Israel's organization of technical/marcom writers and copy editors
Whereas Sartre was trying to distinguish an individualistic littérature engagée from already unfashionable socialist realism, in Hebrew the parallel term sifrut m’guyesset retains the association of groupthink, of being enlisted or drafted or inducted for purposes of agitprop or other propaganda rather than thoughtfully asserting beliefs one has formulated as an individual.
Read MoreFor the most part, English-language dictionaries consider that delusional means “having false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions,” as Dictionary.com puts it. But below the fold, a set of “Examples from the Web” includes more than one sentence mentioning “delusional ideas” — ideas that are delusions, not ideas that have delusions. So if a psychiatrist has delusional patients, it’s a good guess that the patients are imagining things; but on the other hand, just maybe the psychiatrist is imagining patients.
Read MoreLike the word “illustration” in English, hamkhashah can refer to the sort of real-life manifestation that nobody can deny, such as waving a flashlight in a darkened room to demonstrate persistence of vision, or it can refer to a way of making something clearer to the senses without proving it at all — such as a diagram, a skit, or a picture in a story book.
Read MoreThe word that Ben-Gurion chose, with the Hebrew idea of a king (melekh) embedded in it, seems to imply that the person is giving the state’s interests priority not because he is an obedient peasant but because he is a participant in the power of sovereignty.
Read MoreI think it’s easier to translate the burdening of a person in connection with a specific task than to translate the general burdening of a person. We can easily say “You make my job harder” or “You make deciding things more difficult.” But if somebody makes, life, the universe, and everything more difficult for us, how do we say so in conversational English?
Read MoreSomeone driven by values would normally be called “value-driven” — with no “s” because in such a construction we normally don’t see the plural. A dog bitten by fleas is flea-bitten, a cake covered by blueberries is blueberry-covered. However, the adjective “value-driven” has been co-opted by the business world in connection with the kind of value that money buys.
Read MoreIf the translation of עמידה בלחצים is literal — resistant to pressure, indifferent to pressure, withstanding pressure, impervious to pressure — it sounds as if the worker simply keeps plodding along without taking the pressure into account, rather than coping with it as necessary.
Read MoreIt might indicate different mentalities, or it might be by chance, that in Hebrew if I harness myself — nirtam — to something, generally I’m making a noble gesture, whereas in English I’m more often assuming a regrettable burden.
Read MoreIf it were up to me, I’d translate הנייר סובל הכל as “Paper puts up with anything,” but tradition must be respected and according to The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs, the English version “Paper does not blush” has seniority harking at least back to 1577.
Read MoreI would be in favor of a One World movement. One world at a time. If I open a copy of Slimming World, I don’t want to see an article called “The world of natural zero-calorie sweeteners.” No worlds within worlds.
Read MoreLooking at Mitkham HaPil — including one big building on a traffic island and perhaps another big building or two across the road — I’d say it’s too small to be called a district. Maybe a center, if it’s only the one building or if the other buildings are well enough integrated despite the busy road that separates them off. Or Elephant Corner could be reasonable name.
Read MoreEhud Barak went on record calling Herzog shakool, m’nuseh, and akhra’i. The Jerusalem Post renders it “ balanced, experienced and responsible.” Ynet says “level-headed, experienced and responsible.” JPUpdates.com says “steady, experienced and responsible.” Haaretz, which of course really likes Herzog, says “sage, experienced and responsible.” Arutz Sheva...
Read MoreI saw a rather bold translation on the Internet the other day. Someone translated מצא לנכון (matsa l’nakhon) as “decided.” Generally the dictionary definitions of that phrase are less blunt. Babylon says “thought it right.” Alkalay says “see fit, choose.”
Read MoreIt seems that in order to be munach somewhere, you have to have come from somewhere else. It would be strange to say that the Shalom Meir Tower is munach in Tel Aviv, although you might say so for effect if you wanted to emphasize that it looks foreign to its neighborhood.
Read MoreOnce when I was a kid watching a TV courtroom drama, a plot twist put one of the lawyers on the witness stand. When he didn’t want to answer a question, he said “I remain silent.” I was impressed on the one hand that he obliged even the humble, unsung court reporter by not requiring everyone to wait through an actual silence. On the other hand, I was impressed by the paradox whereby the words “I remain silent” are acceptable at face value while obviously false.
Read MoreI don’t know who decided that over here we’re Israelis, rather than Israelians or Israelese, or Israelites like our ancestors, but I’m happy with the decision. I like the brevity and the distinctiveness, and I’m glad that the English-speaking community has spared us in its tilt toward standardization. The word “Bosniak” had scarcely flickered on the news pages, back in the nineties, before a sweeping consensus settled on “Bosnian” instead. The people who can be called Chadi, fellow bearers with us of the “i” suffix, are more often termed “Chadian.”
Read MoreThe word “trend” has recently reproduced itself in Hebrew, but with a mutation. In Hebrew, “trend” (טרנד) means “fad.”
Read MoreIn a list of Hebrew expressions that have had their day and should be retired from the language, a blog or blogger named Areshet mentions “where the fish pisses from.” Areshet says, “That’s enough. We get it. We’ve had it up to here. We appreciate the earthy humor, now let’s move on.” But that blog page is four years old and the fish haven’t stopped.
Read MoreBesides the question of whether one sincerely becomes a rhinoceros or just opportunistically fits in with them (although everyone in Ionesco's play seems sincerely won over), there is also the question of whether hitkarnefut means merely becoming like everyone else or becoming like a rhinoceros in more specific ways.
Read MoreI once worked with a fellow who was hard of hearing, and he said that the cause was trauma. For a while, I thought he was like Tommy, the pinball wizard who was struck deaf, dumb, and blind because he witnessed a terrible event. Then I realized that trauma can also refer to a damaging physical blow, or even a damagingly loud noise.
Read MoreSite for Israel's professional tech writing and marcom community. Originally based in what has become Israel's 2nd largest R&D center (Yokneam), Elephant brings together technical and marcom writers from all over Israel. Behind the scenes and between meetings, members stay in contact with job offers and leads, joint projects, and professional assistance.
Using the wrong technical writer is like using a wrench to open a door, it works, but a door knob is better and cheaper. Elephant was started to help match writers and copy editors with companies where their skills match company needs.
