Interpreters must have oral and reading skills in both languages, and translators must have writing skills in the target language as well. We can’t interpret or translate what we can’t understand or what we can’t say/write. What does it take to be a professional? Translational action, the skill of taking the message from one language [...]
Certified Spanish translators often discuss translation tools. Should we work with machine translation, CAT tools, or something in between? We use our professional judgment to make these decisions. Machine translation The most commonly known machine translation tool is Google Translate, which in fact powers some web pages. I have seen "click here for x language" [...]
I interpreted at an asylum hearing this week. When the officer asked for my ID, I gave him my court interpreter badge. I always do this, so they are aware that they are working with a professional. They put a monitor on the phone to make sure I was interpreting accurately and impartially. That is [...]
Perceptual scales are exponential. Light, sound and earthquakes follow this pattern. For sound, for example, 20 db is twice as loud as 10 db, and 30 db is twice as loud as 20 db. This is why a scale of how much impact an error has on a translation should also be exponential. The [...]
ATA lists the explanations of error categories for the certification exam in alphabetical order. Here we have organized it and provided simple explanations with some examples from Spanish, the language we work with at Gaucha Translations. They are marked SP (spelling), GR (grammar), TR (translation, transferring the message from one language to another), and WR [...]
Opportunity cost is a key concept in business. When a product is late to market, the company has paid an opportunity cost. When a person takes a job that pays less than another, there is an opportunity cost. When I work with a client 40 hours a week as a contractor and disregard all the [...]
I just got a letter: Re: Women Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification Confirmation Certification No.: 11670 Why did I file for this? I certainly procrastinated for many years, because most of the interpreters I know are women, so it seemed redundant. Then I realized that I was running at a disadvantage if I didn’t file. I [...]
Interpreting I am back! After dealing with a series of health issues and family commitments, I am able to interpret again. I am in the process of renewing my Oregon Court Interpreting certification. As I get back to interpreting, I remember how much I like it. Translation I am now certified by ATA in both [...]
Helen, from Gaucha Translations, has been pretty active lately. We completed the first cycle of the Spanish Writing by Teleconference course successfully. Students commented that the material was beyond their expectations and that they only wished they had done more of the homework and taken more advantage of our one-on-one sessions, but life gets in the [...]
Paula Irisity and Aleyna Maria Tusa interviewed Tianlu Redmon for this report. How did you get into translation and in particular into the interpreting field? What do you like best about being an interpreter? Tianlu Redmon Three words: Harvard, Homer, and home. I used to tell people I wanted to go to Harvard [...]
