Newsbriefs: June 1, 2022


ATA School Outreach Contest

The ATA Podcast: The ATA Certification Exam On Demand

The ATA certification exam is now available online and on demand, and Certification Committee Chair David Stephenson is here to tell you all about it. In Episode 74, David explains to Podcast Host Matt Baird how “on demand” works, from payment to scheduling to security with real time monitoring and recording. And don’t miss this—David also reveals the top reasons people fail and the best way to prepare to take the exam. But first we begin the podcast with a remembrance of Michèle Hansen, CT, who did so much to make ATA’s on-demand certification exam a reality.



Industry News


Anti-Racism Group in Ireland Criticizes Judge Who Said She Was ‘Sick’ of Court Requests for Interpreters

Independent.ie (Ireland) (05/24/22) Phelan, Shane; Barrett, Joe

A judge has been strongly criticized for saying she was “sick to the back teeth” of defendants who have been living in Ireland for years requesting interpreters to assist them in court proceedings.

The remarks by District Court Judge Miriam Walsh have been described as “reckless and unhelpful” by the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), which said INAR has underlined the need for specialist training for members of the judiciary.

Walsh made the remarks when presiding over a case in which a foreign national living in Ireland for the past five years sought the assistance of an interpreter when he appeared in court on assault charges. The man had pleaded guilty to assaulting two people in a restaurant and exhibiting threatening behavior while drunk.

After noting that interpreter services are funded by taxpayers’ money, Walsh commented: “He’s been living in Ireland for the past five years and he wants an interpreter. He doesn’t need an interpreter with him when he goes to buy his drink, or when he goes shopping. I’m sick to the back teeth of people hiding behind interpreters.”

INAR, an umbrella group for 170 organizations committed to combating racism and discrimination, condemned the judge’s remarks. “A basic principle of justice is that all are equal before the law,” said INAR Director Shane O’Curry. “That means being able to have equal access and understanding of legal proceedings.”

Walsh’s remarks came against the backdrop of increasing demand for interpreters after a drop-off during the pandemic.

“This really underlines the points made by many anti-racism advocates that there should be mandatory anti-racism training for all members of the judiciary, and that interpreters should be provided automatically and should not have to be requested through the court. They should be provided as a right,” O’Curry said.


 

Australian Broadcaster Says Interpreted Election Debates Helped Public ‘Engage Fully’

The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (05/23/22) Samios, Zoe

SBS, a national public television network in Australia, said offering live interpreting of its federal election campaign coverage helped viewers better understand political issues that would affect their future.

SBS aired interpreted versions of all three televised debates during the six-week campaign for the first time in a concerted effort to find new ways to leverage its multilingual capacity. SBS Managing Director James Taylor said it was the strongest election coverage in the broadcaster’s history and attracted “tens of thousands” of viewers.

“SBS was the only network to have every single election debate on its platform,” Taylor said. “We were able to share those critical pieces of the democratic story with communities who might not otherwise have been able to engage fully.”

Taylor said the debates were interpreted in Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, and that the choice of languages was reflective of the Australian population and the growth trajectory of communities. Taylor added that the interpreted debates were also available on SBS On Demand and via Facebook.

“I absolutely think the interpreted coverage helped people shape their views,” he said. “We’ve helped people understand the issues that they were struggling to connect with. It’s a really vital service for Australia.”

Taylor said the televised debates attracted young people who clearly cared about society. “That’s a really important marker of the criticality of our strategy,” he said. “Irrespective of informing people’s voter intent, I think everyone wants to understand the society they’re living in.”


 

When a Reporter Is Lost without Interpreters

The New York Times (NY) (05/12/22) Dominus, Susan

Susan Dominus, a reporter for The New York Times, said she feels an enormous debt to the interpreters who help her communicate with sources when she goes abroad. One interpreter she recently worked with from Ukraine remains ever-present in her mind these days.

“Since I left Poland in late March, I’ve remained in close touch with Oleksandra Lanko, a Ukrainian who worked as my interpreter for a recently published article I reported on surrogate mothers from Ukraine,” Dominus said.

“Clearly, something about the dynamic between the reporter and interpreter fosters closeness,” Dominus said. “During interviews, the interpreter is standing in for the reporter, trying to channel not just the reporter’s words but approach—the pauses, emphases, and corny tension-breaking jokes—whatever emotion might be felt with a sensitive question.”

In Poland, Lanko would act as a stand-in for Dominus, who explained that “Lanko was also someone whom the Ukrainian women being interviewed could understand, not just at the level of language, but as a human being who shared some of the same experiences.”

Some of the women being interviewed had been moved to Poland, even as their families remained back in conflict zones. Lanko was also living in Poland and was exhausted and strained by worry about her own parents, who were still in Kharkiv, a heavily shelled city in eastern Ukraine. “Lanko wanted to encourage, even urge [her parents] to leave, but was afraid she’d never recover if they left at her insistence only to face attack while fleeing,” Dominus said.

Dominus said Lanko was an essential conduit for the story she was reporting, but that the interpreter was also “a version of the story—to the extent that every war story is a story about agonizing choices. We were collaborating—but she was living this war, while I was just reporting on it.”

Dominus said that when recounting conversations with sources who speak another language, she remembers the dialogue “as a free, unmediated exchange.” The interpreter’s absence from such recollections is a testament to their talent. Despite the overwhelming circumstances in which they found themselves during their collaboration, Dominus said Lanko was no exception.

“As the intermediary between reporter and source, Lanko needed to be someone whom all parties trusted to represent them with care,” Dominus said. “I’ll never know if she missed stray words or subtle nuances, but her body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice reinforced what I sensed: that Lanko was intent on reflecting faithfully what she heard from reporter and sources alike.”

Dominus also felt responsibility toward Lanko. “I felt great responsibility for her, too—to take note when the interviews were starting to tax her or when she seemed in need of a break. But I also took her at her word when she said that it helped—during those painfully raw weeks after leaving Ukraine—to feel needed. On that front, I could assure her clearly, in plain English: she was.”


 

Translation Center’s Trailblazing Efforts to Improve Language Access Services in Schools

University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA) (05/19/22)

The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Translation Center is pioneering the improved provision of language access services in schools. (To date, the Translation Center has awarded certificates to approximately 400 participants.)

Early in May, Assistant Director Lara Matta hosted celebrations for 75 bilingual school staff members who completed two workshop series on language access. This opportunity was provided to staff from 26 school districts, encompassing 16 languages, through support from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Participants in the Interpreter and Translator in Education Workshop Series (WS1) learned about the standards and procedures of interpreting and translation, as well as the larger context of language access in schools. The Translation Center awarded 54 certificates of completion.

Another certificate celebration honored 21 participants who completed the Interpreting for Special Education Workshop Series (ISE), which prepares bilingual school staff to interpret in special education settings.

Faculty and language access professionals lead the workshops. (Since not every school district is the same, the Translation Center works to understand each district’s profile when designing a workshop series.) The Translation Center hires graduate students to support workshop leaders and participants, which offers them practical experience in the languages services sector. This also exposes graduate students to non-academic career paths, which is significant given the scarcity of translation and interpreting departments at U.S. universities.

Translation Center Director Regina Galasso designed the workshop series in partnership with DESE, school staff, and individuals experienced in leading academic language access services. Each workshop usually assigns a different leader in order to highlight the range of execution and articulation of translation and interpreting. This fosters confidence among participants to apply their individual style while upholding professional standards and ethics.


 

Winners of Dublin International Literary Award Announced

The Irish Post (Ireland) (05/23/22) McHugh, Connell

French author Alice Zeniter and Irish translator Frank Wynne are the winners of the 2022 Dublin Literary Award for the novel The Art of Losing. It marks the 10th time a translated novel has won.

Zeniter will receive €75,000, while Wynne will receive €25,000. Wynne was a previous winner in 2002 for his translation of Michel Houellebecq’s Atomised.

“With its themes of colonization and immigration, The Art of Losing, which follows three generations of an Algerian family from the 1950s to the present day, highlights how literature can increase our understanding of the world,” said Lord Mayor of Dublin and Patron of the Award Alison Gilliland.

“I am really happy and thrilled that the Dublin Literary Award showed me that this story can be shared with readers from different countries—readers who grew up outside the French post-colonial Empire,” Zeniter said. “Readers that, maybe, had never thought about Algeria before opening the book.”

Wynne said he owes his career as a literary translator to the Dublin Literary Award. “It’s a prize I cherish because it makes no distinction between English and translated fiction, treating authors and translators as co-weavers of the endless braid of literature.”


 

Google Says New Eyeglasses Can Translate Languages in Real Time

Voice of America (NY) (05/15/22)

Ten years after introducing “Google Glass,” Alphabet Inc. has created a new kind of smart eyeglasses. The company says the wearable computer device can translate languages in real time.

A working model, or prototype, of the yet-unnamed device was presented to the public in May during the yearly Google I/O developer conference. Google has not said when the glasses might go on sale to the public.

The first Google Glass device included a wearable camera that could film what the wearers saw. That caused widespread privacy concerns. The camera element also gave Google Glass a kind of science-fiction look. The latest device looks more similar to traditional glasses.

A brief demonstration of the new eyeglasses described its translation ability but did not provide additional details. The company also did not say whether the new device would be equipped with a camera.

A demonstration explained that a person wearing the glasses who talks with someone who speaks another language can read the translated subtitles that appear on the lenses. The description showed translations involving English, Mandarin, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

The new device was one of several products shared at the conference that are currently in development. The company said the products aim to better connect Google services with activities happening in the real world. This includes company offerings for searching and viewing maps, as well as other services using the latest developments in artificial intelligence.

Eddie Chung, a director of product management at Google, spoke to developers about the new eyeglasses. “What we’re working on is technology that enables us to break down language barriers, taking years of research in Google Translate and bringing that to glasses,” he said. Chung added that he thinks the product can provide “subtitles for the world.”

 



ATA News


Hanging Out Your (Remote) Shingle

Another Back to Business Basics Webinar!

Presenter: Elena Langdon
Date: June 15, 2022
Time: 12:00 noon U.S. ET
Duration: 45 minutes
Language: English
Level: Beginner
CE Point(s): None

Remote interpreting is nothing new in our field, but the expectations and market are rapidly changing. It pays to stay up to date with the latest trends and best practices.

In this webinar, we will discuss the basics of setting up business as a remote interpreter, focusing specifically on your workspace and client base. We will cover over-the-phone interpreting (OPI), video remote interpreting (VRI), and remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI).

Aimed at those starting out or wishing to work remotely as community, business, and/or conference interpreters, we will also compare hardware options, describe minimal and ideal workplace settings—no, you cannot do this from your cell phone in a car or café!—and discuss possible types of clients and fields of specialization. More time will be spent on freelancers doing RSI, but those interested in OPI and VRI, as well as those working as employees, will have plenty to learn, too!

Register now!
Free to ATA members, but you must sign up by 10:00 a.m. ET on June 15. Click to learn more and register.

What is ATA’s Back to Business Basics Webinar Series?
Sometimes it’s the simple things that trip you up or hold you back in business. That’s the point behind ATA’s Back to Business Basics webinars—a series of 45-minute webinars offering practical advice on common translation and interpreting business problems. Click to check out the library of B2BB recordings!

 

ATA School Outreach Contest Deadline

Did you share your translation or interpreting career with students this year? Did you capture the moment with a photo? Then you’re all set to enter ATA’s School Outreach Contest for a chance to win a free registration to ATA’s 63rd Annual Conference.

But don’t delay! The contest deadline is July 22, 2022.

How to Enter the Contest
Submit a summary of your experience along with a photo of your presentation. A screenshot works just fine if you presented virtually. Click to submit.

It’s Not Too Late to Make a Presentation
Look beyond the traditional school year for other educational programs and year-round schools. You’re in Florida and they’re in Montana? Go virtual. Here’s how.

Don’t forget to check out all the resources, handouts, and sample presentations ready for you to download and revise to make the presentation your own.

And finally, thank you to all ATA members who have made a school outreach presentation this year. You are making a difference!

 

Upcoming ATA Webinars

How to Plan for an Extended Leave from Your Freelance Translation Business
Presenter: Natalie Pavey
Date: June 9, 2022
Time: 12:00 noon U.S. ET
Duration: 60 minutes
Language: English
Level: All
CE Point(s): 1 ATA-approved

Attend this webinar to learn how to ensure the sustainability of your business when you need to take an extended leave. Intended for freelance translators working primarily with direct clients, this webinar will present tips on how to plan and manage for the running of your business while you take a period of extended leave. You’ll learn strategies for subcontracting, time management, communicating with clients, and more.

Register now! ATA Member $45 | Non-Member $60

The Well-Rounded Subtitler: Conventions Meet Technology
Presenters: Angélica Ramírez, Nora Diaz
Date: June 23, 2022
Time: 12:00 noon U.S. ET
Duration: 2 hours
Language: English
Level: All
CE Point(s): 2 ATA-approved

To work successfully in the ever-growing subtitling market, translators must have both a solid understanding of the standard conventions and requirements of subtitling and be proficient in the tools and technology available to enhance their productivity. Attend this webinar for a demonstration of supplementary technology, such as speech recognition and CAT tool integration, that can help subtitlers make better use of their time while producing consistent high-quality subtitles.

Register now! ATA Member $45 | Non-Member $60

If you have already registered for any of these webinars, check your inbox for no-reply@zoom.us to find your invitation to join. Email zoom@atanet.org if you cannot find it.

 

Overwhelmed by Language Technology?

Then ATA TEKTalks is for you! This quarterly webinar series from ATA’s Language Technology Division offers translators the chance to learn about language technology software one platform at a time. Each webinar features an interview with a company representative who explains what their program can do and how it fits into a translation workflow. You’ll walk away understanding the pros and cons of the software and whether it’s a good investment for you.

Next Up! Is Smartling the Right Tool for You?
Presenter: Christopher Wyant
Date: July 19, 2022
Time: 12:00 noon U.S. ET
Duration: 45 minutes
Language: English
Level: All
CE Point(s): None

Smartling is a cloud-based translation management system with streamlined project management features. But is it the right tool for you? Find out in the third ATA TEKTalks webinar with the company’s Localization Program Manager Christopher Wyant. You’ll learn how the program connects businesses, translation companies, and translators to deliver multilingual content across a client’s devices and platforms. You’ll also get an overview of the company’s approach to simplifying the localization process and streamlining translation projects to optimize time, energy, and cost.

Register now! ATA Member Free | Non-Member $25

Missed the first two ATA TEKTalks in the series?
Free to ATA members! Check out Is Wordfast the Right Tool for You? and Is Smartcat the Right Tool for You?

 

The ATA Podcast


ATA Awards Deadline Extended!

The Honors and Awards Committee has extended the nomination deadline for the 2022 ATA Advocacy, Impact, and Innovation Awards to June 7.

Advocating and promoting the translation and interpreting professions begins with recognizing the value ATA members bring to the T&I community. That recognition begins with you. So, take a few minutes today to nominate a deserving ATA colleague for an award.

Learn more about all of ATA’s Honors and Awards. Click to listen to Episode 56 of The ATA Podcast.

ATA is now accepting nominations for the following awards:
  • Advocacy Award
    The ATA Advocacy Award recognizes a person or entity that has demonstrated outstanding advocacy for the language professions in general, for the importance of professional translators and interpreters, and/or for the greater societal understanding of the value of professional translators and interpreters. Learn more!
  • Impact Award
    The ATA Impact Award recognizes a person or entity that has demonstrated outstanding leadership having an impact with ATA through work on a specific project or initiative. This award differs from ATA Honorary Membership in that it is presented for a specific project or initiative, rather than for lifetime achievement. Learn more!
  • Innovation Award
    The ATA Innovation Award recognizes a person or entity that has worked in a particularly innovative way to benefit ATA and/or the language professions. Learn more!
Questions? Need more information?
Check out ATA’s Honors and Awards Program online or email honors_awards@atanet.org.

 

Free ATA Members-Only Webinar for June

ATA offers members one free webinar from our archives every month. Here’s the on-demand freebie for June 2022!

Pricing Strategies for Translators and Interpreters
How to price your services is one of the most important decisions you need to make. In order to be successful in the profession that you love, you must get this right. To start, it’s not about the price someone tells you to charge, but rather what do you want to make and how do you get there! Watch this webinar to learn more!

What will you learn?
  1. How much do you want to make?
  2. Moral/ethical obligations
  3. Brief overview of supply, demand, and price
  4. The peanuts/monkeys phenomenon
  5. Alternatives to very low prices for newcomers to the profession
  6. The business case for no free translation tests
  7. Surcharges (weekend, 24-hour turnaround, PDF, etc.)
  8. Dealing with adversity
  9. Adjustments for inflation
Continuing Education Credit
Each free members-only webinar is approved for one ATA continuing education point (Category B), unless otherwise stated. After watching the webinar, complete and print the Independent Study Verification form. It will serve as your certificate of continuing education if your CE record is selected for audit at the time of your ATA recertification.

About the Presenter
Judy Jenner is a Spanish and German business and legal translator and a federally certified Spanish court interpreter. She has an MBA in marketing and runs her boutique translation and interpreting business, Twin Translations, with her twin sister Dagmar. She was born in Austria and grew up in Mexico City. She is a former in-house translation department manager. Judy writes the blog Translation Times and the “Entrepreneurial Linguist” column for The ATA Chronicle, serves as an ATA spokesperson, and is a frequent conference speaker. She is the co-author of The Entrepreneurial Linguist: The Business-School Approach to Freelance Translation.

 

Tell a Friend: ATA Special Mid-Year Membership Rate

Limited time only! Translators and interpreters who join ATA during June can save 50% on their 2022 membership with payment of their 2023 dues. That’s a full 18 months! So, tell your friends about ATA’s special mid-year rate and let them know what ATA has done for you—or introduce them to ATA with this special welcome video from ATA President Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo.

 

In the May/June Issue of The ATA Chronicle

Words Matter, Identity Matters: Translating the Vocabulary of Diversity
Words matter. Identity matters. For translators who are not members of marginalized communities, the first step is to recognize our own privilege, to acknowledge our own limitations, and to broaden our perspective regarding communities of color, women, and LGBTQ+ persons. (Ray Valido)

Hard of Hearing Children and Dual Language Learning: Guidelines for Interpreters
Interpreters play a key role for hard of hearing future multilinguals as they receive services from audiologists and speech-language pathologists. As interpreters, we bring our creativity into the session to find solutions, working as a team with the provider to ensure the best possible intervention for the patient. How can interpreters complement and aid other professionals in their tasks? How do we help families along this journey without making it our own? Here’s some advice that stems from my experience and that of other professionals in the field. (María Baker)

Lots of Resources for LOTS Interpreters
Interpreters of languages other than Spanish (LOTS) don’t have the luxury of ready-made interpreting practice recordings/materials, complete with glossary keys for complicated terminology. They must be creative. Read on to discover lots of LOTS resources and come away better prepared to meet your professional goals. (Athena Matilsky)

Forming a Peer Study Group to Prepare for ATA’s Certification Exam
Peer-based study groups are an effective way to prepare for ATA’s certification exam. Learn how one recent group was organized and administered, including recommended best practices for future groups. (Jason Knapp)

T&I Stakeholders Talk Interconnections
Interconnections are key to shaping legislation and policy, facilitating technology and its integration, and crafting education and training in ways that benefit the translation and interpreting industry as well as the greater language enterprise. (Rusty Shughart)

Access to The ATA Chronicle’s searchable archives is available online! And don’t forget to check out the latest issue of the Chronicle Online.
News summaries © copyright 2022 Smithbucklin

June 1, 2022

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In This Issue

ATA Podcast: Ep. 74
B2BB: Remote Interpreting
School Outreach Contest
June Webinars
ATA TEKTalks: Smartling
ATA Awards Deadline
Monthly Free Webinar
Tell a Friend
The ATA Chronicle

ATA Members Only








Free ATA Webinar!
Pricing Strategies for Translators and Interpreters
Click to watch!

ATA Webinars

How to Plan for an Extended Leave from Your Freelance Translation Business
Jun 9 @ 12:00 noon ET
Registration open

The Well-Rounded Subtitler: Conventions Meet Technology
Jun 23 @ 12:00 noon ET
Registration open

ATA TEKTalks: Smartling
July 19 @ 12:00 noon ET
Registration open

Back to Business Basics

Hanging Out Your (Remote) Shingle: Home Studio and Client Base
June 15 @ 12 noon ET
Free to members!
Registration open

Calendar of Events

ATA Advocacy, Impact, and Innovation Awards: Nominations Open
Deadline Extended to June 7
Learn more!

School Outreach Contest Deadline
Jul 22, 2022
Learn more!

Student Translation Award Submissions Deadline
Jul 31, 2022
Learn more!

ATA Board of Directors Meeting
Aug 6-7, 2022
Chicago, Illinois
Learn more!

International Translation Day
Sep 30, 2022
See last year’s celebration!

ATA63 Annual Conference
Oct 12-15, 2022
Los Angeles, California
Learn more!

The May/June Issue of The ATA Chronicle

Editing Translations: Tips for Cultivating a Collaborative Mindset

ATA Webinars Live and On Demand
Continuing education anywhere, anytime!