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The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association

The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

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Page 1: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

The Voice of Interpreters and Translators

American Translators Association

Page 2: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Largest professional association of translators and

interpreters in the United States; 11,000 members in over 90

countries

o National not-for-profit association with an international

orientation, founded in1959

Page 3: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Full-time Independent Contractor (42%)

Part-time Independent Contractor (29%)

Company Owner (10%)

Full-time Private-sector Employee (9%)

Academia (6%)

Government Employee (4%)

Who belongs to the

Membership of the American Translators Association

Page 4: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

www.atanet.org

Page 5: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Online Directory Search

Page 6: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Sample Search Results

Page 7: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Website: www.atanet.org

o Over 7,000 linguist profiles

o 3.5 million pageviews in 2012

o Most requested language combinations: English into Spanish

Spanish into English

English into French

English into Chinese

English into Japanese

Page 8: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Certified Translator (CT) seal

A unique certification seal provides clients with

objective evidence of a translator’s professional

competence

Page 9: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Professional Development

Page 10: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

ATA conference held in a major city every fall

Page 11: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o 60-minute online educational session offered once

or twice a month

o Watch live or recorded sessions

Webinars are available at

Page 12: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and
Page 13: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Priorities

oOutreach to new membership groups

oCommunication strategy

oFurther advances of certification

Page 14: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

The Voice of Interpreters and Translators

American Translators Association

Page 15: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o First ATA exam administered in 1971

• Developed by practitioners for practitioners

• Three hour paper/pencil examination

o Major/minor errors

o Originally five texts • General

• Semi-technical

• Medical

• Legal

• Literary

Page 16: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o System in place since 2001 • Three-hour paper/pencil examination

• Keyboarded option just started

• Three source texts

Handout 1 – Example from 2006

• Volunteer graders (also select texts)

• Twenty-five language pairs

• Five error levels

Page 17: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Three source texts – 225-275 words (or equivalent)

• Candidates translate two: Passage A (required) and either Passage B

or Passage C

• A: General text that expresses a view, sets forth an argument or

presents a new idea

Newspaper editorial, essay, non-fiction book

• B: Technical, scientific or medical in content

Patient education brochure, operating or installation instructions, encyclopedia

article.

• C: Financial, business or legal in the broadest sense

Contract or lease, financial report, government regulation

o B & C may be written by an expert, but not for other experts in that

field.

Page 18: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Graders are all ATA-certified practicing professionals

o Volunteer graders

o Semi-annual training

o Work together by language direction

o Passage-specific guidelines

o Into-English writing guidelines

Page 19: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Languages in which there are enough ATA members and

energetic volunteers!

Into English From English

• Arabic

• Croatian

• Danish

• Dutch,

• French

• German

• Japanese

• Portuguese

• Russian

• Spanish

• Chinese

• Croatian

• Dutch

• Finnish

• French

• German

• Hungarian

• Italian

• Japanese

• Polish

• Portuguese

• Russian

• Spanish

• Swedish

• Ukrainian

Page 20: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Source texts selected by language groups • Authentic texts with minor editing

• Passage selection guidelines and review

o Translation challenges • Text level

• Sentence level

• Terminology level

o Translation Instructions (translation brief)

Page 21: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Holistic test of language transfer • Five-level point system: 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 point errors (since 2001)

• Fail threshold is 18 error points

o Framework for Standardized Error Marking • Developed 1994, continuously revised

• Specifies types/severities of transfer/mechanics errors

o Flowchart for Error Grading • Since 2002

• Attempts to make a subjective process as objective as possible

o Example 2 – Marked up sample target text

Page 22: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

ATA

Fra

me

wo

rk 2

009

Page 23: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

ATA

Flo

wch

art

20

09

Page 24: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

48 201 249 1483 165 2746 286 102

409 161 45 265 156 374 165 218 195 137 132

47

6.2

5%

9.9

5%

10.0

4%

10.3

8%

12.1

2%

12.4

5%

14.3

4%

15.6

9%

16.6

3%

16.7

7%

20.0

0%

21.8

9%

23.0

8%

24.0

6%

24.8

5%

27.0

6%

28.2

1%

29

.93

%

42.4

2%

53.1

9%

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Translator Certification Examination Pass Rates and Number of Examinations (n=7,585)

2001–2011

Number of Exams Pass Rate in % Average Pass Rate (+/- 1 standard deviation)

Page 25: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Two graders for each examination

o Grade independently

o Then compare scores • If discrepancies, then consult

• Can modify (add overlooked errors, change points)

• Can agree to disagree

• Third grader

o Review and appeal available

Page 26: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Specialized testing • ATA exam tests non-specialized translation skill

• Need for specialized testing

• Legal, medical, technical, etc.

• Goes beyond what ATA can do with volunteers

o Expansion • New language combinations possible

• Depend on volunteer availability

• Challenging process to get started

Page 27: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

The Voice of Interpreters and Translators

American Translators Association

Page 28: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o K = Knowledge

o S = Skills

o A = Abilities

o Competence is described in terms of KSAs

Page 29: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o ISO 17024 General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons

(2003 and 2012 editions)

• Certification scheme must:

• Be based on a job and task analysis

• Describe competence required to perform tasks

• Be fair, valid, and reliable

• Competence = ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results

• KSA study establishes validity

o Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, from AERA, APA, & NCME

(many editions; using 1999 edition)

• Certification: dependable identification of competence

Page 30: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Ask experts to identify KSAs via focus groups

• Four focus groups; one included government

• Focus group transcript study showed consistency

• 36 KSAs were identified for job “translator”

We are aware that in the USG, job is “linguist”

o Develop survey questionnaire to rank KSAs

• Used Qualtrics survey software

o Conduct survey (1453 completed surveys)

Page 31: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Vocabulary

o Grammar

o Idiomatic usage (combinations of words)

o General knowledge

o Subject-matter-specific knowledge

o Ethical obligations

Page 32: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Textual analysis

o Terminology research

o General writing

o Editing and proofreading

o Computer (word processing and Internet)

o Organizational

o Personal time management

Page 33: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Read source language; write in target

language

o Understand nuances and registers

o Perform language transfer

o Verify correspondence (= congruity judgment)

o Common sense

o Follow specifications

o Think analytically and intuitively

Page 34: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Based on results of ATA KSA survey

o Conducted by Breakthrough Consulting Group

o Led by Dr. Paul Fields

o Developed test “blueprint”

o Each measurable KSA must find a home in • Eligibility requirements

• Certification test or

• Professional Development

Page 35: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Describe government-specific translation tasks

• Use structured translation specifications

ISO/TS 11669:2012 (Translation Projects – General Guidance)

21 translation parameters

Provide values for a specific type of translation task

o Hold government focus groups for each task

o Conduct government-specific surveys

o Develop test blueprints (as in Fields report)

o Consider ATA to manage USG certification

Page 36: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Alignment with ILR Skill Levels • “A level of obvious competence with some room for growth.”

• A passing grade roughly equivalent to a minimum of ILR Level 3

translation proficiency

• NEW: Reading/writing proficiency scores as eligibility option

o Possible “ATA rating"

o Research (NSF grant proposal)

Page 37: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

The Voice of Interpreters and Translators

American Translators Association

Page 38: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Local computer 1 Exam computer 1

o Local computer 2 Exam computer 2

o Shared CertSoft server

o All exam computers talk with the same server

o Proctor monitors exams through server

o ATA HQ downloads results from server

Page 39: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Layer 1: local computers (temporarily limited) • Only keyboard, screen, and Internet

o Layer 2: remote exam computers • Pre-configured: selected apps and white list

o Layer 3: shared CertSoft server • Actual certification software (browser access)

o Very flexible and modular

Page 40: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Currently, “rented” from Amazon • virtual computers

• ATA maintains a master and launches clones as needed

o Could be dedicated physical computers

o Can be anywhere (remote access) • Could even be dedicated local computer

Page 41: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Can be rented from a hosting service

o Can be a physical computer in your office

o Currently: Windows 2003 Server w/ ASPX

Page 42: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o Avoid unauthorized distribution of source texts

o Avoid unauthorized distribution of target texts

o Keep candidate from contacting colleagues

o Make sure target texts get to graders

o Limit website access to a “white list”

Page 43: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

o What follows is actual screens from an

experimental sitting by a candidate named

“Tester Tester”

Page 44: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and
Page 45: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and
Page 46: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Contacting the ATA

Phone

(703) 683-6100

Fax

(703) 683-6122

Email

[email protected]

Website

www.atanet.org

Page 47: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

Thank you for your interest!

Page 48: The Voice of Interpreters and Translators · The Voice of Interpreters and Translators American Translators Association . o Largest professional association of translators and

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