October 2008 Volume XXXVII Number 10 The A Publication of the American Translators Association CHRONICLE

In this issue: ATA School Outreach Time The Project Cycle Note Taking for Consecutive Interpreting Terminology: A New Challenge at 7:30pm on 6th November Come to our Social Event

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Book Your SDL Trados Preconference Training Courses Getting Started on 03 November Intermediate on 04 November Advanced on 05 November $195 per day or $395 to attend all 3 courses To find out more go to: www.sdl.com/atachronicle October 2008 American Translators Association Volume XXXVII 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 • Alexandria VA 22314 USA Number 10 Tel: +1-703-683-6100 • Fax: +1-703-683-6122 Contents October 2008 E-: [email protected] • : www.atanet.org A Publication of the American Translators Association 14 School Outreach Profile: Jonathan Hine By Lillian Clementi 18 ATA member Jonathan Hine gained unexpected prominence after speaking to high school students. 18 The Life Cycle of a By George Rimalower From inception to delivery, the translation process involves multiple steps and the participation of numerous linguists and experts to create an accurate, linguistically correct, and culturally appropriate translation. 24 Note Taking for Consecutive Interpreting By Hana Laurenzo This article contains some practical tips, information, and suggestions for further reading and practice to make the most out of your note taking experience 30 Terminology: A New Challenge 24 for the By Kara Warburton Terminology data can enhance a wide range of applications and can be exchanged between users, provided that its structure adheres to an international standard such as TermBase eXchange. 36 Translating and Interpreting: Careers for the 21st Century By Cindy Hazelton Ohio teachers learn about translation and interpreting career opportunities for their students at a seminar co-sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Translators Association and by Kent State ’s Institute for Applied Linguistics.

30 Columns and Departments 6 Our Authors 45 New ATA-Certified Members and 7 From the President Active Membership Review 8 From the Treasurer 46 Success By Association 9 From the Executive Director 47 The Onionskin 41 Upcoming Events 50 Dictionary Review 42 Business Smarts 54 The Translation Inquirer 43 GeekSpeak 56 Humor and Translation 44 Member News 58 Directory of Language Services 45 Certification Exam Information

3 The ATA Chronicle (ISSN 1078-6457) is published monthly, except bi-monthly in November/December, by the American Translators Association, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The ATA Chronicle, We Want You! 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA. The American Translators Association (ATA) was established in 1959 as a not-for-profit professional society to foster and support the professional The ATA Chronicle enthusiastically encourages development of translators and interpreters and to promote the translation and interpreting professions. members and nonmembers to submit articles of The subscription rate for a member is $43 (included in the dues payment). The U.S. subscription rate for interest. For Submission Guidelines, log onto a nonmember is $65. Subscribers in Canada and www.atanet.org/chronicle. The ATA Chronicle Mexico add $25; all other non-U.S. subscribers add $45. Single copies are available for $7 per issue. is published 11 times per year, with a combined ©2008 American Translators Association November/December issue. Submission deadlines are two months

Reprint Permission: prior to publication date. Requests for permission to reprint articles should be sent to the editor of The ATA Chronicle at [email protected].

Editor Jeff Sanfacon [email protected]

Proofreader Sandra Burns Thomson Advertising Ellen Banker Directory Amy Peloff 53 Multilingual Group Advertising www.multilingualgroup.org Matt Hicks McNeill Group Inc. 60 National Agency [email protected] www.nsa.gov/careers +1-215-321-9662 ext. 19 across Systems Fax: +1-215-321-9636 5 2 www.across.net SDL International Executive Director 12 www.sdl.com/atachronicle Walter Bacak 53 Cybertec USA, Inc. [email protected] www.cybertecusa.com 57 SH3 www.sh3.com Membership and Gerald Geiger General Information 17 [email protected] 22 Star Group America, LLC Maggie Rowe www.star-group.net [email protected] Honyaku Corporation website: www.atanet.org 17 www.translatejapan.com 21 University of Denver www.universitycollege.du.edu 49 Monterey Institute of Moving? International Studies 53 Wordfinder Software International AB Find an error with http://translate.miis.edu/ndp www.wordfinder.com your address? Send updates to: The ATA Chronicle 225 Reinekers Lane Suite 590 Alexandria, VA 22314 USA Fax +1-703-683-6122 [email protected] 4 The ATA Chronicle October 2008

Our Authors October 2008

Lillian Clementi is a member of George Rimalower is the president ATA’s Committee. As and chief executive officer of ISI managing principal of LinguaLegal, a Language Services in Los Angeles, which translation firm based in Arlington, he founded in 1981. He developed the Virginia, she works from French and Interpreter Training and Assessment German into English, providing transla- Program, a language assessment and tion and document review to clients in training program used by health care law and business. Contact: to enable effective com- [email protected]. munication with the non-English-speaking population. He is a native Spanish-speaker who was educated in the U.S. and Argentina. He is Cindy Hazelton is a freelance FrenchEnglish legal translator certified as an interpreter by the State of California. He is fluent in and attorney. She has a JD from the University of Akron School of English, Spanish, and German. Contact: [email protected]. Law, an MA in French from Middlebury College, and an MA in trans- lation from Kent State University. She is a board member of the Kara Warburton has an MA in terminology and a BA in transla- French-American Chamber of Commerce (Northern Ohio Chapter). tion from Laval University in Canada. She has held various posi- She is also a part-time instructor of French legal and commercial tions as a technical writer, translator, and terminologist. For nearly translation at Kent State University. Contact: [email protected]. 10 years, she has spearheaded the implementation of a termi- nology management strategy within IBM, and has been involved in Hana Laurenzo, a CzechEnglish translator, is the founder and the development of standards (including TermBase eXchange) and operations director of Teneo Linguistics Company in Fort Worth, best practices. She teaches terminology management at York Texas. She also teaches a class on the fundamentals of foreign lan- University, Toronto. Contact: [email protected]. guage interpreting at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth. She is a former interpreter to the European Commission in Brussels. She has a master’s degree in translation and interpreting from Charles University, Prague. Contact: [email protected].

It’s time to attend the 49th ConferenceAnnual American Translators Association Orlando, Florida November 5 – 8, 2008

Visit www.atanet.org/conf/2008 for all the latest details!

6 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 From the President Jiri Stejskal [email protected]

It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You

exchange business cards. Write only opportunity to network and The sixth and last objective notes on the business cards you schmooze. Divisions and local chapters of ATA’s bylaws is to “promote pro- receive to help you remember organize events throughout the year, as fessional and social relations among the conversations you had. do our sister organizations. Check out its members.” The upcoming ATA ATA’s Calendar of Events to see what is Annual Conference in Orlando is a · Give—and return—favors. Help going on (www.atanet.org/calendar). great opportunity to do just that. others. Networking is not about Get involved. You will like it. It is good Traditionally the largest gathering of what others can do for you, but for you and your business. translators and interpreters in the what you can do for others. world, the conference provides a unique opportunity to network with · Be positive. Do not speak ill of your peers and existing or potential the competition. Do not criticize clients, to meet old friends and make the food, other people, or serv- What’s New on new ones, and to get away from the ices. A networking reception is computer screen and socialize. not a complaint fest. ATA’s Website? This year’s conference will provide ample networking opportunities. Start · Leave your BlackBerry=2 0or off with the Opening Reception on cell phone in your room. Be an Informed Voter Wednesday, and make sure to attend ATA Elections: Candidate Statements the Network Nibble on Thursday by · Meet new people. Get out of your and Proposed Bylaw Changes one of the hotel’s two pools, where comfort zone and do not just talk http://www.atanet.org/membership/ you can enjoy drinks, great food, and to people you already know. election2008.php a big crowd of fellow members. Just bring your business cards and a good · Watch the interpreters—they are Volunteers Needed attitude. For the reclusive among us, usually good schmoozers. ATA-American Red Cross for this event is a challenge to our social Preparedness skills and our natural tendency to · Have fun! www.atanet.org/red_cross enjoy solitude. LinkedIn, MySpace, and other social networks are great There will be plenty of opportunities ATA Annual Conference networking tools, but no substitute for to meet people besides the Opening Orlando Visitor Guide schmoozing. It is very different to Reception and Network Nibble. Attend www.atanet.org/conf/2008/city.htm meet people in person. Here are some division events. The Translation tips on how to schmooze successfully: Company Division (TCD) has organ- ized the TCD Dessert Reception, imme- ATA Annual Conference · Schmoozing is a contact sport. diately following the Opening Hospitality Team Blog You have to get out there and Reception. Think this is for company http://ata-orlando2008.blogspot.com talk and (more importantly) owners only? Think again! If you are a listen to people. , where else can you meet so Make a Difference (You Could many potential clients in the same be a Winnner!) · Ask a question and stop talking. room? Many other divisions have their 2008-2009 School Outreach Contest Listen. Good conversationalists events on Thursday and Friday, so Announcement do not talk a lot; they give others attend as many as you can. By the time www.atanet.org/ata_school/school_o the opportunity to talk. the Closing Reception comes around, utreach_contest.php you should be a professional · Do not talk shop only. Find out schmoozer. And do not forget to net- Read All About It what you have in common with outside of organized events. Talk ATA News and Notes your conversation partner. Share to people at breakfast and during www.atanet.org/newsnotes your passions. breaks. Say hello to people on the ele- vator. · Make it easy to follow up— ATA’s Annual Conference is not the

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 7 From the Treasurer Peter Krawutschke [email protected]

2008-2009 Budget

At its July meeting in budget and for changes. However, June 30, 2008. Last year, we received Washington, DC, ATA’s Board of there were only a few changes this this CPA firm’s highest rating for the Directors approved the 2008-2009 year; in particular, it is important to quality of our financial operation, and I operating budget in the amount of note that many members of ATA am confident we will match that per- $2,822,898. ATA’s fiscal year runs requested that the strong support for formance again in this audit. from July 1 to June 30. As you may The ATA Chronicle be maintained. As always in the past, I appreciate recall, I requested that the Board The charts below give you an indica- ATA Accounting Manager Kirk approve a working budget at the tion of how ATA plans to gain and Lawson’s and ATA Executive Director meeting preceding the Board meeting spend its funds during the 2008-2009 Walter Bacak’s support and your sug- at which the final budget is approved. fiscal year. gestions, particularly as they pertain The Board approved this request at At the present time, the CPA firm of to budget items you believe should be the beginning of my present tour of LarsonAllen is beginning the process considered for the 2009-2010 budget. duty as your treasurer. This interval of auditing ATA’s financial position for allows for discussion of the proposed the fiscal year from July 1, 2007 to

Budget Summary FY 2008-09

Revenue (in thousands) Expenses (in thousands)* Publications $88 The ATA Chronicle $146 Certification $200 Professional Development $80 Divisions $201 Public Relations $55 Membership Services $233 Conference $646 Professional Development Officers & Directors $44 $52 Certification Publications Volunteers & $376 $28 Governance $49 Committees $9 General & Other Revenues $52 Mentor Administrative $3 $486

Conference $590 Membership $1,707 The ATA Chronicle $534

Total Operating Revenues $2,822,898 Total Operating Expenses $2,756,430

*Overhead was distributed across program services.

Check out this easy-to-use online designed to help connect Check out the ATA Job ! translators, interpreters, and project managers to new employment Find the perfect job. Make the perfect hire. opportunities. Visit www.atanet.org/jobbank!

8 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 From the Executive Director Walter Bacak, CAE [email protected]

Annual Conference, Elections, and Anniversaries

For independent contractors and Orlando or by proxy. Voting instruc- The ATA 49th Annual company owners alike, ATA member- tions are provided in the proxy mate- Conference in Orlando, November 5-8, ship is not a discretionary expense. It rials. For all the election information, is upon us. When you attend an ATA is essential to success in this market. please check out www.atanet.org/mem Annual Conference you will learn If you are unable to attend this bership/election2008.php. Thank you from some of the most knowledgeable year’s conference in Orlando, you can for voting. and experienced presenters. You will still benefit educationally from the network. You will test drive the latest meeting through the conference DVD, Happy Anniversary! time-saving translation tools. And, which includes the audio of many Congratulations to the following you will see where the jobs are. conference presentations and the organizations on reaching these mile- Last year’s ATA Annual Confer- accompanying handouts. The Confer- stones this fall. ence in San Francisco set an atten- ence Proceedings is also available. You dance record. Given the turbulent can take advantage of your ATA • The ATA Translation Company economic times, it is no surprise that membership by ordering them at Division is celebrating its 10th registration for this year’s conference discounted ATA-member rates. (Please anniversary. in Orlando is down. The natural see www.atanet.org/conf/2008 for more • The Northwest Translators and response for many of us has been to information.) Interpreters Society is cele- curtail spending. Do not lose focus on Thank you for being an ATA brating its 20th anniversary. the bigger picture. There is a real need member. • The Northern California Trans- to continue to invest in your business lators Association is celebrating and stay informed. Knowing what ATA Election Reminder its 30th anniversary. others are doing, where the jobs are, This year, four directors’ positions which techniques work, and several proposed bylaw revisions Thanks to all the volunteers who have and how to maximize efficiency is are on the ballot. The proxy materials helped these organizations over the crucial to your success, and ATA is have been mailed to all ATA voting years. the information source for your members. You can vote either in profession. person at the Annual Conference in

Join Us for a Job Analysis Focus Group at ATA’s Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida

You’ve explained your job at parties, business meetings, and even to the cashier at the . Now you have the opportunity to make it official in a job analysis focus group being held at ATA’s 49th Annual Conference. Participants will be asked to offer feedback on prepared statements that describe the job of a translator, such as published articles on translation competence and international standards. This free session will include lots of brainstorming and a fun exchange of ideas. Open to all translators. Contact Jonathan Mendoza at [email protected] to preregister. More information: www.atanet.org/ata_activities/job_analysis_focus_group.php.

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 9 ATA Recruiting Volunteers for Red Cross ATA –American Red Cross Partnership for Preparedness

In partnership with the American Red Cross (ARC), ATA is recruiting volunteers from its membership to serve as interpreters during disaster relief operations. ATA participating volunteers have the opportunity to serve in a variety of positions: some will serve regionally in response to local emergencies, while others will work as part of a team deploying to major disasters, such as hurricanes. All volunteers receive training in disaster services/community relations.

The ATA-ARC partnership is a special opportunity for ATA interpreters and translators to use their professional skills for the greater good. To learn more about becoming a volunteer for the Red Cross, visit www.atanet.org/red_cross.

Don’t get hung out to dry Tips for cleaning up your online profile

A listing in ATA’s online Directory of Translation and Interpreting Services or the Directory of Language Services Companies can be one of your most valuable member benefits. With more than two-million plus hits in 2007, consumers and businesses have clearly learned to look at ATA’s directories first when shopping for professional translation and interpreting services.

Six Tips to Help You Make Contact

1. Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

2. Update your contact information, especially your e-mail address and phone numbers.

3. Use the “Additional Information” field, noting and career experiences, unusual specialties, and any dialects you can handle. By using a “keyword” search, clients can find your services based on a set of very specific skills and experience.

4. List your areas of specialization.

5. Review your listing monthly to experiment with different wording or add new information that may set you apart from others.

6. List non-English-to-non-English language combinations, such as Portuguese into Spanish and French into Italian.

Make those updates online at www.atanet.org/onlinedirectories/update_profile.php.

10 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 In Memoriam | Henry Fischbach 1921–2008

the Bulletin of the Medical Henry Fischbach, co-founder, charter Library Association, Advances member, and honorary member of the American in Chemistry Series, and other Translators Association and the last surviving signatory professional journals. He con- of its Articles of Incorporation, passed away on tributed to the United Nations September 25, 2008. Educational, Scientific and Born in Vienna, Austria, Henry moved to the U.S. Cultural com- with his family at the age of seven, only to return to pendium on sci-tech transla- Europe a few years later. He attended French Lycée in tions and to the official discussions preparatory to the Belgium and, upon moving back to the U.S., earned a adoption of the Nairobi Recommendation to promote degree in comparative linguistics and pre-med studies translator rights and qualifications. from Columbia University. He was involved with sci- Henry was a mentor and role model to a generation entific and for over 50 years, of translators. He was a principled advocate of transla- including several years with the U.S. government tors’ rights and promoter of the highest standards of during World War II in its overseas news operations. professionalism. He not only employed translators, but Upon his return to the U.S. after the war, he educated and nurtured them. Upon learning about his joined Lewis Bertrand Languages in 1947, where he death, several “old-timers” came forward to share their attained the position of general manager before he reminiscences about him. They were unanimous in left in 1950 to establish his own translation bureau, mentioning his uncompromising quality standards as a The Language Service. translator and editor, known for not only pointing out Henry served as president (1965-1967) and errors and inelegancies in translations submitted to vice-president of ATA, as a director for over 25 years, him, but also for generously praising a well-turned as vice-president of the American Foundation for phrase or a creative solution to a difficult translation Translation and Interpretation, and as ATA’s rep- problem. They also remember him as the perfect gen- resentative to the Fédération Internationale des tleman of the old European tradition, always courteous Traducteurs (FIT). He also served as FIT’s vice- and soft-spoken, even when fiercely defending a prin- president and chairman of its Technical and Scientific ciple or an important project. Translators Committee. As a leader in translation compensation in the U.S., Henry was certified by ATA for translation from Henry’s bureau, The Language Service, was able to French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese into English, recruit the best medical-pharmaceutical translators and and was equally competent in Italian and Dutch. He initi- to charge premium prices for its translations. By the ated or spearheaded many of ATA’s important programs time of Henry’s retirement in 2005, The Language and undertakings, essentially shaping the Association as it Service was the oldest translation bureau in the U.S. exists today. He was instrumental in establishing ATA’s operated by its original translator owner, with an Accreditation (now Certification) Program, in writing impeccable reputation as a provider of quality and ATA’s Bylaws and Ethics Code, and in organizing and service among its clients and as a fair and generous, promoting its conferences. He chaired countless commit- albeit demanding, client among translators. tees and presented sessions on , transla- Henry was predeceased by his wife of 62 years, Stefi, tors’ business practices, and other topics. and is survived by their daughter Monica and her partner Henry was the recipient of ATA’s Alexander Gode Stephanie, son Peter, daughter-in-law Pattawan, and two Medal for service to the profession and the Goldene granddaughters, Chalalai and Saranya. Ehrennadel for “exceptional merit” from BDÜ (the I am indebted for the biographical data to German Association of Translators and Interpreters). Cristina Márquez Arroyo, whose interview with He was a member of the American Chemical Society Henry Fischbach was published in the online journal and the American Medical Writers Association, as well Panace@ (http://tremedica.org/panacea/IndiceGeneral/ as one of the founders and two-term president of the n25_semblanzas-marquez.pdf), and to numerous Interlingua Institute. colleagues who contributed to this article with their Henry was a prolific author of articles on medical trans- reminiscences (in alphabetical order): Verónica Albin, lation and a frequent presenter, moderator, or panelist on Bernie Bierman, Helge Gunther, Nicholas Hartmann, medical and scientific translation. In 1998, he was guest Judy Langley, Muriel Jérôme-O'Keeffe, and Meeri Yule. editor of Volume X: Translation and Medicine in the ATA Scholarly Monograph Series. His articles were published in —Gabe Bokor

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 11 Advertisement

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The ATA Chronicle October 2008 13 School Outreach Profile: Jonathan Hine By Lillian Clementi

Jonathan Hine is best known to readers of The ATA Chronicle for Even if they do not wind up as translators or his many conference sessions on busi- ness skills for translators, but a 2006 interpreters, I want students to understand the value of school outreach presentation recently made him a local celebrity. being able to work in two languages.

Translating Latin During Vatican II A full-time translator since 1985, Hine translated his first in 1962. with his colleague Hillary Hall, trans- sented at numerous conferences and As an adolescent altar boy, he trans- lating from Italian and French into has become an energetic advocate for lated Latin for American bishops English and specializing in finance language careers in local schools. attending Vatican Council II in Rome, and law. They also work as consult- and later used his French and Italian ants, evaluating translator and inter- Golden Opportunity skills during a career in the U.S. Navy. preter training programs and In 2005 and 2006, Hine and his Now at Scriptor Services, LLC in intercultural business activity. An Scriptor Services colleagues staffed a Charlottesville, Virginia, Hine works active member of ATA, Hine has pre- table at Charlottesville’s Seventh

14 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Grade Career Fair, providing informa- tion on translation and interpreting careers to 2,500-5,000 students each time. In November 2006, the local vocational-technical center invited Hine to tape a school outreach presen- tation in its television studio as part of a longer program on a variety of careers. Intended for one-time broad- cast on public access television in January 2007, the program was also slated for transfer to DVD and distri- bution to middle and high school guid- ance counselors in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties. It was a golden opportunity to reach a large audience through a single presentation, and Hine jumped at the chance. “I downloaded Barbara Bell’s slides from ATA’s School Outreach website. I used that as the basic framework and supplemented it with material I had assembled for other local presentations,” he said. Jonathan Hine speaks to high school students, launching an unexpected series of local television appearances. “Although there were only 10 students in the television audience, it was never meant to stop there.” It didn’t. accost me with ‘I saw you on TV the asked him to participate in Com- other day.’” monwealth Scholars, an eighth-grade “I saw you on TV” So many people saw the presenta- outreach program that encourages stu- Once the lively 40-minute presen- tion that Hine has become a local dents to broaden their career opportuni- tation had been recorded, it ran on the translation and interpreting resource, ties by choosing the most demanding local public access television channel. and the Charlottesville Chamber of high school courses—including lan- And ran. And ran. “The TV station Commerce has recently added a new guages. Sponsored by the VECF and the U.S. Department of Education, the pro- gram reaches more than 800 Virginia eighth graders annually.

What I really like is getting into the classroom and Suddenly the Lights Come On “In Fall 2008, we expect to repeat talking to students directly. the Seventh Grade Career Fair and the Commonwealth Scholars program,” says Hine. “When we participate in these larger programs, that lets the kept using it as their default program- category for translation and inter- teachers know I’m available as a ming for unscheduled air time,” Hine preting to its online directory. resource. Then I can do what I really shrugs. “I have no way of estimating Hine’s vo-tech appearance has led to like, which is getting into the class- how many people viewed the pro- even more school outreach opportuni- room and talking to the students gram, but for nearly two years, not a ties. In January 2007, the Virginia directly.” He clearly finds the contact week went by that someone didn’t Education Career Foundation (VECF) rewarding. “I tell bilingual stu-

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 15 School Outreach Profile: Jonathan Hine Continued dents they have an edge, and suddenly put pressure on schools to deliver what Hine will be making two presenta- the lights come on.” students want. Eventually, demand will tions at this year’s ATA Annual “It’s good exposure for ATA and the drive supply. But even if they don’t Conference in Orlando. See the confer- profession,” Hine continues. “Students wind up as translators or interpreters, I ence program and visit www.atanet.org who want to pursue language-oriented want them to understand the value of /conf/2008 for details. careers will be looking for translation being able to work in two languages.” and interpreting programs. This will

Now Open 2008–2009 ATA School Outreach Contest

Make a School Outreach presentation this year, and you could win free registration to ATA’s 50th Annual Conference in New York City, October 28 – 31, 2009. Here’s how to enter.

1. Visit ATA’s School Outreach Resource Center at www.atanet.org/careers/school_outreach.php. Click on Presentation Resource Materials and choose the age level you like the best. Download a presentation, or use the resources on the School 2. Outreach website to round out your own material. 3. Make a presentation on translation and/or interpreting careers at a school or university anywhere in the world between August 18, 2008 and July 20, 2009. 4. Get someone to take a picture of you in the classroom. For tips on getting a winning shot, visit the School Outreach Photo Gallery on ATA’s web- site at www.atanet.org/ata_school/photo_gallery.php.

Send your picture electronically to [email protected] using the subject line “School Outreach Contest,” or mail your entry to ATA, 225 Reinekers Lane, 5. Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314. Please include: your name and contact information; the date of your presentation; the school’s name and location; and a brief description of the class. You may submit multiple entries.

The deadline for submissions is midnight on July 20, 2009. The winner will be contacted no later than August 17, 2009. You must be a member of ATA or an ATA-affiliated organization to enter.

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The ATA Chronicle October 2008 17 y

y y The Life Cycle of a Translation Project By George Rimalower

Translation is not simply a members. They must not only com- project manager’s ability to pick the matter of transcribing text from a municate clearly with other team right team members, understand client source language into a target lan- members, but with clients and needs, create realistic deadlines, and guage. From inception to delivery, it staff as well. price a job correctly is critical to the is a complex process of multiple steps Project managers must analyze how success of the project. involving numerous professionals. the source document is presented (e.g., Ideally, project managers should Linguists and other specialists are tasked with providing accurate, lin- guistically correct, and culturally appropriate translations. Clients who understand this process can help Whether 500 words or five million words, the ensure that translated documents suc- translation project should pass through a number of cessfully communicate their message to their target audience. experts as it is checked, double checked, and triple The Translation Team checked on its way to the client. Whether 500 words or five million words, the translation project should pass through a number of experts as it is checked, double checked, and triple InDesign, FrameMaker, HTML) and hold advanced degrees in project man- checked on its way to the client. These pay close attention to such specifica- agement or language sciences. They experts include a project manager, tions as content, volume, target lan- should be bilingual, not necessarily translators, editors, terminology man- guages, matches from the translation because they will be translating projects agers, desktop support, memory, subject matter, formatting themselves, but because their multilin- and proofreaders. requirements, target audience, and turn- gual experience will provide them with A project’s life begins when it is around time. Based on an initial a certain sensitivity to bilingual docu- assigned to a project manager. A analysis, the project manager creates a mentation. Project managers need to be project manager is much like an quote for the client’s approval. Upon flexible because project hitches are part orchestra conductor. The conductor client approval, the project manager of the business. Other attributes of a must effectively communicate the selects the members of the project team. successful project manager include notes, music, and tempo of any given It is crucial that the project analysis be being a team leader, technology savvy piece to orchestra members. Project precise to ensure the accuracy of the and a detail-oriented perfectionist. managers do the same with their team cost estimate and the schedule. The

18 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Linguists Translators Editor Linguists’ skills must always be The second stop for the translation The third stop in a project’s life tested for language competency. This project is the translator. Translators are cycle is the editor’s desk. Editors is a priority, especially when adding to experts in grammar, terminology, review the translator’s work to give it a company’s translator pool. Ideally, punctuation, hyphenation, syntax, and a linguistic fine-tuning. Editors check linguists should have a degree and be spelling in both the source and target for appropriate cultural adaptations native speakers of a target language. languages. Translators know subject- and seek to strengthen the document’s For example, if the target audience is specific vocabulary and how to con- integrity and text flow. The editor also Spanish speakers, the translator’s front the linguistic challenges compares the source document with native language should be Spanish. If presented by colloquialisms and slang. the target document to make sure there are no omissions. Editors should always work using a “track changes” feature, such as the one available in MS Word. That way, A project manager is much like an project managers know what changes have been made so they can compare orchestra conductor. the editor’s changes with the trans- lator’s copy. The translator and editor should work independently of each other. Any communication between the target audience is comprised of Many times, a source document is the two should go through the project English speakers, the translator’s not created with translation in mind. manager so that the project manager native language should be English. Translators must be able to address can keep any bruised egos caused by It is common for linguists to have words or phrases that cannot be trans- editorial changes at bay. advanced degrees in , law, lated literally. In other cases, the trans- medicine, or other disciplines and to lator will notice a flaw in the source Terminology Management specialize in those fields. Specialization language—a typo or poor punctuation The fourth stop for the translation is invaluable. For example, if a health that could result in an ambiguous project is the technology department. care document needs to be translated translation. The translator must share Translation management software (TMS) into simplified Chinese, the project these observations with the project is especially helpful with ongoing clients. manager should be able to select a lin- manager, who will, in turn, share them Once a translation is as perfect as it can guist who has a background in medical with the client. be, it is fed into the TMS tool. For documentation and who can translate Every detail of the project must be example, after a translator has completed Chinese into the localized terminology discussed. For example, the team needs the translation of a 200-page evidence of of the target audience. to decide how measurements, curren- coverage document for a health care plan Advances in translation industry cies, colors, graphics, icons, and dates and the document has been edited, technology often require linguists to will be displayed. If the target audience reviewed, and proofread, it is then entered be skilled in desktop publishing tools is in the U.S., clients will often ask the into the TMS database. If, in the future, such as QuarkXpress, InDesign, and translator to adhere to U.S. rules of the client updates any part of the docu- PageMaker. Additionally, experience usage, regardless of whether the target ment, the TMS software automatically with translation management systems language uses a different format. identifies segments requiring new transla- and computer-aided translation tools Industries have their own highly tion and finds matches for previously is a crucial prerequisite. stylized jargon and acronyms. For a translated segments, thus saving the client Translation companies will often faster translation process, clients time and maintaining quality and consis- give a linguist a mix of translating, should provide a glossary of industry tency. The software also includes the editing, and projects so jargon, company-specific termi- ability to create a client-specific glossary that their focus remains fresh. nology, and a list of acronyms with of frequently translated acro nyms and Translators and editors, however, play phrases or names spelled out. industry terminology for faster and more a different role in the process. accurate translations.

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 19 The Life Cycle of a Translation Project Continued

Desktop Publishing ment will be translated, they can create Proofreader The fifth stop for the project is to a the source language document in a font The proofreader is the last stop on member of the desktop publishing team. that can be reduced, if necessary, or the project’s journey. Proofreaders look His or her job is to mirror the source doc- ument design, which often includes finding solutions to tricky design issues. For example, a common translation problem is text expansion. An English It is crucial that the project analysis be precise source document expands by 25% when it is translated into Spanish; and as much to ensure the accuracy of the cost estimate as 30% when it is translated into Vietnamese. Sometimes the client needs and the schedule. to keep the translated document to one page (often required by law). In these cases, desktop team members must be creative. They may reduce kerning, font create more white space around the text for dropped diacriticals such as accent size, and decrease margins so the docu- to allow for text expansion. marks and make sure word-wraps are ment can fit. If a client knows the docu- correct. In other words, proofreaders

American Translators National Association of Association Judiciary Interpreters and www.atanet.org Translators www.najit.org California Healthcare Interpreting Association National Council on http://chiaonline.org Interpreting in Health Care www.ncihc.org Localization Industry Standards Association Society for Technical www.lisa.org Communication www.stc.org Sites of Localization World Interest www.localizationworld.com

20 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Online Translation

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• Failure to capture the connotative meaning of the original text. • Awkward translations. • Insensitive translations that offend the target audience. • Literal translations that fail to convey the intended information to a confused reader. • Improper translation of data, giving the client inaccurate information.

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XXX Your reference material now has even more value. In accordance with the new concept of colour cod- Dual Fuzzy logic in Transit NXT not only takes ing in Transit NXT, these suggestions appear in the account of the source text when searching for red Fuzzy target window. You can view the transla- translation suggestions, it now also looks at the - tion suggestion in its context at any time with a sin- get text. gle click. Transit NXT suggests sentences from existing transla- tions. The here is the Dual Fuzzy prin- From a translator's viewpoint, this means that you ciple, which means that Transit NXT searches both get the maximum benefit from your reference the source and the target language for similar sen- material and do not produce new sentences with tences. This means that two sentences which have the same content. the same basic meaning but are differently formu- lated can be assigned a single translation. If no With the Dual Fuzzy principle, you can benefit matches are found in the source text, Transit NXT from an increase in the consistency and quality of searches the target text for similar sentences while your translations, which is also profitable. the translation is being entered. Note Taking for Notes, as an external storage mechanism of our memory, are present in many areas of human activity, from simple shopping lists to Consecutive sophisticated business note taking systems. Despite this, note taking is sort of a neglected stepchild of con- Interpreting secutive interpreting. As interpreters, we learn early on that taking notes is By Hana Laurenzo beneficial, even crucial, to the overall success of our performance and optimal quality of our work for the benefit of the customer, but we are seldom introduced to the various tech- niques available. Granted, note taking styles differ from person to person. In the absence of any standards or typ- ical schemes to follow, individuals develop their own technique and style. The problem with this is that we tend to develop habits that might make our interpreting more difficult and less effective, and, in some cases, nearly impossible. The main problems we typically see include:

• Writing too much.

• Writing unstructured notes.

• Noting words instead of ideas.

• Using nonstandard abbreviations, which are difficult to decipher when we look at our notes later.

• Taking notes on random or loose pieces of paper.

This article, although by no means exhaustive, includes some basic infor- mation and tips to better your note taking technique.

The Basics Structured note taking is suitable for any consecutive interpreting sce- nario. Although we may have an

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 assignment where hardly any notes need to be taken, it is good practice always to have a notepad and pen Taking notes shows your client that you are doing available just in case we need to jot down numbers or names. In most everything you can to deliver the message in the target cases, however, taking notes consti- tutes an inseparable part of the inter- language accurately and completely. preting process. Interpreters also take notes during simultaneous inter- preting, but these typically consist of short messages only, and the notes Chances are one or two of them will The Language of Our Notes lack the structure that is necessary for not work, so you will need a backup. Most interpreters prefer writing interpreting larger chunks of speech notes in the target language. Writing during consecutive interpreting. Notes Are Not Everything notes in the original language works Students sometimes ask if their Do not rely solely on your notes. An just as well for others. Just avoid need to take notes makes them look interpreter should first and foremost mixing the languages and using both, unprofessional. The answer is rely on his or her memory, the capacity which, in an already stressful situa- absolutely not. Quite the opposite. of which can be strengthened through tion, can cause you to forget which Taking notes shows your client that the use of proper visualization tech- language you are interpreting into. you are doing everything you can to niques. (See the links on page 29 for deliver the message in the target lan- more information on memory training Find Out What Suits You guage accurately and completely. techniques.) Let us remember that, to a There is no unified note taking certain degree, note taking interferes system to suit everyone’s needs. Since Note Taking Tools with listening. Active listening, of everybody’s memory works differ- A consecutive interpreter must be course, is the cornerstone of proper ently, has varied capacity, and stores prepared to take notes sitting down or interpreting. You must first hear and information using different methods, standing up, so a simple piece of understand the message within a spe- it would be impossible to come up paper will not do. A 6”x9” spiral- cific context to be able to interpret it with a one-size-fits-all approach. bound steno pad is recommended, effectively. Therefore, writing a min- Every interpreter eventually comes up with the spiral located along the top imum amount of notes as opposed to with his or her own system, solidified side of the pad. The pad should have a writing almost everything is key. through practice and experience, and back, which makes it pos- To maximize the success of your finds out what impulses trigger sible to write while standing up. In interpreting performance and to mini- retrieval of stored information from addition, the spiraling at the top of the mize the need for taking notes, request memory. page will allow you to flip pages background materials from the client so down, instead of over the hand. you can study them ahead of time and Notes Are Just for You The individual pages of the pad research the topic. Aside from being Contrary to popular belief, the should be numbered at the bottom. able to do a better job overall, you will notes you write are not intended for During a fairly large chunk of speech, enjoy a boost in your confidence and the use by other interpreters or clients. an interpreter will go through several feeling of having things under control. It Notes are written in a personalized pages of notes. When it is time to go is also a good idea to try to have a short way and are often illegible to others, back to the beginning of your notes conversation with the speaker before the and that is just fine. As long as you and interpret, you will be able to use start of the event. This is an excellent can read and understand them, there is the numbers at the bottom of the page way to “tune” your ear to the speaker’s no need for anyone else to be able to as a reference point to make sure that accent and intonation to enhance your decipher your writing. nothing is skipped in the final rendi- listening experience, while finding out tion. In addition, make sure you bring more about the speaker’s message. Why Take Notes? several pens with your favorite color Interpreting works best when we to each interpreting assignment. let the speaker deliver a mean-

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 25 Note Taking for Consecutive Interpreting Continued ingful chunk of speech, preferably two ence and knowledge. The fewer asso- expand on the sentence and include or more sentences. As interpreters, we ciations there are, the more difficult it more notes when this diagonal struc- need enough material to work with, to is to remember and the more notes ture is used. If our sentence changed recognize context, and to be able to you will need to take. to “The Police, together with the Port deliver the message properly in the Authority, arrested drug smugglers, target language. The longer the chunks Note Taking Structure thieves, and suspected terrorists,” the of speech, the bigger the need for taking The most widely used note taking notes would look like Figure 2. notes. Taking notes also helps the con- structure is based on the work of Jean Similar “skeleton” sentences are versation flow with the least possible Francois Rozan.1 His method typically all you need to keep track of disruption. abstracts the source-language mes- what is being said. For easier orienta- At the same time, you should not sage into a symbolic form. Very few tion, the individual concepts can be fixate on using notes. When you take words are written down, and the focus separated on the page using a hori- notes but feel you can deliver without is on ideas, or concepts, rather than zontal line, as shown in Figure 3 on them, do not use them. On the other words. This way, key words are iden- page 27. hand, take notes when you interpret tified, which will eventually trigger about a subject that is new to you. the memory of the entire concept. The Link Words Memory associates with prior experi- most important techniques used in Logical connectors, called “links,” this method are: connect and clarify individual concepts Figure 1 or ideas. It is a good idea to draw a ver- • To write down key concepts and tical line about an inch from the left Police words diagonally across the page, side of your notepad and write such arrested from left to right. link words to the left of the line, while drug smuggler noting the subject-verb-object (S-V-O) • To use indentation, spacing, and concepts to the right of it. For example, vertical organization of words and typical link words, in their abbreviated Where the idea is reflected in a complete symbols. form, include: Subject-Verb-Object (S-V-O) group: Notes written this way: • COS because S • THO although, despite Police • Are easier to read as our eyes move • TO (in order) to, so that V naturally from left to right. • Eg for example arrested • + in addition, not only, also O • Have an at-a-glance, simple to • B but, however, in spite of drug smuggler follow structure. this • _ consequently, this means • Place the beginning of each concept that, the result is Figure 2 on the left, where we will see it first. Figure 4 on page 27 shows an example S • Eliminate syntactic interference in of using link word abbreviations. Police the target language (frequently the Port Authority result of horizontal notes). Using Symbols Symbols are pictures, letters, and V • Provide space for additional notes. words that represent something. arrested Rather than individual words, sym- O For example, the sentence “The bols typically represent ideas or con- drug smuggler police arrested a drug smuggler,” cepts. Symbols are quick and easy to thieves noted diagonally across the page, write. On a page with notes, they are suspected terrorists would look like Figure 1. easy to see and easy to read. Symbols Notice how easy it would be to can be used instead of verbs, nouns,

26 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Figure 4

COS Police used dogs Figure 3 ______Police have been investing arrested drug training drug smugglers ______

______police dogs assist in all drug ops Police dogs helped “The police used the dogs because they have been investing in canine drug-sniffing officers training. Consequently, our police dogs now assist in all drug-related operations.” and recurring ideas. Examples include:

Verbs You must first hear and understand the message (want, desire) >> (suggest, propose) within a specific context to be able to interpret effectively. Nouns O (world, planet) $ (money) (consequence, result)  (relations, exchange, mutual) improvise during the speech. For example, to represent recurring ideas in a speech about Rotary Clubs in The arrow can modify meaning in 2. Symbols must be clear and easy Texas, the interpreter could come up many different scenarios. Figure 5 on to draw. with two simple symbols, such as RC page 28 uses examples taken from and TX, to save time when writing Jean Francois Rozan’s pivotal work, 3. Be consistent when using symbols. notes. Limited to one particular Note-taking in Consecutive Inter- If “I” denotes “industry,” do not speech, the RC symbol will not be con- preting. (Note: The word the arrow use “I” somewhere else in your fused with anything else, while TX can designates appears in bold.) notes to stand for “international.” be used at any time to denote Texas. Figure 6 in page 28 shows more One of the most versatile symbols symbols you can use for various con- 4. Symbols create associations in is the arrow, which is used more fre- cepts. your mind, so have a set of sym- quently than most other symbols. bols that you have made your own. Some examples of its use include: Take-home Tips Since we are all unique, with dif- Here is a rundown of some basic ferent educational backgrounds  (increase, rise, grow, etc.) tips highlighting the areas covered in and life experiences, no one’s this article. system will be exactly alike.  (decrease, fall, decline, drop, etc.) Use Symbols 5. Note the degrees of importance of  (leads to, consequence of, therefore) 1. Figure out which symbols work for the symbols you use through you and practice using them in underlining. For example:  (return, come back, reverse) advance of the assignment. Never

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 27 Note Taking for Consecutive Interpreting Continued

Figure 5 Figure 6

Country  a country’s development People: Country codes:  duties an increase in duties (Pleased, happy) D (Germany) (Annoyed, unhappy) UK (United Kingdom) science  scientific progress (Very unhappy, disgusted) F (France) patient  the patient’s recovery PL (Poland)  salaries a rise in salaries Mathematics: DA (Denmark)  living stard an improvement in the + (addition to) CH (China) standard of living - (less) CAN (Canada) % (percentage)  prices Inflated prices < (less than) Currency codes: > (greater than) SFR (Swiss franc) = (equal to) USD (U.S. dollar)  increase DEM (German mark) Geography: AUD (Australian dollar)  sharp increase, jump (for N (North) GBP (pound sterling) instance in prices) S (South) JPY (yen) E (East) CZK (Czech koruna)  = dramatic rise, skyrocket W (West) Text message shorthand: .... faltering, unsteady rise Currencies: RU (are you) $ (dollars) OK Write Down the £ (pounds) 2 (to) Most Important Items Rs (rupees) U (you) 1. Title of the speech (if any). € (euros) 4ever (forever) 2. Ideas and concepts, rather than B/C (because) words. Keyboard: b4 (before) @ (at) 3. Link words. # (number) Chemical symbols: & (and) CO (carbon monoxide) 4. Modal words and verb tenses. % (percent) H2O (water) © (copyright) Na (sodium) 5. Who the speaker is, proper names, ® (trademark) Fe (iron) numbers, dates, and lists. CO2 (carbon dioxide) 6. Terms and words about which you are unsure (and that you might be able to decode from further con- text). Use Effective Note Taking 2. Make a deliberate effort to locate Techniques parts of the speech that you will be 7. The last sentence (punch line). 1. Practice on written text first, get- able to recall fairly easily using ting your mind used to noting the minimal notes. S-V-O structure. 3. Review your notes and decide

28 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 For More Information

Publications Links Gillies, Andrew. Note-taking in Consecutive International Association of Conference Interpreting (Krakow: Tertium, 2005). Interpreters (This is the English translation of Jean www.aiic.net Francois Rozan’s La prise de notes en interprétation consécutive.) Interpreter Training Resources http://interpreters.free.fr/consecnotes/notes.htm Jones, Roderick. Conference Interpreting Explained (Manchester: St. Jerome, 2002). Memory Training in Interpreting http://accurapid.com/journal/25interpret.htm Rozan, Jean Francois. La prise de notes en interprétation consécutive (Geneva: Georg, St. Jerome Publishing 1956). www.stjerome.co.uk

which parts you could have 5. Listen to a different recorded Notes omitted to still get the same result. speech and take more notes, 1. Rozan, Jean Francois. La prise de making sure to use the correct notes en interprétation consécutive 4. Listen to a recorded speech or have S-V-O structure, symbols (if appli- (Geneva: Georg, 1956), 32. someone read a story aloud and cable), and link words. take notes, and then try to put the 2. Gillies, Andrew. Note-taking in notes aside and see how much you I hope that the information pro- Consecutive Interpreting (Krakow: can recall just from your memory. vided here will give you a better idea Tertium, 2005), 29. This is a difficult task, but it illus- of the note taking process, and that trates how much writing actually you can use it to organize a system interferes with listening. that works best for you.

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 29 A frequent theme at infor- mation-related conferences and events, such as those hosted by the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) and the Society for Technical Com - munication (STC), is the need to improve the way we manage informa- tion in order to optimize its use in the computer medium that is so ubiquitous today. One only has to look at the topics presented at these conferences to find frequent keywords that were rare 10 years ago, such as usability, retriev- ability, portability, knowledge manage- ment, controlled authoring, modular docu mentation, globalization, localiza- tion, repurposing, componentization, on-demand translation, interoperability, consumability, and user experience. Is the information industry rising to meet Terminology: these challenges? Although largely ignored by main- stream information professionals, ter- minology data can play an important role in addressing many of the issues above. XML standards specifically designed for terminology data are needed to support our ability to A New Challenge manage and process terminology itself. A Changing Work Environment The changing dynamics of the for the Information Industry work environment for communicators is impacting the way we create and By Kara Warburton manage information. We work in vir- tual teams and through Web applica- tions, yet we are still expected to “scrum” together to produce “agile help” (or more accurately, “agile user assistance”). More and more people work from a home office, rarely seeing their colleagues. Screencasts, e-meetings, wikis, and blogs are now widely used for collaborating and dis- tributing information. We are also facing new paradigms such as social networking, folksonomies, and crowd- sourcing that are changing the

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 way we interact and do business. (Please see page 33 for a glossary of some of the technical terms men- Consistency of language (terms and expressions) is tioned in this article.) People’s jobs have changed in recognized by most information professionals as one of response. Technical writers have become “information developers.” In the key factors in information clarity and usability. many companies, this role has shifted further, and an information developer is now considered a type of “software developer” or “Web developer.” ferent content types. One can well and abbreviations, non-textual ele- Translators have become known as understand that various types of con- ments such as program code or substi- “localizers” and even “localization tent require different types of markup tution variables, and words to be engineers.” New job titles have been languages, by virtue of the inherent indexed. But with markup languages coined, such as “information architect” differences in the nature and structure such as these, what is available to and “user-centered designer,” or the of the content: invoices, , online ensure that the words and other short flamboyant “consumability champion.” help, contracts, marketing material, expressions people use when devel- These shifts did not come about without financial and personnel records, edu- oping content are correct and consis- expectations. Today, technical writers, cational course materials, and so tent? Almost nothing. Translation translators, and other information pro- forth. memories are only effective for fessionals are required to be highly For authoring, one such markup checking the consistency and accu- skilled in information technology. language is the Darwin Information racy of full sentences or sentence Typing Architecture (DITA), which fragments such as items in a list The Need for a Standard was initially developed by IBM and is (which are sometimes called seg- Information must have two basic now an OASIS standard (Organi- ments). The content authoring formats properties in order to meet current and zation for the Advancement of are designed for structuring informa- future demands. It must be: a) logi- Structured Information Standards). tion at the topic, paragraph, or sen- cally structured, and b) machine-read- For translation, where “translation tence level. able. The latter is dependent on the memories” are recorded in databases former: no information is machine- to avoid retranslating the same sen- The Need for Consistency readable unless it is logically struc- tences over and over again, we have Is consistency and accuracy at the tured. In order for information to be Translation Memory Exchange word level even important? Absolutely. machine-readable, however, its struc- (TMX), developed by LISA. (For Consistency of language (terms and ture must also be predictable. more information on these standards, expressions) is recognized by most “Granularity” of the structure (how please see the links provided on page information professionals as one of the detailed it is) is also important. What 34.) key factors in information clarity and is required is a standard “markup usability. For example, if the name of a format,” a logical “language” for DITA and TMX product feature on product labeling is marking up content so that it can be The DITA and TMX formats are different from how it appears in user understood and processed by a com- examples of what is typical in the con- interfaces or the online help or docu- puter. XML has emerged to address tent management industry. They mentation or marketing material, the this need, but XML is a machine- permit content to be structured at the user becomes disoriented. If an abbre- readable language for creating stan- topic and sentence level, with some viation or acronym is used without dard markup languages; it is not a additional sub-sentence level markup being spelled out, the message being standard markup language itself. elements to identify “special” pieces conveyed to the user can be lost. Once XML became available, of text such as proper names (names Terminology consistency also has information technology professionals of products, services, organizations, an impact on information retrievability quickly defined XML-based standard publications, etc.), presentational fea- through indices, navigation bars, and markup languages for all kinds of dif- tures (bold, italics, etc.), acronyms search engines. Users need to

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 31 Terminology: A New Challenge for the Information Industry Continued know what terms to search for to find or disastrous consequences. designed to improve and control the the information they want. Consistent In the translation industry, termi- use of terminology requires machine- terminology in the content itself helps nology consistency affects not only readable data to “teach” the function to get those key terms imprinted in the information quality, but also the what is a correct term and what is not. user’s head. Furthermore, the terms in the index, navigation bar, and glossary have to be consistent with the terms in the text. In cases where inconsistencies may be unavoidable, such as when two In some industries, such as the automotive or more synonymous terms are already in use, search engines can be pro- world, terminology inconsistencies and other grammed to recognize all synonymous words so that the right content is terminology errors are the most frequently occurring retrieved regardless of the chosen search term. (This function, called translation errors. query expansion, requires machine- readable information about synonyms.) Skeptics concerned about pro- tecting their budget may challenge the bottom line of both the client and the Take controlled authoring as an scope of this problem. Is it really that service provider. If two sentences are example. The range of functions much of an issue? Indeed, termi- identical in every respect, except that required today is much larger than in nology inconsistencies often go unno- one uses a different word to express the past. There was a time when an ticed or seem to have little impact, the same concept, what could have organization was lucky if it could add particularly in the source language been an exact match in the translation its own terms to the spell-checking (such as English) of a global com- memory is now a fuzzy match that function within word processors. This pany. But studies have shown that ter- requires retranslation and repayment. was needed to prevent false positives minology inconsistencies multiply in In industries like software develop- (reporting an error when there was no translated texts compared with ment, the newly translated segment error). For example, the term “Qshell” source-language texts. In some indus- may have to be retested. All this adds is a valid term in the computing tries, such as the automotive world, cost and can delay the release of the industry, but most if not all off-the- terminology inconsistencies and other product to the target market. shelf spell-checkers would flag it as terminology errors are the most fre- an error. Many terms that are valid in quently occurring translation errors. It Driving Consistency specialized terminology-rich domains is common for a single English term Through Terminology are simply not included in the spell- to be translated in many different To improve terminology consis- checkers that are shipped with soft- ways. For example, if a concept is tency in content authoring and trans- ware applications. Users of standard expressed inconsistently by two dif- lation, information professionals need spell-checkers who work in such ferent English terms in a source text, to embrace terminology management domains can experience so many false the translated text may have four or practices and tools. Developers of positives that they find the spell- more different terms for this same XML-based authoring tools are just checking totally unreliable and decide concept. No wonder aspects such as beginning to look at adding termi- not to use it at all. usability, retrievability, and so forth nology consistency checkers, and an Furthermore, standard spell-checkers always seem worse in translated infor- enhancement to DITA for repre- do not take context into account. For mation and products compared with senting terminology is already in the example, IBM has a product called the the original version. In high-risk queue at OASIS. Most computer- IBM® WebSphere® Portal Server.1 If industries such as health sciences, assisted translation (CAT) tools someone mistakenly refers to this engineering, national defense, and already have internal functions product as “WebSphere Postal law, problems of ambiguity, inconsis- designed to help improve terminology Server,” this error will go undetected tency, or imprecision can have serious consistency. However, any function by most spell-checkers, even if the

32 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Quick Glossary

Componentization: The development of software from reusable components in a standards-based service interface, which allows components to be reused outside their native framework.

Consumability: The ease with which a product is embraced by consumers. Consumability combines factors such as usability, appeal, and appropriateness to the target market and consumer needs.

Controlled authoring: Authoring according to predefined rules of style and vocabulary.

Crowd-sourcing: The act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor and it to an unde- fined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.

Folksonomy: A taxonomy, spontaneously generated by a network of users, that is used to organize content.

Interoperability: The ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together (inter-operate).

Knowledge management: The technologies involved in creating, disseminating, and utilizing knowledge.

Modular documentation: Documentation that is comprised of modules that can be assembled into finished documents in differ- ent formats such as Web tutorials, online help systems, and printed manuals.

Repurposing: The use of content for multiple purposes.

Social networking: Communicating through a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific type of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, kin- ship, dislike, conflict, or .

term “WebSphere Portal Server” is in verb and not an adjective, and that this ical and lexical analysis in addition to the spell-checking dictionary, since sentence requires an adjective back-end terminology dictionaries. “postal” is a valid word. Therefore, (“loose”). Both words are valid Grammatical analysis is required to the functions need to be improved to spellings in certain contexts. Most differentiate among nouns, verbs, and take context, that is, the surrounding parents have seen this happen when other parts of speech to make the words, into account (e.g., between their children use spell-checkers and functions effective. Lexical analysis is “WebSphere” and “Server,” the word their writing still contains errors. needed to map inflected forms (such “Postal” is an error). Today, controlled authoring is as plural nouns) to their base form. In A more readily recognized moving beyond spell-checking, and term harvesting, the software identi- instance of this problem occurs when some of the more advanced controlled fies terms in the text. In synonym the spell-checker misses spelling authoring tools already offer addi- checking, the software identifies errors that are dependent upon tional functions such as term har- “deprecated” terms and suggests their grammar, as in the phrase “The screw vesting, synonym checking, and preferred alternatives. For abbrevia- is lose.” The problem is that the spell- abbreviation expansion. These func- tion expansion, the software identifies checker cannot detect that “lose” is a tions require some form of grammat- abbreviations, reminds the user

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 33 Terminology: A New Challenge for the Information Industry Continued to provide the full form, and offers a different computing environments and these changes in the business environ- list of possible full forms for each software applications, but also various ment. If an acquired company has rules abbreviation. suppliers, business partners, and other about terminology in any language, the The scope of changes in function- ality in CAT tools, both current and in progress, has been equally wide- ranging. For example, users of CAT tools need sophisticated functions to In the translation industry, terminology consistency check the consistency of terminology across translation memories, an affects not only information quality, but also the activity that IBM calls “term .” Global search-and-replace operations bottom line of both the client and the service provider. need to be carried out, but with more advanced algorithms and conditions to avoid mis-replacements. internal and external stakeholders. speed with which the host company can Portability are also cre- integrate those rules into its environ- Today, terminology data also needs ating an immediate need to share infor- ment can make the difference between to be much more portable than in the mation with an organization that was gaining or losing market share. past. Years ago, industries and organiza- not even part of the picture yesterday. There is also a trend toward sharing tions operated in relative silos compared The two aforementioned applications of terminology through community- to today, where information is expected terminology, controlled authoring and based portals, such as the Microsoft® to flow seamlessly between not only translation, need to react quickly to Language Portal2, or consolidating ter-

Want to Learn More?

Darwin Information Typing Architecture Microsoft Language Portal www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-dita1 www.microsoft.com/language/en/us/default.mspx

EuroTermBank Society for Technical Communication www.eurotermbank.com www.stc.org

Organization for the Advancement of TermBase eXchange Structured Information Standards www.lisa.org/Term-Base-eXchange.32.0.html www.oasis-open.org/home/index.php Translation Memory Exchange Localization Industry Standards Association www.lisa.org/Translation-Memory-e.34.0.html www.lisa.org

34 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 minology into a “federated system,” principles and standards, can also serve mation industry? It is an XML format where discrete physical databases as a data model. for terminology that is appropriate as appear as one virtual database (e.g., In 2002, LISA published an XML- a data model for a multipurpose data- EuroTermBank3). These types of ini- based terminology markup language base. It can encapsulate most of the tiatives require a common interchange (TML) called TermBase eXchange data types demanded by diverse appli- format, and they are expected to (TBX). TBX has its roots in other stan- cations (and it can be extended to become more widespread. dards published by ISO Technical cover more). Its primary purpose is to All of these diverse users and Committee 37. In 2008, it was revised facilitate the interchange of termi- applications of terminology require and submitted for approval as an ISO nology between applications and terminology data, and sometimes the standard (ISO 30042). Already sup- users. Thus, it can be a catalyst in the demands for data can seem contradic- ported by a number of CAT tools, TBX development of innovative solutions tory. For instance, including syn- has just been approved by ISO, and is for improving the use of terminology, onyms with status indicators expected to become more widely and it can help to increase the move- (preferred, deprecated, etc.) in the adopted as an interchange format and ment of terminology across barriers. source language is obviously essential as a model for terminology data. It for controlled authoring applications, would be beneficial to the information Notes but may seem irrelevant to translators industry at large if TBX served as a 1. IBM and WebSphere are registered and their applications. Therefore, in catalyst for the development of much trademarks of International Business an enterprise environment, it is essen- needed software functions to support Machines in the U.S., other coun- tial to adopt a terminology data model terminology management and consis- tries, or both. Microsoft is a trade- that is capable of addressing all of the tency checking. mark of Microsoft Corporation in identified needs. The new version of TBX supports the U.S., other countries, or both. modern XML modeling languages such Other company, product, or service The Need for a Standard as RelaxNG and Schematron, allowing names may be trademarks or service Terminology data required to sup- for rich data representation capabilities in marks of others. port these functions is typically col- one integrated schema. Furthermore, lected over a period of time within an such a schema enables a TBX file to be 2. Microsoft® Language Portal organization, and is stored and man- automatically checked by using open (www. microsoft.com/language/ aged in a terminology database. The source XML validators. TBX is modular en/us/ default.mspx) terminology data must be machine- because it allows the definition of cus- readable in order to be usable. tomized TMLs based on TBX itself. This 3. EuroTermBank Terminology data coming from various flexibility addresses the reality that no (www.eurotermbank.com) sources will not be interchangeable two terminological databases are alike, unless its structure is standardized and while optimizing their common features predictable. Therefore, a markup lan- through fixing the core structure and pro- guage specifically designed for termi- viding a machine-readable formalism for nology data is needed. The markup representing their differences. language, if founded on recognized What can TBX bring to the infor- Dual Fuzzy Take Advantage of ATA’s Member Benefits Organization of American States Staff Federal Union For additional information: www.atanet.org/creditunion.php NXTwww.star-transit.net

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 35 Translating and Interpreting: Careers for the 21st Century On May 16, 2008, the North east Ohio Translators Association By Cindy Hazelton (NOTA) and the Institute for Applied Linguistics (IAL) at Kent State University demonstrated that a suc- cessful joint community outreach initia- tive is possible with a lot of planning and volunteer support. Co-sponsored by NOTA and IAL, the one-day workshop, entitled “Translating and Interpreting: Careers for the 21st Century,” was designed to inform teachers and guid- ance counselors about exciting career possibilities in the fields of translating and interpreting so they could share the information with their students. Thirty- five high school teachers and guidance counselors from school districts throughout Ohio accepted the invitation that was sent out to all the public school systems in the state. The program, which took place in one of IAL’s state- of-the-art computer laboratories, cer- tainly did not disappoint attendees, with six speakers discussing training oppor- tunities and the skills necessary to be successful language professionals in today’s global environment.

Professional Overview Corinne McKay opened the seminar with an overview of the translation industry and discussed how high school teachers and counselors can get involved. McKay explained that being bilingual is not a sufficient enough qual- ification to translate or interpret. She emphasized that students, as well as for- eign language teachers who may be interested in moving to a new career in the language industry, must first be trained in the craft of translation and interpreting. McKay discussed the demands of the language professions, including the importance of knowing how to conduct research to gain subject area knowledge before beginning any translation. She also touched upon

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 industry standards regarding certifica- tion. Seminar participants left the ses- sion with an exhaustive list of resources A successful joint community outreach initiative is for additional reading and contact infor- mation, some of which are listed in the possible with a lot of planning and volunteer support. box on page 39.

Outreach During the next session, ATA . Among the news Inspector General found that— School Outreach Program Coor - items on the list were: despite significant progress—the FBI dinator Lillian Clementi gave the was still unable to keep pace with attendees a tour of the School • “Translation is one of the hottest counterterrorism and counterintelli- Outreach resources on ATA’s website. jobs in the U.S., with incomes gence material in foreign languages. These educators will now be able to ranging from $43,000 to $100,000. “Key deficiencies remain in the FBI’s use ATA’s website as a resource for The need for translators is expected foreign language translation program, students who are interested in lan- to grow 26% by 2014” (PARADE: including a continuing backlog of guage careers. Clementi highlighted What People Earn 2007). unreviewed material…and continued the following core concepts: challenges in meeting linguist hiring • In his 2007 State of the Judiciary goals and target staffing levels” (U.S. • Translation and interpreting are Address, the chief justice of the Department of Justice, Office of the two different skills. Ohio State Supreme Court gave Inspector General, July 2005). court interpreting its own subsec- • Being bilingual is not enough. tion, noting that a Supreme Court • Members of the Senate Judiciary Competent translators and inter- survey identified 60 languages Com mittee overwhelmingly approved preters need specialized training spoken in Ohio courts each year. legislation by Senator Herb Kohl and skills. He also quoted a court official who (Democrat-Wisconsin) that would described the onslaught of foreign create a federal grant program to • Translation is much more than languages as “an explosion of ensure state court interpreter services word substitution. people coming before the courts are available to individuals testifying who do not speak English” (The in court. “The shortage of qualified • Computer translation will not replace Supreme Court of Ohio). interpreters has become a national human translators any time soon. problem, and it has serious conse- • “Today, we learned there are only 10 quences that can unfairly alter legal • Foreign language skills pay off in Americans at the U.S. embassy in decisions and affect lives,” Kohl says. the workplace, including , Baghdad who have at least a mod- Testifying before the Senate Judiciary courts, social services, and interna- erate ability to speak and read Arabic. Committee last year, Supreme Court tional law and business. That’s 10 out of the roughly 1,000 Justice Anthony Kennedy said the Americans who work at the embassy. current lack of qualified court inter- To emphasize these points, As pathetic as that number is, it’s preters creates a significant threat to Clementi led attendees through a actually an improvement. When the the nation’s judicial system (U.S. hands-on exercise comparing a com- Iraq Study Group report was released Senate, April 24, 2008). puter-translated article in English last fall, only six U.S. employees of with its original French version. As [the] embassy spoke Arabic” (Senior Training part of her presentation, Clementi dis- National Security Correspondent Following a round-table discussion tributed a handout that attendees Jonathan Karl, ABC News Blog: during which attendees were able to could use in their school districts to June 19, 2007). ask questions regarding translation illustrate the critical shortage of com- careers, IAL Director Françoise petent linguists in the U.S. and to • Almost four years after 9/11, an audit Massardier-Kenney, spoke on the crit- underscore the importance of foreign by the U.S. Justice Department’s ical need for translators and inter-

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 37 Translating and Interpreting: Careers for the 21st Century Continued preters and IAL’s three translation Court, Medical, and sultant for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. degree programs. Community Interpreting Curtis gave an entertaining and informa- She explained that students in the The afternoon session started with a tive presentation on the importance of bachelor’s degree program in transla- presentation by John Shaklee, a cross-cultural training for businesses. tion are encouraged to combine their Tennessee State certified court inter- She highlighted the fact that most translation major with another subject preter, who spoke about court, medical, human communication is nonverbal, and area specialty, such as business, law, and community interpreting. He dis- that while some , such as in the finance, or computer science, as a cussed the different skills required to U.S. and Canada, tend to put relatively less emphasis on nonverbal communica- tion, for other cultures, such as in Japan or Colombia, it is highly important. Curtis explained that having cultural Competent translators and interpreters need specialized competence is critical for businesses with multicultural clients, since a cul- education and excellent vocabulary, grammar, and tural misunderstanding can break a deal. She then presented this cultural compe- writing skills. tence checklist for success:

• Make the environment more wel- coming and attractive based on the means of developing their knowledge translate and interpret and related many client’s cultural background. and terminology in an area that will interesting anecdotes from his experi- facilitate their translation careers. ences. Shaklee stressed that the role of • Avoid stereotyping and misappli- Students must also take courses in an interpreter is to facilitate communi- cation of scientific knowledge. business, foreign language, and trans- cation and to bring the foreign language lation theory and practice. speaker to the same level as the English • Include community input at the Massardier-Kenney went on to speaker. He pointed out that an inter- planning and development stage. explain that students entering the MA preter’s role is not to be an advocate for program are expected to be fully fluent one side or the other, but to relay accu- • Use educational materials that will in at least two languages, as no lan- rately what both speakers are saying. capture the attention of your guage acquisition is taught at this Shaklee then explained the differ- intended audience. level. The goal of the program is to ence between simultaneous and consec- teach students translation theory, utive interpreting. As an exercise, he • Find ways for the community to advanced research skills, specialized asked attendees to pair up and practice take the lead. translation techniques, and the use of both types of interpreting. After distrib- translation software. Students also uting the Code of Ethics and • Be an advocate and strike a balance learn software localization and project Professional Responsibility from the between community priorities and management skills. National Association of Judiciary the agency’s mission. To conclude, she explained that Interpreters and Translators, attendees students in the PhD program are being were presented with scenarios and • Understand that there is no recipe trained to teach the next generation of asked what they should do under the for success. translators. They study translation code. pedagogy, methods and research, • Hire staff that reflects your client applied linguistics, translation infor- Cross-cultural Training population. matics, and multilingual document Shaklee was followed by Natasha management. Doctoral students spe- Curtis, a judicial and medical Spanish • Understand that cultural compe- cialize in either or translator and interpreter who is also tency is continuously evolving. translation tools and informatics. employed as a and language con-

38 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Check These Out!

A Day in the Life of a Translator/Interpreter International Association of Conference Interpreters www.atanet.org/careers/career_video.php www.aiic.net A brief video profiling the working lives of Iciar and Andrea, two young women from Spain who work as professional translator/interpreters in National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Washington, DC. The video highlights the difference between inter- Translators preting and translating, and why this is an increasingly important pro- www.najit.org fession in today’s world. National Center for State Courts: State Certification ATA Mentoring Program www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/CourtInterp/CICourtConsort.html www.atanet.org/careers/mentoring.php Northeast Ohio Translators Association ATA School Outreach Resource Page www.notatranslators.org www.atanet.org/ata_school/school_outreach_ Supreme Court of Ohio materials.php Interpreter Services Program Click on the link for the age group you want to reach. The website www.sconet.state.oh.us/Judicial_and_Court_Services/ is designed for working translators and interpreters, but there is a interpreter_svcs/default.asp wealth of material that teachers can use. Supreme Court of Ohio Careers in Translation and Interpreting 2006 Report on the Use of Interpreters in Ohio Courts www.atanet.org/careers/index.php www.sconet.state.oh.us/publications/interpreter_services/ Community and Court Interpreters of the Ohio Valley interpreter_use_report.pdf www.ccio.org Translation and Interpreting Training Program Listings The for ATA and the National Center for State Courts both list col- Contacts for State and Federal Certification Programs leges and universities offering courses in translation and interpreting. www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/CIConsortContactspage.html www.atanet.org/careers/T_I_programs.php Cultural Competence and Business www.businessweek.com/adsections/diversity/diversecompet.htm www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/CourtInterp/Web%203%20 Colleges%20and%20Universities.pdf Institute for Applied Linguistics at Kent State University University of Arizona http://appling.kent.edu National Center for Interpretation www.nci.arizona.edu

• Be creative in finding ways to com- Terminology Management Educating the Community One municate with groups that have The closing speaker was Sue Ellen Group at a Time limited-English-speaking proficiency. Wright, a professor at IAL who teaches The teachers and guidance coun- computer applications for translators selors left the seminar with a great deal Curtis concluded her presentation and German-to-English technical trans- of knowledge to pass on to their stu- by saying that although interpreters lation. She spoke on the importance of dents about translating and interpreting should try to become transparent in terminology management in the transla- career opportunities. NOTA and IAL the communication process between tion and localization fields. The presen- were pleased with the turnout and hope two speakers, cross-cultural commu- tation included a demonstration of how to offer this seminar again. nication is also important. The inter- translation and localization software is preter’s goal is to make the foreign used to improve the consistency of a language speaker feel understood and document being translated by several respected. individuals.

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 39 Did you know that one of the benefits of joining an ATA division is the opportunity to participate on its listerv?

Chinese Language Division Language Technology Division www.ata-divisions.org/CLD www.ata-divisions.org/LTD Listserv: Listserv: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CLDlistserv http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ataLTD

French Language Division Medical Division www.ata-divisions.org/FLD www.ata-divisions.org/MD Listserv: Listserv: www.ata-divisions.org/FLD/listserv_info.htm http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/ group/ATA_MedDiv German Language Division www.ata-divisions.org/GLD Portuguese Language Division Listserv: www.ata-divisions.org/PLD http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gldlist Listserv: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ Interpreters Division PLData-Online www.ata-divisions.org/ID Listserv: Slavic Languages Division http://groups.yahoo.com/group/e-voice4ATA-ID www.ata-divisions.org/SLD Listserv: Italian Language Division http://groups.google.com/group/ www.ata-divisions.org/ILD ata-divisions-sld-slavfile Listserv: www.ata-divisions.org/ILD/mailinglist.html Spanish Language Division www.ata-divisions.org/SPD Japanese Language Division Listserv: www.ata-divisions.org/JLD http://espanol.groups.yahoo.com/ Listserv: group/espalista http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/jld-list Translation Company Division Korean Language Division www.ata-divisions.org/TCD www.ata-divisions.org/KLD Listserv: Listserv: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/ http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ataKorean/ group/ataTCD

Division membership is included in your ATA annual dues. Visit www.atanet.org/divisions/division_admin.php to join any or all ATA divisions without additional fees.

40 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Visit the ATA Calendar Online www.atanet.org/calendar/ for a more comprehensive look at upcoming events. Upcoming Events

November 5-8, 2008 December 4-7, 2008 December 27-30, 2008 American Translators Association National University of Singapore Modern Language Association 49th Annual Conference Centre for Language Studies 124th Annual Convention Orlando, FL 3rd International Conference San Francisco, CA www.atanet.org/conf/2008 www.fas.nus.edu.sg/cls/clasic2008 www.mla.org

November 21-23, 2008 December 8-12, 2008 March 13-15, 2009 American Council on the Teaching of Localization Industry Mid-America Chapter of ATA Foreign Languages Standards Association 2009 Symposium 2008 Convention and LISA Forum Europe 2008 Overland Park, KS World Languages Expo "The Business Impact of Operating www.ata-micata.org Orlando, FL Without Standards" www.actfl.org Dublin, Ireland www.lisa.org/Dublin.613.0.html May 13-16, 2009 Association of Language Companies November 29-30, 2008 7th Annual Conference Organización Mexicana de Traductores December 27-30, 2008 Austin, TX XII International Congress of Translation American Association of Teachers of www.alcus.org and Interpretation Slavic & Eastern European Languages San Jerónimo 2008 Annual Conference Guadalajara, Mexico San Francisco, CA May 15-17, 2009 www.omt.org.mx/general.htm www.aatseel.org/program National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators 30th Annual Conference Scottsdale, AZ www.najit.org

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 41 Business Smarts Calculating Earnings

Rising costs and inflation can But the lowest price on offer— , rent, and office upkeep, from be sources of concern to small busi- based, for example, on translation proj- that figure in order to arrive at the ness owners, especially when the ects posted at online sites—is actual profit your business makes. economy is not doing well. This not necessarily a true reflection of cur- Nevertheless, this calculation is an column looks at ways to assess a free- rent market rates, and is not the best excellent starting point for evaluating lancer’s financial situation and rec- guide for determining the prices you your financial position. The calculator ommends specific approaches to need to charge for your own work. also is a useful tool for playing out dif- financial evaluation. Instead, set aside an hour or an after- ferent scenarios. For example, if you noon and carefully analyze your own decide to increase your rates you may Dear Business Smarts, business situation. Pull out your tax see a temporary drop in the number of Looking at translation prices in records from past years and look at assignments, which in turn would be online forums and surveys these days your actual net business earnings for reflected in a lower daily output. drives me to despair. In spite of high each period. As a translator who Your past tax records also provide inflation and price increases almost charges by the word, you can calculate information about your business everywhere you look, the earnings of your annual gross (pre-tax) earnings on expenses. If you determine that you are translators have remained stagnant. In the basis of your daily output and cur- not making enough money to cover my language combination, English- rent rate. To help you with these calcu- your costs, you need to consider both to-Spanish, prices are even lower than lations, ATA has set up a new gross sides of the equation: how to cut your they used to be. If this keeps up, trans- earnings calculator on its website, expenses and how to increase your lators will not be able to support which can be found at www.atanet. income. Use your accounting software themselves with their earnings! org/business_practices/earnings_cal to analyze where your money goes, Worried culator.php. Enter the average number and look for ways to decrease costs. At of words you can translate in a typical the same time, go through your list of Dear Worried, day, your rate, and the number of days clients and determine your most prof- There is no denying that competi- you work in a month. Be sure to enter itable accounts. As always, consider tors who live and work in countries realistic data so that you get useful eliminating clients who are unwilling where the cost of living is lower will be results. The calculator will show only to pay for the quality you provide, able to undercut U.S. rates. This trend potential gross earnings: you will need which will give you the capacity you is by no means limited to our industry, to deduct your business expenses, such need to earn better profits elsewhere. and affects our economy as a whole. as the cost of equipment, software,

Comments? The information in this column was compiled by members of ATA’s Business Practices Education Committee for the benefit of ATA members. This column is not intended to ATA members can discuss business issues online constitute legal, financial, or other business advice. Each individual or company should at the following Yahoo! group: make its own independent business decisions and consult its own legal, financial, or http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/ other advisors as appropriate. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of group/ata_business_practices. You will ATA or its Board of Directors. Send your questions about the business of translation need to register with Yahoo! (at no charge) if and interpreting to The ATA Chronicle—BPEC Q&A, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, you have not already done so, and provide your Alexandria, VA 22314 USA; Fax: +1-703-683-6122; E-mail: full name and ATA member number in order to [email protected]. Questions must be accompanied by a complete name join the group. and address, but will be published anonymously or pseudonymously upon request.

March 13-15, 2009 May 13-16, 2009 May 15-17, 2009 Mid-America Chapter of ATA Association of Language Companies National Association of Judiciary Don’t Miss 2009 Symposium 7th Annual Conference Interpreters and Translators For more information, visit Overland Park, KS Austin, TX 30th Annual Conference www.atanet.org/calendar www.ata-micata.org www.alcus.org www.najit.org

42 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 The GeekSpeak column has two goals: to inform the community GeekSpeak Jost Zetzsche about technological advances and at the same time encourage [email protected] the use and appreciation of technology among translation pro- fessionals. Jost also publishes a free technical newsletter for translators (www.internationalwriters.com/toolkit). All Translators Are Not Equal

All right, how is this for a novel fee supported languages to achieve the • Contact organizations such as schedule: effective immediately, trans- same productivity enjoyed by their col- RIFAL (www.rifal.org) that engage lators will be paid by the degree that leagues in highly supported languages. in developing conversions between technology supports their language. How can we remedy this situation? legacy fonts and Unicode. Let me explain. There would be How can, say, Amharic translators get three different levels of languages. access to the tools that would allow • Contact independent developers of Level 1 languages would include lan- them to convert PDFs or scanned doc- existing tools and ask them what it guages with full support in areas like uments into computer-processable would take to add support for your voice recognition, optical character text, dictate text, or spell-check their language. recognition, seamless support by documents with high-quality spell- translation environment tools, support checkers? While I do not have a • Find out what kind of grants might by major online dictionaries and/or ready-made answer, it seems that the be available to support private other language resources, and spell- only way to make any headway would development activities. and grammar-checkers. Level 2 lan- be for those language groups to come guages would include those that are together and demand it. A national I am writing this column while sit- missing one or two of the tools listed organization for translators working ting in the San Francisco airport, above, and Level 3 languages would in an under-supported language would waiting for my flight to North Bend, be those that are lacking more than be a good platform to begin a conver- Oregon, on a commercial flight that two of those same enablers. sation with developers. Otherwise, was established just a few weeks ago. The fee scale would be calculated large organizations such as ATA might North Bend is a mere 20-minute drive in the following manner. If you trans- also serve as a good starting point for away from my home. Just six months late between two different Level 1 lan- coming up with creative solutions for ago, I never would have believed that guages, you would earn 10% less per developing tools. there would be flights to my local word than if you had a Level 2 lan- Here are some ideas for what these area—for years I have been driving guage involved. With two Level 2 lan- solutions might entail: two hours to get reasonable flights guages, you would make yet another from the next larger airport in Eugene. 10% per word, and this would be the • First of all, make sure that you However, this local connection was same as what a translator between a truly know what is out there for made possible by local businesses Level 1 and a Level 3 language would your language. Sites like the from my area guaranteeing United make… You get the point. Language Technology Resource a certain number of passen- Can you imagine the rejoicing Center (http://ltrc.mitre.org/Tools/ gers, and promising to reimburse among our colleagues who translate reports/index.pl) list many more them for any discrepancy. Level 3 languages like Amharic, Indic resources and tools for languages I am not sure that there is a direct languages, Inuktitut, Creole, or many such as Arabic, Urdu, or Pashto correlation between my North Bend other technically less-supported lan- than many translators in those lan- flight and the under-supported lan- guages? Even translators of Level 2 guages might know about. guages, but it is a good example of languages like Arabic, Urdu, or how businesses—and as translation Hebrew probably would not mind • Educate colleagues who work in agencies or freelance translators, we such a system. Only folks like me, the same language about what are businesses—can find creative who translate between two Level 1 technology offers for your lan- solutions to change something that languages—English and German— guage today, or about such things otherwise prevents greater produc- would be left in the dust. as using Unicode rather than tivity and tends to make folks just Of course, this suggestion is not legacy fonts. throw up their arms in despair. Let’s meant to be taken too seriously. use those arms to do something about However, it is designed to illustrate • Contact universities or other non- situations that can be changed. how the different levels of technolog- commercial entities that may have ical support among languages make it developed solutions, but have just not all the harder for translators of less- released them to the general public.

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 43 Send your news to Jeff Sanfacon at [email protected] or American Translators Association, Member News 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314.

• Michele M. Aynesworth was issue of FSB (Forbes Small Bulgakov’s White Guard (Yale among the recipients of the 2009 Business), in an article entitled University Press). The interview can National Endowment for the Arts “Watch Your Language: How a be downloaded at www.the Literary Translation Awards. Small Translation Company Helps world.org/?q=aggregator/sources/61. Aynesworth received $20,000 to Big Brands Avoid Global support the translation from French Mishaps,” by Malika Zouhali- • Liliana Valenzuela was inter- of In So Corrupt an Age, the war Worrall. viewed on Univision as part of a journal of Charles Rist. segment called “Latin Pride/Orgullo • Marian Schwartz was interviewed latino,” which honors a distin- • CETRA, Inc., of Elkins Park, about her translation of Yuri guished member of the community Pennsylvania, has been ranked as Olesha’s Envy (New York Review every week. Valenzuela was asked one of 2008’s top 100 fastest Books Classics) on “Underappreci - about her accomplishments, her growing, privately held businesses ated Writers,” a weekly feature on inspiration, and her thoughts on edu- in the Philadelphia region by the the Leonard Lopate Show series on cation and the community. The Philadelphia 100, a joint project of WNYC 93.9 FM, New York’s public interview can be viewed on You the Wharton Small Business radio station. The interview can be Tube at www.youtube.com/watch? Development Center, the Entre pre - downloaded at www.wnyc.org/ v=6h1LiQVsooY. Another clip on neurs Forum of Greater Phila- shows/lopate/underappreciated.html. You Tube shows Carmen Tafolla, a delphia, and the Philadelphia Schwartz was also interviewed on San Antonio writer, reading one of Business Journal. Public Radio International’s World Valenzuela's bilingual poems Books podcast, a spotlight on inter- (www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qBQ • Choice Translating, Inc., of national literary news, trends, and NHm4K2Q). Charlotte, North Carolina, was authors. The interview focused on profiled in the July/August 2008 her new translation of Mikhail

Call For Papers | Inaugural Issue | Translation & Interpreting

Translation & Interpreting is a new, refereed international journal seeking to create cross-fertilization among research, training, and professional practice. It will publish original research-based articles high- lighting the applications of research results to the improvement of translator and interpreter training and practice. Scholars at all levels are invited to submit.

This free online journal, hosted by the University of Western Sydney’s Interpreting and Translation Research Node, will be accessible to all researchers, educators, students, and practitioners of interpreting and translation, as well as to others interested in the discipline. It will be published twice a year.

Submission Deadline: December 15, 2008

For more information, please contact Sandra Hale at [email protected] or Ignacio Garcia at [email protected], or visit http://trans-int.org/index.php/newjourn/index.

44 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 ATA Certification Exam Information All candidates applying for ATA certification must Upcoming Exams provide proof that they meet the certification program eligibility requirements. Please direct all inquiries regarding general certification information to ATA Florida Minnesota Headquarters at +1-703-683-6100. Registration for Orlando Minneapolis all certification exams should be made through ATA November 8, 2008 January 25, 2009 Headquarters. All sittings have a maximum capacity Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: and admission is based on the order in which October 24, 2008 January 9, 2009 registrations are received. Forms are available from ATA’s website or from Headquarters.

New Certified Members Congratulations! The following people have successfully passed ATA’s certification exam:

English into German English into Spanish French into English Spanish into English

Thomas Bosch Ana C. Bardi Angelo Gentile Martin D. Boyd Eugene, OR Miramar, FL Fort Myers, FL Toronto, Ontario, Canada

English into Portuguese Sonia Claro German into English Mary F. Pinto Durham, NC Brooklyn, NY Giovana C. Boselli Michael J. Engley Astoria, NY Helena de la Vega Louisville, KY Brossard, Quebec, Canada Gabriela S. Rangel Tamara L. Wood Greely, Ontario, Canada Mariana de la Vega Dover, NH Mexico City, Mexico

Laura Eastment Arlington, MA

Active and Corresponding Membership Review Congratulations! The Active Membership Review Committee is pleased to grant active or corresponding status to:

Active Corresponding Renée Borio-Román Thelma D. Gomez-Ferry Reynaldo J. Pagura Bronx, NY El Paso, TX Sao Paulo, Brazil

Monica A. De Bari Patty Pai Monterey, CA Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy

Christina Zubelli Seattle, WA

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 45 Success by Association Association for in the Americas

• Established: 1991 • E-mail: • Website: [email protected] for Machine Quick The Association www.amtaweb.org • Contact: Translation in the Americas (AMTA) • Phone: Priscilla Rasmussen is dedicated to anyone interested in (570) 476-8006 AMTA Business Manager machine translation (MT). The associ- Facts 209 N Eighth Street • Fax: Stroudsburg, PA 18360 ation brings together users, commer- (570) 476-0860 cial system developers, researchers, sponsors, and others for the purpose of studying, evaluating, and under- standing the science of this tech- on MT and related technologies workshops, seminars, and symposia nology. AMTA also strives to educate and applications. on MT, to which members receive dis- the public about the important scien- counted rates. The biennial AMTA tific techniques and principles • Developing appropriate training conferences bring together MT users, of MT. materials and programs. system developers, companies, AMTA has members in the U.S., researchers, and translation profes- Canada, and Latin America. It is the • Facilitating access by researchers to sionals to share ideas and compare regional component of a worldwide machine readable corpora and coop- systems. AMTA’s 2008 conference, network headed by the International erating in the exchange of formats being held October 21-25 in Waikiki, Association for Machine Translation and text encoding conventions. Hawaii, includes sessions on how to (IAMT). The two sister organizations adapt machine translation to transla- are the Asian-Pacific Association for • Discussing and establishing refer- tors’ needs. Machine Translation and the European ence criteria for the evaluation of Association for Machine Translation. MT technology. Additional Information Individuals, institutions, and corpora- For complete information on what tions may join any of the three regional Benefits AMTA has to offer, please visit associations and automatically become • Free online access to MT www.amtaweb.org. part of the IAMT network. Compendium, a guide to MT sys- tems worldwide. Mission • Sharing knowledge about the sci- • Discounts on AMTA publications. ATA’s chapters and its affiliates, along with other groups, serve translators and ence and technology of MT interpreters, providing them with through the collection, compila- • Discounted registration for AMTA- industry information, networking oppor- tion, exchange, and dissemination sponsored events, including the tunities, and support services. This of information. biennial conference. column is designed to serve as a quick resource highlighting the valuable con- • Sponsoring and supporting work- Activities tributions these organizations are shops, symposia, and conferences AMTA organizes and supports making to the profession.

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46 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 The Onionskin offers a behind-the-scenes look at translations in the public domain—kudos The Onionskin Chris Durban for best practice and advice for perpetrators [email protected] who could surely do better. Comments and leads for future columns are welcome (please include full contact details). Interpreters and Immigration: Contact: [email protected]. Miscarriage of Justice?

A late-afternoon raid on later. “I don’t want to translate, this is The judge agreed and postponed the Le Royal de Chine in scary,” she told the judge. the trial, setting aside the interroga- eastern France on July 25, 2008 led to Court was adjourned for an hour tion record and releasing both the the arrest of five undocumented while another Chinese speaker—this cook and the restaurant manager. The employees—illegal immigrants from time a sales clerk in a local store— conclusion was clear: if you want a China, say police—before they had was located. Once again the swearing- professional job, hire a professional. time to duck into specially designed in process was “laborious,” said bolt-holes inside the eatery. The observers, and when the first charge Meanwhile, Back in Iowa... five have been sent to a detention was read out, number two hesitated As the French courts struggled to center while their cases are consid- before admitting “I don’t understand find a competent interpreter, immigra- ered, and will likely be ordered to very well.” He too withdrew. tion and language issues hit the head- leave France. At which point the judge drew the lines in the U.S., too, in a thoughtful During the sweep, a cook and the line: no qualified interpreter, no trial. essay by U.S.-based court interpreter restaurant manager were also The cook’s lawyer then pointed out Erik Camayd-Freixas. detained, both described as members that the two Chinese-speakers who The essay has launched a vigorous of a criminal network bringing illegal had made brief appearances in court debate among professional lin- immigrants into the country. as interpreters were the same ones guists—not over qualifications and Yet what appeared at first as an who had “handled” language issues credentials, but ethics, more specifi- open-and-shut case spluttered to a halt when the defendants were first taken cally interpreters’ obligation to and was finally postponed when the into police custody and questioned. remain impartial, abstaining from courts were unable to locate a quali- He asked that the transcript of these comment on cases in which they fied interpreter. sessions be excluded. serve, and respecting confidentiality There was no language problem The prosecution called for the case toward their clients. for the manager, a Chinese immigrant to be postponed while a qualified These requirements are described in who arrived in France at age 11 and interpreter was located, but insisted Canons 2 and 3 of the Code of Ethics spoke fluent French. But it was a dif- that both the manager and the cook be and Professional Responsibilities pub- ferent kettle of fish for the cook. held in jail until then. lished by the National Association of Despite 10 years in the country, his This proposal found favor with a Judiciary Interpreters and Translators grasp of the language was described lawyer representing the national (NAJIT, www.najit.org). There is also a as “uneven,” and in any case insuffi- family benefits authority URSSAF, reference to confidentiality in Article cient to appear in court, according to who described the defendants as 1C of ATA’s Code of Professional his lawyer, Jean-Luc Brami. slave-traders who had held the five Conduct and Business Practices. Whence the need for a person able illegal aliens captive and shamefully But what happens when translators to translate reliably from French into exploited them. or interpreters, in the course of an Chinese—and back—in the court- The defense disagreed. Rather than assignment, observe what they see as room. With no certified court inter- imprison the manager and cook, the a violation of human rights or miscar- preters in that language combination state should apologize for not pro- riage of justice? Should they speak up on its books, the local court turned to viding a proper interpreter, said Mr. and out, and if so, to whom and how? unofficial options. Brami. With reports of further investi- Camayd-Freixas is an experi- First up was a local Chinese resi- gations in progress against the restau- enced, federally certified court inter- dent who gave private language les- rant, reliable information was of the preter who teaches Spanish at Florida sons. The session got off to a rocky essence. And without a qualified International University. From May start when she misunderstood the interpreter—a professional up to 13 to May 22, he served as one of 26 process whereby the presiding judge speed on court procedures, and interpreters at court hearings in Iowa swore her in for temporary duty as a trained to relay information com- at which 297 undocumented workers court interpreter. With some assis- pletely and accurately from one lan- arrested at a local slaughterhouse and tance, she nonetheless took the oath, guage to the other—this was simply meat-packing plant were “fast- only to throw in the towel minutes not available. tracked” through legal proceed-

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 47 ings that saw them imprisoned prior Iowa, writes Camayd-Freixas, inter- Other linguists counter that the sit- to deportation. preters were the only officers of the uation becomes more complicated Like other interpreters, he was court present from start to finish— when abuse of power is linked unaware of the nature of the assign- including initial appearances, plea directly to information that is avail- ment until he arrived on site. The hearings, and sentencing hearings, not able to language professionals Immigration and Customs Enforce - to mention individual interviews in jail through their work, but is unknown to ment authorities feared leaks that to which the various magistrates and other key officials. The right to a fair might compromise their upcoming judges involved had no access at all. trial is an integral part of the U.S. raid on Agriprocessors Inc. Since the raid and hearings at legal system, or should be, this group But once the arrests were made and Postville were a pilot operation by argues, and in extreme cases inter- hearings began, Camayd-Freixas Immigration and Customs Enforce- preters have a moral obligation to became convinced that the defen- ment (ICE) and likely to be replicated shine a light. dants—nearly 300 largely illiterate nationwide, Camayd-Freixas felt a Guatemalan peasants, many of Mayan moral imperative to summarize the Lessons Learned? origin—understood neither the “irregularities” that he says he In the French case, it is clear that charges brought against them nor their observed. This he did in a report for relying on unqualified individuals rights under the U.S. legal system. circulation to the court and to the pressed into service as “interpreters” As he explained to the House other interpreters on the case, which out of desperation—in a complicated Subcommittee on Immigration, he completed on June 13, i.e., once legal environment, to boot—is a recipe Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security the cases had all been settled. for disaster. But in Iowa, there is no and International Law at a hearing in Camayd-Freixas maintains that consensus in sight. If anything, a pro- Washington, DC, on July 24, “the court waiting until the cases had been set- fessional interpreter’s sober account of failed to provide a level playing field tled allowed him to fulfill his obliga- justice as administered is a timely for the (centralized) prosecution and tion of impartiality as an interpreter reminder that this language business is the (fragmented) defense.” and officer of the court, even as he not black and white but grey. And def- Nor, said Camayd-Freixas, did raised essential questions regarding initely, passionately human. defendants understand the meaning how justice was administered. and consequences of waiving their But his essay soon reached a wider right to be indicted by a grand jury. circle of readers, and on July 11 gave Many apparently insisted they were in rise to a front-page article in The New jail for being in the country illegally York Times. (and not for the document fraud or With immigration a political hot identity theft they were charged with, potato in the U.S., interest in the case for those who had purchased false and in alleged irregularities is running For the latest IDs). They insisted, too, that they had high. As NAJIT’s code of ethics information no rights. Many had no idea what a makes clear, there are many grey about ATA’s Social Security number was or indeed areas in legal interpreting. The associ- what purpose it served, Camayd- ation has not taken a position on the 49th Annual Freixas reported, arguing that their Camayd-Freixas essay, nor has ATA, Conference, ignorance rendered a critical “intent” and opinion is sharply divided in pro- visit element of the charges against fessional circles. them void. (For Camayd-Freixas’s For some interpreters, there is no www.atanet.org/ full statement and essay, see doubt that Camayd-Freixas violated the conf/2008 http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/ letter if not the spirit of the code—inter- pdf/Camayd-Freixas080724.pdf.) preters or translators cannot morph into Under U.S. law, a court interpreter investigative journalists midway into an is both an officer of the court and the assignment, say these observers. He court’s expert witness. In Postville, should have disqualified himself.

48 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Read All About It! ATA Division Newsletters

Get the latest scoop on division activities and stay current with language- and specialty-specific information pertinent to your field. How? Just download the latest batch of division newsletters from 2008: French Language Division À propos www.ata-divisions.org/FLD German Language Division interaktiv www.ata-divisions.org/GLD Korean Language Division Hangul Herald www.ata-divisions.org/KLD Language Technology Division Language Tech News www.ata-divisions.org/LTD Literary Division Source www.ata-divisions.org/LD Medical Division Aurora Borealis www.ata-divisions.org/ND Nordic Division Caduceus www.ata-divisions.org/MD Portuguese Language Division PLData www.ata-divisions.org/PLD Spanish Language Division Intercambios www.ata-divisions.org/SPD Slavic Languages Division SlavFile www.ata-divisions.org/SLD Translation Company Division TCD News www.ata-divisions.org/TCD

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The ATA Chronicle October 2008 49 Compiled by Dictionary Review Peter A. Gergay [email protected]

Angol-amerikai jogi nyelv At first glance, this text- without providing pairings of equiva- (Anglo-American Legal book/handbook hybrid, sprinkled with lent expressions. Such an approach is Language) glossaries, does nothing to excite the of limited usefulness to translators. lexophile’s palate. It comes off as a The book is billed as the second, Authors: print-on-demand affair whose cover revised and expanded, edition; how- Franz Heidinger appears to be a word processor tem- ever, the Hungarian authors’ online Andrea Hubalek plate. biography pages give 1998 as the pub- Peter Bárdos lication date for the second edition, so Rita Bárdos Scope this must be a reprint of that. Of the Even as the introduction states that four authors, two teach and practice Publisher: it was written primarily to aid lawyers law in Austria, while the two HVG-ORAC, Budapest practicing business law in Hungary Hungarian authors teach and spe- deal with their Anglo-American cialize in commercial law in Hungary. Publication date: clients, this dictionary’s focus is so Supplementing their perspective, and 2004 narrow that it does not merit the peppering the text at random inter- (second edition) boldly ambitious title—also belied by vals, are some short excerpts from the meager 362 pages—of Anglo- articles and books by other authors, Number of pages: American Legal Language. The Austrian, Irish, and American. 362 cover’s other offerings—“Terms Unfortunately, there is no bibliog- Prevalent in Anglo-American Law, raphy, nor even a page of acknowl- ISBN: Explanations and Sample Contracts,” edgements that might aid the reader in 963-8213-41-8 “Contractual and Business Organiza- pursuing further research. tion Topics,” “Copyright, Arbitration,” Price: “Accounting, Auditing, Taxation”— Chapters HUF 4,700 also promise more than they deliver. The book focuses on certain areas (about $28) Not only would one look in vain here of business law, namely: contracts for any terms prevalent in Anglo- (106 pages); business organizations Available from: American criminal or constitutional (82 pages); insurance (26 pages); www.jogikonyvek.com law, for example, but one might also arbitration (16 pages); tax law (52 find precious little on auditing. When pages); accounting (34 pages); and Field: it comes to the explanations of terms, intellectual property law (23 pages). Legal they are embedded in introductory The chapters are divided into three articles that are thoroughly inde- sections: an introductory segment, Type of work: pendent of glossary entries. In the followed by sample documents, Textbook/glossary absence of any kind of index, it is left rounded out by a glossary section. to Lady Luck to find the explanation Languages: one needs speedily under the cloud of 1. Introduction: Each introduction is EnglishHungarian a looming deadline. divided into an English-language The target audience is most defi- part and a Hungarian-language part, Reviewed by: nitely not translators, a fact under- aiming to provide British, American, Kornelia DeKorne scored by the authors’ categorical and Hungarian perspectives on the statement in the foreword that they field in question, citing specific prac- have broken with the tradition of actu- tices and the legal codes on which ally translating terms. Instead, they those practices are based. Sometimes have opted to present English-lan- this part consists of very useful in- guage documents that demonstrate depth articles on a particular aspect of proper usage and to juxtapose these the field under discussion. The with Hungarian documents of a sim- problem is that the amount and type of ilar ilk to highlight differences, but information, as well as the structure of

50 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 that information, varies from chapter the chapter on contracts, nine pages of tion. This swells the number of word to chapter. In some cases, the line 40 Hungarian entries per page and pairs, increasing the chances of hits between British and American prac- almost 12 pages of mixed English-lan- for translators with good guessing tice is completely blurred. guage phrases (about 800 terms alto- skills. “Flat” and “apartment” are In some chapters (e.g., contracts), gether for the entire chapter); about properly distinguished as being both the English text and the the same amount in the chapter on British and U.S. terms, respectively, Hungarian translation are accompa- business organizations; about 320 but this is marred by the fact that nied by extracted terms in the margin, terms in the chapter on insurance; 400 “apartment” is spelled as “aparte- in English. In other chapters, the terms in the chapter on arbitration; 600 ment” in the English-into-Hungarian English-language text is accompanied terms in tax law; 440 in accounting; glossary. “License” and “licence” are by Hungarian equivalents of the and a little over 400 terms in the not distinguished at all. There are terms, while the Hungarian pages fea- chapter on intellectual property law. severe grammatical errors, as well: ture English-language phrases in the The chapter on accounting is followed “incumbent” is cited as a verb, while margin (e.g., insurance). This makes by eight pages of balance sheet terms the misspelled “incumbment” does for a chaotic impression, and it is very (20 per page) broken down into service as the “holder of an office.” difficult to know what to expect from columns for Hungarian, U.S., and chapter to chapter. All the same, this British terms. This seems like a very More Imperfections is the most important contribution of useful feature and one wishes the same Given the fact that this is not a dic- this book, and if one has the patience thing had been done elsewhere in the tionary but a handbook with disparate to peruse it, one can find useful back- book. chapters on various branches of busi- ground material. Alas, there are many In summary, the glossaries provide ness law, it would be very helpful to errors (more on these below) that call roughly 3,500 entries (compared with have an index, but, as mentioned into question the accuracy of the the 22,000 entries of the English- before, there is none, thus making it information provided. Hungarian Banking and Finance extremely cumbersome to look up a Dictionary, published by the term that actually did receive a trans- 2. Sample documents: The second Hungarian Academy of Sciences, that lation. With some entries, such as part of most, but not all, chapters pro- probably contains all the business ter- “now therefore” or “whereas,” one is vides British and/or American sample minology included in the book under directed to the “Cut and Paste” section documents, at times followed by discussion). To illustrate the irrele- with no Hungarian equivalent pro- Hungarian equivalents, the latter in vance of some of the entries, I found vided. The authors’ penchant for both languages. Some chapters, such “Christmas bonus” in the contracts assigning a single meaning to most as contract law, have a section of glossary (and “death” and “video- terms in the glossaries requires the generic English-language opening and tapes” elsewhere), but not “escrow” or context to be sleuthed out of the maze closing phrases sandwiched between “indemnification.” To be fair, “indem- of documents in the sample section. samples—the so-called “Cut and nification” appears in the text margin The carefree choices about meanings Paste” section. For anyone in the posi- of the introduction and “escrow fund” produce offerings like “janitor” as a tion of having to draft an English-lan- appears in the arbitration glossary, but U.S. entry for what amounts to “apart- guage contract from scratch, this is a if “furnished” made it into the con- ment manager” or “super,” which is very useful resource, and the skillful tracts glossary, then these two should not very reassuring. translator can mine it for terminology have as well. “Certified public There are also the inexcusably fre- as well. accountant” takes up two entries, one quent, gross spelling errors: “Statue of under “CPA (certified public Frands” (a.k.a. “Statute of Frauds”) takes 3. Glossaries: The third and final sec- accountant)” and one under “certified the crown, but the reader will also tion of each chapter consists of two public accountant (CPA).” This repeti- encounter “in the pesence of,” “right of glossaries: Hungarian-into-English tion occurs with all acronyms, regusal,” “godd condition,” and “now followed by English-into-Hungarian. reducing the number of useful entries. therefor.” Sometimes the authors seem to (Note that this order is reversed in the On the other hand, the contents of the be unable to make up their minds about chapter on accounting.) The glossaries Hungarian-into-English glossaries do spelling (“boiler-plate” versus “boiler run a few pages each, specifically: in not match the items in the other direc- plate”). Jarring turns of phrase

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 51 Dictionary Review Continued

(“The Law of Contract”) make the inner Overall Evaluation grammarian flinch. Sadly, the transla- Although I would not recommend tions following some English-language this book as a dictionary, there is For the latest articles also might not have been fully useful reference material here, as long information about proofread, as attested to by the same as it is approached with caution. ATA’s predicate occurring in two places in the 49th Annual same sentence in at least one instance. Titles of legal sources are sometimes dis- Conference, torted (e.g., A Restatement [Second] of visit the Law of Contracts is rendered as A Kornelia DeKorne is a freelance, ATA-certified www.atanet.org/ Restatement of Contracts Second). This EnglishHungarian translator. She is also a conf/2008 inevitably also makes one wonder about member of ATA’s Dictionary Review Committee. the accuracy of the factual content. Contact: [email protected].

Statement of , Management, and Circulation Location and Office of Publication: American Translators Association Date of filing: September 24, 2008 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314 Title of Publication: The ATA Chronicle Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters: Same as above Frequency of Issues: Monthly, except for a combined November/December issue Names and Address of Editor and Publisher: No. of Issues Published Annually: 11 issues Editor—Jeff Sanfacon, address same as above Annual Subscription Price: $50 Publisher—Walter Bacak, address same as above Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: n/a.

Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2008 Publication Name: The ATA Chronicle Average No. of Copies Each Issue No. of Copies of Single Issue Extent and Nature of Circulation During Preceeding 12 months Published Nearest to Filing Date A. Total No. of Copies (Net press run) 10,427 10,700 B. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 1. Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 8,430 8,611 (Include paid above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies) 2. Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 —0— —0— (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof, and exchange copies) 3. Paid Distribution Outside the Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and 1,546 1,607 Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS® 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS —0— —0— C. Total Paid Distributon (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)) 9,976 10,218 D. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 1. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 —0— —0— 2. Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 —0— —0— 3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) 137 11 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means) 216 75 E. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4)) 353 86 F. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) 10,329 10,304 G. Copies Not Distributed 98 396 H. Total (Sum of 15f and g) 10,427 10,700 I. Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100) 96.6% 99.2%

I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. (Signed) Walter Bacak, Publisher and Executive Director

52 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 ATA’s 50th Anniversary History Project ATA is putting together a history of member memories and photos as part of a year-long celebration in 2009. Anyone can take part in this trip down memory lane. Just e-mail your “remember when” story or “way back” picture to the ATA History Project.

For more information, contact Mary David, member benefits and project development manager, at [email protected]. B

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The ATA Chronicle October 2008 53 The Translation Inquirer John Decker [email protected]

I am sorry that I will not be able period in November. I have happy to see so many of you who are my memories of Orlando in September Abbreviations most faithful contributors in Orlando 2000, and I know that the event will used with this column this November. I signed my life away be rewarding for everybody. I wish for a big project, largely as an editor, you Godspeed, safe travels, and a pro- E-English G-German for 19 weeks that will include that ductive time in Florida! [E]-English I-Italian acceptable as an N-Norwegian answer, the Pt-Portuguese New Queries encountered this term in the following original query did R-Russian (E-I 10-08/1) A ProZer found “Airfoil paragraph: “The external pressure not involve English Sp-Spanish threaders,” which apparently have check shall be made according to the F-French nothing to do with aerodynamics. rules of Section UG-28 of ASME, Rather, they are part of the threading Section VIII, Div. 1, independently of system in a paper the stamp requirement unless the process. What are they exactly, and application of other calculation codes ohne gläserne Depots eine eigen- how do you accurately render them requires specific external pressure nützige Berichterstattung refers to the into Italian? testing methods.” Hey, this is oil and fact that two reporters are assigned to gas material, so there must be some every news story to prevent self- (E-N 10-08/2) From a ProZer working wise heads out there with an answer to aggrandizing reporting. In this con- into Norwegian, this query is medical this one, as well as people who can text, the word Depots might be in nature. In a set of instructions, she suggest the Russian. accounts, depositories, security discovered “clamping tube,” and pro- accounts, etc. What is being discussed vided two context sentences: “Tighten (F-E 10-08/5) A Lantra-L member had here in the bold-print term? the clamping tube with tools such as a problem with religiologique in the forceps…” and “Clamping before the following context: Et, à cet égard [“the (G-E 10-08/9) Is the Spurführung, inner needle retracts may cause haz- difficulty of defining religion”], même which was found by a ProZ member, ardous situations such as clamping les grilles phénoménologiques ou reli- related (as she supposed) to decisions tube damage by the inner needle giologiques, qui se veulent «neutres» on where to locate a new railway line, tip…” Anyone want to try? par ailleurs, comportent des thèses or does the meaning lean more toward impliquâtes qui exigent, tôt ou tard, “guiding device, guidance,” as stated (E-Pt 10-08/3) From www.dentcraft. définition et justification. What is it? in the latest trilingual Union of com comes a whole set of relatively Railways Dictionary? new terms for devices and techniques (G-E 10-08/6) From an appraisal of to do paintless dent repair. No, no the market value of a property, a ProZ (Sp-E 10-08/10) In the field of public objections! This is not an advertise- denizen found Beitrags- und relations, asks a ProZ user, what does ment for that firm! I merely set the Abgabenzustand. What might this be Sistema de recompensas en función stage for two queries about terms from in business English? del grado de acierto mean, and what is this technology: (3.a) “side panel hook good English for it? set” and (3.b) “aluminum knock- (G-E 10-08/7) The context in the downs.” The former ought to be easier query above is identical to this one, (Sp-E 10-08/11) Apologizing for the to translate into Portuguese, since it is with Alterschließung being the relative lack of context, a ProZer well known that a side panel is a major problem term: Das Bewertungs grund - found this list of parts sold by automobile component. But overall, stück besitzt augenscheinlich eine a company. The one in bold print this is a difficult matter, in the judg- Alterschließung (z.B. historische stumped her: Venta de partes de ment of the Translation Inquirer. Straße). What might that be? vehículos y en especial de barras de dirección empestillada, barras de (E-R 10-08/4) What on earth, in the (G-E 10-08/8) In news reporting in the dirección roscada, varillas de cajas de field of petroleum regulations, does economic and financial sector, appar- cambios y tirantes estabilizadores. “stamp requirement” mean? A ProZer ently the phrase Das verhindert auch What about that solitary rogue word?

54 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 (Sp-E 10-08/12) Lee Wright has ring in this case to a sports car. Angela use; and pluriempleado, a word refer- noticed that on many occasions when Leihs likes “acts unpretentious.” ring to a person holding more than one translating correspondence written in job. All this according to Leonor Spanish, he finds that the letter’s inside (G-R [E] 7-08/8) (Eintopfsonntage): Guidici. Peter Christensen offers “mul- address only includes the name of the For Angela Leihs, the best translation tiple citizenship” for plurinacionalidad. addressee and perhaps the city’s name, for this would be “hot-pot Sundays.” but no specific street or other mailing For Karin Isbell, it is “Sundays’ one- (Sp-E 7-08/10) (haces de caballeros): address. Instead, the last line of the pot stew,” which is something she Gonzalo Ordóñez says that the haces inside address merely says En su remembers well. here is poetically used to mean despacho or something similar. This is “groups,” “divisions,” or “bundles.” So, particularly true of formal correspon- (R-E 8-08/9) (dshdfnmcz d lbrjt haces de caballeros could mean “knight dence from a person in one government gjkt): David Goldman provided a bundles.” These were directed so as to agency to another government agency. translation of the entire sentence, be able to launch waves of attacks, A literal rendering of the Spanish found on pages 44-45 of the August riding very tightly, hurling themselves phrase (“in your office” or perhaps just issue: “The Antelope-Gnu car broke upon the enemy formation en masse. “your office”) tends to be meaningless loose into the field headlong into an for an English-speaking reader, prima- aviation fuel drum.” This is from the (Sp-E 8-08/10) (quiebra): Rudi Theis rily because this is not normal practice famous novel The Golden Calf. says there is a single English equiva- for the inside address of a letter written lent word, “breakdown.” His sugges- in English. What is a valid English (Sp-E 5-08/11) (su voluptuosa plástica tion: “We are conscious that our counterpart for the Spanish phrase? y refracción artificial): Alma Flores responses to the environmental secu- would have liked to have come into this rity breakdown will have an impact Replies to Old Queries discussion at an earlier stage, but is in on peace.” He says that seguridad (E-G 7-08/3) (These are, therefore, time to disagree with the renderings of means puzzle in the given context, and intended…) [full text on page 54 of the Gonzalo Ordóñez and Mercedes Pellet, perhaps the English should be “envi- July issue]: Angela Leihs suggests provided on page 56 of the July issue. ronmental order breakdown.” Selma Diese sind dafür bestimmt, die According to her dictionary, plástica has Benjamin’s suggested rendering: vorhergehende Lehre zu definieren two meanings: 1. (arte) Arte y técnica de “infractions of environmental secu- und werden von Fachleuten durch die plasmar o modelar cosas de barro, yeso rity.” Gonzalo Ordóñez says that the allgemeine Bezugnahme auf den u otro material. 2. Calidad de las cosas text calls for the use of a stronger word vorhergehenden Stand der Technik in de expresar y comunicar gráficamente than “damage,” perhaps “collapse.” diese eingeschlossen. ideas o sensaciones: esa fotografía tiene una plástica impactante. In Alma’s Thanks to the contributors in the (E-Pt 8-08/2) (untabulate): Given that opinion, Mercedes took the first entry “Replies” section! un– means, among other things, and disregarded the second one, while reversing the action of a verb, one Gonzalo’s translation is too literal. This column is solely intended as a means of facilitating a interpretation here, says Gonzalo Plástica refers to the aesthetic impres- general discussion regarding terminology choices. For feed- Ordóñez, could be that untabulate sion or to the expressive power of a work back regarding pressing terminology questions, please try means to go from a graph to the table of art; and with this in mind, Alma trans- one of these online forums: Lantra-L (www.geocities.com/ from which that graph originated. A lates it as follows: “Its voluptuous aes- athens/7110/lantra.htm), ProZ.com (www.proz.com), or Translators Café (http://translatorscafe.com). possible rendition in Portuguese could thetics and artificial refraction.” be para ir do gráfico a sua tabela: 1) Address your queries and responses to The Translation Seleccionar o botão Untabulate. (Sp-E 6-08/11) (plurinacionalidad): Inquirer, 112 Ardmoor Avenue, Danville, Pennsylvania Derived from two nouns meaning 17821, or fax them to (570) 275-1477. E-mail address: (G-I [E] 7-08/7) (gibt sich bescheiden): “many nationalities,” this word is remi- [email protected]. Please make your submissions by the Jeannette Ringold admits that her niscent of: pluripartidismo, a system first of each month to be included in the next issue. native language is Dutch, but thinks she prevailing in a nation with more than Generous assistance from Per Dohler, proofreader, is grate- might be close to an answer. In this con- one political party; plurivalente, fully acknowledged text, it might be “is not showy,” refer- meaning having more than one value or

The ATA Chronicle October 2008 55 Herman is a librettist and translator. Submit items for future columns via e-mail to [email protected] or via snail mail to Mark Herman, 1409 E Gaylord Street, Humor and Translation Mark Herman Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858-3626. Discussions of the hermanapter@ translation of humor and examples thereof are preferred, cmsinter.net but humorous anecdotes about translators, translations, and mistranslations are also welcome. Include copyright A Hexalingual Limerick information and permission if relevant.

Once again Arthur Graham has two words of a well-known lated by Arthur Graham as submitted a multilingual poem, this Sabbath Evening (i.e., Friday “Come, my beloved, with chorus one dating from 2004, in French, Night) hymn, sung during Jewish of praise, / Welcome Bride English, German, Italian, Yiddish, and religious services, dating from Sabbath, the Queen of the days.”] Hebrew. He writes: the sixteenth century, and trans-

Seth Wolitz, professor of French, professor of Judaic studies Here is the limerick, as printed by Arthur Graham: [at the University of Texas at Austin], and expert in music and many other fields was a very posi- tive influence in my academic research and service. Further, he encouraged my hobby activities. I wrote this limerick for him. The doggerel makes little sense, but it does rhyme.

The author supplied a Preface and a translation. I have combined them, with some additions, into the following:

FOR SETH W. 1) French: There was an accursed poet [Paul Verlaine (1844-96), French poet who wrote the crit- ical study Les Poètes maudits (The Accursed Poets) in 1884]. 2) English: And how did he die? A drug overdose. 3) German: With Bacchus and Eve 4) Italian: He drank absinthe. 5a) Yiddish: They used to sing 5b) Hebrew: “L’kho dodi.” [The first

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56 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 What’s New on ATA’s Website?

Be an Informed Voter ATA Annual Conference Hospitality Team Blog ATA Elections: Candidate Statements and Proposed Bylaw http://ata-orlando2008.blogspot.com Changes http://www.atanet.org/membership/election2008.php Make a Difference (You Could be a Winnner!) 2008-2009 School Outreach Contest Announcement Volunteers Needed www.atanet.org/ata_school/school_outreach_contest.php ATA-American Red Cross Partnership for Preparedness www.atanet.org/red_cross Read All About It ATA News and Notes Going to Florida? Here is What You Need to Know www.atanet.org/newsnotes ATA Annual Conference Orlando Visitor Guide www.atanet.org/conf/2008/city.htm

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58 The ATA Chronicle October 2008 Are You LinkedIn?

Sometimes it is a small world, and that is the point of LinkedIn.

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