ATIA Translation Day Symposium 2020 Poster

Free Events for Translation Day 2020

Translation Day is celebrated internationally. This year, many of the events to mark the occasion are being held online – including those offered by the ATIA. Below is a week’s worth of free online events for Translation Day 2020, enjoy!


The ATIA’s Translation Day 2020 Symposium

Saturday, October 3rd

 

Go to www.atia.ab.ca/events for more information on each session or to register.


Please note that the below are not endorsed by or in any way affiliated with the ATIA. Please follow the links for more information about each event, including how to register and the time. 


East meets West Learning Club presents Poetry in Translation featuring George Elliott Clarke and Anna Yin

Friday, September 25th

This event features reading and discussions of original poems and translations between poets and translators. The myth of “lost in translation” and the art of re-creation and mutual exchange will be discussed. See here for more information or register here on Zoom  (meeting ID 871 3466 4583). Past sessions can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN8-qpOlzk4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXu8g7fQWxo. 


Great Weather for Media presents Spoken Word Sundays Series: A Celebration of National Translation Month featuring Kristina Andersson Bicher, Mi Jialu, and Anton Yakovlev

Sunday, September 27th 

This event will stream here on Facebook Live. 


Archipelago Books and Maison Francaise present Machines a écrire: Scolastique Mukasonga in conversation with Laure Adler (in French)

Monday, September 28th

See here for more information.

BP’s Translation Day Conference

Wednesday, September 30th – Thursday, October 1st

This 30-hour continuous conference offers many short talks in a number of languages. See here for more information.


MAPA Translations & Language Solutions’ International Translation Day

Wednesday, September 30th 

Four sessions include an interpretation panel, a translation panel, a voice-over panel, and a social hour. See here for more information and to register.


 

International Translation Day

The Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta is looking forward to recognizing and celebrating the essential role that our members play as professional translators and interpreters in the community on International Translation Day 2020 next month.

In the meantime, have you ever wondered why we celebrate Translation day, where it comes from, or why it’s important to language professionals both locally and around the world? Read on.

In 2017, the International Federation of Translators achieved a historical milestone with the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of September 30th as International Translation Day, recognizing the central role of language professionals in the international community. The date of September 30th is of historical significance for the language professions because it marks the feast of St. Jerome, a Christian theologian, translator, and saint lauded for his Latin translation of the bible (382-405 CE).

International days are marked by the UN because they present occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. International Translation Day, as described by the UN, is meant as an opportunity to pay tribute to the work of language professionals, which plays an important role in bringing nations together, facilitating dialogue, understanding and cooperation, contributing to development and strengthening world peace and security. Transposition of a literary or scientific work, including technical work, from one language into another language, professional translation, including translation proper, interpretation and terminology, is indispensable to preserving clarity, a positive climate and productiveness in international public discourse and interpersonal communication.

Beyond an opportunity to pay tribute to the work of translators, interpreters, and other language professionals, International Translation Day is an occasion to shed light on globally relevant themes that impact our communities – both locally and internationally. The International Federation of Translators has declared the theme of International Translation Day 2020 to be Finding the Words for a World in Crisis. This timely theme at once unites us with the international community of language professionals tasked with confronting the global health crisis of COVID-19 and the inequalities that have been amplified by it; and sets the stage to address some of the more localized challenges being faced in North America, including in Albertan cities.

The ATIA will be guided by this year’s Translation Day theme as we host a variety of social, professional development, and informative events in recognition and celebration of the professional translators and interpreters that serve Albertans in all different contexts. Stay tuned to the ATIA Facebook, LinkedIn, and Events pages for event announcements as they arise.

A Candid Conversation with Carmen Aguilera, Certified Court Interpreter, ATIA

For this edition of the Member Interview Series, we are fortunate to be joined by Certified Court Interpreter Carmen Aguilera, an active member and current Vice President (Southern Alberta) of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta (ATIA).

Carmen’s incredible career has taken her from practicing law in Guatemala, to coordinating justice system improvement projects for the United States Agency for International Development, to an appointment as Minister Counselor for the Embassy in Guatemala in both Ottawa and Washington; and finally to becoming a Certified Court Interpreter and Certified Community Interpreter with the ATIA in 2015. Also a full member of the Alberta Court Interpreters Association since 2006, Carmen was given the Honorary Member designation in 2019.

Thank you for joining us Carmen!

Could you elaborate on how you went from practicing law, to international relations, to court interpretation, and finally becoming a Certified Court Interpreter?

Speaking Spanish and English in Guatemala was a plus to get the best jobs, especially with international organizations that were the best and highest paying employers. Guatemala is so close and economically influenced by the US that English was the language they were looking for in your resume.  I started working when I was 18 years old, in a travel agency, went back to the USA for two years of Junior College, returned to Guatemala and from there, a receptionist, a bilingual secretary, administrative assistant.  All of these jobs required English and Spanish.  You would have to type, take dictation, be in meetings and be able to communicate fluently in both languages.  Sometimes even interpret in an informal basis for both languages.

I started Law School in Guatemala and continued to work as long as I could as an Administrative Assistant in a development branch of the US State Department called the United States Agency for International Development (USAID Mission to Guatemala) until my Law studies required me to go and work as a court clerk in the Justice System there.

Finishing Law School, I was again hired by USAID/Guatemala to work as a Project Coordinator in a program created to improve the administration of justice, this included among many activities, the training of Judges.  One of the programs was to create Rural Courts where the personnel including the Judge, spoke the Indigenous language of the community. Interpretation existed but the combination of languages was Spanish and local dialects.  Although I do not speak any of these Mayan dialects, I was very fond of these programs.  This is another example of my informal relation with interpretation.

For my work in the area of communities and human rights, the then named Ambassador of Guatemala to Canada asked me to him at the Guatemalan Embassy in Ottawa as Minister Counsellor for three years; from there I was transferred to the Embassy of Guatemala in Washington, D.C. as Minister/Legal Counsellor.  At that time I met my husband, a Canadian citizen living in Alberta whom I met during a visit to the 1997 Stampede.

Arriving in Calgary in April 2000, I tried to find my space in the workplace in a small city compared to Ottawa, Washington, D.C. and Guatemala, where I was supposed to continue with my career as a Lawyer.  Through small non-profit entities that assist newly arrived immigrants, I again took English classes at Bow Valley College to enter graduate studies. In the middle of that, an opportunity came to study a program called “Interpreting for the Justice Sector,” offering a real situation for getting a job and doing it better with the appropriate training.

I had already been in contact with ATIA trying to get into translation; however, the interpretation sector and the course allowed me to become an Associate Interpreter with ATIA. Being a Lawyer, it was related to my background and it became little by little a professional activity with its challenges in a new legal system.  Years of interpretation in different settings, mainly court, allowed me to become a Certified Court Interpreter.

Beyond your educational background in English, law, and interpretation, you have also undertaken studies at the graduate level in environmental law and international trade; computing; oil and gas industry; and education and research, among others. What can you tell us about your relationship with ongoing learning and professional development?

Professional Development is key in any activity, is in mandatory in many professions, Lawyers, Doctors, Nurses, IT people.  The world is changing and the advances in technology, mass immigration around the world, trade, cultures living together, I do not see how you can miss it.

I have attended many seminars, workshops, events, they all have helped me in interpretation to understand and do a better job.  I am my worst critic.  I also help by organizing Mini-Courses for Court Interpreters at the Calgary Courts Centre, with instructors who are Judges, Defence Lawyers, and Crown Prosecutors. They help interpreters with vocabulary, what different types of Procedures mean, and how to be better prepared for what will happen in court. With all this training you understand the elements, the techniques of formal interpretation.

As an active member of a number of professional and regulatory associations, including the Guatemalan Bar Association, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta, and the Alberta Court Interpreters Association, could you tell us about why you chose membership in these associations, and how this has impacted your career?

These associations are related to my work as an interpreter and support me as a member, they also allow me to get work and be recognized.  It is important to show your employers that you belong to associations that are registered and support you with professional development.

After the Bow Valley Course in interpreting for the justice sector, I started having a better understanding of the professional and technical form of interpretation.  I joined the associations to meet interpreters, work with them and participate in social or professional activities with members.

I have learned many things about interpretation from my colleagues; you cannot be isolated in your profession.

What kind of developments have you observed in the ATIA and its role in the language sector over the 14 years of your membership? How do you envision its direction in the future?

ATIA is this year celebrating 41styear since it was founded.  I related to ATIA since I arrived in Calgary, initially for the translation area.  It has done a very good job of not only keeping the organization alive for such a long time and developing a more professional system for translators and now working with different designations in interpretation, such as community/cultural, medical, court interpretation.  Conference interpretation and Editing is still to be developed.

ATIA in the future will need to focus more on interpretation, and part of the challenge is that there are no specialized schools for this activity in Calgary, nor in Edmonton, the capital of the province.  For this reason, it is recommended that the new members and for those current members that want to become Certified in any of the interpretation designations and did not have the chance to take valuable interpretation courses that were given in the past, should take the CISOC course (Cultural Interpretation Services for our Communities) on-line as an excellent introduction and training for interpreters.

The path that an association such as ATIA will continue to evolve and change to adapt to the economic and political events of our province in the future, also increased immigration and new languages can have an impact in ATIA’s development, and more than anything else the number of new members that will become certified and will have a say in the decisions and directions that ATIA will take.

 

 

Interested in sharing your story in the Member Interview Series? Contact development@atia.ab.ca for more information!

Freelancers Unite! An Interview with CFU's Paula Kirman

Freelancers Unite! An Interview with CFU’s Paula Kirman

Many ATIA members may have met Paula Kirman of the Canadian Freelance Union (CFU) last year at the AGM in Edmonton, as she gave a presentation to our members on the benefits of joining the CFU. Thank you for joining us, Paula!

 

Q: Why don’t you start by telling us who can join the Canadian Freelance Union.

 

A: The Canadian Freelance Union is a community chapter of Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union. Membership is aimed at freelancers working in the media, communications, and information fields, and this can include interpreting and translating. Our members also include writers, graphic designers, website designers, social media consultants, photographers, and videographers.

 

Q: As you know, many associate and certified members of the ATIA do freelance or independent contracting work. Can you tell us about the benefits of joining the CFU for Translators and Interpreters?

 

A: Membership in the CFU offers group rates on insurance: health, home, auto, and liability. As many of us who are self-employed know, insurance can be hard to get – and very expensive. The CFU also offers grievance support, so if you have a client who isn’t paying, you can discuss the situation with someone at the union to decide the best course of action. As well, the CFU has a member’s directory that is available to potential clients who want to hire someone who is unionized. There is also the potential to connect with and socialize with other freelancers. Membership in the CFU helps build solidarity for freelancers in the labour movement. We’re stronger together.

 

Q: Many are drawn to freelancing because it affords translators and interpreters the independence and self-determination of being selective of projects and clients, allowing us to pursue work that we are passionate about. However, this independence can have its downside when it comes to clients’ non-payment of fees or deceptive contracts. How can the CFU support freelancers with problematic clients?

 

A: As I mentioned before, the CFU offers grievance support when it comes to non-paying clients. The situation will be discussed with the member, and an action plan created. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call from someone at the CFU to your client to convince them to pay up. CFU members are welcome to submit questions concerning contracts. Something the CFU is currently working on is more comprehensive contract advice, and contract templates.

 

 

Q: Freelancing also has many draws in terms of lifestyle: building your own schedule, choosing your workload, flexibility, and independence. Unfortunately, this can also mean precarious labour, lack of access to health benefits, and loneliness. What services does the CFU offer to combat these commonly-faced hardships for freelancers?

 

A: Joining the CFU helps build solidarity among freelancers. You can be connected to other freelancers in your area. Here in Edmonton, there is an Edmonton Freelancers Facebook group that I moderate, and we have regular meet-ups. Meet-ups have happened in other cities as well. The union also offers group rates on health, home, auto, and liability insurance, which can be hard to get (and expensive) for precarious workers. Finally, the CFU gives a voice to freelancers in the labour movement, and advocates on behalf of us by standing up for issues affecting us as precarious workers. If you check out our website (canadianfreelanceunion.ca) and social media, you will see articles and information posted to help inform freelancers about pitfalls to avoid and issues of concern, such as the persecution of journalists, shady websites that “hire” freelancers at low rates, and related issues.

 

Q: Certified members of the ATIA must carry errors and omissions insurance, as it is one of the critical ways that the ATIA protects both its members and the public. This insurance does not come cheap, and can be particularly unaffordable for freelancers or independent contractors. Can you tell us a little bit about insurance plans tailored for freelancers?

 

A: The Errors and Omissions insurance offered via the CFU includes Misrepresentation, Professional Negligence, Inaccurate Advice, Libel and Slander, and lost documents. It is an individual plan, not a group one, which means each person would have to get their own quote to see what best suits their needs.

 

Q: Thanks again for joining us to inform the ATIA’s members about the Canadian Freelance Union! Do you have any closing messages for the translators and interpreters of the ATIA?

 

A: More information about the Canadian Freelance Union can be found on our website: canadianfreelanceunion.ca. Also, remember that union dues are tax-deductible as a business operating expense (not on the union dues line on our taxes because we’re not a bargaining union), and the benefits of joining are well worth the annual dues.

ATIA Perspective on Pre-signed Translator Statements

Recently, ATIA became aware that some agencies are asking translators to pre-stamp and/or pre-sign blank translator statements. The request is often accompanied by an offer that if the translator chooses to do so, they will be given priority when translation jobs come through the agency.

While ATIA does not have a policy that prevents its membership from taking this action, it is not something that we condone as you could be opening yourselves to the potential for fraud. Your stamp(s) and seals(s) are your responsibility. Agreeing to this practice could result in your stamp and/or credentials being used on a translation that you did not author. This could put you at risk of future litigation.

It is important to remember that your stamp and seal remains the property of the Association and that you are its caretaker and are therefore responsible for how it is used.

Protect yourself from scams and fraud

Regularly, the Administrative Assistant and Development Coordinator receive notices regarding suspicious emails and questionable requests for services. It is important that you exercise vigilance when considering any new client.

Tips on how to protect yourself:
Do not accept any overpayments. If a client has sent you too much money, refuse to accept it. Do not cash the cheque under any circumstances. Return it to the sender and report the incident to the authorities.
Do not accept payment by cheque, especially from unknown or first-time clients. There are more reliable methods of payment including Interac e-transfer that can be used.
Do not begin any work until you have received payment and it has officially cleared your account. Note: the bank can come back many months later and tell you a cheque was actually fraudulent. 
Do not feel pressured to “act now”. Fraudsters will use pressure tactics and quick turnaround times against you. 

If you received an email from a sender exhibiting the following behaviour, be aware it may be a scam:

Their email address contains the words “no-reply”.
Their “reply-to” email address does not match the email from which it was sent.
They insist on an unreasonably urgent timeline.
They do not provide self identifying contact details.
They insist you begin the work before agreeing on payment.

What to do if you have received an email you suspect is an overpayment scam: 

Don’t respond to the email.  
Report the email to the Canadian Government’s Spam Reporting Centre and/or the Anti-Fraud Centre. Spam isn’t just “annoying, unwanted” emails. It is also defined as “false or misleading electronic representations.”

The names, emails, stories and excuses the fraudsters use for various scams are always different and ever-evolving. The stories may even seem elaborate and convincing. But while the stories change, the motive of the fraudster does not: they just want your money. 
 
If you believe you have already fallen victim to a scam, please report this to the following authorities: 

Your local police’s non-emergency line. 
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

If you’re aware of any other fraudulent schemes where translators and/or interpreters are targeted, please let us know.