Membership
Welcome to the American Translators Association
ATA, founded in 1959, is the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the U.S. with more than11,000 members in 90 countries. ATA's primary goals include fostering and supporting the professional development of translators and interpreters and promoting the translation and interpreting professions.
- The ATA Chronicle subscription;
- Professional services listing online:
– Directory of Translation and Interpreting Services (independent contractors)
– Directory of Language Services Providers (companies); - Business networking through ATA events, divisions, and member-exclusive LinkedIn group;
- Professional liability insurance at member rates;
- Reduced ATA conference and seminar registration fees;
- Member-priced ATA publications and DVDs;
- Career-enhancing ATA certification opportunities;
- Membership in 17 language- and specialty-specific divisions;
- ATA Membership Directory online connections;
- Industry resources with members-only access to The ATA Chronicle archives;
- Discounted products and services offered by the ATA Member-Provider program;
- OAS Staff Federal Credit Union financial services;
- Discounted UPS express delivery services;
- Dun and Bradstreet collections and receivables service at member rates;
- Discounted payment processing services;
- Monthly ATA Newsbriefs e-newsletter;
- ATA Bulletin email announcements and professional news;
- Supporting the promotion of the profession.
ATA membership is open to anyone with an interest in translation and interpreting as a profession or as a scholarly pursuit. All individual applicants are first accepted as Associate or Student members before gaining eligibility for Voting membership. Learn more
Annual Conference
ATA holds an Annual Conference in a major city or popular resort area every fall. This event is a showcase for panel discussions, workshops, and scholarly papers, and features lively presentations, exhibits, a job exchange, certification testing, and ample opportunity to build professional contacts. Learn more
Certification
ATA has established a certification program to verify that individual translators meet professional standards. Written examinations lead to certification in a specific language pair and direction (from or into English). Learn more
Committees
The list of committees attests to the breadth of activities in which members may become involved. Learn more
Divisions
ATA offers its members the opportunity to share common professional interests through membership in ATA divisions. Each division publishes an electronic newsletter, offers seminars at the Annual Conference, and provides a network of translators and interpreters with common interests. You must be an ATA member to join a division. Learn more
ATA publishes The ATA Chronicle, a journal of practical education and information for professional translators and interpreters, eleven times a year. A subscription to The Chronicle is a benefit of membership. Other ATA publications include Translating and Interpreting in the Federal Government, Getting It Right: A Guide to Translation Services, and an annual monograph in the ATA Series. Members receive discounts on all ATA publications. Learn more
To acknowledge outstanding achievements in the profession and to encourage students of translation and interpreting, ATA presents several annual and biennial awards. Learn more
- Alexander Gode Medal is awarded periodically for distinguished service to the translation and interpreting professions.
- Ungar German Translation Award is awarded biennially (in odd-numbered years) for an outstanding published translation from German into English.
- Lewis Galantière Prize is awarded biennially (in even-numbered years) for an outstanding published literary translation from a language other than German into English.
- Student Translation Award is awarded annually for a worthy student translation project.
ATA chapters, affiliates, and local groups serve translators and interpreters in specific geographic areas. They provide information, networking opportunities, and support services to members on the local level, and act as liaisons with the national association. Learn more
ATA is the U.S. affiliate of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) and participates in its many programs and committee activities. The International FIT Congress, open to all members of FIT affiliates, is held every three years. ATA is represented on the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL), a coalition of organizations interested in promoting languages and international studies through support of appropriate legislation. ATA is actively involved with the ASTM Translation and Interpretation User Standards Project. The purpose of this project is to formulate standards to help the users of translation services. Learn more
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