Dec 1st, 2009 | Business, Continuing Ed., Reports | No Comments
Frank self-assessment of both linguistic and business skills are necessary in order to be successful as a freelance translator. BY ADA LUZ RESTREPO
Do you find yourself translating documents at work because your co-workers know you speak Mandarin? Or find yourself serving as “interpreter” between your Mexican family and American husband who doesn’t speak Spanish? People admire your abilities to speak two languages and help others who are still living in a monolingual world; but have you asked yourself if you are truly bilingual and truly bicultural?
These were some of the topics covered during the “Getting Started in Translation and Interpretation,” workshop organized by the NCTA, which took place on Saturday, September 19, at the San Francisco State University downtown campus. → continue reading
Sep 1st, 2009 | ATA, Continuing Ed., Perspective | 1 Comment
In our high-tech world, the ATA exam continues to be a low-tech institution. BY NINA BOGDAN
The decision to take the ATA certification exam is based on a number of factors, one of which is whether or not the individual translator is at the stage of their career that they are ready. There is nothing more frustrating than spending the time preparing for the exam (and paying the substantial fee) and then not passing.
ATA statistics on this issue make it clear that novice translators, for example, those who have just graduated with a degree in a foreign language—even an advanced degree—should not expect to pass the exam. The overall pass rate for the ATA exam is under 20%. These statistics are not broken down by language combinations as, according to Terry Hanlen, ATA Deputy Executive Director and Certification Program Manager, this would be like comparing apples and oranges since some language combinations have hundreds of exams while others only have five. → continue reading
Sep 1st, 2009 | Business Tools, Continuing Ed., Reports | No Comments
San Francisco’s resident Trados guru concludes his teaching and eating trip to India. BY TUOMAS KOSTIAINEN
The good start I had with the first workshop led to another pleasant surprise: a full Indian lunch buffet! Incredible. We have nice refreshments at NCTA workshops thanks to our Events Director, but this was something else, and we had it at every workshop, showcasing the local cuisine from the milder Delhi affair to certainly much spicier Southern Indian dishes in Bangalore. And although the local power strips and extension cords didn’t completely fulfill my standards for safe electronics, these buffets more than fulfilled my requirements for a lunch. And of course, we had plenty of chai breaks in between. → continue reading
Sep 1st, 2009 | Continuing Ed., Literary Translation | No Comments
A workshop directed by Karen Emmerich inspires translators to do what sometimes seems impossible: translate poetry. BY NORMA KAMINSKY AND OLIVIA SEARS
On the evening of Wednesday, May 13, several translators met at the Mechanics’ Institute to discuss an impossible thing: translating poetry. The Center for the Art of Translation (CAT) and the NCTA jointly hosted this workshop directed by Karen Emmerich, a translator of Greek poetry and prose. → continue reading
Sep 1st, 2009 | Business, Continuing Ed. | No Comments
A half-day NCTA workshop in San Francisco featured practical strategies for increasing earning power. BY SARAH LLEWELLYN
Some 30 freelance translators attended the NCTA workshop “Freelance Translation: Beyond the Basics,” held at the SFSU downtown campus on July 11. The half-day workshop was conducted by Corinne McKay, author of How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator and herself a freelance translator. → continue reading
May 1st, 2009 | Business Tools, Continuing Ed., Reports | No Comments
A Bay Area Trados guru travels to the Indian subcontinent to spread the word, sample local cuisine, and experience a fascinating culture. BY TUOMAS KOSTIAINEN
It was too cool to pass up – you can’t be a real “Trados guru” unless you go to India to teach Trados, and if that wasn’t enough there was always a chance you might meet some of those beautiful Bollywood dancers. Or at least there would be plenty of good Indian food every day. So considering all of this, I said “yes” and agreed to teach three two-day Trados workshops in India last September. That was before I realized that it takes about 24 hours to fly there from San Francisco and I would need to subject myself to substantial needle poking by the Kaiser travel health nurse. Oh, well. There was also the less selfish point of view, and that was to spread the “happy Trados message” around the world… → continue reading
May 1st, 2009 | ATA, Continuing Ed., Perspective | No Comments
In this first part of a two-part series we look at how certification fits into the language provider’s business plan. BY NINA BOGDAN
In the eight years since 9/11, analysis of events, policy debates, and proposals for change have steadily continued in one venue or another. The one conclusion that seems irrefutable is that we, as a nation, were woefully unprepared when it comes to the application of translation and interpreting skills. There were many references to a purported backlog of Arabic language material left untranslated at such a critical time. This led to revelations of our lack of qualified linguists in other “critical” languages such as Urdu, Punjabi and Farsi. → continue reading
May 1st, 2009 | ATA, Business Tools, Continuing Ed., Reports | 2 Comments
An ATA-sponsored translation tools seminar in San Francisco provided information about ways to increase professional productivity. BY RON TISCHLER
The translation tools seminar held on March 14, 2009 at the Westin Market Street in San Francisco was divided into morning and afternoon sessions, plus there were exhibitors, a networking session, and a parade! The parade down Market Street, which seemed to have something to do with the color green, could be watched (until you got too cold) during the lunch break. The morning session, given by Rosalie Wells was titled “Productivity Tools for the Professional Translator.” The afternoon session, given by Dierk Seeburg of IcoText, was titled “Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools, from Term Extraction to Integrated Translation Environments.” There were about 100 attendees and four exhibitors: Across, Payment Practices, Total Recall (product named Snowball), and Wordfast.
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Feb 1st, 2009 | Business Services, Continuing Ed., NCTA Events | No Comments
At the NCTA December meeting, guest speaker Florencia Pettigrew explained how to get the most out of social networking sites and techniques for building and managing your online reputation. BY SARAH LLEWELLYN
Florencia Pettigrew details LinkedIn's advantages.
Feb 1st, 2009 | Continuing Ed., Medical Translation | 2 Comments
A workshop with a panel of experts gave attendees some valuable information about the specifics of medical translation. BY KAREN TKACZYK
The medical translation panel workshop was held in the ever-excellent location of the Mechanics Institute Library, and was well attended. There were three speakers, who had been selected with a view to providing diverse information that would both increase attendees’ understanding of the field and provide practical tips for our daily work. They achieved that. → continue reading
