focus on freelancers featured language: portuguese

ChronicleVOLUME XXIX • NUMBER 8

AUGUST 2000

A Publication of the American Translators Association

The

Focus on FreelancersFeatured Language:

Portuguese

Is This Still Worth It? An Update By Jonathan Hine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

In February 1998 the Chronicle published an article about building abusiness budget and calculating a break-even point for a freelance busi-ness. In an update to that article, Jonathan Hine provides some addi-tional thoughts about pricing for partners and teams, whether to usesource or target text in pricing, and charging for additional services.

Why, Where, When, and How to Donate Translation and Interpretation Services

By Sara Koopman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Donating your services can give you a jolt of inspiration, along withlow-cost, feel-good marketing. It can also be a great way to live yourideals and focus and develop your career. Cast your net wide with avariety of organizations and choose your projects wisely. Use theseopportunities to create ideal working conditions.

10 Top Tips for a Top-notch Translation RésuméBy Eve Lindemuth Bodeux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

As you prepare for the upcoming ATA Annual Conference in Florida,keep these tips for a top-notch résumé in mind.

Report on the First Annual Translation Company Division Regional Conference

By Steven P. Iverson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Translation Company Division’s first annual regional confer-ence, held June 2-4 in Minneapolis, was a great combination ofinformation sharing and learning, and presented many opportunitiesfor networking.

Portuguese Language Division: So Far, So Good!By Vera M. B. Abreu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Over the past year, ATA’s Portuguese Language Division hasserved as a great outlet for social enjoyment, as well as for somevery worthwhile professional activities involving working withothers in a team setting.

Pronouns are Here to Stay: Linguistic Change in Brazilian PortugueseBy Clarissa Surek-Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Those who currently speak Brazilian Portuguese are graduallyadopting the use of overt subject pronouns into their speech. Thisarticle examines the phenomenon, in both spoken and written formsof Brazilian Portuguese, and its impact on translation.

From Breast of Judge to an Abiding Conviction: Current Portuguese-English Legal Dictionaries

By Arlene M. Kelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

After recommending dictionaries for students, I began to read themmore carefully. I discovered that despite several editions of the twomajor bilingual Portuguese-English legal dictionaries, errors fromearlier editions remain in later ones. This is a dangerous situation forstudents and novices who accept the authority of faulty dictionaries.

The Joys of Jô: Translating A Samba for Sherlock and Twelve FingersBy Clifford E. Landers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Translating two novels by the well-known Brazilian talk show hostand comedian Jô Soares presented considerable challenges. Puns,jokes, and more subtle expressions of humor all demanded ingenuity,flexibility, and what Brazilians call jogo de cintura if the comedywas not to fall flat in translation. This article discusses specific prob-lems encountered in O Xangô de Baker Street (published byPanetheon in 1997 as A Samba for Sherlock) and O Homem queMatou Getúlio Vargas (forthcoming).

Volume XXIX, Number 8August 2000

ChronicleThe

A Publication of the American Translators Association

Monthly ColumnsFrom the Executive Director . . . . . . . . . . 7

From the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

From the President-Elect . . . . . . . . . . . 11

ATA Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Upcoming Conferences and

Educational Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Dictionary Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Elsevier’s Dictionary of Drug TrafficTerms (In English, Spanish, Portuguese,French, and German)Reviewed by Arlene KellyMichaelis Moderno Dicionário da LínguaPortuguesaReviewed by Daniel Tomlinson

The Translation Inquirer . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Compiled by John Decker

Humor and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55By Mark Herman

Accreditation Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Accreditation Exam Sites . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Display Advertising Index . . . . . . . . . . . 58

New Active and Corresponding Members . . 58

ATA Chapters and Regional Groups . . . . 62

Classified Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Focus on: Literary Translation

Featured Language:Spanish

Photo: Lareja de Santo Estevao, Lisbon, Portugal

Features

Focus on FreelancersFeatured Language: Portuguese

Mark Your Calendars!ATA’s 41

stAnnual Conference is

September 20-23, 2000

4 ATA Chronicle • August 2000

AN EASY REFERENCE TO ATA MEMBER BENEFITS

Your ATA membership has never been more valuable. Take advantage of the dis-counted programs and services available to you as an ATA member. Be sure to tellthese companies you are an ATA member and refer to any codes provided below.

Business Owners InsuranceSeabury & Smith, Inc.(800) 368-5969 ext. [email protected]

Collection Services/Receivables ManagementDun & BradstreetAsk for Sharon LeBoutillier(800) 333-6497 ext. 7468(610) [email protected]

Conference TravelConventions in AmericaReference Code: 505(800) 929-4242 • (619) 453-3686e-mail: [email protected]

Credit Card Acceptance Program/Professional Services AccountMBNA America/NOVA Information SystemsReference Code: HCDA(888) 545-2207 • (770) 649-5700

MasterCardMBNA AmericaReference Code: IFKV(800) 847-7378 • (302) 457-2165

Medical, Life, and Disability InsuranceMutual of Omaha(800) 223-6927 • (402) 342-7600www.atanet.org/mutual.htmA. H. Wohlers & Co.(800) 323-2106

Overnight Delivery/Express Package ServiceUPSReference Code: C0000700415(800) 325-7000www.ups.com

Professional Liability InsuranceSeabury & Smith, Inc.(800) 368-5969 ext. [email protected]

Training and SeminarsDun and BradstreetReference Code: 888TI(212) 692-6600www.dnbtraining.com

...And, of course, as an ATA member you receive discounts on the Annual Con-ference registration fees and ATA publications, and you are eligible to join ATADivisions, participate in the online Translation Services Directory, and much more.For more information, contact ATA (703) 683-6100; fax (703) 683-6122; and e-mail: [email protected].

We’ve done everything possible to ensure that your address is correct. But sometimes errors do occur. If you find that the information on the mailing label is inaccurate or out of date, please let us know. Send updates to:The ATA Chronicle • 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 • Alexandria, VA 22314Fax (703) 683-6122 • [email protected]

ChronicleThe

A Publication of the American Translators Association1999 FIT Best Periodical Award Winner

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The ATA Chronicle (ISSN 1078-6457) is published monthly exceptbi-monthly in November/December by the American TranslatorsAssociation, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314,Phone: (703) 683-6100; Fax: (703) 683-6122; E-mail: (see abovedirectory for appropriate department).

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POSTMASTER: Changes of address should be sent to The ATAChronicle, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314.The American Translators Association (ATA) was established in1959 as a not-for-profit professional society to advance the stan-dards of translation and to promote the intellectual and materialinterests of translators and interpreters in the United States. Thestatements made in the ATA Chronicle do not necessarily reflect theopinion or judgment of the ATA, its editor, or its officers or directorsand are strictly those of the authors.

Chronicle Submission Guidelines

The ATA Chronicle enthusiastically encourages members to submitarticles of interest to the fields of translation and interpretation.1) Articles (see length specifications below) are due the first of

the month, two months prior to the month of publication (i.e.,June 1 for August issue).

2) Articles should not exceed 3,000 words. Articles containingwords or phrases in non-European writing systems (e.g.,Japanese, Arabic) should be submitted by mail and fax.

3) Include your fax, phone, and e-mail on the first page.4) Include a brief abstract (three sentences maximum) empha-

sizing the most salient points of your article. The abstract willbe included in the table of contents.

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6) In addition to a hard copy version of the article, please submitan electronic version either on disk or through e-mail ([email protected]).

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8) All articles are subject to editing for grammar, style, punctua-tion, and space limitations.

9) A proof will be sent to you for review prior to publication.Standard Length Letters to the editor: 350 words; Opinion/Editorial: 300-600 words;Feature Articles: 750-3,000 words; Column: 400-1,000 words

MOVING? FOUND AN ERROR WITH YOUR ADDRESS?

ATA Chronicle • August 2000 5

Reading Between the Headlines: Some Challenges in Journalistic Translation

By Lucia Leao and Clarisse Bandeira de Mello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Tips for the translator of journalistic texts…into Portuguese.

To Go Where No One Has Gone Before: A Natural Evolution of the Translator’s Role and Mission

By Marie C. Martien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

As our world moves toward globalization, the need for translation hasconsiderably increased. Because globalization relies upon successfulcommunication across cultures, our profession has evolved, requiringa different approach to our role, our skills, as well as our mission. Wemust take on the role of consultant, educator, communicator, andglobal ambassador and move away from the traditional isolationistmentality of our profession in order to meet these needs. We have tobecome aware of the evolutionary cycle from translator, to communi-cator, to global ambassador. Chances are, freelancing may be a suc-cessful framework to bettering our role as communication facilitatorsin the new global environment.

Les grands enfantsBy Alexandra Russell-Bitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

The counterpart to the American stereotype of the French as snooty isthe French view of Americans as “overgrown children”—cute, but soterribly uninhibited.

Features Continued

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Want the latest list of exam sites?

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Visit our Website at www.atanet.org

Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Membership Brochure . . . . . . . . . .20

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Alternative Routes to Active or

Corresponding Membership . . . . .22

A Guide to ATA Accreditation . . . .30

ATA Accreditation Practice Test

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ATA Accreditation Examination

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Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Editorial Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Chronicle Advertising Rates . . . . . .51

1994 Chronicle Index . . . . . . . . . . .52

1995 Chronicle Index . . . . . . . . . . .53

1996 Chronicle Index . . . . . . . . . . .54

1997 Chronicle Index . . . . . . . . . . .55

1998 Chronicle Index . . . . . . . . . . .56

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ATAware Order Form . . . . . . . . . . .60

Chapters, Affiliated Groups &

Other Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Model Contract for Translators . . . .90

41st Annual Conference

Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Even more than machine translation (MT) developers, users are atthe forefront of innovation in MT applications. The proliferation ofInternet, intranet, and speech applications of MT, including translatedsearch, and cross-language information retrieval and the translation ofe-mail, chat, and real-time news, has been driven by users responding tothe market’s increasing demands for the globalization of information.

The profile of the MT user in the year 2000 is very different fromwhat MT developers envisioned as recently as 10 years ago. Nonethe-less, the traditional application of MT as a translation productivity toolendures, and is thriving in many companies. The two sectors of usagehave a number of opposing characteristics, such as assimilation versusdissemination, differing volume and turnaround considerations, pricingstructures, and user populations.

Internet applications have received the lion’s share of press attentionand development focus from MT vendors in recent years, perhaps to thedetriment of more traditional applications. But will unedited InternetMT eventually crash and burn on the tarmac of user acceptance? Or willthe traditional MT user simply fade away, a victim of the focus shift tothe Internet on the part of MT vendors and translation consumers?Better still, can both user types thrive and contribute mutually to theother’s success? Who will be the MT user of 2010?

These are just some of the issues to be covered at this workshop.For more information, please contact: Mary Flanagan at [email protected], or Laurie Gerber at [email protected]. Informationcan also be obtained by on the Web at www.isi.edu/natural-language/conferences/amta2000.

Machine Translation Users Workshop (In conjunction with the Association for Machine Translation in the Americas 2000)October 10, 2000 • Mision del Sol, Cuernavaca, Mexico


About Our Authors...

Vera M. B. Abreu is the administrator of the ATA Portuguese Lan-guage Division and editor of the division’s newsletter, PLData. Shecan be reached at [email protected].

Clarisse Bandeira de Mello (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)is a graduate of the Federal University of Rio deJaneiro, Santa Úrsula University, and PontificalCatholic University, and holds English certificatesfrom Cambridge, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.An ATA-accredited (English>Portuguese) freelance

translator and interpreter in Florida, she taught and coordinated trans-lation/interpretation courses at the Universidade do Estado do Rio deJaneiro and the Estácio de Sá University in Brazil. She currentlyteaches translation at Florida International University in Miami. Shecan be reached at [email protected].

Eve Lindemuth Bodeux is the owner of BodeuxInternational, offering Website localization consultingand French to English technical translation. She hasbeen active in the translation and localization indus-tries for the past six years. She has publishednumerous articles on technology in translation in var-

ious ATA publications and the journal Language International. Shehas also given presentations throughout the U.S. on related topics. Sheis the editor of the French Language Division newsletter, À-propos.Her native language is English, and she speaks French fluently. Shecan be reached at [email protected].

Jonathan Hine, translator and writer, has taught tech-nical translation at James Madison University in Har-risonburg, Virginia, and conducted workshops on busi-ness organization for freelancers throughout theUnited States. He is a regular presenter at ATA confer-ences. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, his post-

graduate work included project management (master’s degree in publicadministration, University of Oklahoma) and translator education(Ph.D., University of Virginia). His current research interest is the eval-uation of translator education and the related areas of accreditation,certification, and assessment. He is ATA-accredited (Italian>English)and has been translating technical and financial material for 40 years.He can be reached at [email protected].

Steven P. Iverson is the administrator of ATA’s Translation CompanyDivision. He is president and founder of Iverson Language Associates,Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ILA was started in 1986, and nowemploys 20 full-time staff members. Services include translation andtypesetting, technical writing and illustration, interpretation, and videoproduction in all languages. He obtained his master’s degree in Frenchfrom Marquette University. He is a member of the Society for TechnicalCommunication, and is chair of the International Trade Advisory Com-mittee of Milwaukee Area Technical College. He can be reached [email protected].

Arlene M. Kelly, a native of Milton, Massachusetts, is ATA-accredited(Portuguese>English) and holds a Certificate in Portuguese fromCoimbra University. The Fulbright Association granted her a yearlongfellowship with which she began demographic historical studies of theBrazilian Amazon region, culminating in her doctorate from the Uni-versity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. After 12 years in Brazil,where she also worked with a sworn translator and began interpreting,she returned to the United States. She currently teaches three

courses in the Bentley College Certificate Program for Legal andMedical Interpreters (Portuguese section) on Saturdays, and inter-prets Portuguese for the state courts and Portuguese and Frenchfor the federal courts during the week. She can be reached at [email protected].

Sara Koopman is an interpreter and Spanish to English translatorwho enjoys interpreting for public speakers, translating outreach andpublicity materials, and video work. She is active in various move-ments for social justice, and has donated her services to a wide varietyof organizations. She can be reached at [email protected] orwww.spanishforsocialchange.com.

Clifford E. Landers is professor of political science at New JerseyCity University. His translations from Brazilian Portuguese includenovels by Rubem Fonseca, Jorge Amado, João Ubaldo Ribeiro,Patrícia Melo, Jô Soares, Chico Buarque, Paulo Coelho, Marcos Rey,and José de Alencar, as well as shorter fiction by Lima Barreto,Osman Lins, Moacyr Scliar, and Rachel de Queiroz. His LiteraryTranslation: A Practical Guide will be published in 2001 by Multi-lingual Matters Ltd. He received the Mario Ferreira Award from thePortuguese Language Division of ATA in 1999. He can be reached [email protected].

Lucia Leao was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, andholds masters’ degrees in Brazilian literature (StateUniversity of Rio de Janeiro) and print journalism(University of Miami). She is an ATA-accredited (Eng-lish>Portuguese) freelance translator in Florida, and ispresently preparing her first collection of short stories

to be published in Brazil. She can be reached at [email protected].

Marie C. Martien is a French native with a back-ground in French literature, philosophy, and psy-chology, who started her career as a French teacher atthe Montessori Society of Maryland after relocating tothe U.S. in 1989 with her two young children. Herexperience shifted to English to French translation

after teaching her native language to top business executives of majorcorporations. She is currently a French intercultural specialist, free-lance translator, teacher, consultant, and interpreter, as well as amember of the French American Chamber of Commerce. She can bereached at [email protected].

Alexandra Russell-Bitting has been a senior trans-lator/reviser at the Inter-American Development Bankin Washington, D.C. for the past 12 years. She worksfrom Spanish, French, and Portuguese into English,and has taught translation at the Université de Parisand Georgetown University. She can be reached at

[email protected].

Clarissa Surek-Clark is an ATA-accredited (Eng-lish<>Portuguese) translator. She holds B.A. andM.A. degrees in linguistics from the University ofPennsylvania. Her interests include language varia-tion, pigdins, and Creoles. Her current researchinvestigates the South African pidgin Fanagalo, a lan-

guage that includes Zulu and English. She can be reached [email protected].

From theExecutiveDirector

Walter Bacak, [email protected]


Over the years I have written variouscolumns about the ATA staff. ATA isfortunate to have a dedicated group of

employees. Recently, we have had somechanges to our 10-member Headquarters staff.

“Change is good” is one of my mantras.Although, at this time I feel I may need to amendthis to “Change is usually good.”

Dee Warwick-Dias. Longtime ATA employeeDee Warwick-Dias has left the association. Deehad been with ATA since November of 1992.She was hired by my predecessor, John Gillis, totake on the administrative matters of an organi-zation that was going through some pretty roughtimes politically and financially.

Since joining ATA, Dee’s responsibilitieshave changed as personnel have come and goneand new positions and programs were added.Most recently, Dee handled the advertising salesfor the Chronicle and the conference programs,exhibit sales, and a variety of conference-relatedand administrative duties. Regardless of the project or the time, she would jump in and deliver.She wasn’t always receptive to praise, but I knowshe was proud of her efforts as the ATA grew andprospered. Thanks, Dee, for all your hard work,and good luck in your future endeavors.

Terry Hanlen. ATA’s Accreditation ProgramManager Terry Hanlen has been promoted todeputy executive director. He will continue hisaccreditation program duties while serving as

my backup. Terry, who has been with the asso-ciation for over three years, has earned therespect of the Board, staff, and membership. Inaddition, his background in human resourcesand all-around outstanding people skills are aplus for ATA.

Barbara Russell. Earlier this year when wewere preparing for the production of the Mem-bership Directory, we discussed how we weregoing to proofread it. Dee mentioned that herfriend Barbara Russell, who had helped us in thepast with some minor projects, now had moretime for us. Barbara came on board in April as apart-time employee.

In June, she suffered a brain aneurysm anddied within two weeks. Her keen eyes, constantsmile, and dry wit are missed. While we are alltrying to keep up with business and the worldoperating at Internet speed, it is events like Bar-bara’s passing that make you stop and cherish amoment with a loved one.

Finally, while I am discussing the staff, I wantto thank the Boards and the membership over thepast years for their support and appreciation ofthe staff. As we get closer to the conference, Ialso want to thank them for their hard work anddedication. So, thanks to Terry, Orson Carter,Teresa Ly, Christie Matlock, Roshan Pokharel,Maggie Rowe, and Jeff Sanfacon. See you later,Dee, and we are thinking of you, Barbara.

Staff Changes

Number of listings: 6,310

U.S. geographic data: continue to have members in all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. By thenumber of members, the top five states remain unchanged from last year: Cal-ifornia, New York, Florida, Texas, and Virginia. The remainder of the top 10,in order, are: New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington.

International geographic data: members in 61 countries. The top fivecountries by the number of members outside the U.S.: Canada, Germany,Italy, Argentina, and Brazil. The remainder of the top 10, in order, are:Spain, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, and Japan.

Division membership: 4,238 ATA members are members of at leastone division. The five largest divisions by membership are: Spanish Lan-guage, French Language, German Language, Interpreters, and Scienceand Technology.

Accredited languages: The top five ATA-accredited language pairingsby the number of ATA members who are accredited in the combinationremain unchanged from last year: English into Spanish, French into English,Spanish into English, German into English, and English into German.

Charter members: nine. These individuals have been ATA members since1959-60.

2000 ATA Directory at a Glance

From thePresidentAnn G. Macfarlane

[email protected]

National with an International Orientation

Recently, I was asked by some ATA col-leagues whether the ATA Board wasplanning to turn the ATA into an interna-

tional organization. I thought that perhaps othersamong you might like to know the Board’sthinking on this issue.

The recent membership survey indicated that57 percent of our members believe that the ATAshould be a “national organization with an inter-national orientation.” The Board endorses thatview, which is consistent with our Bylaws, andwill act in accordance with it. We are a profes-sional organization based in the U.S. and 90 per-cent of our members are physically in thiscountry. By its nature, however, our professiontranscends national boundaries. We welcomemembers from outside the U.S. for the contribu-tions they bring to the association. We will con-tinue to develop such international links andconnections as are consonant with our missionas stated in Article II of our Bylaws.

At the same time, we remain firmly basedwithin the United States. Our association isincorporated within the State of New York, andwe pay U.S. taxes and abide by U.S. law. Themain focus of our recruitment efforts is withinthe U.S. and will remain so.

As an example of our national character, anoverseas member asked whether, if we valueinternational members, we would waive thepostage fee that is now charged to ship theChronicle and other materials beyond the bor-ders of the United States. If we were planning tobecome a purely international body, we might dothis in the belief that it would draw more mem-bers—but we are not going to do so. The ATAwill keep to our current policy of charging mem-bers for the extra costs incurred by shipping theirpublications outside the United States.

As a second example of our national character,many of the membership benefits we offer—health insurance, small-business insurance, andthe brand-new retirement plan option—are of useonly to members within one of the 50 states orPuerto Rico. We are not looking for benefit pack-ages that are aimed primarily at people outside thegeographic boundaries of the United States.

As an example of our international orienta-tion, I can point to the recent Board meeting thatwas held in Toronto, Ontario. The Board tradi-

tionally plans its summer meeting in a city thatlooks like a possible future conference site. Wewere very pleased with the benefits that Torontomight offer us, and are actively considering it forthe year 2004. Toronto is an extraordinarilydiverse city, with over 120 ethnic communitiesrepresented (many within easy distance of thecity center). It has many urban attractions, avibrant downtown, and all sorts of possibilitiesfor dining and entertainment. Almost half of theconferences in Toronto are held by U.S.-basedorganizations, a reflection of the city’s aggressivecourting of conferences and meetings and thehighly favorable exchange rate. It seemed to theBoard that, in terms of value-for-money, thiseasily accessible city is a real find. If we do holda conference in Toronto, it should provide a goodopportunity for networking with colleaguesacross the northern border, as well as an excellentconference experience for all our members. I willlet you know how our negotiations turn out.

Board Approves Changes to Election Procedures

At its March and June meetings, the Board ofDirectors of the American Translators Associa-tion approved a number of changes to electionprocedures. For the membership’s information,key points are listed below. The full text of therevised Nominating Committee and ElectionGuidelines, changes to which are listed in points3-5 below, is given on page 9.

1) PROXY VOTING. Members who are unableto attend the Annual Meeting of Voting Membersin person may give their vote to a proxy. Asalways, they may designate any Voting Memberwho is going to the meeting to cast their vote. Inaddition, for the sake of those who may not havean acquaintance who is attending, members maynow choose a member of the Board of Directors tovote their proxy. As always, members may vote an“instructed proxy,” in which they direct the proxyholder how to vote, or an “uninstructed proxy,” inwhich they leave the choice up to the proxy holder.Specific instructions will be included with the bal-lots to be mailed out in August.


Continued on p. 10


1. Appointment of the Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee and its chairshall be appointed by the Board of Directorsupon the recommendation of the Presidentaccording to Article VII, Section 2.d of theBylaws. The Nominating Committee will consistof five active members, none of whom shall bea candidate for office that year. Its membersshould be in good standing and represent,insofar as possible, the geographic distributionof members.

2. Purpose of the Nominating Committeea) The Committee shall review the back-ground, experience, and abilities of the cur-rent Directors in order to identify the qualitiesdesirable in future members of the Board. TheCommittee shall study the qualifications ofthose proposed as candidates in order to nom-inate the best possible slate.

b) The Committee shall propose two candi-dates, if possible, for each elective position ofthe Association. The names of the candidatesproposed, whose written acceptances musthave been received by the Nominating Com-mittee, shall be presented to the President nolater than June 1 of the election year for theinformation of the Board of Directors and forpublication to the members.

c) Eligible outgoing Directors shall inform theCommittee in writing if they wish to stand ascandidates for re-election.

d) The Chair of the Nominating Committeeshall submit a written report to Headquartersto be included in the material for the Board ofDirectors’ summer meeting.

e) Further nominations, accompanied by thewritten acceptance of the nominees, may be

entered in writing endorsed by the signatures ofat least thirty-five voting members, and shall bereceived by the Nominating Committee not laterthan thirty calendar days after publication by theBoard of Directors of the names of the candi-dates the Nominating Committee has proposed.

3. Selection of Candidatesa) Interested members may propose them-selves as potential candidates, be proposed byother members, or be approached by theNominating Committee. The Call for Nomina-tions shall include information about the dif-ferent ways to be proposed.

b) Those who respond to the Call for Nomina-tions should indicate their willingness to runfor office, in writing, and should provide sup-porting information regarding their qualifica-tions to the Nominating Committee.

c) The Nominating Committee will proposequalified candidates for each office, havingmade strong efforts to offer the membership achoice of two candidates for each position.

d) When selecting candidates for national office,the Nominating Committee will attempt to selecta slate that is representative of the membershipat large regarding geography and type of profes-sional involvement. To avoid fragmentation ofthe vote, the Committee will make every effort toselect candidates for the same position from dif-ferent chapters or geographic areas.

e) Before the proposed slate of candidates fornational office is presented to the Board forpublication, Headquarters will be asked toverify active membership status. The slate shallbe published as far in advance of the electionas possible, mindful of the Bylaws requirementfor sufficient time to allow inclusion of candi-dates by petition on the ballot.

f) Candidates for office will, upon confirmationof eligibility, submit to the Board a letter ofacceptance and an overview of their backgroundand platform (not to exceed 500 words).

4. Campaign Guidelines a) An equal space policy shall be observed forall candidates in ATA publications and proxies.Every effort will be made to provide as muchconstructive dialogue as possible among thecandidates within the existing forums of theATA. Sufficient space (maximum word count500 words) and a photograph will be allocatedfor each candidate in the ATA Chronicle to setforth their qualifications and goals for the posi-tion and to respond to questions appropriatefor the position sought.

b) No funds of the Association, Chapters, orDivisions will be used to promote any candi-date outside of their usual publications. Whilecandidates may not accept campaign contribu-tions, they may personally incur limitedexpenses for campaigning purposes.

c) Divisions and Chapters may endorse theirmembers who are candidates for nationaloffice, and encourage others to vote for them,without so endorsing other candidates for thesame office. However, when a Division orChapter includes more than one candidate fora given office, either the Division or Chaptershall make no endorsement, or it shall conducta poll of members before proceeding, in orderto ensure that the endorsement reflects the willof the majority of the members.

d) It is the policy of the Association that cam-paigns should be open, dignified, and focusedon the issues and on the qualifications of thecandidates.

6/2000

American Translators Association, Inc.

Nominating Committee and Election Guidelines

Need a membership form for a colleague? Want the latest list of exam sites? Call ATA’s Document on Request line, available24-hours a day. For a menu of available documents, please press 1 at the prompt, or visit ATA’s Website atwww.atanet.org.

ATA’S DOCUMENT ON REQUEST LINE 1-888-990-3282


Background: In the past, only one indi-vidual was appointed as proxy holder.This change will give greater choice tothe membership.

2) ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTIONRESULTS. The election returns will beposted before midnight on the day of theelection, so that candidates will know theresults before the next day’s AnnualMeeting of All Members.

Background: In the past, candidates didnot know until the public announcementof the results at the Annual Meeting ofAll Members whether they had been suc-cessful in the elections.

3) NOMINATING COMMITTEE. TheNominating Committee will be requestedto review the background, experience, andabilities of the current Directors in orderto identify the qualities desirable in future

members of the Board, and to engage in“board development work” throughoutthe year rather than merely prior to theelections. The Committee is requested tochoose a maximum of two candidates foreach slot, if possible.

Background: Current practice in non-profit associations is to encourage theNominating Committee to engage in“board development work” throughoutthe year, so that the selection of candi-dates can start from a broad base ofknowledge of suitable persons. Twocandidates are suggested for each slot togive members a choice, but to avoid asituation where a future leader, in par-ticular the President-elect, might beelected without a clear mandate fromthe membership.

4) ENDORSEMENTS. The section ofthe Guidelines on endorsements has been

changed to read: When a Division orChapter includes more than one candi-date for a given office, either the Divisionor Chapter shall make no endorsement,or it shall conduct a poll of membersbefore proceeding, in order to ensure thatthe endorsement reflects the will of themajority of the members.

Background: This clarifies an ambiguityabout endorsements in the previous version.

5) CONDUCT OF CAMPAIGN. TheGuidelines now read: It is the policy ofthe Association that campaigns shouldbe open, dignified, and focused on theissues and on the qualifications of thecandidates.

Background: Previous language aboutnegative campaigning has been removed.

July 17, 2000

To the Board of Directors of the American Translators AssociationMs. Ann Macfarlane, President

Dear Ms. Macfarlane:

Pursuant to Article XIV (b), of the American Translators Association, Inc. Bylaws, the undersigned, all voting members in good standing of ATA,submit for your consideration an amendment to Article XII, Section 3.b, whereby new language would establish that all officers of a Division mustbe active members of the Association. This change would revoke the right of corresponding members to serve as officers of a Division.

Proposed new text:

ARTICLE XIIChapters and DivisionsSection 3 – Membership and Bylawsb. Membership in the Association is required for membership in a Division. All voting members of the Division must be members in good standingof the Association. The officers of the Division must be “active members” of the Association.

We consider this amendment to ATA’s Bylaws an important one and request that the Board of Directors present this proposal to the voting mem-bers of the Association at our meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Very truly yours,

Alicia Agnese; Verónica S. Albin; Vivian Ruth Belinky; Maricarmen Bellver; Anita S. Berthold; María Luisa Boden; Beatriz Bonnet; Eileen Brock-bank; Karen A. Brovey; Josiane Bullard; Patricia Bunce; Jana C. Bundy; Rosa Codina; Pimpi Coggins; Eduardo Corredera; Isabel Maria CoutinhoMonteiro; Robert A. Croese; João Manuel Roque Dias; Jutta Diel Dominque; Mindy Emmons; Margarita Friedman; Peter Andrew Gergay; José A.Gonzalez-Posada; Gonzalo Gonzalez-Pumariega; Cynthia Gorostiaga; Sergio Graciano; Marian S. Greenfield; Ana Harvey; Thomas Hedden; DanièleY. Heinen; Cristina Hendrix; Basil Kezios; Gerardo Konig; Luisa Kopinsky; Sylvia Korwek; Julia Lambertini Andreotti; Teresa H. Lopez; Cristina Mar-quez Arroyo; Guillermo Martínez; Leticia Molinero; Roberto Nabaza; Birgit Nielsen; Susana Petit; Donna Sandin; Jack Segura; Diana Sherer; Vir-ginia Signorelli; Eta Trabing; Lilian Van Vranken; Elena Vialo; Rosalie P. Wells; Dennis W. Wester.

Amendment to the ATA Bylaws Proposed

From the President Continued from p. 8


From thePresident-

ElectThomas L. West III

[email protected]

Being a translator or interpreter meansbeing in business. You can be great atwhat you do, but if you don’t market

your services, you may not stay in business verylong. ATA offers many opportunities for you tolet other people know about you and yourskills—from the immensely successful onlineTranslation Services Directory to writing arti-cles for the Chronicle.

A perfect place to network and promoteyour services is the ATA Annual Conference.While the conference focuses on educationalsessions and professional development, it isalso about business—which is why we have theJob Exchange.

The Job Exchange, which has been one of themost popular features of the conference foryears, offers independent contractors an excel-lent opportunity to network and market theirservices. At the same time, agency owners andemployers peruse résumés and meet prospectivecontractors and employees.

For those who have not been to an ATA con-ference, here’s a brief overview of the JobExchange room. The perimeter of the room islined with tables covered with the résumés,brochures, and business cards of independenttranslators and interpreters. These materials areorganized by language. In an effort to stretch thespace we have available this year, individualmembers will only be allowed to display theirrésumés, brochures, and business cards. Noother displays will be allowed.

In the middle of the room we have severaltables where agency owners and their personnelcan review the Job Exchange binders. Thesebinders feature the compiled profiles of transla-tors and interpreters from the online TranslationServices Directory. Of course, the only profilesincluded are for those individual members whoreturned the Job Exchange Registration Form.Note that you can fill out one of these forms andthus participate in the Job Exchange even if youcannot attend the conference. See the JobExchange Registration Form (Form JE), whichis in the back of the Preliminary Program forthe Annual Conference and on the ATA Websiteat www.atanet.org (click on the “conference”icon). We will do our best to accommodate lateJob Exchange Registration Forms after thedeadline of August 15 passes.

In the Job Exchange room there will also betables available to agencies and employers. Forthe first time, we are requiring companies toregister for a table and pay a modest fee. In thepast, it was something of a free-for-all fortables. We hope that the registration and feerequirements will make things easier foreveryone involved.

Be sure to stop by the Job Exchange room.Who knows, you may make a contact for a jobthat more than covers your conference expenses.Regardless, the important thing is that you takeadvantage of this opportunity to market yourservices. See you in Orlando!

Job Exchange

Plan now to exhibit at the American Translators Association's 41st Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, September 20 –September 23, 2000.Exhibiting at the ATA Annual Conference offers the best opportunity to market your products and services face-to-face to

more than 1,200 translators and interpreters in one location.Translators are consumers of computer hardware and software, technical publications and reference books, office products,

and much more. Face-to-face selling, as you know, is the most effective and successful method of marketing. The Annual Con-ference is the perfect venue…and with only 63 booths, you are assured of excellent visibility.

Exhibit space is limited, so please reserve your space today. For additional information, please contact Christie Matlock,Exhibits Manager, ATA Headquarters, at (703) 683-6100 ext. 3011 or e-mail: [email protected].

Attention ExhibitorsAmerican Translators Association's 41st Annual ConferenceWyndham Palace Resort, Orlando, Florida • September 20 – September 23, 2000


TRADOS WorkshopsTRADOS Corporation offers one-day training workshops each

month for Translator’s Workbench, MultiTerm, and WinAlign at itssite at 113 S. Columbus Street, Alexandria, Virginia. Attendance islimited. For more information, contact: Tel: (703) 683-6900; Fax:(703) 683-9457; E-mail: [email protected] or www. trados.com.

Institute of Translation and Interpreting Weekend Workshopon Public Service InterpretingSeptember 15-17, 2000University of Birmingham • Birmingham, England

For more information, please contact Maria Cordero, informa-tion officer, at [email protected]. Tel: +44-207-713-7600 Ext. 802;Fax: +44-207-713-7650.

Rennes 2000 International Symposium on Specialist TranslationTeaching/Training Methods and Practices, Professional PracticeUniversité de Rennes 2September 22-23, 2000Rennes, France

Open to members of professional associations, students, trans-lator trainers, and employers. The event is designed to provide anoverview of the best professional practices; to identify proposals,initiatives, and models for specialist translator training along trulyprofessional lines; to discuss the aims and the implementation ofcourses designed to train specialist translators and translationmanagers—specialization being understood to imply domain,product type (software localization), technical constraints (subti-tling), or the type of translation tools (computer-assisted transla-tion and automatic translation software); and to describe coursecontent requirements in light of identifiable and model-based pro-fessional practices.

For more information, including registration, please contactNathalie Collin at [email protected]. Please also visit www.uhb.fr/langues/craie.

Ninth International Technology, Meetings, and Incentives October 26-29, 2000 • Bangkok, Thailand

For more information, please visit www.cimpa.org/itmic.htm.

Translation Studies Conference: Recent Theories and ApplicationsUniversity of SalamancaNovember 16–18, 2000Salamanca, Spain

For more information, please contact [email protected];Tel: +34-923-294-400 Ext. 1174; www.usal.es/precurext (listed as“Estudios de Traducción”; code number 00087-1).

Language Technologies for Dynamic Business in the Age ofthe Media ConferenceNovember 23-25, 2000University of Applied Sciences Cologne • Cologne, Germany

The 26th Annual Conference of the International Association ofLanguage and Business will focus with the use of language tech-nologies for customer-oriented services. The following topics willbe discussed: tools for in-company language support; Internet-basedlanguage resources; language as a vehicle for communication inInternet services; multilingualism on the Internet (as seen by theCompany); multimedia applications in a company. The conferenceis aimed at: top management and leading figures in industry, com-merce, publishing houses, administration, politics, law, and culture;scientists and academics from various related disciplines; and tech-nical writers, translators, interpreters, and terminologists. Pleasefind the registration form on our Website or contact: Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dirk Schmitz at tel: +49-221-8275-3272; fax: +49-221-8275-3991;e-mail: [email protected]; or visit www.fbi.fh-koeln.de/DEUTERM/ivsw2000E.htm for more information.

Society for Technical Communication 48th Annual ConferenceMay 13-16, 2001Chicago Hyatt Regency • Chicago, Illinois

The Society for Technical Communication will hold its 48thAnnual Conference at the Chicago Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Illi-nois, May 13-16, 2001. The conference will feature more than 250technical sessions covering technical writing, editing, manage-ment, Web page design, multimedia, and other subjects of interestto technical communicators. For more information, please visit the

Upcoming Conferences and Educational Programs

ATA ACTIVITIES

Accreditation• Exam sittings were held in Los Angeles,

California and Novi, Michigan.• An exam sitting has been added in San

Francisco, California.

Conference• The ATA 41st Annual Conference Pre-

liminary Program was posted online.For the latest conference informationand to download registration forms,please visit www.atanet.org/conf200/main_page_f.htm.

• Continue to market exhibit booths, spon-sorships, and Final Conference Programadvertising space for ATA’s Annual Con-ference. (If you would like more infor-mation, please contact ATA Headquar-ters at (703) 683-6100; fax: (703) 683-6122; or e-mail: [email protected].)

Membership• Membership continues to grow (5.9

percent ahead of last year at this time).

Public Relations• ATA Executive Director Walter Bacak

worked with reporters/representatives fromReuters News Service and the OregonNurserymen’s Association magazine.

• ATA continues to work with the Amer-ican Foundation for Translation and Inter-pretation, the Fédération Internationaledes Traducteurs, the ASTM TranslationUser Standards and Language Inter-preting Projects, and the LocalisationIndustry Standards Association.

Continued on p. 65


Candidates’ Statements for ATA’s Board of Directors Elections

The election this year is to fill one one-year term for a director position and three three-year terms for directors’ positions. The ballot will be mailed in late August.

Director: One-Year TermBeatriz [email protected]

In 1999 I was nominated andran for a position on the ATABoard of Directors. I received a

significant number of votes, but not enough to beelected to this position. ATA’s Executive Committeeappointed me to fill Courtney Searls-Ridge’s posi-tion on the Board for 1999-2000 when she resignedin order to serve as ATA secretary. I accepted thechallenge and my appointment was ratified by theentire Board. The experience I have gained duringmy one year on the Board, I believe, has made me astronger candidate to fill the remainder of Ms.Searls-Ridge’s term as director. I have now gainedconsiderable experience in parliamentary rules andprocedures, ATA history and issues, and the innu-merable viewpoints and issues dear to our members.This year of experience has also reinforced mybelief that these are challenging times for our orga-nization, but challenges also come hand-in-handwith incredible opportunity. I would like both thechallenge and the opportunity to remain on theBoard to continue my work on behalf of the ATA.

In addition to my experience on the Board, Ibring over a decade of industry experience as anATA-accredited (English<>Spanish) translator, acertified federal court and conference interpreter(approved by the U.S. Department of State). I amalso president and CEO of Syntes Language Group,Inc. (formerly Global Translation Services), anestablished translation company with offices inEnglewood, Colorado and Houston, Texas.

I strongly believe that our industry’s well-beingwill hinge on our collective ability to raise our levelof professionalism and engage the outside worldthrough education, public relations, and other similarefforts. To this end, I have spoken and led workshopsat local, regional, and national conferences for sev-eral industry groups such as ATA, the National Asso-ciation of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, theAustin Area Translators and Interpreters Association,and the Houston Interpreters and Translators Associ-ation, of which I was a founder. Outside of ourindustry, I have been a speaker for numerous busi-ness and trade organizations, including severalchambers of commerce, the World Trade Center, the

Service Corps Of Retired Executives, and the DesignManagement Institute, addressing topics related totranslation and language management.

I ask for your vote so that I can continue to worktoward enhanced professional development opportu-nities, a strengthened accreditation program, the cre-ation of criteria for professional recognition of inter-preters, and the development of additional regionalopportunities for training and networking. As we allgo down the inevitable road of continuous and fast-paced change, the ATA must lead and redefine itselfto be a proactive participant in a changed market-place. I respectfully ask for your support of my can-didacy to stay on the Board, where I can continue tooffer a well-rounded background along with a can-do attitude, a proven commitment to the advance-ment of our profession, and the courage to lead ourorganization to greater achievements.

Director: Three-Year TermRogelio [email protected]@telnor.net

QualificationsI have an MBA and M.Ed.

and have been successfullyengaged in the translation and interpretation profes-sions in the U.S. and Mexico since 1991. Based inthe San Diego/Tijuana metropolitan area and ownerof a translation agency in Tijuana, my activitiesinclude freelance translation and interpretationassignments on both sides of the internationalborder.

In addition, I have also provided more than 100continuing education workshops and seminars forcourt interpreters and translators in Spain, Mexico,and the U.S. (particularly in California, Washington,Nevada, and Oregon). I have taught legal and busi-ness translation at Southwestern Community Col-lege in Chula Vista, California, and started the firsttranslation program ever offered at the high schoollevel in the U.S. at Mar Vista High School in Impe-rial Beach, California.

I have served as president of the Asociación deTraductores Profesionales de Baja California, andas vice-president of the Asociación de TraductoresProfesionales, one of two Mexican FIT affiliates.

Continued on p. 14


Actively supporting the endeavors and activities ofthe ATA, I have been a presenter at most ATAAnnual Conferences, beginning with Nashville. Ihave proctored accreditation examination sittings inSan Diego and Tijuana, and conducted accreditationexam workshops for aspiring translators.

My PlatformI envision an ATA that continues to stimulate and

support quality professional continuing education,research projects, and growth opportunities fortranslators and interpreters; an ATA that will con-tinue to promote close membership ties with otherprofessional groups (including associations ofwriters, linguists, language teachers, lawyers, physi-cians) and with other related activities in the U.S.and abroad, particularly in the countries of LatinAmerica; an ATA that will continue to promoteregional and language-specific conferences; an ATAwith diversity and an equal leadership opportunityprogram; an ATA that will keep working harder anddiligently to help improve the quality of life andworking conditions of its membership; an ATA witha strong and representative Board of Directors; anATA with a foolproof and crystal-clear accreditationsystem; and an ATA that gives its members anopportunity to express their views at every annualgeneral membership meeting.

If elected to the Board of Directors, I will doeverything within my ability to work togetherwith fellow ATA members, officers, and Head-quarters staff to ensure that ATA remains theworld’s premier association of professional trans-lators and interpreters for the benefit of its presentand future members.

Director: Three-Year TermMarian S. [email protected]

After serving three years onthe Board and then taking a yearoff following an unsuccessfulrun for president-elect, I wasdelighted that the Nominating

Committee asked me to run once again. I believe mycolleagues will agree that I was an energetic andeffective director.

During my tenure on the Board, I encouragedexpanding Headquarters staff, allowing elected offi-

cials to focus on long-range issues and making it pos-sible to offer a greater range of membership benefits.I also advocated increasing ATA benefits to chapters.I look forward to continuing to work on these issuesand encouraging the association to take a long viewof critical issues when planning for the future. Ifelected, I will continue to support client educationinitiatives and efforts to raise ATA’s public profile.

I have not been idle during my “sabbatical” year.I serve as chair of ATA’s Professional DevelopmentCommittee, which has just instituted a fund to helpchapters invite distinguished speakers. I have alsobeen active on ATA’s Chapters Committee.

If you haven’t met me over the years at ATA con-ferences and New York Circle of Translators(NYCT) meetings or other regional gatherings,please allow me to introduce myself.

I have been a translator in New York’s FinancialDistrict for 20 years, 19 of them at JP Morgan.Hired as a staff translator, I advanced to manager oftranslation several years ago, and am responsiblefor a mid-six-figure budget. I also do a considerableamount of freelance financial translation. Active inthe translation community at both the local andnational levels, I have served as NYCT’s treasurer,president-elect, president, and ATA liaison. I havespoken at many NYCT and New York Universityfunctions and ATA conferences, in addition to con-tributing a variety of articles and reviews toNYCT’s Gotham Translator and the Chronicle.Around 1995, I created the Virtual Résumé Clinic,run by NYCT and the National Capital AreaChapter of ATA, and continue to volunteer my ser-vices as a résumé reviewer. I co-organized the suc-cessful 1996 East Coast Regional Conference, co-led the Chapters Committee’s effort to rewrite theChapters Handbook, and served on ATA’s Transla-tion Industry Survey Committee. I also chaired theAd-Hoc Committee that spearheaded the successfuleffort to offer voting rights to all ATA members whoare practicing translators.

I have taught financial translation at New YorkUniversity’s School of Continuing Education since1992. I especially enjoy mentoring my former trans-lation students, many of whom intern in my office,and other newcomers to the profession. Finally, I aman active contributor to FLEFO (Compuserve’s trans-lator bulletin board) and Espalista (ATA’s SpanishLanguage Division newsgroup), and have organizedthe FLOCKTAIL at the last several ATA conferences.

Candidates’ Statements Continued


I am confident the experience I’ve gained during20 years on Wall Street, and nearly 10 years servingNYCT and ATA, will complement the skills andinsights of the current Board. I feel I still have a lotto contribute to the association, and hope you’ll votefor me in September.

Director: Three-Year TermJonathan [email protected]

Our association has grownrapidly in both size and quality.Watching this growth, I feel avibrant optimism for the profes-

sion that has been my life since I translated my firstbook (a medical text in 1961). My academic life hasincluded a B.Sc. from the U.S. Naval Academy, amaster’s degree in public administration from theUniversity of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in educationfrom the University of Virginia. I have worked as anaval officer, an engineer, a comptroller, a universityadministrator, and as a change agent in restructuringorganizations. My scholarly research is in programevaluation, specifically the evaluation of translatoreducation programs.

Many of you know me from the business andorganization workshops I conduct at ATA confer-ences and local chapter meetings. There are manyyears of study and work behind those presentations,time spent helping organizations identify their goalsand then organize themselves to reach them. Myforte is facilitation: I do not tell the group what todo; I help them figure out what they want to do andhow to get working on it.

Complementing my work experience in organiza-tional development is my research in educationalevaluation. Specifically, I have been studying anddocumenting what happens in translator classroomsin our universities. We can hardly expect to explainwhat translators should be learning until we knowwhat they are learning now. The results from the firstthree schools I visited will be presented at the con-ference in Orlando.

With that as background, I recognize in ATAcharacteristics that are typical of growing profes-sional associations. Some associations are strug-gling with the decision to hire paid executive staff,which is something we did years ago. Some certifytheir professionals, some do not, and some, like us,

are still developing their credential systems. Somehave traditional academic disciplines behind them,while others are still explaining what they do oncampus. I have belonged to associations that fall intoall these categories.

ATA will continue to wrestle with subjects likeprofessional certification (of individuals), accredita-tion (of schools), and assessment (of schools andprograms). We will continue to participate in thenational movement(s) to increase quality in lan-guage services.

I won’t pretend to tell you how ATA should grow.That will come from you. The current Board hasestablished a tradition of keeping us informed and Iwould like to build on that.

Like most of us, I love this profession. I havestudied and worked to learn some unique skills andtools that I hope you will find especially useful onyour Board. If you want them there, please vote forme. Thank you for your confidence.

Director: Three-Year TermGang [email protected]

To be nominated as a candi-date for the Board is a great honorthat I may not fully deserve.Compared with other candidates,

I am somewhat inexperienced in both our professionand the affairs of ATA.

I started my career as a professional translator bypure coincidence. I was trained to be a theoreticalphysicist (Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1989), butsoon realized that my career in physics was hope-less. So, following a friend’s example, I plunged intotranslation about seven years ago.

Thanks to a good education in the English lan-guage and a strong scientific background, my careeras a translator took off right away. In the past sevenyears, my fondness of this career has been growingcontinuously. I truly feel that this is my profession.

I joined ATA in 1998. During the first ATAAnnual Conference (Hilton Head) I attended, Itook the English-into-Chinese accreditation examand passed it on the first try. By that time, this par-ticular exam had only been offered for about a year,so I had the rare privilege to serve on the English-

Continued on p. 16


into-Chinese testing committee soon after I passedthe exam.

As a relatively new member, I am open to inputfrom all members of our organization and the public.Whatever you have in mind about our organizationand our profession, I am willing to hear it. In addi-tion, I will try to learn as much as possible about allaspects of our organization.

Currently, I do feel strongly about the followingthree areas.

First, I feel that we should, somehow, reiterate thecontents of ATA’s Code of Professional Conduct andBusiness Practices to our members from time totime. I for one needed to refresh my memory. Onlywhen all of us follow this code which we have com-mitted to abide, will ATA members as a whole beable to stand out as the most ethical, professional,and quality-conscious group of translators and inter-preters in the world.

Second, to advance our profession, I feel we needto provide more professional development opportuni-ties to our members. The ATA Chronicle and confer-ences have been excellent forums, yet the populariza-tion of the Internet has offered another great platformwhich has not yet been fully utilized by ATA.Through the Internet, we should be able to provideinstantaneous and year-round interactions among ourmembers and with the public. In addition, by makingwww.atanet.org a leading cyber forum for translatorsand interpreters, we shall be able to promote thepublic awareness of our organization as well.

Last but not least, it is my belief that the Amer-ican Translators Association should do more to pro-tect the interests of translators and interpreters ingeneral, and American translators and interpreters inparticular. We need to make them feel that we care.

To be sure, there are other issues warranting ourattention. Should you decide to elect me, the ATAmembership will always have my ears.

Director: Three-Year TermAlan K. Melby [email protected]

The past three years of myfirst term as a member of theBoard of Directors has beenenjoyable and, I hope, produc-

tive. As chair of the Ad-Hoc Translation ServicesDirectory Committee, one area of focus has been the

online TSD. Working in cooperation with our com-petent Headquarters staff, our Internet serviceprovider, and other volunteers, the TSD has movedfrom dream to reality. During a second term on theBoard, I would continue to work toward improvingthe TSD as issues arise. The current project involvesadding functionality to our Website by creating dis-cussion groups, allowing all ATA members to shareideas on such topics as terminology questions andlanguage-related computer problems.

In addition to the TSD and discussion groups, myefforts during a second term would continue to bedirected toward two long-term projects: 1) cooperationwith LISA (the Localisation Industry Standards Asso-ciation) and AMTA (the Association for MachineTranslation in the Americas); and 2) the design andimplementation of data exchange standards.

The term localization has expanded over the pastfew years to include more than just software local-ization. It now applies to all high-tech productsbeing prepared for various markets around theglobe. Cooperation with LISA will help interestedATA members get into the world of localization, aslocalizers or localization project managers. Thequality of raw machine translation output has notincreased substantially over the past several years,but neither has the accuracy of the public’s percep-tion of the role of machine translation. Cooperationwith AMTA will help interested ATA members getinto the world of machine translation, as post-editorsor as consultants to organizations that develop or usemachine translation. Of course, not every ATAmember is interested in participating in localizationor machine translation activities, but we will all ben-efit if the ATA has a deserved image of participationat the cutting edge of language technology.

Of direct concern to nearly every ATA member isthe interoperability of translation tools, such as trans-lation memory look-up systems and terminologymanagement systems. There will continue to be sev-eral competing developers of translation tools. Moreand more ATA members are also using these tools,either because they find them to increase productivityor because they are required to do so in order to par-ticipate in certain translation projects. A growingconcern is the need to get translation memory andterminology data from our clients into our toolswithout having to purchase and learn every brand oftool. As a consultant to the Standards-based Access toLexicons and Terminologies (SALT) project, funded

Candidates’ Statements Continued


by the European Union under the “5th Framework”research program, I will contribute toward the real-ization of the dream of establishing data exchangestandards and will keep the ATA informed ofprogress on this front.

If you would like to see me continue working onthe ATA Website, enhancing cooperation with relatedorganizations, and establishing data exchange stan-dards, please allow me to serve a second term on theATA Board.

Director: Three-Year TermInes [email protected]

As a professional translator,interpreter, workshop developer,and voice-over talent, I amkeenly aware of the interrela-

tionship between these various facets of the languagebusiness. When my daily work requires that I serve asan interpreter, whether in court, in conferences, indepositions, or elsewhere, I become more mentallyagile. This heightened awareness carries over into myother duties, and results in improved performancewhen I am engaged in the task of written translations.

In recent years I have successfully developed andtaught two workshops. Improvisation Techniqueshelps interpreters become more comfortable withtheir public role, and draws upon the field of actingwith exercises that parallel the mental gymnasticsinterpreters must perform as part of the nature of ourwork. This workshop has also helped participantsbridge the gap between the solitude and silence ofthe translator’s written work and the more open andaudible role of the interpreter. In addition to Cali-fornia, this workshop has traveled to Seattle and

Mexico City. The Depositions workshop I developedwith a colleague has been helpful in guiding prac-ticing and aspiring judiciary interpreters in bettermanaging their duties, responsibilities, and perfor-mance in this particular legal setting. Both work-shops are useful for all linguists, regardless of theirworking languages.

Originally from Venezuela, I have now lived inthe U.S. over half my life. A Bachelor of Architec-ture degree from the University of California,Berkeley, greatly contributed to my performance asa technical translator for an engineering company.More recently, I have assisted companies in the Sil-icon Valley with telephony applications in Spanish,both as a language editor and as a voice-over talent.

As a member of the Northern California Transla-tors Association since its founding in 1979, I havepreviously served on its Board of Directors, and alsoas a provider of continuing education in the form ofworkshops designed to assist candidates interestedin taking the ATA accreditation exam. I am ATA-accredited in English to Spanish, and Spanish toEnglish translation.

Because of my long tenure as a State of Cali-fornia and federal certified court interpreter, I amaware of much of the history and hurdles that inter-preters have been facing, as well as recent changesand challenges.

Many ATA members feel a need to acquire newskills and improve some old ones, and I will strive topromote and foster greater interaction among thosewho have expertise to provide and those who haveneeds and interests to fulfill. The dynamic atmos-phere that permeates our Annual ATA Conferencesmust become accessible throughout the year and atother venues in a parallel fashion.

Friday, September 22, 2000Beginning at 9:00pm

Come celebrate the AutumnalEquinox with poetry, prose, drama—any literature at all!

ATA’s Literary Division is once againproud to present its annual coffee-house/poetry reading. Attendees areinvited to read from their own trans-lations or original poetry in any lan-guage. Short selections of prose,drama, etc., are also welcome.

Readings will be limited to 10 min-utes per person. Listeners are alsowelcome. Contact Kirk Anderson [email protected] for more details.

LITERARY DIVISION AFTER HOURS CAFE


Is This Still Worth It? An Update

By Jonathan Hine

Mark Adams looked up at histranslation class from the pitof the amphitheater. They

hated this windowless room. Thecramped chairs with folding writingsurfaces gave the students nowhere toopen dictionaries or lay the sourcetexts next to their translations. He wasstuck behind a lectern because therows of bolted-down chairs preventedhis walking among the students or cir-cling the chairs for discussions.

Normally, he might have a back-ache from not moving around, buttoday the class was different. Thesestudents were usually active andengaged. Now that they were dis-cussing the practical side of setting upa translation business, the interestlevel was even higher. The first hourand a half had vanished, and it wasalmost time for a break.

“Now the article by Mr. Hine1,” hesaid. The students pulled out their pho-tocopies of the reading assignment, butdid not look at them. “What is it about?”

“It’s for freelancers,” said Anitaquickly. With only three studentstoday, there was no need to raisehands. “How to budget. How to calcu-late prices.”

“Does he say you can turn downjobs?”

“He says you can take a job if it ful-fills specific needs.”

“Yes. That is the key. To be aware ofwhat the job entails. How do youknow? Have you had economics oraccounting?” Mark paused as the

silence settled on the class. He knew they knew more than theyrealized.

“Do you know what the break-even point is?” Their facesbrightened.

“The break-even point is where you cover costs with noprofit,” Anita said. Marcia and Jed nodded.

“He gives you four principles in the article. What are they?”Marcia jumped in this time. “You are in it for the money.”“We charge for expertise,” said Jed. “That is why we charge more,” said Mark, writing their

answers on the board. “That is why it is so difficult to put aprice on what we do. What about principle #3?”

“Selling time-based units,” said Anita. “What does that mean?”“The only thing you can measure is your time, so you

should be billing for it.”“Yes,” Mark said. “That is why we need to keep time sheets.

And principle #4?”“Some advice for freelancers,” Marcia offered. “Don’t put

money from yourself into the business.”“It’s OK to do it, as long as you document it,” said Anita. “You have to keep track of it,” added Jed. Mark went to the board. He drew a big T, representing a

double-entry accounting ledger sheet. For the next few min-utes, he explained double-entry accounting in simple terms.The students seemed to understand, but did not react much.Anita and Jed had taken introductory accounting as sopho-mores. Mark was not sure about Marcia; he found her harderto read than the others. As he finished this part of his lecture,he made a mental note to use a simple checkbook example nexttime. He moved on to the next point.

“So what are the three parts of a budget, according to Mr.Hine’s article?”

“Personal, operating, and growth and capitalization,” saidAnita without looking at her paper.

Mark looked at the others. “You agree?”“Yes,” said Jed. “Customers do move, and if you want the

business to grow you need money.”“Then what?”“Determine the rate,” said Marcia. “How?”Jed again, “See how many hours you have.”“Then divide your income requirement by the number of

hours available to get the break-even point,” said Anita. “Yes,” Mark said.He then pulled the screen down in front of the blackboard

and projected a transparency of Table 1. They discussed how afull-time availability of 2,080 hours in a year shrank to 1,255hours after allowing for sickness, holidays, and overhead.“That is a key number to keep in mind: 1,255. Then if the cus-

...You have to find out how much money you need to earn, and

then figure out how much work ittakes to earn it. That is called the

break-even point...


tomer wants a piece rate, like cents per word, we convert thatby figuring out how long the job will take.” Mark gestured tohis head to indicate “keep this in mind.”

“The goal is to relate your piece rate to your hourly rate.Once we know how long the job will take, we calculate what itshould cost and then divide the number of words, pages, orwhatever into that. Any questions?” He expected the silence.“OK, let’s break until 9:15, then meet in Room 222.”

With some cheering over the move to a room with bigtables, the students packed their book bags and left.

The article that Mark Adams (a fictitious name) used in hisclass for translators appeared in this magazine more than twoyears ago. The material in that article has been published as asmall booklet2 and included in workshops for translators andinterpreters. The basic principles remain the same. You have tofind out how much money you need to earn, and then figure outhow much work it takes to earn it. That is called the break-evenpoint.

Calculating the break-even point is a crucial first step forany businessperson trying to determine how to price a service.When you know the break-even point, you know how low youcan afford to go in negotiating a rate for your work.

The purpose of this article is to cover three aspects of cal-culating the break-even point that the first article did not coverin depth:

1. Couples and freelancers with multiple sources of income 2. Whether to use target or source text for basing the price 3. Pricing additional services

Multiple sources of income. When more than one source ofincome is involved, freelancers need to pay special attention totheir time availability when calculating the break-even point.This would apply, for example, to working couples andwhether they are both language mediators or working differentjobs. It would apply to someone making a living from differentpart-time jobs. Of course, it applies to a freelancer who is com-

bining freelance income with a part-time or full-time job. Consider Table 2,the Business Budget Worksheet, onpage 20.

There should be two kinds ofentries in the row entitled “Portioncoming from other sources.”

1. Asset income: money from stocks,bonds, investments, savings accounts,or allowances from relatives, trusts,and so forth. This is income that doesnot require your working time. Forexample, you could have purchasedthe asset(s) with working earningsearlier or it could be an inheritance ora credit union account that is payingdividends. A retirement check wouldbe an example of an asset income.

2. Salary or wages: income from a jobother than the business for whichyou are calculating the break-evenpoint. If the source of moneyrequires that you devote time to it, itbelongs in this row.

If the entry comes entirely fromasset income (see #1 above), then asingle person should use 40 hours/week(2,080 hours/year) for the starting pointin calculating the amount of time theywill be available to work on this busi-ness. If two people are completely freeto work on the business (say, a hus-band-wife team or two siblings in busi-ness together), then the starting numberis 80 hours/week, or 40 times thenumber of people working.

Do not include the hours ofsomeone who is not actively workingin whatever it is your business does. Ifa relative is giving you money regu-larly to help out, simply enter it in the“other sources” column. The contribu-tion will lessen the amount of moneyyou need to earn. If someone is pro-viding you services (like a book-

Continued on p. 20

Conditions Hours/Year52 weeks @ 40 hours/week (full-time) 2,080Less a two-week vacation (80 hours) 2,000Less eleven holidays (8 hours/day) 1,912Less allowance for sick time (10 hours/month) 1,792Less overhead (indirect costs) (e.g., 30%) 1,255

Table 1: Finding the Number of Billable Hours in a Work Year

parties know exactly what the job will cost up front, and thetranslator is free to render the target document in the best stylepossible without considering the target-text word count.

However, if the source document is coming by fax or in themail and the target document is going to be electronicallydelivered, then software held in common can only count whatis in the target text. The condition of the source document(handwriting, illegible material, tables, sheer bulk, etc.) oftenmakes only a rough estimate of the word count possible. Reset-ting tables and typing in numbers will take more time thanreplacing them in an electronic document. More often than not,I find myself insisting on a target-text word count whendealing with a paper source text.

keeper), whether it be your spouse orsomeone else, pay them and budget forthe expense (under “fees,” forexample). The expense represents theimpact of their work on your budget.

If the entry comes partially or com-pletely from another job (#2 on page19), subtract the weekly (or annual)hours from 40 (2,080) to get yourstarting point. Similarly, you need tosubtract a proportionate amount oftime from holidays, sick days, andvacation when calculating the time youhave for the business.

For example, if you work 10 hoursper week at something else, youwould start with 30 hours availableper week, or 1,560 hours per year.Now 30 hours is w of 40 or 75 per-cent, so in Table 1, the vacation timewould be 60 hours (w of 80), the hol-idays would be 66 hours, and the sicktime would be 7.5 hours per month.The overhead stays the same becauseit is already a percentage.

Thus, a freelancer with a 10-hour/week part-time job would haveabout 941 hours per year to devote tothe freelance business.

A two-person team would doublethese numbers (assuming each had a10-hour/week job), or you could cal-culate your individual available timeseparately and add the answerstogether. If only one partner had the10-hour job, their hours would be 941and 1,255, respectively, so the teamwould have 2,196 hours available peryear for the business.

Source text or target text. Since the1998 article, the transmission of sourcedocuments electronically has becomecommonplace, but the general adviceremains the same: count what the free-lancer and the client can agree upon.Ideally, the client pays the translator totranslate a certain amount of mate-rial—the source text. If the source textcan be counted accurately, then both

Is This Still Worth It? Continued

ITEM MONTH YEARPersonal Budget:Rent/house payment 525 $6,300Groceries 400 $4,800Insurance (life, health, etc.) 250 $3,000Clothing 125 $1,500Vehicle fuel, repairs 60 $720Charitable pledges 90 $1,080Eating out 120 $1,440Vacation 125 $1,500Utilities 250 $3,000IRA 188 $2,256Other (hobbies, school, etc.) 220 $2,640Subtotal: personal budget $28,236Portion coming from other sources 686 $8,236“OWNER’S DRAW” REQUIRED $ 20,000

Business Operating Budget:Advertising 10 $120Vehicle (mileage) 120 $1,440Fees 15 $180Depreciation (179 expense) 350 $4,200Office expense 10 $ 120Rent 150 $1,800Supplies 100 $1,200Utilities 110 $1,320Dues 40 $480Other (postage, books, training, etc.) 75 $900Subtotal: business operating $11,760Personal budget $20,000Subtotal $31,760Growth (3%) $953TOTAL REQUIREMENT $32,713

Table 2: Business Budget Worksheet



Pricing additional services. Once you gain an appreciation ofthe value of your time, the impact of non-language aspects ofyour work becomes more visible. Slowing down to read illeg-ible faxes in small font sizes, or retyping tables, or manuallyreplacing decimal points with commas—all these slow downthe work and may invalidate the piece rate (cents/word) onwhich you based the price of the job. Anything you can do toavoid underestimating a job can help. One of the best defensesis having data from your past work.

Freelancers must keep decent records, but they need not befancy. Table 3 shows a section of a hypothetical translator’ssales record. It is based on an Excel® spreadsheet. The sum-mary at the bottom includes rows not shown, so the bottom linedoes not add up.

In each row with a Job #, the Revenue is the product of theRate and the Count. If the job were for hourly services, thenRevenue would be the product of the Rate and Hours. The$$/hr and the Words Per Hour (Wph) are the quotients of theRevenue divided by the Hours and the Count divided by theHours, respectively. In the summary row, the Count, Revenue,and Hours entries are the sums of the columns above them, butthe summary of the $$/hr and Wph are created by dividing thesummary Revenue and Count by the summary Hours.

You might quote a total price for a really large job. If you do,then you would enter the Revenue as a number and change theRate so that it is the quotient of the Revenue divided by the Count.

The Remarks should be able to help you recall what kind ofwork was involved, especially if something about the jobcaused you to adjust the piece rate you quoted the customer.Armed with this information, you will be able to quote a rateor price quickly the next time you see a job like it. After awhile, you will be able to guess the “price” of a job just bylooking at it. What you will be doing is recognizing somethingyou remember pricing on your spreadsheet.

You write “the rest of the story.” The scene from MarkAdams’ class comes from a real class, called Introduction to

Translation. Also, there are work-shops at every ATA Annual Confer-ence and at meetings of large ATA-affiliated chapters, such as theFlorida Chapter of ATA, NationalCapital Area Chapter of ATA, and theNew York Circle of Translators. Thematerial in these presentations is con-tinually changing to meet the needsof the attendees. If you have ques-tions about freelancing or organizingyour business, please send them tothe author at [email protected]. Wewill try to answer them in the pagesof this magazine or in the conferencepresentations.

(Reprints of the original article aswell as the presentations in the Pro-ceedings of the 38th, 39th, and 40thATA Annual Conferences are avail-able from Headquarters.)

Notes1. Jonathan T. Hine, “Is This Worth It?

Economic Decision Making forFreelance Language Specialists,”The ATA Chronicle, February 1998:23-30.

2. Jonathan T. Hine, I Am Worth It!How to Set Your Price and OtherTips for Freelancers, Freelancer’sSelf-Help Series 2 (CharlottesvilleVA: Scriptor Services, 1997).

Job # Date Sent Rate Count Revenue Hours $$/hr Wph Date Paid RemarksTRA-01-99 15/12/99 $0.13 15,568 $2,023.84 26.30 $76.95 592 22/3/00 TrailmixATX-09-98 31/3/00 $0.10 135,344 $13,534.40 235.20 $57.54 575 15/4/00 TAC-01-84LSU-07-98 12/4/00 $0.10 253,889 $25,388.90 437.74 $57.99 580 28/7/00 MessenCTX-01-00 02/2/00 $0.13 7,895 $1,026.35 14.50 $70.78 544 15/3/00 ComtoxTRA-01-00 15/2/00 $0.13 11,250 $1,462.50 22.30 $65.58 504 21/3/00 Trailmix

SUMMARY 534,556 $58,344.20 1,818 $32.09 294

Table 3: Section of a Translator’s Sales Record

ably be surprised to discover that the amount is far less thanyou think. The U.S. average is around three percent! Does theamount you donate accurately reflect your commitment toworking for a better world or a stronger community?

When done right, donating our interpretation and transla-tion services can also be a great way to do low-cost, feel-goodmarketing and networking to get more paying jobs. It can alsoimprove our chances of getting paying jobs we can be morepassionate about by giving us experience in areas we want tobreak into.

Of course, simply because you are donating your servicesdoes not mean it is ethical to accept jobs you are not quali-fied to do. Donation is appropriate for work you are quali-fied for, but would like more practical experience in. Forexample, I was interested in doing subtitling, so I donatedmy services to a video production for the WashingtonAlliance for Immigrant and Refugee Justice about immigra-tion raids in the state of Washington. The video producer Iworked with liked my work and called me back for severalpaying jobs. With that experience, I’ve been able to get otherpaying video jobs.

Where do I donate my services? Well, there are certainlyplenty of nonprofits, schools, churches, and grassroots organi-zations you support that could use your services. You probablyalready give money to about 10 organizations (the U.S.average)—you could start simply by sending along a C.V. anda letter offering your services to these folks along with yournext monetary donation.

It’s also well worth doing a little research to find groups youaren’t necessarily currently supporting, but that you wouldenjoy donating your services to. It’s as easy as keeping youreye out for good groups when reading your local paper. When-ever you hear about a group or project that impresses you, dropthem a line and offer your services.

It’s worth putting out lots of feelers because, unfortunately,very few of the groups you offer services to will actually takeyou up on the offer. And of those organizations that dorespond, some will do so at an inconvenient time or with a pro-ject that doesn’t interest you or seems poorly coordinated andmore trouble than it’s worth. So it’s better to have lots offeelers out, the same as for paying gigs, so you can pick thecream of the crop. The great thing about donating time is thatyou really don’t have to take the jobs that don’t interest you(and it’s great practice for saying no).

If you’re having a slow time and want to take a breakfrom sending out C.V.s and doing the more traditionalrustling of the bushes for jobs, try calling some of theseorganizations. Tell them you’ve got time if they can use you

Why did you get into this busi-ness? Of course it’s alwayspartly happenstance, but

underneath that, what was the pull? Icame to the interpreting profession witha passion for sewing together the gapsbetween cultures, and with a love ofdancing on the edge of that excitingspace where cultures and worlds meetand change. I want to make this dancebeautiful and fun for those who, likeme, dwell on the border of culture andlanguage, because all too often it’s edgyand painful.

Well, that’s all very poetic, butsome days it’s hard to remember, espe-cially when I’m bogged down inter-preting repetitive legal proceedings ortranslating empty verbose text. Ideally,we would always have jobs we can bepassionate about, but it doesn’t alwayswork out that way when you’ve gotbills to pay.

So one of the reasons I donate myservices is for the opportunity to do funjobs and reconnect to that passion—tothe sense of meaning in my work thatkeeps me going through the jobs I domore for the money than the mission.

I also do it because I believe indonating 10 percent of my earnings tosupport my ideals, but right now I havemore time than money, so it’s easier forme to donate services worth thatamount. How much of your income doyou donate? If you sit down and figureout what percent of your income youcurrently donate (this can include whatyou give to your church, school, or thecauses you believe in), you will prob-

Why, Where, When, and How to Donate Translation andInterpretation Services

By Sara Koopman

...So one of the reasons I donate myservices is for the opportunity to do

fun jobs and reconnect to that passion—to the sense of meaning in

my work...

Continued on p. 24


5. At the ATA Annual Conference, youwill most likely pass out hard copiesof your résumé. Be sure to use highquality paper and a high qualityprinter. Make sure the font is largeenough to read comfortably. Make itshort—one or two pages maximum.Company representatives and poten-tial clients will have a lot of paper tocart back, so make your presentationcompact.

6. Always be truthful about past expe-rience and capabilities. Do not over-estimate your target-language capa-bilities. It is the industry standard totranslate into your native language,and if you translate into more thanone language, be prepared to justifyyour claim to agencies or otherindustry professionals who may beinterested in your services.

7. Specify your fields of expertise.Staking out areas of specializationgives you credibility and encour-ages clients to contact you for yourfocused knowledge.

8. Be sure to list (and keep updated)your hardware, software, and tech-nical skills. Do you have Trados orother productivity software? Areyou an expert at Illustrator? Whatversions of MS Word or WordPer-fect do you have? Let clients knowwhat equipment you have so thatpossible compatibility issues can bedealt with up front and/or so youcan impress them with the latest and

As you prepare for the upcoming ATA Annual Confer-ence in Florida, keep these tips for a top-notch résuméin mind.

1. Highlight your source language(s), target language, andnative language.

2. List all appropriate contact information: mailing address,phone, fax, e-mail, and Website. Don’t lose out on opportu-nities because one of your contact points doesn’t work or isunavailable. Give prospective clients various ways to con-tact you so they can use their contact method of choice.

3. When sending résumés by e-mail, take steps to ensure thatthe recipient can open your file. One option is to send a textfile, which is the “least common denominator” in the filefamily and one that can be read by all systems and all soft-ware. To save a file as text in many programs, go to the Fileoption on the screen’s menu bar, scroll down to Save As,and when it asks what format you would like to save the fileas, select Text Only.

One disadvantage of text files is that they do not sup-port any attributes (bold, italics, etc.). Rich Text Files (RTF)can also be read by many systems and software and allowyou to be more creative (using bold, italics, underline,colors, graphics, etc.). To save a file as RTF, go to the Fileoption on the screen’s menu bar, scroll down to Save As,and when it asks what format you would like to save the fileas, select Rich Text Format.

Potential clients will often specify in what formatthey would like to receive résumés. Follow their instruc-tions so that you “get in the door.” Hypertext Markup Lan-guage (HTML) files allow you to create a résumé withstyle and formatting. Also, HTML files usually do not takeup much memory, making it easy for the recipient to open.However, if you want to use graphics, it makes it a bitmore complicated. You must include them in your e-mailand the recipient must save them to a directory. This isbest avoided: send a simple HTML text file with nographics. An added benefit of using text, RTF, or HTMLfiles is that it is highly unlikely that you will transmitviruses through these formats.

4. If you choose to send your résumé as a Word document orother file that may contain viruses, purchase a virusscanner and update it frequently. Nothing is more embar-rassing than sending a possible client the newest virus.Having an up-to-date virus scanner also protects yoursystem and allows you to send and receive project fileswithout worries.

10 Top Tips for a Top-notch Translation Résumé

By Eve Lindemuth Bodeux ©

...Always be truthful about past experience and capabilities. Do notoverestimate your target-languagecapabilities...

Continued on p. 24


great thing is that since we’re donating our services, they arefar more likely to want to keep us happy.

For marketing purposes you should also expect and suggestthat the group you are donating to do everything possible tomaximize your exposure to their audience. For example, wheninterpreting for an event they should include your name andcontact information in the event program, in their monthlynewsletter, and introduce you beforehand and thank you againat the end of the program. When I first started doing this typeof work, organizations introducing me would only say that Ihad donated my services, so generally the only new jobs myefforts would bring in would be requests to volunteer for othergroups. Instead, I suggest that when organizations introduceyou, they should make it clear that even though you aredonating your services, you are a professional interpreter (forexample, something like “please support those that support us.When you next need an interpreter, contact Sara Koopman atSpanishforsocialchange.com.”). For translation jobs youshould be recognized not only on the text itself, in large printand with all of your contact information, but you should alsobe thanked separately in the organization’s monthly newsletter(with your contact information next to your name).

These are just a few of my ideas on a topic on which wehave a wide range of opinions. I hope you will join me inOrlando for a lively (well-facilitated) discussion to debate andflesh out these ideas and to share war stories—our best andworst experiences donating our services and what we can learnfrom them.


greatest. Do you know HTML,C++, or have desktop publishingskills? Sharing this knowledgemakes you more competitive intoday’s high-tech workplace, nomatter what your fields of expertise.

9. Use appropriate jargon. Don’t useterminology that is over yourclient’s head. If your client hasnever heard of “localization,” youmay want to briefly explain what itmeans. If your client doesn’t knowwhat Star Transit is, it won’t help

you get the job. Adding a clarifier like “translation pro-ductivity software” can make all the difference. On theother hand, if your client has 10 years of experience in thetranslation industry, using insider terms makes it appearthat you are “in the know.”

10.Check that there are no spelling errors or typos on yourrésumé. This cannot be emphasized enough. Spell checkand then let time elapse between making updates and final-izing your résumé—it gives you a fresh eye to catch mis-takes that might slip through. Ask a friend or two to proof itto make sure.

right now, or propose a project thatthey hadn’t thought of. Did you see agreat educational pamphlet put out bya group you support? Why not sug-gest that you could translate it forthem if they will commit to distributeit to the community.

One of the key selection criteria forme in choosing where to donate mytime is whether the organization trulyvalues and respects what I have tooffer and, in return, can offer me ideal,or nearly ideal, working conditions.Of course, you have to request theseconditions, but this is a really greatopportunity to raise awareness in thecommunity on how folks should workwith us. For example, if you are inter-preting for a community organizationbringing a speaker to town for anevent, you can ask that they have twointerpreters on hand. You can alsoinsist that they get you materialswritten by or about the speaker before-hand, and that they provide water onstage, and so forth. Some of thesethings may seem obvious to us, butthey certainly are not for those whodon’t work with us regularly. The

10 Top Tips for a Top-notch Translation Résumé Continued

Why, Where, When, and How to Donate Translation and Interpretation ServicesContinued from p. 22


The Translation Company Division (TCD) held its firstannual regional conference in Minneapolis on June 2-4, 2000. Thirty-eight TCD members attended, repre-

senting 24 member companies, from 14 states and Canada. Theevent was a great combination of information sharing andlearning, and presented many opportunities for networking.

The conference began Friday night with opening remarksby the moderator Phyllis Beatty (International Language Ser-vices, Inc.) and TCD Administrator Steven Iverson (IversonLanguage Associates, Inc.). Muriel Jérôme-O’Keeffe (JTG,Inc.), past president of ATA, provided valuable informationabout ATA, including a history of the organization. ArleneJullie (International Language Services, Inc.) led the ice-breaker by instructing everyone to start the dialogue with twotrue statements and one lie. Everyone at the table then had achance to ask questions to determine what was factual andwhat was not, which led to some lively interaction.

Throughout the weekend, TCD members participated inroundtable discussions sharing experiences and informationabout project management, financial management, Asian lan-guage desktop publishing, staffing, resolving customer dis-putes, teaming, quality standards, acquisitions and mergers,and liability insurance. The results of these discussions arebeing compiled and will be provided to all TCD members.

The Saturday morning guest speaker was futurist Dr.Nelson Otto discussing “The Future is not What it Used to Be.”Dr. Otto discussed the three things that will impact the future:microchips, telecommunications/communication devices, andgenetics. He went on to explain that the three skills which willbe needed for the future are issues management, anticipation,and vision.

Suzanne Robinson (Liaison Multilingual) talked about theprogress that has been made with a “Best Practices” standard,to be accepted by all TCD members, which will hopefullybecome part of ATA’s Code of Ethics. There was a strongfeeling among those present that this is an important task thatmust be completed as soon as possible to help promote profes-sional standards among member companies.

Christina Spies (Trados) demonstrated the Trados suite oftools and how they are useful in a translation company setting.Adam Jones (SimulTrans, L.L.C.) discussed multilingual Web-

sites and the challenges of Websitelocalization and translation.

Steven Iverson led a division busi-ness meeting, during which plans weremade for the creation of several newcommittees, including new memberrecruitment, industry data, administra-tive affairs, and an elections com-mittee. There will be a special effort toencourage corporate members who arenot members of the division to join.

All of the attendees agreed theweekend provided a unique opportu-nity to share information and todevelop professional relationships thatcan help long-term in many ways.There was a strong feeling that compa-nies must continue to work togetherwith freelance translators and inter-preters to achieve the quality and ser-vice clients demand.

The dates and location for nextyear’s conference are still in the plan-ning process, and will be announced assoon as they are available. If you areinterested in becoming a member ofthe TCD, contact Steve Iverson [email protected] or ATA Head-quarters at [email protected].

Report on the First Annual Translation Company DivisionRegional Conference

By Steven P. Iverson

...There was a strong feeling that companies must continue to worktogether with freelance translators and interpreters to achieve the quality andservice clients demand...




curious to know more about it, we will be providing details atthe Orlando ATA Annual Conference in September.

The workshop in New York was an opportunistic, “spur ofthe moment” event, but it fulfilled an old promise we had madeto our members. The idea came to us when we learned that avery talented and renowned Brazilian instructor, ReginaAlfarano, would be spending a few months in New York andwould be available to lead a seminar. We then organized athree-day event focusing on the changes and evolution of(Brazilian) Portuguese, reviewing grammar and reading andanalyzing articles from magazines and newspapers. Partici-pants learned a lot and had a great time. I had other treats, too,and was able to sample the fare at Brazilian restaurants in theBig Apple! The success of this event has encouraged us to con-tinue having similar workshops in the future.

We received a lot of great suggestions from enthusiasticmembers for topics around which to organize presentations atthe next ATA Annual Conference in Orlando. The panels wehave chosen include the following: financial terminology,poetry and immortality, jet engine concepts, interpretation,international economics, legal terminology, and the influenceof indigenous languages on Brazilian Portuguese. As usual,there will be a full social agenda as well!

I would also like to announce that we have completelyrevamped the Website for the Portuguese Language Division.Our Web designer, Caitilin Walsh, was very responsive,prompt, and did a great job of helping to create a clear andusable site. Several volunteers provided content (in both Eng-lish and Portuguese), photography, and editing.

We have also gotten several good suggestions and ideas fora new logo for the division, and members Henrique Levin,Regina Firmignac, and Assistant Administrator Regina Car-doso da Silva will select one and transcribe it into electronicformat. Also underway is our very ambitious plan to create adivision directory, which anyone will be able to download (asa PDF file) from our site. This directory will be updated annu-ally. Members Tania Van Deusen, Else Andersen, and I areworking together on this project.

Last but not least, publication of our quarterly newsletter,PLData, edited by yours truly, continues on schedule. This pub-lication features interesting articles and interviews contributed bymany of our members, and goes out to all 370 members, alongwith 100 others in either hard copy or electronic format. Our nextissue will focus on the ATA Annual Conference in Orlando, withlots of useful information, pictures, and interesting articles.

My warm thanks to the officers Regina Cardoso da Silva,Margarete Marchetti, Kátia Iole, and to all members that con-tribute to the division in many ways and help us keep up thegood work. See you all in Orlando!

One of the most rewardingaspects of being administratorof an ATA division is the

knowledge that I am not alone in thisendeavor. After working in this field formany years now, I still have not gottenused to the feelings of isolation andloneliness that come with doing free-lance work out of the home. Telephonecontact with clients and colleagues helpsa bit, but there is nothing equal to humancontact to remind me that there is awhole world of people like me out there.The Portuguese Language Division hasbeen a great outlet for social enjoyment,as well as for some very worthwhile pro-fessional activities involving workingwith others in a team setting.

This goes not only for the other offi-cers (who have accomplished a lotthrough teamwork), but all the divisionmembers. I am grateful to everyonewho has offered to contribute theirtime and talents to our programs.Examples of this abounded at our sixthSpring Meeting in San Antonio lastMarch and at our first Regional Work-shop in New York in June.

In San Antonio, the atmosphere wasfriendly, collaborative, and objectiveamong participants, instructors, andadministrators. We learned a lot,exchanged experiences, laughed, wentout on the town, and had an excellenttime in general. Attending events likethese is an investment with a subtle butdefinite payback, because the informa-tion is invaluable for increasing ourmembers’ skills. Our next SpringMeeting (2001) already promises freshand interesting content. If you are

Portuguese Language Division: So Far, So Good!

By Vera M. B. Abreu

...The Portuguese Language Divisionhas been a great outlet for social

enjoyment, as well as for some veryworthwhile professional activities...


position, BP is seen as a language inwhich the subject position does nothave to mandatorily be filled by alexical pronoun; on the other hand,all of the work on statistical linguis-tics has revealed that this languageshows a growing tendency to uselexical pronouns in the subject posi-tion, when the interpretation is refer-ential” (1996, p. 120, my emphasis).

In a more straightforward way, intraditional Portuguese grammars suchas Cunha’s (1968), a zero pronoun issometimes called a “sujeito oculto” or“hidden subject,” and is not consid-ered a deletion but is seen as the normin the language. Along with thesegrammarians, de Almeida (1975) pre-scribes the use of subject pronounsonly in the following cases:

A. When the subject has more than onepronoun:3) “Eu e Pedro iremos.”

“Pedro and I will go.”

B. To emphasize:4) “Tu me atraiçoaste. Violaste a fé

jurada, tu te mostrate indigno deminha confiança.”“You [2nd person] betrayed me.You broke the sworn faith, youshowed yourself unworthy of mytrust.”

As translators, we have a fair amount of freedom in ourtext. We are educated native speakers of the languagesinto which we translate, so the work we produce is not

ungrammatical. This means that, as native speakers, we do notspeak—and therefore do not write—sentences that would beimpossible to create in our language. Yet, we are constantlyworried about using proper grammar in our work. To alleviatethis worry, we must consult prescriptive grammar books,follow one or two experts who (most of the time) provide uswith answers to our questions, and keep updated on current ter-minology in our native language. The latter is especiallyimportant for those of us who live away from the place whereour mother tongue is spoken and who are not “immersed” in itin our everyday lives.

In my work as a Portuguese translator, I am often caught inthe prescriptive versus descriptive grammar dilemma, espe-cially because a lot of my translating and editing work is aimedat the general public in the form of travel guides, marketing,food articles, surveys, and computer manuals. While I want towrite correctly and produce “standard Portuguese,” I also wantto reflect the language that is currently being used in Brazil.

This practical problem led me to start an investigation of alinguistic change that is currently taking place in Brazilian Por-tuguese: the appearance of overt subject pronouns in colloquialspeech and their presence in written texts. My goal here is todiscuss the progression of overt subject pronouns in BrazilianPortuguese and how this linguistic change is becoming perva-sive in the language. I will also discuss the repercussions ofsuch a linguistic phenomenon, and how translators can positionthemselves with regard to similar linguistic changes.

In Portuguese and in some Romance languages (also calledPRO-drop languages) it is not mandatory to include subjectpronouns in every sentence, because the inflected verb alreadycarries agreement of person and number as well as tense infor-mation. For example:

1) Ele está nervoso hoje. “He is nervous today.”2) Está nervoso hoje. “ZERO is nervous today.”

In the first sentence, “ele” is an overt subject pronoun. Withoutthe pronoun “ele,” the second sentence contains an unfilledsyntactic position, or a null subject.

Figueiredo Silva (1996), whose work concentrates on Por-tuguese generative syntax, describes this problem in the fol-lowing manner:

“In regard to the null subject, in the specialized literature ofthis particular language [Brazilian Portuguese] we fre-quently find two contradictory statements: on the one hand,despite a series of restrictions that can fall on the subject

Pronouns are Here to Stay: Linguistic Change in Brazilian Portuguese

By Clarissa Surek-Clark

...This...led me to start an investigationof a linguistic change that is currentlytaking place in Brazilian Portuguese:the appearance of overt subject pronouns in colloquial speech and theirpresence in written texts...

Continued on p. 28


Pronouns are Here to Stay Continued

C. When it is necessary for clarification:5) “Eu rio, tu choras.”

“I laugh, you cry.”

D. When the subject is modified by anadjectival subordinate clause:6) “Eu, que nunca deixei de dizer a

verdade, não mentiria agora pelaprimeira vez.”“I, who never stopped saying thetruth, would not now lie for thefirst time.”

As a complement to item C, whichdeals with clarification, there is a furthercomplication that arises in BrazilianPortuguese. This is the fact that morethan one subject and lexical pronounwith different semantic roles uses thesame singular third person form of theverb, as illustrated in Table 1. In thesecases, if one does not pronounce thesubject pronoun overtly, a certaindegree of ambiguity may result.

Prescriptive grammar aside, Lira’swork on Brazilian Portuguese syntaxamong speakers from Rio de Janeiroshows the pervasiveness of overt sub-ject pronouns in colloquial speech. Outof 791 sentences spoken by eight dif-ferent middle-class speakers, 60 per-cent of the subjects were overtlyexpressed, as opposed to 40 percent ofthe sentences containing null subjects.Her research reveals the factors thatdetermine the choice between zero andovert subject pronouns in three socialclasses of Cariocas (natives of Rio de

Janeiro State): slum-dwellers, middle-class, and upper-classspeakers. Out of almost 9,000 instances of the possible use ofovert subject pronouns, they appear in 56 percent of the sen-tences, as opposed to null subjects (44 percent).

One of the most interesting findings of her research contra-dicts the commonsense idea that if something has already beenmentioned before with an overt subject in a previous sentence,the next sentence does not need to be disambiguated with theuse of an overt pronoun. Also, ambiguous verbs do not show ahigher probability of overt pronoun usage. Animate nouns(humans) show a very high probability of the presence of asubject pronoun (0.83 percent) as opposed to inanimate nouns(such as animals), which either are referred to with the lexicalnoun (o cachorro ‘the dog’; o gato ‘the cat’) or show zero pro-nouns. There are no apparent patterns of use of overt pronounsbased on social class, age, or sex of the speaker.

Still searching for more samples of colloquial speech inBrazilian Portuguese, my own analysis of the transcripts fromAmostras do Português Falado no Rio de Janeiro (1999) byMaria de Conceição de Paiva (under the auspices of the UrbanCultured Norm and Linguistic Variation Census Project for theRio de Janeiro State) corroborate Lira’s findings. However, ithas not escaped my attention that such interviews were con-ducted in the early 1980s and, like Lira’s work, may alsoreflect the Rio de Janeiro regional dialect and not BrazilianPortuguese as a whole.

More investigation followed with the popular magazinesCláudia (a woman’s monthly magazine) and Isto É and Veja(two weekly news magazines). Their pattern of overt pronounuse is conservative, with a higher degree of use of null subjectsin the written text. Nonetheless, the interview sections of Isto Éand Veja use overt subjects when asking direct questions. Mostnotable were the formal lexical pronouns o senhor ‘the sir’ anda senhora ‘the lady,’ used when interviewing authorities orsomeone who would be addressed with respect in colloquialspeech (such as Bill Gates in a Veja interview—although it isunlikely that the interview was conducted in Portuguese!).When this occurs, the interviewed party does not have to recip-

Ele gosta He likesEla gosta She likes[Tu] *gosta You [2nd person sing] like [regional or non-standard dialects]Você gosta You [2nd person sing] likeO senhor gosta Masculine Formal You like [when directly addressing a man]A senhora gosta Feminine Formal You like [when directly addressing a woman]A gente gosta We [informal] likeO pessoal gosta The people “they” [informal] like

Table 1


rocate with the same level of politeness, as he/she may refer tothe reporter or to the news magazine as você or vocês, theinformal second person singular and plural pronouns. In addi-tion, there is a certain degree of overt subject use in his/herresponses, which more closely resembles colloquial speech.

I have noticed in translations I edit that, depending on thesubject matter, there is also a certain degree of reluctance onthe part of translators to subscribe to colloquial speech normsof overt pronoun usage in their work. I am not including heretranslations by beginners, in which every sentence begins withan overt subject pronoun—possibly an influence from Englishsyntax in which this type of pronoun usage is mandatory.Depending on the genre, the overall picture of overt pronounusage is as follows:

As expected, technical and legal translations show a verylow degree of overt subject pronouns, followed closely bymedical translations—the possible exception in this genreseems to be health care manuals for the general public.

Business translations allow for a somewhat higher degree ofovert pronoun usage than the previous genres, since in someinstances employees and stockholders need to be addressedand disambiguated.

Translations of food-related products or promotional mate-rials in general, such as travel guides or advertisements,come next, although these genres provide less of an envi-ronment for sentences with overt subject pronouns to exist,relying instead on imperative constructions.

As expected, computer manuals, Web pages, and scripts forvideo or audio recordings show the greatest similarity tocurrent colloquial speech. The explanation for the first twogenres may be the relative young age of computer users andtheir informal colloquial language, as well as the larger thannormal influence of English syntax and lexical items. Nat-urally, scripts are the most obvious genre for the most “trueto life” type of speech.

There is little doubt that the use of overt pronouns permeatescurrent Brazilian Portuguese in the spoken form. However, uponinvestigating this matter more thoroughly, we find that there is aconsiderable gap between the written and spoken language, andthat the two mediums do not fully correspond. Although transla-tors have relative freedom to use a language type that moreclosely resembles the spoken language for translation genresthat are geared toward the public, they still show conservativeuse of overt subject pronouns in their work, preferring to followa pattern that closely resembles the written genre.

References:Almeida, Napoleão Mendes de.

Gramática metódica da língua por-tuguesa: curso único e completo.São Paulo: Saraiva, 1975.

Cunha, Celso. Língua portuguêsa derealidade brasileira. Rio de Janeiro:Tempo Brasileiro, 1968.

Figueiredo Silva, Maria Cristina. LaPosition Sujet en Portugais Bre-silien (dans les phrases finies etinfinitives). Campinas: Unicamp,1996.

Lira, Solange de Azambuja. Nominal,Pronominal, and Zero Subject inBrazilian Portuguese. University ofPennsylvania, Doctoral Thesis.1982.

Future Annual Conference Sites and Dates

For Long-Term Planners...

Los Angeles, California

October 31-

November 3, 2001

Atlanta, Georgia

November 6-9, 2002

Phoenix, Arizona

November 5-8, 2003


When I chanced upon “breastof judge” in a bilinguallegal dictionary, I pictured

an unusual menu item at an exoticrestaurant. However, I was checkingfor the correct rendition for the equiva-lent of “abiding conviction” (íntimaconvicção) from Portuguese to Eng-lish. I then cross-checked the phrase inthe other direction1 in Maria Chaves deMello’s Dicionário Jurídico.2 I foundthe entry “breast of the court.”

Having been a legal translatorsince 1978, I have been amusedmany times by the language usage ofinexperienced or novice translatorsand interpreters. This dictionaryentry puzzled me. Continuing myquest for the meaning of “breast ofjudge,” I checked other sources. Yet,I found the exact same entries in theother major bilingual dictionary forPortuguese and English, Noronha’sLegal Dictionary.3 Other odditiescaught my eye and prompted me todo further research, not only on the“breast of judge” entry which had orig-inally piqued my interest, but otherssuch as “embassador,” “treacher,”“beyond sea,” “gold digger,” and“abearance.”

I started critiquing these sourcesand defining the elements of a goodbilingual dictionary. I borrowed someguidelines from Fundamentals ofCourt Interpretation. Theory, Policy,and Practice,4 which describe desir-able aspects for purchasing a compe-tent reference work. These include:

• Date of publication• Author’s qualifications• Ease of finding material• Clarity of definitions

Unlike Spanish, which has a plethora of sources, thereseems to be relatively few bilingual legal dictionaries for Por-tuguese and English. Portuguese-language volumes are scarcerthan other European languages. With the publication of Chavesde Mello’s pioneer edition in 1984, translators and interpretersfinally had a basic source text geared toward legal terminologyto consult. Six additional editions have been issued during theensuing 15 years. One would expect and hope for improve-ments, corrections, and additions in successive editions. Sincethe first appearance, in 1992, of Noronha’s bilingual dictio-nary, there have been two more editions. Both of these dictio-naries were compiled by Brazilian professionals.5

A cursory glance at both dictionaries leads one to believethat Noronha’s contains a superior product, but it is not a cutand dried conclusion. If one weighs the failings of the two dic-tionaries, Noronha must carry the heavier burden since he hadthe advantage of Chaves de Mello’s pioneer work to guide him.His first edition (1992) was published eight years after Chavesde Mello’s first dictionary. Due to the repetition of the phrase“breast of judge” and some other errors that also appeared inChaves de Mello’s edition, it seems Noronha did consult herdictionary (he did not provide a bibliography). That particularphrase has yet to be found in any other reference book in Eng-lish concerning legal procedures.

However, instead of comparing one dictionary to the other,a comparison of a prior edition with the latest edition of eachdictionary could well be more revealing. Such a comparisonwould demonstrate any development or improvement in thecontents over time. Appendix I shows the number of editionsand the publication years for each of the dictionaries under dis-cussion. This means I was able to compare Chaves de Mello’sfourth (1990) and seventh (1998) editions to each other, andNoronha’s second (1994) and third (1998) editions. This willnot be a detailed review of each and every error existing ineither of these dictionaries for any edition, but a generaloverview of their lack of precision, especially considering thefact that they are consulted by novices in the fields of inter-preting and translating.

The authors’ qualifications are provided in the respectiveprefaces to the dictionaries. Chaves de Mello is a member ofthe Institute of Brazilian Attorneys and the Brazilian Academyof Social Sciences. Published in the fourth edition, EliézerRosa’s6 preface to the first edition from 1984 extols Chaves deMello’s achievements as a legal professional and as a poetess.Not only does she seek to discover the varied applications for

From Breast of Judge to an Abiding Conviction: Current Portuguese-English Legal Dictionaries

By Arlene M. Kelly

...Unlike Spanish, which has a plethoraof sources, there seems to be relatively

few bilingual legal dictionaries for Portuguese and English....

each term, but she also endeavors to present current meanings,according to Mr. Rosa. Chaves de Mello’s major contributionto the advancement of bilingual legal understanding was thepublication of her dictionary. Three women receive credit forrevising the fourth edition, so one cannot fault Chaves deMello alone for errors apparent in this or future editions.

Noronha has been admitted to the Brazilian and PortugueseBars, and is senior partner in “a Brazilian-based global lawfirm.”7 Both authors intended their books for people involvedin international and commercial law, and both contribute to aclearer understanding of many legal concepts between theEnglish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

Both dictionaries could derive great benefits from carefulproofreading for English typographical errors, as well as forthe correct equivalence of many meanings from one languageto the other. Despite Noronha’s contention that words fromother languages can be found in legal texts, his inclusion ofSpanish, Italian, German, and Japanese words and phrasessmacks of unnecessary addition (padding) to his dictionary,which is not advertised as multilingual, but bilingual. Yet, allthings considered, they are the best bilingual legal dictionariesfor Portuguese and English currently on the market.

The internal aspects considered for each dictionary form thebasis for Table 1. By cross-referenced, I mean the existence ofwords and phrases in both directions. “Breast of judge” existedonly into English from a Portuguese expression meaningabiding or moral conviction. From English to Portuguese, thephrase was “breast of the court,” which is an acceptable, if old-fashioned phrase used to describe the judge’s certainty. Thus,there was no cross-reference. Cross-referencing is desirable inbilingual dictionaries, so a plus sign (+) appears before it inTable 1. Cross-referencing was not consistently carriedthrough in either dictionary.

Undesirable characteristics are preceded by a minus sign (-).They include misspellings, incorrect meanings, unequal partsof speech, and insufficient equivalence.

Misspelling does not include variations due to orthographicdifferences from country to country. In Brazil, for example, aword for records, “registro,” has a second “r” whereas in


Portugal, “registo” does not. Rather, themisspelling errors are those whichappeared in an earlier edition and werecarried over to the latest one. In Chavesde Mello, “traitor” is written as“treacher” in English; perhaps it mayseem a logical derivative of treacherousto those unversed in proper English. Yet“treacher” exists in a law dictionarypublished in 1899.8 On the same page,the misspelled “treasure” instead of thecorrect “treasury” appears twice. Per-haps this presents a greater danger tonovices due to the fact that the wordexists on its own even though it is incor-rect in these placements. These are alsomisspelled in Noronha’s dictionary.“Philander,” a word from Noronha9

which also presents a danger to inexpe-rienced translators and interpreters,would be correct if it were meant as theverb “to philander.” However, the targetword is a noun meaning “a flirt,” whichwould be “philanderer.” Noronha alsopresents a curious archaic spelling of aword which has a modern spelling,although “nam” or “naam” in either oneof its manifestations rarely has seen aprinter in the last few generations.10

Another properly spelled archaic word,“embassador,”11 would be unacceptablein the place of its currently correct“ambassador” in translations. The sameword appears in Chaves de Mello.12

Another archaic form in Noronha can befound in “gild,” which he does not use topaint with gold in this dictionary, butuses to refer to what would be a guild(1994, 130; 1998, 137).

Incorrect meanings or distortedmeanings occur frequently, with somemeanings completely missing the targetsignificance. One distorted but under-standable equivalence in Chaves deMello (p. 446) for “scab” (a nonunionworker willing to break a strike line) isexplained as someone who is underpaid(which may or may not be so). Two

Continued on p. 32

Table 1

Chaves de Mello Noronha

(+) cross-referenced No No(-) misspellings Yes Yes(-) wrong meaning Yes Yes(-) unequal parts of speech Yes Yes(-) insufficient equivalence Yes Yes


Current Portuguese-English Legal Dictionaries Continued

incomplete renditions of meaningoccur with “illicit connection” and“illicit relation” (p. 345), both given asillicit sexual relations (which, again,may or may not be so). Other errors inChaves de Mello (1998) and Noronhainclude those in Table 2.

Chaves de Mello also included both“elopement” and “to utter” with thesame explanations, another indicationthat Noronha consulted her work.

A rather amusing incompletemeaning occurs in Noronha with thephrase “gold digger,” which he hasdecided means someone who works inthe mining industry. In a very literalsense, this can be true; however, thosefamiliar with English slang wouldrealize that “gold digger” often refersto someone (generally female) whopursues relationships with the goal ofreceiving financial gains.

Another misrepresentation which ispresented by both authors (and a ratherdangerous one for those working incriminal justice) was the meaning pro-vided for the difficult phrase oftenused in jury instructions and waivers ofrights: beyond a reasonable doubt.Both authors erroneously wrote that

the phrase meant: according to Chaves de Mello (p. 261)“without any doubt,” “clear,” “undoubtedly”; and Noronha(1994, 46; 1998, 48) “undoubtedly,” “beyond any doubt.” Anytranslators or interpreters using the meanings provided byeither of the authors in this instance would be misleading theirreaders and clients. The often-heard standard of proof whichguides jurors or judges of criminal cases goes to a moral cer-tainty, beyond a reasonable doubt, but not beyond any doubt.

A phrase which is unique to Noronha (1994, 46; 1998,48), “beyond sea,” provides a quintessential example of poortranslating. “Além mar” in Portuguese connotes “overseas”or “abroad” in English. “Beyond sea” furnishes a wonderfulexample of bad, literal translation that novices shouldalways avoid. However, when the phrase appears in a dictio-nary used as an authoritative reference, it is difficult toblame beginners.

Unequal parts of speech between the source and targetlanguages appear frequently. This occurs when the word onone side is an adjective and a noun or verb on the other. Forexample, in Chaves de Mello (p. 257) “backdating” receives aninfinitive verb form as an equivalent. One of the only correc-tions found from the second to the third editions of Noronha’sdictionary concerns “to export,” which was given a nounequivalent in the second edition (1994, 112) but appears withthe correct infinitive in the 1998 edition (p. 117). And although“flee from justice” appears with verb equivalents in Por-tuguese, on the same pages (1994, 121; 1998, 128) “flight fromjustice” also appears with verb equivalents. As I mentionedearlier, both dictionaries could derive great benefits fromcareful proofreading for English typographical errors, as well

Errors in Chaves de Mello:Entry Archaic or incorrect meaning given Correct meaning/word“Raffle” An action among friends A kind of lottery“Backscratch” Nepotism or exchange of favors The gerund backscratching“Felonious assault” Attempted crime Aggravated assault“Unearned income” Lack of profits Income not from working“Inmate” Roommate, Prisoner or prison inmate

Boarding house resident “Manstealing” Kidnapping Archaicism, no longer used

Errors in Noronha:Entry Archaic or Incorrect meaning given Correct meaning/word“Aberrance” Behavior, conduct Abearance, archaic“Elopement” Abandoning the home Fleeing, escaping“To utter” To emit or circulate To emit or circulate

false documents

Table 2


as for the correct equivalencies of many meanings from onelanguage to the other.

I have no intention of downplaying the original resultsachieved by the dictionaries’ authors. Few authors have thewherewithal (much less the energy) of being able to spend 70years and count on thousands of contributors to achieve a finalproduct. Those who participated in the compilation of the firstOxford English Dictionary were a grand exception.13 However,some careful selection and continual revision is expected fromthe compilers of dictionaries. It is true that much of the legallanguage in use is “frozen”; that is, consisting of extremelyformal language which has not changed over the centuries.However, new or modified laws continually arrive on legisla-tors’ agendas to become part of current statutes. Slang or codedlanguage for criminally intentioned telephone conversationsconstantly develop new terminology. “Brownie,” when men-tioned in a district court arraignment, no longer refers to eithercooking or marijuana, but a quantity of heroin.14 Whether tar-geting international and commercial law or criminal law,changes occur over time and should be recognized in later edi-tions of applicable dictionaries.

There exist precious few published sources for those of uswho work in English and Portuguese legal areas, and both dic-tionaries certainly are useful. My own focus differs somewhatfrom both of these authors: to provide a dependable vocabularyfor interpreting work in courts between Portuguese and Eng-lish. The unreliability of many entries in both dictionaries pro-vides so many pitfalls for students and novices. The entries inboth directions could have been improved in their successiveeditions by careful reviewing of spelling, consistency betweenparts of speech in source and target languages, completeness ofequivalence in meaning, as well as correctness of equivalencein meaning.

In no way do I wish to dismiss or demean the work whichboth of these professionals dedicated to the compilation of theirdictionaries. In fact, I have begun to identify with this dedica-tion. One outcome of my investigation into the inconsistenciesand errors in these volumes has been to start my own listing oflegal equivalents between English and Portuguese. I am com-piling a listing which can be used in courts and applied toBrazilian as well as European Portuguese speakers. Althoughachieving results can be rewarding, arriving at those results is aplodding, often tedious, picky journey through frequentlyuneven and questionable terrain. My points of departureincluded, of course, the two dictionaries dissected here. I amemploying preliminary results in my legal interpretation coursefor the Legal and Medical Interpreter Certificate Program atBentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. As work on thislegal reference material for Portuguese and English continues,I would welcome any contributions from colleagues. In this

case, not only do more participantsmake a merrier time, more contributorswill ensure a better result for all of us.

Notes:1. When we speak of “direction”

with reference to bilingual dictio-naries, we are referring to the lan-guage, for example, into Englishand out of Portuguese or viceversa. The language read or heardis the source language (SL). Thelanguage into which we translateor interpret is the target language(TL).

2. Rio de Janeiro, Barrister’s Edi-tora. 1991, fourth edition, pages121, 265.

3. Durval de Noronha Goyos, Jr., SãoPaulo, Noronha’s Legal Dictio-nary. Observador Legal EditoraLtda. 1994, second edition, pages51, 423.

4. González, Roseann Dueñas, Vic-toria F. Vásquez, and HollyMikkelson, Fundamentals of CourtInterpretation. Theory, Policy, andPractice. Durham, North Carolina:Carolina Academic Press, 1999.

5. There is a legal dictionary onlyfrom English to Portuguese, pub-lished in 1991 by Continental orEuropean Portuguese authors notcovered in this article: Andrade,Maria Paula Gouveia, and AlvaroDias Saraiva, Dicionário Jurídico(Inglês-Português). Porto, Por-tugal: Elcla Editora, 1991.

6. Cited as the author of Dicionário deProcesso Civil (Civil Procedure Dic-tionary). São Paulo: Livraria e EditoraJurídico Bushatsky Ltda., 1973.

Continued on p. 34


7. Noronha, op.cit., p. i.

8. See Arthur English, A Dictionary ofWords and Phrases Used in Ancientand Modern Law. Washington, DC,Washington Law Book Co., 1899(reprint edition: Littleton, Col-orado: Fred B. Rothman & Co.,1987), p. 789 and Chaves de Mello,op.cit., p. 476 (both editions).

9. Noronha, op.cit., p. 204 (1994); p.214 (1998).

10. Ibid., p. 183 (1994); p. 193 (1998);English, op.cit., p. 560.

11. Ibid., p. 103 (1994); p. 107 (1998).

12. Chaves de Mello, op.cit., p. 312.

13. See Simon Winchester, The Pro-fessor and the Madman: A Tale ofMurder, Insanity and the Makingof the Oxford English Dictionary.New York: HarperPerennial, 1999.

14. “Brownie” now refers to the quan-tity of 50 packets of heroin.

References:Andrade, Maria Paula Gouveia, and

Alvaro Dias Saraiva, DicionárioJurídico (Inglês-Português). Porto,Portugal: Elcla Editora, 1991.

Bridgwater, William, ed., The ColumbiaViking Desk Encyclopedia. NewYork: The Viking Press, Inc., 1953.

Chaves de Mello, Maria, DicionárioJurídico. Rio de Janeiro, Barrister’sEditora, 1991 (fourth edition).

Chaves de Mello, Maria, DicionárioJurídico. Rio de Janeiro, Barrister’sEditora, 1998 (seventh edition).

Diniz, Maria Helena, Dicionário Jurídico.São Paulo: Saraiva, 1998, Volume 5.

English, Arthur, A Dictionary of Words and Phrases Used inAncient and Modern Law. Washington, DC, WashingtonLaw Book Co., 1899 (reprint: Littleton, Colorado: Fred B.Rothman & Co., 1987).

Garner, Bryan A., Black’s Law Dictionary. St. Paul, Min-nesota: West Group, 1999 (seventh edition).

González, Roseann Dueñas, Victoria F. Vásquez, and HollyMikkelson, Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. Theory,Policy, and Practice. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Aca-demic Press, 1991.

Illanes, Ninon, Elsevier’s Dictionary of Drug Traffic Terms inEnglish, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. NewYork, Elsevier, 1997.

Michaelis, Henriette, A New Dictionary of the Portuguese andEnglish Languages Enriched by a Great Number of Tech-nical Terms used in Commerce and Industry, in the Arts andSciences, and Including a Great Variety of Expressions fromthe Language of Daily Life. New York: Frederick Ungar Pub-lishing Co., 1945, Second Part, English-Portuguese.

Noronha Goyos, Jr., Durval de, Noronha’s Legal Dictionary. SãoPaulo, Observador Legal Editora Ltda., 1994 (second edition).

Noronha Goyos, Jr., Durval de, Noronha’s Legal Dictionary. SãoPaulo, Observador Legal Editora Ltda., 1998 (third edition).

Pietzschke, Fritz and Franz Wimmer (eds.), Michaelis Illus-trated Dictionary. São Paulo: Melhoramentos, 1994,Volume 1, English-Portuguese.

Winchester, Simon, The Professor and the Madman: A Tale ofMurder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford EnglishDictionary. New York: HarperPerennial, 1999.

Current Portuguese-English Legal Dictionaries Continued

Editions Chaves de Mello Noronha1st 1984 19922nd 1985 19943rd 1987 19984th 19905th 19916th 19947th 1998

Appendix I:Editions and Publication Years of Each Dictionary


For those of us who love it, literarytranslation is a delight—but farfrom an unalloyed one. Over

time, any experienced literary translatorwill encounter texts that are obdurate,opaque, unyielding, and thankless. Fewsituations in literary translation aremore frustrating than knowing theexact denotation and connotation ofevery word in a sentence in the sourcelanguage (SL), yet being unable tocomprehend its meaning.

Take a passage that, in the midst ofprose, aspires to be “poetic.” A closetranslation may well sound stilted orcorny, while a looser rendering maystray entirely from the author’s intent.Omission is seldom an answer, at leastwhere two- and three-line sentencesreferring to untranslatable cultural ref-erents are involved. For example, intranslating Paulo Lins’s Cidade deDeus, I wrestled with these lines forwhat seemed like an eternity:

Poesia, minha tia, ilumine ascertezas dos homens e os tons deminhas palavras. É que arrisco aprosa mesmo com balas atraves-sando os fonemas. É o verbo,aquele que é maior que o seutamanho, que diz, faz e acontece.Aqui ele cambaleia baleado. Ditopor bocas sem dentes e olhares cari-ados, nos conchavos de becos, nasdecisões de morte. A areia move-senos fundos dos mares. A ausênciade sol escurece mesmo as matas. O

líquido-morango do sorvete mela as mãos. A palavra nasceno pensamento, desprende-se dos lábios adquirindo almanos ouvidos, e às vezes essa magia sonora não salta à bocaporque é engolido a seco. Massacrada no estômago comarroz e feijão a quase palavra é defecada ao invés de falada.Falha a fala. Fala a bala.

My less-than-optimal solution:

Poetry, my benefactress, illuminate the certitude of men andthe tone of my words. I venture into prose even as bulletsriddle the phonemes. It is the verb, greater than its size, thatspeaks, acts, and achieves. Here, it staggers, struck by bul-lets. Uttered by toothless mouths and decayed gazes, in thecollusion born in alleyways, in the decisions of death. Sandstirs in the depths of the sea. The absence of sunlightdarkens the forests. The strawberry-liquid of ice cream issticky to the touch. The word, born of thought, surges fromthe lips to acquire a soul in the hearing, and sometimes thatmagical sound does not spring to the mouth because it isswallowed to no avail; massacred in the stomach with riceand beans, the quasi-word is defecated rather than spoken.Speech fails. The bullet prevails.

Given such hurdles to overcome, a literary translator feelsdoubly blessed when works like those by the Brazilian authorand television personality Jô Soares come along. Of the 14books I translated from Brazilian Portuguese, many haveoffered pleasures: the brain-tweaking intricacies of RubemFonseca’s Bufo & Spallanzani and Vast Emotions and Imper-fect Thoughts; the vivacious prose and involving narrativestrength of Patrícia Melo’s The Killer and In Praise of Lies; thehumor of Marcos Rey’s charming modern picaresque Memoirsof a Gigolo; or the biblical cadences of Paulo Coelho’s TheFifth Mountain. But a work by Soares is something I look for-ward to because I am guaranteed of having as much fun indoing the translation as his SL audience experienced in readingthe original.

Soares, who is best known as the host of Brazil’s mostpopular late-night talk show, has published two novels, eacha bestseller in his country and well received abroad. Exceptfor the admixture of suspense and humor and the playfulmerging of reality and fantasy (in both works, historicalcharacters appear in fictionalized form), the two novels havelittle in common. But both display the hallmarks of a Soareswork: high readability, fast pacing, a dollop of humor,exquisite plotting, rounded characters, and a unique per-spective on the protagonist.

The first, O Xangô de Baker Street (1995), which appearedin English two years later as A Samba for Sherlock, deals with

The Joys of Jô: Translating A Samba for Sherlock and Twelve Fingers

By Clifford E. Landers

...Few situations in literary translationare more frustrating than knowing the

exact denotation and connotation ofevery word in a sentence in the

source language, yet being unable to comprehend its meaning...

inordinately clumsy, perhaps becausehe has six fingers on each hand.

Twelve Fingers follows its protago-nist across four decades and three con-tinents as he attempts, always unsuc-cessfully and with hilarious results, tostrike a blow for liberty and againsttyranny, as he sees it. From a bungledattempt on Archduke Ferdinand inSarajevo (Gavrilo Princip beats him toit) through a comic misadventureinvolving the ill-fated French jour-nalist Jean Jaurès, Dimo proves a mostinept assassin. Later he travels toAmerica, where he becomes the leastdeadly member of Al Capone’s gang,before ending up in Brazil, where heperceives what his true mission mustbe: to kill Getúlio Vargas. The peri-patetic would-be assassin interactswith such historical figures as MataHari, Marie Curie, Dragutin Dimitri-jevic, Benjamim Vargas, George Raft(his roommate!), and, of course, AlCapone. Soares also introduces a fasci-nating range of wholly imaginarycharacters: Henri Mathurin, whoreputedly escaped from Devil’s Islandand befriends Dimo in the penalcolony on Grande Island; GérardBouchedefeu (love that name!), a 70-year-old anarchist who becomes hismentor in Paris; the dwarf MotilahBakash, last of the murderous Thugsand Dimo’s mortal enemy; and thelovely young widow Maria EugêniaPequeno, who falls in love with himand helps him escape.

Why were these two novels soenjoyable to translate? For one thing,they are told in a straightforward narra-tive fashion, free of the pretentious“arias” of self-indulgent prose designedto display the author’s literary talents.As a general rule, a good read makes fora good translation—in the sense thatsuch books lend themselves to a morerelaxed approach to the task at hand

a hitherto unrecorded adventure of Arthur Conan Doyle’sredoubtable detective and his stalwart companion Dr. Watson.Summoned to Rio de Janeiro in 1886 by Emperor Dom PedroII to find a stolen Stradivarius, they quickly encounter a seriesof shocking murders involving young women, with a clue lefton the mutilated body of each victim—a violin string. (It isSoares’s conceit that Holmes coined the term “serial killer” todescribe the assassin.)

Besides the obvious attraction of Sherlock Holmes as pro-tagonist, A Samba for Sherlock (a Booklist Editors’ Choice for1997, where it was judged “a dazzling, delectable jeu d’e-sprit”) offers a meticulous re-creation of the years just prior tothe founding of the Brazilian Republic. Soares carried outextensive research on the period and painstakingly avoidedusing any word or phrase that was not current in 1886. I feltduty-bound to honor this convention in the translation, and thevenerable Oxford English Dictionary was of inestimable assis-tance in this task.

Alternating between chilling glimpses into the mind of amadman and comedic scenes centering on the bumblingWatson and the far-from-infallible Sherlock, the work is apage-turner in the best sense of the term. A warning: hard-coreHolmes fans may foam at the mouth at the irreverent depictionof the great detective. In fact, I have seen few literary worksthat have generated such polarized reactions, as evidenced byreader reviews compiled on Amazon.com. People either get thejoke—the ability of the sensuous Rio to tropicalize even themost reserved of Englishmen—or they wax choleric at the“desecration” of their idol. Obviously Brazilians find theapproach to their liking: over 400,000 copies have been sold todate, a phenomenal number by local standards.

A more recent novel, O Homem que Matou Getúlio Vargas,which appeared in 1999, has rivaled its predecessor in popu-larity in Brazil, and its French translation (L’Homme qui tuaGetúlio Vargas, by François Rosso), published this year, hasalso enjoyed critical kudos. At this writing the title of the Eng-lish translation is still undecided, though the working title isTwelve Fingers, based on the assumption that The Man WhoKilled Getúlio Vargas was unlikely to appeal to many Ameri-cans, who have no idea who Vargas was. (Arguably, the pivotalfigure of Brazilian politics in the 20th century—revolutionary,dictator, and later the democratically elected president.) TwelveFingers purports to be a biography of Dimitri Borja Korozec,born in Bosnia in 1897 to a Serbian father and a Brazilianmother. Boyishly handsome, highly intelligent, a brilliantpolyglot, and an expert marksman, he is trained in the yearsbefore World War I at the mythical Skola Atentatora to be aconsummate political assassin and help free Serbia from theyoke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, Dimitri, orDimo as his parents call him, has a singular shortcoming: he is Continued on p. 38



than do more self-consciously “literary”works. This is not to say that Soarescannot write compelling prose. Con-sider this depiction of the crazed killer’sthoughts in A Samba for Sherlock, as heruminates about the beautiful youngmulatto woman whom Holmes savedfrom certain death at his hands:

His Siamese cat, which usually wan-ders among the rooftops, is sleepingpeacefully today in the wickerbasket beside the door. He pays noattention to the cat. Lying in hisnarrow bed, he loses all notion oftime. He has lain there supine forover two hours, staring fixedly at theceiling. It is a spiritual exercise heperforms whenever the hatred in hissoul begins to wane…. Little bylittle, the hatred proceeds, pursuesits path, its destiny, envelops hishead until it reaches the tips of hishair. Every hair bristles. The sheetson the bed are drenched in sweat.The process ends. The essence ofbeing, replenished by pure hatred….He is frustrated. She was lucky.Very lucky. That was the onlyreason he was not able to pierce hersoft breasts with the sharp blade ofthe dagger and pull out her lungs.The half-breed woman had sevenlives, like cats. Or was it nine? Docats have seven lives or nine? Hedoesn’t recall. He goes over to hisSiamese, asleep in the wickerbasket. In one hand he holds theanimal by the head and with theother opens its belly with a singleblow of the dagger. It is so fast thatthe cat dies without even opening itseyes. One life. So cats, like whores,have only one life after all.

Another element that adds to thepleasure—and often the challenge—oftranslating is humor. Soares’s bookscombine a sometimes rough jocularitywith an irreverence that can easily be

lost in a cross-cultural context.1 An excellent example is a deli-cious bilingual pun in A Samba for Sherlock, based on the factthat a German-speaking immigrant in Brazil might well con-fuse “v” with “f.”

The German [bar owner], tired of putting things on the cuff,had posted a clearly visible sign beside the cash registersaying VIADO SÓ AMANHÃ (credit only tomorrow).What he didn’t know was that in Portuguese ‘credit’ wasfiado, while viado was a slang term for a homosexual…. Noone had taken it upon himself to correct the picturesquemistake.

Incidentally, this is an instance in which adaptation supple-ments translation. In the SL, there was no need to explain themeaning of viado; the interpolated phrase brings English-lan-guage readers up to speed and, one hopes, preserves the humorof the original.

Similarly, in Twelve Fingers, there occurs a metalinguisticpassage (metalanguage is a language which becomes self-ref-erential, as, for example, when it alludes to its own grammar orengages in word play) that, though untranslatable, had to bedealt with. The setting is as follows. Under the Vargas dicta-torship of the late 1930s until the end of World War II, censor-ship and intimidation were commonplace. Any newspaper thatdared publish material critical of the regime did so at its peril.One such journalist was “Aparício Torelli–Aporelly, thefamous humorist who wrote under the pen name Baron ofItararé. His criticisms of the government in the newspaper AManhã are considered highly subversive by the chief of police,Filinto Müller, whose sense of humor is second only toHimmler’s. The baron, after Müller’s men invaded the news-paper and cowardly beat his fellow workers, hung on the doorto the editorial offices a sign that reads” ENTRE SEM BATER.What to do with this?

In Portuguese the pun works beautifully, as bater meansboth “to beat” and “to knock,” but in English there is no singleword covering both meanings. (Incidentally, the French trans-lation encountered no such difficulty: ENTREZ SANS FRAPPER isa perfect double sens.) Nothing occurred to me immediately,but gradually I concluded that it would be impossible to main-tain both the enter-without-knocking and the refrain-from-pummeling meanings. I began considering alternatives—things that might plausibly be found posted on a door. The firstwas “school of hard knocks”; probably wisely, Jô turnedthumbs down on that one. After weeks of lucubration, I prof-fered THE BEATEN PATH, which the author approved. Nonethe-less, I still consider it a less than optimal solution and wouldwelcome any suggestions, as the translation won’t be pub-lished until 2001.

The Joys of Jô Continued

Another feature of Soares’s writing that appeals to the obser-vant reader is his use of the hommage. In A Samba for Sherlockthere is a scene in which Holmes, desperate for clues to the psy-chology of the madman serial killer, visits Dr. Aderbal Câmara,“who suffers from a strange form of cerebral pathology. Hepossesses great intelligence and culture, but when he goes intoa crisis he tears out and devours pieces of the flesh of whoeveris within his reach. Ironically, before insanity overcame him, hewas one of our most prominent alientists.” The demented physi-cian, after much taunting of the detective, provides him with aclue that sends him down an unexpected path. The inspirationfrom the novel and film Silence of the Lambs is patentlyobvious and adds to the fun. Similarly, in Twelve Fingers whenDimitri is wrongly imprisoned in the hellish penal colony onIlha Grande, there is a hommage to Birdman of Alcatraz:

As the days go monotonously by, Dimitri begins tolook upon those animals with different eyes. He no longerfinds them so repulsive. He brings crumbs from the pesti-lential dining hall to feed them.

In a short time, his cell is the roaches’ preferred spot.He patiently trains the insects to push empty matchboxesand to take small messages stuck to their wings to the pris-oners in more distant cells.

Overcoming his natural repugnance, he manages tohave them cover his body on command, as apiculturists dowith bees. Even Professor Alencar is surprised at the feat.Guards and prisoners alike begin calling him, in an admix-ture of respect and disgust, the Roach Man of Grande Island.

Or take this dialogue between the hero and a fellow pris-oner, the Frenchman Henri Mathurin, as they plan an escape:

Dimitri approaches Mathurin. “I got the money for theescape. I’m just afraid they’ll decide to search me.”

“Don’t worry about it. On Devil’s Island I learned away to hide things that will get by any search,” Mathurinassures him.

“How?”“I’ll show you. Come with me.”Henri takes Dimitri to the bathroom and asks him to

watch the entrance. Lowering his pants and squatting next tothe wall, he begins contorting himself as if he were about toevacuate. Suddenly, a polished bamboo tube approximatelysix inches long and two inches in diameter emerges from hisanus. It is divided into two parts that screw into each other.Twisting both ends, Mathurin opens the unusual cache.

“It’s my little safe.”Dimitri contemplates the menacing cylinder. Henri

explains, “I’ve made one just like it for you. You have to

stick it in really far, up to the colonin the large intestine. All you do istake a deep breath and it goes rightin. Even if they strip you and spreadyour legs, there’s no way to dis-cover it.”

After a long pause, Dimitrisays, “On second thought, I thinkI’ll stay here. The Colony isn’treally so bad. The food’s tolerableat best, but the place has a lovelyview, the air’s clean, and I need tolook after my roaches.”

Anyone who has seen or readPapillon will recognize the hommage.

I could cite at length additional ele-ments of Jô Soares’s oeuvre, but I’llsave those for my presentation inOrlando. Hope to see you there.

Note:1. This theme will be explored in

greater depth in my presentation atthe 2000 ATA conference inOrlando, in a paper entitled “Trans-lating Jô Soares: Does ComedyTransfer Across Cultures?”



News is the periodic communi-cation of information throughthe mass media to the public at

large or to certain demographic groups.This is the first thing you will need tounderstand if you want to be a goodtranslator of journalistic texts. Journal-istic writing takes on many differentforms, from straight news coveringdaily events to in-depth investigativereports, but no matter what form yourwriting takes, there will always be cer-tain techniques that remain the same.To be a successful translator of journal-istic texts, it will be your job to becomefamiliar with the techniques of thetrade in order to understand how thesource text came together.

The one rule that is fundamental toall journalistic writing is to be sensitiveto the emotional side of events. This isespecially true for translators workingin this field. An effective translationnot only informs the reader, but alsoconveys the same emotional impactthat was intended by the original.Together with your talent, this sensi-bility will enable you to devote your-self to this line of work.

Another challenge for translators isthe need to make any subject, even thedriest one, attractive and easy to under-stand. You have to be versatile and beable to translate specialized news andmake it understandable to laypersons.This is why a translator has to trust hisintuition for perceiving and uncoveringfacts, and his imagination to stay awayfrom routine and triviality. By keepingconstantly well informed, you will beable to quickly understand what is

going on in the world and will find it easier to convey infor-mation of interest in all subject areas.

The greatest challenge for a journalistic translator is thespeed at which the news has to be sent. News ages quickly ina newspaper. To be able to deliver a job within very tight dead-lines, a translator must be able to work at high speed, be agilein improvising, and, above all, be imaginative.

Here is a good question to ask yourself as an exercise to getyou thinking like a journalist. How would you translate anitem for a paper or magazine about an unreleased film, or awork of art by an unknown artist, or a yet-to-be-printedbook—quickly, without any information available or sourceson the Internet, and without knowing the feature story? Astory about this kind of subject is called a feature story(matéria de variedades). It is often located in the “Culture”section of the newspaper (sections like “Living and Arts” and“Leisure”) and encompasses a wide variety of subjects (“how-to” type articles are also included in this classification). To tryto understand and penetrate an author’s original intentionsrequires keen discernment and a wish to see, in the complexityof words, the images they wanted to create in the minds oftheir readers. After all, the translator is a privileged witness ofhistory in the making, because he is one of the first to be incontact with the news.

Those who have some experience or knowledge of jour-nalism know that there are many things in common betweenjournalism and translation: communication skills, agility, accu-racy, style, and (restrained) creativity are just some aspects.The subjects journalists have to deal with are very diverse.Often the news items a translator is required to translate areeven more difficult than technical translations because theyinvolve new technologies and research. To address these chal-lenges, we have compiled the following information on thesubject of translation and journalistic translation that webelieve to be particularly relevant. We hope it will prove usefulto all translators in their daily work.

The saying that “a translation has to be as faithful to the orig-inal as possible and as free as needed” is appropriate to the fieldof journalism. To be faithful, translators must take into consid-eration the basic content of the news and its purpose of con-veying facts to the reader. In a newspaper, the editorials are arti-cles that implicitly reveal the paper’s position on events. This isa restricted area that must be avoided by a translator. A trans-lator translates and re-creates but never, however strong thetemptation, instills his opinions into any text. If this is true forany translation, it is even more so for journalistic translations.As we all know, even the words the translator chooses have tomaintain a certain level of faithfulness to the original. However,being faithful does not mean being literal. On the contrary,some changes must be made in order to reach the target reader.

Reading Between the Headlines: Some Challenges inJournalistic Translation

By Lucia Leao and Clarisse Bandeira de Mello

...The one rule that is fundamental to all journalistic writing is to be sensitive

to the emotional side of events...

Being free does not mean total freedom, as the options arelimited. Texts must be adapted to the editorial style of the mag-azine or newspaper. The translator of journalistic material hasto have practice, experience, and understand journalistic style.Without experience, he will be unable to adapt his style to thespecific needs of the print medium he is writing for. He mustalways have up-to-date knowledge of events in other countries,including where the source language and the target languageare spoken.

In practice, journalists, not translators, often do transla-tions. For example, there are five translators working full-time at the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo.However, each news desk (editoria) is also responsible forproducing translations using its own journalists. The papersubscribes to several wire services (agência de notícias)which have given the paper the right to translate and publishtheir articles. Every day the paper’s editor and the editors ofeach news desk meet to decide which of these articles fromthe foreign press will be used.

The first step, as with any translation or journalistic transla-tion, is to read the text to be translated twice to get a feel forthe tone of the article. During the second reading, one or twoitems that have drawn attention from each paragraph should behighlighted and reinforced in the target language. This willhelp in the linkage of the text. Use the paragraph, not the sen-tence, as the unit of translation. Pay attention to the linkbetween them, especially in longer texts. The text should flowsmoothly between paragraphs.

It is worthwhile to identify the lead (lead) of an article. Ithas been shown that readers spend very little time deciding ifa specific story is worth reading. It takes them just three sec-onds to do it, even though the writer may have taken weeks toput it together. Therefore, the lead is extremely important. Thelead serves several purposes:

• It gets the reader’s attention.• It creates a flow of energy that takes the reader forward.• It says something about the subject of the article.• It shows the importance of the story.• It shows what kind of story it is: general interest, profile,

analysis, and so on.• It gives tone and rhythm to the story.• It establishes the author’s voice and authority.• It provides the story’s punch line.

To be able to identify the lead, understand its rhythm andpower, and translate it with its original properties is a goodbeginning for a translator. There are several types of leads:direct, questions, lists, and questions for the reader. Someexamples of leads are:

The direct lead: “Sometimes it canseem to freshmen that the universityoffers only two kinds of activity:studying or partying. The groups that setup tables outside Dillon Hall yesterdayshowed fellow students a wide range ofother ways to spend their time.”

A lead containing questions: “Whatare you doing this weekend? You couldbike or hike, play chess or chambermusic, fight apartheid or acid rain. Oryou could try to carry on an intelligentconversation at a frat party whilepeople scream and pour beer on yourshoes. As people who attended the stu-dent activities fair learned yesterday,the choice is yours.”

Whatever type of lead you decide touse, it is important to remember that thetarget-language text must be natural.The reader’s interest must be stimu-lated from the beginning. Here aresome tips to keep your writing fresh:

• If the syntax of the first three sen-tences in Portuguese is the same asthe English original, you shouldrewrite it.

• Avoid word repetition; look forsynonyms.

• Be daring! Always think of thereader’s interest.

• We can often replace phrases withothers that make more sense in thetarget language.

The text must have motion and bealive. One solution is to split sentencesinto two or more shorter ones. Limit sen-tences to 20-25 words at most, or evenless if possible. Never translate expres-sions like “due to the fact that,” “there-fore,” or “nevertheless.” Such expres-sions are often unnecessary in Por-tuguese. Always ask yourself: “Would aBrazilian journalist write like this?”

Continued on p. 42



Remember, it is important to adapta text to Brazilian culture. In the caseof plays, movies, or TV programs, tryto find out how the title was translatedin Brazil. If there is a title in Por-tuguese, do not use the English one,even in parentheses. If a Portuguesetitle has not been given yet, use theoriginal English title, followed by aPortuguese translation in parentheses.In Portuguese, only capitalize the firstword of the title. In the rest of thearticle, use the English title only. Thesame goes for books. Do not translatethe names of TV programs not shownin Brazil, but first explain, forexample: O programa de TV Friends.

The names of songs, poems, paint-ings, or sculptures should be betweenquotation marks, and the translationincluded in parentheses. Always add thename of the state or country to placenames: Seattle, Estado de Washington.

Local customs that make sense inthe source language often need to beadapted to the target language. Forinstance: machine coffee = cafezinho;Porterhouse steak = bife; Valentine’sDay = dia do amor e da amizade; trickor treat = travessura ou gostosura;Halloween = dia das bruxas.

When describing atmosphere, re-member that the reader will transposethe idea into his own culture. Forexample, the minimum wage in Brazildoes not correspond to the minimumwage in the U.S., just as a slumdwelling in Brazil does not correspondto a shack in America.

Due to the limited amount of spaceavailable, keep the text concise. Do notuse unnecessary words. Every wordcounts. Literally translating a string ofadjectives from English is a mistake.Sometimes the best way is to com-pletely change the syntax of a sentence.For example: As gold becomes morevaluable, priceless, precious / com avalorização do ouro. The number ofwords has to be kept under control and

should never equal 10 percent more than the English original.On the other hand, never use fewer words than the original.

Here are a few tips to keep the text light and pleasant inPortuguese:

1. Try to use verbs in the active voice. Avoid excessive use ofthe passive voice.

Casas são alugadas, alugam-se casasSeu discurso foi aplaudido, seu discurso provocouaplausos

2. Avoid sentences with que. They make for a ponderous,tiring text.

Cabral, que descobriu o Brasil, Cabral, o descobridor doBrasilUm político que é contrário ao presidente, um políticoadversário do presidente

3. Use the appropriate transitive verbs.

Estar antes de, precederEstar depois de, sucederExistir em volta, circundar

4. English tends to use predicate constructions to excess andwe must try to change them:

Seu nome é o primeiro da lista, seu nome encabeça a listaO país é pobre em matérias-primas, o país carece dematérias-primas

5. Avoid the verbs ter, fazer, and pôr.

Ele ainda tem esperanças, ele alimenta (nutre) esperançasFazer um plano, traçar um planoFazer um pagamento, efetuar um pagamentoPôr uma sonda, introduzir uma sonda

6. Avoid a preposition at the beginning of a phrase.

Nesta rua existem buracos a cada passo, esta rua apresentaburacos a cada passoNo regime totalitário a verdade não aparece, o regimetotalitário reprime a verdade

7. “Ao invés de”: Be careful in the use of ao invés de—oppositesituation, opposition—and em vez de (no lugar de)—in placeof the word “of.” “Em vez de” can be used to mean opposite

Reading Between the Headlines Continued


in some cases, but “ao invés de” can only be used to meanopposition.

Ao invés de entrar, resolveu sairO custo de vida baixou, ao invés de subirEm vez de comprar maçãs, comprei bananase gastei 10 reais, em vez de 15

8. “Através de”: por dentro de, passar de um lado a outro aolongo de and por meio de—por intermédio de, por.

Olhei Maria, desesperado, através da janelaCombateu a doença por meio de remédios

9. The adjective before the noun, normally used in English, hasa more figurative meaning in Portuguese, while the adjectiveafter the noun has its real meaning, one of permanence.

Grande romance—verdes anosCasa grande—vinho verde

10. “Very.” Avoid the adverb muito.

Água muito clara, água límpidaClima muito quente, clima tórridoCoração muito duro, coração impiedoso

11. Manner adverbs in “-mente”

Meditar longamente sobre um projeto, amadurecer um projetoComer avidamente, devorar a comida

Readers tend to read the beginning and the end of a news article.By making the news enjoyable, you avoid monotony and maintainthe reader’s curiosity from beginning to end. Short and long textsshould be handled with the same dedication. Most words in dailyuse are loaded with incredibly complex emotional meanings,whether in the feelings they express or reactions they cause.

Every word can awaken feelings never felt before, and drawour attention to facts not previously noticed. As translators, we,just like the original author, are responsible for linguistic com-munication. The reader will have the pleasure of drawing hisown conclusions.

Our thanks to Roger Sokulski for his assistance translatingthis article.

References:1. Harrigan, Jane T. The Editorial Eye. St. Martin’s Press, New

York, 1993.

2. Hayakawa, S. I. Language in Thoughtand Action. Harcourt, Brace andCompany Inc., 1990.

3. Rodale, J. Word Finder.

4. Rónai, Paulo. A Tradução Vivida.Editora Nova Fronteira, Rio deJaneiro, 1981.

5. Stylistique Française, Le Grand,adaptação de Daniel Brilhante deBrito, Rio de Janeiro.

We Internationalize:Software Documents People

www.echotrans.com • 1-800-756-1101


To Go Where No One has Gone Before: A Natural Evolution of the Translator’s Role and Mission

By Marie C. Martien

Just a few years ago, I was a full-time homemaker and part-timelanguage teacher. At that time, I

did not consider myself as anythingmore than an isolated translator. Sincethen, communication has changed dra-matically, and I have found myselfmoving in a new direction, adaptingmy goals and professional vision toreflect the coming of age of a newglobal community.

Personally, I believe my profes-sional path evolved quite naturally.As a French native who has resided inthe U.S. for several years, and havingmet all the requirements to be ateacher, it seems quite natural that Iwould use my language skills as atool to help facilitate communicationbetween cultures. As a fan of Frenchliterature, I love my native language.Books are part of my life, as opposedto TV or the movies. I have a naturalcuriosity and interest in people, and adesire to strive for understanding. Ilove to capture the essence of wordsand now, with all my years of experi-ence, I feel that I am in an advanta-geous position in terms of utilizingmy skills and love of language totransmit meaning in both French andEnglish. Because today’s technologynow makes everyday communicationbetween cultures commonplace, I nolonger think of myself as just an iso-lated translator, but as a globalambassador offering my services toan ever-increasing market.

A Natural EvolutionAs I watch the world slowly become globalized as more

cultures strive to communicate with each other, I realize howmuch the need for translation is increasing. More and more, wemust not only be able to communicate in the other languages,but also have an understanding of the cultural context, of thosewe deal with in order for our businesses to succeed. Even as webecome more savvy as both employees and consumers, ourtranslations must be seamless in our native language or themessage will fail—whether it’s an advertisement for a multi-billion dollar corporation or a presentation to employees ontheir new safety program.

My love of language and people is the fundamental drivethat helped me take the first step toward becoming a translator.Searching for answers has always been part of the mission ofmy job, and the new developments in global communicationand subsequent need for language specialists has encouragedme to rethink what translation means to me and how our profession has finally come into its own.

From Teacher to TranslatorMy move from teaching to translating brought new chal-

lenges, but the two professions held many similarities. A keyrequirement for success in both is the ability to listen and createaccording to the demands of a particular situation. Basically theobjective is the same: to facilitate communication. For me, myeducation helped to fulfill the requirements I would need as atranslator. With a background in literature, I was taught the subtlety of my native language. My background in economicsand psychology helped me learn some of the finesse of com-munication in a corporate world. A talent for language combined with these elements gave me the confidence to makethe transition from teacher to professional translator.

As I taught adults, I became more aware of the frustrationscaused by time constraints. I also learned more about the othersubjects on my students’ agendas, and of the importance ofcreating a link between what they were studying and how thisknowledge could be applied to the real-life practice of trans-lation. Many times I ended up sitting down next to them andshowing the direct application of our lessons to their own sit-uations. No traditional language program will tell you how todo that.

A good educator teaches not only the basic skills of lan-guage, but also the aspects of the culture in which it is spoken.Such an educator will need observation skills, interculturalcomprehension, creativity, and the ability to communicate and,of course, the willingness to learn more. The same is requiredof a translator.

In an attempt to organize my approach to translation, Iasked myself three key questions:

...Because today’s technology nowmakes everyday communication

between cultures commonplace, I nolonger think of myself as just an

isolated translator but as a global ambassador...


where translators have not had to gobefore…taking on the role of consul-tant/educator, communicator, and glo-bal ambassador.

From Translator, to Communicator, toGlobal Ambassador: The New “You”Embracing the Client’s Mission

A new translation project is likeembarking on a journey. You learnabout and absorb the content itself—the mission behind the words. Youmust not hesitate to act as a consultantto the client. It is the consultant’s roleto suggest to the client that the resultsmay be different from their expecta-tions. There are a variety of factors thatcan effect the outcome, for example, alack of contextual reference points foran unknown concept in the target lan-guage. A project can also fail simplybecause the approach lacks the culturalelements necessary to reach the tar-geted audience. As a translator dealingwith corporate policies, you may berequired to “rewrite” a poorly writtenor culturally inappropriate document.Therefore, beyond excellent languageand writing skills, you must be able towork with the client, explaining how tobest approach the project to achievethe desired goal. One of the greatestchallenges in freelancing is educatingthe client while working within theconfines of his expectations, allwithout underselling your services.

One key to success is to anticipateyour client’s needs. In the ideal rela-tionship, you will get to know theclient well enough to look beyond theactual job that is entrusted to you andunderstand their mindset and strategy.Knowing your client well means beingable to anticipate their future needs. Assuch, it is important to keep informedof business and economic trends thataffect your client’s industry.

1. What is translation?2. Who are the parties involved? 3. What skills are required?

I tried to approach translation as a tool, one that enablescommunication between people. I became aware that, as a pro-fessional, I was an intermediary between two worlds. Theacknowledgment that translation was not an isolated practice,but a necessary tool for successful communication betweencultures, appeared quite clearly.

This realization made me want to learn about all the partiesinvolved in the translation process. These individuals includethe client, the target audience, the other contributors to the dia-logue, and the “maker,” or translator himself. It is important tokeep in mind that not all the objectives and/or interests of theseindividuals will be the same.

By thinking about translation from the client’s perspective,I was able to identify several needs. Clients give you a product,which often has a desired goal or “mission.” They will investin your service to achieve this goal and, in return, they expectyou to produce results as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Several questions appear to be fundamental. What is thejob? What is the mission, if any? What are the client’s expec-tations? What are his resources? How much does he want toinvest? Frankly, some clients do not want, nor do they need,a cultural specialist. Each job may require different levels ofinvestment from both the client and the translator. I haveseen rates for translation organized by quality levels (forexample, A, B, C, or D), signifying the level of “perfection”required. This is a realistic approach in light of budgetaryand time constraints.

Who is the recipient? Who are the other potential contribu-tors? What skills are required? Not only must translators pos-sess an excellent understanding of the languages involved, butalso an ability to write them. There is no doubt that the time oftranslating with pencil and paper is over. In most instances, weare now forced to be computer literate. Unfortunately, we alsoknow that our profession, composed mainly of freelancers,lacks formal guidelines for education and accreditation. As thedemands of the profession continue to grow, we must continueto grow with it.

In light of this approach, many unanswered needs appearedso strongly that I felt compelled to go beyond the traditionalways of thinking about translation.

It seems obvious that a new horizon is opening to our pro-fession. We are moving beyond taking text from clients andspitting it out in another language. Let the software pro-grams attempt to do that (usually with no great success).Even with the best software you cannot replace the humanside of communication in any language. Our mission is to go Continued on p. 46


Customizing Your WorkI strongly believe that it is important

to provide not only high quality work,but the service to back it up. Payingattention to each individual, sometimesto several within the same company, hasproven to be quite efficient while at thesame time enriching my translationskills, my approach, my tools, and myspecialties for each client. Being therefor each individual who has asked formy services (sometimes even in anemergency crisis) and producing theexpected result reinforces the trans-lator/client relationship. This may seemobvious, but most clients have uniqueneeds (for example, specific termi-nology for their company). Companiesmoving toward globalization oftenneed to change their mindset (forexample, developing corporate termi-nology that is more universal in scope)to one that takes into consideration anycultural, linguistic, behavioral, and busi-ness differences they might encounterwhile dealing with those from outsidetheir country.

Taking the time to listen and, if nec-essary, meet clients in person, alongwith having the discipline and respectfor deadlines, shows that you are thereto try and help the client fulfill his spe-cific needs.

Writing Skills: Capturing andCommunicating the Essence of theWords

Sometimes translation has its limi-tations. Creativity is quite limitedwhen it comes to straight translationswhere the content is quite precise andthe terminology does not need any cul-tural interpretation (for example, med-ical or technical translations). Thesetypes of translations are essentiallydevoid of intercultural differences.

On the other hand, many businesscommunications, such as humanresource messages and general corpo-rate information, need the expertise of

a translator to achieve the desired impact. For instance, in amarketing campaign, you have to take the right approach tomotivate your audience. And to get a positive response, thetranslator must adapt the original message to the perspective ofthe target culture.

In such cases, being consistent and insuring the consistency ofterminology is fundamental. You may want to discuss this aspectof the job with your client and their foreign audience or counter-parts. Remember, part of your job is to facilitate communication.

Learn how to take initiative. Become familiar with the natureof the document and be creative, but consult with your client toavoid misunderstandings and confusion. Be clear and confi-dent. If you have all the information in hand and are convincedyou are right, then discuss it tactfully and stand up for excel-lence. Remember that whatever you do, you do not do for your-self, but in the best interest of the client and his target audience.

Follow-up: Measuring and Improving PerformanceFollowing up on a job is critical in order to improve your

overall performance. Even though it is vital that you get feed-back on how the translation was received, you also want to findout if it moved your audience and achieved the client’s expectedobjective. Ideally, feedback on the entire project is extremelyhelpful. By taking this approach, you go a step beyond your ini-tial job and become more of a communicator. It will help youimprove your translating skills, and will provide you with cul-tural insight on your client. Again, the idea is not only how togain for yourself, but how to be more productive and efficient inorder to answer and anticipate your client’s needs. This infor-mation will help you build stronger bridges of communicationbetween cultures. Sometimes feedback is hard to accept or evenagree with, but you will gain in experience in either case.

Today, our job frequently involves more project manage-ment. For example, I often deal with graphic designers oragencies that will format the text for the graphic designerand/or a printer. The result is that there tends to be quite a fewindividuals involved, besides the client, who can have lastminute changes. The final version must be proofread to ensurethat punctuation is correct or that no text fell off in the designprocess—a printer or designer who doesn’t speak the languagewon’t notice! It’s up to you to ensure a final quality product,and you cannot betray your client’s trust. This process is crit-ical in order to improve your translation skills while providingyou with the cultural dimension you need. It also offers anexcellent opportunity to build up strong relationships with yourclient, and illustrates your team spirit. Your attention to suchdetails will demonstrate your dedication and will show thatyou respect and take your commitment to the client seriously.

One other way to improve your skills and services is to keeplearning. Continued education serves two major purposes. One

To Go Where No One has Gone Before Continued


focuses on continuous improvement in order to seek excellence.We must continuously review our translating processes, perfor-mances, and skills, but we also need to learn how to communi-cate better and be in tune with the different cultural aspects ourjob involves. It may be necessary to learn new skills in order tokeep ahead of the game and provide a service that is unique.

The second purpose of the learning process focuses on anexpanded understanding of our profession that goes beyond itscurrent practice and looks toward its future potential. Keepinginformed is vital to our profession. In order to shift from ourinitial role as translator to the role of a global ambassador, itbecomes necessary to understand globalization and to gobeyond our cultural, geographic, and personal limits. Informa-tion and cultural analysis are key elements to the transforma-tion of our profession. Cultural analysis is an excellent tool tobecome aware of your own motivations, personal and culturalbehaviors, as well as to acknowledge and respect your clientsand partners. Such information will help you monitor andreview your own progress and evolution in the context of aworld always in motion.

Is Freelancing a Necessary Evolution?In light of this approach of our new role as professionals, a

simple question rises: Is freelancing a necessary evolution?Can we function as a translator, communicator, and globalambassador within the traditional constructs of our profession?

When I drink my cup of coffee in the morning while surfingthe Internet for news or resources sites, I am amazed at thepace at which the world is changing. Within seconds we cangrasp vital information and economical and cultural trends. Wehave become free of the traditional information structure andhave reached a higher potential which allows us more choice.It is up to us whether or not to use these new tools. Nonethe-less, the assistance these new tools and resources provide havenot succeeded in providing a substitute to the human compo-nent. The need for human translators is in no current danger.

However, we cannot ignore the trends that are becomingmore and more a reality. One of them concerns the question ofoutsourcing business. It is common nowadays for companiesto outsource certain functions instead of investing in full-timeemployees. It is especially true with specialty professions likeours, and companies are, depending on your skills, willing topay for your unique service. It certainly presents advantagesfor all as well as inconveniences. Companies are not com-mitted to you, so the wide choice of freelancers currently avail-able to them certainly motivates you to provide a unique ser-vice designed to answer their needs. On your part, as difficultas competition may be, you are free of a structure where yourpotential as a global ambassador could be lost. And, of course,you lose your dependency on one employer.

Making the final decision is really aquestion of personal choice and is quitea challenge, both on a personal andbusiness level. For my part, I was readyto embark on the adventure, which hasgiven me the opportunity to exploremyself as an individual, my own skills,my performances, and my vision of theworld and its outcome without the con-straint of a structure. It is a never-endingjob. Many times I feel like a lab techni-cian dealing with zillions of compo-nents trying to make them interact prop-erly to produce a better product.Because I believe in globalization, mydecision, to me, serves a philanthropicpurpose. There is much work to bedone, and all of us can participateactively to ensure understanding andcommunication between people.

The RewardsAs a freelance translator, the rewards

are plenty. There is no denying that thejob gives you an incredible andexciting sense of fulfillment as an indi-vidual and as a professional. Theexcitement lies also in making stepsfor humanity every time you achieveyour mission as a global ambassador.There is no small step for humanity.

Materialistically, by embracing thisnew role, you promote trust and therespect of the people you work forand/or with, but also gain recognitionand, most likely, more business. Onesmart approach to changes in the waywe run our business is to provide a fast,efficient, and quality service based onour strengths and our ability to adjust,without losing sight of our ultimatemission—to serve people. Freelancingoffers this opportunity to the ones whoare up to the adventure. The choice isyours. You, too, may also want toembark on this incredible voyage. Wel-come to the next generation!

Continued on p. 49


While living in France acouple of decades ago, Inoticed that the French

always seemed to have extreme viewsconcerning the U.S.: they either wor-shipped it as a land of legend, ordespised it as culturally bankrupt andpolitically objectionable. This often putme in the awkward position ofdefending my country and trying tostraighten out some of the many ram-pant misconceptions: no, we don’t onlyeat hamburgers; no, the entire countryis not blanketed with cactus; etc.

Ironically, now that I live stateside,I often find myself defending theFrench. That’s because wheneverAmericans talk about traveling toFrance, I know that after extolling thecountry’s architectural and culinarydelights, they inevitably start com-plaining about the people. “TheFrench…,” Americans will sneer, “youknow how they are,” with all the requi-site groaning and eye rolling.

Don’t Expect a Welcoming Committee

What many Americans take assnootiness really just boils down tocultural differences, including lan-guage, of course. To begin with, theFrench, in general, tend to be morereserved than Americans. For instance,in France, although waiters are cer-tainly supposed to show up and takeyour order within a few minutes afteryou sit down, they are not expected tohave a phony grin pasted on theirfaces at all times and to fawn all over

you, introducing themselves like they were your kissingcousins before reeling off the daily specials.

Another factor is language. Most French people spend yearsin school studying English, but they tend to have a rather pas-sive knowledge of it, and even that dries up pretty fast for lackof practice. Also, since they are mostly familiar with Britishaccents, a question in American English may often elicit blankstares, but not necessarily out of ill will.

I find it particularly irritating when the same Americanswho take offense at the French for not instantly understandingtheir English are also the ones who snarl about Spanish-speaking immigrants here in the U.S. who don’t learn English.

And We Can DanceThe corollary of the American stereotype of the French as

snooty is the French view of Americans as de grands enfantsor “grown-up children”—cute, but exasperatingly uninhibited.In other words, we may consider ourselves outgoing, open, andspontaneous, but they may see us as naïve, impulsive, andloud.

Interestingly, this is also the stereotype some French peoplehave of Africans; you know, the bon sauvage who only needsa bongo drum to keep him happy. In my travels in West Africa,I did notice that Africans tend to be much less reserved than theFrench and very approachable.

Therefore Be BoldAfter I had been in France for a few years, I realized that

this reputation as an overgrown child could actually be used tomy advantage. I’ll never forget teaching a class in medicalEnglish to hospital staff that included the department chief,known deferentially as Madame le professeur, along with anumber of other physicians and lab technicians. As an Amer-ican, I could not only get away with calling the chief “Louise,”I could also get the lowly lab technician to call her by her firstname, too, although I did notice that the technician practicallychoked while saying it.

And we can also get away with the direct approach thatmany French people wouldn’t dare use, but may not actuallymind. Once I got suckered into meeting a visiting American Ihardly knew. There we were having a late lunch in a tinyrestaurant on île Saint-Louis when he asked me what the ini-tials “PCV” stood for in the French abbreviation that means“calling collect.” I told him I didn’t know and to my horror heturned to the table next to ours and asked the couple sittingthere (in French—to his credit—but heavily accented).

I contemplated fleeing the scene in embarrassment, when tomy surprise the couple answered—a little wide-eyed at beingso boldly addressed, but responding nonetheless—that theydidn’t know. My jaw then dropped to the floor when they pro-

Les grands enfants

By Alexandra Russell-Bitting

...What many Americans take assnootiness really just boils down to

cultural differences, including language, of course...


ceeded to ask the people sitting next to them. Before I knew it,a lively discussion had sparked among all the French diners(none of whom knew what “PCV” stood for, by the way) aboutwhether you could call Vietnam collect from France.

French-on-French ReserveAmericans in France should bear in mind that the French

are reserved with everyone, including each other. Once I wasbabysitting the eight-year-old son of some French friends wholived in the country. Little Juju (short for “Julien”) was havingthe time of his life riding the Métro for the first time on ourway to my place. At every stop, he would ask me out loudwhere we were getting off and how many more stops therewere. Excitedly, he turned to the man sitting closest to us and,in a glaring breach of protocol, asked him where he was going.

The man squirmed in discomfort, for although it was highlyunkosher for strangers to be striking up a conversation in aMétro car at rush hour, how could anyone resist such a sweet

child? He just couldn’t bring himself toignore the boy, so he muttered “I don’tknow.” Concern instantly washed overJuju’s face as he blurted out in alarmMais comment tu vas faire alors? (“Sowhat are you going to do?”), andeveryone in the car burst out laughing.

So, sometimes it pays to be bold andturn on that childlike American charm.Knowing at least some French helpstremendously, as will some patience,understanding, and humility—usefulqualities when traveling anywhere. Andif you hear anyone referring to you as agrand enfant, be ready to retort that inthe U.S., the French are known ascoincés (uptight).

Tips and Hints to Prepare for Your Journey as a FreelancerThe key of success resides in these few hints and tips:

Think globalAdopt a work ethic and make a commitmentThink about the client’s perspectiveThink about the recipient’s perspectiveBe creativeBe thereProvide quality, but do not undersell your services Take a stand and make a differenceReview and update your skills and your vision Be willing to adjustEstablish and develop contactsBe strategicBe hungry for knowledgeExpand your worldThink about cultural analysis as an essential toolBe aware of traps and pitfalls, such as: short-term vision;resting on past performances; honor; failure to understand aworld that is constantly changing; money issues; and lettingother elements overpower you

These few ideas do not pretend to give you all the answersto your questions. It is up to you to find what is best for you.Above all, keep in mind the ultimate purpose of our evolvingprofession and how “free” you want to be.

To Go Where No One has Gone Before Continued from p. 47


Elsevier’s Dictionary of Drug TrafficTerms (In English, Spanish, Por-tuguese, French, and German)Author:Ninon IllanesPublisher:ElsevierPublication Date:1997ISBN:0-444-81937-1Price and Where Available:$215.50Currently available through online book-stores and from Elsevier. Also on CD-ROM for $228.50 ISBN:0-444-50131-2Reviewed by:Arlene Kelly

Specialty or field: The focus covers thedrug trade and allied fields, such as chem-ical ingredients, designer drugs, and ter-minology for recovery and rehabilitation,law enforcement, attempts at internationalregulation, control, and money laun-dering, and legal proceedings (including abroad range of slang).

Type of Work: Multilingual dictionarylanguages: English, Spanish, Portuguese,French, and German.

Number of Pages: 568, plus 10 introduc-tory; 4,608 terms.

Type and quality of binding: Hardcover,sturdy.

Quality of paper and print: Very goodquality paper and printing. Totally legible.

Convenience of look-up: Each entry is

number-specific and synonyms are groupedtogether under one main number. The syn-onyms appear independently with the spe-cific numeric reference. The principallisting in English serves as the basic guidefor all the other languages.

Terms sought: Since my specialty is Por-tuguese, and the reason I bought the dic-tionary in the first place is its inclusion inthis dictionary, my comments will be pri-marily geared toward that language.Some of the terms I sought appeared withcomplete equivalents; in English: mule,money laundering, angel dust, ghb,ecstasy, crash; in Portuguese: neve(snow); beata (roach).

A few of those English drug-relatedterms that were found could have beenrounded out better. For example: tracks(could have mentioned needles); para-phernalia (too restricted—drug equip-ment can include items unrelated toinjecting); buzz (not only connected withheroin, but also cocaine, marijuana, andalcohol); blunt (yes, but the term can alsomean a fat cigarette made only with mar-ijuana); bundle (perhaps specific toMassachusetts, but a bundle equals 10packets of heroin). Of the English termsI sought, only two did not appear:jackpot and brownie (in Massachusetts,it equals five bundles or 50 packets).Three terms I chose for Portuguese didnot appear: pedra (crack), muamba(dope or contraband), and bia (short forbeata [roach]).

Since I went over this dictionary’sentries for Portuguese in detail, I am ableto say that there are about 40 entries withquestionable or slight errors. For example,spelling mistakes, of which I discovered afew in English: husle for hustle; effasivefor evasive; trail instead of trial (twice);treasure instead of treasury. I also found afew errors in Portuguese: ganar forganhar; viziado for viciado; and at leastonce, the author’s origins may have over-shadowed his knowledge when heincluded reexamen as an English verbwhen it appears to be Spanish for reex-amination. (These are not all the errorsfound; however, there were not verymany more.)

Legal phrases generally were welldone, yet some appeared to be more lit-eral than meaningful. For example,Jurado should have been included for“juror” and “so help me God” wouldhave been rendered better as peranteDeus rather than the literal que Deus meajude! Another literal translation was“fruit salad” (a mixture of drugs) assalada de frutas, which really can be saidas coqteil. One idiomatic expression tookon a slightly different sense when “call(v) the shots” (to be [v] in command, andgenerally not just in terms of firing shots)was rendered as dar as ordens de dis-parar, or “give (v) the orders to fire.”When one considers the rather largenumber of well done and completeentries, these critiques are minimal out ofa total just over 4,600 terms.

One anomaly that occasionally accom-panied Portuguese vocabulary was theabbreviation Mx, for Mexico. Althoughthere may be some Brazilians visitingMexico, I rather doubt Portuguese hasbecome a widely used language there.Actually, I would have preferred morespecific information concerning coun-tries and regions where terms are mostcommon. Although Spain was included,Portugal, Cape Verde, Angola, andMozambique were not mentioned in thelist of abbreviations. French usage canvary from Paris to Marseilles and Senegalor Guinea. All of these distinctions wouldbe in an ideal dictionary.

Grammatical information: verbs are dis-tinguished and some information ongender of nouns is included.

Contextual and encyclopedic informa-tion: Occasionally country-specific andsometimes misleading. Most people whowould use this dictionary realize that Por-tuguese is not a Mexican language.

Appendix—tables and illustrations: Thereis an alphabetical listing for each languageat the end of the book; no tables nor illus-trations.

Before buying a single dictionary for$215.50, one must seriously weigh the

DICTIONARY REVIEWS Compiled by Albert Bork

Bork is chair of the ATA Dictionary

Review Committee.


advantages and disadvantages. Thosewho have an agency connection and dealwith medical translation and interpretingin the languages covered may want toinvestigate the CD-ROM alternativewhere 11 titles, including this one, areavailable for a 12-month lease at $197.Overall, Elsevier’s Dictionary of DrugTraffic Terms has benefitted from anenormous compilation—generally verywell done—of drug terms of every ilkand by bringing in the other areas of lawenforcement, chemistry, and internationalorganizations. The few inconsistenciesshould not diminish the intrinsic value ofthis book, although the price does giveone pause for thought. Some of the termsare just exotic enough not to be foundeasily elsewhere.

Michaelis Moderno Dicionário daLíngua PortuguesaEditor:Weiszflog, WalterPublisher:Melhoramentos de São Paulo, São Paulo,BrazilPublication Date:1998IBSN:85-06-02759-4Price:$66.95 (Luso-Brazilian Books)

Reviewed by:Daniel Tomlinson

As stated in its preface, this single-volume, general-subject, monolingualdictionary of the Portuguese languagetook 84 specialized professionals 10years to compile. It contains some200,000 entries and subentries, includingseveral grammatical features in theappendices, such as accentuation rules,proper usage of the “crase,” syllable divi-sion, punctuation marks, capitalization,forms of address, fine points of pronunci-ation, and others. The binding, paper, andprint size are standard and adequate. It issomewhat bulky to wield being 8 1/2” by11” and 3” thick, but with 2,259 pages,with three columns per page, it offers aworld of information.

The entries are easy to follow andbegin with a very limited etymology.Multiple meanings for an entry are num-bered in bold and easily distinguished.An abbreviation is provided in italic typebefore any meaning that is particular to agiven field. About 100 different fields areidentified in the abbreviation index,including, among others, cytology, laborlaw, geodesics, and parapsychology. Thiscan save time when searching for ameaning in a particular type of document(for example, legal-Dir., Biology-Biol.).

Entries also include register indicators,such as: chulo, lusitanismo, regionalismo(the name of the region is included inparenthesis), and giria. Also, an exampleis occasionally given from a renownedauthor. Idiomatic expressions and combi-nations of the entry word with otherwords are listed alphabetically in italictype, along with the new meaning andhelpful cross-referencing. For example,consulting “transitar em julgado” sendsyou to “passar em julgado,” instead ofrepeating the definition.

I have found this volume to be a valu-able addition to my research library. Thesparseness of etymological information isprobably its main flaw. Nevertheless,words not present in smaller bilingualdictionaries are usually included here,and, with the definition in the source lan-guage and the original context, you canusually find an adequate equivalent in thetarget language for a given term. As abrief test, I looked up 23 terms takenfrom a small, monolingual Portugueselegal dictionary. I was surprised to findall but one in this dictionary (the word“homestead” in English). Most weremarked in italic print as legal terms, andthe meanings were concise and consistentwith the legal dictionary.

ATA’s popular Networking Session is open to all conference participants. There is no charge forthis activity, just bring your business cards. Newcomers are especially encouraged to attend.

The first half of the session has been designed to allow participants to meet with other translatorsworking in the same language pairs, while the second half will allow mingling with others who sharecommon interests and specialties. The session presents a great opportunity to meet translationcompany owners, seasoned professionals, and newcomers in a relaxed atmosphere. Be sure toarrive on time to take full advantage of this opportunity.

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THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL TRADE FAIR

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 200010:00A.M. TO 5:00 P.M.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY EXTENSION

55 LAGUNA STREET • SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

The NCTA invites you to our first annual TradeFair on Saturday, September 9 from 10:00a.m. to5:00p.m. at the University of California BerkeleyExtension. The university is located at 55 LagunaStreet in San Francisco, California.

Orientation session for ATA accreditation exam:Free for members, $20 non-members. No registra-tion required. (10:00-11:30a.m., Room 112)

Presentations on computer-assisted translation(CAT) by Trados, RWS Group, Uniscape, Etranslate,and Lionbridge, followed by a panel discussion onCAT tools, translation memory, and machine transla-tion. These are free for everyone. (12:00-5:00 p.m.,Room 112)

Networking and refreshments will be offeredthroughout the afternoon. Meet the tool vendors,local agencies, and representatives from translationtraining programs like the Monterey Institute ofInternational Studies and the University of CaliforniaBerkeley Extension. (1:00-5:00p.m., Gallery Room)

For more information, including directions,please visit www.ncta.org. See you there!

Address your queries and responses to TheTranslation Inquirer, 112 ArdmoorAvenue, Danville, Pennsylvania 17821 orfax them to (570) 275-1477. E-mail:[email protected]. Generous assistancefrom Roy Wells ([email protected]) isgratefully acknowledged. Please makeyour submissions by the 25th of eachmonth for inclusion in the next issue.

Our profession has made progress.Take the example of an English transla-tion as distinguished as that of Custine’sLa Russie en 1839, one of the great travelnarratives of all time. This translationfrom about 1842, used unchanged byBoorstin and Kennan in their 1989Empire of the Czar, is ANONYMOUS. Itis a literary masterpiece in its own right,but we will probably never know whomto credit for it.

[Abbreviations used with entries in thiscolumn: D- Dutch; E- English; F- French;G-German; R-Russian; Sp-Spanish.]

New Queries(D-E 8-2000/1) Keith Freeman wants

to know whether anyone knows what (1.a)“Fluitregeling” and (1.b) “herschikken”are in the context of pensions. Also, heneeds suggestions for (1.c) “kort levenrisico.” Is the “kort” (short) redundant in aphrase that seems to mean short life risk?

(E-Sp 8-2000/2) Renato Calderón hasdifficulties with the phrase outreachstrategies to identify organizations inter-ested in..., because in Spanish, “ir másallá, tener mayor alcance, extender,” arethe equivalent of reach out, reach beyond,or extend. None of them seemed appro-priate to attach to strategies. His tentativesolution is to ignore outreach in this way:“Estrategias para identificar organiza-

ciones interesadas en...” So far everyoneis happy.

(E-Sp 8-2000/3) In the world of pho-tography, Andrew Stucken is looking forSpanish for the terms PAL and NTSC.

(E-Sp 8-2000/4) It seems anything butobvious how to render Texas Rangers intogood Spanish (the military unit members,not baseball players). “Guardabosques”in Spanish refers to bush caretakers, butnot as much bush scenery is to be seen inTexas as in England. Besides, Renato’sAmerican College Dictionary (1960)defines ranger several ways: 1) a wardenemployed to patrol a tract of forest; 2)One who ranges; 3) A U.S. soldier... espe-cially trained for making surprise raidsand attacks in small groups (British: com-mando). Could the appropriate Spanishbe something like “patrulleros con estre-namiento especial”?

(F-E 8-2000/5) Jeanne Zang was trans-lating Swiss documentation regarding apension fund, and the puzzlers for herwere the phrases below in bold print: (5.a)“capital décès avec droit à une rente deconjoint” (death benefit?); (5.b) “plan decapital” (a heading; the other headingbeing “plan de rente et plan d’épargne”);(5.c) Salaire cotisant sans bonus enespèces soumis à cotisations”; (5.d)“Achat maximum possible dans le plande capital”; and (5.e) Versement anticipépour l’encouragement à la propriété.”

(F-E 8-2000/6) Daniel Police wasdealing with a document on Freemasonry.The following stumped him: (6.a) “unefrère trois points”; (6.b) “un franc-maçondu 33ème degré”; (6.c) “un souveraingrand inspecteur général”; and (6.d) “lesuprême conseil.”

(G-E 8-2000/7) A ProZ correspondentnoted “Igeltext(e)” and “Störer” asbelonging to a group of advertisingphrases that one finds on copy manuscriptpages, along with others such as headline,body copy, and lead-in. “Igeltext” wasfollowed by a list of countries in whichthe product is marketed. “Störer” was fol-lowed by a brief but exciting bit of copy,so maybe teaser might work. But whatabout “Igeltext(e)”?

(G-E 8-2000/8) Peter Wheeler, formereditor of this column, got not so much as

a nibble for five days with “Stabspulen-freigang.” The context was automobiles,specifically a call for proposals for anintake manifold. One of the details of themanifold is that it should have “Je 2Befestigungspunkte für Kabelkanälezwischen den Kanälen zwischen: a. Stab-spulenfreigang und Hauptsammler undb. Stabspulenfreigang und Leistungs-sammler.” It may be that the word inquestion may not have anything techni-cally to do with the intake manifold, butmay just happen to be located there. ThePONS Fachwörterbuch der Kfz-Technikis silent about this.

(G-E 8-2000/9) Another query fromProZ was about “Autokohle,” an item thatcould not be found on the Web, though itappears to be coal that has passed throughprocessing of some kind. No other con-text is available. Any ideas?

(R-E 8-2000/10) John Durham hadproblems with proper names in a physicstranslation involving soliton theory,specifically ways of solving equations.As John points out, in certain instances,the proper name may be significant: woebetide the translator working in physicswho confuses Lorentz (relativity theory)with Lorenz (chaos theory). Anyway,John found problem surnames, all ofwhich appear to be Japanese. “Uizema”(Eqptvf) was the first one (...approximatesolutions of the resonance system usingthe Ritza-Uizema averaged Lagrangianmethod; and “Oikavy” (Jqrfds) thesecond: ...described by an integrable“Yadzimy-Oikavy system, which is areduced variant of the Zakharov system.“Yadzima” is identifiable as “Yajima,”and is not a problem.

The paper John was working on wasan exception to the rule that most authors’names are fairly well known or can begleaned from the reference citations. Inthis case, even Web searches, trying allsorts of transliterations of the names,drew blanks.

(Sp-E 8-2000/11) Gerard Mryglot hasa couple of Panamanian food queries.What is (11.a) “otoe”; and what is a(11.b) “pabito de aceite vegetal”?

THE TRANSLATION INQUIRER Compiled by John Decker

Decker, an activemember,

is a freelance technical translator

in Danville,Pennsylvania.

Continued on p. 54



(Sp-E 8-2000/12) L. F. Carrer islooking for the English term for theflower called “jazmin de noche” in Cubaand Puerto Rico. It is only fair to say thatL.F.’s ultimate purpose was to have theFrench equivalent.

Responses to Old Queries(E-R 6-2000/2) (3rd queue): Paul Gal-

lagher declares the Russian word to bejxthtlm; it is routinely used in Russianconstruction documents to mean stage. Itis the same word they use in the vernac-ular for queue. In the context described, itdoes mean unit.

(G-E 1-2000/10) (“Nichtangriffsvere-inbarung, angreifen”): Hassan Sampathuwonders whether the latter might not be atypo for “eingreifen.” Then it would meaninfringe or encroach upon the patentrights of the other partner (“in dieSchutzrechte des anderen Partners...einzugreifen”), which is normal usage inthe legal parlance of contracts.

(G-E 2-2000/7) (“Bevollmächtiger”):By a comparison of their definitions, saysHassan Sampathu, the term procuratormight, depending on the context, meetthe requirements of the query’s mainword. Random House’s 1997 dictionarymentions cellarer as an equivalent, obvi-ously moving off in the direction ofprocuration, the obtaining of supplies.Hassan had not encountered cellarerbefore, and did a search involving severaldictionaries, finally running it down in

Langenscheidts Enzyklopädie: “Keller-meister.” Obviously we have strayed farfrom any legal meaning. But whenHassan came to a blind alley in RandomHouse’s dictionary with cellarer, it raisedan interesting lexicographic point: Is adictionary, he asks rhetorically, not duty-bound to explain every word used in thedictionary itself?

(R-E 6-2000/9) (vthndfz gtnkz):Jim Shipp consulted the “excellent”Russian-English Aerospace Dictionaryby N. N. Novichkov, and found the sub-ject of this query to be a bisic loop, or,conversationally, noose. Bisic is defined asinside ascending, inside climbing, normal,and ordinary.

(R-E 6-2000/10) (Kjufhbavbhjd-fybt, gjntywbhjdfybt): Carpovich’sScience and Engineering Dictionary,according to Jim Shipp, calls the formertaking logarithms. The latter is calledtaking antilogarithms, taking antilogs byD. A. Rusak’s great Russian-EnglishPolytechnical Dictionary.

No overwhelming amount ofresponses to old queries arrived thismonth, so therefore the TranslationInquirer may presume, for once, to fill ina bit of space with a news item takenfrom “Beyond the Dictionary,” by ITI’sAlan Berson. Alan noted a February 15tharticle in The Independent, citing the riseof a language phenomenon called com-prehension shortfall anxiety, or CSA for

all you unreconstructed Johnny Rebs.Buzzwords and jargon in your target lan-guages may not only not be understoodby you, but might not even be understoodby the people who wrote them.

Thomas Sutcliffe, a reporter for TheIndependent, cited a survey by somerecruitment consultants. They found thattwo out of every 10 people surveyed con-fessed to using jargon they didn’t under-stand just to keep up appearances. Buzz-words are often used simply to create apseudo-specialization; the terror ofappearing to be “out of the loop” becauseof unfamiliarity with these new termsusually keeps the skeptics quiet: take ahelicopter view and blue-skies thinkingmay float around an office, spreading amiasma of trendy noncomprehension.Call it part of the corporate culture. Theseare most likely terms that were initiallyinvented by business theorists or mogulsin an effort to gain an advantage ininsight over everyone else. Has Dilbertencountered this yet?

As translators, we will, beginningnow, be forced to consider the real possi-bility that our texts may contain thismaterial: virtually devoid of content, orused out of context, or both, but in anycase not even understood by the writer,but merely mindlessly passed on until itreaches us, who, at long last, mustgrapple with its meaning because that isour business. Good luck!

The Slavic Languages Division will be holding its ThirdAnnual Susana Greiss Distinguished Guest Lecture on

Friday, September 22, 2000, at the ATA Annual Conference inOrlando. This year’s guest speaker will be Patricia Newman, pastpresident, honorary member, and secretary of the ATA, founder ofATA’s Science and Technology Division, Gode Medal laureate,and co-author of the 4th edition of The Callaham Russian-EnglishDictionary of Science and Technology.

Her presentation, entitled “The Good, the Bad, and the Beau-

tiful,” will have two parts. The first will describe the lexicograph-ical process and the work involved in compiling The CallahamRussian-English Dictionary of Science and Technology. Duringthe second part, listeners will hear a longtime user of translationand interpretation services discuss the good, the bad, and theincredibly beautiful aspects of our work from the customer’s per-spective. Further details on time and place will be published in theconference program. Please direct all questions concerning thisevent to Laura Wolfson at [email protected].

Attention Lexicography Lovers, Technical Translators, Terminologists, and Dictionary Devotees!


HUMOR AND TRANSLATION By Mark Herman

Curmudgeons

My older son gave me and my wife separate presentsfor our recent 33rd wedding anniversary. I receivedthe wonderfully politically incorrect Portable Cur-

mudgeon, compiled and edited by Jon Winokur, NAL (NewAmerican Library) Books, 1987.

A true curmudgeon, such as W. C. Fields, is the quintessen-tial egalitarian. As W. C. himself said, “I am free of all preju-dices. I hate everyone equally.”

Most of the other curmudgeonly quotations in the book donot achieve this level of nondiscrimination. Some are definitelypointed at speakers of languages that ATA members translateinto and out of, and at the native countries of these language-speakers. Here is a selection:

Vladimir Nabokov on Russia:Ideas in modern Russia are machine-cut blocks coming insolid colors; the nuance is outlawed, the interval walled up,the curve grossly stepped.

Russian Proverb on Germans:Good fellows maybe; but it is better to hang them.

Fran Lebowitz on Frenchmen:Germans with good food.

Mark Twain on Switzerland:Simply a large, humpy, solid rock, with a thin skin of grassstretched over it.

George Bernard Shaw on Ireland:I showed my appreciation of my native land in the usual Irishway by getting out of it as soon as I possibly could.

Voltaire on England:England has forty-two religions and only two sauces.

Voltaire on Canada:A few acres of snow.

H. L. Mencken on Americans:There’s no underestimating the intelligence of the Americanpublic.

Submit items for future columns via e-mail to [email protected] or via snail mail to Mark Herman, 5748 WestBrooks Rd., Shepherd MI 48883-9202. Examples of translationsof humor are preferred, but humorous anecdotes about transla-tors, translations, and mistranslations are also welcome.Include copyright information and permission if relevant.Unless submitters request otherwise, material submitted may beshared with Robert Wechsler of Catbird Press ([email protected]), who is planning an international collection ofhumor in English translation.

Herman is alibrettist and

translator.

2000 ATA Editorial Calendar

Here is the Chronicle editorial calendar for the remainder of the year.

Letters and articles are encouraged. You can find submission information on page 4.

SeptemberFocus on Agencies,

Bureaus, andCorporations

Language: Japanese

OctoberFocus on the Law and

Translating/InterpretingLanguage: Italian To find out what your ATA membership

can do for you, turn to page 4.

MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES!

Mark Your Calendars!ATA’s 41

stAnnual Conference is

September 20-23, 2000

November/DecemberFocus on Training and

PedagogyLanguages: Limited

Diffusion


St. Jerome, the patron saint of trans-lators, put it succinctly over 1,500years ago: Non verbum a verbo sed

sensum exprimere de sensu. That adviceremains equally valid today. Since then,numerous articles, monographs, and book-length studies have focused on ways toavoid overly literal translation (also called“word-for-word” and “linear” translation).Among the well-known books applicableto French translation is Stylistique com-parée du français et de l’anglais by Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet (Paris: Édi-tions Didier, 1958; and Laval: ÉditionsBeauchemin Ltée, 1977), and the morerecent English version by Juan C. Sager,Comparative Stylistics of French and Eng-lish: A Methodology for Translation (Amst-erdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub-lishing Company, 1995).

Over 20 years ago, and largely inspiredby the Vinay and Darbelnet work, GerardoVázquez-Ayora wrote a similar study forSpanish: Introducción a la Traductología:Curso básico de traducción (Washington,D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1977)[unpublished English version by Dr.Leland D. Wright, Jr., Translation StudiesI: Fundamentals of Translatology, ©1980].Both of these books (originals and transla-tions), as well as many other similarstudies published in the past severaldecades, emphasize the fact that a truly“legitimate” literal translation only occurswhen there is an exact correspondencebetween all elements (lexical, semantic,syntactical, morphological, stylistic, etc.)of both the source and the target lan-guages. However, this hardly ever happensin any language combination.

To cite a brief portion from the Englishtranslation of Vázquez-Ayora’s book:“...an exact coincidence of structures andmeanings occurs very rarely. The divisionof reality in each language might be com-pared to a mosaic. If we place mosaic pat-terns one on top of another, we see thattheir surfaces do not match....” A word ofcaution should be inserted here, however.Contrary to what many people believe,the opposite of literal translation is not“free” translation or, possibly even worse,

a paraphrase of the target-language text.Vinay and Darbelnet call non-literal trans-lation “traduction oblique,” a term thatVázquez-Ayora borrowed in Spanish forhis book (“traducción oblicua”). In Eng-lish, this non-literal approach is oftenreferred to as “decentered” translation. Allof these approaches emphasize the factthat there are many linguistic differencesbetween any two languages, and thatthose differences make it necessary to gobeyond (or even below) the words on aprinted page in order to produce an accu-rate target-language rendering of thesource-language message.

What, then, are the various kinds of lit-eral translation that fail to meet the basicrequirement of an exact correspondence atall levels? The following paragraphs of thisarticle offer a brief, but certainly notexhaustive, overview of the major types of“defective” literal translation that must beavoided, together with a few suggestionson how to prevent some of these problems.Given the fact that there are so many dif-ferences between any two languages, how-ever, very few specific examples are givenhere. (Also recommended for students oftranslation studies is another recent publi-cation: Terminologie de la traduction/Translation Terminology/Terminología dela traducción/Terminologie der Übersetz-ung, edited by Jean Delisle, HanneloreLee-Jahnke, and Monique C. Cormier,Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John BenjaminsPublishing Company, 1999.)

To be sure, many translation errors canbe attributed to the words/terms them-selves (but not necessarily to insufficientknowledge of a given subject field and itsterminology), to a misunderstanding of thesource-language (SL) word’s meaning, orto a lack of adequate resources. In the lex-ical/semantic category, false cognates(“faux amis” in French; “falsos amigos” inSpanish) stand out as a major pitfall inmany efforts to avoid incorrect literal trans-lation. Within this category we find situa-tions such as the metaphorical use of lan-guage, such as when the SL word looks asif it should be translated with its cognateequivalent when in fact the writer’s

intended meaning takes on a differentsemantic vector.

The same is true for euphemisms andhigh-register synonyms, where the cognateequivalent in the target language (TL) of agiven SL word could involve a differentregister (level of language or intellectualplane). This observation also applies tocases where the SL word/term is of Lati-nate origin, as is typically the case with aRomance language, whereas the cognateequivalent of the Latinate word in the TLwould be inappropriate for the context oreven misleading. This is particularly prob-lematic when translating into English,where much of the common (as opposed totechnical) lexicon is of Germanic ratherthan Latinate origin. As a final example,we could cite the numerous situationswhere a given SL word has both a cognateand other equivalents in the TL (e.g., theFrench and Spanish adjectives humide andhúmedo, respectively, can mean not onlyhumid but also wet, moist, and damp,depending on the context).

Inappropriate literal translation at thelexical level can also result from situationswhere the SL word (or phraseology)occurs with much greater frequency thanits equivalent (cognate or otherwise) doesin the TL. In such cases, the best way for atranslator to avoid overly literal renderingsis to have a very good sensitivity towardthe TL usage patterns, thereby being ableto recognize where the literal equivalent ofa word or phrase would not be used in agiven context.

The false notion that every single wordof a SL text must be rendered into the TLis yet another common cause of overly lit-eral translation. Many languages containwhat can be called “empty” words (i.e.,words that serve a non-communicativefunction in the language, but which are partof the general stylistic conventions of thatlanguage or reflect a given SL author’sidiosyncratic writing style). Reproductionof such empty words in the TL can easilydistort the meaning, add a new dimensionof meaning not intended by the author, orsimply cause information overload on thepart of the TL reader. Along similar lines, it

In Other Words: Literal Versus Non-literal TranslationBy Leland D. Wright, Jr.

ACCREDITATION FORUM


is not uncommon to find redundancies(both lexical and structural) in a text,whether intentional or not. Imitation ofthese redundancies in the translation can bea deterrent to accurate communication ofthe SL message. Literal translation canalso lead to “over-translation,” i.e., the lit-eral representation of two or more wordswhen only one word would suffice to com-municate the message in the TL.

The most common problem resultingfrom overly literal translation of syntac-tical patterns can be clearly attributed tothe inappropriate imitation of SL syntax,often referred to as calques. Calquesmight be considered the syntactical equiv-alents of lexical false cognates, becausethe result either changes the meaning ofthe SL text or distorts it to the point wherethe reader of the translation is unable todetermine the exact meaning. Calques canfrequently occur when dealing withembedded structures such as phrases andclauses, with extended modifiers such asadjectives/adjectivals modifying seg-ments that are longer than just one noun,or with the sequence in which informationis typically presented in a given language.A good way of avoiding calques of the SLsyntax in the TL is to be sure that all ofthe elements fit together correctly at thesentence level, rather than at just thephrase or clause level.

If the translator recognizes that certainsyntactical structures of the SL cannot beimitated in the TL (i.e., they simply don’thave an exact correspondence), the firststep to be taken is a careful analysis of howthe structures are interrelated or connected.Based on this analysis, the translator mustthen decide how the TL version can berestructured (a procedure also called“recasting”) so that it corresponds with theconventions of that particular language. Insome cases, this might even involve a shiftin the viewpoint and/or in the order inwhich information is presented, yetwithout distorting the intended meaningand message of the SL text.

Finally, with reference to this categoryof literal translation, it is important to pointout that a “linear” or “word-for-word”

approach inevitably ignores the fact that atext does not merely consist of a sequenceof words, phrases, clauses, sentences, andparagraphs. By adhering strictly to theorder of words in a text, a literal translationoften ignores important inter- and intra-textual relationships, references, and allu-sions that must be reflected in the transla-tion so that it accurately conveys theintended meaning and message. These dis-course-related aspects cannot be disre-garded when translating. One of thegreatest dangers of a strictly linearapproach to translation is the failure to lookat what has come before and what comeslater in the text.

Strict adherence to the word at the mor-phological (word form) level is usually alesser problem in translation than lexicaland syntactical literalism. However, inmany language combinations, imitation ofmorphological forms can also result indefective translation of the SL text’s mes-sage. For example, some languages differconsiderably in their use of certain parts ofspeech and verb tenses. It may not be nec-essary (or even advisable) for a noun in,say, French or Spanish, to be translated asa noun in English, simply because the twolanguages often express the same ideaswith different word forms. A prepositionalphrase with adjectival function in the SLmight easily be rendered with a singleadjective in the TL, or vice versa. An adjec-tive in the SL could express the meaningbest as an adverb in the TL, and so on. (Thetranslation strategy used in dealing withthese linguistic differences is called “recat-egorization” in English.)

Similarly, not all languages use verbforms the same way. For example, a pres-ent tense verb in the SL might well need tobe translated as a past tense in the TL, orvice versa, if the context justifies doing so.A subjunctive verb form in the SL couldsimply be a semantic marker in that lan-guage, but a “literal” rendering of thatunderlying semantic content would resultin a distortion of the TL usage patterns. Inthis latter regard, it is not infrequent to seetranslations that reflect the common erro-neous notion that all subjunctive verb

forms in English involve the use of “may,”“might,” or something similar, whereasnothing could be further from the truth.

Aside from problems arising from theimproper word-for-word rendering of lex-ical, semantic, syntactical, and morpholog-ical patterns of a given SL in another lan-guage, literal translation can also adverselyaffect a number of other linguistic featuresshared by nearly every language. Theseinclude the use of punctuation marks andarticles (whether present or absent in therespective languages); information that isexplicitly stated in the SL, but must be leftimplicit in the TL (or vice versa); setphrases and their TL equivalents, colloca-tions, place names, cultural differences,and nuances; and perceptions of realityapplicable to the SL, the TL, or both. Dueto space limitations, however, these are notcovered here.

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Upcoming Accreditation Exam Information

CaliforniaOctober 21, 2000,San FranciscoRegistration Deadline:October 6, 2000

EnglandNovember 4, 2000, West SussexRegistration Deadline:October 21, 2000

FloridaSeptember 23, 2000,Orlando(2 sittings)Registration Deadline:September 8, 2000

New YorkOctober 28, 2000, New York CityRegistration Deadline:October 13, 2000

SpainOctober 28, 2000,MadridRegistration Deadline:October 13, 2000

WisconsinApril 22, 2001,Madison (9:00am)Registration Deadline:April 6, 2000

Registration for all accreditation exams should be made through ATA Headquarters. All sittings have a maximum capacity and admission is based on the order in which

registrations are received. Forms are available from the ATA Website or from Headquarters.

Please direct all inquiries regarding general accreditation information to ATA Headquarters at (703) 683-6100.

Upcoming Accreditation Exam Information

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the following people who have successfully completed accreditation exams:

Arabic into EnglishCharles W. Mull IIGrovetown, GA

Wafaa H. WahbaMt. Kisco, NY

French into EnglishDaniel L. PetersenTerryville, CT

Megan A. RobertNorth Kingstown, RI

Christopher V. ScalaBrooklyn, NY

German into EnglishEdward G. FichtnerNew York, NY

Hinrich KaiserRiverside, CA

David OdellPhiladelphia, PA

Italian into EnglishHeidi M. ReinhartWashougal, WA

Spanish into EnglishKeith A. ElliottRidgefield, CT

Heather OlandWashington, DC

English into ChineseYuan Yuan ZengWashington, DC

English into SpanishRima BrusiLajas, PR

Esperanza GallegosEl Paso, TX

Annette M. GuevárezBayamón, PR

Hazel NietoWinter Park, FL

DISPLAY ADVERTISING INDEX

Avant Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

ComNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Crimson Language Services . . .52

Echo International . . . . . . . . . . 43

InterLingua.com . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Katyusha, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

NetworkOmni Multilingual . . . 57

TRADOS Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . 2

TRADOS Corporation . . . . . . . 68

The Active Membership Review Committee is pleased to grant active or corresponding status to:

ActiveAnne V. B. ConnorThorofare, NJ

Peter N. EricksonRugby, TN

Michael MetzgerSan Francisco, CA

Corresponding Filomena F. GermanoGeorgetown, Ontario,Canada

Yue XingToronto, Ontario,Canada

IJET-12@Monterey/2001Twelfth International Japanese/English Translation Conference

Saturday, May 26 andSunday, May 27, 2001Monterey, California

Cost (includes dinner Saturday night atthe Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Standard fee: $200, Student rate: $100

The twelfth IJET conference will be heldin Monterey, California, an area of breath-taking natural beauty as well as world-class sights including the renowned Mon-terey Bay Aquarium and Pebble Beach GolfCourse. Only two hours from San Fran-cisco and an hour from Silicon Valley,Monterey offers not only top level confer-ence facilities and accommodations but awide variety of leisure activities as well.

This IJET conference will cover manyissues of interest to Japanese and Englishtranslators, but will place special emphasison the technical innovations that have hadsuch a powerful impact on the world overthe last few years, especially on the trans-lation industry. A limited number of roomsis being offered at a special rate at the Dou-bletree Hotel, and early hotel reservationsare recommended. (Doubletree Hotel con-tact information is on the IJET-12 web site.)

For further information and to register,visit the web site at: http://www.ijet.org/ijet-12.

“Innovations”


CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

American Translators Association 41st Annual Conference Wyndham Palace Resort, Orlando, Florida • September 20–23, 2000

Name: __________________________________________________________ Membership #: _____________(Last) (First) (Middle)

Employer:_________________________________________________________________________________________(Only list employer if you want it to appear on your badge. Students should give their school.)

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________________

City:_______________________ State/Province: ___________ Zip/Postal Code: _________ Country: _________

Telephone Numbers: Primary: ____________________________ Secondary: __________________________________

Fax: ___________________________________ E-mail: __________________________________

Conference Registration Fees ATA member *Nonmember Student MemberAfter August 15 $230 $345 $80 $______

One-day (Indicate Day _______) $115 $170 n/a $______On-Site (after September 15) $290 $430 $90 $______

One-day (Indicate Day _______) $145 $215 n/a $______

* Individuals who join ATA after July 1, receive ATA membership for the remainder of 2000 and all of 2001 for$142.50. If you elect to do this, you qualify for the ATA member registration fee.Note: One-day and student registrants do not receive a copy of the Proceedings.

ATA Membership: Join ATA or renew your membership. (See the Application for Membership, page 80.)Membership fee $______

Preconference Seminars: Wednesday, September 20 (See reverse side for seminar fees and descriptions.)Total for Preconference Seminars $______

Accreditation Exams: (See the Accreditation Registration Form.)Saturday, September 20—Accreditation Examination $130 @ x___ $______

Social Functions:Spanish Language Division Reception, Thursday, September 21 $25 @ x___ $______Closing Banquet, Saturday, September 23 $52 @ x___ $______

Form of Payment: [ ] Check/Money Order [ ] Credit Card Total Payment $______

Cancellations received in writing by September 8, 2000 are eligible for a refund. Refunds will not be honored afterSeptember 8. A $25 administrative fee will be applied to all refunds.

Charge my: [ ] VISA [ ] MasterCard [ ] American Express

Card No.___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/___/ Expiration Date:________________

Signature:_________________________________________________________________________________________

Please make your check or money order payable to ATA, in U.S. funds, and return it with this form to:American Translators Association, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314

____Please check here if you require special accessibility or assistance. (Attach a sheet with your requirements.)

✁


Preconference Registration Form: Wednesday, September 20

Name: __________________________________________________________ Membership #: _____________

Seminar A (9:00 am - 5:00 pm)Strategies for Sight Translation, Consecutive

Interpretation, and Note-taking $100 $_______

Seminar B (9:00 am - 12:00 noon)German Financial Accounting and Reporting—Part I $50 $_______

Seminar C (9:00 am - 12:00 noon)Translating Legal Documents into French: Problems and Methods $50 $_______

Seminar D (9:00 am - 12:00 noon)From the Press to the Internet $50 $_______

Seminar E (9:00 am - 12:00 noon)The Six Steps of Web Searching $50 $_______

Seminar F (9:00 am - 12:00 noon)Business of Translating $50 $_______

Seminar G (9:00 am - 12:00 noon)Translating Spanish Business Documents $50 $_______

Seminar H (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)German Financial Accounting and Reporting—Part II $50 $_______

Seminar I (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)Software Computing and Website Localization

Basics—Tricks, Tips, and Issues $50 $_______

Seminar J (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)Translation and Voice Opportunities in

the Video Production World $50 $_______

Seminar K (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)Developments in Corporate Finance: New Instruments

and Their Translation into Spanish $50 $_______

Seminar L (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)Translation of Bond Clauses from Spanish into English $50 $_______

Seminar M (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)The Use of Terminological Methodology in Translation:

A Tremendous Solution to a Difficult Problem $50 $_______

(Enter Total on Conference Registration Form) Total $_______

✁


American Translators Association 41st Annual Conference

Wyndham Palace Resort • Orlando, FloridaSeptember 20-23, 2000

Plan now to attend ATA’s Annual Conference. Join your colleagues for an exciting educational experience in Orlando, Florida.

ATA’s 41st Annual Conference in Orlando will feature:• Over 120 educational sessions offering something for everyone;• A Job Exchange area for individuals to promote their services and for companies to find the translators and interpreters

they need;• Exhibits featuring the latest publications, software, and services available;• Opportunities to network with over 1,200 translators and interpreters from throughout the U.S. and around the world; and• Much more!

The Registration Form and Preliminary Program will be mailed in May to all ATA members. The conference rates are listed below—with no increase for 2000. As always, ATA members receive significant discounts:

Conference Registration Fees ATA member Nonmember Student MemberAfter 8/15/2000 $230 $345 $80

One-day $115 $170 n/aOn-Site (after 9/15/2000) $290 $430 $90

One-day $145 $215 n/a

Note: Students and one-day participants do not receive a copy of the Proceedings.All speakers must register for the conference.

Hotel AccommodationsThe Wyndham Palace Resort, the host hotel, is conveniently located in the Walt Disney World Village Resort. The hotel, which is 20minutes from Orlando International Airport, is within walking distance of many Disney attractions.Conference attendees can register at the discounted rate of $138 single/double per night. This rate is good until August 27 or when therooms in the ATA block are booked, whichever occurs first.To make your hotel reservations, contact the Wyndham Palace Resort at 1-800-327-2990. Be sure to specify that you are attending theATA Annual Conference.

Mark Your Calendar Today!September 20–23, 2000

GET THERE

FOR LESS!

Additional information,such as optional tours,pre-conference semi-nars, and various net-working events, willappear in the ATAChronicle as itbecomes available.

Plan now to attend thelargest gathering oftranslators and inter-preters in the U.S.

Once Again, ATA Offers the Services of Conventions In AmericaTo Help You with Your Travel Arrangements.Conference Attendees Are Eligible for the Following:

• On American Airlines and Delta, save 5% - 10% off the lowest applicable fares; take an additional5% off with minimum 60-day advance purchase. Travel between September 15-28, 2000 on Amer-ican or September 18-25, 2000 on Delta.

• Call Conventions in America, ATA’s official travel agency, for the lowest available fares on any air-line and discounts on the official carriers. Plus, receive free flight insurance of $100,000.

• As for car rentals, conference attendees are eligible for discounts through Alamo Rent A Car. Ratesstart as low as $28/day for economy models or $120/week, with unlimited free mileage. Check withConventions in America personnel for more information.

Call Conventions in America at 1-800-929-4242, ask for ATA group #505. Outside the U.S. and Canada,call (619)232-4298; fax: (619)232-6497; Website: www.stellaraccess.com; E-mail: [email protected]. Reservation hours: Monday-Friday 6:30am–5:00pm Pacific Time.

If you call direct or use your own agency:American: 1-800-433-1790, ask for Starfile #8690UEDelta: 1-800-241-6760, ask for File #159252AAlamo: 1-800-732-3232, ask for ID #252553GR


ATA Chapters

Atlanta Association of Interpreters and Translators (AAIT) P.O. Box 12172Atlanta, GA 30355Tel: (770) 587-4884www.aait.org

Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters (CATI)604 West Academy StreetFuquay-Varina, NC 27526Tel: (919) 577-0840Fax: (919) [email protected] • www.ncgg.org/CATI• Local group meetings held in Asheville, Charlotte, and Research Triangle Park,

NC; and Columbia and Greenville/Spartanburg, SC.• 2000 membership directory, $12; CATI Quarterly subscription, $12.

Florida Chapter of ATA (FLATA)P.O. Box 14-1057Coral Gables, FL 33114-1057Tel/Voice: (305) 274-3434 • Fax: (305) [email protected] • www.atafl.com

Mid-America Chapter of ATA (MICATA)P.O. Box 144Shawnee Mission, KS 66201Attn.: Meeri YuleTel: (816) 741-9441 • Fax: (816) 741-9482www.ata-micata.org

National Capital Area Chapter of ATA (NCATA)P.O. Box 65200Washington, DC 20035-5200Tel: (703) 255-9290 • E-mail: [email protected]• The Professional Services Directory of the National Capital Area Chapter of

the American Translators Association (NCATA) has gone online. It listsNCATA members and the services they offer, together with additional infor-mation that enables translation and interpretation users to find just the rightlanguage specialist for their projects. Bookmark www.ncata.org and check outthe NCATA directory. If you maintain language-related Web pages, you maywant to include a link to the directory. NCATA is always interested in com-ments and suggestions.

Note: All announcements must be received by the first of the month prior to the month of publication (September 1 for October issue).For more information on chapters or to start a chapter, please contact ATA Headquarters. Send updates to Christie Matlock, ATA Chronicle,

225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314; Tel: (703) 683-6100; Fax: (703) 683-6122; e-mail: [email protected].

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CHAPTERS, AFFILIATED GROUPS, AND OTHER GROUPS


New York Circle of Translators (NYCT)P.O. Box 4051, Grand Central StationNew York, NY 10163-4051Tel: (212) 334-3060 • E-mail: [email protected]

Northeast Ohio Translators Association (NOTA)1963 East Sprague RoadSeven Hills, OH 44131Tel: (440) 526-2365 • Fax: (440) 717-3333E-mail: [email protected] • www.ohiotranslators.org

Northern California Translators Association (NCTA)P.O. Box 14015Berkeley, CA 94712-5015Tel: (510) 845-8712 • Fax: (510) 883-1355E-mail: [email protected] • www.ncta.org• Telephone/online referral service. See searchable translator database on

Website.• 2000 NCTA Membership Directory available in print version for $25 or on

diskette for $10. To purchase, mail remittance to the above address, or fax/tele-phone MasterCard/Visa number and expiration date.

• A Practical Guide for Translators, 1997 revised edition available for $10.To purchase, mail remittance to the above address, or fax/telephone Master-Card/Visa number and expiration date.

• NCTA General Meetings for 2000:Place: University of California Extension, 55 Laguna Street, San FranciscoDates: September 16, December 9

Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society (NOTIS)P.O. Box 25301Seattle, WA 98125-2201Tel: (206) [email protected] • www.notisnet.org

Southern California Area Translators and Interpreters Association(SCATIA)P.O. Box 292268Los Angeles, CA 91367Tel: (818) 725-3899 • Fax: (818) [email protected] • www.scatia.org

Affiliated Groups

Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN) P.O. Box 852 Novi, MI 48376 Tel: (248)344-0909 • Fax: (248)344-0092 E-mail: [email protected] • www.mitinweb.org

Utah Translators and Interpreters Association (UTIA)P.O. Box 433Salt Lake City, UT 84110Tel: (801)359-7811 • Fax: (801)359-9304E-mail: [email protected]/utia

Other GroupsThis list gives contact information for translation and interpretationgroups as a service to ATA members. Inclusion does not imply affiliationwith or endorsement by the ATA.

American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)Box 830688Richardson, TX 75083-0688Tel: (214) 883-2093 • Fax: (214) 833-6303

Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (AATIA)P.O. Box 13331 Austin, TX 78711-3331 www.aatia.org

Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association (CHICATA)P.O. Box 804595Chicago, IL 60680Tel: (773) 508-0352 • Fax: (773) 508-5479E-mail: [email protected]

Colorado Translators Association (CTA)P.O. Box 295Eldorado Springs, CO 80025Tel: (303)554-0280 • Fax: (303) [email protected]• For more information about the online directory, newsletter, accreditation

exams, and professional seminars, please visit www.cta-web.org.

Delaware Valley Translators Association (DVTA)606 John Anthony DriveWest Chester, PA [email protected]• 1999-2000 Membership Directory available for $10. Please make

check payable to DVTA and mail your request to the above address.

El Paso Interpreters and Translators Association (EPITA)1003 Alethea PlaceEl Paso, TX 79902 Fax: (915)[email protected]

Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs/International Federationof Translators (FIT) 2021 Union Avenue, Suite 1108, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2S9 CanadaTel: (514) 845-0413 • Fax: (514) [email protected]

Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA) 3139 West Holcombe, Suite 140Houston, TX 77025Tel: (713) 661-9553 • Fax: (713) [email protected]

Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Association (MITA) 7428 Summitview DriveIrving, TX 75063 Tel: (972) 402-0493www.users.ticnet.com/mita/

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators(NAJIT) 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3025New York, NY 10176Tel: (212) 692-9581 • Fax: (212) [email protected] • www.najit.org

Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI) 4542 South 17th StreetOmaha, NE 68107

New England Translators Association (NETA) 217 Washington StreetBrookline, MA 02146 Tel: (617) 734-8418 • Fax: (617) 232-6865 [email protected] • www.members.tripod.com/~netaweb/index.htm

New Mexico Translators and Interpreters Association (NMTIA)P.O. Box 36263Albuquerque, NM 87176Tel: (505) 352-9258 • Fax: (505) [email protected] • www.cybermesa.com/~nmtia• 2000 Membership Directory available for $5. Please make check payable

to NMTIA and mail your request to the address listed here, or contact usby e-mail.

Saint Louis Translators and Interpreters Network (SLTIN) P.O. Box 3722 Ballwin, MO 63022-3722 Tel: (636) 394-5334 • Fax: (636) [email protected]

The Translators and Interpreters GuildLocal 32100 of the Newspaper Guild/Communications Workers ofAmerica8611 Second Avenue, Suite 203Silver Spring, MD 20910-3372Tel: (301)563-6450/Toll Free: (800)992-0367 • Fax: (301)[email protected] or [email protected] www.trans-interp-guild.org


CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS

Translators/Interpreters

English>ItalianExperienced Professional, ATA Accred-

ited. Fast, accurate, dependable, all technicalfields. Latest equipment. (954)781-8971,Fax: (954)781-9002, [email protected].

English<>VietnameseTop-quality and high volume transla-

tion services. DTP and Lino output. PCand Mac. We support most Vietnamesefonts. Call us today at (954)570-9061,Fax: (954)570-9108.

Chinese, Japanese,Korean<>English

Highly qualified technical translators.DTP to film output. www.aimtrans.com.E-mail: [email protected]. (303)858-0100, ext. 12.

Korean<>EnglishExperienced Translator. Technical,

software and computer, business, andmedical documents. Ph.D. in Engineering.(Voice) (909)305-2372, Fax: (909)305-2382,e-mail: [email protected].

Polish<>EnglishMeticulous, dependable full-time, free-

lance translator/conference interpreter. PCor Macintosh. Contact Dr. Piotr Graff.(802)258-4667, Fax: 258-4621, e-mail:[email protected].

STAFF LINGUISTSHarvard Translations, a technical trans-

lation company with Fortune 500 clien-tele, has openings for Staff Linguists toprovide technical translation, editing,proofreading, and QA support for com-puter software localization and financial,scientific, medical, and legal documenta-tion projects in major European andAsian languages. Requirements include:a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics, Trans-

lation or a relevant technical subject, twoyears professional experience in technicaltranslation and fluency in relevant lan-guages, including idiomatic fluency andcultural knowledge. Send cover letter,resume, and salary req. to Harvard Trans-lations, 815 Somerville Avenue, Cam-bridge, MA 02140, Fax: (617)868-6815,www.htrans.com. No calls.

SeekingTransliterator

Transliterator, Japanese, sought byConstruction Co. in New York, NY. Musthave Bach degree & 1 yr transliteratorexp. Fluency in Japanese reqd. Respondto: Obayashi Corp, Mr. Warita, 592 FifthAve, 7th Fl, New York, NY 10036.

SeekingTransliterator

Transliterator wanted by Manf/LicensorCo. in Vienna, VA. Must have Bach inEnglish/English Lit & 6 months exptranslating. Japanese language docu-ments & materials. Fluency in Japanese& English reqd. Respond to: MasakiSaito, Vie de France Yamazaki, Inc., 2070Chain Bridge Rd, Ste 500, Vienna, VA22182-2536.

FREELANCE DTP PROFESSIONAL

Freelance Foreign Language DesktopPublisher. All European Languages,Polish and Russian. PageMaker, QuarkX-Press, FrameMaker, Interleaf. Win-dows/Mac. Contact Heidi Golicz-Mirandafor free estimates. Phone: (860)669-5224; Fax: (860)669-3995; E-mail:[email protected].

SeekingInterNation, Inc., a multilingual com-

munication services firm in New YorkCity specializing in subtitles and voice-overs for video, seeks a German ProjectManager/Translator for immediate in-house opportunity. Native fluency inGerman required. Must have excellentcomputer skills (PC and Mac). Knowl-edge QuarkXPress, Photoshop & Illus-trator a plus. Must have experienceimplementing QA procedures and alsonegotiating budgets, schedules, and pro-ject specifications with clients and trans-lators. Full-time position with benefits.Please fax resume with cover letter andsalary requirements to: (212)983-9391 ore-mail same to [email protected].

SeekingInterNation, Inc., a multilingual com-

munication services firm in New York City,seeks a Senior Localizer to establish anin-house localization department. Quali-fied applicants will have 3-5 years ofexperience in the translation industry anda strong entrepreneurial spirit. Please faxresume with cover letter and salaryrequirements to: (212)983-9391 or e-mailsame to [email protected].

For more information aboutadvertising, contact Jeff Sanfacon [email protected]

Make the Chronicle workfor you!




All-day (9am – 5pm)Strategies for Sight Translation, Consecutive Interpretation, andNote-takingChristian Degueldre and ClaudiaAngelelli

9am – 12 noonGerman Financial Accounting andReporting—Part IRobin Bonthrone

Translating Legal Documents intoFrench: Problems and MethodsJean-Claude Gémar

From the Press to the InternetRaul Avila

The Six Steps of Web SearchingManon Bergeron

The Business of TranslatingJonathan Hine

Translating Spanish Business DocumentsMarian Greenfield

2 – 5pmGerman Financial Accounting andReporting—Part IIRobin Bonthrone

Software Computing and WebsiteLocalization Basics—Tricks, Tips, andIssuesXosé Roig Castro

Translation and Voice Opportunitiesin the Video Production WorldJulie Johnson McKee

Developments in Corporate Finance:New Instruments and Their Translation into SpanishSilvana DeBonis

Translation of Bond Clauses fromSpanish into EnglishLeland Wright

The Use of Terminological Method-ology in Translation: A TremendousSolution to a Difficult ProblemLeticia Leduc

For more information and to registerfor the preconference seminars,please refer to the Preliminary Pro-gram. Please note you must registerand pay an additional fee for theseseminars. Seating is limited.

ATA 41st Annual Conference Preconference Seminars Wyndham Palace Resort, Orlando, Florida • Wednesday, September 20, 2000

WWW.ATANET.ORGVISIT ATA’S WEBSITE AT

See Page

for completemembership information

4STC office Website at www.stc-va.org (from themain page, select “What’s New”). The site alsocontains a recap of STC’s most recent conference,which will give readers a sense of what the nextconference will be like (from the main page, select“Conferences”). Detailed information on the nextconference will be posted on the site later this year.For more information about STC, please visitwww.stc-va.org or call (703) 522-4114.

Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the Community May 22-26, 2001 Montreal, Canada

Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the Communitywill be held in Montreal, Canada from May 22-26,2001. The specific theme for this conference isInterpreting in the Community: The Complexity ofthe Profession. As in the previous two Critical Linkconferences, participants will discuss interpretationin the community (health services, social services,courts, and schools). The event will provide inter-preters, users of interpreter services, administra-tors, and researchers with an opportunity to share

experiences, explore the complexity of the commu-nity interpreter profession, and learn about suc-cessful strategies and models in this rapidlyevolving field. The call for papers and further informa-tion can be found at: www. rrsss06.gouv.qc.ca/eng-lish/colloque/index2.html.

Call for PapersCanadian Association of Translation Studies 14th Annual CongressMay 26-28, 2001Université LavalQuebec City, Quebec, Canada

The theme of the conference will be "Transla-tion and Censorship." For more information, pleasecontact Dr. Denise Merkle at the Université deMoncton, Département de traduction et deslangues, Casier 30, Faculté des arts, Moncton(Nouveau-Brunswick) E1C 5E6; Tel: (506) 858-4214; Fax: (506) 858-4166; e-mail: [email protected]; or visit www.uottawa.ca/associations/act-cats/index.htm for more information.

Upcoming Conferences and Educational ProgramsContinued from p. 12

PresidentMs. Ann G. MacfarlaneP.O. Box 60034Seattle, WA 98160-0034Tel: (206) 542-8422Fax: (206) [email protected]

President-ElectMr. Thomas L. West IIIIntermark Language Services1175 Peachtree St. NE, Ste. 850Atlanta, GA 30361Tel: (404) 892-3388Fax: (404) [email protected]

SecretaryMs. Courtney Searls-RidgeGerman Language Services2658 48th Avenue SWSeattle, WA 98116Tel: (206) 938-3600 Fax: (206) [email protected]

TreasurerMr. Eric Norman McMillan1824 S Street NW, #304Washington, DC 20009-6137Tel/Fax: (202) [email protected]

AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS

DIRECTORSMr. Allan W. AdamsAdams Translation Services10435 Burnet Road, Suite 125Austin,TX 78758Tel: (512) 821-1818Fax: (512) 821-1888 [email protected]

Mr. Kirk Anderson2455 Flamingo Drive, #401Miami Beach, FL 33140Tel: (305) 532-7252Fax: (305) [email protected]

Ms. Beatriz Bonnet7465 East Peakview AvenueEnglewood, CO 80111Tel: (303) 779-1288 Fax: (303) 779-1232 [email protected]

Mr. Scott Brennan10005 Cairn Mountain WayBristow, VA 20136-3009Tel: (703) 393-0365Fax: (703) [email protected]

Dr. Gertrud Graubart Champe521 Melrose AvenueIowa City, IA 52246Tel: (319) 335-2002 Fax: (319) [email protected]

Dr. Jo Anne Engelbert789 Captain’s DriveSt. Augustine, FL 32084Tel: (904) 460-1190 Fax: (904) [email protected]

Prof. Alan K. Melby1223 Aspen AvenueProvo, UT 84604Tel: (801) 378-2144 Fax: (801) [email protected]

Ms. Izumi SuzukiP.O. Box 852Novi, MI 48376Tel: (248) 344-0909Fax: (248) 344-0092 [email protected]

Mr. Timothy Yuan89-33 Pontiac StreetQueens Village, NY 11427Tel: (718) 776-8139Fax: (718) [email protected]

DIVISION ADMINISTRATORSFrench LanguageJoan Bond SaxWeston, MATel: (781) 237-9697Fax: (781) [email protected] LanguageHelge L. GuntherWest Chester, PATel: (610) 430-0646 Fax: (610) [email protected]

Hebrew Language[being established]Batya ReichmanHouston. TXTel/Fax: (713) [email protected] E. TeichmanHouston, TXTel/Fax: (281) [email protected] Language Roberto CrivelloSalt Lake City, UTTel: (801) 278-7757Fax: (801) [email protected]

Japanese LanguageJon JohanningArdmore, PATel/Fax: (610) [email protected]

LiteraryClifford E. LandersMontclair, NJTel: (201) 200-3239Fax: (973) [email protected] M. MattesonBallwin, MOTel/Fax: (636) [email protected]

Portuguese LanguageVera AbreuSan Jose, CA Tel: (408) 266-5832 Fax: (408) [email protected]

Science and TechnologyNicholas HartmannMilwaukee, WITel: (414) 271-4890 Fax: (414) [email protected]

Slavic LanguagesNatalia KissockMorris, MNTel: (320) 589-3975Fax: (320) [email protected] Language Alicia MarshallEvanston, ILTel/Fax: (847) [email protected] Company Steven P. IversonMilwaukee, WITel: (414) 271-1144Fax: (414) [email protected]

ATA REPRESENTATIVESTo International Federationof Translators (FIT)Peter W. KrawutschkeKalamazoo, MITel: (616) 387-3212Fax: (616) [email protected]: http://www.fit-ift.org

To Joint National Committeefor Languages (JNCL)Christophe RéthoréHarrisonburg, VATel: (540) 568-3512Fax: (540) [email protected]

To Regional Center forNorth America (RCNA)Vacant

To ASTM Translation UserStandards ProjectRosalie P. WellsWest Grove, PATel: (610) 869-0920Fax: (610) [email protected]

ASTM Language Interpreting StandardsProjectBruce T. DowningMinneapolis, MNTel: (612) 624-6552Fax: (612) [email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRSAccreditationShuckran KamalVienna, VATel: (703) 242-0740Fax: (703) 242-0750

Active Membership ReviewHarvie JordanAustin, TXTel: (512) 441-5582Fax: (512) [email protected]

BudgetEric Norman McMillanWashington, DC Tel/Fax: (202) [email protected]

ChaptersKirk AndersonMiami Beach, FLTel: (305) 532-7252Fax: (305) [email protected]

Dictionary ReviewAlbert G. BorkAustin, TXTel: (512) 437-8772Fax: (512) [email protected] YuanQueens Village, NYTel: (718) 776-8139Fax: (718) [email protected]

EthicsKaren BroveyLibrary, PATel: (412) 655-7288Fax: (412) [email protected]

Honors and AwardsCourtney Searls-RidgeSeattle, WATel: (206) 938-3600Fax: (206) [email protected]

InterpretationChristian DegueldrePacific Grove, CATel: (408) 647-4179Fax: (408) [email protected]

Professional DevelopmentMarian S. GreenfieldSouth Plainfield, NJ Tel: (212) 648-8421Fax: (212) [email protected]

Public RelationsL. Manouche RagsdaleLos Angeles, CA Tel: (310) 275-9571 Fax: (310) 271-1319 [email protected]

Special ProjectsVacant

TerminologySue Ellen WrightKent, OHTel: (330) 673-0043Fax: (330) [email protected]

TrainingGertrud Graubart ChampeIowa City, IATel: (319) 335-2002Fax: (319) [email protected]

Translation and ComputersAlan K. MelbyProvo, UTTel: (801) 378-2144Fax: (801) [email protected]

American Translators Association 41st Annual ConferenceWyndham Palace Resort • Orlando, FloridaSeptember 20-23, 2000