July 2002 Volume XXXI Number 7 The
Chronicle A Publication of the American Translators Association in this issue Agencies, Bureaus, and Companies Don’t Let Summer Sizzle By Without
Registering for ATA’s 43rd Annual Conference Hyatt Regency Hotel • Atlanta, Georgia November 6 - 9, 2002 See page 61 for all the details. July 2002 Volume XXXI in this issue Number 7
Features
A Publication of 13 International Certification Study: Norway the American By Jiri Stejskal Translators Association 16 Translation in the News: Terrorist Attacks Spotlight Need for Qualified Linguists By Alexandra Russell-Bitting From the ATA Public Relations Committee: Recent articles in the press have criticized U.S. intelligence agencies for failing to develop the capacity to translate less com- monly spoken languages, and have called for foreign-language education reform. At Editor this crucial juncture, the ATA should make itself heard. Jeff Sanfacon [email protected] 19 Setting Up a Translation Agency By Mike Collins Proofreader Starting a translation agency requires a lot of thought and planning. Here are some tips Margaret L. Hallin on how to go about it and some pitfalls to avoid. Design/Layout 23 The Biggest Myth of All About Your Independent Translation Business Ellen Banker/Amy Peloff By Nancy M. Snyder Advertising Once you have established your independent translation business, you need to learn how Brian Wallace to handle situations that can stand in the way of success. McNeill Group Inc. 27 Yes, It Is Still Worth It: An Update [email protected] By Jonathan Hine (215) 321-9662 ext. 38 A summary of an oft-reprinted article on how freelancers can rationally begin to price Fax: (215) 321-9636 their work, with updated information about multiple incomes and accounting software. Executive Director Walter Bacak [email protected]
Editorial Advisors R. Michael Conner, Columns and Departments Leslie Willson, Mike Stacy 6 About Our Authors Membership and 7 From the President General Information 8 From the Executive Director Maggie Rowe 10 From the Treasurer [email protected] 12 Conferences and Events Document-on-Request: 52 The Onionskin 1-888-990-3282 54 Dictionary Reviews website: www.atanet.org 58 The Translation Inquirer 60 Humor and Translation 60 Display Advertising Index 65 New Active and Corresponding Members 66 ATA Chapters and Groups 68 Marketplace
American Translators Association 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 • Alexandria VA 22314 Tel: (703) 683-6100 • Fax (703) 683-6122 E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.atanet.org 2002 Chronicle The Editorial Calendar A Publication of the American Translators Association Chronicle 1999 FIT Best Periodical Award Winner January Focus: Professional Practices Submission Deadline: The ATA Chronicle Submission Guidelines November 1 The ATA Chronicle enthusiastically encourages members to submit articles of interest to the fields of February Focus: ATA Divisions: Past, translation and interpretation. Present, and Beyond 1. Articles (see length specifications below) are due the first of the month, two months prior to the Submission Deadline: month of publication (i.e., June 1 for August issue). December 1 2. Articles should not exceed 3,500 words. Articles containing words or phrases in non-European writing systems (e.g., Japanese, Arabic) should be submitted by mail and fax. March Focus: Marketing 3. Include your fax, phone, e-mail, and mailing address on the first page. Submission Deadline: 4. Include a brief abstract (two sentences maximum) emphasizing the most salient points of your January 1 article. The abstract will be included in the table of contents. 5. Include a brief biography (three sentences maximum) along with a picture (color or B/W). Please April Focus: Public Awareness be sure to specify if you would like your photo returned. Do not send irreplaceable photos. Submission Deadline: 6. In addition to a hard copy version of the article, please submit an electronic version either on February 1 disk or via e-mail ([email protected]). 7. Texts should be formatted for Word or Wordperfect 8.0. May 8. All articles are subject to editing for grammar, style, punctuation, and space limitations. Focus: Literary Translation Submission Deadline: 9. A proof will be sent to you for review prior to publication. March 1 Standard Length June Letters to the editor: 350 words; Opinion/Editorial: 300-600 words; Feature Articles: 750-3,500 Focus: Adapting for Success words; Column: 400-1,000 words Submission Deadline: April 1
July Focus: Agencies, Bureaus, and An Easy Reference To ATA Member Benefits Companies Submission Deadline: Your ATA membership has never been more valuable. Take advantage of the discounted programs and May 1 services available to you as an ATA member. Be sure to tell these companies you are an ATA member and refer to any codes provided below. August Focus: Medical Business Owners Insurance MasterCard Submission Deadline: National Professional Group MBNA America June 1 (888) 219-8122 Reference Code: IFKV September www.ata-ins.com (800) 847-7378 • (302) 457-2165 Focus: Interpreting Submission Deadline: Collection Services/Receivables Medical, Life, and Disability Insurance July 1 Management Mutual of Omaha October Dun & Bradstreet (800) 223-6927 • (402) 342-7600 Focus: Legal Translating/ Mike Horoski www.atanet.org/mutual.htm Interpreting (800) 333-6497 ext. 7226 Submission Deadline: (484) 242-7226 Overnight Delivery/Express Package Service August 1 [email protected] UPS Reference Code: C0000700415 November/December Focus: Training and Pedagogy Conference Travel (800) 325-7000 Submission Deadline: Stellar Access www.ups.com September 1 Reference Code: 505 (800) 929-4242 • (619) 453-3686 Professional Liability Insurance Moving? Find an e-mail: [email protected] National Professional Group www.stellaraccess.com (888) 219-8122 error with your www.ata-ins.com address? Credit Card Acceptance Retirement Programs We’ve done everything possible to ensure Program/Professional Services Account Washington Pension Center that your address is correct. But sometimes NOVA Information Systems (888) 817-7877 • (301) 941-9179 errors do occur. If you find that the informa- Reference Code: HCDA tion on the mailing label is inaccurate or out (888) 545-2207 • (770) 649-5700 of date, please let us know. Send updates to: The ATA Chronicle • 225 Reinekers Lane, ...And, of course, as an ATA member you receive discounts on the Annual Conference registration fees and ATA publi- Suite 590 • Alexandria, VA 22314 cations, and you are eligible to join ATA Divisions, participate in the online Translation Services Directory, and much Fax (703) 683-6122 • [email protected] more. For more information, contact ATA (703) 683-6100; fax (703) 683-6122; and e-mail: [email protected].
4 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 32 A Jog Through the Juniper: A Translator’s Unhappy Excursion into the Copyright Thicket By Anne Milano Appel and Carol J. Marshall A well-intentioned American translator unwittingly finds herself trapped with an irate Italian author in the impenetrable thicket of copyright law, seemingly with no way out. A seasoned attorney and conflict resolution specialist provide tools that can help cut a path through the spiny undergrowth. The ATA Chronicle (ISSN 1078-6457) is published 36 Language Services in Survey Research monthly, except bi-monthly By Kim Watts, Georgina McAvinchey, and Rosanna Quiroz in November/December, How do you find out what you need to know? For three in-house translators at a survey by the American research organization, the most important translation resources often take human form. Translators Association.
38 Learn the Art of Interpreting and Educate Your Clients Reprint Permission: By Maria McCollum-Rye Requests for permission to Spending a few minutes before your interpreting session educating your client on how reprint articles should be sent to the Chronicle editor to work with an interpreter will make a world of difference, and will benefit you and at [email protected]. our profession. The subscription rate for a member is $43 (included in 41 Internet Resources for the Translation of Patents into English the dues payment). The U.S. By Steve Vlasta Vitek subscription rate for a non- An introduction to some of the most important sites for the translation of patents from member is $50. Subscribers in Canada and Mexico add Japanese, German, French, and other languages. $25; all other non-U.S. sub- scribers add $45. Single 46 All This, and Money, Too! copies are available for $5 By Tony Beckwith per issue. Second-class My friends at home always picture me sightseeing, taking day-trips to the mountains, Postage rates paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and and acting like a tourist. However, I have spent several days in some cities and never additional mailing offices. actually left the hotel.
Postmaster: 47 An Interview with Reinhold Werner Changes of address By Rudy Heller (English translation by Andre Moskowitz) should be sent to The ATA An interview with Reinhold Werner, professor of applied linguistics at the University of Chronicle, 225 Reinekers Augsburg, Germany, concerning various linguistic issues, including language variation, Lane, Suite 590, language influence, language policy, and translation. Alexandria, VA 22314. The American Translators Association (ATA) was established in 1959 as a not-for-profit professional society to advance the standards of translation ATA Chapter Seed Money Fund and to promote the intel- lectual and material inter- ests of translators and Is your ATA chapter planning an event? Does that event have need for a distinguished, interpreters in the United dynamic, industry-relevant speaker? If so, ATA’s Professional Development Committee States. The statements wants to help! made in The ATA Chronicle do not neces- ATA’s Professional Development Committee offers a seed money fund for speakers. Be sure sarily reflect the opinion to call ATA today for application guidelines and a list of fabulous speakers who could be a or judgment of the ATA, guest at your next meeting, workshop, or seminar. its editor, or its officers or directors and are strictly ATA’s chapters play a key role in the continuing education of their members. Since the those of the authors. chapters vary greatly in number and composition of members, it can be hard for some chapters to offer educational opportunities to everyone. As a service to all ATA members and as a benefit of chapterhood, ATA would like to support these educational efforts by subsidizing presentations that might otherwise prove to be a financial burden for individual chapters. The fund was designed for ATA chapters, so don’t let the opportunity pass you by. Contact [email protected] at ATA Headquarters soon for all the details!
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 5 About Our Authors...
Anne Milano Appel specializes in commer- Georgina McAvinchey Carolina. She translates technical and cial and literary translations from Italian to joined RTI International as a general survey questionnaires and related English. Formerly a director of public language specialist in materials from and into Spanish. She admin- libraries, she has also taught English, Italian, November 2000. She cur- isters Spanish-language skill assessments and English as a Second Language, and rently translates and edits and trains bilingual field interviewers. She is holds a Ph.D. in Romance languages and lit- printed survey materials, also a part-time English as a Second erature. Contact: [email protected]. recruits participants, con- Language instructor for Wake Technical ducts cognitive interviews and training ses- Community College. Contact: [email protected]. Tony Beckwith is a freelance translator, sions, and administers Spanish-language interpreter, and writer. He was born in skill assessments to field and telephone Alexandra Russell-Bitting has been a senior Argentina, and now lives in Austin, Texas. interviewers. She obtained her bachelor’s translator/reviser at the Inter-American Contact: [email protected]. degree in computer science from DePaul Development Bank in Washington, DC, for University in Chicago. She has been trans- the past 14 years, working from French, Michael Collins graduated from the lating and interpreting in Spanish since Spanish, and Portuguese into English. She University of North Carolina with a master’s 1992. Contact: [email protected]. has done freelance translations for other degree in Slavic linguistics. He has studied international organizations such as the in Yugoslavia and Germany, and has been Maria McCollum-Rye, a native of Cadiz, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and active in translation since 1985. He is cur- Spain, is the owner and project manager of Cultural Organization, the Pan American rently president of Global Translation Spenworld, a language service company Health Organization, and the Organization of Systems, Inc., in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. located in Tennessee. She has over 10 years American States, as well as for the U.S. Contact: [email protected]. of Spanish translation and interpreting expe- Department of State. She has taught transla- rience. She teaches cultural awareness tion at Georgetown University and the Rudy Heller has been translating from classes and works for nonprofit organiza- Université de Paris VIII, and is a regular con- English into Spanish for over 30 years. He is tions and hospitals as an interpreter. She tributor to the ATA Chronicle. She is a an ATA-accredited (English>Spanish) trans- also leads a weekly Christian support group member of ATA’s Public Relations lator and a U.S. federal court certified inter- for native Spanish-speaking women, where Committee. Contact: [email protected]. preter. Along with his wife, Sarah, he she helps women to learn English and to operates out of bucolic and picturesque cope with cultural shock and depression. Nancy M. Snyder is an ATA-accredited Brookfield, in central Massachusetts, where, She has studied nursing, insurance, and (German-English) freelance translator. After after 20 years, he is still trying to figure out paralegal studies, and has an extended being laid off from the position of the change of seasons (so different from his knowledge of computer software and editing. translator/terminologist at Volkswagen of native Cali, Colombia, where spring springs Contact: [email protected]. America, she has been running her business, eternal). He is the administrator of ATA’s Technical Language Services, since 1988. Spanish Language Division. Contact: Andre Moskowitz is a hispanist, lexicogra- Contact: [email protected]. [email protected]. pher, dialectologist, Spanish and Portuguese into English translator, and a Spanish- Kim Watts is a language Jonathan Hine translated English interpreter. He has published many specialist with RTI his first book, a medical articles on lexical dialectology and dialecto- International, a nonprofit text, in 1961. A graduate of logical lexicography, and has given presenta- organization that conducts the U.S. Naval Academy tions on these subjects at the ATA Annual research in areas related to (B.S.), the University of Conference every year since 1995. Born and health and science. She Oklahoma (MPA), and the raised in the U.S., he taught English in translates questionnaires, University of Virginia Colombia and Ecuador for four years. He transcripts, and other materials related to (Ph.D.), he is ATA-accredited (Italian- holds a B.A. in humanities from Johns survey research into Spanish or English. She English) and belongs to the ATA Italian and Hopkins University, an M.A. in translation has a B.A. in Spanish from Berea College French divisions and the National Capital studies from the City University of New York and previously worked as a translator for the Area Translators Association. In addition to Graduate Center, and a second M.A. in Organic Crop Improvement Association, an translating full-time, he conducts business Spanish (with a minor in Portuguese) from organization that certifies organic crops and and organization workshops throughout the the University of Florida. He is an ATA- processes. Contact: [email protected]. U.S., and teaches technical translation at accredited translator (Portuguese>English James Madison University (Harrisonburg, and Spanish<>English), a U.S. federal court Steve Vlasta Vitek received his master’s Virginia). He also writes self-help books and certified interpreter (Spanish-English), and a degree in Japanese and English studies from articles for freelancers. He is a frequent pre- California State court certified interpreter Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia, senter at ATA conferences. Contact: (Spanish-English). Contact: in 1980. He worked as an in-house translator [email protected] or [email protected]. [email protected]. for the Czech News Agency in Prague from 1980-81 and for Japan Import Center in Carol J. Marshall, an attorney and conflict Rosanna Quiroz is a native Tokyo, Japan, from 1985-86. He has been a resolution specialist, practices law at Marshall Spanish speaker originally freelance translator specializing mostly in the Suzuki Law Group, LLP, in the San Francisco from Lima, Peru, where she translation of Japanese and German patents Bay area. She has been litigating, arbitrating, obtained a degree in English and articles from technical journals for and mediating disputes for over 24 years. from the Universidad La patent law firms in the U.S. since 1987. He Contact: [email protected]. Católica. She works as a recently moved from Northern California, language specialist with RTI where he spent almost two decades, to International, a survey research organization Chesapeake, Virginia. Contact: located in Research Triangle Park, North [email protected].
6 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Thomas L. West III From the President [email protected] The Société Français des Traducteurs
y travels last month took me the time, Mr. Caillé’s name appeared brought translators and interpreters to to Paris, where I represented on the first page of the book. Even the forefront in a way that they had M ATA at the Sixth Inter- though the translated version was very never been before. The SFT was national Forum on Legal Translation expensive—it sold for 625 francs in founded in 1947 with around 20 mem- and Court Interpreting, organized by 1939, when a daily newspaper cost 50 bers. It now boasts around 750 mem- the International Federation of centimes—it sold like hotcakes and bers and serves not only as an Translators (FIT). The conference won the Prix de la Société des Gens de association, but also as a labor union was co-sponsored by our sister organ- Lettres. After World War II, the movie for translators and interpreters. ization, the Société Française des version of Autant en emporte le vent During the conference in Paris, I Traducteurs (SFT). Reading the (the French title of Gone with the had the pleasure of having dinner SFT’s publication, Traduire,I was Wind) appeared in French cinemas, with the current SFT president, interested to discover a connection and the translation of the screenplay Jacqueline Reuss, and we discussed with Atlanta, the city where I live and was based on the book translation by ways in which ATA and SFT can work and where the ATA Annual Mr. Caillé, who dubbed parts of the work more closely together. We are Conference will be held this fall. movie himself. The movie resulted in hopeful that an SFT member who The SFT was founded by a man additional sales of his translation, teaches legal translation at a French named Pierre-François Caillé. In 1939, which boosted Mr. Caillé’s career even university will attend our Atlanta con- Mr. Caillé translated Gone with the further. Around 1946, Mr. Caillé got ference to share his expertise with us. Wind, the famous novel by Atlanta the idea of establishing a translators’ You can read more about SFT at author Margaret Mitchell, into French, association in France. It was the year www.sft.fr. and although it was highly unusual at of the Nuremberg trials, which
Announcing An ATA Professional Development Seminar ATA’s The Business of Translating and Interpreting Seminar Wyndham Hotel Boston, Massachusetts • August 10, 2002
This seminar features an in-depth look at the business of translating Space is limited. To register, contact ATA Headquarters at and interpreting. More information on the program will be e-mailed 703-683-6100 or visit the ATA website—www.atanet.org— to all members and posted on the ATA website. All presentations will On the home page, click on the Business Seminar link. be in English. A few rooms have been reserved at $169 a night, plus tax. To Plus, an ATA accreditation exam sitting is scheduled for Sunday reserve a hotel room, contact the Wyndham at (617) 556-0006. morning, August 11, in the hotel. (A separate registration is required Be sure to mention that you are attending the ATA seminar. for the exam. Please contact ATA Headquarters for more information.)
See page 63 for complete information. Fee: $165 ATA members; $245 nonmembers • After August 1: $235 members; $330 nonmembers
Plan Ahead: Court Translating and Interpreting Seminar • San Francisco, California • September 14, 2002
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 7 Walter Bacak, CAE From the Executive Director [email protected] ATA in the News
ver the years, ATA has done a You will notice in the articles that aware of every article where ATA is decent job of getting men- either the ATA president or I am fre- mentioned because the trend is for O tioned or featured in the press. quently quoted. This is on purpose. reporters to work from our website However, I have done a less than ade- ATA Board policy designates the and not make contact with us. quate job of letting you know about president and the executive director Regardless of where writers are get- this publicity…until now. as the official spokespersons for the ting their information, ATA’s efforts to In response to a request by the association. This practice has allowed further promote the translation and Board of Directors, the ATA website us to present a unified message. interpreting professions are paying off. now features “ATA in the News.” I The other thread, which may or Can we do more? Yes, and we will. have compiled excerpts from articles may not be apparent from the excerpts, ATA President Thomas L. West III from the past few years that mention is that many of the references to ATA appointed two experts in public rela- ATA. To give you an idea of the size have been from articles profiling ATA tions, Chris Durban and Kevin of the file, the copy ran nine, single- member companies or individuals. We Hendzel, to co-chair ATA’s Public spaced pages. Many major daily have given the national perspective on Relations Committee. Their efforts papers are included, such as The Wall these local features. Of course, if you are sure to increase ATA’s presence in Street Journal, The New York Times, work with a reporter, please be sure to the media. In addition, we have made and The Washington Post. give him or her our contact informa- the ATA website more user-friendly Of course, these listings do not tion. In addition, I would like to thank for the media by adding a “Media include all the publications where ATA those individuals who have provided Inquiries” section on the homepage. has been cited. I included the ones that reporters with our phone/e-mail We all benefit from increased featured a different angle, were from a address over the years, and for for- exposure of the professions and the major publication, or covered a partic- warding articles to me where ATA is association. ular industry or region. mentioned. Related, I may not be
Attention All Serbo-Croat, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian<>English Translators and Interpreters Proposal for New Language Pair for ATA Accreditation
An effort is underway to investigate the possibility of establishing accreditation for the above language pairs. The first step is underway; that is, forming a “volunteer committee” to work on this project. Then we must demonstrate that there is a desire on the part of the membership to establish these language pairs. Therefore, we would like to hear from anyone who would take this accreditation exam if it were available, and especially anyone interested in participating in this long and arduous (and, in our case, perhaps a little more complicated than usual) process. Please write to Paula Gordon—[email protected]—if you would be willing to join this initial committee. Even if you are not, a message simply stating your language pairs and interest in accreditation would be greatly appreciated.
8 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 ATA Medical Translation and Interpreting Seminar Continuing Education Credit Approved
Continuing Education Activity for Court Interpreters • Minimum Continuing Education Credit For more information, please contact Teresa Kelly at ATA Headquarters ([email protected]). Sessions Approved for California Sessions Approved for Washington Judicial Council of California Judicial Council of Washington Administrative Office of the Courts Administrative Office of the Courts
CIMCE# Credit Session Title Course# Credit Session Title
1251 2 A Crash Course in Experimental Design and 126 3 The Language of Medicine— Inferential Statistics for Biomedical Davi-Ellen Chabner Translators—Dr. Lydia Razran Stone 127 2 Legal Issues in the Translation of Healthcare 1252 2 Beyond Bilingualism: The Role of Telephonic Documents—Maria Cornelio Interpreting in Facilitating Cultural Competency—Janet Erickson-Johnson 128 2 Ethical Codes and Ethical Dilemmas in Medical Interpreting—Dr. Cornelia Brown 1253 2 Ethical Codes and Ethical Dilemmas in and Dr. Bruce T. Downing Medical Interpreting—Dr. Cornelia Brown and Dr. Bruce T. Downing 129 2 Beyond Bilingualism: The Role of Telephonic Interpreting in Facilitating Cultural 1254 2 Legal Issues in the Translation of Healthcare Competency—Janet Erickson-Johnson Documents—Maria Cornelio 130 2 A Crash Course in Experimental Design and 1255 3 The Language of Medicine— Inferential Statistics for Biomedical Davi-Ellen Chabner Translators—Dr. Lydia Razran Stone
Superior Court of Arizona Rimini, Italy in and for Maricopa County Federecentri Court Interpreters International The Superior Court in Maricopa County, the fifth largest general jurisdiction court in the country, seeks seasoned Court Interpreters. Representatives duties comprise of Conference simultaneous and consecutive oral interpretation as well as written translation.
October 11-13, 2002 If you are an experienced Court Interpreter looking to contribute to a court system with a nationwide reputation for innovation and excellence, please call Raul Roman, Theme: Manager, The Office of the Court Interpreter at Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa The Translation Industry Today County at 602-506-0220 or e-mail [email protected]. minimum qualifications include paid, professional experience interpreting in English/Spanish as Topics: Communication issues, a Court Interpreter. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical/den- technology updates, and market tal and vision, 15 days vacation/yr., 10 paid holidays and state retirement. This is a developments. For information, merit-selected position in accordance with Court policy. Salary is dependent upon can- didate qualifications and expertise. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. please contact: Susan West, (Tel: +39/051/6008831; Fax: + 39/051/6008870; Interested in More Educational Opportunities? E-mail: [email protected]. Attend ATA’s 43rd Annual Conference Atlanta, Georgia • November 6-9, 2002
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 9 Dr. Jiri Stejskal From the Treasurer [email protected]
e are already halfway through Johns of Merrill Lynch, ATA ¥ Short selling; and 2002, and I would like to Executive Director Walter Bacak, and ¥ Margin transactions. W take some time now to take ATA Accounting Manager Orson stock of 2001, see what is happening Carter. Following this meeting, a new This represents a departure from this year, and to look ahead. I pre- investment committee was estab- our previous policy of substantial sented our budget for 2002 in the lished, chaired by myself, with the investment in equities toward a more January issue. This time I will focus following voting members: Beatriz conservative investment in fixed on the following three areas: 2001 Bonnet (current ATA Board director), income assets. The rationale for this results, our investment policy, and the Marian Greenfield (current ATA Board move is our effort to minimize the accreditation program. director), and Eric McMillan (imme- risk of capital losses due to the diate past treasurer). With the assis- volatility of the stock market. 2001 Financial Statements tance of the committee, I drafted a Our financial statements are new investment policy which was ATA Accreditation Program audited every year in April. I am approved at the March 2002 Board As I mentioned in my January pleased to report that this year, again, meeting. The full text is available report, our accreditation program is we were commended by the auditors upon request, but here are the main not exactly a moneymaker. This is for our clean and well-maintained objectives: fine, since it is not ATA’s intention to financial records. According to the profit from the program, but I do not audited statements for 2001, our total ¥ Preservation of capital; think that ATA should subsidize the revenues equaled $1,860,487 as of ¥ Achievement of optimum invest- program either. The reason is December 31, 2001, with total ment returns within the “preserva- because, even though accreditation is expenses of $1,905,813, resulting in a tion of capital” investment style; arguably beneficial to the T&I deficit of $45,326. For comparison, ¥ Protection of principal with emphasis industry in general, it is currently not the revenues and expenses were pro- on income over a three-to-five available in languages of limited dif- jected for 2001 at $1,825,436 for a year period; fusion, and thus does not serve the balanced budget. Among the main ¥ Minimum risk of losses; and entire ATA membership equally. In causes contributing to the negative ¥ Liquidity needed for funding other words, our ambition should be final figure was our investment loss current operating expenses. to break even, so that the expenses and a number of cancelled registra- incurred in connection with the tions for the ATA Annual Con- In accordance with the conserva- accreditation program are covered by ference, both repercussions of the tive allocation style of capital preser- the fees charged to the applicants. To September terrorist attack. The vation, the following approximate that end, I have prepared a mathemat- investment loss (both realized and percentage will apply to the alloca- ical model for a “sales mix” break- unrealized) amounted to $24,599. tion of ATA assets in our investment even analysis. “Mix” is the keyword The registration cancellations totaled account: here, because the accreditation pro- $32,960 in refunds. Yet another con- gram offers not only the accreditation tributing factor is the current financial Cash and Equivalents: 25% test itself, but also a practice test, structure of the ATA accreditation Bonds and Equivalents: 60% with a staggered fee structure for the program. While there is nothing we Equity Allocation: 15% graders. This fact makes a traditional can do about the attendance at last break-even analysis difficult because year’s conference, our investment Finally, the following investments are of the allocation of variable expenses policy and our accreditation program prohibited: to two separate items. deserve a closer look. I met with Walter Bacak and Terry ¥ Individual equities; Hanlen, ATA’s deputy executive New Investment Policy ¥ Private placement; director and accreditation program At the very beginning of this year, ¥ Letter stock; manager, in the second half of May to I met with our current broker, Greg ¥ Options, except in mutual funds; refine the model and to get it ready for
10 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 the June ATA Board meeting. As it analysis, and a proposal for a new fee association can weather future ups and stands right now, the contribution structure, at a future date in cooperation downs without plunging into financial margin (the amount by which the rev- with the Accreditation Committee, hardship. Possible ways of achieving enues exceed total variable expenses) which is currently working on the pro- this goal will be presented at the next for both the actual and the practice test gram overhaul. annual business meeting at our Atlanta is too low to achieve the break-even conference. point at the current level of applications. Looking Ahead In closing, I would like to take this For illustration, in 2001 we collected After two years in the red, we need opportunity to reassure all members $172,839 for both the actual and the to boost revenues and cut expenses. In that, in spite of the deficit, our asso- practice tests, while the related expendi- addition, it is recommended that a ciation is in a sound financial posi- tures amounted to $183,736, resulting nonprofit association such as ATA tion. I would also like to thank the in a deficit of $10,897. Because of the keep a surplus investment account cor- ATA staff in general, and the execu- relatively high fixed expenses (a little responding to approximately one-half tive director in particular, for their over $100,000) and the low contribution of its annual budget, i.e., about one support, and the ATA Board for margin, we would have had to collect million in our case. The average bal- easing my transition into the office of about $195,000 in fees for accreditation ance in our working capital investment the treasurer. As always, should you to break even in 2001. (If you are account is less than two-thirds of the have any questions or desire more curious as to how I arrived at this figure, recommended amount, and I would detailed information, feel free to con- please contact me.) I will present a like to see this figure increase to the tact me at [email protected]. more detailed report on the break-even desired six-month reserve so that our
Attention Exhibitors American Translators Association 43rd Annual Conference
Atlanta, Georgia • Hyatt Regency Hotel • November 6-9, 2002
Plan now to exhibit at the American Translators Association’s 43rd Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, November 6–9, 2002. Exhibiting at the ATA Annual Conference offers the best opportunity to market your products and services face-to-face to more than 1,500 translators in one location. Translators are consumers of computer hardware and software, technical publications and refer- ence books, office products, and much more. Face-to-face selling, as you know, is the most effec- tive and successful method of marketing. The ATA Annual Conference is the perfect venue, and you are assured of excellent visibility. Exhibit space is limited, so please reserve your space today. For additional information, please contact Brian Wallace, McNeill Group Inc.; bwallace@mcneill- group.com; (215) 321-9662, ext. 38; Fax: (215) 321-9636.
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 11 Conferences and Events
Washington, DC Lincoln, Nebraska Slavonice, Czech Republic Translators Discussion Group Nebraska Association for Translators Slavonice International Translators Borders Books and Music & Interpreters Conference 2002 18th & L Streets, NW Third Annual Regional Conference September 19-22, 2002 “Bringing Down Barriers” Meets the second Wednesday of each Holiday Inn Downtown For more information, please contact: month from 6:30-8:00 pm at Borders. (Haymarket area) Zuzana Kulhankova For more information, please contact August 15-17, 2002 Jana Zizky 2, 378 81 Slavonice Lily Liu at [email protected] Czech Republic Who Should Attend? Translators, inter- Tel: +420-332-493777 Vancouver, British Columbia preters, language professionals, stu- Fax: +420-332-493770 XVI World Congress of the dents of foreign language and interna- Mobil: +420-605-726432 International Federation of Translators tional trade, social services personnel, E-mail: [email protected] Translation: New Ideas for a law enforcement personnel, administra- www.scholaludus.cz New Century tors coordinating language access, August 6-10, 2002 compliance officers, freelance and staff Cambridge, Massachusetts bilingual service providers. 6th Annual Massachusetts Medical Canada is proud to welcome the XVI FIT Several registration options are avail- Interpreters Association Conference Congress to Vancouver, British Columbia. able. Check the website “Unheard Voices” It kicks off August 6, 2002, with the wel- (www.natihq.org) for details. Cambridge College come reception and on-site registration, Discounted registration fees for NATI 1000 Massachusetts Avenue and the Congress itself runs three and a members and special hotel rates avail- October 25-26, 2002 half days, August 7-10. This is the first able. To be added to our mailing list, time in over two decades that the contact [email protected]. For information or to be placed on the Congress has taken place in North mailing list, contact either Joy Connell America, so we’re happy to continue the Cambridge, England at (617) 626-8133 tradition of welcoming hundreds of dele- 18th Intensive Course in Simultaneous ([email protected]) or John gates from all corners of the world. Conference Interpretation Nickrosz at (617) 636-5212 Recent Congresses have been held in August 18-31, 2002 ([email protected]). Mons, Belgium (1999), Melbourne, Australia (1996), Brighton, England Participants will interpret for guest Call for Manuscripts (1993), Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1990), and speakers on a wide range of general and Multilingual Matters Series Maastricht, the Netherlands (1987). For technical subjects under authentic con- Professional Interpreting in the more information, please visit ference conditions. In addition to the Real World www.fit-ift.org.htm. core curriculum, there will be specialized discussions in a variety of fields (for Suggested topics: Method (field-specific); example, consecutive, on-site translation, Procedure (field-specific); Regulations use and preparation of texts, booth and (field-specific); Interpreting Equipment Help Us Get the stress management, marketing and (conference and legal); Education Word Out! negotiation, interpreting approaches to (basics per field, advanced skills per Shakespeare and the Bible, etc.), and field, advanced theory per field); Skills briefings on the International Association (memory retention exercises, note tak- Please send us of Conference Interpreters, the interna- ing, troubleshooting per field, and spe- information on your tional institutions, and the profession. cific language pair applications). The upcoming events The course languages are English, series editor will be pleased to discuss French, German, Russian, and Spanish. proposals with potential authors. Please (including dates, The language of general instruction is send them to: c/o Multilingual Matters venue, and contact English. Early enrollment is recommend- Ltd., Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, information) to ed. For information, including a detailed Victoria Road, Clevedon, [email protected]. course brochure and application forms, BS21 7HH, U.K.; or by e-mail to please contact: Christopher Guichot de [email protected]. Fortis; Tel: (+32-2) 654-2080; Guidelines for book proposals can be (Please send material Fax: (+32-2) 652-5826; found on our website at least two months E-mail: [email protected]. (www.multilingual-matters.com). prior to the event.) (Note: This course is specifically designed for conference interpreters only.)
12 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 International Certification Study: Norway
By Jiri Stejskal
n the last issue we reviewed the also indebted to Linda Sivesind “Guild” to “Association” only recently.) options of becoming a “traductor ([email protected]), vice-president The association was founded on I público” in Argentina. Norway, of the International Federation of November 14, 1913, and is one of the the country selected for this article, Translators (FIT), a government oldest translators’ associations in the has a similar system for the certifica- authorized translator, and a member world. It is organized and run as a tion of translators and interpreters. of STF, for her thorough feedback and nonprofit organization for the purpose To become a “statsautorisert trans- information on the Norwegian of protecting the interests of its mem- latør” (government authorized trans- Association of Nonfiction Writers bers in the widest sense by: lator), the linguist must pass a and Translators. stringent examination administered ¥ Seeking greater recognition for by the Norwegian School of government authorized translators Economics and Business Admin- “…To become a as highly skilled professionals; istration (Norges Handelsh¿yskole, ‘statsautorisert translatør’ or NHH), the leading Norwegian ¥ Promoting good translation practices business school. Authorization is sub- (government authorized and supporting its members by pro- sequently awarded by the Norwegian translator), the linguist viding guidance and information; government. All those who pass the rigorous examination are then invited must pass a stringent ¥ Working for greater understanding to join the Association of Government examination administered of the importance of quality trans- Authorized Translators (Statsautori- by the Norwegian School lations among the authorities and serte Translat¿rers Forening, or STF). relevant user groups; and This system is different from the of Economics and Business Anglo-American system, which leaves Administration…” ¥ Strengthening the links among certification to professional bodies. colleagues and promoting high The Norwegian system of certification professional standards and work corresponds to the “continental” The history of government author- ethics. system of governmental certification ization for translators in Norway that is practiced in other Nordic coun- dates back to the pre-1800 period. STF, a member of FIT, currently tries such as Finland and Sweden (dis- Around 1800, the job of appointing has around 200 members, almost half cussed in detail in the February 2002 translators passed from being a royal of them living in the Oslo area. They issue of the ATA Chronicle), as well as prerogative to the king’s council. In are authorized in 16 different in Denmark, which will be introduced those days, the principal work of languages—15 European languages in the next issue in order to close our authorized translators was reportedly and Chinese. Because of the difficulty discussion of Scandinavia. related to the collection of customs of the examination, only a handful of The information presented here revenues (i.e., authorized translators members are authorized in more than was partially gleaned from the SFT were producing official translations of one language pair. English dominates, and NHH websites, and from an bills of lading). More historical infor- but there are also a number of German interview with Bj¿rnulf Hinderaker mation will be presented in the translators. The majority of STF’s ([email protected]), an upcoming article on Denmark, as members are self-employed free- NHH faculty member who is Norway was part of Denmark up lancers, but some work for translation responsible for the examination of until 1814, which is the year in companies as staff translators. Many translators, and Sveinung L¿kke which the Kiel Treaty brought about STF members also have the outgoing ([email protected]), a gov- the end of the 434-year-long alliance nature and verbal skills that make ernment authorized translator and of Denmark and Norway. them first-class interpreters, and a member of STF, who generously Government authorized translators number of them are among Norway’s offered to translate a substantial part in Norway are organized within STF, best conference and court interpreters. of the interview which was published the above-mentioned Association of All STF members have passed a in issue No. 4 (2002) of the Government Authorized Translators. very demanding translation examina- Norwegian periodical Kapital. I am (The English name was changed from tion, containing both a written ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 13 International Certification Study: Norway Continued and an oral component. Until 1999, translator are generally seen as four-year degree program. The depart- examination candidates were required having the status of original texts. A ment also offers two-year programs at to translate into and from Norwegian lot of people see this professional the postgraduate level, as well as one- and the foreign language concerned. designation as the crowning achieve- year business language studies in Today it is possible to be authorized ment after many years of education. English, French, and German. In in a single direction. The “Trans- It is of interest that the title “stat- 1986, the Ministry of Education con- latøreksamen” represents the highest sautorisert translatør” in Norway uses ferred the responsibility for the admin- Norwegian qualification for written a similar wording and carries the istration of the national translators’ translation to and from Norwegian of same weight as that of “certified examination on NHH. The objective specialized texts (economic, adminis- public accountant” (which is also the of this examination is to authorize trative, legal, commercial, and tech- case in Argentina) and that, unlike in candidates who are able to carry out nical). As a result, successful the U.S., authorized translators enjoy translation work for the public and pri- candidates are authorized by the a certain social status. An anecdote vate sectors, as well as for private indi- Norwegian government, currently shared by Ann Macfarlane, ATA’s viduals. One staff member is specially represented by the Ministry of immediate past president, comes to assigned to the supervision and organ- Education and Research, to place mind in this context. When inter- ization of the exam. This position is their stamp and signature on their viewing Michael Hamm in an effort currently held by Bj¿rnulf Hinderaker, work, along with the words “True to evaluate the current ATA accredita- supervisor of the examinations and Translation Certified.” The use of the tion process and inquiring about how lecturer in German at NHH. official translator’s stamp is confined long it took to achieve the credibility NHH is the only institution in to government authorized translators. of certification enjoyed by certified Norway certified to offer the national The certificate issued by the Ministry public accountants in the U.S., his examination for translators. Each grants a license for the given lan- reply was “About a hundred years.” year, 40 to 50 candidates sit for this guage “pursuant to Regulation The rationale for the appreciation of exam. Mr. Hinderaker notes that a relating to the licensing of govern- translators in Norway, as well as in very high percentage of applicants ment authorized translators laid down other Scandinavian countries, stems fail the exam—about 80% (still an by the Ministry of Education and from the fact that Norway has a improvement from the 90%+ failure Research on 15 August 2002, pur- small, very open economy, with rate when candidates had to translate suant to Act No. 22, Section 57a, exports amounting to 50% of the in both directions to be authorized). dated 12 May 1995, relating to uni- gross national product. Of course, This figure is by no means unique, as versities and colleges,” and requires this means that linguistic skills are the rate is quite similar for ATA and a that “the office of translator be con- essential for anyone wanting a career number of other professional T&I ducted conscientiously and to the in almost any field. The school organizations, including those in best of one’s ability and in accor- system continues to put tremendous Sweden and Denmark, and is dance with the oath or solemn pledge effort into teaching modern foreign roughly the same for all languages. taken.” Like the licenses currently in languages. Mr. L¿kke reports that The requirements for passing the use in Austria, the Norwegian when he was entering college, the exam are the same irrespective of the licenses were, until quite recently, minimum entry requirement was language combination. Recently, eli- based on royal decrees dating back to seven years of English, three years of gibility requirements for the qualifi- the 19th century: “The license is German, and three years of French. cation of candidates for taking the given pursuant to the Royal Decree of The “Translatøreksamen” is admin- test became more stringent and aca- 27 March 1887, cf. Royal Decrees of istered by the Department of demically oriented. A minimum of 9 September 1897, 11 July 1919, 15 Languages of NHH. The Department three years of relevant university edu- September 1950, 11 March 1960 of Languages was established in 1985 cation, properly documented, is cur- point IV, and 14 December 1962.” and offers courses in four languages: rently required. This requirement was (Translated from Norwegian by Mr. English, French, German, and introduced in order to comply with L¿kke from his own license.) Spanish. The principal activity of the European Union regulations. This Translations that are signed and department is the teaching of lan- fact is of particular interest to the stamped by a government authorized guages as elective subjects in NHH’s author of this article, who was
14 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 recently appointed chairman of the For those who pass, there is also an Hinderaker, NHH is able to find ATA ad-hoc committee for ATA oral examination. Those who fail are examiners in 20-25 languages. accreditation eligibility requirements, allowed to try again up to three times. It should be noted that we also a development which will be dis- A pass means that the candidate has received a reply to our initial query cussed in one of the future issues of shown an excellent command of about certification abroad, mailed in this publication. legal, financial, and technical sub- November 2000, from Norsk The National Translators’ Exami- jects and that he or she is able to Oversetterforening (NO), or the nation makes great demands on the translate such texts. The written part Norwegian Association of Literary candidates. It is necessary to be in of the examination consists of two Translators. While this 280-member full command of both Norwegian and independent tests: association does not offer any certifi- the foreign language. The candidate cation, the eligibility requirements are must understand the differences and 1. Translation from Norwegian into quite stringent: two published books similarities between the language, the foreign language of: or two staged plays, scrutinized by and be able to translate either way ¥ A general text of about 350 NO’s Literary Council. The associa- with great accuracy. It is necessary to words; tion conducts seminars and organizes have a thorough knowledge of eco- ¥ An economic/administrative text trips abroad for its members to allow nomic, administrative, legal, and of about 250 words; translators to better acquaint them- technical subject matter in both the ¥ A legal text of about 250 words; selves with the cultures and languages source and target cultures. and they are specializing in. Economists, engineers, lawyers, ¥ A technical text of about Norway also has another associa- technical translators, and people with 250 words. tion of book translators, Norsk similar types of education, com- Faglitterær forfatter- og oversetter- bining languages and factual knowl- 2. Translation from the foreign lan- forening (NFF), or the Norwegian edge, will have an advantage when guage into Norwegian of the same Association of Nonfiction Writers sitting for the examination. Work subject matter and size as for Test 1. and Translators. This association has experience is also a definite plus. 4,800 members, 420 of whom are In principle, candidates can sit for Tests 1 and 2 take place on con- translators of nonfiction books and the examination in any foreign lan- secutive days. The candidates who articles. The vast majority of the guage in combination with Norwegian, pass the written part of the examina- members are academic/nonfiction provided it is practically possible to tion are invited to sit for the oral writers. NFF has no quality-related employ qualified examiners in Norway examination. The National Trans- criterion for membership, but or the other Nordic countries. The lators’ Examination is considered requires applicants to hold the copy- requirements are not supposed to vary completed when a candidate has right on the translation of one work significantly from one language to passed both the written and the oral of nonfiction (at least 100 pages). another. There is no educational pro- parts of the examination. Both NO and NFF are the recipients gram in Norway that fully prepares Around 40% of candidates take the of photocopying remuneration and candidates for the examination. NHH English test. The Norwegian text to be money derived from public lending provides guidance for candidates who translated is the same for all foreign rights, allowing the associations to are planning to take the examination in languages. Thai is an example of a generously finance annual project the following languages: English, language that NHH rarely organizes and travel grants to qualified transla- French, Spanish, or German. Potential an exam in, but even if only one can- tors, and to be very active in interna- candidates are entitled to submit their didate comes forward, NHH is still tional affairs. translations of a set of previous exami- obligated to organize an exam for that For the sake of completeness, it nation texts and receive feedback on candidate. Languages of limited dif- should also be mentioned that this their performance. Samples of English- fusion that have been requested in the nation, about the size of Minnesota, to-Norwegian tests for the past few past include Urdu, Slovenian, Slovak, has two more groups of translators: years are available at the NHH website and Czech. There have also been can- NAVIO, the Norwegian Association of (www.nhh.no/stud/spr/trengelsk.html). didates in Arabic sporadically. At the The written test takes eight hours. very least, according to Mr. Continued on p.22
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 15 Translation in the News: Terrorist Attacks Spotlight Need for Qualified Linguists
By Alexandra Russell-Bitting, ATA Public Relations Committee
n the wake of the September 11 common languages, like Pashto, Washington, DC, for their annual attacks, a flurry of reports barely existed before September 11, meeting, Fisher was not optimistic I appeared in the press on the because the U.S. has had no commer- about any sudden improvements. urgent need for real, live, qualified cial or political ties to Afghanistan for According to National Foreign translators. The articles stress how years. Translation businesses were Language Center Director and woefully unprepared U.S. intelli- unprepared for the demand prompted University of Maryland Professor gence is to deal with the huge backlog by the U.S. war on terrorism. Richard Brecht, the problem is that of translation work for less common Shuckran Kamal, a freelance trans- our education is market-driven. And languages, and how the U.S. educa- lator of Arabic and Farsi and past chair the market doesn’t work for less com- tion system has failed to ensure that of the ATA Accreditation Committee, monly taught languages. So when- Americans achieve foreign-language stressed that translators must be more ever a world crisis occurs, we’re proficiency. than native speakers; they must also be reduced to scouring the nation for good writers and researchers. Past translators and language instructors ATA Sources Quoted to help bridge the gap. Brecht notes In October, the New York Times chillingly, for instance, that: “when reported that translation companies “…Multiculturalism may we discovered terrorist plans in were experiencing a surge in demand Arabic after the 1993 World Trade for translators of Arabic, Dari, not have prodded us to Center bombing, we didn’t process Pashto, and Urdu from such clients as study cultures the information for months because the federal government and manufac- fundamentally different we didn’t have the people.” turers in the defense industry. In an article entitled “Do You Speak from our own…the war on Intelligence Failures Linked to Uzbek? Translators Are in Demand,” terrorism will have to…” Shortage of Linguists Lynnley Browning interviewed sev- In a scathing piece entitled eral past and present ATA officials “English Only Spoken Here,” pub- and members. ATA President Muriel Jérôme- lished in The Weekly Standard in Noting that translation services for O’Keeffe, the managing director of a December, Claire Berlinsky minced the over 40 “major languages” in the Washington-area translation company, no words. “There is a desperate world are a $7-billion a year industry, was also quoted in the article. “Simply shortage of foreign-language speakers he cited the ATA as the industry’s calling for speakers is not going to at our intelligence agencies,” she main professional association for help,” she cautioned. “How can you reported, citing several cases of translators and interpreters in this ask a native speaker with no other “intelligence failures” linked not to a country. The ATA has 120 Arabic expertise to translate the chemical lack of evidence, but to the inability translators listed in its directory, but components of a bomb?” of analysts to understand it. For less than 25% of them have passed example, the entire CIA reportedly the association’s accreditation exam. Recruitment Efforts “Nothing Short has only four or five “competent “There are not enough good Arabic of Pathetic” Arabic speakers,” just one lone translators,” Walter Bacak, ATA’s “It Takes a Crisis to Raise Regard speaker of Farsi, and not a single lin- executive director, told the Times. for Languages” reported The guist with Pashto, Uzbek, or other And as for more esoteric languages, Washington Post in November. The languages spoken in and around forget it: the ATA has just 21 Farsi author, local columnist Marc Fisher, Afghanistan. translators (one of whom also does bemoaned the spectacle of the FBI “A critical shortage of linguists Pashto) and six for Dari, but not a director going on television to beg for with security clearance has crippled single one for Uzbek. speakers of Arabic and the less American intelligence efforts for Requests for Arabic translation common languages of Afghanistan. It decades, and will take decades to used to be relatively rare, since U.S. was, observed the columnist, remedy fully,” she concluded bleakly. companies doing business in Arabic- “nothing short of pathetic.” After Of the two possible solutions— speaking countries usually do so in attending a meeting of thousands of getting intelligence officers to learn English. The market for work in less language teachers gathered in languages or getting linguists to
16 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 become intelligence officers—she foreign-language study a graduation “vivid language of popular Islamic was pessimistic. “Efforts to teach requirement, but now only 20% do. preaching,” pointing out the lin- Americans to speak difficult lan- The reasons Americans don’t guistic blunders committed by guages, either in universities or gov- study languages—geographic isola- western leaders in the wider “lan- ernment institutions, have generally tion, the assimilationalist credo, and guage war.” For instance, to Arabs failed,” she claimed, overstating the the widespread use of English—boil and Muslims, George W. Bush’s problem perhaps just a tad. Yet at the down to one: we don’t have to! …Or notorious use of the term “crusade” same time, “our government does not should we say didn’t used to? apparently conjured up the image of trust native speakers of foreign lan- “Multiculturalism may not have “a raggle taggle army of barbarous, guages and makes it nearly impos- prodded us to study cultures funda- irreligious, pillaging mercenaries.” sible for such volunteers to obtain mentally different from our own,” This western ignorance of Muslim security clearances.” Talbot concluded, “the war on ter- languages, cultures, and history has Berlinsky suggested a two- rorism will have to.” led to what Holes calls “a dialogue of pronged approach to resolving the the deaf.” language crisis. In the short term, hire English Is Not Enough In a letter to the editor subsequently and clear foreign-born linguists; in Across the pond, this “harsh cul- published in The Times, ITI President the long term, overhaul the structure tural lesson” wasn’t lost on the Sir Rowland Whitehead echoed this of foreign-language education in the British either. The December 2001 view, noting that: “it is high time that United States. Berlinsky wryly noted issue of the ITI Bulletin, the publica- the native English speakers addressed the “extraordinary disjunct in aca- tion of the U.K.’s Institute of the languages of others.” demia between professions of multi- Translation & Interpreting, included culturalism—exhortations to celebrate articles from the British press on the Uncle Sam Desperately diversity—and any kind of serious question of foreign-language study. Seeking Linguists commitment to learning about other In an article entitled “Lost for In March 2002, The Washington cultures.” She advocated a radical Words,” originally published in The Post reported on a study by the change in foreign-language study: Guardian, Hilary Footitt noted that: General Accounting Office (GAO) on begin it in elementary school and “one of the cultural shocks of foreign-language needs in federal gov- include more study abroad, in Tunisia September 11 is, overwhelmingly, ernment agencies. Congress had asked or Pakistan, rather than France or that English is simply not enough.” the GAO to focus on the four agencies Italy, and not for a mere semester, but For the U.K., the attacks have led to with the largest foreign-language for years. “a visceral understanding that programs: the Army, the FBI, the building globalisation necessarily State Department, and the Commerce A Dead End for Isolationism entails participating in a multilingual Department. The GAO found that The New York Times had similar world.” staff shortages at the agencies: “have observations about multiculturalism: As the U.K. gets ready to launch a adversely affected agency operations “it is odd that a movement so flam- new citizenship curriculum in and hindered U.S. military, law boyantly dedicated to the celebration schools nationwide, it has become enforcement, intelligence, counterter- of cultural diversity did so little to clear that global citizenship is not rorism, and diplomatic efforts.” check our tendencies toward cultural English, but multilingual. This real- The four agencies had not been isolationism,” wrote Margaret Talbot, ization is no doubt squelching, once able to fill all their jobs requiring Senior Fellow at the New America and for all, the “English is enough” expertise in Arabic, Mandarin and Foundation, in an article entitled mantra long intoned in influential cir- Cantonese Chinese, Indonesian, “Other Woes.” She noted that during cles in the United Kingdom. Japanese, Korean, Farsi, Russian, and the upsurge of the multicultural The Times of London published an Turkish. Among the difficulties they movement in the 1980s and 1990s, in-depth linguistic analysis by British all faced was the “competitive job the study of foreign languages academic Clive Holes, an expert market” (read: low government declined considerably. For example, Arabist who picked apart the vocabu- salaries). For instance, the Army in 1965, 34% of all four-year colleges lary used by Osama bin Laden in his reported that it had trouble retaining and universities in the U.S. made videotapes. Holes explained the qualified cryptologic linguists ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 17 Translation in the News: Terrorist Attacks Spotlight Need for Qualified Linguists Continued because their skills are in demand at to prevent more attacks. That ([email protected]) or Chris colleges and in the private sector: more includes hiring translators and Durban ([email protected]), than 45% left the service after com- Arabic-speaking agents. Mueller said or to yours truly at alexandrarb@ pleting their initial four- to six-year the FBI had hired a whopping 39 yahoo.com. And third, actively enlistment. contract linguists, was processing share your expertise with fellow The problems discussed in the security clearances for another 97, members by giving a lecture at an GAO report are actually nothing new. and doing background checks on 246. annual conference or other profes- According to a more recent Wash- But compare these figures with the sional development event or by ington Post article, in 1979, a report 4,000 agents working on counterter- becoming a mentor. commissioned by President Jimmy rorism alone, and it’s hard to get Carter declared that: “Americans’ too excited just yet. In May 2002, References incompetence in foreign languages is the Post reported that the FBI is: Barr, Stephen. “Looking for People nothing short of scandalous.” More “engaged in what it calls a ‘massive’ Who Can Talk the Talk—in Other than 20 years later—but a full year effort to hire 900 linguists, computer Languages.” March 12, 2002, The before September 11—Congress held experts, engineers, and scientists over Washington Post. hearings in September 2000 on “The the next few months to improve intel- State of Foreign Language Capabilities ligence gathering and analysis.” Berlinsky, Claire. “English Only in National Security and the Federal Spoken Here.” December 2001, Government.” Ellen Laipson, Vice Opportunity for ATA Knocking Down The Weekly Standard. Chairman of the National Intelligence the Door Council, testified that: “CIA, DIA This rash of press reports high- Browning, Lynnley. “Do You Speak [Defense Intelligence Agency], INR lighting the importance of our work Uzbek? Translators Are in [State Department Bureau of Intelli- and the need to remedy long-standing Demand.” October 21, 2001, The gence and Research], and various shortages of qualified linguists repre- New York Times. other agencies have identified their sents a huge opportunity for ATA. At key shortfalls in Central Eurasian, this crucial juncture, our association Fisher, Marc. “It Takes a Crisis to East Asian, and Middle Eastern lan- is finding new recognition in the Raise Regard for Languages.” guages.” This lack of translating press, and we should grab this oppor- November 20, 2001, The capacity, she said, “makes it hard to tunity to be heard. We can proudly Washington Post. provide thorough analysis in a timely point to the enhancements being way for policy decisions.” But, once made to our accreditation program, Footitt, Hilary. “Lost for Words.” The again, no steps were taken to remedy which is setting the quality standards Guardian, reprinted in the the situation. needed in the industry, and to our December 2001 issue of the ITI Now that we have a war on ter- successfully launched programs for Bulletin. rorism to fight, however, the GAO specialized conferences, mentoring reports that in recent months the and outreach to secondary schools, Hearings before the International agencies have stepped up recruitment among other initiatives to enhance Security, Proliferation, and and training of language specialists, professional development and trans- Federal Services Subcommittee of paying bonuses and stipends in an lator training. the Committee on Governmental effort to lure linguists away from the What can individual ATA members Affairs, U.S. Senate. “The State of private sector. They have also been do? For one thing, share information. If Foreign Language Capabilities in hiring contract workers, especially you hear of a vacancy announcement, National Security and the Federal translators and interpreters, to keep post it on the ATA Job Bank Online Government.” September 2000, up with their heavy workloads. (www.atanet.org/bin/view.pl/181.html). 106th Congress. According to a Washington Post Second, if you see an article in report published in April 2002, FBI the press of interest to the associa- Holes, Clive. “Dialogue of the Deaf.” Director Robert (Ain’t-Too-Proud-to- tion and the membership, please The Times of London, reprinted in Beg) Mueller told Congress in March forward it to Public Relations that the Bureau is reorganizing itself Committee Co-Chairs Kevin Hendzel Continued on p.22
18 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Setting Up a Translation Agency
By Mike Collins
he decision to set up a translation going to do it? It’s not enough to just and accounting. They also helped us agency should only be made think thisÐwrite it down and look at it draft a business plan and produce T after careful planning, thought, often (better yet, post it in plain financial projections. Most states and and much preparation. Naturally, sight). This is not to be confused with some cities will have similar organi- when we started our agency 10 years the mind-numbing mission state- zations, and small business classes ago, we did nothing of the sort. As ments seen at the front doors of some are offered at many community col- happens with most small business large corporations (“Our associates leges and at the university level. The owners, my present partners and I have dedicated themselves to fact that one of us had taken such a were left scrambling to pay our mort- delighting our customers by tasking course also saved us a lot of time in gages and feed our children after our way through just-in-time inter- figuring out what needed to be done. losing our jobs rather unexpectedly. In faces to the implementation of cost- We turned to our attorney and spite of everything, we managed to get effective support strategies”); make accountant for advice on what type of ourselves set up and successfully in yours specific and to the point. If business to set up. Because our mis- business in less than 30 days. Along sion was to serve corporate clients on a the way, and in the 10 years since, we medium to large scale, both advised us have learned many valuable lessons, “…Once you begin to incorporate as a regular corporation some of which may be of interest to (often called a C corp.). There are anyone thinking of starting an agency, working as an agency, you other options (the particulars of which or any small/medium-sized business become responsible for may vary from state to state), including for that matter. more than just limited liability corporations (LLC) Many translators and interpreters and Chapter S corporations. Generally may see establishing an agency as a translation…” speaking, the advantage of incorpo- natural step along the path of profes- rating is that it separates the assets of sional development. After all, isn’t it a the shareholders from the assets of the normal progression to start using all your plan is only to offer European corporation, protecting the personal those contacts you’ve made over the languages, say that. If you want to assets of the owners in the event of years to help process even more work? provide value-added services like lawsuits against the corporation. Your The answer is a resounding maybe. desktop publishing, say that, too. lawyer and accountant can advise you Once you begin working as an Now that you’ve defined what you on which option is best for your par- agency, you become responsible for want to do, the next step is to turn it ticular situation. more than just translation. You must into reality. There are a lot of people Aspiring small business owners be ready to offer services above and out there whose business it is to help might be tempted to try to avoid the beyond what freelancers normally you do just that. hefty hourly fees charged by attorneys offer. You will have to guarantee the Starting a company requires and accountants. Translators and inter- work of others to your customers resources, both monetary and advi- preters, in particular, seem to belong to (work which you may not be able to sory. Some small percentage of people a special breed of do-it-yourselfers. assess personally). You will also be will have the business know-how and However, this is no place to cut cor- responsible for complying with local, the bucks to get started without help, ners. You will find that a few hours state, and federal tax and employ- but the remaining 99% of us need with a good business attorney and a ment laws. some outside assistance. Even if you good accountant is well worth the So what exactly is involved in are starting small, chances are you expense. If you choose to incorpo- starting an agency? The details will will need help in all of these areas rate, your attorney will take care of be different in each case, but some before you get too far. filing your articles of incorporation things apply to almost any situation. In our case, desperate and short on and will help you with corporate Starting with the obvious, but time, we turned to a local university- bylaws and learning the legal often overlooked, you must define supported small business develop- requirements to be met by businesses your mission. In plain English, what ment center. They were able to help in your state. are you going to do, who are you us identify the key areas where we It’s also important to consider going to do it for, and how are you would need support: banking, legal, what accounting method you ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 19 Setting Up a Translation Agency Continued will use for your new business. There option, but give that approach careful you are like-minded and able to com- are even options for farming that area consideration. Well-meaning rela- municate openly with one another. of your business out altogether. tives who have invested in your busi- Right at the beginning, while Whatever you choose, you will need ness may find the temptation to get everyone still loves each other, draw to keep good records. It may have involved hard to resist. up a stock buy-sell agreement that been enough as a freelancer to keep a Most of us don’t have that rich everyone can live with. This agree- simple ledger of invoices and uncle, anyway, so it is very likely that ment should specify what a partner expenses, but that will not suffice for you will have to borrow from a bank. will receive for his or her shares if he a larger business, especially one that You will need office space, equip- or she decides to leave or is fired by employs several people. ment, furniture, money for salaries the other partners, or if a partner dies. Two of the most common until the first checks arrive, and many Translation agencies rarely have accounting methods are the cash and other things depending on the scale much in the way of fixed assets, but accrual methods. At the risk of over- of your effort. In our case, we were the business does have value. In our simplifying, accrual accounting treats aware of a large opportunity and case, we drew up an agreement that receivables as assets. Thus, you can decided to go for broke. We needed to based the payoff on a percentage of be taxed on revenues you have not yet set up an office for 10 people, com- the revenues from the preceding received. Cash accounting, on the plete with equipment, furniture, soft- couple of years. We also established a other hand, does not count revenues ware—the whole nine yards. schedule of payments that would not until they actually come in, which, in We decided to seek start-up money place a burden on the business. Within some cases, will paint a more real- from the Small Business Admin- a couple of years, one of the partners istic picture of the state of your busi- istration through our bank. Our banker had to pull out for family reasons, and ness at the end of your fiscal year. assisted us with the paperwork, helped the agreement worked like a charm, Your accountant will have good us determine what we would need, keeping everyone happy. advice on this, and can probably also and held our hands through the If one of the partners dies, the recommend a good accounting soft- process. The application included our agreement should specify that the ware package. Don’t forget to build business plan, personal financial state- shares must be bought back by the in room to grow as you plan, in your ments, and a lot of fine print. We made corporation, with payment going to accounting system as well as in all an important decision which has stood the deceased’s heirs. This prevents a other things. Look beyond where you us in good stead ever since. We opted situation where a grieving spouse are to where you hope to be. to have the payments automatically suddenly finds himself or herself part Another advantage of establishing withdrawn every month. This reduced owner of a small business. In our relationships with business advisors the chance that we would ever make a case, we took out a key personnel right off the bat is that your consulting late payment, and, in fact, we never insurance policy designed to pay out support base will already be in place did. Because of that, the next time we enough to buy back the shares and when you need it later. Since we needed a loan, we found the process to leave enough to tide the company started our agency, we have often be much friendlier, and received the over until the missing partner’s skills found ourselves in need of legal, highest possible credit rating. could be replaced. banking, and accounting support. In You may be faced with the deci- Now it’s time to look at who’s each case, we were able to simply pick sion of whether to go into business going to do the work and who’s going up the phone to get help from an with partners, or with adding a to buy the product. If you are advisor who knew us, understood what partner at some time in the future. If thinking of creating an agency, you we did, and was ready to help, without so, there are a few extra things to probably already have many contacts having to go through the effort of think about. Having good partners you hope to use as suppliers. Here are establishing trust and understanding can lighten the load for everyone and a few tips for when you start putting before getting down to business. keep anyone from becoming chained your list together: Now, what about funding? The to his or her desk. However, keep in whole point of business is to make mind that you will be spending about ¥ Have everyone sign a confiden- money, and you need money to make as much time with your partners as tiality agreement (here’s where money. Tapping relatives may be an you do with your family. Make sure having an attorney helpsÐhave
20 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 them look over the text of your potential customers have no interest will have to look at what the compe- agreement before you finalize it). in us or what we do until they need tition is charging to see where you fit us. And not many translation agen- in. Don’t make the mistake of blindly ¥ Have everyone sign a proprietary cies have the financial resources to assuming that your prices have to be agreement. This is an agreement sustain an ongoing, in-your-face the lowest. Although undercutting the that states that any materials you advertising campaign. A good competition may bring in work in the provide to them for your projects Internet presence and advertising in short term, it creates several prob- will remain your property and are the Yellow Pages are effective ways of lems: 1) it is simply impossible to not to be used for anything else or having your name out there when produce high-quality work at cut given to anyone else. someone goes looking for services. rates; 2) your new customers will be By far, the best advertising seems unhappy when you raise your rates ¥ Find out up front what your sup- to be to do a good job, to be respon- after a few jobs; and 3) you will not pliers charge and what their tech- sive, and to keep your customers be able to use the better suppliers nical and linguistic capabilities happy. In our case, we went from who (surprise, surprise!) charge more are. Ask for any other pertinent serving one department within a large because they know their work is information: rush rates, minimum corporation to serving more than 20 worth it. Instead, it may be wiser to fees, etc. in the course of two years, all by word market the extras that you offer and of mouth. New customers told us how make a case as to why it’s worth ¥ Learn their strengths and they had heard we were easy to work paying for. For instance, if you have weaknesses. with, did quality work, and often in-house translators for some lan- delivered ahead of schedule. Our own guages, market the fact that you can Keep all this information easily customers spread the word for us. give same-day or next-day service on accessible: you never know when a When approaching new customers certain types of small jobs. Many customer will want proof that the and new projects, know your limita- customers are willing to pay extra for people doing the work are sworn to tions. The world of translation is get- that accessibility. confidentiality. As for the working ting increasingly competitive, and the Wherever you decide to set your information, start organizing a (prefer- temptation to say “Yes” to any cus- rates, you must track your prof- ably electronic) database of your sup- tomer request, especially large ones, itability. For an agency, the work pliers as soon as possible. If you have is great. On the one hand, agreeing to done outside the office is the easy the basic information at your finger- accept a type of work you’ve never part. You know what the supplier is tips, you will be able to quote jobs done before can be a challenge and a charging and you know what you are quickly and accurately, which will learning experience. On the other charging, so no problem there. also impress your customers. hand, if you botch it, your client is Depending on your level of staffing, Speaking of customers, it’s a good not likely to forgive you. And if it’s a it’s the internal costs that will be dif- idea to have a few. Decide what your huge project and the client refuses to ficult to assess. There’s a wide customer base is going to be and (or can’t) pay, it could ruin you. variety of time-tracking software market to that. You will find this situ- Make sure you have some expert sup- available on the market that can help ation to be a bit different from the port available if you need it, and con- with this. status quo for freelancers, whose cus- sider financing options if the size of Once you are up and running as an tomer base may consist mainly of the job warrants. agency, your method of working will agencies. You will have to go after the Now, what are we going to charge determine your effectiveness. If you end users themselves. So, if you for this work? Not nearly enough, I are even moderately successful, you intend to offer on-site interpreting to can tell you. Setting rates is always a will soon be unable to personally construction companies, that’s the work in progress. You will have to sit supervise every aspect of every job. place to start. If you have good down and look at the level of service That’s why a method of organizing hi-tech software localization skills, then you are providing, the cost to you, and tracking work is essential. your target market will be different. whatever value you are adding, and Changing systems mid-stream can be Marketing is notoriously difficult your overhead and profit (don’t messy, so design carefully and build in the translation industry. Most forget profit!). At the same time, you in space for the future. ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 21 Setting Up a Translation Agency Continued
Develop a logical method for cata- The advantage of this is that everyone whose professions, by definition, loguing clients and jobs. A three- or hears what is going on and can pro- consist of facilitating communica- four-letter mnemonic for each cus- vide input or clear up misunderstand- tion, could ever be less than perfect at tomer and three or four digits for ings. It also gives everyone a chance it in our business relations, but we are sequentially ordering jobs should be to brainstorm if a project manager human, after all. sufficient. The more transparent it is, needs help with a particular project. Last, but far from least, as agency the better. In 10 years, we have done Above all, don’t underestimate the owners, we set the tone and person- more than 500 jobs for some of our importance of good communication. ality for our businesses. Whether we clients, so it’s not out of the question Freelancers working for themselves like it or not, our staff, customers, that you will need those four digits. only have to remember to ask the and suppliers perceive us based on Another option might be to include questions that they personally need their interactions with us. If we allow the year in the naming scheme, answers to. Agency owners and ourselves to be seen as cynical, arro- allowing you to restart the sequential project managers, on the other hand, gant, and difficult, then we risk numbering each year. It’s also impor- must try to anticipate every question having those attitudes creep into how tant to have a policy for how long you from their customers’ and suppliers’ our company deals with the outside will archive work done. points of view, and pass on as much world. If we are open and commu- A daily staff meeting is a must. information as clearly as they can. In nicative, fair and honest, this will be This can be 5 minutes or 45, as more than 15 total years of operation communicated through our staff to needed. In our case, we run through in the business of translation, virtu- our customers and suppliers, and the our entire schedule daily, discussing ally every major problem I have ever result will be many rewarding rela- all active jobs, everything that has encountered has been caused by poor tionships with suppliers, coworkers, been delivered in the last few days, communication. It seems odd that and customers alike. and everything that is being quoted. we, as translators and interpreters,
International Certification Study: Norway Translation in the News Continued from p.15 Continued from p.18
Audio-Visual Translators, which has “Find a translator” service has the December 2001 issue of the about 110 members who do subtitling English options available. STF, NO, ITI Bulletin. for TV, films, and the opera, and Norsk and NFF are members of FIT, and Tolkeforening, the Norwegian Inter- NO and NFF are represented on the Schmidt, Susan. “Terrorism Focus preters’ Association, which organizes FIT Council. Set for FBI.” May 29, 2002, The sign language translators and inter- In the next issue, we will Washington Post. preters. Additional information about examine the government authoriza- STF is available in English at tion of translators and interpreters Strauss, Valerie. “Mastering Arabic’s www.statsaut-translator.no/english.htm. in Denmark, which, in 1966, intro- Nuances No Easy Mission.” May The website of NHH is quite complex, duced the allegedly first-ever law on 28, 2002, The Washington Post. with a limited amount of information the authorization of translators in available in English. The address of the the world. As the editor of this Talbot, Margaret. “Other Woes.” NHH homepage is www.nhh.no. The series, I encourage readers to submit November 18, 2001, The New address of the Norwegian Association any relevant information concerning York Times. of Literary Translators, also with lim- non-U.S. certification or similar ited information in English, is programs, as well as comments on http://skrift.no/no/index.asp. The Nor- the information published in this wegian Association of Nonfiction series, to my e-mail address at Visit ATA on the web at Writers and Translators website is at [email protected]. www.nffo.no//index.asp. It contains www.atanet.org some information in English, and the
22 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 The Biggest Myth of All About Your Independent Translation Business
By Nancy M. Snyder
he myths and realities of These forces can be divided into you to recognize the negative forces starting your own business was three categories: that can affect your livelihood, and be T the subject of a presentation I prepared to take action against them. gave at the 1994 ATA Annual 1. There will be times when you Let’s go over these categories one Conference. It was also later pre- don’t have enough work. by one. sented as an article in the pages of the 2. There will be times when you ATA Chronicle. That talk and article have too much work. There will be times when you don’t covered some of the most popular 3. There will be times when you will have enough work. myths people have about self- not be able to accomplish your This was the first big surprise I got employment (e.g., “It’s great to be work. in business. I had assumed that after I your own boss.”). It then presented had struggled to get a clientele, I the realities (e.g., “When you are would have a clientele. Naïve per- self-employed, you have a customer “…There are certain haps, but I remember the disappoint- base full of people telling you what to events and forces that, if ment I felt two years after getting do, instead of just one boss.”). started when the clients began slowly Basing my start-up business on left unchecked, can erode trickling away. Fearing that this was a realities instead of myths made it the business you have problem with the quality of my work, possible to develop a very satisfying, I hesitatingly called some of the full-time freelance business. worked so hard to clients and asked if they were satis- But after the business had been in build…” fied with my services. Although they operation a couple of years, the were satisfied, they said they had no biggest myth of all became evident. I work to send me. Agencies find them- had believed that after all the hard Scary thought, isn’t it? If you selves having an ebb and flow of dif- work of starting a business and devel- worked at a company and got a ferent languages and different oping a client base, that things would salary, none of these would be a subjects. And clients that you work run smoothly. I soon found out that problem. Not enough work—you get for directly may send you huge the biggest myth of all is: “Once your to play video games on your office amounts of work for several weeks or business is established, you will be computer. Too much work—some months, then not need you at all set for life.” pressure there, but you still get to go because the project they were The reality is that, over the years, home relatively on time and leave working on is finished. there are certain events and forces work behind. Can’t accomplish your Sometimes clients need a gentle that, if left unchecked, can erode the work—also not a problem, because reminder that you are still there. business you have worked so hard to there is sick leave, disability, and per- Personnel at agencies and other com- build. From heart-to-heart talks with sonal time that you can count on. panies change, and the project man- other translators, I have learned that When you own the business, ager that left may not have told the these forces affect everyone. They are though, and especially if you are new project manager about you. If predictable, although we may not be your only employee, it is important you have not heard from an agency able to predict when they will happen. to consider each of these scenarios for a while, it may help to make a They probably will happen to all of us and have some idea about how you friendly call so that they will keep at one time or another. A business is will handle them. you in mind. While I do not advocate not a static thing, it becomes an entity In some cases, I will be sharing monthly updates of your résumé and with a lifecycle of its own. things with you that I have tried in your whereabouts, an occasional call Just as a clear understanding of the order to counter these problems. may be a good idea when an agency realities of starting a new small busi- Some things worked well, some did you have been working for steadily ness can help us formulate strategies not work very well at all. And no isn’t calling any more. to avoid pitfalls, understanding the matter what I did, you will, no doubt, Marketing your services is some- negative forces that can work against come up with better solutions for thing you will need to do for the rest you as you work to make your busi- yourself by brainstorming with col- of your business life. When you are ness thrive can help you be prepared. leagues. The important thing is for working alone, this can be ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 23 The Biggest Myth of All About Your Independent Translation Business Continued tricky. Sometimes you are working with a Germany company, and sud- bank’s fees for business accounts are too hard and may not feel like you denly your colleague will be asked to too high, you can open up a second have the time to work at getting new find someone who can translate account in your own name. If you use clients. But if a week comes when I German documents. an assumed name, make sure the do not work a full five days, I start to Networking with colleagues can bank has a copy of your assumed solicit more work. be a much more relaxing way to find name papers so you can deposit One of the most successful ways I work. The hard sell isn’t necessary checks made out to your company have found for getting work is with colleagues. They already know into an account with your own name. through direct mail campaigns. You how hard your work is, and can make Pay yourself a set amount regularly. I may want to find a directory of trans- some judgment about your skill level find it easier to pay myself once a lation agencies (like Glenn’s Guide), and professionalism on the basis of a month and write out all the bills at the or you can go to the library and ask personal meeting. You may exchange same time, but weekly is fine if that for a business directory in the refer- business cards, but don’t concentrate suits your household management ence department. Directories are on getting work so much that you better. This business account will at available with businesses listed by give people the idea that the only least give you a small cushion against zip code, by SIC code (industrial reason you are interested in them is slow times. classifications), or even according to as a source of business. Some of the Ideally, of course, you will have ownership by foreign companies. best collaborations I have enjoyed savings. With careful planning and They make it easy to find companies started on the basis of two colleagues saving, your goal could be to put who may need your services. You can just sharing common interests over away from two months’ to a year’s send your résumé to agencies, or a lunch. Many of these conversations worth of income. With a buffer like brochure or some other kind of have ultimately become job opportu- this, a short-term layoff would be no mailer to companies. My experience nities without me making a conscious problem for you. Many of us have not has shown that 9 times out of 10, if attempt to “get business.” accomplished that goal, and have to you send a résumé to a company, they All right, what if your marketing look for another way to tide us over will think you want a job. Direct mail and networking still aren’t enough?? when times get really tough. It can be seems to be successful because com- Suppose there is a recession? tricky to balance your own business panies tend to keep information on Unfortunately, translation may be with the demands of some other type file. Whether they put you in a data- one of the first things a company cuts of work. I have tried a couple base or keep your résumé in a filing as a money-saving measure. Usually, things—I once worked lunches at a cabinet, the next time they need there is someone in the company that local deli. It was a nice place and kept translations done, your information can be roped into doing the transla- the cash flowing, but I found that not will be available. Personnel may tion that is absolutely necessary. And being able to be on the phone for change, but the information will still if there is a recession, and companies three hours in the middle of the day be there. are not starting new projects, there got in the way of lining up translation The other successful way to get may be much less translation work to work. What I preferred, and would do business is good old-fashioned net- be completed. Or other unpredictable again, was working for a temporary working. The more people you get to catastrophic situations may arise— employment agency. With the typing, know in the translation business, the like the bankruptcy of a major corpo- spelling, and computer skills that we more chances you will have to get ration or labor strikes in different use every day (not to mention our referrals. People who work in your countries. What are you going to do if flexibility), it is easy to pass the tests language combinations may send a month goes by and you haven’t necessary to sign up with a temp you their overflow. People who work worked at all? agency. I told the agency I only in other language combinations are First of all, make sure that you sep- wanted one-day assignments. I did just as important to know. Let’s say arate your business money from your not tell them the reason—that I did you are a German translator and you personal money. Instead of spending not want to be tied down if more get to know some French-speaking those checks as they come in from lucrative opportunities arose. As it colleagues. One of their regular your clients, deposit all your business turned out, they loved that. It seems clients might form a new joint venture income in a business account. If your that most people who work as temps
24 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 don’t want to hop from place to place important to remember that your period of time, is to take on an intern every day. The pay may not be what name and reputation will be associ- or hire an employee. I hired an you would make in your regular busi- ated with the work you provide. I employee once and, although the ness, but when you compare the easy always proofread work done for me experience ended up badly, maybe pace and lack of pressure of a day of by others before sending it to my you can learn from my mistake. temp work to the stress of meeting a client. I found myself with mountains of translation deadline, it’s almost like At one point, my workflow was work, much of it simple and repeti- getting paid for a day to sit and relax. overwhelming, and I thought that tive. It looked like a good time to take voice-activated software might be the on an employee. I consulted with a There will be times when you have answer. It was an interesting experi- business counselor at SCORE (The too much work. ment, and I know many people have Service Core of Retired Executives), a If you have had some scary slow used it successfully. However, I free counseling service of the Small periods, you may wonder why it found that working in a number of Business Administration. He helped would be a problem to have too much different subject areas decreased the me work out the financial calcula- work. When you are newly in busi- recognition accuracy, and the editing tions. After considering the expenses ness, it is exciting to find that you time required slowed me down. for an additional computer, addi- have the possibility of making as Besides that, I like working with tional office space, and even consid- much money as you are willing to people and was fortunate to find a ering how much time I would spend work for. But as time goes on and you typist who transcribes my transla- on management, training, and get busier and busier, you may start to tions from dictation. This working editing, the math was very prom- notice that you are losing touch with method makes it possible to almost ising. I could hire an entry-level your friends. Or you may notice the double my production volume. employee, offer a good salary and appearance of physical symptoms— Dictation is a skill that seems benefits, and still make it worth my backaches, shoulder problems, carpal impossible to some and comes quite while financially. Hundreds of tunnel symptoms, or even episodes of naturally to others. To dictate a trans- people responded to the position memory loss. While it was acceptable lation, you need to be able to read advertisement, and I found half a to work long hours at the beginning, one thing (the source language) and dozen qualified candidates. After you may begin to realize that if you speak something different (the interviewing and testing three candi- are going to be doing this work target-language translation). It is like dates, I found the perfect employee. throughout a long career, you will doing a sight translation. My theory He had a degree in German, was a need to take better care of yourself, is that I was able to develop this skill hard worker, was willing to learn both physically and in your personal when I worked as a volunteer in col- from constructive criticism, and was relationships. lege reading textbooks to a blind stu- thrilled to have the opportunity to Of course, you can always say dent. He told me to read as fast as I make translation his career. “No” to work that is offered to you. could, because a listener can compre- It was only a few weeks before the But saying “No” too many times will hend faster than a reader can read and troubles started. My employee had allow your customers to get used to we could cover more material that done extremely well on his transla- working with people other than you, way. The material involved was a tion test and was a very good trans- and eventually you may find that physics textbook. I was committed to lator. That is, as long as the grammar some of them don’t call any more. the volunteer job, but did not find the was simple. As you probably know, You need to think about other ways to material interesting at the time. In the German grammar is rarely simple. handle the periodic floods of work. course of reading fast, but still being On longer sentences with several You can take work offered to you bored, I learned to let my mind clauses, my employee often com- and find someone to help you with it. wander to other thoughts while I was pletely lost the meaning of the sen- You may want to split a job with reading. It is this ability to read one tence because he could not analyze another translator or subcontract it to thing and think about something else the grammar. When I discussed the them altogether. Find colleagues you that makes dictation a possibility. situation with him, he could see the can work with and trust. No matter The most ambitious option, if you problem and was willing to do what- how well you know someone, it is have excess work over a lasting ever was needed. However, what ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 25 The Biggest Myth of All About Your Independent Translation Business Continued was needed was to learn the complica- to send Word files by e-mail for current jobs on disk at the end of each tions of advanced German grammar— translation). day. Having another computer handy not an easy task. It became clear that No matter what workarounds I won’t do you any good if you cannot by the time he could take enough tried (cutting out illustrations and access your files to work on them. German courses to become proficient, pasting them back in when the trans- There may also be times when you I would have lost too much money to lation was done, saving each file on a are unable to complete your work due keep the business afloat. separate disk), the “out of memory” to illness, family problems, or even In spite of all my advance plan- message kept appearing. I hired tem- bereavement. We don’t really want to ning, it seems that I had made the test porary help for word processing, sub- think about these situations, let alone too easy. Or maybe I should have contracted out as many files as I plan for them. But they can, and do, taken an employee on at lower pay to could, and continued to work long happen to all of us. This is another have more time to get the person up hours to correct the problems. By the good reason to keep close ties with to speed. But with a small business, I time I found out what was going on, colleagues that you trade work with. believe it is hard to economically the job was way past deadline, I was You can plan ahead for vacations, but absorb the demands of an employee. losing money on it, the client was when emergency situations come up, No doubt, there are many small trans- very unhappy, and I was completely you need to have someone you can lation businesses that successfully demoralized. ask to fill in for you. If you work for employ people. If this seems like a Most of you have probably had agencies, they may be able to find good move for you, please do your the experience of not saving your someone else to take over the job, but research carefully and talk with work regularly and then losing a file make sure it’s really an emergency. people who have made a success of you have been working on for a Your reputation will suffer if you ask it. There are many factors to consider. couple hours. If you picture that hap- for special consideration for a reason pening to not just one file, but to that does not seem serious enough to There will be times when you your whole computer, you will warrant it. will not be able to accomplish understand the absolute necessity of As you can see, once the honey- your work. having, and using, a good virus pro- moon is over with your new business, Our last category covers those times tection software. your relationship with your business when you are unable to complete your The other type of computer mal- will take on a life of its own. You will work. This could be due to a computer function, when something goes face challenges that you need to be virus, a computer malfunction, or a wrong with your hardware and it has aware of. It will be easier for you to personal reason (sickness, family prob- to be in the shop for several days (or take action if you realize that all self- lems, or bereavement). you have to spend several days employed people face these prob- A computer virus was the one learning how to fix it yourself), can lems. Don’t be afraid to talk these thing that almost ruined my business also bring your business to a stand- things over with colleagues whose entirely. I did not understand any- still. Ever since that happened to me opinions you trust in order to see thing about viruses in the early days, the first time and I found out how what solutions they have tried. and got a virus from a client’s files hard it was to try to rent a computer, In spite of all the challenges, I during a huge, important job for an I have kept a spare computer on have maintained my business for 14 important (direct) client. If you get a hand. The spare is usually the last years. Every time things have gotten computer virus, you don’t always computer I used before the most very difficult and I thought about know it immediately. Sometimes a recent upgrade. ending my freelance life and getting a virus just starts making your com- Now, if you live near a fairly large “real” job, I found the motivation to puter do strange things. In my case, I city, there may be a Kinko’s nearby. In meet the challenges. In spite of the kept getting messages that the com- those emergency cases, you can use a weight of responsibility, when I see puter was out of memory. I thought it computer there for a reasonable fee. friends being laid off or having bene- was because of all the illustrations in Or you may be able to use a computer fits cut, I know it is in my best inter- the files, which were not common at at your local library. Any of these ests to take care of my own business. the time (customers had just started solutions require you to back up your
26 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Yes, It Is Still Worth It: An Update
By Jonathan Hine
erry Wentworth looked up at his “We charge for expertise,” said Jed. “Personal, Operating, and Growth translation class from the pit of “That is why it is so difficult to put and Capitalization,” said Anita, J the amphitheatre. They hated a price on what we do,” said Jerry, without looking at her paper. this windowless room. The cramped writing their answers on the board. Jerry looked at the others. “You chairs with folding writing surfaces “Principle #3?” agree?” gave the students nowhere to open “Selling time-based units,” said “Yes, especially about the growth dictionaries or to lay the source texts Anita. part,” said Jed. “Customers do move, next to their translations. He was “What does that mean?” and if you want the business to grow, stuck behind a lectern because the “The only thing you can measure you need money.” rows of bolted-down chairs prevented is your time, so you should be billing “Then what?” his walking among the students, or for it.” “Determine the rate,” said Marcia. circling the chairs for discussions. “How?” Normally, he might have a backache Jed again, “See how many hours from not moving around, but today the “…When you know the you have.” class was different. These students “Then divide your income require- were usually active and engaged, but break-even point, you ment by the number of hours avail- now, as they discussed the practical know how low you can able to get the break-even point,” said side of setting up a translation business, afford to go in negotiating Esther. the interest level was even higher. The “Yes.” Jerry pulled the screen down first hour and a half had vanished, and a rate for your work…” in front of the blackboard and projected it was almost time for a break. a transparency of Table 1 (see page 28). “Now the article by Mr. Hine They discussed how a full-time avail- (Hine, 1998),” Jerry said. The stu- “Yes,” Jerry said. “That is why we ability of 2,080 hours in a year shrank dents pulled out their photocopies of need to keep timesheets. And to 1,255 hours after allowing for sick- the reading assignment, but did not Principle #4?” ness, holidays, and overhead. “That is a look at them. “What is it about?” “Some advice for freelancers,” key number to keep in mind: 1,255. “It’s for freelancers,” said Anita Marcia offered. “Don’t put money Then if the customer wants a piece- quickly. With only four students today, from self into the business.” rate, like cents per word, we convert there was no need to raise hands. “How “It’s okay to do it, as long as you that after figuring out how long the job to budget. How to calculate prices.” document it,” said Anita. will take.” Jerry gestured to his head to “Does he say you can turn down “You have to keep track of it,” indicate “keep this in mind.” jobs?” added Jed. “The goal is to relate your piece- “He says you can take a job if it Jerry went to the board. He drew a rate to your hourly rate. Once we fulfills specific needs.” big T, representing a double-entry know how long the job will take, we “Yes, that is the key. How do you accounting ledger sheet. For the next calculate what it should cost, and know? Have you had economics or few minutes he explained double- then divide the number of words or accounting?” Jerry paused as the entry accounting in simple terms. The pages or whatever into that. Any silence settled on the class. He was students seemed to understand, but questions?” He expected the silence. aware that they knew more than they did not react much. Anita and Jed had “Okay, let’s break until 9:15, then realized. “Do you know what the taken introductory accounting as meet in Room 222.” break-even point is?” The lights came sophomores. Jerry was not sure about With some cheering over the move on in the faces. Marcia, and he could not read to a room with big tables, the students “The break-even point is where Esther’s expression at all. When he packed their book bags and left. you cover costs with no profit,” finished, he made a mental note to use Esther said. Marcia and Jed nodded. a checkbook example next time. He “He gives you four principles in moved on to the next point. The article that Jerry Wentworth (a the article. What are they?” “So what are the three parts of the fictitious name) used in his class for Marcia jumped in this time. “You budget, according to Mr. Hine’s translators first appeared in this mag- are in it for the money.” article?” azine (Hine, 1998). The material ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 27 Yes, It Is Still Worth It: An Update Continued
Table 1 Finding the Number of Billable Hours in a Work Year a single person should use 40 hours/week (2,080 hours/year) for the Conditions Hours/Year starting point in calculating the amount of time available to work on this busi- 52 weeks @ 40 hours/week (full-time) 2,080 ness. If two people are completely free Less Two-weeks vacation (80 hours) 2,000 to work on the business (say, a hus- Less 11 holidays (8 hours/day) 1,912 band-wife team or two siblings in busi- Less Allowance for sick time (10 hours/month) 1,792 ness together), then the starting Less Overhead (indirect costs) (e.g., 30%) 1,255 number is 80 hours/week, or 40 times the number of people working. Do not include the hours of in that article has been published as a whether they are both language medi- someone who is not actively working small booklet (Hine, 1997/2001) and ators or working different jobs. It in whatever it is your business does. If included in workshops for translators would apply to someone making a a relative is giving you money regularly and interpreters. Additional material living from different part-time jobs. to help out, simply enter it in the “other was added in an update (Hine, 2000). Of course, it applies to a freelancer sources” row. The contribution will The basic principles remain the same. who is combining freelance income lower the amount of money you need to You have to find out how much with a part-time or full-time job. earn. If someone is providing you serv- money you need to earn, then figure Consider Table 2 on page 29 ices (like a bookkeeper, whether a rela- out how much work it takes to earn it. (Business Budget Worksheet). tive or someone else), pay them for In business, we call that the break- There should be two kinds of their services and budget for the even point. entries in the row entitled “Portion expense (under “fees,” for example). Calculating the break-even point coming from other sources”: The expense is the impact of their work is a crucial first step for any busi- on your budget. nessperson trying to determine how 1. Asset income: money from stocks, If the entry comes partially or com- to price a service. When you know bonds, investments, savings pletely from another job (2. Salary or the break-even point, you know how accounts, or allowances from rela- wages), subtract its weekly (or low you can afford to go in negoti- tives, trusts, etc. This is income annual) hours from 40 (2,080) to get ating a rate for your work. that does not require your working your starting point. Similarly, you This article covers four aspects of time. For example, you could have need to subtract a proportionate calculating the break-even point that the purchased the asset(s) with amount of time from holidays, sick first article did not cover in depth. The working earnings earlier, or it days, and vacation when calculating first three appeared in the August 2000 could be an inheritance or a credit the time available for your business. update, and the fourth is brand-new: union account that is paying divi- For example, if you work 10 hours per dends. Royalties from past writing week at something else, you would 1. Couples and freelancers with mul- or literary translation could go start with 30 hours available per tiple sources of income. here. A retirement or Social week, or 1,560 hours per year. Now 2. Whether to use target or source Security check would be consid- 30 hours is w of 40 (or 75%), so in text for basing the price. ered asset income. Table 1, the vacation time would be 3. Pricing additional services. 60 hours (w of 80), the holidays 4. Using accounting software. 2. Salary or wages: income from a would be 66 hours, and the sick time job other than the business for would be 7.5 hours per month. The Multiple Sources of Income which you are calculating the overhead stays the same because it is When more than one source of break-even point. If the source of already a percentage. Thus, a free- income is involved, the freelancer money requires that you devote lancer with a 10-hour/week part-time needs to pay special attention to the time to it, it belongs in this row. job would have about 941 hours per time available when calculating the year to devote to the freelance busi- break-even point. This would apply, If the entry comes entirely from ness. A two-person team would for example, to working couples, asset income (1. Asset income), then double these numbers (assuming each
28 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Table 2 Business Budget Worksheet style possible without considering the target-text word count. However, often the source docu- ITEM MONTH YEAR ment is in portable document format Personal Budget (PDF), fax, or paper form. If the Rent/house payment 525 $6,300 target document is going to be elec- Groceries 400 $4,800 tronically delivered, then software Insurance (life, health, etc.) 250 $3,000 held in common can only count the Clothing 125 $1,500 words in the target text. The condi- Vehicle fuel, repairs 60 $ 720 tion of the source document (hand- Charitable pledges 90 $1,080 writing, illegible material, tables, Eating out 120 $1,440 sheer bulk, etc.) often allows only a Vacation 125 $1,500 rough estimate of the word count. Utilities 250 $3,000 Resetting tables and typing in num- IRA 188 $2,256 bers can take more time than Other (hobbies, school, etc.) 220 $2,640 replacing them in an electronic docu- Subtotal: personal budget $28,236 ment. More often than not, I find Portion coming from other sources 686 $8,236 myself insisting on a target-text word “OWNER’S DRAW” REQUIRED $20,000 count when dealing with a paper or paper-like source text. Business Operating Budget Advertising 10 $120 Pricing Additional Services Vehicle (mileage) 120 $1,440 Once you gain an appreciation of Fees 15 $180 the value of your time, the impact of Depreciation (179 expense) 350 $4,200 non-language aspects of your work Office expense 10 $120 becomes more visible. Slowing down Rent 150 $1,800 to read illegible faxes in small font Supplies 100 $1,200 sizes, or retyping tables, or manually Utilities 110 $1,320 replacing decimal points with Dues 40 $480 commas—all these slow down the Other (postage, books, training, etc.) 75 $900 work and may invalidate the piece- Subtotal: business operating $11,760 rate (cents/word) on which you based Personal budget $20,000 the price of the job. Anything you can Subtotal $31,760 do to avoid underestimating a job can Growth (3%) $ 953 help. One of the best defenses is TOTAL REQUIREMENT $32,713 having data from your past work. Freelancers must keep decent records, but these need not be fancy. had a 10-hour/week job), or you could become commonplace, but the gen- Table 3 on page 30 shows a section of calculate your individual available eral advice remains the same: count a hypothetical translator’s sales times separately and add the answers what the freelancer and the client can record. It is based on an Excel¨ together. If only one partner had the agree upon. Ideally, the client pays spreadsheet. The summary at the 10-hour job, their hours would be 941 the translator to translate a certain bottom includes rows not shown, so and 1,255, respectively, so the team amount of material (the source text). the bottom line does not add up. would have 2,196 hours per year. If the source text can be counted In each row with a Job #, the accurately, then both parties know Revenue cell is the product of the Source Text or Target Text exactly what the job will cost up Rate and the Count. If the job were Since the 1998 article, the electronic front, and the translator is free to for hourly services, then Revenue transmission of source documents has render the target document in the best would be the product of Rate ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 29 Yes, It Is Still Worth It: An Update Continued
Table 3 Section of a Translator’s Sales Record
Job # Date sent Rate Count Revenue Hours $$/hr Wph Date Pd Remarks TRA-01-99 15/12/99 $0.13 15,568 $2,023.84 26.30 $76.95 592 22/3/00 Trailmix 3325 ATX-09-98 31/3/00 $0.10 135,344 $13,534.40 235.20 $57.44 575 15/4/00 TAC-01-84 LSU-07-98 12/4/00 $0.10 253,889 $25,388.90 437.74 $57.99 580 28/7/00 Messen YF02 CTX-01-00 02/2/00 $0.13 7,895 $1,026.35 14.50 $70.78 544 15/3/00 Comtox AR-99 TRA-01-00 15/2/00 $0.13 11,250 $1,462.50 22.30 $65.58 504 21/3/00 Trailmix 3327
SUMMARY 534,556 $58,344.20 1,818 $32.09 294 and Hours. The $$$/hr and the Wph etors in the U.S. and other countries To keep things straight, you need cells are the quotients of the Revenue where sole proprietors and certain to define the accounts, categories, and divided by Hours and the Count professionals report their business classes carefully. The default list of divided by Hours, respectively. In the income on an attachment to their per- accounts and categories is designed summary row, the Count, Revenue, sonal income tax return (Form 1040 for personal bookkeeping and a and Hours entries are the sums of the Schedule C in the U.S.). stereotypical small business, so a columns above them, but the sum- Since the original article appeared, freelancer has to create additional mary $$/hr and Wph are created by software aimed at helping individuals headings. I make sure that each of my dividing the summary Revenue and and small business people cope with business categories begins with a Count by the summary Hours. their own bookkeeping has continued unique string. This way, business tele- You might quote a total price for a to develop. Two of the better-known phone expenses (e.g., “b-Telephone”) really large job. Then you enter the brands are Quicken¨ and Microsoft are not confused with the home tele- Revenue as a number, and change the Money¨. They allow you to set up phone expenses already in the soft- Rate cell to be the quotient of the two different files, one for the busi- ware (“Telephone”). I still maintain Revenue divided by the Count. ness and one for the home. This separate business and personal bank The Remarks should help you would be the normal setup for a part- accounts and credit cards, and the recall what kind of work was nership or a corporation. However, software incorporates that easily. involved, especially if something for individuals or households (sole Also, the categories “Owner’s about the job caused you to adjust the proprietors), these programs work Draw/Contribution” (business file) piece-rate you quoted the customer. best if all the bookkeeping is kept in and “Investment/Income in business” Armed with this information, you the same file. This means making an (personal file) become superfluous, will be able to quote a rate or a price extra effort not to mix your personal because the software will track (and quickly the next time you see a job and business finances. report) transfers between personal like it. After a while, you will be able Traditional accounting programs and business accounts. to guess the “price” of a job just by require a balancing account for every When setting up the accounts and looking at it. What you will be doing entry in any account (the heart of categories, you need to pay attention is recognizing something you already double-entry bookkeeping). The con- to the properties of each. The soft- recorded in your spreadsheet. venient personal programs, however, ware instructions do not make it appear to allow you to move money obvious that you can put your busi- Using Accounting Software all over the place without requiring ness headings in a particular group. Freelancers must be careful not to that a posting to one account be bal- Tax properties are especially impor- mix their personal and business anced by a withdrawal from another tant. The properties of each account finances. It not only makes it difficult account. Instead, they tap a default and category can be set to feed to determine if the business is paying account like “Net Worth Transfer.” To Schedule C or the other forms its own way, but it can lead to serious the user, the accounting appears as required for taxes. If you do not set mistakes on taxes. This problem simple as maintaining a checkbook these properties up when you first applies particularly to sole propri- register. begin using the software, you may
30 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 never get the expenses in the right switch with them, depending on Hine, Jonathan T. Jr. 1998. “Is This place when it comes time to do your your relationship. Worth It? Economic Decision taxes. This would not be fatal, but it Also, I would strongly recom- Making for Freelance Language could make tax time even more mend a tax preparation program or a Specialists.” ATA Chronicle, Feb- tedious than it was before. tax accountant to prepare tax ruary, 23-30. Personally, I find these tax proper- returns. Most of the popular tax ties crucial in using the software to preparation programs will read your Hine, Jonathan T. Jr. 2000. “Is This track the health of my business. At accounting data into the tax file and Still Worth It? An Update.” ATA regular intervals during the year, the allow you to change the automatic Chronicle, August, 18-20. software prepares financial state- entries as you work your way ments for me. This is the sort of data through the forms. But more impor- I will need later on for my tax return. tant, the tax preparation software is The profit/loss format of Schedule C updated at the end of the year with is also a convenient way to look at the the latest tax code changes, while Traveling to ATA’s 43rd data. If you live outside the U.S., you the accounting software is not. That can set up the software to produce is why the tax preparation software Annual Conference in financial statements and reports you comes with stronger warranties Atlanta, Georgia can use to prepare your taxes. against mistakes. Couldn’t Be Easier! Though I have supervised accountants in different day jobs, I You Write “The Rest of the Story” have never used a separate book- The scene from Jerry Wentworth’s ATA once again offers the keeper for my freelancing. Shifting class comes from a real class at James services of Stellar Access to help accounting programs was a serious Madison University, called Introduction you with your travel arrange- step for me. I had been very happy to Translation. Also, there are work- ments. Through Stellar Access conference attendees are eligible with my traditional double-entry shops at ATA conferences and at meet- for discounted air travel and accounting program (MoneyCounts¨ ings of ATA-affiliated chapters. The rental cars. by Parsons Technologies) for many material in these presentations is contin- Call Stellar Access at 1-800- years when I was forced to shift to ually changing to meet the needs of the 929-4242, and ask for ATA Quicken¨. I maintained both pro- attendees. If you have questions about Group #505. Outside the U.S. grams for a full quarter before dis- freelancing or organizing your business, and Canada, call 858-805-6109; continuing the old program. I please send them to the author at fax: 858-547-1711. A $30 ($35 maintained two Quicken¨ files (busi- [email protected]. We will try to answer from outside the U.S. and ness and personal) for six years until them in the pages of this magazine or in Canada) transaction fee will be it became clear that the newer ver- the conference presentations. applied to all tickets purchased sions of Quicken¨ could support by phone. Reservation hours: Monday-Friday 6:30am-5:00pm separate business functions in a Note: Reprints of the original article Pacific Time. single file. I merged the two files in as well as the presentations in the A $15 transaction fee will be preparation for last year’s taxes, and Proceedings of the 38th, 39th, 40th, applied to all tickets purchased did not archive the old files until I and 41st ATA Annual Conferences are online. Visit their website at was satisfied that the new combined available from ATA Headquarters. www.stellaraccess.com and book file was clean and working properly. The booklet is available from Scriptor your reservations from the con- Before moving all your books to Services (contact the author). venience of your home or office one of the new software programs, anytime! First-time users must you would do well to set up some References register and refer to Group #505. accounts and categories and test the Hine, Jonathan T. Jr. 1997/2001. I Am program thoroughly with a small Worth It! How to Set Your Price Mark your calendar! amount of data. Also, if you already and Other Tips for Freelancers. November 6 – 9, 2002 use a bookkeeper or accountant, 2d edition. Charlottesville VA: you might want to discuss the Scriptor Services.
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 31 A Jog Through the Juniper: A Translator’s Unhappy Excursion into the Copyright Thicket
By Anne Milano Appel and Carol J. Marshall
n bel ginepraio!” ready to embark on his “American translation had not been copyrighted. Giovanni wrote in one of adventure.” I sent an e-mail back Ah, the “c” word! When he asked me “U the last e-mails we traded recapitulating what we had already if it was standard practice in the U.S. before we finally stopped communi- discussed in terms of fees and condi- for the author of the original work to cating altogether and fell into a hos- tions, and that was it. Deed done. Die register the copyright, we were off and tile, wounded silence. “Ginepraio” is cast. Innocents that we were, we were running, each of us conducting our one of those fine Italian words that off on what, at first, promised to be own research on the issue of copyright. have both a literal and a figurative an uneventful journey. My first response was that the sit- meaning. Multitasking on a linguistic Months went by as I completed two uation between the two of us was a level. Taken literally, it refers to a other books I was working on at the little different, in that in my previous juniper thicket, a dense growth of time. Once the translation process experience, it was the publisher who evergreen shrubs which is characteris- began, Giovanni and I kept in touch. He registered the copyright in the name tically thick, prickly, and impene- of the translator. The translator, in trable. Figuratively speaking, it turn, assigned the rights to the pub- signifies a “fix.” A fine predicament. A “…A clearly written lisher until the book went out of print tight spot. Take your pick. Any way contract between the (or until the other agreed-upon terms you look at it, not a pleasant place to occurred). I sent him a clause from a be. By the time Giovanni used the original author and the recent contract of mine with a pub- term to express his exasperation with translator can provide a lisher stating pretty much the same our situation, we had been through a thing. Since, in our case, there was no lengthy exchange in which each of us detailed map and publisher involved (at least not yet), I grew increasingly frustrated and more well-defined path…” proposed the following: I would and more irritated with one another. allow him to register the copyright in An electronic altercation which I think my name while ceding the rights took both of us by surprise. How did it was always available to answer ques- back to him so as not to hinder his start? Innocently enough and with the tions and provide clarification on points efforts to attract a publisher. I sug- best intentions. that were unclear to me. The translation gested assigning the rights to him was delivered in due time, and payment until such time as the book was Setting Off on an Innocent Ramble made promptly (or as promptly as pos- declared out of print, or for a period A year ago, Giovanni found me sible considering the vagaries of inter- of 10 years if it was never published. through my website and contacted national bank transfers). I turned to my Giovanni wrote back that he had me about translating a novel he had next project, while Giovanni carefully also looked into the matter, that there written. Since he was living in a read the translation. He knows English was “a way” of registering the work remote part of Italy, I felt I should be fairly well, but it still took a while for without resorting to a written docu- very realistic (read: painfully truth- him to read and evaluate the work. ment ceding the rights, and that he ful) about the possibility of him ever Months later, he declared himself quite would be the owner of the copyright. being able to get his novel published satisfied and started talking about pub- With typical Italian “ambiguità,” he in the U.S. market, but he was deter- lishing. It was only then that we each, was not clear about what this “way of mined to break onto the American in our own way, became aware of the registering the work without a written scene. We finally got down to talking prickly foliage that seemed to have document” might be. I asked him for about my rates. I told him about a few somehow sprung up all around us. We an explanation, stating that I was of my usual terms and conditions, had inadvertently entered the thicket of fairly sure there had to be some namely my specifications regarding copyright law. Getting out again would formal agreement in order to transfer methods of payment, and the fact that not be that easy. the rights from me to him. I required my name to appear on the Giovanni’s next e-mail contained work in its published form. We went Trapped in the Thicket an attachment: Form TX, which the on along this path and he took his Giovanni wanted to begin sending Library of Congress (LOC) Copyright time deliberating. Finally, he came to the translation around to publishers. Office requires in order to register a a decision and announced that he was Would it be safe to do so? The copyright. He had filled out the form
32 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 listing himself as the claimant and means a complete discussion of this ¥ A “derivative work” is the term the checking the box that indicated the complex area of the law. I urge you to Copyright Act gives to a work based translation was a “work made for consult with your own attorney about on one or more pre-existing works. hire.” Moreover, he told me that in any issue mentioned here, especially order to effect a transfer of copyright, as concerns your own particular situa- ¥ A translation is a derivative work. it was necessary to go through the tion. Intellectual property rights can This is clearly stated in the LOC, and that a “scrittura privata,” a be economically and emotionally Copyright Act. formal agreement between the two of valuable to their owners. The conse- us, was not sufficient. quences of a haphazard and ill- ¥ The creation of a derivative work At this point, it was all too obvious informed approach to copyright (here, the translation), if that work to me that our innocent ramble had protection can be costly. If you are satisfies the requirement of origi- lead us into a tangle, and that we concerned about the expense associ- nality and is not itself an might not be able to find a clear path ated with legal services, your lawyer infringing work, will result in a out of there. may direct you to many fine publica- separate copyright. I called for reinforcements. tions, websites, and arts organiza- tions where you can begin to educate ¥ Because of the nature of transla- The Lawyer’s Perspective yourself about your legal rights with tion, every sizeable translation is Anne’s predicament reminded me your lawyer’s guidance. The fol- entitled to its own copyright. that all authors, including translators, lowing will start you off with an should have a basic awareness of cer- aerial view of that juniper thicket in ¥ The copyright in any derivative tain important aspects of U.S. copy- which Anne and Giovanni found work covers only those elements right law. Anne mentioned that her themselves: original to the derivative work. In situation with Giovanni was unusual, in translation, because the under- that she was dealing with an individual ¥ The United States Copyright Act lying work is pervasive in the writer, not a publisher. When it comes protects “original works of author- derivative work, and the original to knowing your rights, however, I ship fixed in any tangible medium matter cannot be easily separated don’t think it really matters whether of expression.” It does not protect from the pre-existing matter, this you are dealing with an individual or a disembodied ideas. can be a tricky principle to apply. corporation. Knowing as much as you can about your legal rights is always ¥ A copyright is actually a bundle of ¥ A transfer of copyright ownership better than knowing less. Although an individual rights, such as the right (not including nonexclusive author may not be in the greatest bar- to reproduce the work, the right to licenses), other than by operation gaining position when it comes to perform the work, and so forth. of law, whether by the original negotiating with a publisher, since he author to the translator or by the may be willing to sign away whatever ¥ The entire bundle of rights or any translator back to original author rights the publisher demands in order to one right from an author’s bundle or publisher, requires a writing get the book published, it seems to me of copyrights can be transferred to signed by the owner of the copy- that any individual should be clearly another. An author may even grant right for the transfer to have aware of his rights, even if he ulti- another person permission to use validity under copyright law. mately decides to contract them away one of his rights in a nonexclusive to achieve other goals. A publisher or limited way if he does not want ¥ If the contract between the orig- might surprise you by agreeing to some to fully transfer that right. inal author and translator speci- other arrangement, and it never hurts to fies that the derivative work is a ask for what you want. ¥ The right to create a derivative work-for-hire in exchange for a work is one of the bundle of rights, fee, the original author owns the An Aerial View or any one right, held by the orig- copyright in the translation. Here, then, are a few things you inal author. Therefore, permission should know about U.S. copyright of the underlying author is required ¥ Otherwise, absent a writing to the law. This brief overview is by no to create a derivative work. contrary, the translator owns ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 33 A Jog Through the Juniper: A Translator’s Unhappy Excursion into the Copyright Thicket Continued
the copyright in what is original to In an effort to salvage what we contact the LOC on this point. I the translation. appeared to be a rapidly degenerating repeated that the Copyright Office of situation, I admitted that in researching the LOC did not effect transfers, but ¥ Where the translator owns the the issue of copyright, I had learned a only recorded them. I referred him to copyright, rights extend only to great deal that I did not know before, Circular 1 which states: the translation and not to the orig- and that perhaps there was something inal work. we could both learn from the experi- Transfers of copyright are nor- ence. I reiterated to Giovanni that I did mally made by contract. The ¥ Just as copyrights in original not want to get in his way or compli- Copyright Office does not have works have a lifespan, so do trans- cate his attempts to get the translation any forms for such transfers. The fers. The law provides that the published, and proposed the following law does provide for the recorda- transferor can terminate the rights course of action. I would register the tion in the Copyright Office of of the transferee after a specified copyright in my name as the author of transfers of copyright ownership. period of time. the translation, and that at the same Although recordation is not time we would execute an agreement required to make a valid transfer Armed with this information, Anne whereby I would transfer to him all the between the parties, it does pro- attempted to forge with Giovanni the copyrights for the translation to enable vide certain legal advantages and tools with which they might hack its eventual publication. may be required to validate the their way out of the thicket. transfer as against third parties. No Way Out? The Translator’s Tale Continued It was at this point that Giovanni Deeper into the Dark Wood Equipped with information I had came out with the exclamation “E’ In Giovanni’s final e-mail, it was not had at the outset, I took several davvero un bel ginepraio!” While clear that all prior attempts to extri- days to deliberate before writing admitting that he might have made a cate ourselves from the juniper back to Giovanni. Citing from the mistake, and that I was the author of thicket had failed: the copse was appropriate sources, I told him that the translation and had the right to apparently impenetrable and held my understanding of the material I call myself such, he wanted me to us fast. Sent in duplicate from two had read indicated that a translation give his name as the “Claimant” of different e-mail addresses and is a “derivative work,” that the the copyright and to state “Transfer” signed with both a first and last “author” of the “derivative work” is as the reason for it, implying that name, the letter was strewn with the creator of the translation (me), there had been a prior agreement angry exclamation points and and that he was the author of the between us. He also mentioned my numerous phrases in capital letters original work, but not of the “deriv- ceding the copyrights to him “defini- (known as shouting in e-mail ative work” (the translation). I also tivamente,” that is, for good. I replied parlance). In it, Giovanni stated that pointed out that my translation of that I was prepared to go ahead and it was only right that he should be his novel was not a “work made for register the copyright in my name, the owner of the copyright since he hire,” since we had not executed but that I would not claim that there had paid for the translation, alleged a signed agreement specifically had been a “Transfer” when, in fact, that I was playing games with him, defining it as such, nor had either of there had been no prior accord accused me of “concealing” the us ever mentioned the term. If such between us. Instead, I sent him a draft issue of copyright from the begin- an agreement had been executed, M.O.A. (Memorandum of Agree- ning, and charged me with being Giovanni, not I, would be considered ment) that would assign the rights “unprofessional” and not the lovely the author of the translation. Clearly, from me to him, explaining that he person he had thought I was. I would never have agreed to such a should feel free to modify the pro- I was stunned. The tone of the condition had we discussed it. I con- posed conditions. e-mail was chilling. How had we cluded that since the translation was Giovanni’s next communication ended up in this Dantean “selva not a “work made for hire,” I, as its stated again that a private agreement oscura,” this dark place? Did Giovanni author, should register the copyright would not be sufficient to effect a really see himself as the injured party, in my name. transfer of copyright. He suggested innocently caught up and manipulated
34 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 by the “americana?” Or had he been ¥ If it is the intention of the parties may also be issues with regard to playing games himself, counting on that the translator own the copy- jurisdiction and venue should a my ingenuousness? If he had been right in the translation, the agree- problem arise between parties in angling to obtain the copyright from ment should specify what use the different locations. Parties may be the beginning, perhaps he never men- original author may make of the able to agree up front to such tioned it in an attempt to avoid con- translation, if any. Because the things as choice of law, proper frontation through obfuscation. Such translation and the original work jurisdiction, appropriate venue, speculation was pointless, however. are so inextricably entwined, the and alternative dispute resolution The more important question was contract should also spell out in procedures (such as mediation) to this: What had I learned from the sit- detail the translator’s rights. reduce the likelihood of additional uation that might help me (and you, hassles should they come into con- my colleagues) steer clear of such ¥ A potential publisher will prob- flict in the future over the subject juniper thickets in the future? ably expect to see a clear chain of matter of their written contract. ownership of the rights in which it The Lawyer’s Summation has interest and may seek to estab- The joint objective of the parties I’m not certain how or when Anne lish, among other things: that the should be to clearly document a fair, and Giovanni will emerge from their pre-existing work was original and legal, and workable arrangement at juniper prison. Clearly, the most fixed in tangible form, and that the the outset. Each deal is different, important lesson to be learned from author of the underlying work involving parties with unique motiva- their ramble into what quickly truly owned the copyright to the tions and agendas. That is why the became a dark and unfriendly place, original work; that he had the right written contract is important...to is that it is easier to map a clear path to transfer all or a portion of his avoid misunderstandings, lawsuits, through any thicket from a vantage rights to others; that no previous bruised egos, economic losses...all point above and beyond it all. transfers of the subject right lurking in that juniper thicket and occurred; and that the transfer of ready to ensnare some unsuspecting A Better Map the right to create a derivative author or translator. A clearly written contract between work to the translator was clear the original author and the translator and exclusive (or, that it was doc- *Disclaimer: This article is not can provide a detailed map and well- umented as a work-for-hire). intended to constitute legal advice to defined path. Indeed, with enough fore- the reader. While the authors have sight, the parties can plan their own ¥ While not absolutely necessary, it attempted to offer quality informa- detour around any potential pitfalls. would be wise to follow formali- tion, they make no guarantees con- ties: original signatures on real cerning the accuracy, completeness, A few things to keep in mind: paper rather than electronic con- or adequacy of the information or ¥ The rights and obligations of the tracts (although the law now views presented. The content of this author of the underlying work and covers that possibility), notarized article should not, therefore, be relied the author of the translation may transfer documents, and Copyright upon or used as a substitute for the best be determined by a clearly Office registrations and records of advice of competent counsel. Readers written contract between them. transfers. At the very least, cre- are urged to consult their own ating a clear record puts third par- lawyers with regard to any matter dis- ¥ No matter what your personal ties on notice. cussed herein or any particular legal feelings might be about lawyers, question they may have. think about consulting one before ¥ Other legal requirements and con- the fact, rather than after. The task flict of law issues may come into of drafting a contract which play where citizens of different clearly expresses the intentions of nations or U.S. states are involved Associations the parties and covers all the (contract law and statutory writing Make A Better important points should ideally be requirements, for instance, may World handled by a legal professional. differ from state to state). There
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 35 Language Services in Survey Research
By Kim Watts, Georgina McAvinchey, and Rosanna Quiroz
estled among the green lawns in order to produce an accurate trans- informed consent, government titles and beautiful maples, tall lation. When a freelance translator and abbreviations, common terms for N pines, and Bradford pear trees decides to specialize or takes a posi- drugs and diseases, education sys- typical of North Carolina, is a 180- tion with a company that has a con- tems, and public assistance. We also acre campus where a culturally stant need for translation, the share links to Internet resources we diverse, professional research staff learning process takes on a more find particularly useful, such as U.S. from more than 125 different fields focused direction and has some atten- government sites that offer documents merge into a not-for-profit research dant benefits. One of the most signif- or information in Spanish, or health- organization of laboratories and other icant benefits of working as an related sites in English or Spanish. facilities. RTI International is among in-house translator is having access We have also engaged in efforts to the world’s leaders in conducting to varied and often otherwise unavail- market ourselves to other parts of the research and providing technical able resources. Internet access and a Institute. As the largest unit of RTI, services to support government budget for carefully selected books and as the major generator of policy and business practice deci- translation assignments, the Survey sions in areas such as health research, Research Division has knit us public services, public health, educa- “…One of the most into their administrative structure. tion research, and governance. RTI’s significant benefits of However, we often work for other Survey Research Division has pro- RTI units that have an occasional vided survey data collection services working as an in-house need for bilingual services. Our mar- for more than 40 years to govern- translator is having access keting efforts have resulted in the cre- ment, industry, academia, and public to varied and often ation of a website targeted to RTI service agencies throughout the U.S. research staff who want to know and abroad. In the midst of the otherwise unavailable more about the range of services we researchers and survey operations resources…” offer, the translation process, and staff who make up the Survey quality control. We have also given Research Division, is the Language two training presentations to RTI Specialist Group. We are a group of and journal articles are part of these staff members in the last year, and we three translators with very different benefits, but the most important were featured in an article for RTI’s backgrounds who have been hired resources are often other people. internal newsletter, the RTI News over the last three years to assist RTI These individuals are usually transla- Connection. As a result, we have in developing and fielding Spanish- tors or other professionals who have become more aware of other bilin- language data collection instruments. expertise or experience that is rele- guals at RTI, who we will be able to None of us began our career plan- vant to our translation work. use as resources if necessary. Our ning to be a translator, but we have bilingual colleagues do not work as each found within ourselves many of Tools of the Trade translators, but are often experts in a the elements that characterize the Our team at RTI has achieved particular area or aspect of research. profession. Pride in quality and a cohesiveness as a group, and we take They can be immensely helpful in deep and abiding interest in language advantage of each other’s skills and finding correct terminology and have become a commitment to the efforts, using such knowledge as a ascertaining the effectiveness of our vocation and provided the inspiration valuable resource. In addition to the translations when they are imple- to acquire, update, and refine termi- security and accountability involved mented in research studies. nology for the purpose of a specific in having every document or Our specific assignments bring us translation assignment and ongoing recording edited by another member into contact with another resource: professional development. of the team, we have a number of non- the RTI project staff with whom we Like most translators, we utilize translation tasks that we have taken work on each individual assignment. our creativity and inventiveness to on as a group. We have created a glos- Our assignment is usually to serve as locate potential resources, and then sary of terms and phrases that com- a collaborator on all Spanish-language add discernment and intuition to our monly appear in survey-related aspects of the project, rather than knowledge of the relevant languages documents, covering areas such as simply to translate a particular
36 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 document. We work closely with about survey research and opera- ¥ Assuring that our products and research staff for the duration of the tions. Through these activities, we services comply with require- project, and develop an extensive often meet other research staff ments and meet or exceed client knowledge of, and commitment to, members who may not be able to expectations; and that particular data collection effort. speak a word of Spanish, but who We almost always have access to the have extensive knowledge of topics ¥ Striving to continuously improve individuals who developed the orig- such as public health systems, our products and services. inal questionnaire and corresponding demographic characteristics of the forms, to those who programmed the U.S., and obtaining the informed It is rewarding to be part of an estab- text as a computerized instrument or consent of study participants. lished organization like RTI. As perma- formatted the paper instrument, and nent staff members, we have a larger to the project staff and interviewers The Fruit of the Labor role in the development of Spanish- who will administer the instrument. As members of the RTI team, we language data collection instruments The project staff often clarify terms take all the necessary steps toward than we would if we were not in- in the original document, the intent of accomplishing the company’s mis- house translators. We see value in a particular question, how the ques- sion to improve the human condition, multilingual research, and we enjoy tions will be presented to the respon- and we adhere to the values that have seeing the fruit of our investment. It’s dent, and if a question will only be been the foundation of RTI important to the scientific validity of asked of a subset of respondents throughout its history: integrity, the study to ensure that large portions (such as teenage respondents or excellence, innovation, respect for of the sample are not made de facto female respondents). the individual, fiscal responsibility, ineligible due to a language barrier. Nonbilingual RTI staff members and respect for the Institute. Scientific data collection has become are also included in our arsenal of As translators working for a survey an increasingly important element in resources because they are often research organization, we dedicate American culture and life, permeating experts in a field directly related to ourselves to providing our clients our well-developed systems of infor- our translations. All translators who with superior quality products that mation and affecting decision making specialize know that it is important meet the highest standards of profes- all the way from Congress to the to develop a general familiarity with sional performance, satisfy client individual consumer. Multilingual the topic or activity that is the sub- requirements, and deliver exceptional research not only gives decision ject of the bulk of their assignments. value. We achieve this by: makers access to the experiences Because we are part of the Survey and values of non-English-speaking Research Division, we are included ¥ Working closely with project man- people, but it affords non-English in RTI’s ongoing professional agement to define requirements speakers the opportunity to partici- training activities. Each year, we and clarify expectations, including pate in this aspect of American life. attend dozens of meetings, semi- cost and time constraints; nars, and workshops to learn more
Looking for a freelance job or a full-time position? Check out ATA’s online Job Bank in Need help finding a translator or interpreter for a the Members Only section of the ATA website at freelance job or a full-time position? www.atanet.org/membersonly
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 37 Learn the Art of Interpreting and Educate Your Clients
By Maria McCollum-Rye
became an interpreter when I The corporation I worked for positive attitude. Your enthusiasm started to work in the customer offered me many opportunities for will help the communication process I service department of an insur- professional development and per- and your smile will speak a thousand ance company, where I was given the sonal growth. I took many online words—words that will be under- title “bilingual customer service rep- classes and attended seminars. I took stood in any language. resentative.” They gave me that posi- every opportunity I could to teach tion because I had very good language classes to other employees Do your best to follow the computer experience and knew how and to volunteer for different organi- Golden Rule. to speak two languages. The first zations. I built upon my interpreting Businesses and people still need, time I received a “Spanish call” I skills by learning the power of com- and will always need, interpreting thought, “There is more going on munication and polished my listening services. The value placed on a good here than I can possibly imagine.” I skills through the help of Toast- interpreter appears to be increasing. was bilingual and knew enough about masters International. However, I This demand creates a wealth of life and accident insurance, but that knew it was time to move on, so I left opportunities for our industry and for didn’t make me an interpreter. the corporate world and became a the dedicated professionals, like you, As time went on, and without full-time interpreter. who serve it. Try to do your best to even knowing it, I learned about provide good service. You are not phone interpretation and sight trans- only acting for yourself, but are pro- lation, Spanish regionalisms and “…Interpreting is the art viding an image of our profession to colloquialisms, triadic and nontri- others. Be available to answer ques- adic interpreting, and consecutive of bringing peace in a tions. If you do not know the answer, and simultaneous interpreting. I world overflowing with find someone that can and direct the became a conduit, clarifier, cultural communication turmoil client to that person. broker, and an advocate for the lan- guage profession. and cultural uncertainty…” Professional interpreting services I grew up as an only child and had should be your hallmark. always enjoyed solitude. After my Our industry has improved, experience as a phone interpreter, I Interpreting is the art of bringing allowing interpreters to do a better learned that if I was looking for pri- peace in a world overflowing with job. With the right knowledge, you vacy or quiet time, then interpreting communication turmoil and cultural can excel at your profession. With the was not the job for me. Six months uncertainty. If we see our profession right heart, you can experience the later, I applied for another position as an art, clients will treat us as artists, satisfaction of helping those in need. and became a computer tester. and our profession will have prestige. Pay attention at seminars, and learn as much as you can about how you Interpreting: Art and Vocation Being positive will help can improve upon your communica- Working with computers was communication. tion and interpreting skills. Never quiet, but I never forgot those service Today, when I’m contracted by a stop learning. department calls, or the sense of ful- client for an interpreting assignment, Talk to your clients in the halls, filment when I could help clients I smile and I say to myself: and find opportunities to give them a understand their insurance policies, “Congratulations on being at the right quick class on culture and diversity. collect their claims, or help ease the place at the right time.” I’m not only Engage your fellow professionals, grief of the loss of a loved one. I given money for what I love to do, help them, give them ideas—in short, never encountered that feeling by but can also touch lives and help be an ambassador to our profession. working with computer software. It people that are separated by a cultural Also, don’t ever think that you are the takes someone with a heart for people gap. With a little help, it is amazing only interpreter in your area. The fact to be a good interpreter, and my expe- to see my clients flourish in their is there are many interpreters out riences working with people made communication and understanding. there. If you don’t provide quality me start to realize my true profes- Appreciating this will help you walk work, your clients will seek someone sional calling. into your interpreting session with a who can.
38 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 It is important to take good notes ¥ Language of the non-native process. We also know how difficult and learn regionalisms and cultural speaker/client and information it can be to find the correct words to differences. I carry a microcassette about dialect or region of origin; tell the speaker to slow down. recorder with me. After an inter- Spending a few minutes before preting session, I tape new words or ¥ The subject matter of the case your interpreting session educating reflect upon new experiences. I also (legal, commercial, medical, etc.); your client on how to work with an keep a journal. You will be amazed at interpreter will make a world of dif- how handy your journal can be when ¥ Date/time/approximate duration ference, and will benefit you and our you need to write an article or pre- of the session; profession. Not only will it ease the pare a class or presentation. communication process, but the In addition to the above, it is ¥ Address/phone number/contact client will also gain respect and equally important to consider how name/map of location; understanding for our profession. The you present yourself to others. Take following is a list of things I like to your interpreting business to new ¥ Type of interpretation (triadic, tell my clients prior to an interpreting levels of success and prosperity by nontriadic, conference/simulta- session. You can use this list to help looking successful. Remember, the neous, sight translation); and customize your own. first impression lasts forever. ¥ Supporting documentation. This is ¥ My “principal” role as an inter- Quality interpreting requires especially important if it is a preter (conduit) is to render in one preparation. simultaneous interpretation (for language exactly what has been Like translators, we interpreters example, in a conference setting), said in the other. also have a “moral obligation” to our or if a prepared speech is given in clients. What I mean by this is that if advance for synchronization. ¥ If I notice a clear potential for mis- you do not know the language or understanding, I (clarifier) will, dialect of the non-native speaker, or If you decide that the assignment when necessary, make word pic- if you are not familiar with the sub- fits your expertise, ask the client for tures of certain terms to facilitate ject matter, you should not accept their fax number or e-mail so you can understanding in situations where the assignment. In this situation, you send them a contract (make sure you a linguistic equivalent is not should direct the client to the correct ask which mode they prefer). The understood by the client. interpreter who is qualified for the client will usually ask for your rates. job. For this reason, it is a good idea If you want, you can tell the client ¥ I (cultural broker) will provide the to have a list of professional inter- right away before sending a contract. necessary cultural background preters that specialize in different If the client hesitates, I normally fax when cultural differences are subjects or languages. The client or e-mail a contract with a “thank leading to a misunderstanding. will appreciate your help, and will you for your business” note. This will not soon forget your honesty and give the client time to think about it, ¥ My most important code of ethics is professionalism. and even if the client doesn’t use your total confidentiality. I will not dis- When the client contacts you for services, he or she will remember close anything without approval. an interpreting session, be prepared your professionalism. Be sure to to ask the following questions and include all your contact information ¥ Sometimes I may need to inter- make annotations. I have developed with the contract you give to clients. vene if someone uses language my own forms and questions to that I do not understand or does help me collect the information I Teach your client how to work with not pause to allow me to interpret. need to decide whether to accept an interpreter. an assignment or pass it along to We all have experienced inter- ¥ Please do not ask me for my opin- one of my colleagues. The following preting sessions where the speaker ions; ask the client directly. list may help you to develop your did not pause after a few sentences, own list of criteria to evaluate causing us to become lost in the ¥ Focus your attention on the client, a perspective job: middle of the communication not me (the interpreter). ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 39 Learn the Art of Interpreting and Educate Your Clients Continued
Speak directly to the non-native assistance program. Many interpreters ¥ Working out methods for pro- speaker. Avoid using phrases such are afraid to do this because they think viding notice to people who have as “tell him” or “ask her.” they will be losing their clients if they limited English proficiency. (For give them such ideas. However, I can example, language identification ¥ Try to speak only to one person at tell you from experience that giving cards or “I speak” cards). a time. clients a design for an effective lan- ¥ Training staff. guage program has given me more ¥ My main concern is with the business, referrals, and respect than a It Takes Time quality of communication, but I thousand business cards. Doing so has To have the success, prosperity, will help (advocate) the best way I provided me with several opportuni- respect, and recognition you deserve, can with information. ties, such as training bilingual staff and you need to be a competent interpreter. volunteers, conducting presentations Being a competent interpreter does not This last statement in the list and employee training sessions, necessarily mean formal certification above is very important. As an inter- recording voice-overs, as well as being as an interpreter, though certification is preter, you should have a resource list assigned transcription and translation helpful. As I wrote at the beginning of with the names and phone numbers work. Most importantly, I know that this article, to be an interpreter requires of advocates, churches, and religious I’m helping other colleagues and com- more than self-identification as a bilin- organizations; counselors, therapists petent interpreters in all languages. gual. You should be proficient in both and psychiatrists; departments of The following are some ideas and a English and your second language, and state organizations (such as domestic model plan I’ve provided to my clients: have training that includes the skills violence, legal services, and educa- and ethics of interpreting (e.g., issues tion); and numerous nonprofit organ- ¥ Hiring bilingual staff who are of confidentiality). izations. Having this information will trained interpreters. Don’t think that just because busi- allow you to put your client in touch ¥ Contracting with outside interpreting ness is not good at the moment that with those professionals whose job it services for trained interpreters. you need to move away from your is to resolve their problems. ¥ Hiring trained voluntary commu- area to be successful. If you feel nity interpreters. called to the profession of inter- Effective Language ¥ Contracting for the use of telephone preting and are willing to learn and Assistance Program language interpreter services. educate yourself, there is no better Whenever I find an opportunity, I ¥ Translating written material that is time to start down this career path. teach my clients about the impor- provided in English for applicants, tance of having an effective language clients, and the public.
Translator Interpreter Hall of Fame Accepting 2002 Nominations
The Translator Interpreter Hall of Fame and the TIHOF’s first honoree. Each year Nominations will be judged by a panel (TIHOF) is now accepting nominations on this date the TIHOF will honor addi- drawn from various translator and inter- for 2002. The TIHOF was founded tional outstanding practitioners of the preter associations. New honorees will be September 30, 2000, to recognize the art of translating and interpreting. announced on International Translators achievements of, and pay tribute to, the Day, September 30, 2002, and published men and women who have helped pene- Nominations for historical or contempo- on the TIHOF website (www.tihof.org), trate cultural and linguistic barriers rary figures should include a biography with proper credit given to essay authors between the world’s peoples. Language and/or an essay on the nominee (700 and translators. Submissions will become specialists the world over observe words or longer) with optional illustra- the property of the TIHOF. Nominees not International Translators Day every year tions. Please send entries to inducted at the 2002 ceremony may be on September 30, the Feast Day of St. [email protected] by August 1, 2002. considered for future years. Jerome, the patron saint of translators
40 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Internet Resources for the Translation of Patents into English
By Steve Vlasta Vitek
“You lose 100% of the shots you and life-saving context, that can prob- Only the first 500 patents containing never make.” ably answer most of your questions is the terms in your query will be dis- Wayne Gretzky, a famous bound to be the website of the played, but that is usually more than Canadian hockey player, happily European Patent Office (EPO) at enough to enable you to find the retired in his mid-30s. http://ep.espacenet.com. This is answer to your question (provided because, to my knowledge, the EPO that your query is well formulated). ranslators of patents from var- website is the only site to list some 30 The disadvantage of the EPO web- ious languages into English can million patent applications from a site is that if the foreign patent in T spend many hours looking for number of countries, including Japan, question does not have an English the right translation of an obscure on a single website, not only in summary, even if you have its correct and/or illegible character, word, or English, but also in Japanese, number, the website will usually not technical term. Increasingly, correct German, and French. Most of the be able to find it. This can be reme- answers can be found and verified unexamined Japanese (Kokai) patent died by going to the Japanese, quickly, and with precision, on the German, or French Patent Office Internet. The key is knowing where to websites and running a search in the look. This article is an attempt at an “…Increasingly, correct language in question or by entering introduction to some of the most answers can be found and the patent number in the search field. important sites that I’ve found invalu- Another disadvantage of the EPO site able in my work as a translator of verified quickly, and with is that searching is possible only in patents from Japanese, German, precision, on the English, while the Japanese, German, French, and other languages over the and French Patent Office sites can, last 15 years. I hope the following Internet…the key is obviously, be searched in the relevant will prove to be of some help, espe- knowing where to look…” national languages. The websites of cially to relative beginners in this fas- the Japanese and German Patent cinating field. Offices can also be searched in Thousands of patents are trans- applications listed here are provided English, although the coverage of lated every year from many languages with an English summary. As such, abstracts in English is somewhat lim- into English. If we were to classify they can be found and displayed by ited. The text of English summaries is the languages from which these running a search in English on the in HTML format, while the text in patents are translated by the number EPO search page. If you translate from foreign languages is displayed in of patents for translation into English more languages than simply Japanese, PDF format. I usually save and print per language (language frequency), you can use the EPO website to look at the English summary in MS Word. Japanese would lead by a big margin, translations of certain Japanese tech- Because the PDF file must be saved followed by German, with French as a nical terms done by other people, usu- and printed page by page, I usually distant third. Therefore, this article ally patent lawyers in their respective just print instead of saving it to a file. will concentrate on websites that pub- countries, not only into English, but Since the same patent that was origi- lish the text of patents in the original also into other languages in a number nally published in Japanese, German, language. It will also provide the of countries that are members of the or French may have been previously reader with other information, mostly Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). translated and filed in another lan- as it relates to these three languages Your search for a technical term in guage in another country, you can (namely, Japanese, German, and English may also display translations type in the name of the inventor or French) that are so important to tech- of patents containing this term in lan- the patent applicant (usually the nical communication. guages such as Czech, Polish, or name of the company) to display a Russian. Unfortunately, for now, usu- translation of the term you are The European Patent Office Website ally only foreign (U.S., Japanese, looking for. You can also type in con- Whether you translate patents from German, etc.) patents that have been text from a similar patent to help you Japanese, German, or French, the translated into various national lan- answer your questions. most important website, containing an guages and filed in their respective You may even sometimes dis- incredible wealth of technical terms countries can be found in this manner. cover, to your dismay, that the ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 41 Internet Resources for the Translation of Patents into English Continued patent in question has already been to translate only the claims, which are from the EPO site. The Japanese part translated into English. For instance, almost always changed in different of the JPO site (www.ipdl.jpo.go.jp/ a patent may have originally been languages and countries, or the entire Tokujitu/tjsogodb.ipdl?N0000=101) filed in Japanese in Japan or in patent, regardless of the cost (for has a more comprehensive collection French in Switzerland, and then instance, if the case is already being of Japanese patents than the EPO site. translated and filed in the U.S. or litigated and every minute termino- Unlike the EPO website, which Europe in English. This has happened logical change or turn of phrase can only displays unexamined Japanese to me quite a few times. However, have an impact on the final result). (Kokai) patents, the Japanese part of because patents are almost always A patent translator who does not the JPO site also displays examined changed and modified to some degree thoroughly research his or her patents (Kokoku) Japanese patents, as well as to comply with the various filing on the Internet by comparing two ver- utility models and granted patents. requirements of different countries, sions of “the same patent” (which is The English part of the site lists only your clients are likely to commission not really the same patent), is at a dis- Kokai patents, which can be discov- a translation anyway in order to tinct disadvantage compared to a ered through a search for an English ascertain exactly how a patent has translator who is willing and able to term thanks to their English sum- been changed. So far, I have only had spend some time researching the maries. However, utility models, one client cancel a job because a pre- patents first on the Internet. The examined patents, and granted vious translation exists. The patent in instructions on the EPO website can patents will not be displayed in the question was in French, which makes be displayed in English, German, or English part of the site. You have to it relatively easy, even for a monolin- French, but the website can be specify PDF format if you want a leg- gual patent lawyer, to determine searched only in English. However, ible copy of the Japanese text (the where and how extensive the changes you can search the German or French default resolution loads faster, but, at probably are without the considerable Patent Offices in German or French 90 dpi, it is very hard to read). The expense of a professional translator. and find a relevant patent number or Japanese part of the JPO website can Again, if the original patent text is in the names of inventors in this be searched for terms in Japanese, but Japanese, or even in German, the manner. You can then come back to not in English. Similarly, the English client will usually go ahead with the the EPO site armed with the patent part of the site can be searched only translation, or at least ask you to number that was invisible when the in English. You can display the describe the changes and write a sum- search was conducted in English. I Japanese text in HTML or PDF mary, for which you can bill by the also use the EPO website for research format. You can then copy text in hour. I think it is better to explain the involving U.S. patents, instead of the Japanese in HTML format and use it situation to the client first. The United States Patent Office (USPTO) to search for patents in the Japanese danger, namely a lost opportunity to website, because the USPTO website part of the site. The only patent or earn money if the same or very sim- displays only U.S. patents in English, utility model texts that will not be ilar translation already exists, in my which is usually not enough to satisfy displayed in the comprehensive opinion, is more than compensated my curiosity. Japanese part of the site are those that for by the fact that we can cultivate a are too recent, and thus have not yet long-term relationship with a client The Japanese Patent Office Website been stored. who may be sending us work for The Japanese Patent Office (JPO) When new texts are stored, access many more years. Our clients will website (www.ipdl.jpo.go.jp/Tokujitu/ to the site may not be available for an also appreciate our honest appraisal tjsogodb.ipdl?N0000=101) is well extended period, which happens of whether another translation is nec- known among, and often used by, often in the morning (U.S. time). essary or not. In most cases, however, experienced Japanese patent transla- Kokai patent applications are pro- the patent law firm in question will be tors. Most U.S. patent lawyers I vided with an English summary, aware of the fact that, for instance, a talked to seem to be unaware of the which also lists the title of the patent U.S. patent that has been translated English search page of the JPO website and the names of all of the inventors. into Japanese, English, or French has (www1.ipdl.jpo.go.jp/PA1/cgi-bin/ I usually defer to the spelling of the been modified. In such cases, the PA1INIT?101862252070), as they Japanese names as they are listed on patent translator may be asked either usually search for Japanese patents the JPO website, because Japanese
42 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 names can only be guessed at anyway, above apparently matters. As all for- how difficult it is for the Japanese to and I hate guessing. Unless I strongly eigners who have lived and worked master foreign languages. disagree with the terms, I try to use the in Japan know, the “kacho” (“sec- Another unique feature that title of the patent and the terms pro- tion chief”) always knows best, espe- clearly distinguishes the JPO website vided in the summary in my transla- cially when it comes to translation from the websites of all other coun- tion as much as possible, since I know into English. tries is the fact that the JPO makes my clients will also be using them. It In spite of the drawback of the JPO machine translations (MT) available should be noted that the English sum- website mentioned above, it should of all Japanese patent applications maries are usually written by native also be noted that unlike, for instance, going back to about 1994. This fea- Japanese speakers, whose English is the Germans, and especially the ture can be accessed and navigated frequently not terribly good and often French, the Japanese make a great from the English part of the JPO site difficult to understand. effort and spend a lot of money to quite easily, even if you do not read Although the technical terms are provide access to technical informa- Japanese. As I have already described usually correct and often helpful to tion via the JPO website to technical my experience with MT and my me, especially when I deal with a specialists who do not speak their thoughts on the technology in general field that I translate from only occa- beautiful but complicated language. in two other articles, available on the sionally (such as a medical patent Only the JPO provides Japanese and Internet and listed at the end of this dealing with body parts, muscles, English interfaces, as well as sum- article, I will only say that MT is, in ligaments, bones, and cartilages that maries for most Japanese patent my opinion, very useful to patent I never even knew existed), I can applications in English. The German translators and their clients. I wish usually understand the English text Patent Office (GPO) website provides that patent offices in other countries of these summaries only after I have an English interface for navigation, would follow suit with the JPO, had a chance to compare them to the but relatively few English summaries although I do not think it likely in the Japanese original, sometime several of German patents when compared to foreseeable future. times. This is mostly because the the JPO. The interface on the French The MT feature of the JPO site is writers of these summaries are not Patent Office (FPO) website is only in a logical result of the fact that Japan professional translators into English, French, and very few English sum- is very interested in overcoming “the but rather (Japanese) specialists in maries are available. Other patent Japanese language problem.” That is, their particular fields who frequently offices of smaller countries sometime that relatively few foreigners can read make just about every mistake a “piggyback” on the EPO website to and write Japanese, and relatively native Japanese speaker can make make information available to their few Japanese are fluent in English or when translating into English. A big monolingual readers. For instance, another language (unlike the Dutch, problem is that the sentences in the patent office of the Czech or even the French or Germans). This English basically slavishly imitate Republic provides an interface in is why many Japanese search engines the word order in Japanese. The Czech to make it easier for Czech also have the MT function, which is problem is that the word order in patent lawyers and inventors to probably used much more frequently English is fixed and very different research patents on the EPO website in Japan than in any other country. from the typical order in Japanese. in different languages. I read some- Although the results of translations Moreover, unlike English sentences, where online that a proposal has been by machines will not really provide a Japanese sentences often have no put forward by U.S. patent lawyers to real translation, they will give the object, singular or plural, tense, and require the JPO to allow filing of reader some idea about the original the verb is always at the very end of patents in Japan and related court pro- text. To test MT on one of my favorite the sentence, etc. Because the choice ceedings in English. This is due to the subjects (my wife), I used the MT of the English words is often poor difficulty foreigners have with the feature of one of the Japanese search and words are frequently misspelled, Japanese language. The JPO engines to translate one of my articles the result can be quite hilarious. answered that Japan will consider posted on the Internet into Japanese, However, since whoever approves this, provided that the same courtesy and asked for her esteemed opinion these summaries must be a Japanese be extended to Japanese patent of the translation. At first, she was native who lives in Japan, none of the lawyers in America, especially given impressed that somebody would ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 43 Internet Resources for the Translation of Patents into English Continued bother to translate what her husband “Extrusionbeschichten von Polymer- the EPO website translated into wrote into Japanese. However, as she folien” to search for patents con- English or German, or provided with continued reading, she become rather taining the terms and context you an English summary. You can search agitated and declared categorically need in German, which will often be patents in three categories directly that I have to stop writing this kind of displayed together with Patent from the search page of the FPO: nonsense because I sound like a total Cooperation Treaty (PTC) patents in French (FR), European (EP), and idiot in Japanese. Even when I English or French. Or you can type International PCT patents (WO). The explained to her that I am not really a “extrusion coating of polymer films” FPO search page also has a link to the complete moron, and that the to find a patent in German in the quick search page of the EPO. Hélas, problem is related to MT, she never- same manner as on the EPO website. only the interface is supported in theless insisted that, “I should not let You can sometime find a translation French, and you can only search in them translate what I write into of the same patent from German into English on the EPO site. Japanese like this, because people English and vice versa by searching will think that I am an idiot anyway if for the name of the inventor or the Patent Offices of Other Countries I let them do that.” Well, she has a patent applicant to research your Although the websites of the patent point, although I am not sure how to technical terms and relevant context. offices of most countries can be found stop search engines in Japan from You can also doublecheck the correct on the Internet easily by running a doing their job. terms in French, if you also translate search in Google or another search from French, when you see Canadian engine or from links on my website The German Patent Office patents listed for the same subject. (www.patenttranslators.com), many (DEPATISnet) Website This is because all Canadian patents of them require registration and/or The German Patent Office are provided with a French summary, payment before they let you search, (GPO) website (www.dpma.de/suche/ and Canada has a lot of patents in and I never register or pay unless I patentdatenbanken.html) has more many technical fields. absolutely have to. However, transla- complete coverage of patents and tors can use the interfaces in a number utility models in the German lan- The French Patent Office Website of languages provided by the national guage than the EPO website. Both the The main advantage of the FPO web- offices of countries cooperating with German and English interfaces are site (Institute National de la Propriété the EPO to access the servers of the supported, and both can be searched, Industrielle; www.inpi.fr/brevet/html/ national offices in various languages. by using English or German terms. A titre/index.htm) is that it allows You can also access the EPO database major advantage of the search page searches in French. Only the French to ascertain the correct translation of on this site is the fact that one can interface is supported, and searching technical terms in a number of lan- search for terms both in English and can be done only in French. Unlike guages. The table on page 45 lists the in German, while the EPO site can be the Germans and Japanese, the countries and supported languages searched only in English. You can French will not bother speaking to cooperating with the EPO. The URLs specify whether to search for an item you if you don’t know their language. will take you to the search page of the only within the title of a patent or in If you don’t speak French, tant pis EPO with interfaces in the respective the full text, or both. Up to five items pour toi. The default display is in languages, and you can click your can be specified, including the HTML format, which is handy for way to the main page of the respective number of the patent publication, the copying, cutting, and pasting when national patent offices from this name of the inventor, and the name of you are searching for technical terms. search page. For example, it is easy, the patent applicant. You can also You can scroll down to the end of the after clicking on a few links, to run a search for patent titles and for words file and click on the PDF icon to dis- search in Czech. You can then display in the full text of patents. You can play the entire document in the PDF a patent filed by a major U.S., transcribe umlauts with two vowels, a format (again, only a page at a time). German, or French company in Czech sharp “s” with two “ss” letters, etc., You can also click on “Déposants et translation in the Czech Republic in which is a very handy feature if you Inventeurs” to search for names of order to compare Czech translations normally don’t type in German every French companies and inventors. You of technical terms to English tech- day. For instance, you can type can then often find their patents on nical terms.
44 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 thing, which is to compare important Country URL Language Support patent terms to other patents in the Austria http://at.espacenet.com German same field or by the same inventors, Belgium http://be.espacenet.com French, Dutch which can often be found quite easily Cyprus http://cy.espacenet.com English on the Internet in several languages. Thus, the Internet brings to intrepid Czech Republic http://cz.espacenet.com Czech patent translators an unparalleled joy: Denmark http://dk.espacenet.com Danish we can have most of our questions Finland http://fi.espacenet.com Finnish answered, usually within a few min- France http://fr.espacenet.com French utes. We no longer have to ask any- Germany http://de.espacenet.com German body any questions, which most of us Greece http://gr.espacenet.com Greek are loath to do, as we don’t like to bother other people and/or don’t want Ireland http://ie.espacenet.com English to let other people know that there are Italy http://it.espacenet.com Italian still things out there that we don’t Liechtenstein http://li.espacenet.com French, German, Italian know much about yet. Luxembourg http://lu.espacenet.com French Monaco http://mc.espacenet.com French References Netherlands http://nl.espacenet.com Dutch Vitek, Steve Vlasta. “Reflections of a Human Translator on Machine Portugal http://pt.espacenet.com Portuguese Translation.” Translation Journal, Spain http://es.espacenet.com Spanish July 2000 Sweden http://se.espacenet.com Swedish (www.accurapid.com/journal/ Switzerland http://ch.espacenet.com French, German, Italian 13mt.htm). United Kingdom http://gb.espacenet.com English Vitek, Steve Vlasta. “Useful Machine Translations of Japanese Patents The fact that the text of patents in terms that may be new, complicated, Have Become a Reality.” Trans- foreign languages can often be found company-specific, misspelled, etc. lation Journal, April 2002 easily on the Internet means that Unlike translators in other fields, we (www.accurapid.com/journal/ translators of patents from foreign can’t usually call the writer in ques- 20mt.htm). languages into English no longer have tion and ask him or her to clarify the to guess when faced with technical meaning. But we can do the next best
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The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 45 All This, and Money, Too!
By Tony Beckwith
(Note: The following was originally A conference will, of course, have 1706 as a farming village and military published in the May issue of the an overall theme, but each individual outpost along the Camino Real AATIA Letter, the newsletter of the session can be on almost any topic between Chihuahua and Santa Fe, Austin Area Translators and Inter- imaginable. You might start off in a and was named in honor of the preters Association.) workshop discussing criteria for Viceroy of New Spain, the Duke of reciprocal acceptance of academic Alburquerque. (The first “r” was t was late, and hot, and we were credentials, for example, and then go dropped later on.) We browsed the all tired. We’d put in a full day of straight into a lecture on the legal shops and galleries and roamed the I interpreting at the conference and rights of low-income minorities in streets laid out in the classic Spanish breakout sessions, and then we were border regions. After lunch there grid, with a central plaza surrounded asked if we’d mind helping out at an could be a presentation on children by the vintage colonial church, old after-hours meeting, “just for a little with asthma, followed by an interac- single-story homes, and official build- while.” Always glad to oblige, of tive session on nongovernmental ings. The sound of music drew us to course, but now it was nearly eight an open courtyard where four young o’clock and we were starting to wilt. musicians from Ecuador were playing Five of us had come to interpret at a “…It was an interpreter’s the quena, the charango, and other conference in Albuquerque for a week. traditional instruments of the Andes. As usual, friends at home said, “You’ll fantasy come true…A free We made our way to the Casa de love it out there! Albuquerque is a afternoon!…” Ruiz for a late lunch. Fortunately, it really nice town.” They always picture was so crowded inside that we were me sightseeing, taking day-trips to the seated in the delightfully rustic back- mountains, and acting like a tourist. organizations. All of which is inter- yard, where ancient farm machinery But what usually happens is that by the preted simultaneously from one lan- leaned against thick adobe walls that time I’ve finished interpreting for the guage to another—and sometimes in have stood for 300 years. The air was day, all I want to do is order room both directions at once. That’s what warm in the sunshine and cool in the service and lie on my bed, staring at I’d been doing all day when I was shade, and we had a perfect view of the ceiling in blissful silence. I have asked if I minded helping out at that the mountains etching a crisp horizon spent several days in some cities and after-hours meeting for a while. I against a flawless blue sky. We never actually left the hotel. looked at my four wilting colleagues played show-and-tell with our sou- As interpreters know all too well, and thought, “I guess this is our pay- venirs: Ecuadorian music CDs, spe- conference work can be extremely back for Saturday!” cial treats for infant relatives, demanding. At the first orientation Saturday was the flip side of the postcards of the legendary Route 66, meeting, you are given a program in picture I’ve painted so far—it was an and a Navajo-English dictionary which you highlight the sessions to interpreter’s fantasy come true. After (because you just never know). which you are assigned, usually two the morning sessions we were The food was good and the con- in the morning and two in the after- informed that, due to a miraculous versation excellent. Fascinating noon, with coffee and lunch breaks in glitch in the schedule, our services shoptalk of the kind you might between. At a large conference, with would not be required for the rest of imagine when five kindred spirits are several hundred people in attendance, the day after all. A free afternoon! We fortunate enough to relax together in the first few breaks can be spent fran- jumped into a shuttle and disappeared such a setting. Thinking of the tically scurrying around trying to find before any of the authorities could assignment that had brought us there, the Sweetwater Room, or the Water- change their minds. I sighed, “All this, and money, too!” Room Suite, which aren’t always Albuquerque’s Old Town is a Ben smiled and said, “That would exactly where they are shown on the charming place to spend a few hours make a good title for a story.” hotel’s floor plan. as a tourist. It was originally settled in
See page 61 for registration information for ATA’s 43rd Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
46 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 An Interview with Reinhold Werner
By Rudy Heller (English translation by Andre Moskowitz)
n November 2001, Rudy Heller, There may also be more compli- RH: You mentioned language that administrator of ATA’s Spanish cated situations in which you have is neutral. How do you define this ILanguage Division, interviewed different target audiences with dif- neutrality? Reinhold Werner, professor of applied ferent levels of understanding. For linguistics at the University of Augsburg, example, people from different coun- One is never completely neutral. Germany. They discussed various lin- tries with different educational By neutral, I mean the ability to find guistic issues, including language vari- levels. In these cases, you have to common denominators, to avoid lan- ation, language influence, language find a solution that may entail using guage that is very specific to one policy, and translation. Professor language that is more neutral. Of variety or another, and to always try Werner has authored and co-authored course, one must ask what does to use language that is common to a numerous regional Spanish dictionaries, “neutral” mean? majority of the target audience. Thus, and his contributions to Spanish lexi- it is not a neutral style or a neutral cography are recognized worldwide. register, but rather the broadest Professor Werner and his charming “…In choosing the common denominator. wife attended the ATA conference in language I use in my Los Angeles, where he was the SPD’s RH: What role can “Spanglish” play? special guest speaker. His breadth of message, I must take into knowledge, love of language, and the consideration how I think we need to be very careful generosity with which he shared his important the target with that term because it is not very wisdom have left us with wonderful clearly defined. Spanglish was origi- memories. The interview, a part of audience is versus how nally conceived as a battle cry and which appears below1, was con- important the client is…” was criticized. Lately, the trend has ducted in Spanish, and has been been just the opposite—to promote translated into English by Andre its use. One shouldn’t be afraid of Moskowitz. Anyone who would like an Or...the solution may be that you creating a variety of Spanish that is electronic copy of the documents that analyze percentages. How many of specific to the United States. I believe were distributed at the two talks my readers or listeners are it is inevitable, and even necessary, to Professor Werner gave can request it Colombians and how many are create a vocabulary for the U.S.’s at [email protected]. You can also Argentines? Or, you may look into own realities and concepts. Of contact Professor Werner directly at whether there is a code that people course, the first denominations for [email protected]. know best. In certain environments, these objects, for these realities, and for example, a common denominator for these concepts were created in RH: At the first talk you gave in Los may be Peninsular Spanish or English. It would be very artificial to Angeles, no answer was given to the Mexican Spanish, simply because it avoid using loanwords or calques title of the presentation: Into What is the variety best known by the pos- from English. This must be accepted. Variety of Spanish Should One sible target audience because of its The other issue associated with Translate in the United States? Does prestige, its use by the media, or its “Spanglish” is that it is a very this question have an answer? similarity to other varieties. I am restricted and poor code, stemming opposed to prescribing an answer to from the mixture of English and There is no single recipe. At best, this question. What I think can be Spanish elements in particular social the answer may be a list of criteria done is to establish criteria, to create situations. Thus, a reduced language is that need to be taken into account. In a greater level of awareness of all of created with few elements of expres- choosing the language I use in my the factors that are decisive, but sion. It is both a reduced Spanish and message, I must take into considera- which will vary depending on the sit- a reduced English. That shouldn’t be tion how important the target audi- uation. Each has its own require- the goal. So, creating a U.S. variety of ence is versus how important the ments. One must be aware of how Spanish makes sense to a certain client is. The person who hires you to many factors are involved, how con- extent. One also shouldn’t be afraid of do the translation is often someone sequential they are, and how they English-language influence when it is other than the target audience. may overlap. necessary to name concepts that ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 47 An Interview with Reinhold Werner Continued are particular to this country. But lan- from a particular country speak that societies where Spanish is the pri- guage shouldn’t be reduced by whit- way. On the one hand, these creations mary language or the prestige lan- tling away its vocabulary just to make may contribute to a greater cohesion guage. But there are cases that are it easier. The mixture of languages within certain groups that have the much more difficult in Africa, Asia, should contribute to their enrichment same level of understanding, the and the Pacific. through mutual influence, not to their same educational background, or per- impoverishment. haps are of the same geographic RH: But saying le weekend in origin. However, new language bar- French is quite different from RH: Impoverishment...for example, riers are also created among different saying vacunar la carpeta in by creating terms that already groups because it may be that one Spanish. In le weekend, at least the exist. A rather humorous case is social group, or perhaps one partic- full English word was adopted...but using vacunar la carpeta (“vacci- ular social class, speaks that language in Spanglish, what is often done is nate the file”) in the sense of and others speak another type of to invent a word, to “Spanishize” an “vacuum the carpet.” Have you Spanish. Then, all of a sudden, we English word when there is already heard this before? have new language barriers within a proper term or phrase for it. the Spanish-speaking community: Yes. We all have the right to speak those who speak an “international” The concept of a weekend did not however we please, but it is also in Spanish, an educated Spanish, and exist. It was new. Because, in theory, our interest to make ourselves under- the rest of the folks, the poor, who there is an end to the week. stood and avoid ambiguities. One speak “Spanglish.” So I may be Everything has an end. Here you can may argue that such phrases are breaking down some barriers while, really see how one language has superfluous. Of course, in everyday at the same time, constructing new influenced another. In the back- life they come up simply because the ones that are socially significant. ground is another ideological world, influence of another language is not another worldview, because the only brought to bear through…well, RH: Are there other places, other weekend is Saturday plus Sunday, there are calques, loanwords that I areas of the world, where some- which is a rather recent concept. It introduce, for example, as a trans- thing similar takes place? used to be that one was only assured lator, because I feel a need to do so. I of being able to rest on Sundays2, and see a useful purpose in doing so. But Yes, to a certain extent it happens this idea of the “weekend,” which in everyday life, we have interfer- all over the world. English is includes having Saturday off, was a ence, and we always have this when omnipresent. We have a strong gift. This is something that comes we speak several languages. We even English-language influence in from the North American world. have this interference when we speak German, also in Peninsular Spanish, several varieties of a language. Thus, and in French. Spanglish has devel- RH: It even includes Friday night... when we speak the standard lan- oped parallel to the Franglais of the guage, sometimes words from our French. To an even greater extent, we Exactly. So it’s not just the end of own dialect come out. To a certain also have this problem in many soci- the week, but a new concept. And extent, this is inevitable, but at least eties of the so-called developing world. because it’s a new concept, there was we shouldn’t encourage the spread of This is the case in societies that are not no name for it. Therefore, there are such interferences. We also shouldn’t bilingual but multilingual (such as three possibilities. Either I simply criticize them too vehemently. In cer- India and the Philippines), in places borrow the term “weekend” or I form tain environments, they are com- where the languages spoken are much a calque, fin de semana (“end of the pletely legitimate. People understand less similar and have different histor- week”), which, in essence, also each other, but they shouldn’t be ical backgrounds, and where the use of reveals an English-language influ- raised to a point where...we are one language or another is much more ence because it is a calque, a literal saying that this is the remedy, this is closely related to one’s membership in translation. Or, I create something how we have to talk. No. a particular social group. that’s unrelated, but even in that case A problem may also be created What occurs here in the U.S. with I am introducing a new concept that because not all Spanish speakers Spanish is more serious than in other also comes from elsewhere. So
48 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 there’s really no way of entirely get- where people now use the word palta. geography), you use the term ting around it. Many try to avoid And there are other areas, for instance, “diatopical.” A diatopical study is using loanwords, but end up using a a small region where the word cura is one in which you examine and com- calque instead. In my view, this out- used in this sense. It seems that pare data from different parts of a lin- side linguistic influence is not bad in Colombia is the only place where cura guistic region. For example, in Spain, and of itself. After all, if there had is used that way. The lines, the bor- comparing the Spanish of Andalucía been no such influence, Spaniards ders, that divide one region from to that of Castilla or, in Colombia, would still be speaking Latin. another are the isoglosses. comparing the speech of Pasto to that of Bogotá. This would be a diatopical RH: You addressed a topic in your RH: In other words, the “isogloss” study. And you can do the same thing presentation that I would like you is always a geographic designation. by focusing on social criteria. For to expand on a little. Please begin example, a diastratic study would be with the definition of “isogloss.” The term comes from linguistic when data from the speech of one geography, from dialectology. social group is compared to the “Isogloss” is a term that comes speech of another. And finally, the from traditional dialectology, in which RH: In discussing this subject, term diaphasic was introduced. This the goal is to delimit dialectal regions. you also spoke about diastratic refers to different registers and dif- One asks the question, where does one differences... ferent styles, but, in this case, it may dialect start and another end? be the same person who speaks in Linguistic atlases, generally based on Yes, I discussed the terms different registers. In other words, different types of surveys, are drawn diatopical, diastratic, diachronic, and one speaks differently depending on up. You find out how people say some- diaphasic. These terms come from the situation. When I speak to my thing in Town A or Town B. There is structural linguistics, which was first friends, I speak differently than when an entire network of points in a region, developed by Ferdinand de Saussure I speak in an official situation. The and at each point (location) you find and other European linguists and register I use also varies depending out how people speak in terms of later by North American linguists. on the form or medium. For example, phonology, syntax, and lexicon. Then Saussure distinguished between the language I use when writing a a comparison is made, and often the diachronic and synchronic linguis- letter is different from the way I write entire region can be divided up into tics. Before Saussure, people mostly an e-mail message. This type of com- different subregions. A subregion is did diachronic linguistic studies, parison is called diaphasic. where people speak a certain way, for which focused on linguistic changes example, using a certain word for over time. Saussure introduced syn- RH: So would “diaphasic” be something that is referred to by a dif- chronic linguistics on a large scale, so equivalent to “register”? ferent word in another part of the same it no longer compared different region. The line that can be drawn periods in the history of a language, Well, the term register is more tra- between the two subregions is called but focused on the way a language ditional and always assumes a clear- the isogloss. On one side, for example, worked at a particular moment in cut hierarchy (starting from the top at people pronounce the Spanish letter ll time. Thus, when you consider a lan- the high register, then going down to like the lli in “million,” and on the guage at a particular moment in time, a normal or neutral register, and from other side, they pronounce it another you are doing a synchronic study, that there down to registers such as way (for example, like the y in is, of the same time. When you com- familiar, slang, and vulgar). When “canyon” or the g in “prestige”). The pare different periods, you are doing you talk about diaphasic, you can lines that separate the areas where the a diachronic study. focus on a whole range of factors. letter ll is pronounced two different Later, following the diachronic and Who am I talking to, in what situa- ways are called isoglosses. Similarly, synchronic models, other terms were tion, and in what medium am I in Colombia, for example, there are introduced. For example, when a lin- speaking or writing? It is a combina- areas where people still use the word guistic comparison is made among tion of factors and has no hierarchy. aguacate for “avocado,” and other different varieties or different dialects When you talk about registers you areas of the country, such as in Pasto, (dialects in the sense of linguistic are immediately placing them ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 49 An Interview with Reinhold Werner Continued into a hierarchy. That is, a neutral types of texts. We write certain things terms are not unambiguous. I must register is better than a vulgar reg- in a particular style and that helps us maintain the legal language even ister, although, of course, a low or recognize immediately what type of though the other person may not vulgar register may be very appro- message it is. For example, a business understand it right away. In this case, priate in certain situations, much letter is written in a particular style, the target audience has the task of more so than a neutral register. If you and if we change its register, it is no trying to decipher it. It depends a lot want to insult someone, you often use longer a business letter and we do not on the situation, but there are cases a vulgar register. But when you talk achieve our objective. Thus, with where I cannot lower the degree of about registers you are always every type of text there is always a precision, and therefore must write making an assumption that one reg- tradition in the way things are formu- using difficult language. ister is better than another, and you lated. If I don’t follow that tradition, I also somewhat confuse diastratic and may also cause comprehension prob- RH: Tell me about the people you diaphasic factors. lems because the person I am were able to talk to at the ATA con- addressing will say, what the heck is ference. What impressions have you RH: I am asking you about this pre- this? They won’t identify the type of come away with? cisely because translators face this message. There is almost always a a lot here. We are often required to struggle between a desire for ease of Several impressions. The group use a register (at least that’s how comprehension and a desire for accu- there was very heterogenous: different it’s called here within the transla- racy. If I lower the register, I may also ages, different countries, and different tion industry), and are told to “keep reduce the accuracy. There is a cer- professional levels. I met people who the register at a very low educa- tain vocabulary that is appropriate for were completely bilingual, who spoke tional level.” There is this notion speaking accurately about certain two languages with a rich vocabulary. out there that the reader has a very realities: scientific terminology, tech- I also met people who clearly had low level of knowledge. We see that nical terminology, legal, or adminis- problems in both languages. They people often write in an English trative terminology. If I change the came from different professional envi- that lacks formality. Writing is vocabulary used for a more common ronments. There were legal transla- reduced to the lowest level, much one simply because I am afraid tors, commercial translators, and lower—many of us believe—than someone won’t understand me, then I interpreters, who, of course, have dif- what we feel Spanish should be run the risk of not calling things by ferent experiences, focuses, and dif- written in. their name. As a result, the message ferent concepts and ways of working. becomes more vague. I noticed that people showed a lot of There you have it. One must also The translator has a great respon- interest, especially during my second distinguish between social factors sibility that also includes the task of talk. There was a lot of feedback and and situational factors... trying to transmit a message that, to reaction, and many people came up to the extent possible, will be under- ask questions. RH: And educational factors... stood at the target audience’s com- I learned quite a bit about the prehension level. On the other hand, world of North American translators And educational factors, and the target audience also has a job. and about their working conditions. many others. Because, of course, it Your reader or listener will some- The other experience was just being may be fine for you to use the lan- times have to make an effort to here in this country, a place I’ve trav- guage of a particular social group to understand the message. For eled very little in. This is my second make yourself understood, but that example, I must write legal texts visit, and it is quite different from does not automatically mean you using legal language, even though both Europe and other countries I’ve have to speak in a less formal style, legal terminology causes problems. been to. So it’s been useful for get- although you can. In any case, it may But if I eliminate the legal terms and ting rid of some prejudices, both pos- not be a style that your target audi- replace them with terms from itive and negative. Also, American ence uses. When all is said and done, everyday language, they are no hospitality is tremendous. The way it depends on what you’re writing. longer precise. As a result, I may people interact is very pleasant. In There are also standards for different create legal problems, because the short, I really enjoyed the conference.
50 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 It was very well organized. And also Werner has published extensively in Peru). Contact: reinhold.werner@ the way you and ATA President Tom the areas of languages in contact, lex- phil.uni-augsburg.de. West have treated me has been phe- icography, and lexicology. He holds a nomenal. A very friendly atmos- Ph.D. in romance philology from the Notes phere, both down-to-earth and University of Salzburg and a 1. The original Spanish-language upbeat. It’s a lot less formal than in “Habilitation” degree (a second doc- version of this interview was tran- Germany, and so people get to know toral degree that is earned after a scribed by Stella Acelas Chao and each other on a much more personal Ph.D. at many European universities) published in the February 2002 level, which makes one’s stay enjoy- in romance philology and applied lin- issue of Intercambios, the quar- able. Also, the experience of talking guistics from the University of terly newsletter of ATA’s Spanish to people of different origins, all Erlangen-Nuremberg. He is a corre- Language Division. working here, and having the same sponding member of the Academia interests. It was a great experience.... Colombiana de la Lengua and the 2. While Sunday is the traditional Academia Peruana de la Lengua. He day of rest in the Christian world, Reinhold Werner is a professor of is also the director of the journal Friday is the day of rest and prayer applied linguistics in the Department Lebende Sprachen (Berlin/Munich, for Muslims (the Juma'a), and the of Romance Languages at the Germany) and the book series Jewish sabbath is on Saturday. University of Augsburg, Germany. He Aspectos de Lingüística Aplicada Note that the words for Saturday in is also the director of the university’s (Frankfurt am Main/Madrid), and is Italian and Spanish are sábato and Foreign Language Center and its on the editorial boards of the jour- sábado, respectively, which derive Instituto de Investigaciones sobre nals Revista de Lexicografía (La from the Hebrew word ‰abbÇt. España y América Latina. Professor Coruña, Spain) and Lexis (Lima,
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The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 51 The Onionskin By Chris Durban
The Onionskin is a client education column launched by the ITI Bulletin (a publication of the U.K.’s Institute of Translation and Interpreting) in 1996. Comments and leads for future columns are very welcome; please include full contact details. Contact: [email protected] or fax +33 1 43 87 70 45.
The Emperor’s New Signs
eijing’s Forbidden City ranks appeared genuinely grateful for the across all media, at least in Austria. In high on the list of must-sees for feedback and assured us that correc- the past, literary reviews and feature B tourists in the People’s Republic tive action would be taken. articles about authors whose work of China, attracting some 10 million In 2001, the American Express appears in translation have frequently visitors a year. Restoration of this Foundation made grants totaling neglected to credit translators who make huge site, with its unique historical $29.7 million in 33 countries. By the texts assessible to new readers. and cultural treasures, is still under ensuring that signs displayed at all The case began in 1999, when way, funded in part by generous cor- restored sites convey clear, easily translator Werner Richter tuned into a porate donors from around the world. understandable messages, it will rein- literary program on Austria’s then One such sponsor is the American force the impact of these outlays and state-owned broadcasting company Express Foundation, an active partner link the company’s name and logo to ORF. The show featured “his” author, since 1987. Grants from the founda- a quality product in all ways. U.S. writer T. Coraghessan Boyle. tion have been used for restoration The broadcast lasted 44 minutes proper, as well as for the erection of Japanese Police Spell It Out and included several longish musical over 150 plaques and maps in several for Hooligans interludes, says Richter, but also “12 languages (invaluable aids for visitors As Japan and Korea readied for an minutes of readings from two of my seeking background and context). onslaught of foreign soccer fans at translations.” Yet the radio station Yet at least one English-language the FIFA World Cup, a BBC World neglected to cite his name in the final panel at the Ti Shun Tang (“Hall of Service report indicated that local credits listing narrators, producers, State Satisfaction”) raises as many police were honing crowd manage- technicians, and other contributors. questions as it answers. The Empress ment skills with a particular eye on When challenged, it added insult to Dowager Cian lived here and concu- rowdy U.K. hooligans. If things got injury by denying any obligation to bines were relegated to the east side really rough, martial arts would be do so. room, but out in the courtyard stands used, reported the BBC journalist. With the backing of the Austrian “a giant crystal stone that is pregnant But police officers had also been Association of Literary Translators with the open and aboveboard equipped with giant signs reading (in (Uebersetzergemeinschaft) and, sub- meaning”—a sure sign of a non-native English) “We are the police. Stop that sequently, the Austrian Collection speaker at work. When we contacted immediately.” Society and German Media Workers’ the American Express Foundation, a While the signs were, by all Union, Mr. Richter filed a suit against spokeswoman assured us that this accounts, correctly spelled and punc- ORF. The case then proceeded was the first time anyone had pointed tuated, the concept is said to have through the courts, ending with a out the problem. Ten million visitors triggered “derision” among for- Supreme Court ruling (GzOGH a year? mused The Onionskin— eigners who saw the panels in the 29.1.2002, 4Ob293/01v) rejecting all although, of course, most domestic run-up to the games. Another cross- objections made by the ORF lawyers visitors would not be fluent in cultural divide? over the course of the lawsuit, and English. After all, how many confirming that Werner Richter European and North American visi- Austrian Supreme Court Upholds should indeed have been named as an tors to world heritage sites would be Nairobi Principles author/copyright holder in the broad- capable of judging signs in Chinese, A recent ruling by the Austrian cast. Mr. Richter is delighted, as is assuming this was available? Supreme Court upholds translators’ the Austrian Association of Literary Signs at restored sites are usually rights to be considered authors of the Translators. “We are confident that translated locally, said our contact, texts they produce, as provided under the respect it expresses for our cre- then reviewed by “someone who the 1976 Nairobi Convention. The ative work will have a long-awaited speaks that language; who under- ruling makes it unlawful to quote positive effect on journalists and stands the nuances involved.” This from literary translations without authors writing or reporting about was obviously not the case at the Hall naming the translator, and will have translated literature in the Austrian of State Satisfaction. The foundation repercussions for translated literature media,” said the association.
52 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 The ruling has only national value that in countries where censorship is English speakers on the job, one at present, since copyright law is dif- an issue, it is generally the commis- American and one British, we ferent in every country. Indeed, the sioning publisher’s responsibility to thought we had covered all the text of the decision (available from ensure that texts comply with restric- bases,” she told The Onionskin. UeG at [email protected], fax tive legislation before ordering a The text speaks for itself, demon- +43-1-524 6435) refers explicitly to translation (and certainly before pub- strating that native speaker status on the relevant German law under which lishing it). its own is not enough to create trans- the case would have had a different lations that flow, or, it would appear, outcome. German translators and Bumpy Brochure for Airport Link even grammatically correct texts. their lawyers have, however, already Some skewed translations are Autobus Oberbayern (info@ challenged this assessment. In any incomprehensible, others silly, and autobusoberbayern.de) plans to cor- case, it is viewed by many as a posi- still others simply awkward: a rect mistakes in future reprints. With tive development for the status of the reminder that whoever produced the an initial print run of 100,000, that translation profession worldwide. text was not up to the job. could be a while. Autobus Oberbayern’s brochure Turkish Judge Throws the Book for travelers taking the Lufthansa Callow Cowboy, Lusty Briton at Acar Airport Bus to and from Munich’s On May 30 an opinion piece in the On May 16, an Istanbul judge city center is a case in point. Financial Times, the U.K.’s leading upheld a fine of €1,700 on Nermin Printed in the airline’s trademark financial daily, took U.S. President Acar for her translation of Serge orange and blue, this well-designed George W. Bush to task for his insen- Bramly’s La terreur dans le boudoir. leaflet pitches an extension of the bus sitivity in matters cross-cultural. Acar expressed surprise and dismay company’s offering: service now As part of a whirlwind tour of at the ruling. “I have lost faith in jus- starts at 5:10 a.m. and runs through to Europe to rally support for U.S. poli- tice,” she told The Onionskin. 9:45 p.m. cies among allies, President Bush vis- The novel was originally published Unfortunately, the translation, ited Paris and WWII landing beaches in French by Editions Grasset. Inspired purchased from an unidentified in Normandy in May. He also joined loosely by the life of the Marquis de agency in Munich, reveals far less newly re-elected French President Sade, it was confiscated by the Turkish attention to detail. Jacques Chirac for a joint news con- authorities on the grounds that it A bold heading on the front page ference, only to stumble into a pee- “arouses sexual desire in readers.” announces “Now longer available.” vish exchange with an American As this Onionskin went to press, (Jetzt noch länger für Sie da). Inside, reporter who had the temerity (some Nermin Acar and her lawyer were con- awkward phrasing is compounded by might say courtesy) to ask Mr. Chirac sidering an appeal. Yet, even if they decidedly shaky verb tenses: “For a question in French. win this case, they are not out of the years the airport bus is the most com- “He memorizes four words and woods. On the same day, the court fortable way to reach the airport.” plays like he’s all intercontinental,” postponed another hearing, this time A company spokeswoman claims Mr. Bush sneered to the assembled for charges regarding Acar’s translation the translation was produced by an press corps. “Reporters shuffled their of Alina Reyes’ Lilith. Once again, a American who has been living in notebooks and looked at their feet,” fine was to be imposed for her produc- Germany for two years. His services noted Gerard Barber, “embarrassed by tion of what it deems a similarly racy were purchased through a local trans- this spectacle of an American presi- text. When the publisher failed to show lation agency, whose name she dent jeering at a fellow American for up in court, a new hearing was sched- declined to give. This initial text was speaking their host’s language.” The uled for September 10. then run past a British tour guide for notoriously language-sensitive French At Editions Grasset, Foreign a second opinion before printing. Our press picked up on the gaffe and gave Rights Manager Marie-Hélène d’Ovidio contact insisted that non-natives in Mr. Bush a rougher ride than, say, reiterated her support for Acar her company had not introduced any ([email protected]), noting changes on their own. “With two Continued on p.57
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 53 Dictionary Reviews Compiled by Boris Silversteyn
Silversteyn is chair of the ATA Dictionary Review Committee.
Elsevier’s Dictionary of Agriculture number(s) of the English equiva- hyphenated when they shouldn’t be, Authors: lent(s) in the basic table. and not hyphenated when they should T. Tosheva, M. Djarova, and B. Delijska Special signs and abbreviations be); “apprentice ship” (two words); Publisher: are limited to the italics d, f, r, and l in and “escale v” (= to climb [a ladder]. Elsevier Science B.V. the Basic Table for the German, Do the Brits say “escale a ladder?” I (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) French, Russian, and Latin equiva- don’t think so.); “desintoxication”is Publication Date: lents, respectively, of the English neither U.S. nor British; “draw-bar January 1, 2000 terms: f (feminine), m (masculine), n horse power” instead of “drawbar ISBN: (neuter), fpl (feminine plural), mpl horsepower”; “drive shaft” instead 0-444-50005-7 (masculine plural), and npl (neuter of “driveshaft.” Price: plural) to indicate gender of nouns; v Then there are examples of just $181.50 in the U.S. to indicate a verb; and US to indicate pure sloppiness: “alcaline earth (slightly cheaper online) American usage (sometimes the metal,” but “alkaline metal”; “disc Available from: entries basically consist of British ridger,” but “disk drill”; “sheferd’s Local bookstores or online spelling and usage, and, in most purse”; “allelopathic, d Allelopathie Number of pages: cases, the U.S. equivalent is not f, f allélopathie f, r “fkktkjgfnbz” 777, hardcover given). Adjectives are indicated by (the headword is an adjective [not Number of entries: adj (although, there are many that are labeled as such], and the “equiva- 9,389 terms with 4,000+ not). I did not see any adverbs. lents” are nouns); “balance; equilib- cross-references Synonyms and abbreviations are sep- rium, d Saldo n; Bilanz f, f solde m; Presentation: arated by semicolons, and two kinds balance f, r cfkmgj n; ,fkfcy m” (the High-quality, semi-glossy paper, Times of brackets are used: […] indicates concept of the headword “equilib- Roman and Times Cyrillic fonts that the information can be included rium” is not reflected in the equiva- or left out, and (…) indicates that the lents, but only in the economic Reviewed by: information does not form an integral meaning of “balance”). No distinc- Ted Crump part of the expression, but helps to tion is made between Russian “e” and clarify it. “=”; hence, “caw calf” (cow calf?); his dictionary follows the usual The dictionary attempts to cover “heifer,” r “ntkrf,” not “ n=krf,” and Elsevier format, with the first all “fields relating to agriculture: “ xthyjptv,” not “ xthyjp=v.” T part, the Basic Table, listing agronomy, zootechnics, veterinary Some words that one might expect English terms alphabetically in bold medicine, phytobiology, microbi- to find, such as “wether” (castrated type and numbered consecutively, fol- ology, botany, soil chemistry, male sheep), “shoat,” “mare,” “shear” lowed by their German, French, and forestry, mechanization, agricultural as a verb, and “side-delivery rake” are Russian equivalents. The names of hydromechanics, melioration, organi- absent, while “black,” “bottle,” plants, animals, epizootic diseases, zation and economics of agricultural “round,” “west,” and others are just and pests are also given in Latin. production, mathematical statistics, taking up space. Chemical formulas are mentioned meteorology, etc.” Assuming one could live with with compounds that are used in fertil- It becomes immediately obvious these deficiencies, does the dictionary izers, herbicides, fungicides, and when one opens up the dictionary, fill a gap and provide words not insecticides. English synonyms appear which would more properly be called found elsewhere, and does it have as cross-references to the main entries a glossary because it only lists equiv- enough useful entries to justify in their proper alphabetical order. The alents and has no explanatory mate- shelling out two bills? For an article second part of the dictionary, the rial, that the authors’ command of in German on the importance of loca- indices, contains separate alphabetical English leaves something to be tion, fertilization, and irrigation in indices of the German, French, and desired: “after-ripening (of a berry farming, it actually performed Russian terms, with the number(s) fol- grains)”; “apple-tree” and “snow- quite well. It has about 180 entries lowing the term referring to the storm” (many English words are beginning with “Boden...,” but only
54 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 four beginning with “Beeren.…” I Price: the starting point, it includes “grand was especially impressed that it con- $215.50 jury,” and translates it into German as tained the word “Durchwurzel- ISBN: Geschworene, die als Anklagekammer barkeit.” The dictionary’s main rivals 0-444-81785-9 fungieren, which can, in turn, be in German are the Pons English- found in the list of German terms at German, German-English Dictionary Reviewed by: the back of the book. This is a little of Agriculture (1992, 383 pp., $95) Tom West silly, however, since Geschworene, and the German-English Dictionary die als Anklagekammer fungieren is of Agriculture, Forestry, and Horti- lsevier’s new legal dictionary fol- not really a German legal term and culture (1998, 731 pp., $156.95). lows the same format that is would never appear in a German Unfortunately, I do not own these, so E familiar to users of other Elsevier legal text. It is simply an attempt to it was not possible to compare them. dictionaries. A list of English words is translate a U.S. concept into a lan- On the other hand, I never expect to translated into several other languages guage where it does not exist. The get by with just one dictionary, and (in this case, French, German, Dutch, flip side of this problem is that a term the Elsevier, despite its faults, could and Spanish). Each entry is preceded such as befreiter Vorerbe, a concept contain the term that would make the by a number. At the back of the book is which exists only in German law, is difference in finishing a job or an alphabetical list of terms in French, not included in the dictionary at all. spending hours researching. another in German, another in Dutch, Given the basic problem with the I do have Ussovsky’s Compre- and another in Spanish, again with format of the dictionary, how does it hensive Russian-English Agricultural each term preceded by a number. To fare with the terms it does include? Dictionary (1967, 470 pp., $110), a translate from German into English, First of all, it is important to note that later edition of which was consulted for example, you look up a term in the although the book includes 15,164 by the present authors, and can report German list at the back of the book, terms (they are numbered so that it is that Ussovsky and the Elsevier com- find its number, and then look for that easy to tell exactly how many there plement each other. number in the English list. are), this number is somewhat mis- In addition to being unwieldy for leading because the dictionary translators who primarily use the includes quite a few basic terms that Ted Crump is from Bethesda, Maryland, book to translate into English, this are not specific to legal language. and has worked as a federal translator at format also strikes me as not very Examples include “zero,” “house,” “to the National Institutes of Health since well suited for a law dictionary. Car be,” “bed,” “word,” “life,” “woman,” 1980. He is the author of Translation and Interpretation in the Federal Government, parts, for example, are pretty much “size,” “Christmas,” and on and on. a survey of foreign language activity in the same in France and the U.S.; they Filler words like these have no place in 80 federal agencies. He served on the simply have French names in France an expensive, specialized reference ATA Board of Directors from 1983 to and English names in America. Law, work. Another quarrel I have with the 1986, and was editor of the ATA on the other hand, is not the same in English terms is that articles are con- Chronicle and Capital Translator. Contact: [email protected]. France (or Spain or Germany, or sistently omitted from phrases. Thus, Holland or Belgium) as in the United for example, we find “in name of law,” States. The European countries are when what they mean is “in the name civil law countries, whereas the U.S. of the law,” and “capacity to make Elsevier’s Legal Dictionary (and the U.K., for that matter) are will,” when the correct phrase is Authors: common law countries. This means “capacity to make a will.” This limits D.C. van Hoof, D. Verbruggen, and that there are all sorts of legal terms the dictionary’s usefulness to a C.H. Stoll (and legal concepts) that appear in non-native speaker of English who Publisher: one system, but not the other. For might use it to translate into English. Elsevier example, there are no “grand juries” These problems aside, the transla- Publication Date: in civil law countries. Because the tions proposed for the English terms 2001 Elsevier dictionary uses English as are generally quite good. For ➡
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 55 Dictionary Reviews Continued
example, the phrase “circumstances that phrase means “vicarious liability.” Publisher: beyond control” (it should read: “cir- Interestingly enough, the word-for- William S. Hein & Co., Inc. cumstances beyond one’s control”) is word French equivalent of responsabil- Publication Date: translated into authentic French idad por hechos ajenos, which appears 1993 legalese as circonstances indépen- in French as responsabilité du fait ISBN: dantes de la volonté (and not the d’autrui, is correctly translated as 0-89941-847-3 calqued circonstances au-delà du con- “vicarious liability” in the book. One Price: trôle) and into authentic Spanish as wonders if the Spanish translations $45 circunstancias ajenas a la voluntad, were not as carefully checked as those although in German one would have for the other languages. Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal preferred to see aus nicht zu vertre- One final point about the dictionary Abbreviations Reversed tenden Gründen. Likewise, “court of will be of interest to Dutch translators. Author: competent jurisdiction” is accurately They should note that unlike the Igor I. Kavass translated as zuständiges Gericht, tri- Dutch-English legal dictionary that Publisher: bunal compétent, bevoegde rechtbank, most of them use (Juridisch lexicon,by William S. Hein & Co., Inc. tribunal competente, and not as erro- Aard van den End), which states in its Publication Date: neous calqued phrases such as Gericht preface that it intentionally omits all 1994 von kompetenter Zuständigkeit or tri- Dutch legal terminology that is spe- ISBN: bunal de jurisdicción competente. On cific to Belgium, the Elsevier dic- 0-89941-874-0 the other hand, there are a few cases tionary was written by Belgians, and as where accurate foreign terms are such, distinguishes between Dutch and Reviewed by: translated into faulty English. For Belgian usage. For example, if we look Tom West example, the Gegenstand, objet, up the term “court of first instance,” objeto, voorwerp of a contract appears the Elsevier tells us that it is called he first of the two books as “object” of the contract, when it is arrondissementsrechtbank in the reviewed here is called actually called the “subject” or the Netherlands, but rechtbank van eerste TBieber’s Dictionary of Legal “subject matter” of the contract. aanleg in Belgium. Similarly, the entry Abbreviations, and it does just what Similarly, la partie la plus diligente, for “labour court” indicates that the the title suggests it will do. If you or the meest gerede partij, is translated Dutch say raad van de arbeid, while come across an abbreviation in an as the “most diligent party,” when in the Belgians say arbeidsrechtbank. English-language legal document, fact, the correct translation is “the first “Postal giro account” is postrekening you can look it up in here and find out party to take action.” in Belgium and girorekening in the what it stands for. Thus, for example, The dictionary’s real weak spot is its Netherlands. the dictionary reveals that “Pa. W.C. translation of English terms into The bottom line is that this dic- Bd. Dec.” stands for “Pennsylvania Spanish. For example, “go-slow strike” tionary contains many excellent Workmen’s Compensation Board is translated into Spanish both correctly entries. However, it is very expensive Decisions.” (operación tortuga) and incorrectly (over $200), contains only around The terms being abbreviated need (huelga de brazos caídos, which is 15,000 entries, some of which are not be English—the book includes actually a “sit-down strike” and not the filler, and does include some mis- Latin abbreviations used in legal same thing as a “go-slow strike”). takes. Unless money is no concern, I writing, such as “d.v.p.” (decessit Similarly, “case law” is translated cor- would stick to using this dictionary at vita patris), which it translates as rectly into Spanish as jurisprudencia, your local law library. “died during his father’s life,” and but the Spanish entry also contains the “et ux.” (et uxor.), translated as “and incorrect translation derecho común Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal wife.” Nor do the terms need to be (the latter meaning “civil law”). “Strict Abbreviations from the U.S. For example, we find liability” is translated into Spanish as Author: “E.R.P.N.” (Eastern Region Public responsabilidad por hechos ajenos, but Mary Miles Prince Notice), an abbreviation from
56 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Nigeria, and “Kilk.,” which stands also be helpful because abbreviations or Int’l B.J. Because translators are for “Kilkerran’s Scotch Court of are not always logical and therefore not called upon to abbreviate terms Session Decisions (1738-52)” and cannot always be guessed; for like this, but only to recognize abbre- “Ker. L.T.,” the Kerala Law Times example, the dictionary reveals that viations when they see them, transla- from India! Examples such as the “L.A.B.” stands for “Los Angeles Bar tors will not be interested in this latter suggest that the book will be Bulletin,” when one would have dictionary. The “forward” dictionary immensely useful even in an age expected “L.A.B.B.” of abbreviations is the one for them, where we can often put an abbrevia- The book appears to be over- not the “reverse” one. tion into the Google search engine whelmingly complete, but I did notice and find out its expansion in one or one odd thing. The book includes two hits. Obviously, some less “LAFTA” (Latin American Free Trade Thomas L. West, the president of ATA, is common legal abbreviations may not Association), which I have never an attorney and translator in Atlanta, turn up on the Internet at all, and heard of, but does not include Georgia. After practicing corporate and international law for five years, he some of them consist of only one “NAFTA” (North American Free founded Intermark Language Services letter, such as “L.,” which Bieber’s Trade Association), which presumably Corporation, a translation company spe- Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations most people doing business with Latin cializing in legal translation. He has a informs us can stand for “Lansing’s America are familiar with. Otherwise, bachelor’s degree in French, a master’s Select Cases in Chancery; Lansing however, all of the standard legal degree in German, and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Supreme Court Reports; Laotian; abbreviations I spot-checked were He has taught courses on French legal Law; Lawson; Liber; Limited; included: U.S.C.A. (United States translation at Georgia State University, as Louisiana Reports.” Clearly, the Code Annotated), Am. Jur. (American well as courses on German legal transla- Internet would not have been much Jurisprudence), F.2d (Federal tion for the German Translators Forum in use in trying to determine what the Reporter, Second Series), and so on. Chicago, and Spanish legal translation at the Centro de Estudios de Lingüística letter L stands for. It is also important The other book, Bieber’s Aplicada in Mexico City and the Colegio to remember that time is money in Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations de Traductores Públicos in Buenos translation. Translators do not get Reversed, tells you how to abbreviate Aires. He is ATA-accredited (French-, paid extra just because it took them legal publications. For example, the Spanish-, and German-into-English). one hour to track down an abbrevia- International Bar Journal can be Contact: [email protected]. tion on the Internet. The book will abbreviated as Int. Bar. J., Int’l Bar J.,
The Onionskin Continued from page 53
... U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who seeking to express friendly “envy” of It pays is known to “speak French” and has his Gallic counterpart’s performance gone so far as to address the French on the economic front. Unfortunately, to keep your listings updated legislature in their language. his (mis)choice of words made for a in ATA’s online Yet even the Francophile Mr. Blair slightly ungrammatical “I lust after Directory of Translation and would appear to fare better with pre- Lionel, in all ways.” But French TV pared speeches than with off-the-cuff commentators gave him the benefit of Interpreting Services and comments. When former French the doubt. At least he tried. Directory of Language Prime Minister Lionel Jospin was riding high in opinion polls, Mr. Blair Services Companies went on the record with a cheerful Thanks to Bob Blake, Per Dohler, Steve (www.atanet.org) “j’ai envie de Lionel dans tous les Dyson, Christie Liu, and Nick Rosenthal. façons.” The U.K. prime minister was
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 57 The Translation Inquirer By John Decker Address your queries and responses to The Translation Inquirer, 112 Ardmoor Avenue, Danville, Pennsylvania 17821, or fax them to (570) 275-1477. E-mail address: [email protected]. Please make your submissions by the 25th of each month to be included in the next issue. Generous assistance from Per Dohler, proofreader, is gratefully acknowledged.
lexander Maliarevsky, writing aplicació correcta de la legislació, (G-E 7-02/6) A little common for the Planeta Internet online especialment la tributaria, del seu word can trip you up horribly if it is A newspaper of May 27, 2002, put lloc de destí i requereixen el nomena- used regionally in a manner that his finger on a translation problem that ment d’un representant fiscal.” presents confusion. In this case, it is goes a long way toward explaining the Catalan people, arise! Here’s bait for the nickel-and-dime word “nach,” as tensions that dominated much of the you at last! the Austrians use it. An interview was late 20th century. Even if you’re not a (E-F 7-02/2) Good French is being transcribed, and the sentence Russian translator or interpreter, you’ll needed for Agony Aunt, a term that ran thus: “Alles mitgeholfen, alles hat instantly see the significance of this arose on ProZ, and which, it was com- zusammen geholfen, die Tochter und one: the lack of a Russian word for monly agreed, meant a correspondent ich haben mit ihm nach alles getan, privacy. Sometimes, Maliarevsky in a journal who deals with personal dass er wieder gesund worden ist.” Is writes, the word-combination of xfc- problems. it to be understood that this is an nyfz ;bpym (private life) is used. But (E-Pt 7-02/3) The English text equivalent to “dann?” it goes beyond that. The English word reported that so-and-so was a (I-E 7-02/7) The following list of implies ytghbrjcyjdtyyfz xfcnyfz Fulbright senior fellow and guest kitchen equipment included “fuochi” ;bpym (inviolable private life), some- scholar at a certain prestigious institu- and “bollitori,” which this ProZ thing that was not allowed either in the tion. A ProZ asker would like to know translator found troublesome to visu- Age of Empire or the Age of Ideology what would be good continental alize. The full list: “strumenti di in Russian history. Even today, says Portuguese for these terms. cucina: -fuochi, bollitori, strumenti Maliarevsky, if you’re Russian, your e- (F-E 7-02/4) Here, evidently, is a di disossatura.” mails and behavior while in the office case where the kids know more than (N-E 7-02/8) In a user manual for are not subject to anything remotely their elders. The phrase needing clari- medial files software, a Lantra-L resembling privacy. If you deal profes- fication and translation is “rhombe- talker found the manual stating that a sionally with Russian, be aware that oiseau,” and the outing which the search result is presented as thumb- you’re not alone when you sweat over youngsters enjoyed is described thus: nail images of eight of the objects or this word (Elizabeth Wilson gives etl- “Après avoir visité le Musée, les items found in the database. This is bytybt [solitude] in her Modern enfants fabriquent en atelier leur known as a “lysbord” in Norwegian. Russian Dictionary for English propre kazoo, rhombe-oiseau ou What’s the English? Speakers). Even if Russian is not your flûte de Pan qu’ils emportent à l’issue (R-E 7-02/9) Beach Bum reap- thing, this translation problem can de la séance.” A Lantra-L member pears at last, with a query about how long be food for thought when you would like to know. the architectural features of a consider the origins of the Cold War. (G-E 7-02/5) This ProZ correspon- building, however humble, can take dent provided optimal surrounding on human characteristics (in this case, [Abbreviations used in this contextual material for his query blindness). The trouble word in this column: CtÐCatalan; EÐEnglish; about “verauslagte umlagefähige sentence is gjlcktgjdfnsq, and he FÐFrench; GÐGerman; IÐItalian; Betriebskosten.” Here’s the overall finds it hard to apply, especially in NÐNorwegian; PtÐPortuguese; RÐRussian; quote: “Die unter dieser Position aus- English translation, to an inanimate SpÐSpanish; SwÐSwedish.] gewiesenen ‘Forderungen aus der object, as in this sentence: Rfvtyyst Grundstücksbewirtschaftung’ ljvf c ,jkmibvb pfcntrk=yysvb New Queries umfassen verauslagte umlagefähige jryfvb> f yt gjlcktgjdfnst lthtd- (Ct-E 7-02/1) Not an everyday Betriebskosten in Höhe von 43,5 tycrbt bp,eirb. There has to be a query, but an interesting one. A Mio. EUR und Mietforderungen über concise way to express what the dif- member of ProZ needs to know about 7,2 Mio. EUR. Vorauszahlungen der ference was between the rural and three troublesome words, “lloc de Mieter auf Betriebskosten mit 41,7 urban buildings’ fenestration. destí,” in the following business quo- Mio EURsind in Position V.3 (Sp-E 7-02/10) In a translation tation: “Aquestes inversions foranes ‘Verbindlichkeiten aus Grundstücks- referring to “edificios catalogadas s’han de veure emparades per una bewirtschaftung’ erfasst.” pos las Naciones Unidas,” a Lantra-L
58 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 member wondered whether they were (E-Sp 4-02/8) (outreach): This is mit der man die Ziegel einer Mauer listed or catalogued. No further refer- difficult, agrees Paul Sadur, but in his bedeckt (besonders um der Mauer ences followed that had to do with work with microfinance organizations, eine glatte Oberfläche zu geben).” cultural heritage, etc., and in any case, the word most often encountered is English needs a paraphrased rendi- the listing of such buildings is “extensión” and “extensiónista.” The tion, says Roger, something like: UNESCO’s responsibility. What is latter could refer to a person, such as a streetcar stations built in today’s involved here, and what would the university extension agent, but Google standard way, i.e., cement blocks cov- English be? provides us with both when used as ered with a stucco-like mixture of outreach. Eurodicautom provides sand, water, and plaster. Replies to Old Queries “programa de contacto” for street out- Nancy Thiele suggests rough- (E-G 5-02/2) (p-well): Maybe, reach program. casting or roughcast building style for says Zippy, the p might not refer to p- (G-E 5-02/3) (“Wangentisch”): “Putzbauweise.” Architect Otto type semiconductors, but rather for Nancy Thiele calls it a trestle table. Wagner typically left the steel uncov- potential. A potential well in this This is a table with two wide centered ered along with the overall cleaner solid-state context is “Potentialtopf” pedestals, one at either end. The lines of his building designs. They in German. Google revealed neither pedestals consist in part of thin yet were relatively lacking in ornamenta- p-well nor “p-Topf,” but both very broad boards, consistent with the tion compared with what came spellings are fairly common. notion of “Wange” as side wall. before, which was earlier in the 19th (E-Sp 4-02/7) (chapter, as in of an Zippy agrees with the above ren- century. The result was an innovative organization): Selma Benjamin thinks dering of trestle table. The way to overall appearance. To actually see that “sección” or “subgrupo” work search for equivalency, he says, is to the 1899 design of the Karlsplatz well for this, along with “división.” use Google to search for streetcar station depicted, one can go Paul Sadur is puzzled that there “Wangentisch” with trestle table in to www.wokalamps.com/infos/index. should be any reticence about using quotation marks. Photos are displayed asp?go=english/designer/wagner.asp. “capítulo” to indicate a subdivision of by furniture dealers and auction Now, what to do about the an organization. He saw it in relation houses and, from the pictures, appear Spanish? to “cooperativas de ahorro y crédito” to be precisely the same. (Sp-E 10-01/7) (“subdiario”): In (credit unions) in Peru. As a trial, he (G-Sp 5-02/4) (“Putzbauweise”): Paul Sadur’s opinion, a “diario” is a typed in “capítulos de la asociación” Roger Elmore can’t take it to the final journal or daybook. Robb’s Dictionary on www.google.com, and found step into Spanish, but can say that of Modern Business defines “subdi- numerous usages in several nations on rendered structure is off the mark. ario” as a subsidiary journal or spe- both sides of the Atlantic. “Capítulo” While living in Germany, he was able cial journal. This does not involve a is widely accepted, he believes. to learn a lot about German construc- second set of books. Randi Sanders notes that “sucursal” tion from a “Gipsermeister,” for implies a separate location from the whom “Putz” was something to be It was a pretty good month for the main branch or home office, particu- dealt with daily. Roger found this def- participation of readers. You helped larly in banking. Other words that might inition of “Putz” in Langenscheidt others, so if your contribution was fit just as well: “unidad, delegación, Großwörterbuch: “eine Mischung aus included, pat yourself on the back. oficina, departamento, o grupo.” Sand, Wasser, Gips oder Ähnlichem,
For Long-Term Planners Future Annual Conference Phoenix, Arizona Toronto, Canada Seattle, Washington Sites and Dates November 5-8, 2003 October 13-16, 2004 November 10-15, 2005
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 59 Humor and Translation By Mark Herman Herman is a librettist and translator. Submit items for future columns via e-mail to [email protected] or via snail mail to Mark Herman, 5748 W Brooks Rd., Shepherd, MI 48883-9202. Discussions of the translation of humor and examples thereof are preferred, but humorous anecdotes about translators, translations, and mistranslations are also welcome. Include copyright information and permission if relevant.
So Sorry!
mong the miseries of modern down.” Translation: “You’ve discov- Lords of Microsoft, devise.” life are the error messages ered another bug in our operating When living under absolute dicta- A inflicted on the public by com- system, you smart aleck, and for that torships, people often relieve their puter programmers. There is the mes- you are going to lose all your unsaved stress with humor, which, in this case, sage erroneous: “There has been an data.” And, finally, the message polite: takes the form of alternative error mes- error in connecting to your printer. “The application has committed a ter- sages. One type, reputedly from Japan, Shut down and restart.” Translation: minal error and your computer will be follows the Japanese haiku form of “Your printer is out of paper.” There is shut down. OK?” Translation: “Not three lines with five, seven, and five syl- the message impolite: “The applica- only will you lose all your unsaved lables, respectively. The most complete tion has committed a terminal error data, you will acquiesce to it, and to collection was submitted to me by Sally and your computer will be shut every other humiliation that we, the Lou Eaton and reads as follows:
Your file was so big. First snow, then silence. Three things are certain: It might be very useful. This thousand-dollar screen dies Death, taxes, and lost data. But now it is gone. So beautifully. Guess which has occurred.
The Web site you seek With searching comes loss You step in the stream, Cannot be located, but And the presence of absence: But the water has moved on. Countless more exist. “My Novel” not found. This page is not here.
Chaos reigns within. The Tao that is seen Out of memory. Reflect, repent, and reboot. Is not the true Tao until We wish to hold the whole sky, Order shall return. You bring fresh toner. But we never will.
Program aborting: Stay the patient course. Having been erased, Close all that you have worked on. Of little worth is your ire. The document you’re seeking You ask far too much. The network is down. Must now be retyped.
Windows NT crashed. A crash reduces Serious error. I am the Blue Screen of Death. Your expensive computer All shortcuts have disappeared. No one hears your screams. To a simple stone. Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
Yesterday it worked. Today it is not working. Windows is like that.
71 Star-GMBH Translation Technology Display www.star-transit.com 72 TRADOS Corporation Advertising 9 Superior Court of Arizona in and for www.trados.com Maricopa County, Arizona Index [email protected]
60 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 American Translators Association 43rd Annual Conference HYATT REGENCY HOTEL • ATLANTA, GEORGIA NOVEMBER 6 – NOVEMBER 9, 2002
Plan now to attend ATA’s Annual Conference. Join your colleagues for a rewarding experience in Atlanta, Georgia.
ATA’s 43rd Annual Conference will feature: • Over 150 educational sessions offering something for everyone; • The Job Exchange where individuals promote their services and companies meet translators and interpreters; • Over 50 exhibits featuring the latest publications, software, and services available; • Opportunities to network with over 1,600 translators and interpreters from throughout the U.S. and around the world; and • Much more!
The Registration Form and Preliminary Program will be mailed in July to all ATA members. The conference rates are listed below. As always, ATA members receive significant discounts.
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The Hyatt Regency Hotel, the host hotel, is conveniently located in downtown Atlanta at 265 Peachtree Street, NE. The hotel is 20 minutes from Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. Conference attendees can register at the discounted rate of $160 single, $165 double, $175 triple, and $185 quadruple plus tax per night. (Regency Club accommodations are offered at an additional charge of $35 per room based on availability.) This rate is good until October 15, 2002. The availability of guest rooms or the group rate cannot be guaranteed after that date. To make your hotel reservations, contact the Hyatt Regency at 1-866-333-8880 or 404-577-1234. Be sure to specify that you are attending the ATA Annual Conference.
Travel Arrangements
ATA once again offers the services of Stellar Access to help you with your travel arrangements. Through Stellar Access conference attendees are eligible for discounted air travel and rental cars. Call Stellar Access at 1-800-929-4242, and ask for ATA Group #505. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 858-805-6109; fax: 858-547-1711. A $30 ($35 from outside the U.S. and Canada) transaction fee will be applied to all tickets purchased by phone. Reservation hours: Monday-Friday 6:30am-5:00pm Pacific Time. A $15 transaction fee will be applied to all tickets purchased online. Go to www.stellaraccess.com and book your reservations from the convenience of your home or office anytime! First-time users must register and refer to Group #505.
Mark Your Calendar Today! November 6–9, 2002
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 61
Announcing
The Business of Translating & Interpreting Seminar Wyndham Boston Hotel Boston, Massachusetts ¥ Saturday, August 10, 2002
Join your colleagues in Boston on August 10th for a full day of in-depth sessions on the business end of translating and interpreting. All sessions will be in English and will be submitted for Continuing Education Credit for the States of California and Washington. A continental breakfast will be served.
Available Sessions Contracts and the Freelance Translator & Interpreter Courtney Searls-Ridge
The Translation Company Unveiled Leah Ruggiero
Market Segments and How to Pursue Them Beatriz Bonnet
Do's and Don'ts of Finding and Keeping Your Customers as a Freelance Interpreter Todd Burrell
Running Your T/I Business Out of Your Home Eta Trabing
Abstracts and speaker biographies can be found at www.atanet.org/business/abstracts.htm.
Early-Bird Registration Fees: ATA Members $165 Nonmembers $255
After August 2 and On-site: ATA Members $235 Nonmembers $330
Space is limited. For more information, contact ATA Headquarters at 703-683-6100 or visit the ATA website at www.atanet.org and click on the Business Seminar link on the homepage. (Direct link is www.atanet.org/business.)
A small block of rooms has been reserved at $169 single/double a night (plus tax) at the Wyndham Boston Hotel, located at 89 Broad Street, Boston, MA 02110. To reserve your hotel room, contact the Wyndham at (617) 556-0006. Be sure to mention that you are attending The ATA Business of Translating and Interpreting Seminar.
Complete the Registration Form on the next page to register today!
~ An ATA Professional Development Seminar ~ The Business of Translating & Interpreting Seminar Wyndham Boston Hotel ¥ Boston, Massachusetts ¥ August 10, 2002
REGISTRATION FORM
Name: ATA Member Number: First Name Middle Initial Last Name
Employer/School: (Only list employer or school if you want it to appear on your badge.)
Address: Street
City State/Province Zip/Postal Code Country
Telephone - Primary: Secondary:
Fax Number: E-mail Address:
SEMINAR REGISTRATION FEES: ATA Member Nonmember* Early-Bird (before August 2) $165 $255 $______On-site (after August 2) $235 $330 $______*Individuals who join ATA when registering for this seminar qualify for the ATA member registration fee. Please contact ATA or visit the ATA website for a membership application.
TOTAL PAYMENT: $______
Cancellations received in writing by August 2, 2002, are eligible for a refund. Refunds will not be honored after August 2. A $25 administrative fee will be applied to all refunds.
_ Check/Money Order: Please make payable, through a U.S. bank in U.S. funds, to American Translators Association. _ Credit Card: Charge my _ American Express _ VISA _ MasterCard _ Discover Card No. __/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/ Expiration Date:______Name on Card: Signature:
Please send payment and completed form to: American Translators Association, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314. OR, if paying by credit card, please fax completed form to: (703) 683-6122.
_____Please check here if you require special accessibility or assistance. (Attach a sheet with your requirements.)
For more information about The Business of T&I Seminar or ATA membership, please visit the ATA website at www.atanet.org or contact ATA at (703) 683-6100 or [email protected].
An accreditation exam sitting will be held on Sunday, August 11. This will be a standard exam, not business- specific. To register, please visit the ATA website to obtain the Accreditation Examination Registration Form.
~An ATA Professional Development Seminar~ ATA Accreditation Exam Information
Upcoming Exams
California Georgia Texas Italy September 15, 2002 November 9, 2002 August 31, 2002 September 20, 2002 San Francisco Atlanta Houston Bologna Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: August 30, 2002 October 25, 2002 August 16, 2002 September 6, 2002
Colorado Michigan December 7, 2002 The Netherlands September 14, 2002 August 31, 2002 Austin September 28, 2002 Boulder Novi Registration Deadline: Utrecht Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: November 22, 2002 Registration Deadline: August 30, 2002 August 16, 2002 September 13, 2002
Florida Minnesota Utah August 25, 2002 September 22, 2002 September 28, 2002 Miami Minneapolis Salt Lake City Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: August 9, 2002 September 6, 2002 September 13, 2002
Please direct all inquiries regarding general accreditation information to ATA Headquarters at (703) 683-6100. Registration for all accreditation exams should be made through ATA Headquarters. All sittings have a maximum capacity and admission is based on the order in which registrations are received. Forms are available from the ATA website or from Headquarters.
Congratulations Congratulations to the English into Japanese English into Spanish The Active Member Corresponding following people who Yoshiko Yamazaki Cristina Estrada Review Committee is Oliveira de Azemeis, have successfully Kenmore, WA Madrid, Spain pleased to grant active Portugal completed or corresponding accreditation exams: member status to: English into Portuguese Juan A. Iglesias Aleksandar Petrovic Maria L. Alves Barcelona, Spain Active Feltpost, Denmark French into English Kearny, NJ Jacqueline M. Eparvier Ann H. Willeford Joaquin Moya Orlando, FL Atlanta, GA Francisco M. Guimaraes Madrid, Spain Lisbon, Portugal Kevin S. Hendzel Portuguese into English Blanca Olivié Arlington, VA Christiana H. Aguiar English into Russian Madrid, Spain New York, NY Irina N. Dyatlovskaya Debra Kramasz Port Costa, CA Ricardo Garcia Pérez Coon Rapids, MN Carolyn D. Quintella Madrid, Spain Los Angeles, CA Vyacheslav V. Nadvorets Georganne Weller Houston, TX Arturo Porras Mexico City, Mexico Spanish into English Chicago, IL Ivan Gutierrez Natalya V. Sciarini-Gouri Tampa, FL Guilford, CT
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 65 ATA Chapters, Affiliated Groups, and Other Groups
ATA Chapters New York Circle of Translators (NYCT) Upper Midwest Translators and Atlanta Association of Interpreters P.O. Box 4051, Grand Central Station Interpreters Association (UMTIA) and Translators (AAIT) New York, NY 10163-4051 Coordinator, P.O. Box 12172 Tel: (212) 334-3060 Minnesota Translation Laboratory Atlanta, GA 30355 [email protected] • www.nyctranslators.org 218 Nolte Center Tel: (770) 587-4884 315 Pillsbury Drive SE [email protected] • www.aait.org Northeast Ohio Translators Minneapolis, MN 55455 Association (NOTA) Tel: (612) 625-3096 • Fax: (612) 624-4579 Carolina Association of Translators 1963 E Sprague Road [email protected] and Interpreters (CATI) Seven Hills, OH 44131 318 Bandock Drive Tel: (440) 526-2365 • Fax: (440) 717-3333 Utah Translators and Interpreters Durham, NC 27703 [email protected] Association (UTIA) Tel: (919) 577-0840 • Fax: (775) 244-2746 www.ohiotranslators.org 3617 S 1400 West [email protected] • www.catiweb.org Salt Lake City, UT 84119 • Local group meetings held in Asheville, Northern California Translators Tel: (801) 973-0912 • Fax: (208) 441-5390 Charlotte, and Research Triangle Park, Association (NCTA) [email protected] • www.utia.org NC; Columbia and Greenville/ P.O. Box 14015 Berkeley, CA 94712-5015 Spartanburg, SC. Other Groups • Membership directory, $12; CATI Tel: (510) 845-8712 • Fax: (510) 883-1355 This list gives contact information for Quarterly subscription, $12. [email protected] • www.ncta.org • Telephone/online referral service. See translation and interpretation groups as a service to ATA members. Inclusion does Florida Chapter of ATA (FLATA) searchable translator database on website. not imply affiliation with or endorsement P.O. Box 14-1057 • NCTA Directory of Translators and by ATA. Coral Gables, FL 33114-1057 Interpreters available on CD-ROM or Tel/Voice: (305) 274-3434 diskette for $15. American Literary Translators Fax: (305) 387-6712 Accept MasterCard/Visa. Association (ALTA) [email protected] • www.atafl.com Northwest Translators The University of Texas at Dallas MC35, P.O. Box 830688 Mid-America Chapter of ATA (MICATA) and Interpreters Society (NOTIS) Richardson, TX 75083-0688 6600 NW Sweetbriar Lane P.O. Box 25301 Tel: (972) 883-2093 • Fax: (972) 883-6303 Kansas City, MO 64151 Seattle, WA 98125-2201 [email protected] Attn.: Meeri Yule Tel: (206) 382-5642 • www.literarytranslators.org Tel: (816) 741-9441 • Fax: (816) 741-9482 [email protected] www.notisnet.org [email protected] • www.ata-micata.org Southern California Area Translators and Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (AATIA) National Capital Area Chapter Interpreters Association (SCATIA) P.O. Box 13331 of ATA (NCATA) P.O. Box 34310 Austin, TX 78711-3331 P.O. Box 65200 Los Angeles, CA 90034 Tel: (512) 707-3900 Washington, DC 20035-5200 Tel: (818) 725-3899 • Fax: (818) 340-9177 • [email protected] • www.aatia.org Tel: (202) 255-9290 • Fax (202) 234-5656 [email protected] www.scatia.org [email protected] • www.ncata.org The California Court Interpreters • The Professional Services Directory of Affiliated Groups Association (CCIA) the National Capital Area Chapter of the Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network 345 S Hwy 101, Suite D American Translators Association (MiTiN) Encinitas, CA 92024 (NCATA) has gone online. It lists NCATA P.O. Box 852 Tel: (760) 635-0273 • Fax: (760) 635-0276 members and the services they offer, Novi, MI 48376 [email protected] • www.ccia.org together with additional information Tel: (248) 344-0909 • Fax: (248) 344-0092 that enables translation and interpreta- [email protected] Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters tion users to find just the right lan- www.mitinweb.org Association (CHICATA) guage specialist for their projects. P.O. Box 804595 Bookmark www.ncata.org and check Chicago, IL 60680-4107 out the NCATA directory. If you maintain Tel: (312) 836-0961 language-related webpages, you may [email protected] • www.chicata.org want to include a link to the directory. NCATA is always interested in comments and suggestions.
66 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 Colorado Translators Association (CTA) New England Translators CANADA 3054 S Xanthia Street Association (NETA) Association of Translators and Denver, CO 80025 27 Wachusett Avenue Interpreters of Alberta (ATIA) Tel: (303) 743-7719 Arlington, MA 02476 P.O. Box 2635 [email protected] Tel: (781) 648-1731 • Fax: (617) 232-6865 Station M • For more information about the online [email protected] • www.netaweb.org Calgary, Alberta, T2P 3C1 Canada directory, newsletter, accreditation Tel: (403) 243-3477(Alberta office) or exams, and professional seminars, New Mexico Translators and Interpreters (780) 434-8384 (Edmonton office) please visit www.cta-web.org. Association (NMTIA) www.atia.ab.ca P.O. Box 36263 Delaware Valley Translators Albuquerque, NM 87176 Association of Translators and Association (DVTA) Tel: (505) 352-9258 • Fax: (505) 352-9372 Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) 606 John Anthony Drive [email protected] 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 1202 West Chester, PA 19382-7191 www.cybermesa.com/~nmtia Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 7B7 Tel: (215) 222-0955 • Membership Directory available for $5. Tel: (613) 241-2846, [email protected] Please make check payable to NMTIA Toll-free: 1-800-234-5030 and mail your request to the address Fax: (613) 241-4098 El Paso Interpreters and Translators listed here, or contact us by e-mail. [email protected] • www.atio.on.ca Association (EPITA) 1003 Alethea Place The Translators and Interpreters Ordre des Traducteurs, Terminologues et El Paso, TX 79902 Guild (TTIG) Interprètes Agréés du Québec (OTTIAQ) Tel: (915) 532-8566 • Fax: (915) 544-8354 962 Wayne Avenue, Suite 500 2021 Union, Suite 1108 [email protected] Silver Spring, MD 20910 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2S9 Tel: (301) 563-6450 • (800) 992-0367 Tel: (514) 845-4411 Houston Interpreters and Translators Fax: (301) 563-6020 Toll-free: (800) 265-4815 Association (HITA) [email protected] • www.ttig.org Fax: (514) 845-9903 P.O. Box 61285 [email protected] • www.ottiaq.org Houston, TX 77208-1285 Washington State Court Interpreters and Tel: (713) 935-2123 Translators Society (WITS) Society of Translators and Interpreters of P.O. Box 1012 British Columbia (STIBC) The Kentucky Translators and Interpreters Seattle, WA 98111-1012 Suite 514, 850 W Hastings Street, Box 34 Association (KTIA) Tel: (206) 382-5690 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada P.O. Box 7468 www.witsnet.org V6C 1E1 Louisville, KY 40257-0468 Tel: (604) 684-2940 • Fax: (604) 684-2947 Tel: (502) 548-3988 [email protected] • www.stibc.org E-mail: [email protected] International Groups FIT ENGLAND Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Fédération Internationale des Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) Association (MITA) Traducteurs/International Federation of Exchange House 712 Cornfield Drive Translators (FIT) 494 Midsummer Boulevard Arlington, TX 76017 2021 Avenue Union, Bureau 1108 Central Milton Keynes Tel: (817) 417-4747 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2S9 MK9 2EA England www.dfw-mita.com Tel: (514) 845-0413 • Fax: (514) 845-9903 Tel: +44 (0) 1908 255905 [email protected] Fax: +44 (0) 1908 255700 National Association of Judiciary www.fit-ift.org [email protected] • www.iti.org.uk Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3025 AUSTRALIA Note: All announcements must be received New York, NY 10176 Australian Institute of Interpreters and by the first of the month prior to the month Tel: (212) 692-9581 • Fax: (212) 687-4016 Translators, Inc. (AUSIT) of publication (For example, September 1 [email protected] • www.najit.org P.O. Box A202 for October issue). For more information Sydney South, NSW 1235 Australia on chapters or to start a chapter, please contact ATA Headquarters. Send updates Tel/Fax: +61 (02) 9626 7046 to Mary David, ATA Chronicle, 225 [email protected] • www.ausit.org Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314; Tel: (703) 683-6100; Fax: (703) 683-6122; [email protected].
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 67 MARKETPLACE
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68 The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 American Translators Association Announces New Publications
Translating and Interpreting in the Translating and Interpreting in the Federal Government, Federal Government compiled by Ted Crump, is a comprehensive survey that provides the language needs, career ladders, and contact information for over 80 federal agencies and offices. 174 pages; $30 (ATA members), $50 (nonmembers).
Getting Started: A Newcomer’s Guide to Translation and Interpretation, compiled by Sandra Burns Thomson, is a compilation of articles from ATA publications and serves as a straightforward guide American Translators Association Compiled by Ted Crump for newcomers to the professions. 72 pages; $15 (ATA members), $25 (nonmembers).
Order Today!
American Translators Association • 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 Alexandria, VA 22314 • Phone: 703.683.6100 • Fax: 703.683.6122 E-mail: [email protected] ✁ Fax your order form to ATA at 703.683.6122
Name Member Number
Organization
Street Address
City State/Province Zip/Postal Code
Phone Number Fax Number
E-Mail Address
Payment Method (Check what is applicable) Qty Title Unit Cost ❑ Check or Money Order ❑ MasterCard/Visa/Discover/AMEX (please circle credit card type)
Credit Card Number Exp Date
Signature
Print Name as it appears on card Date 2 Tax & Shipping: Virginia residents add 4 % sales tax. Tax/Ship Shipping is included for domestic orders. International orders, add $20 postage per order. Total
The ATA Chronicle | July 2002 69 American Translators Association Officers
President President-elect Secretary Treasurer Mr. Thomas L. West III Mr. Scott Brennan Ms. Courtney Searls-Ridge Dr. Jiri Stejskal Intermark Language Services Corp. 10005 Cairn Mountain Way German Language Services 7312 Oak Avenue 2555 Cumberland Pkwy, Ste. 295 Bristow, VA 20136-3009 2658 48th Avenue SW Melrose Park, PA 19027 Atlanta, GA 30339 Tel: (703) 393-0365 Seattle, WA 98116 Tel: (215) 635-7090 Tel: (770) 444-3055 Fax: (703) 393-0387 Tel: (206) 938-3600 Fax: (215) 635-9239 Fax: (770) 444-3002 [email protected] Fax: (206) 938-8308 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Directors Committee Chairs Division Administrators
Mr. Kirk Anderson Accreditation Interpretation Policy Chinese Language Literary 2455 Flamingo Drive, #401 Lilian Novas Van Vranken Advisory Frank Mou Clifford E. Landers Miami Beach, FL 33140 Spring, TX Christian Degueldre Pittsburgh, PA Naples, FL Tel: (305) 532-7252 Tel: (281) 374-6813 San Diego, CA Tel: (412) 767-4788 Tel: (941) 513-6972 Fax: (305) 532-0885 [email protected] Tel: (619) 462-6739 Fax: (412) 767-9744 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Active Membership Review Nordic Ms. Beatriz Bonnet Leland D. Wright Mentoring Task Force French Language Edith M. Matteson 7465 E Peakview Avenue Kent, OH Courtney Searls-Ridge Monique-Paule Tubb Ballwin, MO Englewood, CO 80111 Tel: (330) 673-0043 Seattle, WA Chevy Chase, MD Tel/Fax: (636) 207-7256 Tel: (303) 779-1288 Fax: (330) 673-0738 Tel: (206) 938-3600 Tel: (301) 654-2890 [email protected] Fax: (303) 779-1232 [email protected] Fax: (206) 938-8308 Fax: (301) 654-2891 [email protected] courtney@ [email protected] Portuguese Language Budget germanlanguageservices.com Tereza d’Ávila Braga Mr. Robert A. Croese Jiri Stejskal German Language Dallas, TX 204 Neely Crossing Lane Melrose Park, PA Professional Development Dorothee Racette Tel: (972) 690-7730 Simpsonville, SC 29680 Tel: (215) 635-7090 (ATA Programs) Saranac, NY Fax: (972) 690-5088 Tel: (864) 967-3955 Fax: (215) 635-9239 Marian S. Greenfield Tel: (518) 293-7494 [email protected] Fax: (864) 967-4808 [email protected] South Plainfield, NJ Fax: (518) 293-7659 [email protected] Tel: (908) 561-7590 [email protected] Slavic Languages Chapters Fax: (908) 561-3671 Nora Seligman Favorov Ms. Marian S. Greenfield Robert A. Croese msgreenfield@ Interpreters Orlando, FL 2619 Holly Avenue Simpsonville, SC msgreenfieldtranslations.com Helen D. Cole Tel: (407) 679-8151 South Plainfield, NJ 07080 Tel: (864) 967-3955 Silver Spring, MD Fax: (646) 205-9300 Tel: (908) 561-7590 Fax: (864) 967-4808 Public Relations Tel: (301) 572-2855 [email protected] Fax: (908) 561-3671 [email protected] Chris Durban Fax: (301) 572-5708 msgreenfield@ Paris, France [email protected] Spanish Language msgreenfieldtranslations.com Dictionary Review Tel: 33(1)42935802 Rudolf Heller Boris M. Silversteyn Fax: 33(1)43877045 Italian Language Brookfield, MA Prof. Alan K. Melby Venice, FL [email protected] Marcello J. Napolitano Tel: (508) 867-8494 1223 Aspen Avenue Tel/Fax: (941) 408-9643 Milpitas, CA Fax: (508) 867-8064 Provo, UT 84604 [email protected] Kevin S. Hendzel Tel: (408) 422-7008 [email protected] Tel: (801) 378-2144 Arlington, VA Fax: (425) 977-8511 Fax: (801) 377-3704 Divisions Tel: (703) 516-9266 [email protected] Translation Company [email protected] Dorothee Racette Fax: (703) 516-9269 Steven P. Iverson Saranac, NY [email protected] Japanese Language Milwaukee, WI Mr. Robert E. Sette Tel: (518) 293-7494 Izumi Suzuki Tel: (414) 271-1144 109 Biddle Avenue Fax: (518) 293-7659 Novi, MI Fax: (414) 271-0144 Pittsburgh, PA 15221 [email protected] Special Projects Tel: (248) 344-0909 [email protected] Tel: (412) 731-8198 Ann Macfarlane Fax: (248) 344-0092 Fax: (412) 242-1241 Education and Training Seattle, WA [email protected] [email protected] (Non-ATA Programs) Tel: (206) 542-8422 Gertrud Graubart Champe Fax: (206) 546-5065 Ms. Ines Swaney Surry, ME [email protected] 6161 Harwood Avenue Tel: (207) 664-7448 ATA Representatives Oakland, CA 94618 [email protected] Terminology Tel: (510) 658-7744 Sue Ellen Wright To International Federation of To Joint National Fax: (510) 658-7743 Ethics Kent, OH Translators (FIT) Committee for [email protected] Vacant Tel: (330) 673-0043 Peter W. Krawutschke Languages (JNCL) Fax: (330) 673-0738 Kalamazoo, MI Christophe Réthoré Prof. Madeleine C. Velguth Honors and Awards [email protected] Tel: (616) 387-3212 Harrisonburg, VA 2608 E Newport Avenue Jo Anne Engelbert Fax: (616) 387-3103 Tel: (540) 568-3512 Milwaukee, WI 53211 St. Augustine, FL Translation and Computers [email protected] Fax: (540) 568-6904 Tel: (414) 229-5968 Tel: (904) 460-1190 Alan K. Melby FIT: www.fit-ift.org [email protected] Fax: (414) 229-2939 Fax: (904) 460-0913 Provo, UT [email protected] [email protected] Tel: (801) 378-2144 To ASTM Translation User Fax: (801) 377-3704 Standards Project Mr. Timothy Yuan [email protected] Beatriz A. Bonnet 89-33 Pontiac Street Englewood, CO Queens Village, NY 11427 Tel: (303) 779-1288 Tel: (718) 776-8139 Fax: (303) 779-1232 Fax: (718) 776-3589 [email protected] [email protected] The Business of Translating & Interpreting Seminar
Wyndham Boston Hotel
Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, Get on the fast track: August 10, Transit XV. 2002
Transit XV has a unique file based lation times as well as faster access to structure. It means that large projects proposed translations (fuzzy matches). See page 63 stay small, rarely larger than 10 Kbytes. Transit XV also has a unique feature: for details. Transit is the best solution for today’s the Report Manager. It optimizes project translation managers. The translation evaluation, costing and billing. It is a memory and the translation projects tool to help you cut costs, and shortens themselves consist of simple text and the time you spent on management by formatting tags. This is why Transit XV at least 50% – that means real savings! gives you the extremely short pretrans- www.star-transit.com