canada – ATIA

Making Quality Interpreting Services Easier to Access: Interview with Mayagwe Director Bill Dodd

Posted on September 27, 2018 by drawingboarddesign in Industry Tips, Technology

This month, ATIA sat down with Mayagwe founder and director Bill Dodd to talk about how the platform is revolutionizing access to professional interpreters. With numerous ATIA members represented on the tech platform, Mayagwe represents the way of the future for clients to connect with certified interpreters and procure their services.

What is Mayagwe?

Mayagwe is a software application that connects clients who need the assistance of language interpreters and professional language interpreters looking for job opportunities. Currently the way clients access interpreters is that they have to contact a company and submit a form. They get an invoice and have to pay a company who then has to issue payment to an interpreter. Mayagwe eliminates the middle person and clients are connected directly to interpreters who are independent contractors. It’s like the difference between taxi cab companies and Uber. The utilization of technology makes the system much faster, more efficient, and more cost effective. There is a reason “Uber” or similar apps like “Skip the Dishes” are is taking over from the traditional methods of doing business. Mayagwe is doing the same for the interpretation sector.

What does the name mean?

Mayagwe is an Ojibway word meaning “he or she who speaks a strange language”. Mayagwe is a Canadian company and nothing could be more Canadian than honouring an Indigenous language in the name of a language company.

Where did you get the idea for starting this organization?

When I was a member of the Calgary Police Service, an incident occurred where investigators required a language interpreter ASAP. A person had been detained in relation to a bomb threat at the Calgary Provincial Court building. As a result, the court building and surrounding area had to be evacuated, displacing thousands of people and tying up multiple police resources for hours. It took over 5 hours to find an interpreter so that the situation could be resolved. This exposed the inadequacies of the current methods of finding qualified language interpreters. The Chief of Police at the time tasked me with finding a solution to this issue. As a result, I discovered that the Calgary Police Service was not unique. No other police service or other organization in the country had an effective system for accessing in-person language interpreters. As a result of funding and contributions from the Calgary Police Service, Alberta Health Services, and the Calgary Foundation, Mayagwe was born and a custom-made software application developed in Calgary was created to address this need. What use to take multiple hours (like the court house incident), or sometimes even multiple days, can now be handled in literally minutes.

Creating a system that makes using interpreters was not easy. Many problems needed to be overcome, including issues around what constituted a “professional” interpreter, favoritism, a lack of transparency, a lack of cooperation between agencies competing for government funding, siloing of resources, exploitation of new immigrants or as some immigrant service agencies like to call them “volunteers” etc. Mayagwe addresses these issues by creating a democratic and transparent system that protects the needs of clients requiring language assistance and the needs of interpreters providing that assistance. Language assistance is a professional service where people need to be treated fairly.

There was also the issue of out sourcing of interpretation services, meaning either over the phone interpretation or in-person interpretation. Because of the arduous old process of contacting many “interpreter providers” who don’t cooperate with each other and don’t share their “interpreter lists,” big clients such as Alberta Health Services began to outsource thousands and thousands of tax payer dollars to foreign companies – money and resources that could instead stay here in Alberta and support the local economy while creating good paying jobs. Everyone who uses an interpreter agrees that in-person interpretation provides better outcomes and the research also support it. The justification for over the phone is that it is more convenient and less expensive. Although there are times where over the phone may be a better option, with the Mayagwe system, we are demonstrating that using an in-person interpreter can be just as easy, and as cost effective as other options.

What’s your background?

My background is that I was born and raised in Calgary and am a unilingual English speaker so it may seem odd for me to be working in a company that is all about other languages, but I don’t think it is at all. I became a police officer because I wanted to help people and make a difference in my community and I truly admire those who can communicate in multiple languages. (they are so much smarter than me). Mayagwe is a way to continue to contribute to my community.

How did you get into this?

During my work I saw that language can be a huge barrier to providing critical services to under-served Calgarians. I met many people in our community who also wanted to help and who had the languages skills that could make a difference. One powerful example of this occurred a few years ago. The Calgary Police Service has a team who assist victims of crime called the Victims Assistance Unit or VAU. The members of this team contact Calgarians who have been the victim of a crime and offers assistance. This team does absolutely fantastic work on a daily basis and one of the people who has worked on this team is a wonderful woman named Amina. Not only is Amina a terrifically smart and empathetic person, she also has the added ability to converse in multiple languages. A few years ago a situation occurred where a woman who had recently come to Canada was the victim of a terrible crime, and the police were needed. The officers who attended to her did their best, got her to place of safety and filed a report. By chance Amina was the person from VAU who got the file and contacted this women offering assistance. During the conversation Amina recognized that she spoke the same language as the victim. Once they could fully converse it became clear that so much more had happened than the initial investigating officers had been able to determine. The victim was able to tell her whole story which was so much more complicated. As a result, more appropriate and much more serious criminal charges could be brought against the perpetrator of this crime. Amina was able to help this person navigate an unfamiliar system, help with her family situation, her immigration situation and so forth. It is a long story and brings people to tears when they hear it, but it is no exaggeration to say that Amina’s intervention and her ability to communicate fully with the victim literally saved this person’s life (the victim’s own words). Unfortunately many people still fall through the cracks and even though there are many examples like this, leadership of critical social serving agencies such as the police still do not provide their front line workers with the tools they need to provide the best service possible. We hope to help fill some of those cracks.

What are the principles and vision behind what you do?

Mayagwe is a nonprofit whose vision is to make language assistance as efficient as possible to anyone who requires it, create good paying local jobs and contribute to a better quality of life for everyone in our community.

What are the benefits for participating Interpreters?

Provides fairness and equal access to job opportunities.
Provides employment opportunities with maximum flexibility for participation.
Provides business experience as independent business operators.
Provides connection and understanding of social serving agencies, reducing any stigma which may exist about the roles of these agencies.
Eliminates favoritism or cronyism in offering employment opportunities to a select few.
Recognizes interpretation as a professional service.
Quick direct payment for service.

What are the benefits for Client Agencies?

Direct access to trained interpreters.
Maximum flexibility in scheduling, from immediate requests to long-term scheduling.
Ability to set criteria for interpreters unique to each organization.
Ability to customize interpreter requests.
Assurance of accreditation standards.
Cost-effectiveness by only paying for services provided.
Providing connection to people in the communities they serve.
Reducing risk of miscommunication and improper service.
Demonstrating commitment to inclusiveness.

What is a good story you have heard in relation to Mayagwe that you would like to share?

A good story about Mayagwe is that more and more people are recognizing the positive social impact this can have in our communities. A good example is the Canadian Western Bank who has recognized the positive social impact this will have in communities in which it operates and has provided generous financial assistance to help expand this service to Edmonton.

What is the future of Mayagwe?

The Mayagwe application is unique in Canada and plans to expand this service to social serving agencies across the country.

What’s one thing you would like interpreters to know?

If you are providing Interpretation services, you need to make certain that they are covered by professional liability insurance. If you are being contracted through a company or social serving agency to do this work, ask them to provide you the details of that insurance policy such as: the policy details, policy number, coverage amount etc. If you do not, you are potentially exposing yourself to personal risk of a lawsuit.

To join the database of interpreters on the Mayagwe system, just go to www.mayagwe.com and follow the easy steps detailed there

Common Misconceptions about Interpretation

Posted on June 26, 2018July 3, 2018 by drawingboarddesign in Uncategorized

Becoming a community interpreter is one of the most accessible ways to get into the industry and start your professional career as an interpreter. Many professionals in specialized fields such as court or medical interpreting started out in community and even continue to do community interpreting as well! That being said, it doesn’t mean that just because someone is multilingual or bilingual they can start interpreting for community organizations or groups and be successful. And it certainly does not mean they will have the skills required for work in hospitals or courts either! In this article, we will explore some of the common misconceptions about Interpretation, among new interpreters and clients alike!

Myth: Bilingualism means you can interpret well. While having a second language is obviously an essential aspect of being an interpreter as you will be conveying the meaning of verbal words and body cues from one language to another (either consecutively or simultaneously), it doesn’t follow that that is the only requirement for you to interpret well. In fact, fluency in both your mother tongue and the target language beyond the conversational level are absolutely essential as are the knowledge, vocabulary required and cultural understandings necessary to accurately convey someone’s communications. The relay of information across languages and cultures is a mastered skill that takes time, training, expertise and experience. It also requires that interpreters continuously improve their knowledge with regards to new words, colloquialisms (especially regionally) and update their necessary technology.

Myth: The interpreter can answer questions for you or the person you are communicating with. While the interpreter is never necessarily neutral (as some people claim!), that doesn’t mean that they are participating in a direct way in the conversation. The interpreter is responsible for providing understanding and facilitating conversation between two or more people – not for participating in that conversation by interjecting contributions or answering questions.

Myth: Simultaneous interpretation is always possible. While in most cases, this is possible because of the simplicity and redundancy of human language, it should be noted that in some circumstances (especially where a lot of various and complex technical jargon is used over a long period of time) simultaneity could simply be unrealistic.

Myth: Translators can just do the same job as interpreters, right? While tangentially related in terms of languages and conveying messages, please note that translation and interpretation are completely different fields with different areas of training

Myth: It is safe for any bilingual person to interpret in medical and court settings. The answer to this is simply no. In any setting, you should be using the services of a qualified language professional but in the settings of a medical environment or emergency, or a court room, it is often someone’s health, liberty or life at stake. Incorrect interpretations can send ambulances to the wrong address or offer the incorrect medical dosages. They affect someone’s defense or legal case. It is essential to realize how high the stakes are and don’t take unnecessary risks with your life or the lives of others.

Myth: Telephone or video interpreters are just as good as in-person. Don’t let fancy advertising and clever marketing fool you. There is no adequate replacement for in-person interpretation. So much of language is non-verbal, contextual and relies heavily on the interpreter being in the room so as not to miss any of these incredibly important subtle or gestural conveyors of information.

Myth: Any interpreter will do for any setting. Interpreters should be chosen based on their areas of specialization, expertise and experience – particularly when it comes to specific industries. Of course, most people think of medical or legal jargon which it is important to have knowledge of, but some interpreters are also working in special industries such as natural resources, engineering, and the like which may require a technical vocabulary as well.

Getting it Right or Lost in Translation?

Posted on May 30, 2018July 3, 2018 by drawingboarddesign in Uncategorized

Emmanuel Macron—France’s handsome and charismatic President—made the news worldwide a little while ago for no other reason than his closing remarks at a recent speech in Sydney Australia. President Macron exact words, directed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, were: “I wanted to thank you for, and your delicious wife, for your warm welcome and a perfect organization of this trip, thank you so much.” We know President Macron is fond of older women—his wife is twenty-five years older than him—however; I am certain this remark got lost in translation. What he probably meant was “delightful.” Luckily, PM Turnbull took it with a sense of humor and laughed it off.

Treading in the unknown territory of a new language, where would you be? Would you be getting it right or would you be lost in translation? There are many applications and gadgets nowadays that allow for a quick and cheap translation and promise to save you money and time. While they might be useful for travelers to translate words quickly from a menu, these gadgets will not be helpful in a business situation. These gadgets merely translate word by word—even when they claim to be intuitive. In fact, professional translators will not use translation devices since its more cumbersome trying to decipher the resulting “translation” than doing it from scratch. When doing a translation, many factors come into play that only the human brain can analyze such as complete ease and knowledge of the source language as well as the target language, understanding the culture and idiosyncrasies of the people who speak these languages and communicating the message without room for misunderstandings.

Friends of mine traveling in Taiwan took a picture of a plaque in Chiayi City high-speed rail station promoting the National Museum in Taipei. The English translation did not flow well, but this section was the most interesting: “In appearance, there seems to be a lack of closeness between cultures and arts in Taiwan and those in Asia. However, judging from Taiwan’s history of intercourse with other members in Asia, actually, Taiwan has been quite intimately connected to other cultures and arts in Asia.” It appears that the word lost in translation was “interaction.”

Such examples are not the only culprit: common and innocent words have different meanings in all languages. “I’m so excited, I just bought a new car!” means something else in Spanish since the word “excited” means “aroused.”; translated literally from English into Spanish it would be: ”I’m so aroused, I just bought a new car!” Your excitement over the new car would raise a few eyebrows and cause a lot of laughs among the Spanish-speaking folks.

It’s not a big deal to make mistakes and cause a few laughs—it happens; however, when it comes to business, you don’t want colleagues and potential clients laughing at you! You need to get it right since your investments and reputation, among many other things, are at stake! Poor translations are not just embarrassing, they cause costly mistakes for businesses; misinterpretations have also caused severe problems throughout history with repercussions for centuries thereafter—from wars to religious connotations. Translations need to be professional and render a faithful adaptation to avoid confusion. For such translations, you will require the services of a Professional Translator.

Professional Translators work hard to develop their skills and have a complete understanding of the language and culture. They will not only translate the written word, but they will also relay style and tone, and convert equivalent concepts. Translators consider cultural references, including slang which does not translate literally. Translations go through several revisions before becoming final ensuring the best outcome. Next time get it right, hire a Professional Translator and avoid being lost in translation!

Paulina Ponsford was born in Chile and has lived most of her adult life in Canada. She worked as an Accountant for thirty years in the Oil and Gas industry in Calgary. At the same time, she always wanted to connect with people at a different level and for this reason, she became a volunteer Fitness Instructor and later on a Certified Facilitator in the area of human interaction. Paulina is now preparing to become a Translator and Interpreter in the languages of English and Spanish. Paulina also loves to travel and embraces what different cultures have to offer. She is also an avid reader and some of her favorite authors are Paulo Coelho, Khaled Hosseini, Mark Mustian, and Isabel Allende. If you would like to know more about Paulina, check out her blog at www.paulinaponsford.com where she shares some of her thoughts, insights, and experiences.

Translation Success (An Interview with ATIA Member Hellen Martinez)

Posted on May 10, 2018July 3, 2018 by drawingboarddesign in Uncategorized

In the coming months, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta (ATIA) will be profiling some of our prominent members and those who have served (or continue to serve!) ATIA in a volunteer capacity. This month, we talked to Hellen Martinez, certified translator and interpreter, and former ATIA President.

How long have you been part of ATIA?

I became a member in 2003.

Tell me a bit about your personal history and what brought you to the organization.

I have a bachelor’s degree in translation and interpreting from my native Peru. My dissertation thesis was about translation techniques for technical translation. I was working as a full-time translator for engineering companies in Peru. I was also a translator for the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Peru. When I moved to Canada, I intended to keep working in my career path. I learned about ATIA through Luisa Izzo, who was my Grammar teacher at the University of Calgary.

In which positions have you served the organization?

When I joined ATIA, I volunteered in events and fairs. From 2007 until 2011, I served as VP for Calgary, and from 2011 until 2016, I served as president of our organization.

Can you tell me about some of your most enjoyable moments as a translator? What are some of the most memorable projects you have worked on so far? Do you have a favourite?

I feel in the clouds when a client tells me that they loved my work. There’s nothing more uplifting than an appreciative client. I have two memorable translation projects and two memorable interpreting assignments: the translation of Antamina Mine’s Environmental Impact Assessment, the translation of Minera Panamá’s Environmental Impact Study, interpreting for Hon. Ed Stelmach, and interpreting in a casual rendez-vous where the interpreting was so incredibly dynamic that the Ecuadorian and Canadian engineers weren’t even looking at me, but at each other when they were talking. They didn’t feel my presence—and that’s exactly what you want as an interpreter!

What struggles have you had?

Lack of recognition. With Alberta being a very multicultural place, there are unfortunately a lot of people out there who claim to be translators and interpreters just because they can speak two languages. Because they lack language-transfer skills, they don’t know the industry, and accept low rates for a work that should be done by a professional translator or interpreter. These people are incredible at marketing, and, unfortunately, clients are not aware of the consequences of a bad translation or interpretation, and accept the service of these people, who are actually disserving our industry. Some traditional agencies bid their projects to the lowest offer, and most of the time low offers come from other countries or even other provinces. The paradox is that really high rates are then charged to their clients in Alberta, and very low pay is offered to the translator, enriching the middleman. I struggle to make stakeholders understand that Alberta has great interpreters, but if they keep using unqualified people, they will scare good linguists away, losing them other already hogged industries.

How did you know you were cut out for translation work?

Funnily enough, right after I finished university. I was doing my practicum at a soil mechanics laboratory, and realized how clueless engineers could be without the intervention of a translator. I am a born helper, and I realized that my calling was to help people by serving as a bridge of the language gap (as cheesy as it sounds—but it’s true!).

What type of work do you primarily do? Is there another type you wish you did more of?

I translate and interpret, but I mainly translate. I translate technical and legal documents, but technical are my favorite. I love them. As we speak, I’m translating an environmental report. I love the research, and the fact that I can’t stop until I find the right and precise word for what the text is saying. Once, I spent five hours looking for the local name of an insect only found in Central America. I went through a lot of articles and reports, until I finally found the equivalent word in Spanish. That time—that “I got it!!” moment cannot be described. The sense of accomplishment is just amazing. I wish I could do more legal interpreting—it’s an area that I really enjoy.

ATIA has been around since 1979! In your opinion, what makes the organization successful and gives it such longevity? What sets ATIA apart?

We’re close to being around for 40 years! Isn’t that amazing? What makes ATIA successful is its members, hands down. We are lucky to have very committed members who are always helping advocate for the industry, quality and good standards. What sets ATIA apart is its members and its standards. Our standards are high and because of that, our members are the most qualified translators and interpreters in the industry.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Depends on the weather! In cold days, I enjoy reading, cooking and scrapbooking. In sunny days, still reading, but also biking and walking.

What is a quirky fact someone may not know about you?

I’m a grammar nerd. I correct my daughters’ and hubby’s grammar all the time, mainly when we’re texting. And as much as I’d like to do that with some of my Facebook friends, I love them too much to lose them over missing punctuation!

Hellen Martínez CTr, AComI is an English-Spanish Certified Translator and an Associate Community Interpreter member of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta (ATIA). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting in Spanish, English and French, a Certificate in Marketing Management and is currently working toward her Certificate in Professional Editing. Hellen has more than 25 years of experience working in the translation industry. Hellen lives in Calgary with her husband and her two children.

Signs You’re Cut Out For Freelancing

Posted on May 2, 2018July 3, 2018 by drawingboarddesign in Uncategorized

If you have dabbled a bit in freelance work or are thinking about making it your career, there are some important points to consider when it comes to taking the plunge! While not all of these will be true for everyone and even if you don’t resonate with these, that shouldn’t deter you from trying out freelance work if you are inclined, the following list includes many of the characteristics freelancers commonly report as being important to do well in their work. So without further ado, here are the signs you might be cut out for freelance work:

You can focus.

This is a big one. Yes, some procrastination is inevitable and there are some folks who work best under pressure so procrastination can become a motivational and even inspiring tool to get quality work done. However, for most people, translation and writing work takes several drafts and time to percolate which means that leaving everything to the last minute or working on multiple projects simultaneously (thereby distracting you from all of them) means that your work can leave a lot to be desired. You have to be able to make lists of priorities and execute those items according to what is the most needed and most urgent. Spreading yourself too thin over a number of tasks or getting distracted by other things is a recipe for a mess!

You can be many different things to many different people.

Being a freelance translator does not mean that you will only be freelance translating. It also means that sometimes you are doing marketing work, networking and outreach, administrative assistant work, book-keeping, accounting and so forth. You have to be able to move between these positions fairly seamlessly and according to the contexts in which you find yourself.

You are willing to cultivate relationships.

The importance of being willing to cultivate long-term relationships with clients, businesses, organizations and groups that are relevant to your area of work cannot be underestimated. You don’t have to be a networking all-star but you do have to keep on top of community events you are invited to, social media interactions and the like. Frankly, this task is easier now than ever before because connection with others can be had at the click of a mouse.

You can conquer “impostor syndrome”. You believe in yourself and your work.

Being paralyzed by fear or perfectionism will only make your work harder and more stressful. Be open to constructive feedback and be sure to always check your work, but don’t become obsessed with every single detail. You should be able to produce polished work without having an emotional weighing of your self-worth tied to it. Remember you are a trained professional with skills and expertise to offer. If you don’t know something, learn it or admit it and move on!

You believe the rewards of freelance work outweigh the risk.

Freelancing is not without risks – particularly a sense of job security and perhaps a steady paycheque. But if you are willing to trade those things for all the benefits of being your own boss, being able to work from anywhere in the world, and choosing what work you put out into the world, you are unlikely to be disappointed. Plus if you have been making fairly decent money on the side for a while from freelancing, taking the plunge might not be so scary after all. Just imagine how much ore work you could get by focusing on what you do entirely.

You are willing to do *some* things for free.

This is a touchy subject but it is important to realize that there are plenty of things you will do to manage your business that you aren’t directly paid for. Unless you are making loads of cash, you are unlikely to be able to pull a salary from your profit to pay yourself for the management of the business beyond the actual freelance work itself. Returning emails, taking calls, arranging meetings and the like are all things that you can’t really invoice someone for. Depending on how you bill, whether by word or by hour, there is the chance that you can factor some of that overall time into how you do invoice though. It is important to measure how long you spend doing unpaid/non-invoiced work for your business because if you end up losing out of deals because you are spending so much time doing the nitty-gritty, it might be worth your while to subcontract some of that out to someone else.

You have healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with stress.

There is going to be a time when all things converge at once and you are going to feel like you have to stay up until 2am every night for over a week to get everything done. How you deal with this matters. One of the number one reasons that folks leave the freelancing world is that they are unable to cope with the unique stresses it brings: from accommodating difficult client requests to feeling like you are working around the clock, from feeling like you can never clock out to giving up any semblance of a weekend. Be good about setting time boundaries so your work doesn’t bleed into every aspect of your life including recreational and family time. Make sure you can recognize when things start to get too hair for you and you need to take a breather. Figure out ways that you can make things more manageable, and know when to approach clients for more time, if needed.

You know how to say “No.”

This is another big one…especially when you are first starting out. Who wants to turn down work? At the same time, we can’t all do everything. We have areas of specialization and work-life balance to consider, among other things. Your limits are really up to you. Spend some time thinking about what you are doing with your life and your goals for the year or five-year period. Is the work you are doing helping you to achieve those goals?

You work well solo from home.

Most freelancers work from home or in public spaces like coffeeshops or libraries. Some get to the point of being so busy that they are able to rent an office space to meet clients and complete their work at. For the rest of us, working well, solo, from home is crucial to our success. If it really bothers you to be alone all the time, consider going to a monthly meet-up of freelancers for coffee where you can share your experiences and network, or meet a fellow freelancer for a work session at a coffee shop – just make sure you don’t end up distracting each other too much!

You have developed organizational methods that work for you.

There are plenty of other signs that a career in freelancing could be for you but ultimately you are the best determiner of that fact. What works for one freelancer, doesn’t work for everyone and over time, you will develop the organizational methods that work best for you. Some freelancers work best with a paper wall calendar and to-do lists on sticky notes, others are digital all the way. Whatever keeps you on track and ensures that your work gets done on-time and well is what you should stick with!