Jubilation 25 - AUSIT Biennial Conference

December 1-3, 2012



Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Call for Papers

Submission Deadline for abstracts: 6 April, 2012


2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators Incorporated (AUSIT). Over the past 25 years, AUSIT has made a significant contribution to improving the professional practice of translating and interpreting in Australia. On the occasion of this biennial conference, we aim to celebrate those achievements and build on the successes of the past.


Proposals for individual papers, workshops and posters are invited from both translation and interpreting scholars and practising translators and interpreters. Abstracts should be 250 words for individual papers

and posters and 500 words for workshops. Presentations on all aspects of translation and interpreting studies are welcome. However, priority will be given to papers that address the following themes which focus on drawing inspiration from the past for a brighter future in T & I:

� Innovative practice in translation and interpreting

� Innovative pedagogies for translator and interpreter education

� Innovative practices in the assessment of translators and interpreters

� Innovations in the implementation of language policy for improved service provision

� Innovations in research trends in translation and interpreting studies


Proposals are invited for the following types of presentation:

� Papers will be allocated 20 minutes for presentation plus 10 minutes for discussion.

� Workshops will be allocated 1.5 hours.

� Posters will be allocated a special session, when the presenters will have the opportunity to discuss their work. The posters will then remain on display for the rest of the conference.


To submit a proposal for the AUSIT 2012 Conference, please use our online.

Important dates:

Deadline for abstract submission: 6 April 2012

Abstracts reviewed and rated from 6 April to 18 May 2012

Notification to authors of acceptance: after 22 May 2012

Conference: 1-3 December 2012


For further information and updates please visit http://www.ausitconference.org/ and leave a question, or email info@ausitconference.org

3rd International Conference

Jointly organized by Indian Translators Association and linguainda

Venue: Instituto Cervantes (Official Cultural Center of Govt. of Spaian), New Delhi

Nowadays the demand for translation and language related services has increased exponentially. Translation is not only needed for the promotion of literature and cross cultural activities, it has become an essential tool for keeping pace with the globalization phenomenon which is inseparable from technology and localization processes.

The role of Translation becomes more critical when companies with global reach need to contact in real time their customers in local languages. Therefore, it is quite evident that over the past decades, localization has progressed from being an added effort by some software publishers to a multi-billion dollar professional industry. Localization, web site globalization, language engineering, and software internationalization have become important issues for companies that want to market and sell their products in international markets. In many cases, localization has proven to be the key factor for international product acceptance and success.

Translation, localization, IT and Technology have added unprecedented dynamism in economic, social and cultural activities across the globe. India, being one of the major players, has undergone revolutionary changes within its economic, social and cultural systems giving way to Informational Technology and Business Process Outsourcing. The steady economic growth and reforms have helped Indian economy attract record inflow of Foreign Direct Investment and joint ventures creating a high demand for language consumption in local languages as well as foreign languages. It is important to note that Languages being essential tools of communication have also undergone fundamental changes in order to be part of essential determinants of economic changes. Therefore, language learning is not merely a natural acquiring process; rather, it has become a specialized field that needs professional training and technological integration.

Therefore, translators can no longer rest on their laurels but, like any other service provider, must continuously upgrade themselves by coming to terms with an ever developing technology (including IT resources such as CAT tools and project management tools) and adapt to increasingly stringent professional demands involving good commercial practices, project management processes, terminology management, development of quality standards and effective client services.

It follows that there is an urgent need to identify the gaps and take effective measures by providing required training to language professionals, translators, interpreters and other stake holders including service providers and service takers and make best use of the immense opportunities being offered in this area.

The previous international conference on "Role of Translation in Nation Building, Nationalism and Supranationalism" held in Delhi on December 16-19, 2010 at Instituto Cervantes has shown how translators play a key role in social and cultural change in society and help in dissemination of the ever expanding knowledge and information available, and how their role becomes more important in the Indian context as they help in spread of knowledge to all corners of Indian society that consists of a mosaic of sub-cultures and sub identities within multilingual and multicultural contexts.

The Third International Conference on "Translation, Technology and Globalization in Multilingual Context" extends these discussions to interrelationship between translation, technology and globalization followed by pedagogic challenges and professional development of translators.

Against this background, the International Conference on Translation, Technology and Globalization in Multilingual Context would like focus on the following themes:

FOCUS AREAS/ THEMES

A

· Globalization, internationalization, localization and translation (GILT)

· Translation in Interrelation with Globalization and Technology

· Government policies towards translation and languages

· Channels of communication and the mass media

B

· Teaching and training in translation and interpreting

· Theoretical approaches to translation

· Pedagogic challenges in translation

· Translation and interpreting as a profession

· The role of the translation service providers

C

· Translation of specialized text (scientific, technical, medical etc.)

· Translation Management in Global Markets

· Team building and marketing of translation services

· Quality Standards in Translation

· Terminology management and project management in translation

D

· The publishing industry and translation

· Copyright in translation: theories and practices

· Content management

E

· Machine and memory tools in translation

· Technology and innovation in translation

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Organizing Committee invites papers on the above mentioned themes. Abstract (400 words) should be submitted by April 20, 2012. While submitting your abstract kindly mention Title of your Paper and also attach your biodata (brief profile) and photo along with your contact details and e-mail address. Please send your abstract, paper and queries to ITAINDIA Secretariat at info@itaindia.org

Or call at: +91-11-26291676/41675530 Mobile: +91-9810268481 / +91-8287636881 Web: www.itaindia.org Skype: itaindia.net

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Four days main conference with keynote speakers and concurrent tracks

Pre and Post-conference day with workshops, roundtables and job fairs for smaller groups

Exhibit area with leading tool and service providers

Showcase of leading national and international language and cultural institutions

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Teachers, Professors and Educators and researchers involved in translation

Translators, interpreters and language professionals

Language students ( Indian as well as foreign languages)

Heads and Managers of BPOs and Research agencies

Heads and Managers of translation and interpretation agencies

Heads of organizations involved in language training

Content writers, localization and globalization managers

Representatives of publishing houses

Editors, Proof-readers

Buyers of translation and interpretation services

CAT Tool Service Providers

Quality Control Managers

Key Dates

Deadline for submission of abstracts: April 20, 2012

Notification of acceptance: April 30, 2012

Deadline for submission of final papers: May 30, 2012

Payment of early registration: May 15, 2012

Fees Per Participant (Below mentioned fees are applicable for early bird registration till May 15, 2012)

Corporate / Company or Institutional Representatives

INR 7500/-

Translators / Interpreters / Writers/ Language Professionals / Teachers/ Professors / Scholars / Agencies / Publishers

INR 2500/-

Foreign Delegates

$ USD 200/-

All payment to be made via Demand Draft / par cheque / cash in favour of LINGUAINDIA payable at New Delhi, to be sent at secretariat at C/O Indian Translators Association, K-5/B, Lower Ground Floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019

Note: International Participants may kindly get in touch with the Secretariat, Indian Translators Association, K-5/B, Lower Ground Floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019 to receive bank related information for international transaction.

Tel: +91-11-26291676/ 41675530 Mobile: +91-8287636881 /+91-9711207677 E-mail: info@itaindia.org Web: www.itaindia.org * Additional transaction charges of $ 25 US dollars applies for each transaction.

Sponsorship, institutional and financial support solicited. Interested individuals/organizations kindly get in touch with the secretariat of Indian Translators Association on above address

or CALL US at

Mobile: +91-8287636881 / +91-9711207677

Embratur promete revisar erros de tradução no seu site

O colunista do iG, Seth Kugel, apontou nesta quinta-feira uma série de erros na versão em inglês do portal braziltour.com, produzido pela Embratur, autarquia do Ministério do Turismo para a promoção e marketing do turismo no País. O site, no ar desde fevereiro de 2011, tem erros que tornam difícil a compreensão do conteúdo por nativos de língua inglesa.


Questionada sobre os problemas apontados no site, a Embratur, por meio de sua assessoria de imprensa, informou que estes erros de tradução já tinham sido identificados. E, segundo o órgão, a empresa licenciada para produzir o site, a Agência Click, já teria sido informada.

A Embratur afirma que a empresa prestadora de serviço irá trocar seus tradutores e revisar todo o conteúdo do site. Os erros apontados por Seth Kugel serão corrigidos imediatamente. Ainda segundo o órgão, o site será todo reformulado e uma nova versão deverá ser lançada no início do segundo semestre.

Leia o original

Para inglês entender

Seth Kugel - IG

Há 15 dias, o secretário geral da Fifa, Jerome Valcke, reclamou – de forma não muito diplomática – que o Brasil estava bem atrasado nos preparativos para a Copa do Mundo. Eu não sei falar se Brasil está realmente tão fora dos prazos para a construção dos estádios e da infraestrutura quanto diz o Sr. Valcke, ou se está no caminho certo, como diz o governo. Mas posso dizer, com certeza, que o Brasil – e mais especificamente a Embratur, agência oficial de promoção e marketing do turismo no País – está bem atrasada em outra coisa: o inglês.


Na semana passada, escrevi sobre o profissionalismo dos representantes da Embratur na feira de turismo New York Times Travel Show. Agora, vem a parte chata: a versão virtual, braziltour.com, é muito ruim. No site, que todo o mundo vê como primeira opção quando busca por “visit Brazil” ou “Brazil tourism” no Google, a informação está apresentada em um inglês tão pobre que em muitos casos nem dá para entender o que se quer dizer. Incluindo a primeira página (home).

Versão em inglês do site de turismo do Brasil (braziltour.com) é de difícil compreensão para estrangeiros

A Embratur obviamente fez um esforço grande, porque o site é bonito e lotado de fatos, informações e vídeos. Posso até dizer que a versão em português é muito legal. Mas é fato que a versão em inglês é a que importa, porque serve não só os cidadãos dos aproximadamente 60 países do mundo onde o inglês é o idioma oficial ou predominante, mas também outros países como Japão, China e Rússia, que não contam com versões nos idiomas deles.

O site existe também em espanhol, francês, italiano e alemão, mas eu não sei avaliá-los. O que posso dizer é que o inglês é péssimo. Não péssimo tipo “Você visitar Brasil. Brasil ser muita bonita.” Isso é errado, mas pelo menos dá para entender.

Vamos para alguns exemplos. As primeiras mensagens que aparecem são:

“Brazil has scheduled its stars to the 2014 World Cup” e depois “Click here and get to know our Cities Selection”.

Li as duas frases pelo menos 20 vezes sem consegui entender nenhuma das duas. Será que o primeiro significa “As estrelas da seleção brasileira vão estar presente na Copa do Mundo”, pensava. Ou talvez “As estrelas do céu estão alinhadas para a Copa ser maravilhosa”?

A segunda parte também foi difícil. “Cities Selection” significa o quê? Deve ter algo a ver com as cidades que vão receber a Copa, mas o quê exatamente? Fiquei perplexo.

O que você entende por: “Brazil has scheduled its stars to the 2014 World Cup”, “Click here and get to know our Cities Selection”?

Para resolver, fui para a versão em português. Ah, “as estrelas” = “os craques”, e os craques, neste caso, são as cidades hospedeiras. Embratur, me permite?

“Brazil has recruited its biggest stars for the 2014 World Cup…”

“Its host cities! Click here to learn all about them.”

O problema é fácil diagnosticar. Já vi em muitos outros sites de empresas brasileiras, sem falar de cardápios em restaurantes e placas nos hotéis. Os que fazem as traduções de português para inglês são brasileiros.

Funciona assim. Para traduzir do inglês para o português, se deve usar brasileiros (ou portugueses, angolanos etc) bilíngues. Para traduzir do português para o inglês, precisa de tradutores bilíngues, que foram criados e educados em inglês. Não quem estudou inglês na faculdade e fez mestrado em Londres. Ou seja, precisa de ingleses, canadenses, norte-americanos, australianos, tanto faz. Podem existir algumas exceções extraordinárias à regra, tradutores brasileiros que conseguem verter profissionalmente para o inglês? Pode. Mas são poucos, caros e claramente não são contratados pela Embratur.

Eu tenho um amigo norte-americano tão fluente em alemão que grandes editoras o contratam para traduzir os best-sellers alemães para o inglês. Já ganhou prêmios por seu trabalho. Mas ele absolutamente se recusa a fazer traduções do inglês para o alemão. Porque sabe que vai ter erros.

(Ah, e claro, eu escrevo esta coluna no meu português imperfeito. Mas não publico nada antes de tê-la revisada e corrigida pela minha editora brasileira. Se quiser ver meu português na versão original, tem que me seguir pelo Twitter no @tuitesdo7.)

Voltando para o site…

O turista que clica sobre “Selection Cities” chega a outra tela. Aparece uma frase: “A cities’ schedule ready to start playing”.

“Humanity Cultural Heritages in Brazil” ou “World Heritage Site”

Tenho mais de três décadas de experiência em ler o inglês, mas ainda assim não consegui decifrar esse contrassenso. Procurei na versão em português: “Uma seleção de cidades pronta para entrar em campo”. Gente, speak serious. Nada a ver. Embratur, tome nota: “A great team of cities, ready to take the field”.

Daí dá para “conhecer” as cidades em fatos, fotos e vídeos. Cada qual com erros que variam de ruins a desastrosos. Um vídeo sobre Natal mostra o que parece ser de uma dança tradicional, com a legenda: “Plentiful cultural demonstration”. Sentido? Nenhum. Parecem palavras escolhidas aleatoriamente e colocadas juntas ao acaso.

Mas os erros mais graves ficam na página principal. Se o visitante potencial rola a tela para baixo, quase todas as outras opções têm erros também. (Uma exceção: “Golf” está traduzido corretamente como “Golf”) Mas tem uma que é imperdoável. A tradução de “Patrimônios Culturais da Humanidade no Brasil” é: “Humanity Cultural Heritages in Brazil”.

Desculpe a repetição, mas não faz sentido nenhum. Para quem não sabe, o status de “Patrimônio da Humanidade” é decidido pela UNESCO, agência da ONU. A Embratur sabe disso. Assim que encontrar a tradução correta é muito fácil. Basta ir à página do Wikipédia em português e dar um click em “English”, na coluna de “outras línguas”, do lado esquerdo. Aparecerá a mesma página do Wikipédia, em inglês. Resultado: “World Heritage Site”. Ou faça uma pesquisa por “UNESCO” no Google.com, em inglês. Saem imediatamente duas opções: “World Heritage” e “World Heritage List”.

Trancoso é um lugar ideal para fugir dos refrigerantes e outras bebidas gasosas da cidade?

Felizmente, alguns erros são mais engraçados do que deprimentes. É só ir na página de Trancoso. A descrição do lugar em português é a seguinte:

“Trancoso é um povoado localizado no sul do Estado da Bahia, é hoje um lugar ideal para fugir da agitação e estresse da cidade.”

E em inglês: “Trancoso is a town on the south region of Bahia. It is now the ideal site to runaway from the effervescence and stress of the city”.

A tradução possui pelo menos cinco erros. Mas é o quinto o mais hilário. Como “agitação” chegou a ser “effervescence”, não sei dizer. “Effervescence”, em inglês, significa “o ato de bolhas de gás escaparem de um líquido”.

Ou seja, Trancoso é um lugar ideal para fugir dos refrigerantes e outras bebidas gasosas da cidade. Notem bem, gringos: se vocês gostam da Coca Zero ou da água com gás, melhor escolher outro destino.

Obviamente, ninguém vai desistir de Trancoso por um erro de vocabulário. Mas desistir de um país porque não tem informação legível em seu site oficial? Com tantos outros países de olho nos bilhões de dólares do turista internacional? Isso não só é possível, é provável

Leia na íntegra

Interpreters stay away from courts in protest at privatised contract

Linguists unhappy with Applied Language Solutions' deal with Ministry of Justice, which has seen their rates almost halved


Owen Bowcott and Tom Midlane


guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 March 2012 02.00 EST
 
As many as 1,000 interpreters are boycotting a privatised contract to supply linguistic services to all English and Welsh courts, resulting in postponed hearings, suspects being released and compensation claims.


The revolt within the professional community against cut-price employment terms imposed by Applied Language Solutions is spreading amid criticism of the quality of interpreting supplied by the Oldham-based firm.
The five-year deal with the Ministry of Justice, which began on 1 February, is intended to save £18m a year out of an annual budget of £60m. ALS also has exclusive contracts to supply translation services to the London 2012 Olympics and a number of NHS trusts.

Within the courts, solicitors, magistrates and judges have complained of disruption and warned about the danger of miscarriages of justice. In some cases suspects have had to be released when no interpreters were available; in others people have spent extra time in detention. During one hearing at Sandwell magistrates court, a solicitor had to translate proceedings into Punjabi for a client because there was no interpreter.

The justice minister, Crispin Blunt admitted in the Commons that there were "an unacceptable number of problems in the first two weeks of full implementation of the contract". The Ministry of Justice said it was monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

ALS was bought by the public services provider Capita last December. Two weeks later, after problems emerged, the department authorised courts to bypass the centralised system for urgent cases until further notice, allowing them to hire their own interpreters without going through the company.

According to interpreting organisations' estimates, about 60% of the 2,300 people on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters are refusing to work for ALS. Last week there were protests outside Manchester's crown courts. Interpreters claim hourly rates have been slashed and that they are being offered minimal travel allowances.

Ian Kelcey, former chair of the Law Society's criminal law committee, described the situation as "little short of a debacle". He added: "The problem with ALS is that the government decided to do it and chose someone who probably can't provide the capacity. We are not sure they are using interpreters of a requisite standard."

Freelance interpreters, who condemn the contract as a monopoly, have accused ALS of using interpreters inexperienced with court work. But ALS says it only uses "qualified interpreters who have been assessed and demonstrated evidence of suitable experience and linguistic skills".

David Evans, chairman of the Magistrates' Association in Lincolnshire, where scores of cases have been postponed, said: "There have been instances of interpreters just not turning up. We have had people arrested but because there's no interpreter they have had to be released. Some have been arrested and released several times for that reason. It's not good for justice.

"I'm getting stories about it every time I speak to magistrates. No one is happy with this. I understand interpreters have not been offered very attractive terms. I have heard of an interpreter being sent up from Hertfordshire; that can't be cost-effective if the contract is supposed to save money."

Ken Sheraton, a district judge in Peterborough, said he was unable to go ahead with two cases in one day because interpreters failed to materialise. In the first week of the ALS contract, 12 cases had to be adjourned in the city's magistrates court.

Geoffrey Buckingham, chair of the Association of Police and Court Interpreters, said applications were being made by solicitors for wasted costs orders against ALS so that their clients would not have to pay extra for cases that were delayed or postponed.

In a letter to the MoJ, he complained about interpreters receiving repeated calls. "Hardly a day goes by without colleagues [receiving] unwanted and unsolicited approaches despite not being registered with the contractor [ALS]." Names of interpreters may have been obtained without permission, he suggested, raising questions about data protection.

At Snaresbrook crown court in east London, Judge Murray Shanks, considering an application for a wasted costs order against ALS for failing to inform the court that an interpreter would not be available, found that it "was serious misconduct" and did "cause waste" when the case had to be adjourned.

But he declined to award costs because the incident occurred in the first days of the contract and represented "teething" difficulties. He added: "There will be problems with this contract if the point of contact is with a call centre." Counsel for ALS said that the company had asked the MoJ not to introduce the service across the whole country immediately.

The shadow justice minister, Andy Slaughter, said: "Interpreters are a highly skilled and essential part of the justice system. This scheme sacrifices that in favour of unachievable savings and private profit. We questioned [the justice secretary] Ken Clarke in November about the business model of this contractor but he ignored our warnings. The result is confusion and delay in the courts, the potential for serious miscarriages of justice, huge wasted costs and risks to public safety. People are being wrongly remanded in custody for lack of information and courts are grinding to a halt."

Syed Amjad Ali, 53, of Reliance Translations, who organised the Manchester demonstration, said: "Interpreters were getting £30 an hour before, for a minimum of three hours, now they offering them £16-£22, no travel for the first hour and petrol of 20p per mile.

"Interpreters are not going to work on these low rates and this is going to affect the quality of interpretation. Three Romanian interpreters were booked by ALS in Manchester city magistrate court and no one turned up, so the trial has been postponed.

"At an immigration tribunal in Manchester, a Czech au-pair came. She had never been in court before and she asked us: 'How do you address the judge? Is it your highness or your excellency?' That is the kind of people they are sending, despite the fact their contract clearly states they will use only qualified interpreters. We are seriously concerned about the welfare and risk to the witnesses and defendants."

Unite, the union that represents many interpreters, has raised as an example of potential problems caused by inadequate interpreting the case of Iqbal Begum, a woman who killed her husband after years of domestic abuse. Only after the trial and her conviction for murder in 1981 did it emerge that the court interpreter did not speak her language. She had no idea about the difference between murder and manslaughter. Begum was eventually released on appeal but took her own life.

Locog, the London Olympics organising committee, confirmed that ALS would be translating brochures and guides for athletes, the media and officials. "We have been working with them since 2010," a Locog spokesman said. "All is going well." That contract is worth less than £10m.

In an attempt to recruit more interpreters, ALS has begun offering more favourable terms in recent days. "The proposed cost reductions are based on a combination of operational efficiencies and the removal of some of the financial payment terms that had become extremely costly," said a spokesperson.

"We have consulted with linguists and listened to their feedback regarding the new payment terms and the fact that court case durations are often much shorter than the original booking time. As a result we have increased payments and travel expenses to combat some of this loss of earnings for interpreters."

ALS, which admits cases have been cancelled, said it worked with "hundreds of public sector customers, providing a range of language services. We currently deliver on our commitments to all of these customers." A spokesperson added: "We investigate, in full, any customer complaints that we receive."

Asked about calls to interpreters who did not wish to work with ALS, the company said: "If a suitable linguist cannot be located within our database for an assignment then we will explore other public databases to identify qualified freelance linguists and offer them the opportunity to work with us."

An MoJ spokesperson said: "There have been an unacceptable number of problems in the first weeks of full implementation of the contract and we have asked the contractor to take urgent steps to improve performance. We remain committed to ensuring the rights and needs of those who require interpreters are safeguarded, and are monitoring the system on a daily basis."

Under the contract, financial penalties can be imposed for failures to deliver services.

The company

Applied Language Solutions was founded by Gavin Wheeldon in 2003. His ambition, stated on the company website, is to become "the biggest language provider in the world".

Wheeldon, now 35, began working evenings on telephone sales at the age of 14. After joining a language translation company, he launched his own firm out of the back bedroom of his home.

He appeared on the BBC2 business programme Dragon's Den, trying to negotiate a loan for £250,000 to boost his start-up company. He failed to persuade the panel to back him.

ALS has developed machine translation software to speed up the process of transcribing documents, with customers being offered the option of "light" or "heavy" edit for linguists to check grammar, meaning and spelling.

The company, based in Oldham, says it has interpreters available to work in 170 languages. It has 130 full-time staff in the UK, India, Europe and the US. In 2011, its annual turnover was £10.6m.

In interviews, Wheeldon has said he prefers driving Porsches to Ferraris. In 2008 his mother, Denise, told the Oldham Advertiser: "My nickname for Gavin was our little Arthur Daley, my dad always said if he didn't end up behind bars he'd end up making a fortune!"

The interpreter's story: Mirela Watson

'A lot of the new interpreters have no understanding of legal terminology, which is vital in our profession'


Tom Midlane


guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 March 2012 02.00 EST
 
Mirela Watson, 43, is a Romanian-born interpreter with 15 years' experience of court interpreting in the UK. She is also a member of the Association of Police and Court Interpreters.


"I am extremely unhappy with the new arrangements," she said. "ALS is supplying a lot of unqualified, unvetted interpreters - myself and my colleagues have been visiting the courts randomly to monitor ALS's work and the standard is absolutely unacceptable, it could lead to a serious miscarriage of justice.

"I have heard a judge say, 'You have been charged with …' and had that interpreted as 'You have to pay the court' - meaning charged as in 'pay'.

"The majority of us are thinking, if the new contract is not finished, to change our professions. I have been devoted to the court justice system for the past 15 years. We are linguists, we are not just speakers of another language.

"My husband is English, I'm Romanian by birth, my daughter has been raised bilingual – but being bilingual doesn't make you an interpreter. A lot of the new interpreters have no understanding of legal terminology, which is vital in our profession. We have the experience behind us and it is something you cannot buy. To be forced to join a system you don't agree with is extremely unfair.

"We were never consulted at any point. The old system worked, we had a good relationship with the police forces, with the court system, court listings officers knew where the closest interpreters lived.

"I have to review my entire life. Like most people, we have bills to pay, but this is not purely financial – we are dedicated, we love the job. You have to have a special manner to deal with court staff, which you gain by experience. To have that taken away from you, yes, it is a shock. It makes you extremely bitter.

"In the past 10 days, we have been bombarded by the listing officers, asking us to cover the gaps left by ALS, which we are not willing to do. As long as the contract is still in force, it would simply be papering over the cracks.

"The mathematics is very simple: by having ALS, the courts actually spend more money – it's a completely false economy. It costs in excess of £769 a day for a person to be remanded in custody. We have experience of people who have been brought to custody three or four times because interpreters haven't turned up, which translates to a lot of money."

The Guardian

Violent clients, traumatised victims, late payment - the life of a court interpreter

Magdalena Glowacka

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 March 2012 09.18 EDT
 
Very few people know what the life of a professional interpreter is like. I have worked as a Polish interpreter for a number of years, and although I am probably not the most experienced person in the field, I have worked long enough to find the deal under which the Ministry of Justice has contracted Applied Language Solutions to supply all linguistic services in English and Wales unacceptable. We are not too greedy or proud to accept the new rules. We can see how how flawed they are.


Only very few professions require someone to be totally flexible - and I mean totally. I no longer recall how many times I have been called in the middle of the night to come down to a police station to interpret for someone in custody, or to assist with a witness statement, nor how many times I have had to call off a meeting with people I care about because the job comes first.

How many professionals have to deal with a beaten and traumatised wife, a woman pushed onto a railway track by her loved one on Valentine's Day, a small girl raped by her stepbrother, or a man who had been raped in prison? How many of you have had to deal with the threats of being stabbed because the client didn't realise the interpreter was there to help him? I have. People have vomited on my suit. I have stepped into puddles of urine on a cell floor. Nobody warned me that I would have to deal with such situations. I had to learn how to cope with them.

Only people who have been done this job for a number of years know what it is like to stand in the witness box for hours as a defendant is cross-examined, or how it feels when your client is mentally ill and talking nonsense or insulting the judge. It takes strength and courage to interpret their words into English. Only a professional interpreter knows what it is like to sit in the dock next to someone charged with murder or an offence involving serious violence.

Nobody else really knows that it is extremely difficult job, which carries incredible responsibility, and which is emotionally exhausting. Some critics of the interpreters who are protesting about the new system have no idea of what the job involves. Let's take the payments. Although the rates of pay were decent, they were never good. The old national agreement that used to regulate our work stipulated that we should be paid within six weeks for each job. I can barely ever remember being paid within that time. On countless occasions I have awaited payment for months. Most Christmases, I was totally cashless due to the fact that the court staff was too busy to sort out the payments before the end of the year. I no longer remember how many times I have had to chase courts for money, remembering not to be too harsh so I might be booked again. On numerous occasions I came to court to interpret for one client and ended up interpreting for three or more during the day, or was put in a position when I had to interpret for two or three defendants in the same proceedings because of 'cost savings'.

I do not want to hurt anybody's feelings, but there have been a number of occasions when I was paid just for coming to court and once I arrived there turned out to be more than one interpreter booked for one case - or a case was simply discontinued and nobody bothered to cancel the interpreter. Those sorts of things are never mentioned when the cost to the taxpayer of interpreting services is quoted. And we pay taxes too.

We are not too proud to work for ALS, although perhaps we should be – given that they require us to work for the same rates as people without any qualification whatsoever that would entitle them to work as an interpreter in the old system. We just feel it is not right. Besides, lots of professional interpreters did not just acquire the recommended minimum qualification under the previous system, which is a Diploma in Public Service Interpreting and 400 hours of experience. Many hold at least one masters' degree, if not more, in translation, conference interpreting or law, as well as attending conferences and short courses.

To be completely frank, the system was not working well, but we were doing a good job. We were helping people to communicate with their lawyers. We were the ones who explained to people how the UK court system works. When they were not represented, for whatever reason, we very often acted as psychotherapists - listening to the problems of complete strangers and dealing with personal tragedies. Sometimes we were asked for small change for a ticket home, something to eat or a cigarette, or a client asked if they could make a call from our mobiles at our expense. Try telling someone who is, like you, a foreigner in this country and in a seemingly hopeless situation that "it's not my job" to agree to these requests.

I have a confession to make. Apart from being an interpreter, I also work as an examiner for a body that was providing the necessary qualifications to perform this job. Each year I have been told that I cannot pass anybody whom I would not trust to act as my interpreter, if I could not speak English. This was, until recently, a minimum standard threshold for all professional interpreters. I don't know what standards will operate under the new system, but from what I have heard they are considerably below that threshold. Anyone who can hire someone who can simply speak two languages, at times very poorly, has no idea of the importance of interpreting within the criminal justice system.

So it is not that we do not want to work for ALS: in spite of all these drawbacks, most of us love the job. But we do need recognition and respect for the job we have been doing. Put simply, the current offer is ludicrous.

Interpreters are holding a protest outside the Commons this afternoon about the ALS contract with the Ministry of Justice

 The Guardian

Government's court interpreting agency hit with wasted costs orders

The agency appointed by the Government as the sole provider of court interpreters has been issued with a number of wasted costs orders after issues with its service led to some cases being adjourned.


Dhaneshwar Sharma of Sharma Law Solicitors has issued several wasted costs orders against Applied Language Solutions (ALS), with one order already granted by the Magistrates Courts of London and one currently pending approval.

Sharma, who has experienced a number of instances where court hearings have been adjourned repeatedly due to ALS interpreters failing to turn up, said that any attempts by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and ALS to improve the situation have not gone far enough (16 February 2012).

Outsourcing forces untrained translators on courts, campaigners say

Monday, 5 March 2012 12:14 PM


By Oliver Hotham

The Ministry of Justice's decision to outsource public service interpreting is leading to unqualified people being used as interpreters in court, campaigners said today.

Interpreters for Justice claimed the court system was being thrown into chaos by the decision to outsource translation services to Applied Language Solutions (ALS).

It has highlighted research suggesting 90% of legal interpreters are not signed up to the Ministry of Jutice's outsourced program.

"ALS is saying they have 3,000 interpreters on their register, but when nine in ten of professional interpreters who replied to our survey say they are refusing to sign up, this does not stack up," said spokesman Geoffrey Buckingham.

"The result is that people without training, qualifications or legal experience are being used to interpret in court which is creating chaos and higher costs.

"The Ministry of Justice might say these are teething problems, but we say they are terminal."

Members of the legal profession are being urged to provide evidence of the problems the policy is creating by completing an online survey.

Interpreters for Justice says it has already compiled evidence of over 150 court cases being adjourned or cancelled due to a ALS interpreter.

Politics.co.uk

In any language, a denial of justice

In 2010, a Latino woman sought a protective order against her husband in a Gaston County court. According to witnesses, the presiding judge did not provide the woman an interpreter, then dismissed the case because she was unable to communicate the allegations against her husband.


In Chatham County, a judge allowed a husband to interpret for his wife in a 2011 case in which she was trying to annul their marriage. The husband translated key testimony that the wife submitted in the case, which he won.

These alarming incidents were among several in a U.S. Department of Justice report last week that found the North Carolina court system is failing to provide sufficient translators to people who speak little or no English. The investigation was prompted in part by a May 2011 complaint from three non-profits - Charlotte's Latin American Coalition, Muslim American Society and Vietnamese Society.

Interpreters are provided by the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, and they are paid for with money that comes from the N.C. General Assembly. Neither the courts nor lawmakers have lived up to their responsibility. The result: Parents are unfairly losing children in custody hearings, employees are hamstrung in fights against employers and defendants are cruelly disadvantaged in criminal courts.

"Ineffective communication deprives judges and juries of the ability to make reliable decisions; (and) renders victims, witnesses and defendants effectively absent from proceedings that affect their rights," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez told AOC director John W. Smith in a letter accompanying the Justice Department report.

There is plenty of blame to share in the findings. The AOC has inadequately staffed criminal courts with interpreters and wrongly concluded that state law allows it to not provide interpreters in most civil cases, the Justice Department said. Lawmakers have contributed to the shortfall by declining to fulfill funding requests. You wouldn't think that state and court officials would need a reminder about what the law requires, but here goes:

People who speak little or no English have a Constitutional right to interpreters that is provided in part by the 14th Amendment, which tells us: "Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." That due process protection isn't just afforded to U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 6th Amendment narrows the focus, asserting that a defendant has the right to effective assistance of counsel, to which communication is essential. While the Supreme Court has not directly ruled on interpreters, state and federal courts have affirmed the right to one throughout the years.

And, just as a reminder, the Obama administration issued an opinion in 2010 warning states that not providing interpreters in civil and criminal cases was a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

Still, N.C. has fallen short, even intentionally in some instances. The AOC, in response to the Justice Department, argued that state law limits its ability to provide interpreters in civil cases. But Perez, in his letter, reiterated a well-established doctrine: Federal laws, such as those in the Civil Rights Act, trump state laws.

Perez has invited the AOC to negotiate a prompt solution, but he told Smith that the Justice Department is very willing to pursue a civil suit and terminate the millions in federal assistance that it provides the North Carolina court system. We hope that leaves the AOC and state lawmakers little room for interpretation.

Charlotte Observer

Tradutores mais que traidores

Uma das obrigações mais agradáveis da função de jornalista é a de ler muito e acompanhar de perto os lançamentos de livros, selecionando os bons dos maus lançamentos. O prazer, no entanto, pode facilmente se transformar em tortura, já que os maus títulos sempre superam numericamente os bons. Nós setoristas de cultura somos obrigados a lidar com obras esotéricas, romances para moças (hoje chamados de chick-lit), suspenses de quinta disfarçados de inteligência (os smart-thrillers) e biografias pretensiosas, cujo autor parece desejar loucamente ofuscar o biografado. Aproveitamos menos de 5% do total estimado de 20 mil títulos lançados anualmente no país.

Ora, dentro dessa tortura mora outra ainda mais cruel: a oferecida pelas traduções de obras estrangeiras para o português do Brasil. É cada vez menos raro encontrar traduções de baixa qualidade de obras importantes lançadas por grandes editoras brasileiras. O problema se dissemina por toda parte, do setor de didáticos e paradidáticos ao dos best-sellers e grandes obras literárias. Ninguém escapa da má tradução. A grande vítima é o leitor, prejudicado sem saber, mesmo porque não tem obrigação de julgar uma tradução.

O primeiro aspecto que chama atenção está na abundância de falhas de revisão ortográfica. São aqueles erros que atrapalham a leitura, desviam a atenção e, pior, fazem a gente duvidar da qualidade do conteúdo do que está lendo. Erros tipográficos, como se dizia antigamente, já deveriam ter sido eliminados de nossas vidas. Em revistas e jornais, cometem-se muitas dessas falhas, e é uma luta cotidiana para tentar banir esses monstrengos que rebaixam qualquer texto. Quando se trata de livros, porém, essa questão já deveria ter sido ultrapassada. Com revisores competentes e corretores de texto de última geração, é possível detectar os erros. Claro que seria necessário algum tempo para o trabalho ser realizado. Esse tempo parece ter acabado.Como leitor profissional, tenho vivido momentos de horror crescente ao me deparar com traduções literárias, aquelas que deveriam merecer um pouco mais de cuidado por parte dos encarregados do texto vernáculo. Para não ferir egos, é melhor não citar quem e que obras foram vertidas. Afinal, os problemas são recorrentes em boa parte dos títulos literários. Eles são de três ordens: técnica, educacional e cultural.

Os erros de português são mais frequentes do que os de ortografia. Concordância, regência e sintaxe são massacradas impiedosamente, tudo em nome de vultos literários conhecidos. Ler um clássico dessa forma conspurcado irrita e muitas vezes ultraja o leitor. O tradutor atua aqui não como um traidor (de acordo com a expressão italiana clássica dada à profissão: “Traduttore, Tradittore” - tradutor, traidor), e sim como um genuíno usurpador dos tesouros da literatura. Com um mínimo de conhecimento, qualquer um percebe que oportunistas quase analfabetos se encarregam de tarefas para as quais obviamente não têm competência.

Ainda mais graves são as ocorrências de equívocos que demonstram a falta de cultura daqueles que estão fazendo tradução. Eles produzem versões desprovidas de coerência do enunciado e coesão entre as diversas partes de um texto. Isso indica que falta pensamento lógico básico em muitos tradutores. Eles usam barbarismos imundos e contaminam o idioma. Como se não bastasse, desconsideram que a tradução também deve envolver conhecimento da parte do tradutor em relação ao contexto do idioma que ele está vertendo. Em um romance que li recentemente, traduzido do espanhol, o teatro São Carlos de Lisboa está grafado “San Carlos”, como se fosse um teatro espanhol, e a região da Saxônia aparece como “Sajonia”. E assim por diante, derrapadas desse tipo desqualificam a tradução como um todo, pois evidenciam a falta de preparo e de conhecimento que o tradutor possui do assunto. É interessante que essas traduções parecem subestimar a inteligência do consumidor, como se ele não fosse capaz de distinguir o ruim do pior.

Tenho quase certeza que esses indivíduos que se dizem tradutores fazem questão de assinar seu trabalho nas páginas de rosto dos livros lançam mão dos mais pérfidos recursos para completar suas tarefas. Já li muito livro cuja tradução em português parece ter sido produzida no Google Translator.

Até aqui descrevi a situação. Chega a hora de perguntar por que todos esses erros, equívocos e bandalheiras ocorrem. Dois motivos me ocorrem de imediato: o fenômeno da vulgarização das traduções, que reflete o avanço do mercado, e a indigência cultural brasileira, que não prepara adequadamente profissionais de tradução, ou, pelo menos, desconsidera os profissionais da área e remunera mal tradutores arrivistas ou mesmo amadores.

Vamos ao primeiro motivo. Como tudo no mundo, livros não consistem em entidades perfeitas. E eles se tornam cada vez mais precários à medida que o mercado impõe uma alta velocidade de lançamentos. O mercado brasileiro de livros cresce 8% ao ano. Além disso, os livros já estão livres do papel, e chegam agora até nós no formato digital de e-books. Havia um respeito talvez exagerado pelo texto impresso em papel. Hoje o papel não passa de um subproduto do texto digitalizado. O papel traz matéria a um bem imaterial chamado texto. A dessacralização do objeto livro deixa os salteadores à vontade para fazer o que bem entenderem com as obras alheias.

O segundo motivo afeta a profissão do tradutor. A alta frequência de inexatidões acaba por prejudicar a minoria de excelentes tradutores em atividade no Brasil. Por isso, os tradutores profissionais estão se rebelando contra a situação. Sentem-se excluídos porque a tabela do Sintra (Sindicato Nacional dos Tradutores) é alta de acordo com as editoras, que querem trabalhar com orçamentos cada vez mais reduzidos. E já que os bons profissionais custam mais e levam mais tempo para entregar o trabalho, a solução encontrada é ignorá-los em benefício de amadores ou arrivistas. Criou-se uma espécie de lúmpen da tradução, que aceita pagamentos mínimos por uma tarefa da qual se safa rapidamente.

O que fazer para melhorar o nível das traduções e não comprometer a ínclita categoria dos tradutores? Não tenho resposta para isso. Talvez fosse útil criar instrumentos mais precisos para controlar a atividade. Mas quem faria isso sem medo de ser chamado de inimigo da liberdade de expressão? Melhor então seria empreender uma caça às bruxas para julgar e banir os maus tradutores do mapa. A desaparição de muitos tradutores preencheria uma lacuna em nossas vidas. A verdade é que a tarefa é mais complicada do que parece, além de exigir o longo prazo. Seria necessário investir com seriedade na formação dos tradutores, com critérios de seleção menos complacentes que rigorosos. Má tradução e a má leitura são farinha do mesmo saco de permissividade cultural em que estamos metidos.