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Writing for an international English-speaking audience

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 18:04:14 GMT

Writing for an English-speaking international audience - a guide

“World Flags”- Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Introduction

English is a widely established language and the common denominator for communication at international level. However, there is still plenty of scope for misunderstandings, misinterpretation and confusion which could cause the reader’s attention to wander or to switch off altogether. As a result the message may be diluted, information lost and your hard work may not get the appreciation and acknowledgement it deserves.

Here are some essential points you should bear in mind when writing in English for an international audience. It is a wide-ranging subject and my list is by no means exhaustive, so it is likely I will return to the topic or expand on one of the sub-topics below in subsequent blog posts.

Know who you are writing for

More than 1.35 billion people worldwide speak English and only about 360 million of those are native speakers. Most of these people therefore speak English as their second language . If you are marketing a product, explaining a complex theory or presenting your research in English, it is important to establish at the outset who your target audience is.

You might be writing for other experts in your field in a particular country for example, or you may want your writing to resonate with a wider global audience . By establishing this at the outset, you can tailor your approach accordingly.

If you want your research/writing to reach the widest possible international audience you will need to consider whether the English you write is biased towards a particular English dialect ?

People in the USA refer to the floor of a building at entrance level as the ' first floor ' and the floor above it as 'second floor' whereas in the UK we say ' ground floor '. 'First floor' is the one above ground floor.

In the US they say ' row houses ' and in the UK ' terrace houses '.

Manufacturers of bathroom fixtures and fittings in the USA talk about 'faucets' and in the UK they refer to these as 'taps'.

' Elevators ' become ' lifts ' in the UK.

An ' apartment building ' might become a ' block of flats ' in the UK but...

...then again, that depends on the audience:

Estate agents and developers in the UK like to call luxury flats 'apartments' - sounds more fancy, dunnit!

“Audience”- Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Know where you are writing from and why

As a subject matter expert , you need to be aware of who you are and where you are writing from. Are you a native English speaker or a non-native English speaker , for example? If you are a native speaker, you will naturally tend to use cultural idioms and metaphors learned from childhood and your English-speaking environment. If you are a non-native speaker, you might have learnt English at school, from books and other native and non-native speakers in the country in which you live, so your perception and understanding of the language will be different to a native speaker. If you are German, for example, you will tend to write English from a German cultural frame of reference and might use sayings and reference points that a native English speaker might not so easily relate to. So it might be helpful to bear in mind how your culture and sayings might come across to somebody who is not familiar with your native tongue.

I was asked to review an article by a Polish author writing in a magazine about sustainable architecture about innovative ideas for how the inhabitants of a city could work together to reduce their impact on the environment wrote:

“Scientists agree – we ourselves are responsible for the difficult situation we live in today. The remedy may be bitter, but very simple: it's time to give up selfishness and put the common good first.”

The meaning is clear and the English correct, but to me the tone sounds rather austere, slightly calvinistic, which diminishes the power of the argument.

While the style of English and choice of words may be due to formative experiences or the personality of the author, I suspect it also mirrors how this might be expressed in the Polish language.

“The remedy may be bitter” sounds hard and uncompromising
“it’s time to give up selfishness…” sounds slightly pejorative, even slightly pious to me (an English native speaker).

I changed this as follows:

“Although the remedy may be hard to face, it is very simple: we need to put self-interest to one side and focus on the common good.”

Still not exactly perfect, but I thought it would land more effectively with an English-speaking audience who might otherwise subconsciously resist the slightly harsh tone of the message.

A good way to help with this aspect is to have your writing checked by a native English speaker who will highlight any cultural anomalies , improve the general flow and iron out any spelling and grammar mistakes.

“Self-esteem”- Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Write short sentences - less is more

Concepts and ideas are more difficult to understand if you use long sentences with multiple clauses, especially for non-native English speakers. This could pose a challenge if you are describing a sophisticated concept but if you make an effort to keep sentences as short as possible, it is far more likely that native and non-native English speakers will be able to follow your train of thought.

“Hand Language”- Image by Marta Cuesta from Pixab

Avoid technical jargon

You should generally avoid technical jargon, as your audience may not be as technically proficient or well-versed in the subject as you. To reach the widest possible audience you should use simple language and examples your audience can relate to . More specific terminology may be appropriate if you a speaking to experts in the field as they can more readily grasp complex concepts and topics. You should therefore bear in mind from the outset who you are communicating with and tailor your approach accordingly.

“Cog Wheel Gear”- Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Know when and when not to use the passive voice

This is a complex subject but developing an awareness of when and when not to use the passive voice will stand you in good stead when you are preparing your English article. A preponderance of the passive voice can often detract from the clarity and impact of your message. The active voice is the opposite of the passive voice and is used as standard when structuring English sentences. In their simplest form, they contain a subject, verb and object . When using the active voice, the relationship between the subject and object is direct.

Examples of using the active / passive voice:

The author wrote the article / The article was written by the author
Scientists conducted the research / The research was conducted by the scientists
The engineer designed the bridge / The bridge was designed by the engineer
The architect drew the plan / The plan was drawn by the architect

Using the passive voice on purpose

You can purposefully use the passive voice if you do not know exactly who carried out an action , in which case you could write “the article was written by…”, or if you want to emphasise the object rather than the subject : “project X was managed by…”.

Avoid using the passive voice if

...this implies/indicates you are not sure of the facts or your fact-finding is insufficient .

Example: “Research was conducted to determine the soil characteristics”.

Explanation: here, it is unclear who carried out the research.

...it makes your point unclear or confusing .

Example: “X and Y applied for the funding in 2019, it was granted in 2021.”

Explanation: It is unclear as to whether X and Y received the funding.

...it makes your sentence wordy and unnecessarily complex .

Example: “The bridge which had been designed by the engineer was assessed by the experts and was maintained by the service provider.”

Consistency of style and terminology strengthens communication and clarity

If your article frequently refers to an object, theory or similar, try use exactly the same word or phrasing each time as this will help the reader to follow your argument. This sounds obvious, but it is surprising how many texts, even those that have been checked many times over, still have inconsistencies.

When you write about ideas and concepts or describe complex objects or theories, you will naturally be focussed on the flow so it is easy not to be consistent. For example, if you are an engineer or architect describing an innovative system for supporting a cantilevering floor slab, you might be tempted to write “floor” or “slab” in places which could lead to confusion, or if you are writing about tunnel design and referring to the depth of the tunnel below ground, you might initially write “depth” then change to “overburden” or “cover”. International English-speaking readers who are reading your article for the first time and do not have your technical insight and acuity might not realise that you are referring to the same thing. One way to help you do this is to identify key terminology (concepts) before you start or as you work and check in the final editing stages that you have used these consistently. The same applies for names of organisations and companies: if you know the official name of something, then you should use it consistently (including the handling of upper and lower case), if you are not sure whether it is correct or find different versions, decide on one and keep it consistent.

Break down complex concepts and use relatable examples

If you are explaining a concept to an audience who is unfamiliar with your work, use simple language and real-life examples they can relate to. Provide some context or applications that your audience is familiar with or establish a narrative to support your explanation. Your concept may be complex and abstract but by making real-life comparisons your audience can visualise it more easily and their attention will not wander. If you are talking about a complex machine for example, you might want to compare it to an everyday object used in a domestic situation or something that many people are familiar with.

It also helps to break down complex ideas into manageable parts that can be more easily digested individually.

Avoid using specific cultural phrases and references

As mentioned before, the majority of English speakers in the world are non-native , and although they might be extremely proficient in English they may not be familiar with idiomatic English usage. A Japanese or African person will have a different frame of reference to a Swedish or Icelandic English speaker, for example. If you use a local figure of speech, contextualise it briefly to make it comprehensible and spell out its relevance to the topic you are discussing.

Bear in mind that thought processes vary between cultures

In a study conducted by Professor Richard E Nisbett from the University of Michigan [1}, the thought processes of “Westerners” and “East Asians” were compared. In his book “The Geography of Thought”, he described a test known as the “Michigan Fish Test”.

He asked the participants to describe an animated image showing an underwater scene of plants, fish, bubbles and other animals. He noticed that Westerners noticed bigger fish and ignored the rest while East Asians made detailed comments about the environment and relationships between objects.

This indicates an analytical (or “linear”) thinking process in the former group and a holistic (or “circular”) thinking process in the latter group.

Bear in mind therefore who in the English-speaking world you are communicating with and try to adapt your writing to their thought processes.

Summary

When writing for an English-speaking audience, be clear from the outset who you are writing for and what their cultural frame of reference is. Do you primarily want to address experts in your field or are you simply aiming to reach the widest possible audience , for example? Also consider aspects that influence the clarity and coherence of your writing and the power of its message. These include knowing when to use the passive voice , avoiding technical jargon in general or providing context with examples if you do use it, and ensuring phrases or terminology are used consistently.

One way to ensure these aspects are checked is to include a qualified linguist and English native speaker in your workflow. This could take the form of an initial consultation to map out a strategy for writing the article, and/or a review of the draft prior to publication, for example.

References

[1}

https://digitalcommunications.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2023/12/12/writing-for-an-international-audience/

Writing for an international audience

How sustainable is timber when used on a mass scale in construction? Wie nachhaltig ist die Massenverwendung von Holz im Bauindustrie? Bauen fuer die 2024 Olympische Spiele.

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 18:00:59 GMT

The Aquatics Centre for the Paris Olympics - a case study in sustainable architecture .

In last month’s blog I discussed carbon in the construction industry which accounts for around 40% of all global emissions. I identified the main reasons for this and pinpointed the materials that are the main emitters of embodied carbon (concrete and steel) in the construction sector.

This month, I'm focussing on timber, which is in essence a renewable resource and therefore largely regarded as one of the most sustainable construction materials due to its low carbon footprint. As governments and the industry in general are now looking at timber as a solution for reducing carbon output in construction, it is likely to be used on a much greater scale in future. In this article I will examine aspects of using timber as an environmentally-friendly construction material and dig deeper into the facts around sourcing of timber and carbon accounting taking the new state-of-the-art Aquatics Building for the Paris Olympics as a reference project.

Swimming pool Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay ; "Co2" by Pete Linforth from Pixabay; "Forest Sunbeams " by jplenio from Pixabay

Many countries signed up to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century, and to achieve a decline of 43% by 2025 [10] . Coincidentally, the Paris Olympics will be held in July this year, and according to Etienne Thobois, Paris 2024 Olympic Games CEO, the aim is to make sustainability rather than monumental construction its main legacy [9] .

In contrast to previous games in Athens or London, for example, where large tracts of the city were regenerated by buildings and structures subsequently used after the games, as little as possible will be built and 95% of the venues will either be made from existing facilities or dismantled afterwards [1] .

The new Aquatics Centre is the only permanent building to be constructed for the major sports event, which begins on 26 July 2024 [7] so from a sustainability standpoint it strives to be a role model project. It is a case study on the large-scale use of timber in a monumental civic building which also reflects France’s aim to cut carbon in the building sector as the EU aims to achieve a 55% reduction in overall emissions by 2030 by retrofitting existing structures and using more wood in construction. Timber is widely regarded as a more sustainable eco-friendly material and is therefore now being used on a much wider scale nowadays, thanks to technological developments. It is now also used instead of concrete and steel to perform a structural role in bigger buildings such as high-rise apartments and stadium venues like the Aquatics Centre in Paris.

'Mass Timber' - the future of sustainable construction?

‘Mass timber’ is used nowadays as an umbrella term to describe a family of wood-based materials have been engineered to enhance their structural performance. Cross-laminated timber, also commonly referred to as CLT, consists of timber strips glued together in a cross-wise arrangement to give it omni-directional strength and stability as well as greater economy in mass (lighter without compromising on strength), glued laminated timber (GLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) match and/or exceed the stability of steel and concrete [2] .

Why is timber so appealing to the senses?

Timber also appeals to architects because of its aesthetic qualities and the natural wood can be left exposed which saves on a considerable number of fixings and finishing materials. The ambience of timber also plays a part, it is sensual, feels closer to nature and also a pleasant scent.

Woodpile Image by Zoltan Matuska from Pixabay

The Aquatics Centre: an outward expression of France's commitment to sustainability

As already mentioned above, this building will be the only built legacy of the 2024 games, it is worthy of discussion, not just on its architectural merits but also because it reflects the current trends and discussion and debate in the construction industry in relation to sustainable building and the desire of the French government to demonstrate its environmental credentials on every level: the spectator seats are made of locally recycled plastic, for example.

As a former architect, I cannot help marvelling at the architecture of the Aquatics Centre, which has so many wonderful tactile qualities and is sculpturally bold and beautiful. I could not find any images that were not protected by copyright but I sketched an abstract impression which hopefully conveys a feel of the building. For photographs, a quick Google search or click on the references and the end of this article will give you the reality.

The building has a concrete plinth which connects the lighter 'superstructure' above to the ground and a bridge which links the building to the St Denis district. The base also contains the pool structure and plant areas. Many trees and shrubs have been planted round the building to promote a healthy climate.

Functional energy-saving ideas as the driver of architectural form

Just how much concrete was used to make the base is anybody's guess, as this could generate a large embodied carbon footprint. The designers, on the other hand, would argue that the decision to build the roof and its supporting structure entirely of timber which also doubles the required minimum percentage of bio-sourced materials offsets the carbon output of the base.

The concave roof appears to hover above the continuous 'floating' horizontal timber elements of the ‘brise soleil’, which wraps around the external glass façade of the building and visually belies the physical reality of the huge vertical forces transmitted from the roof on free-spanning timber beams over the arena.

Internally the roof kicks up at the ends to accommodate the spectator tribunes and swoops down towards the centre. Besides creating a striking architectural silhouette in the urban landscape of St. Denis, this reduces the interior volume (and therefore heating/cooling costs) which further underscores the energy credentials of the building. It is also what the architects VenhoevenCS and Ateliers 2/3/4 claim to be “one of the biggest solar farms in France” and is expected to generate 20% of all the electricity required.

What about the bigger picture?

What are the knock-on effects of this strategy for the planet as a whole - will mass use of timber solve the problem of reducing embodied carbon but simply make problems elsewhere (e.g. deforestation, transportation)?

What are the critical parameters influencing the sustainable use of timber in construction, and what are the caveats in relation to the claim that timber is a low-carbon material?

Where is the timber sourced and what impact does this have on carbon footprint?

Forest Sunbeams Image by jplenio from Pixabay

The components for the roof were prefabricated at a factory in Alsace near the border with Germany and shipped to the site. According to Frank Mathis who runs the woodyard, timber is currently in short supply due to the war in Ukraine and dwindling supplies from Russia and other European producers diverting timber across the Atlantic where they can command higher prices [9] . As much as possible of the timber (30-40%), consisting mainly of Douglas Fir and Spruce, is being sourced from within France. Although it does not have an abundance of forests compared to say Germany and Austria, it has set itself the goal of sourcing 50% of its construction timber from forests inside France. A carbon footprint is certainly produced by shipping the 60% of the felled timber from other regions to the woodyard then for shipping the finished components of the roof structure to the site.

On the other hand, the components were assembled extremely rapidly on-site, which uses much less energy and therefore offsets the carbon footprint of transportation to the site to a degree.

...and how is the timber processed?

Logging requires energy. And then there is the machining, trimming and manufacturing work on glued laminated components such as those used in the roof in Paris where the beams are required to span 89m and hold up the solar installation above it. When the use of timber is ramped up to a much larger scale, the environmental impact of all of these processes would increase exponentially.

According to one article published by an organisation that advocates the use of concrete in the construction sector “the wood industry is in fact responsible or releasing more than 10% of recent global annual emissions of carbon dioxide” [11] .

So the argument for and against the mass use of timber is clearly ongoing, with each sector of the construction industry doggedly arguing their respective corners.

How can we prevent deforestation, over-harvesting and depletion of natural wildlife habitats as a result of using much more timber in construction

How are the forests where this timber is sourced being managed? Here in the UK according to Friends of the Earth “… our demand for wood is having a devastating impact on the world's forests. Forests that give us everything from oxygen to medicines – and help combat climate change . 1 in 3 tree species harvested for timber are currently at risk of extinction " [4] . They also claim that UK timber imports are driving deforestation in Malaysia and the depletion of the Amazonian rainforest is well documented.

So we may well have buildings that on the surface are more ‘sustainable’ locally but not globally as the impact is felt elsewhere in the world.

Groups like the FSC and PEFC set standards for replanting and conservation and over the last 30 years in Europe the amount of land covered by forests has increased by 9%. So providing timber is sourced through responsible regenerative processes it can be used in construction projects.

The question of how sustainable timber is in construction also largely dictated by the complexities of forest management, over which many questions currently exist. It could be argued that whether or not using timber in construction projects is sustainable largely rests on how carefully forests are managed.

Recycling - how does it work with timber?

What will happen to the timber elements of the Aquatics Centre when it reaches the end of its useful service life and these Olympic Games have faded into the dim and distant past?

One of the biggest ecological advantages of using timber is that it naturally sequesters carbon. It is a well-known fact that trees store Co2 through a process called photo-synthesis, so when timber is used in construction, the building also becomes a permanent Co2 store. From this point or view therefore, large-scale use of timber in the construction industry would be extremely beneficial in terms of keeping carbon out of the environment.

However, this only holds true while the building is standing, what happens to the timber and sequestered carbon in it when the building is renovated, redesigned or demolished?

If the timber can be 100% reused or recycled then the carbon storage benefits are retained but if, on the other hand, timber is landfilled at the end of its useful life , analysis has suggested that the net emissions from a CLT framed building could exceed the life cycle emissions from a typical concrete framed building . When timber is landfilled it rots and releases up to 60% of the sequestered carbon back to the atmosphere as methane , which is 25 times worse than carbon dioxide in terms of global warming impact [3] .

Unharvested timber (trees) may have greater carbon sequestration benefits than harvested timber

The carbon storage benefits may not be as high as we initially think. An article in the journal ‘Nature’ points out that an unharvested tree has a greater carbon storage potential than a harvested tree so, even if trees regrow, logging also generates a carbon footprint which is responsible for about 10% of global emissions [5][6] .

Summary

Aside from the natural warm visual appearance of exposed timber when used as a construction material, it has the advantage of being a renewable low-carbon resource, and it sequesters carbon. While concrete is largely demonised by environmental experts because of its high carbon footprint, although this also depends on how it is used, timber is being seen as crucial in reducing carbon output in the construction sector.

However, until recently timber has been used locally at relatively small scale, so when mass timber becomes mainstream the flaws in carbon accounting may become more obvious.

At the very least, a very detailed assessment of any design proposal would need to be carried out in each case, taking the entire life cycle into account, from harvesting to manufacturing of the component parts through to construction and ultimately disposal.

“Co2 footprint” by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

References

[1]

Just How Climate-Friendly Are Timber Buildings? It’s Complicated | Wie klimafreundlich sind Holzbauten? Es ist kompliziert

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-23/super-strong-wood-gains-on-concrete-and-steel-in-new-architecture?sref=XCtcbqbo

[2]

Why Timber is Crucial to Achieve Net Zero in Construction | Warum Holz für das Erreichen der Nettonullstellung im Bauwesen so wichtig ist

https://tgescapes.co.uk/why-timber-is-crucial-to-achieve-net-zero-in-construction

[3]

Sustainable timber in construction | Nachhaltiges Holz im Bauwesen

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Sustainable_Timber_in_Construction

[4]

How and why to use sustainable timber | Wie und warum man nachhaltiges Holz verwendet

https://frindsoftheearth.uk/sustainable-living/good-wood-guide-how-and-why-use-sustainable-timber

[5]

What if building with mass timber isn't greener than concrete or steel? | Was, wenn Bauen mit Massivholz nicht umweltfreundlicher ist als mit Beton oder Stahl?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-01-24/what-if-building-with-mass-timber-isn-t-greener-than-concrete-or-steel?sref=XCtcbqbo

[6]

Olympic Aquatics Centre: stunning eco-friendly Paris 2024 venue inaugurated | Olympisches Wassersportzentrum: Atemberaubende umweltfreundliche Anlage für Paris 2024 eingeweiht

https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-games-paris-2024-aquatic-centre-saint-denis-discover-inauguration

[7]

Timber Aquatics Centre completes in Paris for 2024 Olympic Games | Wassersportzentrum aus Holz in Paris fü r die Olympischen Spiele 2024 fertiggestellt

https://www.dezeen.com/2024/04/04/timber-aquatics-centre-paris-2024- olympic-games/

[8}

Aquatics Centre Paris 2024 | Wassersportzentrum aus Holz in Paris fü r die Olympischen Spiele 2024

https://archello.com/project/aquatics-centre-paris-2024

[9]

Why Paris New Aquatic Centre is Sparking a Timber Boom in France | Warum das neue Wassersportzentrum in Paris einen Holzboom in Frankreich auslöst

www.woodcentral.com.au

[10]

What is the Paris Agreement? | Was ist das Pariser Abkommen ?

https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement

[11]

The Real Carbon Impacts of Wood Construction | Was ist das Pariser Abkommen ?

https://buildwithstrength.com/resources/the-real-carbon-impacts-of-wood-construction/

Embodied carbon in the construction industry - what are the sources and what are the solutions?

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 16:34:18 GMT

Introduction

– what is embodied carbon?

– why should this

be our concern?

Credit: “Co2” by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Around 40% of global warming worldwide is produced by one industry. It’s not the oil and gas industry either, that is the biggest cause and we are all aware of the efforts being made to phase out fossil fuels completely. Around 40% of worldwide global warming emanates from the construction industry and it also produces more waste than any other industrial sector.

Why is this? Surely we are now building well-insulated, energy-efficient buildings and incorporating alternative sources of green energy into our designs? The answer is yes, although there is much work to be done but there is a hidden factor. Most of this 40% figure is not produced from buildings in their operational phase, i.e. the power required for heating, light, ventilation, etc., it is actually produced in the construction phase, as ‘embodied’, ‘embedded’ or ‘upfront’ carbon. This is hidden, and more difficult to pin down and therefore quantify than operational carbon, yet it poses a serious problem in terms of global warming.

The structure of a building, or bridge or tunnel for that matter, for example, can represent 50% of embodied carbon. As called for in the Paris Agreement, emissions need to be reduced to 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

In this blog article I am going to look at just a few ways in architects and the construction sector in general are responding to this pressing problem, and I'll include examples from translation projects I have worked on. I'll take a look at specific materials which produce large amounts of CO2, how careful planning of buildings can reduce embodied carbon, the important role of recycling and reclaiming materials from existing buildings, and ideas that challenge whether we actually have to build new buildings in the first place. I am in no doubt that I will return to this ever-expanding complex topic in future.

Why am I highlighting this topic?

It might seem a bit technical and obscure, boring even, and something that should be left to those who make buildings, build bridges, excavate tunnels, etc. Us lay persons are not qualified enough to question any of the decision-making that goes into these highly complex projects.

However, the construction sector is responsible for around 40% of carbon emissions on our planet. Furthermore, we all use buildings - they give us spaces in which we work, live and play. So collectively, we create a demand for buildings and therefore Co2 emissions. Once we have some facts and examples, we can all become more actively involved in the process, by lobbying local authorities, raising awareness in general to avoid poor decisions in the early planning stages of a building which have a big long-term impact its carbon footprint. Developers and local authorities and the like need to be accountable to subsequent users of the buildings. We should be asking what efforts are being made to reduce carbon output in the making of the school, library, multi-storey office building, for example? Many potential employees of companies are now starting to turn down jobs at companies occupying buildings with poor environmental credentials, so awareness is increasing. Commercial pressure can therefore be brought to bear on construction firms and developers by highlighting poor environmental decisions. Given sufficient awareness, people will literally vote with their feet.

Concrete - beauty and the beast

Translation case study - CERN Future Circular Collider

Translation case study – hybrid construction

DafStb guideline - Smarter design for less CO2 emissions

It is hard to imagine a world without concrete, simply because it is an incredibly versatile, strong material with a high compressive strength. When combined with structural steel it can perform incredible engineering feats. It holds up our buildings, bridges and tunnels, and the aesthetics of concrete are also often used in buildings and outdoors to dramatic effect.

On the other hand, large amounts of CO2 are also produced when manufacturing concrete, which involves mixing aggregates with cement and hydration (adding water).

Inside Climate News gave us some depressing statistics in its article "Concrete is Worse for the Climate Than Flying." [8], including:

Between 2002 and 2021 the industry's carbon footprint doubled from 1.4 bn to nearly 2.9 bn tons of Co2.

This has received very little public scrutiny despite contributing nearly three times as much to global warming as the airline industry.

The cement industry is one of the two largest producers of carbon dioxide (CO2), creating up to 5% of worldwide man-made emissions of this gas, of which 50% is from the chemical process and 40% from burning fuel. The CO2 produced to make structural concrete (using ~14% cement) is estimated at 410 kg/m3. The CO2 emitted during concrete production is directly proportional to the cement content used in the concrete mix; 900 kg of CO2 are emitted for every ton of cement, which accounts for 88% of the emissions associated with the average concrete mix [1].

To make cement, powdered limestone is heated and combined with a variety of components, to produce an intermediary product called clinker. Forty per cent of the weight of limestone is CO2, which is released during this process [2].

Credit: “Concrete architecture” by Maike und Björn Bröskamp from Pixabay

Clinker substitution

In 2022, I translated an article about the CERN Future Circular Collider, a 91 km long tunnel connected to the existing Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator complex. This article focussed on possible ways of using the huge quantity of tunnel spoil produced, which would otherwise be consigned to landfill. One of the proposals was to upgrade a clay fraction of the soil to obtain activated clays which can subsequently be used to manufacture low-carbon cement.

Design concrete out of buildings

One way of reducing CO2 emissions during the construction of buildings is simply to use less concrete. This does not just come down to structural design, it can also be addressed at the design and planning stage.

From an environmental standpoint, the argument for making buildings lighter without compromising on structural integrity and strength is powerful, because this reduces the quantity of concrete that goes into the foundations, as there is less overall weight to be supported.

I recently translated a case study about a high-rise apartment building (21 storeys) manufactured using timber hybrid construction. The floors and walls were made of prefabricated concrete and timber elements. The almost diametrically opposed structural properties of the two materials were utilised to maximum effect when combined. Concrete is heavier but has excellent fire resistance and compressive strength, while timber is much lighter and has excellent tensile strength. Using hybrid floor and wall elements eliminates the need to use reinforced concrete which drastically reduces the overall weight of the building over 21 storeys.

I n its guideline “ Sustainable Building with Concrete ”, the German Committee for Structural Concrete (DafStb) set out principles on how to reduce CO2 emissions emanating from the use of concrete in building construction.

Some examples:

Coordination between architect, structural engineer, building physics specialist, building services engineer and client to work out a holistic building concept which extends beyond the current use of the building and assess the sustainability of the design in the light of possible changes of use in the future.

Rationalising the structure (and planning) to make the load transfer paths as direct as possible and avoid the need to redirect loads because of conflicting planning processes or last minute changes. This saves material and reduces weight. Concrete in cross-sections with no load-bearing function should also be eliminated.

Credit: “Concrete” by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Steel

Steel is a popular construction material, mainly for structural reasons because it has a high strength-to-weight ratio [4], compared to concrete, and is therefore highly efficient. In other words, a small quantity of steel can go a long way structurally, because it can be manufactured in hollow sections and T or I sections, for example, which saves material. This makes steel an attractive choice for reducing the overall weight of buildings.

Its manufacturing carbon footprint is high due to the manufacturing process: between 1.4 and 1.85 metric tons of CO2 are produced per ton of steel [5].

The way in which the steel is produced has a significant impact on the carbon footprint. If a blast furnace method is used, 1.987 tonnes of CO2 are produced per ton of steel and if the electric arc method is used, 0.357 tonnes are produced. With the former, 13.8% scrap is used and with the latter 105% scrap is used (105% because some is lost in the manufacturing process).

The potential for using recycled steel is therefore theoretically much higher with the electric arc furnace method. However, there is not enough recycled steel available to satisfy demand.

At some point this will hopefully change because the methods for sourcing scrap steel and steel construction elements are evolving fast.

Credit: “Co2 footprint” by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

So how can we reduce the Co2 footprint of steel?

The solution appears to be (apart from using less) to use recycled and reclaimed steel rather than adapt the manufacturing process.

Buildings as ‘material banks’

A concept which is becoming more widespread is to think of buildings as ‘material banks’.

This involves documenting buildings and all the materials they contain in detail in databases. By making this information available to architects and building planners, more recycled materials can be specified and less ‘virgin’ resources used.

BAMB, an organisation committed to the shift from a linear to a circular building economy, has set up a ‘ materials passport’ scheme, for example. These passports are “sets of data describing defined characteristics of materials in products that give them value for recovery and reuse” [6].

Another concept is ‘ Urban mining ’, which defines the city as a repository of materials. The concept ‘ cradle-to-cradle’ describes a circular way of thinking about materials. Concular, a German company, digitises and catalogues components in existing buildings and creates maps of these resources.

Access to this kind of information, helps architects and planners to assess whether a building can be repurposed, or whether it should be dismantled/demolished and the steelwork reused which would reduce the carbon footprint of the steel to zero.

It is hardly surprising therefore that many architects consider reclaimed, and not recycled, steelwork, i.e. from demolition, to be the most environmentally-friendly option.

Credit: “Airport” by Pexels from Pixabay

The kindest thing for the environment is to build less!

Some architects advocate the “less is more” approach to eliminating embodied carbon. Architect Greg Shannon argues that architects need to be much more involved in the decision-making process from the early stages and not just once all main strategic decisions have been made [7].

Whether or not a project actually needs to be built in the first place deserves much more careful consideration. Architects are naturally good at thinking, reimagining and questioning existing way of thinking and challenging the status quo and are therefore highly adept not only at developing spatial concepts but also concepts on how existing space can be used more effectively without adding to the existing building stock.

A huge number of people are involved in the decision-making, each with their individual agenda and making common sense decisions with the environment at the heart of it all is difficult. What’s more, technology is outpacing us at every turn, so as soon as a building is built it is potentially out of date.

The pandemic has also shown us just how flexible we can be, the physical relevance of workplaces and educational institutions has diminished. Can working practices be adapted? Can existing spaces be made to work harder, by responsive timetabling and booking apps, for example?

Conclusion

In this article I have covered just some of the approaches to reduce or eliminate embodied carbon.

These range from identifying materials which are the key emitters due to the way in which they are produced, and how to reduce these emissions, smarter building design to reduce quantities of carbon-intensive materials, combining materials to make them lighter and stronger, and recycling/reclaiming materials from demolished buildings.

It is also important to consider whether we even need to build in the first place. This approach, which questions the status quo and challenges existing ideas on how projects should be developed, is probably the most difficult and controversial, yet the one that could potentially yield the greatest benefits in terms of reducing embodied carbon. After all, it is in these early stages where decisions cost less and the impact is likely to be the greatest.

References:

[1] Wikipedia "Environmental impact of concrete"

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete ]

[2] Keegan Ramsden "Cement and Concrete: The Environmental Impact" in Princeton Student Climate Initiative

[https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/11/3/cement-and-concrete-the-environmental-impact ]

[4] "How Important is the Strength-to-Weight Ratio of Metals ?"

[https://stampingsimulation.com/strength-to-weight-ratio-of-metals/ ]

[5] "What is the carbon footprint of steel? " Sustainable Ships

[https://www.sustainable-ships.org/stories/2022/carbon-footprint-steel ]

[6] BAMB - Buildings As Material Banks

[https://www.bamb2020.eu/topics/materials-passports/]

[7] "Introduce RIBA Stage Minus 1 to tackle embodied carbon " Architecture Today

[https://architecturetoday.co.uk/introduce-riba-stage-minus-1-to-tackle-embodied-carbon/ ]

[8] Kristoffer Tigue "Concrete is Worse for the Climate Than Flying. Why Aren’t More People Talking About It?" in Inside Climate News

[https://architecturetoday.co.uk/introduce-riba-stage-minus-1-to-tackle-embodied-carbon/]

Working at Michael Wilford and Partners - STO Depot and Exhibition Building

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:57:57 GMT

Working for Michael Wilford and Partners - STO depot in Hamburg

All drawings and photos of the STO Exhibition Building in Hamburg are reproduced by kind permission of Manuel Schupp (Orange Blu Building Solutions, Stuttgart, Germany).

Excerpts from Bauwelt magazine are published with kind permission of Bauwelt magazine.

Excerpts from RIBA Journal by kind permission of RIBA Collections

This article is dedicated to the memory of Axel Deuschle.

A few days after arriving at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof Andy, a friend from the Mackintosh School of Architecture, introduced me to Manuel, my new employer, and shortly I began a 1-year contract by working on the interior finishes and ceiling layouts of the Musikhochschule . The shell work was more or less complete and the Richtfest (topping out ceremony) was held on the roof terrace of the tower overlooking Stuttgart in the summer of 1993.

By then the designs for a new building from the head office in London were circulating round the office. It was a completely different building typology to the music school: an industrial building, and an entirely different type of client – a manufacturer of renders and prefabricated panels.

The basic idea of the building itself was a ‘kit of parts’, which could be assembled in different ways, depending on the site/context. In this case, the kit consisted of 3 parts: a warehouse building, office building and training facility, arranged to form a triangular courtyard between them on the upper floor. By setting up this geometry, an interesting interplay between the elements on the ground floor emerged, the administration building was supported on columns, referencing the approach of Le Corbusier by eliminating all load-bearing walls on the ground floor and carrying the rather bulky looking building above on slender columns to make the entrance, exhibition and reception area as free and open as possible. This column structure provided freedom to play with 'sculptural' elements, such as the curved reception counter, which occupied one corner of the triangle, and the expansive glazing of the entrance reception area followed the line of the two walls as they extended outwards towards the curved exhibition wall which swept underneath and outside the building from the public entrance area to the private courtyard at the rear. The two entry/exit vestibules (German: Windfang) were cxubic in form and intersected by the façade at an angle of 60/30 degrees at each end of the entrance space.

Credit: RIBA Collections.

Opposite: Worm's eye axonometric showing the design of elements in the exhibition area on the ground floor and was drawn at the London office.

It features in an article on the building which appeared in the RIBA Journal in 1995. Click here to see the full article on my website.

Opposite: excerpt from Bauwelt journal showing axonometric of the three buildings and triangular courtyard and view of stair and courtyard

I started with some freehand sketches to consider connections between elements, and explore ideas for how materials could be handled, researching materials and roughing out ideas for details and to try and get a feel for the space.

Above: freehand perspective drawing looking towards stair entrance "box" and exhibition area from reception desk.

Opposite: view through glazing towards stair and garden/courtyard beyond exploring interaction and dynamics between the vestibule box, stair and facade on the courtyard side.

Building the ‘wilful’ Wilford design

To many of my German colleagues the design from the London office was quirky, and some were shaking their heads. One even suggested radically simplifying the stair enclosure by removing the box and taking the walls up to the underside of the floor slab. This way it would be much easier to build, especially as it was the main fire escape route from the upper storeys.

“It’s only a stair, just a small part of the building” one colleague urged, “there’s more important things to worry about here, don’t make it so complicated and don't waste too much time”.

The geometry was complex, and seemed almost unnecessarily so, but the design concept was nonetheless very clear: one box on each side of the foyer, one was the public entrance and the other a semi-public transitional space between the foyer and courtyard beyond. The main stair to the office spaces and enclosed triangular courtyard was articulated as a separate element ‘inserted’ into the box. The resulting external surfaces could be used to demonstrate the client’s products thermally-insulated panels and render systems.

When preparing the working drawings I had to find technical solutions with the help of my more experienced colleagues to make the idea work. I also had to be meticulous and make sure nothing was left to chance, so multiple plans and sections were required.

Breaking down the language barrier

The language barrier was always going to be a problem but most people in the office spoke good English. When communication became difficult, there were always drawings to point at and sketches really helped. I remembered the words of a previous employer in Scotland “I can’t talk without my pen!” which I laughed about at the time but in this situation the saying rang particularly true.

Working drawings – making the design work

The plan seemed a logical place to start and I could reference other drawings from that.

Opposite: Ground floor plan of stair and vestibule, drawn and annotated by hand in 1993.

The mushroom head columns (German: Pilzkopfstutzen) on the right were very close to the stair so clearances had to be carefully checked. The window on the stair landing (top left) which appears in the photo was originally meant to extend the full width of the landing, and be positioned symmetrically. Discussions ensued about the amount of wall that could be cut away because the stair was hung from the first floor concrete slab and concrete with reinforcement bars was needed to hold it up.

It was also proposed that the window be made in flat sections, arranged in a facetted manner, instead of one or several curved sections, because curved glazing was very expensive to make, especially in the length we were proposing. But the other solution would have seriously compromised the design, so I suggested keeping the curve, but restricting the curved glazing to one side of the stair only. This worked because owing to the building geometry the stair was arranged asymmetrically in the courtyard, and one side was more exposed to the open side of the courtyard, and the view could be more selective.

Accordingly we defined the opening angle annotated in the plan.

This part section also shows the stair flight unsupported from below. The offset circles represent a cylindrical hole in the wall between the two stair flights to provide a visual connection, pick up on the theme of circular geometries, and also reduce the concrete mass. I am not sure whether this was actually built.

The part-section on the right shows the stair 'unsupported' from below and proximity of the mushroom head column on the right.

The longitudinal section below is a cut through the vestibule box, door to the courtyard, stair landing and curved window and second stair flight leading to first floor level. The section on the right shows the stair opening into generous double-height space, in sharp contrast to the tighter sequence of spaces below and the freestanding box below the first floor slab.

Finally, below I've included the full Section D-D through vestibule box and double-height space at first and second floor level which shows the 'freestanding' box and the variety of spaces/volumes the stair passes through on its ascent to the upper floors:

The building was completed in 1995 and images focussing on the the stair appeared several journals afterwards.

Building and stair (and stair window) photographed from the outdoor courtyard, which featured on the cover of Bauzentrum in 1995

You can read the full story about how I went to Stuttgart, broke through the language barrier with little knowledge of German and eventually found my feet in a new country in my October 2023 blog " Wanderlust ".

Wanderlust

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 13:00:00 GMT

‘ Wanderlust’

…the first step in my journey (from architect) to translator

This article is dedicated to the memory of Axel Deuschle.

Summer of 1992 – in the comfort zone

Axel and Andy are standing in the living room of our first floor flat in Glasgow's West End. The sun is out. Beyond the Georgian windows of the flat that stretch almost to the full height of the room allowing light to flood in. Across the way, in front of the Georgian terraces, trees move lazily. They have just flown in from Stuttgart, and are paying us a flying visit before heading north to do some hiking.

Andy is a friend from “The Mac” (Mackintosh School of Architecture) and left to work in Stuttgart almost a year ago at the German office of Wilford and Partners (formerly Stirling Wilford Architects). Axel is an architect and native ‘Stuttgarter’, and both are working on the exciting tower section of the Neue Musikhochschule, which is currently under construction and is the second stage of the master plan which started with the Neue Staatsgalerie.

“You should come over, you’d love it in Stuttgart, we’ll find you something to do at the office” Andy could be quite persuasive. I must have looked sceptical, as Axel joined in “just get yourself over anyway, there’s plenty of work for architects there at the moment”. He spoke almost perfect English, but with a strong German accent, well tanned and standing at least 6ft tall. He looked pretty street-wise and more like a film star than an architect, something akin to Kevin Costner with a hint of Sting, and looked like he would know everybody in Stuttgart.

At the time I brushed it off, it just seemed too far-fetched. I was a Glasgow boy, had lived there all my life and had no intention of leaving. I had just met the love of my life from New Zealand and her dog Bazil, a Lakeland Terrier who, although loved destroying my favourite items of clothing, was fast becoming the other love of my life. Despite the patchy work scenario, life was good, so why change it?

Apart from all this, I could hardly string a sentence together in German, and could only vaguely remember the German I learnt at school. On the other hand, why did this country keep resurfacing in my life? Antje, my previous flatmate, was German and we had become good friends. Dad and my sister were German teachers. I was determined not to be a ‘chip off the old block’ and didn’t want anything to do with German or teaching.

Perhaps though, I just had to accept that this was meant to be...

Summer of 1993 – out the comfort zone

Andy meets me as I tumble off the bus late in the afternoon at Stuttgart train station.

Glasgow goodbyes were painful. I had been playing saxophone with bands in Glasgow partly for fun and also to earn a bit of extra cash. One of the groups I played with in Glasgow has a folk/rock group and we had toured around Scotland to far flung places such as Aviemore and as far north as Ullapool where we played at New Year. The last time we played together, Kevin Noon or "Nooney" as friends and bandmates called him, had written a new song called ‘Haste Ye Back’ which I had never heard before, a bit of a cliche perhaps, but the sentiment was very clear. A year later they made an album called ‘Wanderlust’, had I inadvertently given them a name for their album?

I watched my partner standing stoically with my parents as I boarded the bus, and witnessed her face crumple into tears as the bus quickly pulled out and she realised I was gone. It was heart-wrenching but I had to look forward, I had made a decision, and we would work things out.

Andy took me to a nearby beer garden in the Schloßgarten to recover from my hot 20 hour journey, in front of my first Hefeweizen while the vibrations in my body slowly dissipated. The night before I boarded the coach it had been pla ying my final gig in Glasgow on the Waverley paddle steamer on the River Clyde, but all now seemed a distant memory… He leaned back, pulled out a cigarette, and smiled broadly showing his slightly crooked teeth as if to say “You did it then!” and we talked late into the evening.

After a short meeting with Manuel, who ran the Stuttgart office, I began working on the interior finishes and ceiling layouts of the Musikhochschule for a month or two. The shell work was complete and the Richtfest (topping out ceremony) had been held on the roof terrace of the tower overlooking Stuttgart.

If you are find a more in-depth article about my experience of working on this building, design concept, the part I played in it, some of my sketches and working drawings, various articles about the building, click on the image opposite to jump across to my blog “ Working at Wilford and Partners – the STO Exhibition Building in Hamburg ”

I talk about how I tried to remain faithful to the design and overcome some of the construction challenges and resolve the dichotomy between aesthetics and practical implementation.

If you need a translation about architectural design, sustainable building or construction from German to English or need an article written on one of these topics, please feel free to get in touch with me at ken@architectranslator.co.uk or kb@kennword.com .

Otherwise, please read on to find out how my story ends...

Clunky junk

Manuel had found me a flat which was roughly 10 minutes walking distance from the Neue Stadtsgalerie , the office and the pub. It was a one-room ground floor flat with separate kitchen and bathroom. It had possibly been a shop at one time because the one room with three large windows on one side was right on the street and The pavement ran right past my windows. On the outside, a small awning above the windows projected out over the pavement. This was an intimate relationship with the street, but I didn't want to deal with it by pulling down the shutters every night.

So I decided to make something of this and 'zone' the room: public area at the front and private sleeping area at the back. I separated the two areas with a tall slender bookcase and blinds on either side which allowed light to pass through. Now I had privacy when I wanted it, I made the front into a "showcase" living room furnished with objects found at a flea market, such as a beautiful little triangular 50s black mosaic table, a stereo system donated to me by a colleague at the office, and furniture from the Sperrmüll or, literally translated, 'clunky junk'. It is an ingenious idea, and perfect for me with my situation with no furniture to speak of.

The Sperrmüll was held around the city on a rotational basis and when it came round to my neighbourhood I usually went hunting for nice furniture. The idea was that any bulky waste that would not fit into a dustbin could just be deposited on the street. Everybody could have a look round, take what they wanted and the next day a large rubbish truck would come round to cart the rest of it away.

I soon had my front room furnished with a slightly worn not too mangy but nonetheless very elegant Chesterfield sofa and some half-height shelves, a straggly unloved banana palm which had been casually flung on a skip and which I lovingly nursed back to life and some chairs. The arms and back of beautiful sofa were detachable, so I managed single-handedly to get the thing back to my flat, with a great deal of heaving and sweating, as I had to hurry back to where I had found it before the rest disappeared. I found a green VW Beetle wing and hung it on the wall with a light behind it, a ridiculous move in hindsight but it did give the room the sort of experimental art gallery vibe I was after and anybody glancing in would get something to look/laugh at. If I got tired of anything or felt it had been a bit of an impulse grab, I just tipped it out the front window during the next Sperrmull .

In the evenings, I would often be part of this ‘scene’, turn the lights down a bit listen to music, eat, drink or read while people quietly walked past on their way home or heading into the city centre occasionally glancing in, sometimes with a quick glance or even a smile. They were very polite, but then I was in Germany now – people were civilised and behaved themselves, whereas in Glasgow I might easily have had some people banging on the windows, perhaps screaming something about an anchor.

Solitary confidement

Evenings were quiet. Initially, it felt like I had walked out of the best room in the party, full of friends, noise, and warmth and now I was sitting in the quiet room with only my thoughts (and some Chet Baker on the CD player) for company. Social events could often be quite a lonely experience too as my German was still very basic and I soon lost the thread of the conversation round the table and focussed on the German beer, which only played havoc with my cognitive functions. Fortunately some people sensed when I was languishing and came to the rescue. Axel often invited me to social events and I had started handing out with Matthias, a DJ from Stuttgart whose brother I had met while busking in an underpass in the city centre. He frequently called out the blue to ask if I wanted to head out. He spoke perfect English as well, but we had something else in common – we were both trying to maintain long-distance relationships. His girlfriend was in America and he had been trying to persuade here to come and live with him in Germany – I was in a very similar position, except she was from New Zealand, living in Scotland, it was a hard sell. In the meantime we also bonded over jazz, ‘rare groove’ R&B and dance music, it was our escape and our solace.

One night we drove to Tübingen , the university town south of Stuttgart, to a club called ‘The Forum’. “I’ve been thinking” he said as we drove off “I’d quite like to try some live sax during my set”. The floor was starting to get busy and from our vantage point in the DJ booth could see everyone getting in the mood and unwinding as the tracks played out. In contrast, I was starting to get a bit nervous.

“If you make sure you're connected

The writing's on the wall

But if your mind's neglected

Stumble you might fall”

An extended version of ‘Connected’ by the indie band Stereo MCs, was playing. The vocals dropped out, Matthias looked up at me from the decks - the mic was open. The floor was now very full and people were moving to the lazy groove. The sound of the sax filtered back through the club system, strangely discordant and distant from where I was standing, yet I felt the connection, between us, with the room, and the culture and the country.

‘Haste Ye Back’

“This is the engine room”, the boss proudly announced as he introduced me to the workers in the basement (bowels) of his small architectural practice (sweat shop) somewhere in Edinburgh. In Germany, the working drawings for the STO building had gone out to tender and my contract at Wilford and Partners was up. I wanted to be reunited with my partner and dog so I was back in Scotland looking for work.

The projects looked a bit lucklustre and uninspiring. “So when do you think the wanderlust will strike again” he eventually asked brightly with a cheeky grin, all the faces round the table looked expectant.

‘Wanderlust’ reprise

There was that word again, a bit hackneyed and old fashioned perhaps, but it has stayed with me. I had changed and was obviously also a lost cause for daring to set foot outside of Scotland and the UK. I told him I would like to settle down now but the words sounded hollow and we all knew the last place I wanted to end up was the engine room!

Once again, destiny was calling.

Axel came round to the flat in Urbanstraße the day after I returned to Stuttgart a few weeks later with a small design project – I was back in Germany, the rest would take care of itself, somehow.

Maschinelle Übersetzung | Menschliche Übersetzung – wo stehen wir und wohin gehen wir?

Fri, 27 May 2022 16:42:59 GMT

Maschinelle Übersetzung gibt es schon seit mehreren Jahrzehnten, aber erst in den letzten Jahren wurden in diesem Bereich große Fortschritte gemacht...

Englische version >

Bei der neuralen maschinellen Übersetzung (NMU) versucht man beispielsweise, die Netzwerke und gedanklichen Prozesse des Gehirns nachzubilden, zum Teil mit großem Erfolg. Im Vergleich zu früheren Systemen wie statistischer oder, noch früher, regelbasierter maschineller Übersetzung sind die Ergebnisse mittlerweise oftmals verblüffend gut und werden zum Beispiel verwendet, um Zeit oder Kosten zu sparen. Sogar professionelle Übersetzer ziehen sie immer wieder zur Unterstützung heran.

Meinem Eindruck nach fällt die Akzeptanz in der Übersetzungsbranche ganz unterschiedlich aus:

Das Spektrum reicht von völliger Ablehnung - „so eine komplexe Aufgabe kann man nur einem Menschen anvertrauen“ - über die Einbeziehung als Grundlage - „kann man als Mittel verwenden, um brauchbare Ergebnisse zu erhalten, die aber hinterher unbedingt sorgfältig geprüft werden müssen“ - bis hin zur Gleichstellung mit Humanübersetzung - „so gut, dass sie mehr oder weniger ungeprüft an den Endkunden weitergegeben werden kann, weil die Systeme eigentlich recht fortgeschritten sind und mittlerweile auch alles schon einmal übersetzt wurde, da muss man das Rad nicht neu erfinden“.

Welchen Ansatz man wählt, hängt von der Art der zu übersetzenden Texte, von den Qualitätsansprüchen und von der Verwendung ab. Ohne Zweifel sollte man derzeit immer noch einen Menschen in den Workflow mit einbeziehen, um die besten Ergebnisse zu erreichen. Maschinelle Übersetzung stößt besonders aufgrund der Qualitätsansprüche oder der Textart an ihre Grenzen, wenn es sich zum Beispiel um ein spezielles Fachgebiet mit selten verwendeter Terminologie oder um Werbetexte, bei denen viel Kreativität gefordert wird, handelt. Die Arbeit, die man aufwenden muss, um die Übersetzung auf einen professionellen Stand zu bringen (das sogenannte „Post-Editing“), entspricht oft eher einer Neuübersetzung.

Mir sind beispielsweise die folgenden Bereiche bekannt, die bei maschinellen Übersetzungen zu Fehlern und Problemen führen können:

Fallbeispiel:

Der Key Account Manager einer Übersetzungsagentur hat mich im Juni 2021 gefragt, ob ich bereit wäre, an einer Studie zur maschinellen Übersetzung teilzunehmen. Gegenstand dieser Studie war ein Projekt im technischen/gewerblichen Bereich, an dem ich über zehn Jahre lang beteiligt war (ein großer Online-Shop für Motorradzubehör und weitere (Lifestyle-)Artikel).

Wir kamen zu dem Ergebnis, dass der Einsatz von maschineller Übersetzung als Mittel der Kostenreduktion in diesem Fall zu erheblichen Qualitätseinbußen geführt hätte. Die Zeit, die notwendig gewesen wäre, um die maschinell übersetzten Texte auf dem Stand einer Humanüberstetzung zu bringen, hätte mehr oder weniger der einer Neuübersetzung entsprochen.

Zusammenfassend kann man das auf die Menge an Ausnahmen, die nicht von einer Programmierungslogik berücksichtigt werden können, zurückfuhren.

Konkrete Beispiele:

Abkürzungen

„SCHW“ für „SCHWARZ“ wurde von der Maschine mit „SW“ übersetzt, „GR.“ für „GRÖSSE“ wurde mit „GR.“ übersetzt. D.h., die Maschine kann den Kontext nicht berücksichtigen und findet entsprechende Übersetzungen in der Datenbank, die von vorneherein nicht stimmen werden.

Werbetexte
„Wie siehst du das?“, wurde mit „How do you see that?“ übersetzt. Die Bedeutung des Ausgangstexts ist aber nicht „Wie kann man das sehen?“, sondern „Was meinst du dazu? “

„Custombike, das alle anderen auf der Straße das Fürchten lehrt!“ wurde mit „custom bike that scares everyone else on the rhinestones“ übersetzt. Hier war die Übersetzung völlig daneben geraten, und der Satz musste komplett überarbeitet werden.

„Zeig allen andern stylish deine Krallen… mit dem ‚Tigers‘ T-Shirt.“ wurde mit „Stylishly show everyone else your claws with the ‚Tigers‘ T-shirt...“ übersetzt, also eine zu wörtliche Übersetzung, und eine gewisse Denkarbeit muss hier investiert werden, um die englischsprachige Leserschaft in einem ähnlichen Grad anzusprechen, z.B. “Stylishly show everyone you are no pussycat...”, was viel idiomatischer klingt.

Fazit

Maschinelle Übersetzung kann Kosten reduzieren und Übersetzungen beschleunigen. Die Zusammenhänge sind allerdings komplex, und um gute Ergebnisse zu erzielen, muss man die Vorstellungen des Kunden ausführlich besprechen, um herauszufinden, ob sie erreicht werden können. Dafür ist ein erfahrener Sprachexperte unabdingbar. Man muss einen ganz anderen Workflow erstellen und auch das Terminologiemanagement muss sorgfältig geplant werden. Sonst werden sich die Kosten für die notwendigen Korrekturen mit der Zeit ansammeln und können die ursprünglichen Kosteneinsparungen sogar überholen. Egal für welche „Strategie“ man sich bei der anstehende Aufgabe entscheidet, der Übersetzer muss seine Position immer klarstellen, im Sinne seiner professionellen Integrität und der Solidarität mit seinen Übersetzerkollegen, vor allem, wenn Kunden versuchen, die Preise zu drücken – nämlich, dass eine maschinelle Übersetzung nur so gut ist wie die Menschen, die sie verwenden. Letztendlich steht aber die Qualität der Ergebnisse an erster Stelle.

Machine translation | human translation - where are we and where are we going?

Fri, 20 May 2022 18:35:24 GMT

Machine translation has been around for several decades, but only in recent years have major advances been made in this field...

German version >>

(The German blog entry is the original version , this rendering has been translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) without post-editing)

In neural machine translation (NMT), for example, attempts are being made to reproduce the brain's networks and thought processes, sometimes with great success. Compared to earlier systems such as statistical or, even earlier, rule-based machine translation, the results are now often amazingly good and are used, for example, to save time or costs. Even professional translators use them again and again for support.

My impression is that acceptance in the translation industry is very different:

The spectrum ranges from complete rejection - "such a complex task can only be entrusted to a human being" - to inclusion as a basis - "can be used as a means to obtain usable results, but they absolutely must be carefully checked afterwards" - to equating it with human translation - "so good that it can be passed on to the end customer more or less unchecked, because the systems are actually quite advanced and by now everything has also been translated before, there is no need to reinvent the wheel".

Which approach to take depends on the nature of the texts to be translated, the quality requirements and the usage. Without a doubt, a human should still be involved in the workflow at present to achieve the best results. Machine translation has its limits, especially because of the quality requirements or the type of text, for example, if it is a specialised field with rarely used terminology or for advertising texts where a lot of creativity is required. The work required to bring the translation up to a professional standard (so-called "post-editing") is often more akin to a new translation.

For example, I am aware of the following areas that can lead to errors and problems with machine translations:

Case study:

The key account manager of a translation agency asked me in June 2021 if I would be willing to participate in a study on machine translation. The subject of this study was a project in the technical/commercial field in which I had been involved for over ten years (a large online shop for motorbike accessories and other (lifestyle) items).

We came to the conclusion that the use of machine translation as a means of cost reduction would have led to considerable quality losses in this case. The time required to bring the machine-translated texts up to the standard of a human translation would have been more or less equivalent to that of a new translation.

In summary, this can be attributed to the amount of exceptions that cannot be taken into account by a programming logic.

Specific examples:

Abbreviations
"SCHW" for "SCHWARZ" was translated by the machine as "SW", "GR." for "GRÖSSE" was translated as "GR.". I.e. the machine cannot take the context into account and finds corresponding translations in the database that will not be correct from the outset.

Advertising copy
"Wie siehst du das?", has been translated as "How do you see that?". The meaning of the source text, however, is not "How do you see that?" but "What do you think about that?"

„Custombike, was translated as "custom bike that scares everyone else on the rhinestones". Here the translation was completely off and the sentence had to be completely revised.

„Zeig allen andern stylish deine Krallen… mit dem ‚Tigers‘ T-Shirt.“ was translated as "Stylishly show everyone else your claws with the 'Tigers' T-shirt...", which is too literal a translation, and some thought needs to be put into this to appeal to English-speaking readers to a similar degree, e.g. "Stylishly show everyone you are no pussycat...", which sounds much more idiomatic.

Conclusion

Machine translation can reduce costs and speed up translations. However, the interrelationships are complex and to achieve good results, the client's ideas must be discussed in detail to find out whether they can be achieved. For this, an experienced language expert is indispensable. One has to create a completely different workflow and terminology management must also be carefully planned. Otherwise, the costs for the necessary corrections will accumulate over time and may even overtake the original cost savings. Whatever "strategy" is chosen for the task at hand, the translator must always make his position clear, in terms of his professional integrity and solidarity with his fellow translators, especially when clients try to drive down prices - namely that a machine translation is only as good as the people who use it. Ultimately, however, the quality of the results comes first.