Press Room

ATA Responds to San Francisco Chronicle

Several ATA members have expressed concerned about the article published in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled "Translation business booming - terrorists' languages most lucrative".

While the article did accomplish the objective of raising awareness of the importance of translation and interpreting, emphasized the booming market and enhanced the prestige of translators and interpreters by portraying them as working alongside national leaders, in some sections the reporter constructed his own erroneous theory about the market and ignored a very large volume of contrary information provided by ATA.

While then-ATA President Marian Greenfield and spokesperson Kevin Hendzel attempted to steer the reporter toward focusing on the importance of buying quality translation, he continued to focus on "where the money is" based entirely and solely on the languages with the most severe shortages in qualified linguists and ignored Marian’s response that the money is in specialization and being an expert in the field. When he asked where the most growth in the translation and interpreting (T&I) industry was,  the reporter again ignored  Marian and Kevin’s detailed descriptions of the international commercial and domestic US markets, and continued to focus on the languages where the money is," twisting part of the response from "the languages of terror" (a term used by the U.S. government) and "Asian languages," into his conclusion that "the languages of terrorists are the hottest," which was not the thrust, focus, or principal content of the interviews.

This article is an unfortunate example of how despite the media training ATA spokespeople go through and a  extensive  experience in dealing with the media, our highly successful efforts to draw attention to the industry and to best T&I buying practices do imply a certain amount of risk that in the print media our words will be twisted to suit the reporter’s preconceived notions or intent  The extent of distortion in this case was quite exceptional and probably the worst example in the hundreds of press interviews given by the ATA representatives.  Nonetheless, the risk does exist.

We regret any distress this article may have caused. In an attempt to correct some of the most egregious misrepresentations in the article, the following Letter to the Editor was submitted to the San Francisco Chronicle by President Jiri Stejskal.

In addition, we would like you to know that ATA will be examining a wide range of issues in our current approach to media, public relations and communications, efforts that have been in the works for some time now and these will be discussed in detail at the January Board Meeting.  Members are encouraged to submit their own comments, thoughts and experience as the Board considers future directions for the association in these areas.

Sincerely,
Jiri Stejskal, President
Marian S. Greenfield, Immediate Past President
Kevin Hendzel, Co-Chair, ATA Public Relations Committee

Letter to the Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle

Editor,

Your article “Translation Business Booming – Terrorist Languages Most Lucrative,” (November 2) correctly portrayed translators and interpreters as well-trained and highly-skilled professionals working in a booming industry, with influence at the highest levels of government and national policy.

But the American Translators Association vigorously disputes the notion that “when countries get along better, that can be a very bad thing for translators.” In fact, close relations with allies cause a dramatic increase in trade, diplomacy, academic and commercial ties, creating more demand for translation and interpreting.  Globalization has always been the strongest driver of revenue in our international profession.

The higher salaries paid to translators and interpreters of languages spoken in conflict areas are entirely a matter of current supply and demand – a shortage of qualified linguists in these languages and the very real risks associated with working in a combat zone.

Translators and interpreters perform the complex, vital function of bridging language and cultural gaps to bring people and nations closer together.  Conflict and hostilities make it much harder to achieve this objective. The members of the American Translators Association look forward to a world in which we can provide this indispensable unifying service to everyone.

Jiri Stejskal
President
American Translators Association