distinction in rhythm will help me become a better English speaker since not pausing at the correct time shows that the language is foreign to the speaker.

Cultural observations

What stroke me the most this week is how time is important for English speakers, or maybe only for my host. Every minute of his day is scheduled and it's essential for him to be on time. For example, our Skype meeting was at 4:30 PM. He called me exactly at 4:30, not even 4:31. I found it amusing. Also, on our first meeting, he arrived five minutes late and left me a message to warn me, even if it was only five minutes. Therefore, English speakers are concerned about time and punctuality.

Vocabulary

Because of the technical aspect of the translation I had to make, I learned a lot of vocabulary this week. Here are some examples:

• A beacon: A beacon is a source of guidance or an inspiration. For example, the organization of my internship used a United Nations report as a guideline - a beacon - to their activity.
• A stakeholder: It is a person or a group that is concerned about an organization's actions and will be affected by its decisions. I must remember that word since it is used often in corporate business.
• Members at Large:  I had to ask my host the meaning of this expression. He told me it was a designation for members that have some privileges but are excluded from the Board of Directors. I could then search for the right expression to use in French, which is "Membres Associés."