I’d never given much thought to the travails of translators, but a recent email from a reader changed all that.
It kicks off: “In addition, for Designated Window Personnel, purchases or sales of Company Securities made pursuant to, and in compliance with, a written plan that meets the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (a “Trading Plan”), may be made without restriction to any particular period provided that (i) the Trading Plan was established in good faith, in compliance with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1…”
I think you get the drift. The sentence continues for another 245 words. And the translator’s lament? He had to render this brain shredder into Welsh.
Now I hope you’re feeling lithe and limber and that you’ve done your daily dozen. Because agility is now the thing, in business at least. A recent report suggests “Enterprise agility – the ability to change direction quickly – is a decisive factor in today’s digital world”. Furthermore: “Agile coaching plays a vital role in helping companies on their journey, but only if the coaching aspect is taken as seriously as agility. When more skilful business relationships and high-trust environments are established… organisations are better placed to leverage the process of agile... through coaching and facilitation techniques, we are able to unlock the behaviours and limiting beliefs that people and organisations have about themselves.”
Journeys, behaviours, leverage? Pah. Elsewhere, we are informed: “The increments are regularly inspected and adapted against the overall goals and as those goals evolve the iterative nature of the work means strategy and direction can be changed easily.” Now here’s a fitting task for my plucky translator – put this bilge into English.
•Jonathan Bouquet is an Observer columnist
