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SESSIONS BY SPECIALIZATION

Choose from 15 specializations!

ATA57 offers sessions that focus on 15 specializations, plus sessions of other languages that are related to these specializations. Select a specializations below to see what sessions are offered.

ATA-certified translators may earn one CEP for each hour attended, up to a maximum of 10 CEPs. Certified interpreters may earn continuing education credit. Learn more

Select your desired specialization:
ATA Activities Education & Training
Financial T&I Government T&I
Interpreting Independent Contractors
Literary Translation Legal T&I
Language Services Companies Language Technology
Medical T&I Science & Technology
Translation T&I Industry
Terminology Varia




 

ATA Activities
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

ATA-1 ATA Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Workshop
Caitilin Walsh, CT | Milena Calderari-Waldron
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

While codes of ethics sometimes appear dry and boring as written, applying them to real-life scenarios can be interesting and juicy. This session will examine how ATA’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practice applies to real-life situations. It will also address some of the grey areas of professional conduct in translation and interpreting. This session fulfills the ethics requirement for maintaining ATA certification.


ATA-2 ATA Mentoring Program: Working with Project Managers
Kyle Vraa, CT | Susanne van Eyl, CT | Lori Colman Lindeman
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

ATA’s Mentoring Program welcomes aspiring (also past and present) mentors and mentees for an overview of the program and a discussion of topics related to working with project managers and better understanding the project manager to improve your working relationship.


ATA-3 ATA’s Certification Exam: Questions and Answers
David Stephenson, CT | Caron Mason
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

This session will be of interest to attendees seeking a better understanding of ATA’s Certification Program and exam. The speakers will discuss new developments regarding exam delivery methods, eligibility requirements, and the structure of the exam. They will answer questions about certification policies and procedures and give tips on how to prepare for the exam.


ATA-4 Volunteers Turn “They Should” into “We Can”
Dorothee Racette, CT
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Greater visibility, networking, and involvement in decision-making are just a few of the many benefits of volunteering in a professional association. Have you thought about becoming involved in ATA, but aren’t sure what’s required and where to start? Would you like to find out more about the different interest groups within our Association? This session will provide an overview of volunteer opportunities in divisions, chapters, and committees. Learn more about the requirements and time commitments associated with volunteering as a grader, leadership council member, mentor, or committee leader.


ATA-5 ATA Public Relations and You!
Matt Baird | Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

CHANGE: Moved from Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm to Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Public relations is a vital part of communication in any organization. ATA’s Public Relations Program aims to support the Association’s goal of promoting the translation and interpreting professions to raise awareness and educate the public, the media, and members’ potential clients. What kind of PR work is ATA involved in and how can every member help the cause? This session will provide an overview of ATA’s PR program and explain why it benefits members and the Association as a whole. Attendees will also receive tips on how they can help spread the word about our dynamic and growing profession.


 

Education & Training
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

ET-1 Internships for Tomorrow’s Language Mediators
Sue Ellen Wright, CT | Winnie Yung-Chung Heh | Patricia Phillips-Batoma
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Translation, interpreting, and localization management internships foster the success of future language mediators. This session will bring together trainers and career advisers from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Kent State Institute for Applied Linguistics, and University of Illinois Center for Translation Studies, as well as industry leaders and translation students to explore pedagogical objectives, ethical practices, and student and industry expectations. Topics will include mentorship principles, performance review, work assignments and responsibilities, professional demeanor, creating an internship plan, compensation, and liability. One goal of the session will be to familiarize attendees with the principles outlined in ATA’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.


ET-2 Cooperation between Academia and Practice: The Key to Success in Accurate Translation
Natalia Noland
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Many higher educational institutions offer degree and certificate programs to professional translators. The quality of this education is a very important issue in our multicultural society as the demand for professional translators and interpreters continues to grow. The speaker will discuss the advantages of the strategic partnership between the higher educational institution and the proven, successful translation company in delivering translation and interpreting programs. This partnership enhances access to innovative and effective educational programs, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds and disabled students.


ET-3 Acquiring and Teaching Interpreting Modal Skills in Short Course Settings: Not a Fool’s Errand
Katharine Allen | Barry Olsen
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Many interpreters operate across highly diverse and complex settings, yet lack access to sufficient training in the core modal skills of consecutive, simultaneous, and sight translation. Likewise, trainers skilled in teaching interpreter skills in short-course settings represent a significant unmet need in our profession. This session will provide viable pedagogical methods for interpreters and trainers to both learn and teach interpreting skills in limited timeframes. Sound like a fool’s errand? The trick is to create a framework for success when practicing interpreting skills so participants walk away with a concrete road map for replicating and deepening that success through reflective practice.


ET-4 From Classroom to Online Training: Lessons, Gaps, and Opportunities in eLearning for Interpreters
Victoria Radvan
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

How do you transfer (successfully) a traditional classroom-based interpreter training to a completely asynchronous online format? This is the question that stumped the speaker and his colleagues back in 2011, when they were tasked with the development of an online program to train interpreters in remote areas of Canada. The project entailed transferring the curriculum for their classroom-based training to an asynchronous format that could be hosted on an eLearning management system. The speaker will share some strategies in the process of going from onsite to online learning.


ET-5 I'm Not a Translator, but I've Been Translating for as Long as I Can Remember!
Angela Keller Monterroso | Ana Tejada
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

In the translation classroom, heritage language learners confront challenges that are different from those faced by their second-language-learning and native-speaking counterparts. Some of these challenges become visible through heritage language learners’ expressed feelings of self-efficacy regarding their own translation abilities. In this session, we will initiate a discussion among educators and invite feedback based on the findings of a qualitative study that addressed the impact that two semesters of translation instruction had on the self-efficacy of heritage language learners. The implications of these findings for educators in a mixed translation classroom will also be discussed.


ET-6 How to Train Translators in a World of Change, Part I
Anthony Pym
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

How much has changed since Getting It Right, ATA’s client education brochure, was first published in 2001? The technologies you used then are no longer the same. What you have discovered about your market niche no longer applies to the next one. Workflows now often include more than just translators. In addition, the tricks that work for your content area do not apply to all fields. How can you teach things you don’t really know first-hand? By making students discover their own truths for themselves! The speaker will detail the main historical changes that have taken place in the industry and demonstrate in-class activities that can produce fresh, local knowledge.


ET-7 How to Train Translators in a World of Change, Part II
Anthony Pym
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

See abstract for ET-7: How to Train Translators in a World of Change, Part I.


Education & Training
Related Sessions

I-3 Returning to Ethics: A Meta-Ethical Analysis of Community Interpreters’ Codes and Standards of Practice

I-4 Critiquing and Deconstructing Metaphors: A Normative Ethical Framework for Community Interpreters

 

Financial T&I
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

FIN-1 Understanding Financial Jargon
Silvana Debonis
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Many analysts who write economic and financial market reports make use of expressions and terms that are difficult to understand for those who are outside the financial field. The speaker will analyze extracts from actual reports and other publications to explain what they mean and how they should be understood by the translator. This session will be presented in English for translators of any language combination and will not involve any bilingual translation.


FIN-2 NEW SESSION
Capital Markets Concepts and Terminology
Marian S. Greenfield
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

This session provides an overview of translation for the capital markets, concentrating on the equity markets, with an in-depth discussion of prospectus terminology. The speaker will engage the audience to provide their own ideas and opinions and translation conundrums are welcome. The speaker is likely to have more input for Spanish/English questions, but other languages are welcome. Please make sure to bring along at least a couple of sentences of context for any questions you may have.


Financial T&I
Related Sessions

AST-13 IFRS Masterclass for Translators and Interpreters

J-4 Financial Translation: Accounting Standards

S-4 Understanding and Translating the Intricacies of Corruption

S-8 The World After the Financial Crisis: New Terminology and How to Translate It

ST-6 English for Environmental Content: Working with NGOs and Financial/Multilateral Institutions

 

Government T&I
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

GOV-1 CANCELLED
U.S. Government Interpreter Code of Ethics
Dogan Perese | Mi-Ae Wartenbee
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)




GOV-2 Language Analysis and the U.S. Intelligence Community, Part I
Lawrence Taber
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Thousands of linguists support the language requirements of the U.S. government, either as employees or through contractual arrangements. What kind of qualifications does someone need to become a “government linguist,” and what type of assignments can be expected? The answers to those questions are as varied as there are government agencies. This session will address the requirements to serve as a linguist in support of federal criminal investigations. It will also cover the government’s efforts to thwart intelligence gathering by foreign governments and prevent terrorist acts both domestically and overseas.


GOV-3 Language Analysis and the U.S. Intelligence Community, Part II
Lawrence Taber
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

See abstract for GOV-2: Language Analysis and the U.S. Intelligence Community, Part I.


GOV-4 NEW SESSION
A Day in the Life of an FBI Language Analyst
Nermine Elias-Samuel | Atef Shafik
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Take a peek through the two-way mirror into the FBI Language Services section. Explore the roles of our language analysts who provide verbatim and summary translations of audio and written materials, and interpreting services for interviews of various types for FBI and law enforcement agencies around the country. FBI language analysts are also frequently called upon as sources of knowledge about the culture that surrounds the source language. From financial crime to counterintelligence, from hackers to terrorists and everything in between, a day in the life of an FBI language analyst is anything but dull.


Government T&I
Related Sessions

C-1 The UN Interpreter, Part I

C-2 The UN Interpreter, Part II

K-3 Korean Diplomatic Translation, Part I

K-4 Korean Diplomatic Translation, Part II

LSC-5 In the Interests of National Security for Commercial Products: Export Administration Regulations

LSC-6 In the Interests of National Security for Defense and Aerospace Services: International Traffic in Arms Regulations

 

Interpreting
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

I-1 You Did What? Making Sense of Conflicting Codes of Ethics, Part I
Milena Calderari-Waldron | Robyn Dean | Helen Eby | Cristina Helmerichs | Marina Hadjioannou Waters
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Interpreters in the U.S. face dozens of codes of ethics that can conflict with one another at times. The speakers will discuss the professional duties of interpreters and the expectations placed upon them across different areas of interpreting. Also discussed will be the codes of ethics from various organizations: ASTM International; signed language interpreting (National Association of the Deaf - Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf); health care interpreting (National Council on Interpreting in Health Care); and court interpreting (federal courts). In addition, attendees will identify areas where lessons can be garnered from the differences between the codes. Copies of the ethics codes will be available. Participation will be encouraged.


I-2 You Did What? Making Sense of Conflicting Codes of Ethics, Part II
Milena Calderari-Waldron | Robyn Dean | Helen Eby | Cristina Helmerichs | Marina Hadjioannou Waters
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

See abstract for I-1: You Did What? Making Sense of Conflicting Codes of Ethics, Part I.


I-3 Returning to Ethics: A Meta-Ethical Analysis of Community Interpreters’ Codes and Standards of Practice
Robyn Dean
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The speaker will discuss the challenges associated with the ethical framework offered to community interpreters. Metaphors (e.g., conduit/advocate) are often employed to describe practitioners’ behaviors and have since emerged in pedagogy and training material as an ethical device (e.g., interpreters should or should not be a conduit). However, the devices used to describe behaviors are not the same as those used to propose or evaluate behaviors. Normative ethics dictates the use of terms that evaluate the consequences of decisions in light of a profession’s values. The speaker will propose an alternative framework.


I-4 Critiquing and Deconstructing Metaphors: A Normative Ethical Framework for Community Interpreters
Robyn Dean
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Practitioners should seek to enhance (or at least not prevent) cooperation between interlocutors of other languages/cultures. This proposition is in alignment with ideals from morality scholarship: cooperation is the highest form of ethical reasoning. In community interpreting, this ideal is arguably evident in the frequently used metaphor “member of the team.” The speaker will distill the “interpreter-as-team member” metaphor into a series of professional values and propose a framework that aligns with a cooperation-based, ethical framework for interpreters working in community settings.


I-5 More Tools and Toys for 'Terps
Cristina Silva, CT
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; Advanced; Presented in: English)

This is a continuation, not a repeat, of the session presented at last year’s ATA conference. As a parent of three Generation Y teenagers, the speaker is constantly reminded that “there is an app for everything,” so looking for apps and technology that interpreters can use to further train or hone their craft has become a pastime. This time around, we’ll explore some apps that help with public speaking, measuring voice quality, reading texts out loud, and a few more.


I-6 Kiss Paper Goodbye: Tablet Technology for Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting
Holly Behl, CT | Alexander Drechsel
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The latest tablets offer a host of streamlined tools for interpreters, even in high-stakes settings like court and conference interpreting. After a brief market overview, attendees will learn which strategies and apps are recommended for business tasks, assignment preparation, and consecutive and simultaneous settings. Both speakers have vast experience using tablets for interpreting in the courts and in the booth. Attendees will leave this session knowing the benefits offered by the latest technology, the challenges of implementing it, and have a better idea of available devices and recommended software. The speakers will also discuss their experiences and informal research in addressing common questions.


I-7 Strategies for Successful Conference Interpreting
Jacki Noh
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

With the exception of tests for the United Nations and U.S. State Department or possession of an MA from a graduate school of translation and interpreting, there are no official exams an interpreter can take to demonstrate competence in simultaneous interpreting to organizers and language services providers. Therefore, each assignment becomes a “test” of its own. How do you prepare for that “test” once you receive a signed contract? The speaker will draw on her own experiences and share valuable tips about researching and studying subject matter to become a successful conference interpreter.


I-8 Remote Interpreting: Is the Sky Really Falling, or is the Sky the Limit?
Barry Olsen
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Few things have caused as much excitement and controversy among interpreters as the prospect of remote interpreting. For some it’s an opportunity, for others, a threat. While some say it can’t be done, others have been doing it for years. Regardless of your position, remote interpreting is here to stay. The speaker will examine several remote interpreting use cases along with the technologies employed today to provide it. Learn about the emerging marketplace for remote interpreting and how to take advantage of it. Come curious, leave informed.


I-9 They Think I’m a Cultural Expert! A Crash Course in Effective Cultural Mediation
Katharine Allen | Marjory Bancroft | Giovanna Carriero-Contreras
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

CHANGE: Moved from Saturday, 3:30-4:30pm to Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm

So they expect you to solve cultural problems! Slow down. Take a breath. Whether we interpret in medical, court, or community settings, we are interpreters, not cultural experts. However, cultural barriers do arise. How to address them? The speakers will offer advanced yet breathtakingly easy-to-grasp techniques for cultural mediation. Using a national Strategic Mediation Model, you can deftly point to (not explain) a misunderstanding. You can then: a) focus on the “linguistic envelope” to identify what caused the misunderstanding; b) develop scripts for intervening; and c) perform mediation using five easy steps. Keep it simple. Don’t fix a cultural barrier; facilitate a cultural dialogue.


Interpreting
Related Sessions

AST-1 Long Consecutive Bootcamp: An Applied Skills Workshop for Interpreters

AST-2 Sight Translation Skills for Translators and Interpreters

AST-9 Improve Your Consecutive for Note-taking for Dialog Interpreting

AST-10 Rethinking Your Simultaneous Interpretation Delivery

GOV-1 U.S. Government Interpreter Code of Ethics

J-6 Deposition Strategies

S-5 Describa el dolor: Interpreting Pain for the Record

 

Independent Contractors
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

IC-1 Networking for Introverts
Anne Goff
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

This session will provide specific tips on how introverts can network and self-market without feeling completely overwhelmed and drained by the experience. Topics will include: how to communicate with extroverts and turn your differences into an asset, how to choose the best networking events for your skills and style, how to prepare for a networking event, what steps to take after a networking event, how to redefine your networking goals, and how to set reasonable networking limits.


IC-2 What about Blind Spots?
Chris Durban
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Good translators are passionate, engaged, and skilled with words, or they should be. But even our most valuable assets can be a breeding ground for complacency. Do you have a blind spot? Many linguists ignore strategic issues, focusing instead on less important details within their comfort zone. Others explain away friction with clients rather than face the causes. Still others sit back and wait for change instead of rolling up their sleeves and taking charge of their future. With fast-moving markets demanding attention sooner rather than later, these are luxuries none of us can afford. This session will provide concrete examples of common blind spots and practical advice for working around them.


IC-3 Ensuring Payment Before, During, and After the Project
Ted R. Wozniak, CT
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

Late and non-payments are a fact of life in all businesses. The Internet and the rise of translator “auction” portals, while increasing the translator’s exposure to the global market, have unfortunately also made it easier for unscrupulous people to delay payment or even intentionally defraud freelancers. This session will cover steps that all translators can and should take to minimize the risk of not being paid for their services. Topics will include actions to take before, during, and after the project; standard business practices regarding accounts payable; and resources for checking a company’s bone fides, dunning, and collection procedures.


IC-4 Yes, It’s about the Money: How to Price Your Work, Part I
Jonathan Hine, CT
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Translators and interpreters are in business. Pricing and monitoring financial performance are crucial to business success. This session will cover the elements of budgeting and business planning. This methodology will help attendees develop personal criteria for accepting or rejecting freelance assignments, balancing employment offers, and choosing alternatives for business expansion. The session will also cover calculating the break-even price and tracking sales volume and revenue. This is not a number-crunching session. Come prepared to enjoy learning how to set your business on a solid financial footing and keep it there.


IC-5 Yes, It’s about the Money: How to Price Your Work, Part II
Jonathan Hine, CT
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

See abstract for IC-4: Yes, It’s about the Money: How to Price Your Work, Part I.


IC-6 Ask a Lawyer-Linguist: What’s Legal (and What’s Not) in Translation?
Paula Arturo
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Whether dealing with brokers or direct clients, translators are often overwhelmed and confused about what clients can and cannot demand from them or whether certain seemingly “standard” translation contract clauses are actually legal. Should we sign non-disclosure agreements? If so, when and under what circumstances? What can we do about non-payers or late payers? Are translators always required to waive copyright? This session will cover the 10 most commonly asked questions about translation and the law.


IC-7 Contracts: Friends or Foes?
Amanda N. Williams
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Vendor contracts have become an indisputable part of the translator language services provider relationship, but what are the implications of these contracts for translators? This session will help attendees decipher vendor agreements, detect red flags in vendor contracts, and propose amendments to certain contract clauses. This session will also discuss the importance of translators sending their own terms of service for every project. Attendees will walk away with more confidence in handling vendor contracts as well as example clauses to include in their own terms of service.


IC-8 How to Get the Most Out of Standards
Alan K. Melby, CT | Amanda Curry | Jennifer DeCamp | William P. Rivers | Monique Roske | Sue Ellen Wright
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Come meet ATA’s Standards Committee. See how your colleagues respond to industry and government requests for standards compliance. See how standards can help translators become language services advisers. See how they use standards to develop contracts that insurance companies and the Better Business Bureau say are great! See how you can use affiliations with standards organizations to enhance your marketing material. Find out about other standards that make it possible to exchange translation memories and terminologies. Find out how standards get made and how you can get involved.


IC-9 Get More Clients: Growing Your Freelance Translation Business Through Referral Selling
Maryam Abdi
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

People like doing business with people they’re familiar with, instead of strangers. Referrals are one of the most powerful sales tools for freelance translators. In this session, you’ll learn how to get more business by leveraging your network. You’ll get tested word-for-word referral scripts to get past clients and colleagues to vouch for you so you can get new clients faster. You’ll also learn how to optimize your referral system to bring in new clients, even when you’re not asking for them.


IC-10 Let the Clients Come to You: Inbound Marketing for Freelance Translators
Tess Whitty, CT
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

In this session, you will learn what platforms and strategies to use to get the right potential clients to find you online, including correctly setting up your website, search engine optimization, and social media. You will also learn how to convert strangers into leads and, ultimately, into customers and referrals. You will also get tips on some tools to make inbound marketing faster and easier.


IC-11 Finding and Targeting a Niche Market
Christelle Maignan
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

While some translators see themselves as generalists, others choose to specialize in order to stand out from the competition, be seen as experts in their fields, and charge higher rates. But how do you select a niche market? Do you choose it, or do you let it choose you? And how do you target it? This session will explore the benefits of niche markets, as well as key aspects to consider when choosing a niche. Targeting strategies, both on and offline, will also be offered.


IC-12 Transitioning from Student to Translator: Strategies for Success
Meghan McCallum | Sarah Puchner
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

You worked hard to get this far. But now what? How can you successfully transition from classroom to career? While there is no easy solution to the vicious circle of “no work without experience and no experience without work,” this session will show you how to use your skills and the many available resources to give yourself the best possible chance of landing that all-important first paid job. Topics will include networking, establishing and maintaining an online presence, knowing where to find help when you need it, and ATA certification.


Independent Contractors
Related Sessions

AST-4 Seven Ways to Actively Market to Direct Clients

AST-12 Use Your Super Powers to Get Clients Now!

LSC-3 The Agency-Freelancer Dating Game

LSC-4 Watching Out for the Good of the Freelancer

LT-2 Language Professionals after the Snowden Revelations: How to Reclaim Control Over Your Digital Life

P-5 Having One’s Cake and Eating It Too: Building a Team So Everyone Gets to Taste the Frosting

T-6 Grow Your Business with Genealogical Translation

T-7 Translation Quality by the Numbers? What Numbers?

T-12 Beyond Post-Editing: How the eBay Machine Translation Language Specialists Reinvent the Linguist’s Role

TI-1 Language Services Industry in China: Opportunities and Challenges

TI-6 International Trade: A High Growth Market for Translators

 

Literary Translation
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

L-1 Translating Anna Karenina: Two Approaches
Rosamund Bartlett | Marian Schwartz
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has by now been translated into English more than a dozen times since its first full publication in Russia in 1878. In this session, the novel’s two most recent translators will discuss their differing approaches to rendering Tolstoy’s prose successfully into English. By focusing on the linguistic and stylistic decisions each took in translating selected characteristic passages, they will seek to convey the particular challenges of preserving Tolstoy’s distinctive style while producing a readable text in English.


L-2 Marilyn Gaddis Rose Lecture: The Business of Retranslating the Classics
Marian Schwartz
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; Beginner; Presented in: English)

The economics of publishing re-translations of classics has created a desire among publishers to produce new translations of classic and near-classic texts. Recent notable re-translations of Proust, Cervantes, and Pasternak demonstrate aspects of the evolution of publishing in the 21st century as well as contemporary approaches to literary translation. Equipped with an understanding of how publishers think, literary translators can navigate the classics to their artistic and economic advantage.


L-3 Literary Translation and Lateral Thinking: How to Publish New Versions of the Classics
Rosamund Bartlett
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

A little over 100 years ago, the market for translations of 19th- and early 20th-century European literature was wide open, simply because so few works were then available in English. While the opposite is true today, it’s important that each generation produces translators able to breathe new life into literary masterpieces, by offering up-to-date readings of celebrated texts. The speaker will discuss some of the less obvious and more creative ways that can provide resourceful and imaginative translators with the stepping stones to establish a reputation and secure elusive contracts to publish new versions of the classics.


L-4 Literary Translation Contracts: What's Really Lurking in There?
Paula Arturo
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

The contract is a crucial part of a literary translator’s work process and involves everything from copyright and royalties to conflict resolution and jurisdiction clauses. But just what do all those words mean? How do they affect translators? This session will provide translators and those interested in understanding contracts the chance to engage with a lawyer-linguist and compare real-life contracts to model agreements, U.S. copyright law, and the Berne Convention. What’s skulking about in your literary translation contract? How do we identify and overcome gaps or shortcomings in existing literary translation agreements? Bring your contract and find out!


L-5 Translating Children’s Books: When Fidelity Calls for Freedom
Mercedes Guhl | Nanette McGuinness
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Fidelity to the original in word and intent is a translator’s mantra and mandate. Yet, what does that mean in practice for children’s books, where fidelity to an original can take on increased flexibility? The speakers are experienced translators of children’s books and graphic novels who will discuss how they deal with aspects of a text that are difficult to translate but still necessary for the book to make sense to young readers. The speakers will explore optimal strategies (adaptation, substitution, deletion, etc.) to help a translation fulfill its function of entertaining or informing readers while simultaneously promoting books and literacy.


L-6 NEW SESSION
An Introduction to Russian Proverbs (in English Verse)
Lydia Razran Stone, CT
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The speaker will describe how (and why) she translated around 400 venerable Russian proverbs into English rhymed couplets, frequently humorous. The presentation will target non-Russian speakers, with literal renditions compared to the speaker's translations. The speaker will discuss the variety of adaptations made in an attempt to accurately portray in modern and appealing English terms both what the proverbs say and how they are used today.


Literary Translation
Related Sessions

AST-11 Finding the Voice in Literary Translation

F-5 Translating Sherpa: The Memoir of Ang Tharkay

G-3 Bottom, Bless Thee! Thou Art Translated (Translating for the Stage)

G-4 Die Fremde hier (Preserving Foreignness in Translation)

J-1 From Murakami to Sōseki: Checking Your Translations with Authors, Both Living and Dead, Part I

J-2 From Murakami to Sōseki: Checking Your Translations with Authors, Both Living and Dead, Part II

P-1 Place and Space in Translation: Machado, Noll, and O. Henry Find Their Way in English and Portuguese

P-6 Being a Translator: The Rise of a Powerful New Professional

P-7 Literary Translation in Action: A Close Reading

SL-6 In the Shadow of Russian: 40 Years of Translating Polish Literature (Susana Greiss Lecture)

 

Legal T&I
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

LAW-1 Patents Translation: Befriending a Few Tools of the Trade
Françoise Herrmann
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Large national and international patent offices such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office, European Patent Office, and World Intellectual Property Organization offer a bounty of patent-related tools, primarily designed for inventors, entrepreneurs, and the legal profession. This session will explore some of these tools to see how translators can use them in their work.


LAW-2 Patent Litigation: Understanding the Choreography
Eve Hecht, CT
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Recognize the phrase “patent troll”? The recent explosion in patent litigation is a boon for legal translators who master these demanding texts. Multilingual patents and company websites make technical aspects more transparent and accessible. But the translator must also understand the strategies employed (e.g., “You infringed my patent,” “Your patent is worthless,” “Anyway, it’s not our problem,” and almost always culminating in “So how much do you want for the license?”).This session will cover injunctions, expert opinions, standard-essential patents, and the use of parallel proceedings, with the aim of increasing the translator’s confidence in approaching these texts.


LAW-3 CANCELLED
Comparison of Civil Law and Common Law Systems: How It Affects Legal Translation
Liming Pals, CT
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)




LAW-4 CANCELLED
Simplicity Is the Ultimate Sophistication: Translating Legalese into Plain Language
Amanda Morris
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)




LAW-5 Does Crime Pay? How to Profit from Money Laundering without Committing Any Crimes
Manuela Sampaio
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Corruption, money laundering, and other white-collar crime scandals happen worldwide, and their repercussions stretch far beyond the borders of each individual country. Whether in actions for damages, investigations for recovery and repatriation of assets, reports to investors, or press releases, these cases generate a great demand for translation. The speaker will discuss some of the main cases with international repercussions and the potential translation opportunities arising from them. Resources for those interested in this area will also be covered.


Legal T&I
Related Sessions

F-3 Translating Contracts for French Translators

J-3 Views of a Patent Attorney: The Intellectual Property Trend and Its Impact on Translation

P-4 Dad Is Cool and Mom Rocks: A Wild Ride Translating a Husband-and-Wife Book Series on Parenting

S-4 Understanding and Translating the Intricacies of Corruption

S-9 Unexpected Meanings in Legal Spanish

SL-4 Fact-Finding Mission Reports, Primary Sources, and More: Translating Human Rights Documents from Russian into English

SL-5 Finding Functional Equivalents for Legal Terms in Polish and English

 

Language Services Companies
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

LSC-1 ISO 17100 Certification: Who, What, Why, and How?
Gregory Ballou
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

This session will provide an overview of the ISO certification process. Who should apply? What is going on in the certification world when it comes to language services providers? How can certification help language services providers gain an edge on the competition? These questions and more will be answered during this session.


LSC-2 Role-Based Internships: A Model for Successful and Sustainable Student Partnerships
Serena Williams
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The speaker will discuss a case study involving a successful internship program that can be adapted to other agencies. She will present a set of guidelines for cutting through some of the red tape (i.e., university paperwork and labor laws) that often prevents agencies from hiring interns. Attendees will also learn about designing a role-based or project-based internship program.


LSC-3 The Agency-Freelancer Dating Game
Robert Sette, CT | Steve Lank
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Ironically, our industry often suffers from communication-related problems, primarily between agencies and freelancers. We work together daily, but don’t really take the time to understand each other’s perspective. We think they know better. We assume rather than discuss. We cope and hope the problem will go away. But it won’t, and we know it. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just sit down and talk it out? In this session, two industry veterans (one freelancer and one agency representative) will do just that, hopefully sparking lively audience participation, to help get to the crux of the issue.


LSC-4 Watching Out for the Good of the Freelancer
Michael Cárdenas
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Each translation company has its own guidelines for choosing a translator. For some, the choice is based strictly on qualifications, availability, or solely on price. Freelancers are often left in the dark about issues related to the project. What would happen if translation agencies treated their freelancers as freelancers treated their clients? This is exactly what the speaker has done by shifting the focus of resource management to talent liaison management. Come find out how this shift has helped the speaker gain the confidence and respect of freelancers. Please be prepared to voice your opinion.


LSC-5 In the Interests of National Security for Commercial Products: Export Administration Regulations
Virginia Anderson | Beth Pride
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

Security regulations are much more pervasive than most people realize. The U.S. Department of Commerce closely regulates technical information and data about telecommunications, specialty cameras and computers, smart phones and GPS systems, and many more items Americans tend to think of as commonplace in an advanced society. However, only U.S. citizens are authorized to view much of the data about these types of items. Translators, interpreters, and project managers must be U.S. citizens located within the U.S., and yet they must be native speakers of a foreign language to do their jobs. The speakers will examine how to reconcile this paradox within the limited confines of the Export Administrative Regulations.


LSC-6 In the Interests of National Security for Defense and Aerospace Services: International Traffic in Arms Regulations
Virginia Anderson | Beth Pride
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The U.S. Department of State’s regulations are particularly rigid for defense and aerospace commodities, software, and their related technology. Why is this a concern for translators? In many cases, translators, interpreters, and project managers must be U.S. citizens located within the U.S. to work with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regulated technical data or they must obtain an export license to avoid violations. The furnishing of assistance (including training) to foreign persons, whether in the U.S. or abroad, in the design, development, engineering, production, or use of defense articles usually requires an ITAR license. The speakers will explain how to reconcile this paradox within the confines of the ITAR.


LSC-7 Client Feedback and Suggested Edits: Take a Deep Breath Before You Respond
Michael Bearden
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

This session will reveal the internal efforts and approach of a mid-sized language services provider (LSP) as it provides linguistic edits and suggestions to its teams of international contract linguists and global support staff. We’ll peel back the curtain with examples and share the strategies and tools we use to sharpen our focus on consistency, client style, and preference. Attendees will enjoy an objective, transparent glimpse into the evolving efforts of an LSP’s quality assurance efforts and receive tips to maximize mutual potential for success.


Language Services Companies
Related Sessions

A-2 Running an Arabic Translation Business: Challenges and Solutions

IC-6 Ask a Lawyer-Linguist: What’s Legal (and What’s Not) in Translation?

IC-7 Contracts: Friends or Foes?

IC-8 How to Get the Most Out of Standards

IC-9 Get More Clients: Growing Your Freelance Translation Business Through Referral Selling

IC-10 Let the Clients Come to You: Inbound Marketing for Freelance Translators

IC-11 Finding and Targeting a Niche Market

MED-4 Language Matters Program at Kaiser Permanente

T-7 Translation Quality by the Numbers? What Numbers?

TI-1 Language Services Industry in China: Opportunities and Challenges

 

Language Technology
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

LT-1 Language Technology and the Sharing Economy
Joseph Wojowski
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

Have you ever considered that the way we employ technology in our day-to-day lives may lead to unforeseen breaches in data security and ownership? Using public machine translation (MT) and cloud storage puts our clients’ and our data at risk. This session will discuss the terms and conditions associated with the most popular MT engines, the nature of cloud storage and its inherent vulnerability, and best practices for maintaining data security. Ways to discuss data security with clients will also be covered.


LT-2 Language Professionals after the Snowden Revelations: How to Reclaim Control Over Your Digital Life
Alexander Drechsel
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The amount of information we share online about out private and professional lives has increased. However, we often compromise our privacy and put the integrity of data and information at risk. Public and private entities exploit that: invasive ads, tracking across websites, profiling, restrictive digital rights management, attacks on net neutrality, bulk data collection, and the list goes on. It’s time for language professionals to reclaim control, especially when handling client data, which can be sensitive or even confidential. This session will provide practical solutions: from encrypted email and secure Wi-Fi on the go to safer passwords and secure platforms to access your files.


LT-3 The Rise of Emoji
Alolita Sharma
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

CHANGE: Moved from Thursday, 3:30-4:30pm to Saturday, 8:30-9:30am

This session will explore some of the creative ways people are communicating with emojis. The speaker will examine the evolution of related meta languages, including stickers and anime that are becoming essential parts of user-generated content online. Attendees will also learn how services like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Google are leveraging emojis and natural language processing technologies to understand their users.


LT-4 Web Scale Content Translation Tools for Massive User-Generated Content Communities
Alolita Sharma
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

The most popular web scale platforms like Facebook, Google, and Twitter prefer to “build” instead of “buy” when it comes to tools for localizing for millions of users across the world. In this session, we will explore factors that enable localization tool chains to be developed. We will also look at how these tools, along with massive user-generated content repositories, empower online translator communities to contribute great translations.


LT-5 The CAT Show: Demos by CAT Tool Users (Déjà Vu and memoQ)
Percy Balemans | Tuomas Kostiainen, CT | Steven Marzuola | Jenae Spry | Joseph Wojowski
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools can be very useful to help improve productivity, consistency, and quality. But how do you decide which CAT tool is best for you? In this session, experienced CAT tool users will demonstrate their favorite CAT tool to make it easier for you to compare them. There will be time for questions and discussion. (LT-5 will focus primarily on Déjà Vu and memoQ. See LT-6 for demonstrations of Trados and Wordfast.)


LT-6 The CAT Show: Demos by CAT Tool Users (Trados & WordFast)
Percy Balemans | Tuomas Kostiainen, CT | Steven Marzuola | Jenae Spry | Joseph Wojowski
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools can be very useful to help improve productivity, consistency, and quality. But how do you decide which CAT tool is best for you? In this session, experienced CAT tool users will demonstrate their favorite CAT tool to make it easier for you to compare them. There will be time for questions and discussion. (LT-6 will focus primarily on Trados and Wordfast. See LT-5 for demonstrations of Déjà Vu and memoQ.)


LT-7 Demystifying Machine Translation and Post-Editing
Jay Marciano
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

CHANGE: Moved from Saturday, 8:30-9:30am to Thursday, 3:30-4:30pm

Machine translation (MT) attempts to perform a fundamentally human task: rendering a sentence from one language into another. Whether you consider MT friend or foe, every translator should have a basic understanding of what it is and how it works and how translators are being asked to interact with it. This session will provide an easily understandable explanation of how MT systems are built, how they create translations of sentences they have never before encountered, and how post-editing can be used to efficiently create a final translation of appropriate quality. Attendees will gain an understanding of MT’s strengths and weaknesses and develop a better appreciation for how it can be used effectively on appropriate projects.


LT-8 Subtitle Solutions: Exploring What Is Available Online and Offline
Ousama Fatima
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

This presentation will explore the different kinds of subtitling software and websites available for online streaming videos and digital content. Attendees will learn the basics of on-screen subtitles. This session will list several available solutions and focus on two options, online and offline. Attendees will get an overview of the two options and watch a demonstration of how they can be used as translating tools.


LT-9 CANCELLED
Re-Animating Dead PDFs for CAT Tool Use
Annett Brown, CT
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)




LT-10 DotSub: Online Platform for Basic Transcription and Subtitling
Rafa Lombardino, CT
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

Have you ever turned down a subtitling project because your client didn’t have a script in document format and you had no idea where to start? Have you tried transcribing an audiovisual file in Word and gotten frustrated with the task of manual time-coding it? Well, there’s a simpler way around projects of this nature! In this session, you’ll learn about DotSub, a free online platform that helps you transcribe and translate subtitles on the fly. It includes a synchronization feature, so you can generate an accurate, time-coded file in several different formats currently used in the subtitling industry.


Language Technology
Related Sessions

AST-3 Mastering PDFs using OCR and Advanced Formatting Features in Word

AST-7 Trados Studio Workshop

AST-15 Dancing with Dragon: Voice Recognition for Productivity

I-5 More Tools and Toys for 'Terps

I-6 Kiss Paper Goodbye: Tablet Technology for Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting

T-12 Beyond Post-Editing: How the eBay Machine Translation Language Specialists Reinvent the Linguist’s Role

TI-3 Future Tense: Where will Artificial Intelligence and Improving Technologies Take Us in 10 Years?

 

Medical T&I
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

MED-1 Navigating Choppy Waters: How to Intervene in an Interpreted Encounter without Capsizing
Rosanna Balistreri | Julie Burns, CT
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

For a health care interpreter, stepping out of the primary role of message conversion can be a necessary but potentially risky intervention to assure the clarity of communication or ensure the safety and well being of the patient. This session will address the benefits and pitfalls of interpreter interventions and provide attendees with clear guidelines for effective intervention. Attendees will also have the opportunity to practice intervention strategies and to create and practice brief, personalized scripts for interpreter intervention. These strategies will help maintain the integrity of the patient provider relationship.


MED-2 Elusive Quest to Maintain Register in Health Care Interpreting
Natalya Mytareva
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Register is an essential component of the speaker’s message. Interpreters are tasked with maintaining the register to achieve equivalence of meaning between the original and target messages. Yet, is it always possible, and is it always necessary? The speaker will clarify the concepts of register and dialectal/regional variations of language and discuss factors affecting the interpreter’s ability to maintain register as well as components of mastering this skill. The importance and relevance of maintaining the speaker’s register in health care settings will be exemplified. Attendees will also practice analyzing messages on the criticality scale of maintaining register in a health care encounter.


MED-3 Interpreting the Psychiatric Interview: How Language Affects the Mental Status Exam
Maria Carla Faccini | Adrienne D. Mishkin
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Interpreting a psychiatric interview poses unique challenges. The entire interview serves as a mental status exam and providers have specific reasons to ask questions in a certain way. An interpreter who is ill-equipped to deal with these challenges can unknowingly cloud the provider’s ability to assess the patient correctly. Attendees will learn about the provider’s thought process and some of the techniques they use to interview patients. The speakers will also discuss examples that show how a skilled interpreter can improve the quality of the interview. Strategies that the interpreter can use to overcome these challenges will also be discussed.


MED-4 Language Matters Program at Kaiser Permanente
Nirupama Deshpande | Julia Herzenberg
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Patients experience fewer health complications and have a better care experience when caregivers or interpreters speak with them in the language they understand best. At Kaiser Permanente Northern California, the goal is to use qualified interpreter services in all its hospitals, every time interpreting is needed. The Language Matters program is designed to make it easier for hospital clinicians and staff to know in advance when interpreting is needed and to access qualified interpreter services quickly. The speakers will discuss the objectives of the Language Matters program.


MED-5 Language Access Services: Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle
Elena Morrow, CT | Mateo Rutherford
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Language access services involve much more than scheduling interpreters. There are many additional services that must be managed to ensure compliance with federal regulations and to provide the highest level of care to all patients. Each piece of the puzzle is a mosaic of programs that can seem overwhelmingly complicated. For example, interpreting services may include in-person, video, telephone, advanced scheduled, on-demand, and staff and vendor interpreters along with a dispatch team. The speakers will attempt to put together the puzzle of full language access, discuss experiences, and offer suggestions for implementation of these services in a medical setting.


MED-6 “Ouch! It hurts!” The Basics of Pain
Gloria M. Rivera
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Beginner; Presented in: English)

Pain is a common event experienced by most of us, but since it’s a subjective experience, it’s hard to describe and interpret. This is a language-neutral session in which attendees will learn about the different mechanisms of pain, its classification, and how it’s assessed. We will focus on the evaluation and description of pain, the complex qualities of pain (dull, acute, sharp, throbbing, etc.), and how they convey different meanings and origins.


MED-7 Linguistic Validation: Beyond Translation
Marta Manzanares Gómez
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

In a fast-growing pharmaceutical industry, linguistic validation plays a key role in the development and assessment of clinical trials, as it guarantees that the outcome is interpreted consistently regardless of the country or language. This process requires the seamless coordination of project managers, translators, and reviewers, among others, to ensure the utmost quality while complying with client and industry requirements. The speaker will provide an overview of the general goals and typical types of documents, explore each of the various stages of the linguistic validation process in depth, and discuss some of the most common roadblocks along the way.


MED-8 Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS): A Journey, Not a Destination, Part I
James Dickens
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Attendees will learn what obstacles to health care delivery exist and how to navigate cultural and linguistic barriers, as well as techniques to increase access to health care for limited-English-proficient populations. Through collaboration with federal partners, public health partners, managed care entities, institutions of higher education, and community-based organizations, cultural and language barriers to health care can be removed. The speaker is on the frontline of this critical process and has a unique perspective to offer.


MED-9 Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS): A Journey, Not a Destination, Part II
James Dickens
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; Advanced; Presented in: English)

See abstract for MED-8: Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS): A Journey, Not a Destination, Part I.


MED-10 Lurking in the Shadows: Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
Michèle Hansen, CT | Patricia Thickstun de Ribes, CT
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

This year, Zika captured headlines; last year it was Ebola, and before that, avian flu, dengue, and West Nile. Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases present challenges to global health professionals as well as to translators and interpreters. This session will review infectious disease epidemiology, detection, and surveillance basics, and explore geopolitical and global economic issues associated with these diseases. Attendees will learn how to discuss factors contributing to the resurgence of old diseases and the emergence of new diseases, describe state-of-the-art prevention and control strategies, and discuss global health implications. Terminology resources and skill-building exercises will be provided.


MED-11 Do You Hear What I Hear? Changing Lives with Cochlear Implants
Megan Greenya Everson | Shannon Summers
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Because of new surgical techniques and cutting-edge technologies, patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss are now seeking cochlear implantation more than ever before. The speakers will discuss hearing loss, provide an overview of the different types of cochlear implant devices available on the market, and explain the benefits patients can expect from implantation. Attendees will learn what types of documents they might be asked to translate when working in this field, and will gain knowledge of terminology specific to the audiology industry. Some French>English examples will be provided.


MED-12 Patient Empowerment: Translating PILs, Pre/Post-Op Instructions, and ICs
Roksolana Povoroznyuk
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

The essence of medical interpreting reflects that of medicine itself. It is two-fold, encompassing both study and praxis. Exploring the generic characteristics of patient-oriented texts (e.g., patient information leaflets, pre/post-op instructions, etc.) undoubtedly promotes the concept of patient empowerment and integrates into coordinated health care delivery. However, these texts often echo divergent values of the original and target cultures, and their style and format also differ to a noticeable degree in various countries. Particular features of language use in expert medical communication (e.g., terminology, grammar, etc.) can lead to ambiguities. This could impede the processing of information for both the medical interpreter and the patients. The speaker will discuss techniques to improve interpreter-mediated communication.


Medical T&I
Related Sessions

F-9 The Language of Medicine in Five Easy Pieces

G-2 Much Ado about Gluten: Celiac Disease, Gluten Sensitivity, and the Gluten-Free Diet Explained

N-1 Scandinanvian>English Medical Abbreviations

S-1 Creación terminológica: tipología y formación de términos científicos

S-5 Describa el dolor: Interpreting Pain for the Record

TRM-3 Termbase Health Reports: Must Do

 

Science & Technology
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

ST-1 CRISPR Gene Editing: From Tailored Gene Therapy to Species Engineering
Tapani Ronni, CT
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

This session will introduce attendees to one of the hottest topics in current life sciences and molecular medicine, genome editing using the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) system. This new method is so easy that a graduate student can quickly achieve results that previously required years and advanced expertise. The applications of the CRISPR system include gene therapy, genome editing for basic research, rapid creation of disease models, and even species engineering.


ST-2 Beyond Navigation: Established and Emerging Satellite Applications
Karl Pfeiffer, CT
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English and German)

This session will explore translation-relevant aspects of established and emerging satellite technology applications beyond the ubiquitous navigation and smartphone positioning uses. Attendees will learn about deployed and planned systems, applicable standards and treaties, and applications in the areas of communication, earth observation, and environmental monitoring. The speaker will provide terminology resources in English and German and specific application examples, including precision farming and machinery telematics. Topics will range from technological, normative, and legal foundations to linguistic tools and resources.


ST-3 Translating Poincaré: French, Mathematical-Physics, and Chaos
Bruce Popp, CT
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; Advanced; Presented in: English)

In 1890, Henri Poincaré, already an eminent French mathematician, published an article on the stability of orbits subject to Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation. In the 270-page article, entitled Sur le problème des trois corps et les équations de la dynamique, Poincaré proved that the long-term stability of the solar system cannot be established. This deterministic, dynamical system might not run like clockwork forever. The result is chaos theory (the name given by Edward Lorenz 70 years later). For over two years, the speaker has enjoyed translating this article, setting the equations, studying the mathematics, and getting to know Henri Poincaré.


ST-4 Seeing Voices: Using Light to Restore and Preserve Early Recorded Sound, Part I
Carl Haber
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Historic collections of recorded sound are significant for research in the humanities and the history of technology, but are often physically at risk. Unlike print and latent image scanning, the playback of mechanical sound carriers has been inherently invasive. Recently, techniques based upon non-invasive contact optical metrology and data analysis have been applied to create and analyze high-resolution digital images and to restore the audio content of these materials. The speaker will discuss the characteristics of early sound recordings and the use of this new technology. Examples from these restoration efforts, including images and sound, will be discussed.


ST-5 Seeing Voices: Using Light to Restore and Preserve Early Recorded Sound, Part II
Carl Haber
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

This session will focus on the non-invasive optical technologies used to restore historical sound recordings, as applied to three collections. The Volta Laboratory Collection (circa 1880) at the Smithsonian contains several hundred experimental recordings produced by Alexander Graham Bell. Restorations of these recordings were exhibited recently at the museum. Another restoration effort concerns Native American ethnographic field recordings at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology. The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature at Harvard, the basis of the oral formulaic hypothesis of western literature, is the focus of a current technology evaluation. Examples from these restoration efforts, including images and sound, will be discussed.


ST-6 English for Environmental Content: Working with NGOs and Financial/Multilateral Institutions
Melissa Harkin
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, people, and future generations, and is already impacting our lives on a daily basis. There are several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) committed to protecting our world so we can secure nature as a source of food, fresh water, livelihood, and a stable climate. Most of these NGOs work with financial/multilateral institutions that fund research and/or infrastructure projects in several countries. Knowing basic environmental language is no longer enough. This is a sector that lacks knowledgeable translators. Learn how you can improve your knowledge on the subject and the language to deliver a great translation.


ST-7 What Goes There? The Inception and Development of Chemical Regulatory Legislation
Matthew Schlecht
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

In the 1970s, governments of industrialized nations realized that industry was ill-equipped, unable, and unwilling to self-regulate effectively, prompting legislation to regulate commercial chemicals: Kashinhō (Japan, 1973), the Toxic Substances Control Act (U.S., 1976), and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation (EU, 2006). This session is geared to a general audience and will offer a survey of the inception and development of chemical regulatory legislation. Impacts on the chemical industry and general public (e.g., products and ingredients, labeling, and mandated testing programs) will be covered, along with the roles played by translators. A resource list will be provided.


Science & Technology
Related Sessions

AST-5 Mastering Technical Writing

MED-7 Linguistic Validation: Beyond Translation

MED-11 Do You Hear What I Hear? Changing Lives with Cochlear Implants

S-1 Creación terminológica: tipología y formación de términos científicos

S-2 De cómo el "collar de Helvecio" se convirtió en la "corbata del suizo": las trampas del texto científico y la figura del traductor

S-3 Drill, taladro, broca, or mecha?

S-13 A Day in the Life of a Lab Technician: Glassware, Balances, and Lab Coats, Oh My!

T-5 Cruising Along: Communicating Value and Selling an Experience

 

Translation
Click on the speaker name to view bio.

T-1 Translators in the Mobile World: Issues and Challenges in the Localization of Mobile Applications
Dorota Pawlak
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The world goes mobile and the number of smartphone users increases day after day. There is an app for nearly everything, from business to cooking to fitness. At the same time, the growing demand for localization of mobile products creates new opportunities and challenges for translators and localizers. The speaker will discuss common issues in the localization of mobile applications from a translator’s perspective and present possible solutions to show how to find the way out of the localization maze.


T-2 Localization Quality Check at Netflix: Driving Quality in Audiovisual Localization
Allison Smith
(Thursday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

In January 2016, Netflix launched its service globally, bringing its Internet TV network to more than 130 new countries. Netflix is launching more original content than ever and localizing this content for global consumption. The speaker will discuss how Netflix ensures the quality of localized assets and expectations for linguists who evaluate and revise assets for quality. Attendees will learn the skills that are required to work as a localization quality control operator for Netflix Original content. They will also learn the innovative techniques that Netflix uses to scale localization and drive quality in audiovisual translations.


T-3 Localizing for Millennials
Sarah E. Sagué
(Thursday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Many topics within our industry focus on innovations and developments of the technology we use and the practices we drive, but what about the evolution of the audiences we serve and their expectations? What does linguistic quality and native experience mean for today’s generation? For many high tech companies, marketing and product professionals have had to shift their strategy to tap into what has been called the millennial generation. This session will provide insights into who millennials are, how the Internet has shaped their experience, and what localization professionals can do to meet these expectations.


T-4 Arugula by Any Other Name: Coping with Translation in the Culinary Arts
Joseph Mazza
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; Advanced; Presented in: English)

And you thought tax laws and patents were tough to translate? Try a menu, a restaurant review, or a website profiling anything gastronomic! Join us for a tour of the mean streets of culinary translation, where the technically correct can sometimes be unappetizing. This session will review strategies for researching gastronomy and demonstrate techniques for cooking up delicious prose that both translates and explains, and invites the reader to partake! Translations from Romance languages into English will be used as examples, but the session is designed to appeal to translators in any language combination.


T-5 Cruising Along: Communicating Value and Selling an Experience
Esma Gregor, CT | Jeana Clark, CT
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

In addition to having sufficient knowledge of nautical terminology provisions, translating for the cruise industry requires eternal creativity to describe the dreamiest destinations. We have to faithfully sell the vacation experience and communicate value so guests answer the cruise line’s call for action with an open pocketbook. However, it’s not all smooth sailing in this floating paradise. Translators often face cutting-edge maritime technology, tricky culinary topics, ever-exciting legal documents, and even emotionally difficult press releases. The speakers will provide an overview of the cruise industry, tips on how to write compelling public relations and advertising material, and cover terminology for this fascinating language of the high seas.


T-6 Grow Your Business with Genealogical Translation
Corey Oiesen
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Genealogy is one of the fasted-growing hobbies in the U.S. But once Americans trace their ancestors back to the “old country,” they often get stuck. Even if they are able to obtain historic documents from non-English-speaking clerks, they find that they cannot read them. This is where the skilled translator steps in. This session will cover what translators can gain from offering genealogical translation services. The speaker will discuss the training that is needed to fully understand old documents, including paleography, the history and purpose of typical documents, and the pitfalls and clues these documents contain.


T-7 Translation Quality by the Numbers? What Numbers?
Jennifer DeCamp
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Increasingly, numbers are being used to provide information on translation quality, such as the BLEU (bilingual evaluation understudy) score. Find out what these numbers actually mean when used by themselves or together, such as in the Translation Automation User Society Dynamic Quality Framework. Find out where these scores can be useful for you in your own business tracking or in communicating to customers. Find out about the gaps and get ideas on how to bridge those gaps. Find out how you can help educate customers about what to expect from such numbers, particularly if those customers really resonate with numbers!


T-8 Working with Southeast Asian Languages: Fonts, Segmentation, and Untranslatable Terms
Shana Pughe Dean | Kyi Kyi Min
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English with Burmese examples)

Languages spoken in Southeast Asian, such as Burmese, Karen, and Thai, are not widely spoken enough to have the same level of technical and linguistic support as more common languages. In the U.S., the translation of documents into these languages is necessary due to large resettled refugee populations. This session will discuss the challenges when dealing with fonts, segmentation, and untranslatable terms related to these languages. The speakers will offer scenarios and solutions for working with languages that have limited support. Individual translators can learn how to build their support network, while language companies can learn about solving technical challenges related to these languages.


T-9 CANCELLED
Dumbing It Down: When (and When Not) to Disobey Target-Language Grammar
Robert Sette, CT
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; Beginner; Presented in: English)




T-10 Revision: A Nlboe and Etessanitl Srcviee
Jonathan Hine, CT
(Saturday, 10:00am-11:00am; Intermediate; Presented in: English)

Every professional translation deserves to be checked by a second translator before delivery. This is called revision. Only an experienced translator can do this job, but many translators will not take revision assignments. Teachers or certification exam graders may seem suited to the work, but professional revision is not the same as grading papers or exams. An experienced reviser will define revision and contrast it with activities that look like it but are not (e.g., editing, copyediting, proofreading, grading, and evaluating). The session will include tips on how to approach the revision task and how to price it.


T-11 The Mystery of Transcreation
Mylène Vialard, CT
(Saturday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Transcreation is a trend in search of a definition in the translation world. Sometimes scorned by established translators, it is nonetheless a key undertaking for dynamic clients seeking a unique voice in foreign markets. Its blurry and constantly morphing definitions make it a moving target for translators and clients alike. Is it back to basics, or a new frontier for translation? How have our industry standards (fast, cheap, risk-free) affected the purpose of translation? How do we recapture creativity in the art of translating?


T-12 Beyond Post-Editing: How the eBay Machine Translation Language Specialists Reinvent the Linguist’s Role
Jose Luis Bonilla Sánchez
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Market pressures and advancing technology are making machine translation (MT) increasingly prevalent. However, this doesn’t mean translators should leave the field or resign themselves to being underpaid machine-minders. MT is creating a need for a new generation of linguists who are able to interact with MT scientists, are comfortable with technical tools, and are ready to apply their skills to many different challenges. As the manager of eBay’s MT Language Specialists team, the speaker will share how these skills have redefined their work as guarantors of quality in eBay’s unique e-commerce MT projects.


T-13 Reading Beyond the Lines: The Translator’s Quest for Extra-Textual Information
Nahla Baydoun | Ibrahima Diallo
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Many inexperienced translators assume that “all the meaning” is contained in the document to be translated. However, a translator always needs to look for complementary information to better convey the message. The translator will improve translation quality considerably by making optimal use of background information combined with inferential reasoning. The speakers hope to provide a better understanding of the role of extra-textual information in translation. They will propose a practical methodology illustrated with various scenarios, based on their experience as United Nations Arabic revisers.


Translation
Related Sessions

AST-2 Sight Translation Skills for Translators and Interpreters

AST-5 Mastering Technical Writing

AST-6 Putting the Zing Back into Marketing Materials

AST-14 You Want Me to Do What? Providing “Lingua-aware” Services for Global Digital Marketing

 

T&I Industry
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TI-1 Language Services Industry in China: Opportunities and Challenges
Hui Tao | Gangyi Wang | Yang Yu
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

This session will provide attendees with insights into the translation industry in China to help them expand their presence and raise their profiles in that country. Topics will include industry trends, policies shaping the translation and interpreting professions, opportunities and challenges facing language services providers, application of translation technologies, and training.


TI-2 You’re Not Fluent Yet! Speaking the Language of Sustainable Development
Natalie Pavey
(Thursday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Intermediate; Presented in: English and French)

In our interconnected world, neologisms continually pop up in the most widely spoken languages. As a result, movements focused on sustainable development are rapidly gaining traction at the international level. This session will focus on learning new terminology related to current social and environmental trends. Using French examples, the speaker will discuss new linguistic trends and translation strategies to advance global sustainable development goals.


TI-3 Future Tense: Where will Artificial Intelligence and Improving Technologies Take Us in 10 Years?
Jay Marciano
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

The confluence of improving translation technologies (e.g., better machine translation, smarter translation memory, and cleverly automated workflows) and the quickly emerging world of artificial intelligence (including machine learning and big data analytics) are changing the industry and your day-to-day work. Where is it all leading? What will the translation industry look like as software developers and language services providers continue to refine their tools? How will these technologies change the day-to-day work of translators? This session will make informed predictions about what the future of these technologies hold for professional translators and the translation industry over the next decade and beyond.


TI-4 Why Language Professionals Matter: Experiences from the Field
Gabriela Rodas
(Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

In a world of complex migration patterns, language professionals become agents of social change rather than merely mediators of social dialogue. However, the standards for measuring social impact in the language industry are not clear. This session will showcase four initiatives connecting language professionals to create positive, measurable social impact: 1) Food for Language, a collaborative storytelling experiment; 2) Documentaries for Change, harnessing the power of documentaries to effect social change; 3) Interpreters4Syria, showcasing the evolving role of interpreters during the Syrian refugee crisis; and 4) the Social Impact of Translation, established to raise awareness of the social significance of the work of language professionals.


TI-5 CANCELLED
Working with Refugees: The Role of a Cultural Translator
Sabina Metcalf
(Friday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)




TI-6 International Trade: A High Growth Market for Translators
Amanda N. Williams
(Saturday, 3:30pm-4:30pm; All Levels; Presented in: English)

International trade is a vital component of the global economy and a massive untapped market for translators. The U.S. government is poised to pass a broad-sweeping customs reauthorization law to facilitate trade enforcement, which will only increase demand for translation services. This session will introduce attendees to the international supply chain and U.S. customs process, explain the parties involved in the international supply chain, and provide information on how to gain expertise in this field. The speaker hopes this session will serve as a call to action to raise awareness of the importance of professional translation to the international trade community.


 

Terminology
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TRM-1 Tricks and Tips to Boost Your Terminology Work
Laura Ramírez
(Friday, 10:00am-11:00am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Finding terminology resources can be tricky, particularly in specialized domains or under-resourced languages. The speaker will discuss tips and tricks for terminology research, how to find the right equivalents and evaluate the sources, and how to best manage our terminological assets to have them readily available for future projects. Examples will be given in English, German, and Spanish.


TRM-2 Automating Termbase Creation
Sameh Ragab
(Friday, 11:15am-12:15pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)

Managing terminology lists and bilingual glossaries is becoming more of a pivotal asset to any professional translator to ensure consistency, minimize proofreading and quality assurance time, enhance the Autosuggest experience, increase productivity, and eventually avoid having frustrated or angry clients. Bilingual glossary sheets can be found in many place online, but not always in a format that is handy to a term base. The speaker will detail how to simplify time-consuming and tedious term base preparation tasks by using automated techniques, regular expressions, Autosuggest creation, and online glossary leveraging tips and trick.


TRM-3 CANCELLED
Termbase Health Reports: Must Do
Laura Di Tullio, CT
(Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm; Advanced; Presented in: English)




 

Varia
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V-1 Improv Comedy for Translators and Interpreters
Lorna Silva
(Saturday, 8:30am-9:30am; All Levels; Presented in: English)

Attendees will learn and practice the principles of improvisational comedy and how they apply to daily life, especially for translators and interpreters. This session is designed to engage both the right and left brain with some interactive exercises. Improvisational is a fun way to practice quick thinking, listening, and communicating in group settings.


For more ways to learn, attend Advanced Skills & Training Day
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ATA eConference

ATA will not be recording sessions this year. In recent years, the sales did not cover expenses.

For other “learn-on-the-go” options, please check out the ATA Webinars and past ATA eConferences.