TheT.I.V•VOLUME 4•ISSUE 2•SUMMER 2001 PAGE 1 Interpreters’ Volume 4 Issue 2 Voice Summer 2001 Inside this issue: The Right to An Interpreter, Who Decides? An Australian Perspective The Right to An Interpreter by Penny Patterson 1 Administrator’s Perspective ustralian judges presently have the position of deciding who is capable 2 Aof speaking English sufficiently, enabling or disqualifying a person from access to an interpreter during court proceedings. A judge’s decision Humor to allow an interpreter into their courtroom directly effects over ten percent 3 of the seventeen million plus people presently residing in Australia. Dan’s Picks : Websites for Interpreters The capacity of judges, who are extensively trained in legal matters but not 4 usually so in linguistic ones, to make informed decisions about language Interpreters Division - proficiency is highly questionable and exposes a serious weakness in the Election 2001 Australian legal system. Lack of recognition of this problem undermines 6 international convention and obstructs the course of natural justice. The Provide Over-the-Phone right to an interpreter is a human rights issue that should be treated with the Interpretation professionalism and seriousness it deserves. Qualified professionals should 7 be responsible for determining the necessity for an interpreter, to allow natural justice to occur in the fairest circumstances possible, as according to Training Opportunities: the constitution of any democratic state. 8 Adventures in Interpreting Language is the key to employment and access to health, education and 10 welfare services. Everything from applying for unemployment benefits or a The Interpreters Division home loan, to buying a car or applying for a visa is almost impossible Website without the work of competent interpreters. Participation in the political 11 and civic life of a community also depends on language1 . With nearly one New Law Supports Medical hundred different community languages spoken by over two million Austra- Interpretation lians2 , there is little doubt that language is the code to survival within our 11 culturally and linguistically diverse country. There is no question that the Looking for A Few right to an interpreter is an essential part of Australian society. Further- more, they do not simply represent and exist to serve one section of the Good Interpreters community, but assist in bringing everyone together in our much-celebrated 12 multicultural society. ATA Conference Sessions - Continuing Education Credit Under Commonwealth legislation, an interpreter will be provided “unless 13 the witness can understand and speak the English language sufficiently to Spanish/EnglishCertification enable the witness to understand, and to make an adequate reply to, ques- United States Courts tions that may be put forward about that fact [emphasis added]”3 . Al- 15 though this appears impressive, the practical effectiveness of the convention Los Angeles, Here We Come! is less so, as this decision of ‘sufficiency’ is ultimately subject to the 15 Continued on page 5 Newsletter of the Interpreters Division of the American Translators Association PAGE 2 T.I.V•VOLUME 4•ISSUE 2•SUMMER 2001 Administrator’s Perspective The Interpreters Voice (T.I.V) Newsletter of the Interpreters’ Division Volume 4, Issue 2 - Summer 2001 Greetings! Both Dan and I hope this issue finds American Translators Associations each of you busy, happy and healthy. 225 Reineker Lane, Suite 590 Since this issue is one of the biggest we Alexandria, VA 22314 Tel: (703) 683-6100 have ever produced, here is a brief re- Fax: (703) 683-6122 view of the latest activities of your divi- [email protected] sion. Interpreters Division’s Administrator & We added our comments to the ASTM Newsletter Editor: Language Interpreting Standards Project Diane Teichman for a guide to be voted on by ASTM members. In February we par- Tel/Fax: (281) 445-3119 [email protected] ticipated in a review of Interpreter and Translators employment and qualifying procedures of a U.S. Department of Labor policy for fed- Division Assistant Administrator: Dan MacDougall erally funded agencies. I am happy to report the government of the [email protected] U.S. endorses the use of qualified and trained interpreters, so list Tel: (843) 525-0037 your training in your resumes! Newsletter Layout Editor: Several ID members have been asked to serve on the new Linh-Chan Brown Interpretation Policy Advisory Committee headed by Christian [email protected] Degueldre. www.pacificlanguages.com I continue to get many calls requesting interpreters and I Tel: (713) 779-8100 Fax: (713) 779-7652 refer them all to the ATA TSD, so, if you haven’t already, sign up ! A new member benefit is the ATA Job Bank online at Membership in the Interpreter’s division is $15.00 per year in addition to the ATA http://www.atanet.org/membersonly featuring listings for both membership fee. Please make your check freelance and staff opportunities. For questions or comments payable to the ATA and send it to the ATA and your feedback, please contact [email protected]. address noted above. We regularly update the ID website from humor to tips to our plans for the L.A. conference. We have a committee planning our Submission Guidelines: Please email articles in Word 97 or RTF reception this year (Yipee!) format to [email protected] with no Last of all we are in election mode, both my position and formatting. Submissions, limited to 1000 Dan’s are up for election in November in L.A. Do consider this great words, will be published on a space available opportunity to help the best profession in the world grow! basis and may be edited for brevity and clariry. Articles appearing in T.I.V. may also Enjoy this issue and let me hear from you! appear in other media published by the ATA, such as its website. Regards, Diane E. Teichman Deadlines for 2001: Administrator Articles to appear in T.I.V. for 2001 should be submitted according to the following Interpreters Division deadlines: Fall: 6/23/01 Winter: 8/23/01 Opinions expressed here are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, the Division, or the Association. All reprints require permission from the editor. Newsletter of the Interpreters Division of the American Translators Association T.I.V•VOLUME 4•ISSUE 2•SUMMER 2001 PAGE 3 GET ACTIVE! HUMOR Active status that is….Exam free! his is the status you need to be able to run for office and to vote. And Tvoting means being a part of the decisions that affect this division and association. Interpreters can achieve active status through Item 4 of Alterna- tive Routes to Active or Corresponding Membership on the ATA website at http://www.atanet.org/bin/view.pl/13518.html As per the ATA website: “Active members have the right to attend any of the Association’s membership meetings, use all of its membership facilities, and receive all of its regular publications free or at special membership rates. They also have the right to take accreditation examinations, to vote, to hold Association office, and to serve on the Board of Directors and all committees of the Association”. Here are the qualifications: Interpreters currently accredited or certified by a member association of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs: Proof of such accreditation A linguistics professor was or certification. lecturing to his class one day. 1. Interpreters: a. Proof of a degree or certificate in interpretation (acceptable “ In English, he said,” a double programs to be determined by the University Accreditation negative forms a positive. In Committee) and some languages, though b. One letter of reference from a client or supervisor. such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. 2. Translators or interpreters: However there is no language Evidence of at least three years’ work as a translator or interpreter, which wherein a double positive can may include either of the following: form a negative” a. Three letters of reference from clients or supervisors; or b. Copies of records of business activity such as Schedule C, A voice from the back of the corporate tax returns, 1099s, invoices, or work orders. room exclaimed : 3. Persons professionally engaged in work closely related to translation and/or interpretation: “Yeah, right!” Evidence of at least three years’ work in a closely related field,Webmaster which may include either of the following: Reprinted from the Delaware a. Teaching appointment letters; or Valley Translators Association b. Terminology/lexicography research studies newsletter The University Accreditation Committee is authorized to establish a list of programs or examinations successful completion of which is sufficient to achieve active or corresponding membership. Applicants shall submit their credentials to Headquarters for review, accom- panied by the $50 review fee. Any applications that do not clearly match the criteria for “Alternative Routes to Active and Corresponding Membership” will be forwarded by Headquarters to the Active Membership Review Com- mittee for its recommendation For more information, please contact ATA Headquarters at 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 683-6100; fax: (703)683- 6122; e-mail: [email protected]. Newsletter of the Interpreters Division of the American Translators Association PAGE 4 T.I.V•VOLUME 4•ISSUE 2•SUMMER 2001 Dan’s Picks : Websites for Interpreters by Dan Mac Dougall his feature will present · The Bartleby.com edition man, and Portuguese. Tseveral sites which might of Gray’s Anatomy of the http:// enhance research for those Human Body: http:// ww.periodistadigital.com/ working within the four fields of www.bartleby.com/107/, cgi-local /index.pl. interpreting, which are legal, conference, medical, and · Glossaries in more than · Those working with the community. fifty languages in many media will find a treasure fields with regular updates: trove at http:// An entire series of articles www.babylon.com.