To Sign or Not To Sign? Chris Durban Answers the

Question

By Catherine Jan

This article was originally published in The ATA Chronicle (June 2011) and is partially reprinted here with the permission of The ATA Chronicle

Editor, Jeff Sanfacon.

Should translators sign their translations? Chris Durban thinks so. A Paris-based freelance translator specializing in finance and capital markets (French-to-English), Chris is a past president of the Société Française des Traducteurs. She co-chaired ATA’s Public Relations Committee from 2002 to 2005, and was the recipient of ATA’s Gode Medal in 2001. A Fellow of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting in the U.K., she is the coauthor, with Eugene Seidel, of the “Fire Ant & Worker Bee” advice column that has run in the online Translation Journal since October 1998. In October 2010, they published a revised compilation of past columns in book form entitled The Prosperous Translator.1 Chris regularly gives lectures/workshops on specialization and working with direct clients, and has published many articles emphasizing the benefits that accrue to translators and clients alike when linguists take a proactive approach. She recently explained why it is in translators’ and agencies’ interest to take credit (and responsibility) for their translations. Catherine: Why are you so adamant about translators getting credit? What is the point of signed work? Chris: The quick answer: to promote transparency and let everyone reap the benefits it brings. Well, let me temper that: everyone who takes this business seriously. I would prefer that the cynics, jokers, sellers of snake oil, and just-making-a-buckers exit left ASAP, and I see signed work as one way to achieve that. Note that when I talk about signing your translations, I am referring not just to books, but to corporate, technical, and other types of translation as well. One feature of our market is that many (most?) buyers simply cannot judge what they are getting when a translation is delivered. This distinguishes us from providers of many other intellectual services. And it makes clients particularly vulnerable to glib or clueless vendors who weave a convincing quality narrative to clinch the sale, only to deliver shoddy or downright unacceptable translations. Catherine: You sound like you are speaking from experience. Chris: I am. For years I wrote a column called “The Onionskin” that ran in various professional magazines. This ultimately led me to write Translation: Getting It Right, a client education booklet containing advice for translation buyers, which has now been translated into a dozen languages.2 For my “Onionskin” columns, I researched good and bad translations in the public domain. The column celebrated the good translations (and yes, there is some very good work out there), but also moved up and down the supply chain to identify exactly how, when, and where flawed work had skidded off track. It was fascinating but also frustrating. And beyond a certain point, what was uncovered was downright embarrassing for the translation industry as a whole.

continued on page … 3

FALL 2011FALL 2011FALL 2011FALL 2011

this issue

To Sign or Not To Sign? Chris Durban Answers the

Question P. 1

Editor’s Note P.1

NITA Fall 2011 Professional Development Event P. 2

Interpreting in Religious Settings P. 3

President’s Note P. 3

Upcoming NITA Events P. 4

Highlights of the 2011 Nevada Certified Court Interpreter Program P. 5

Editor’s Note I am delighted to have joined the team of professionals who work on the e-NITA Newsletter. This is a quarterly publication, and we want to make it as enjoyable and interesting as possible by including articles relevant to the profession as well as event updates. I want to thank Ligin Baker —our star photographer— for providing us with wonderful pictures of the Professional Development Meeting. Special thanks go to Judy Jenner for entrusting me with this task — I feel privileged. This issue is brought to you thanks to the efforts of a committed team of professionals —translators and interpreters, of course— who wish to do their part in bringing you the latest on the industry. If you are interested in contributing some content for future issues, please submit your articles (250 words or more) along with a short biography and a picture. Cordially, Lorena Pike lpike@exetranslations.com (702) 406-4623

NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORSNEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORSNEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATIONASSOCIATIONASSOCIATION e-NITA Newsletter Fall 2011 | Page 1

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NITA Fall 2011 Professional Development Event

On Saturday, September 10, 2011, many of our members

and friends had a great opportunity to meet with colleagues

at the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce to talk about

the translation and interpreting industry and get very useful

information about client management and the do’s and

don’ts of starting a translation/interpretation business.

The free quarterly professional meeting started with

updates about the association from President Judy Jenner,

who gave us important information about future events and

meetings. We are very fortunate to have such a committed

and industry-experienced President, who is dedicated to

advancing the translation industry in Nevada. NITA’s focus

has proven to be very effective: it provides interpreters and

translators with an abundance of educational, professional

and networking resources so we can focus on what really

matters.

An experienced

Human Resources

manager, Marybeth

Hartleb, CEO of Prism

Human Resources

Consulting Services,

presented information about how to use client management

to maximize profitability. She sees a strategic partnership

with human resources as something that is useful for every

business. It is particularly helpful for interpreters and

translators because it will help us to carefully accept jobs

from new clients and establish long-lasting relationships

and eventually a loyal client base. This in turn will allow us

to pick and choose what we work on and for whom.

Marybeth mentioned different types of clients, including:

• Demanders With these clients, we have to set limits

on our availability, as well as on the relationship,

keeping it strictly professional.

• Flakes Because these clients sometimes fail to

respond to our phone calls and emails, we have to

include a “no communication” provision in our

contracts to specify what will occur when the client

fails to communicate,

emphasize that it is a

working relationship only,

and document any

communications we have

with the client.

• Prospects With these

prospective clients, we

need to limit the

amount of information

we give them during the

initial consultation.

Lastly, Marybeth addressed

the topic of contracts,

basically saying that we

have to make sure that we

state what we will do and

the time limits. A great

strategy to use when a

client asks us for

something not

included in the

scope of work is to

say, “I was

reviewing the

agreement we signed,

and I was wondering if you

want to add that service to

the scope of work,” thereby

making them understand

that we are not being paid

for “extra favors.”

Marybeth’s last comment,

“Try to be as broad and full

service a business as possible

in your offerings,” steered us

down the path toward

becoming more successful and

in demand.

continued on page ...6

“Trytobeasbroadand

fullserviceabusinessas

possibleinyourofferings”

Benefits of NITA Membership:

• Professional development

• Member directory, available to the public

• Unique, personal NitaOnline.org email address

• Announcements and newsletters

• Voting rights in board elections

• Leadership opportunity to serve as a committee or board member

• Opportunity to attend the NITA annual membership meeting

• Participation in all networking activities, job fairs and discussion groups

• Opportunity to be a presenter at a NITA meeting or conference

• Reduced fees for conferences

• Full access to the NITA website resources and links

• Membership number/card (coming soon!)

• Language/Specialization Divisions (coming soon!)

• And, of course: supporting NITA in our common goals! Your membership is vital to NITA. With your membership, you show your support for our ongoing efforts, and help us expand our activities throughout the state of Nevada.

Other opportunities for supporting NITA are: providing feedback on how we are doing, attending our regularly held activities, and volunteering your valuable time and efforts, to help us achieve our common goals.

e-NITA Newsletter Fall 2011 | Page 2

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Interpreting in Religious Settings

By Lorena Pike

Given my accounting and finance background as well as my focus on legal translation and interpreting, you might think it crazy for me to go on an interpreting assignment for a religious congregation that lasts almost three weeks! Well, believe it or not, I have been doing it for the last five years, and every time it is both challenging and enriching. I first came into contact with religious congregations back in late 2006, when I was approached by a Pittsburgh-based congregation. The job they wanted me to do was a simple two-page translation into Spanish. Then, my work fell in the hands of the Generalate, who, “impressed by my excellent translation skills” (not my

emphasis) invited me to be the lead Spanish interpreter at their General Chapter meeting. I agreed to provide my services, and in July 2007 I flew to the Congregation’s Mother House in Pittsburgh to start one of the most enriching jobs I have ever had as a professional translator and interpreter. I went back in July 2011 to renew my energies and work in a very relaxed, but extremely busy environment. There was literally no work schedule. I had to get up very early in the morning to interpret the homily at the daily Mass, the Chapter sessions began promptly at 9:00 a.m. and ended between 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening, and the minutes had to be translated daily. Perhaps the work load proved more challenging than the interpreting job itself.

continued on page... 4

President’s Note

Dear NITA members and friends: Time flies, and conference season is in full swing! Will you be attending the American Translators Association’s annual conference in Boston at the end of October? If you are, please let us know. We are

planning a lunch or happy hour for NITA members. It’s already become a tradition, and the event will be free to all NITA members. Watch your inbox for details! If you are not a NITA member or need to renew your membership, please do so today at http://www.nitaonline.org/join-nita/benefits-of-membership/. We are proud to have a growing member base in both southern and northern Nevada. I am delighted to announce that NITA has found a new editor for our e-NITA newsletter. Please meet Spanish court interpreter and translator Lorena Pike, who lives in Las Vegas. Lorena, who hails from Mexico City, has graciously volunteered to serve as editor so I can spend more time on my duties as president. Please do not hesitate to contact her with story ideas! Lorena can be reached at lpike@exetranslations.com. She joins our very talented newsletter team with fellow linguists Roxane Dow (our meticulous proofreader) and Claudia Grady (our fantastic creative director). This summer and early fall, NITA has been able to put on some outstanding events, and we are grateful for your support and attendance. As usual, we have events in both southern and northern Nevada, and we are always looking for volunteers for our professional development committee to ensure we can put on as many events as possible. On September 10, we held our quarterly member meeting and free professional development event in Vegas. NITA treasurer and small business expert Sandra Rentas gave us a great overview of what’s involved in starting your own business, and well-known entrepreneur and HR consulting business owner MaryBeth Hartleb, CEO of Prism Human Resources Consulting Services, gave a high-energy presentation about client management. We awarded two free continuing education credits for certified and registered court interpreters in Nevada. On September 24, industry expert Katharine Allen, co-president of InterpretAmerica and a popular workshop presenter, gave an excellent introduction to simultaneous interpreting in Reno. We are going to have this same paid workshop in Vegas in March – mark your calendars! I’d like to wish each and every one of you a fantastic fall season. Best,

Judy A. Jenner NITA President 2011-2013 president@nitaonline.org (702) 541-4647

Because when singled out, the vast majority of slipshod suppliers (both freelancers and agencies) ran for the hills, declining responsibility for the work they had produced and/or brokered and sold. A surprising number refused to admit their paternity/maternity, or spent vast amounts of energy hiding their connection to their offspring. When pushed, others admitted their powerlessness to enforce quality standards—and with it, the hollowness of the claims on their websites and in their own brochures. Catherine: So at one level this “sign your work” campaign is a truth-in-advertising issue. Chris: That’s right. I am aware of no suppliers who claim in public that they are producing “so-so” or “moderately good” work, and certainly no one is crowing about selling garbage. But, hey, the mediocre translations are out there for all to see. And one thing is sure: they are not all being produced by low-cost suppliers in the third world, students grubbing for pocket money, or wannabe bilinguals concocting silly texts in-house with a dictionary in one hand and a grammar book in the other. It is time for our industry to face up to it: many language services providers (again, both freelancers and agencies) are producing and selling work that makes the cut only because clients cannot judge how poor it is. I like to think the chickens will come home to roost at some point, but in the meantime, sloppy translations tarnish everyone’s image. Catherine: What are some of the benefits of signed translations? Chris: The beauty of signed work is that everybody sees who does what—clients and peers alike. So genuinely skilled translators and quality-oriented intermediaries can get their names out at zero cost. (Did I mention that inserting your name in the credits costs nothing?) It is also straightforward: there is no need for a costly certification procedure or endless negotiations by industry leaders at venues around the globe over a 5- or 10-year period. Anyone who understands the point and wants to buy in can simply agree it is a good idea and do it. Starting tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. or tonight at midnight. Whenever. You take responsibility for the texts you produce and sell by asserting your maternity/paternity. The good news is that taking responsibility means you get the credit too. And with that comes leverage that most translators and translation companies do not have now (along with a superb client education tool). More about that in a minute. Finally, signed work promotes best practice among translators by encouraging us all, whatever our size and market segment, to think twice before overcommitting ourselves. So if you claim to sell high quality work and your name is going to be out there on the text you deliver, well, you will probably decide to decline that 15,000-word job for delivery a day from tomorrow—either that or negotiate a longer deadline. With signed work, good translators and agencies that might be tempted to cut corners are actively encouraged not just to talk the talk but also walk the best practice walk.

continued on page ... 5

To Sign or Not To Sign? Chris Durban Answers the Question | continued from page ... 1

e-NITA Newsletter Fall 2011 | Page 3

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Interpreting in Religious Settings continued from page...3

Interpreting in religious

settings may prove to be

difficult even for the most

seasoned interpreters,

especially when it comes to their

background and upbringing. Should

an interpreter want to venture into

this field, he must consider that it

requires extensive understanding of

liturgical terminology, as well as

knowledge of general culture, basic terms of the different religions (or at least the

more predominant ones; namely, Christianity, Islam and Judaism), and the names of

Protestant churches and other religions or cults. A good starting point for obtaining

more information about the implications of interpreting in a religious setting may be

the Standard Practice Paper issued by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.

(RID), which may be applied to interpreters of spoken language, and includes the

following recommendations:

• Interpreters should only accept assignments in a religious setting where they can

faithfully and impartially convey the message.

• In addition, as in every conference, seminar or workshop, interpreters must have

access to and become familiar with any specialized vocabulary related to the specific

setting, texts pertaining to that setting, materials used by the speakers, and any other

information relevant to the particular setting.

• Interpreters should have enough time to prepare for the function, and for long events

there must always be a team of two or more interpreters.

• The placement of the interpreter is crucial for his rendition. If the event is a

conference, seminar or workshop, there should be a booth and a conference set-up

where participants can listen to the interpreter through a headset and have access to a

microphone or any other type of communication device. If the interpreting function is

to be performed inside a church or place of worship, the interpreter should be placed

as close as possible to the person receiving the interpreting services.

The question of believing or not believing in a specific creed does not come into play

when the interpreter projects a professional demeanor and is familiar with the

etiquette and customs relevant to the religious setting. We as interpreters have the

duty to learn about many topics, whether we render our services in a legal,

engineering, scientific, business or even religious setting, and for our own knowledge

of culture, arts, and literature we should know the basics of the cultural background

of the clients we provide services to. All this knowledge and general culture may

prove beneficial for our careers as interpreters, making ourselves more

marketable and, why not, more interesting. Additional resources

Magida, A. (ed.) (1999). How to be a perfect stranger: A guide to etiquette in other people's religious ceremonies.

Standard Practice Paper by Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf http://www.rid.org/userfiles/file/pdfs/standard_practice_papers/drafts_june_2006/religious_spp.pdf

Lorena Pike is a translator and court certified Spanish interpreter. She is the president of Executive Translations, Inc., a small translation business created in 2005. Lorena is also an adjunct faculty member in UNLV’s Foreign Languages

Department and a graduate student in the Hispanic Studies Program at UNLV.

Upcoming NITA Events:

As always, please visit our website (www.nitaonline.org) for the most up-to-date information. We are always adding new events, so be sure to check our website frequently. We

are also planning holiday get-togethers in both Las Vegas and Reno. We will announce those events via e-mail.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. NITA Coffee Get-Together Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 4550 South Maryland Parkway, Suite A, Las Vegas, NV 89119 Cost: Free

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Afternoon, time TBD NITA Quarterly Annual Meeting and Free Professional Development Event University of Nevada, Reno

“Guns and Gangs” – Terminology for Court Interpreters Cost: Free Details: will be posted online soon

Mark your calendars for 2012!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

NITA Introduction to Simultaneous Interpreting 1,

by Katharine Allen Las Vegas

Location: TBD Duration: 4 hours Details: http://nita.me/379fr Cost: $45-$85

March 2010

ATA Certification Exam Sitting (proctored by NITA, all registration handled by the ATA) Las Vegas, date TBD Details will be announced soon! Cost: $300-$345

19

03

17

TBD

Join us on LinkedIn! LinkedIn is one of the world’s largest professional net-working sites with more than 30 million users. If you haven’t done so, be sure to create your free profile — it’s a fantastic marketing tool. You will be able to link to your fellow linguists nationally and internationally. There’s also a section for groups, and NITA has one. Simply search for “NITA” and join us! President Judy

Jenner is the group’s administrator and will post messages and discussion forums. Join free at www.linkedin.com.

e-NITA Newsletter Fall 2011 | Page 4

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To Sign or Not To Sign? Chris Durban Answers the Question continued from page ... 3 Catherine: When do you request that your name be added to your translation? When you send in the quote or when you deliver the translation? Do you mention it in your terms and conditions? Chris: It appears as Point #3 in a one-page summary of the terms and conditions that I send to first-time clients before a job starts. As readers of the “Fire Ant & Worker Bee” column know, I am not a big believer in glossy brochures, but a sheet like this is a useful way to give new clients a clear idea of what they are getting into and what their role is. Catherine: How do you word your request? Chris: It is a statement, not a request. That is important. Just like when you make annual adjustments in your prices and announce this to your clients, it is not a good idea to phrase it as a request. Most of my clients are native speakers of French, so I communicate with them in that language, but an English version of Point #3 would go something like this: “If texts are changed in any way or reset, we revise and sign proofs before the document goes to press, failing which we apply a 100% surcharge (since translators’ names appear in the credits for most of our translations).” You can raise that to 200% or 500% if you like. The point is not to apply it, rather to draw your client’s attention to this particular condition. Catherine: Yes, on page 49 of The Prosperous Translator, you refer to this penalty surcharge for unapproved changes. To me, this appears threatening and I do not want to ruffle any feathers. How do clients usually react? Chris: In most cases, first-time clients call back immediately, concerned that a hefty price might head even higher. And this is the magic moment—the chance for me to explain, pleasantly, that I do not want to apply the surcharge: that is not the point. The sentence is in there, I tell them, because I have found that money focuses the mind and experience has taught me that it really is very important for the client’s image and my own to run a final check. I give them an example or two. If a well-meaning French client or printer adds an “s” to “information” on the grounds that “there are several” (or removes an “s” from “headquarters,” for that matter, because “there is only one”) and my name appears as the translator, I am the one who takes the hit; my reputation and brand suffer. I may also remind them that they do not fiddle around with the content of their financial statements once the auditor has signed off. Above all, I point out that it is silly for them to have spent a lot of money on their translation and then trip at the last hurdle. Concretely, I have them make note of this essential revision-of-proofs stage and include it in their production schedule. If for some reason time runs out and there is no time for revision, I inform them, regretfully, that they will then have to take my name off, explaining that “it’s too risky for my reputation.” Interestingly, that sentence alone is often enough for them to find the time and extend the deadline. If not, they strike my name from the credits and pay me my normal fee (of course). Encouragingly, I have not yet had to apply the surcharge. Occasionally a new client will say “Right! So this clause is a standard thing for professional translators, then?” To which I always reply, “Yes, for the serious ones.” Because, in my opinion, it should be a standard thing. Catherine: Do you ask for a link back to your website or social media profile? Chris: My customers find me almost exclusively through word of mouth and my presence at client-industry events, so this does not really apply. But for translators who rely heavily on a website, blog, or other social media, yes, this would be a good idea. Catherine: Any other comments about this public display of who translates what? Chris: I have been going on about signed work for about 30 years, and run into the same reactions from translators all the time. Some get it immediately. Others start “yes, but-ing,” which I think is a pity. Let me recycle a few of the latter reactions here:

[Editor’s Note: Part of the original article has been omitted here due to space restrictions.] “We are a top-end translation agency; we add massive value. Why should

the translator’s name appear when we do most of the work?”

If you are convinced that is the situation, by all means sign with your agency’s name. But somebody sign, please. And in a few years, your agency may be brave enough and secure enough to use both the agency’s and translator’s names: Spanish text: José Bloggs for International Global Translation Excellence Group & Partners. The fact is, when nobody takes responsibility (and credit) and opacity reigns, the people who interest me—clients and good translation suppliers—all suffer. If language services providers (both freelancers and agencies) were to get into the habit of signing even 50% of the commercial, technical, and other translations found in industry and elsewhere, we would be well on our way to a healthier market in just two or three years. And that is a shake-out I would really love to see. You can reach Chris Durban at chris.durban@gmail.com. Notes 1. Durban, Chris. The Prosperous Translator (Lulu.com, 2010). Copies can be ordered directly at www.lulu.com or through ATA’s website at www.atanet.org/publications. 2. You can download a copy of Translation: Getting It Right as a PDF file from ATA’s website at www.atanet.org/publications/getting_it_right.php. Additional Reading Catherine Translates http://catherinetranslates.com Translation Journal www.translationjournal.net

I find it hard to believe that in a little more than two months we will say goodbye to 2011. This issue of the e-NITA Newsletter is the last one published this calendar year! I keep asking myself, “Where did this year go? Has the Certified Court Interpreter Program advanced its mission?”

A brief recap of the Program’s 2011 activities and accomplishments should help us get a better idea of how we did. Here are the highlights, and you be the judge! We kicked off the Program’s professional activities by hosting a 2-day Orientation Workshop for Interpreters in the Nevada Courts in two separate locations (Las Vegas and Carson City) in January 2011. The workshop was taught by trainers of a national caliber, Ms. Holly Mikkelson and Mr. Agustín de la Mora, and covered a variety of areas central to the work of a court interpreter.

continued on page... 6

Highlights of the 2011 Nevada Certified Court Interpreter Program

By Andrea Krlickova

e-NITA Newsletter Fall 2011 | Page 5

6

Highlights of the 2011 Nevada Certified Court Interpreter Program continued from page... 5 A picture-perfect understanding of Nevada’s court system was delivered by Tahoe Justice Court Judge Richard Glasson, and former Clark County Public Defender, attorney Wendy Leik. Many of you already know that the Orientation Workshop is the first step required for the Nevada Court Interpreter Certification/Registration credential, followed by a written exam developed by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). A minimum passing score of 80% is required for the written examination in order to qualify to take the Oral Performance Exam and/or the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). A total of 63 examinees took the exam in January 2011. Thirty passed with the minimum required score (which represents 47%) and 33 candidates failed the exam. In April 2011, the Program had the pleasure of hosting the Consortium’s Professional Interpreter Workshop and the Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. (Nevada became an official member of the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts (CLAC) in 2001; it is currently one of 41 member states.) The Professional Interpreter Workshop, which preceded the Annual Meeting, was held on April 2-3, 2011, at the Clark County Government Center in Las Vegas. The event drew a wide range of participants from across the nation, offering language-neutral sessions which were open to both sign and spoken language interpreters at all skill levels. The topics featured included Glossary Building Techniques, Advanced Sight Translation, Foreclosure Mediation Terminology, Courtroom Protocols, Overview of the Written and Oral Examinations, Interpreter Ethics, Forensic Audio Transcription and Translation, and much more. The Honorable Jackie Glass from the 8th Judicial District Court in Las Vegas, now the new host of the Swift Justice television series, presented a workshop entitled “Beyond Negron: Interpreted Cases and Appellate Decisions.” During the session she provided a general survey of some of the more prominent state and federal decisions in cases where interpreters were involved. Instructors Verise Campbell, Sandra Reed-Bottino and David Eisenberg from the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program also gave a presentation entitled “Terminology: Foreclosure Mediation.” The Consortium Annual Meeting was held at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on April 4-6, 2011. The official “Welcome from Nevada” was given by Ms. Gayle Anderson, Chief of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol from the Nevada Commission on Economic Development and myself, the Certified Court Interpreter

Program Manager.

continued on page... 7

NITA Fall 2011 Professional Development Event continued from page ... 2

After Marybeth’s powerful insights, we had the opportunity to receive advice from Sandra Rentas,

who made a presentation about setting up a translation and/or interpreting business. Sandra’s

experience as a Business Consultant for the Nevada Small Business Development Center in Reno is

important during the current economic crisis, when we need to become more competitive.

Sandra addressed several points to consider when opening a business, such as personal goals, the

right attitude, the business idea, doing a market analysis, and the advantages of starting your own

business. Sandra then addressed other crucial topics, including marketing (how to project a better

image, including business card design), business license requirements, home-based businesses, legal

structures, and money management.

Sandra stressed the importance of having a business plan, which helps sell and explain the business

idea, among other things. The final section of her presentation gave information about finding

clients, which include but are not limited to the U.S. government and its agencies, U.S. and foreign

multinational corporations, importers and exporters, the publishing industry, the news media, and

the UN and its affiliates.

The meeting ended with a Q&A session, final remarks from President Judy Jenner, and the

traditional raffle. This free professional development event was followed by an informal gathering

at Casa Don Juan. We hope that you take advantage of these free sessions in the future, and we

look forward to getting together again with current and new NITA members!

NITA’s goals and plans:

• Advocacy for the profession,

strengthening standards and practices

• Political action for legislation:

requirements, certification and formal

accreditation

• Affiliation with regional, national and

international sister organizations

Now you can place an ad in the e-NITA

NewsletterNewsletterNewsletterNewsletter. Increase the visibility of your business and reach more clients. For more information contact: Judy Jenner president@nitaonline.org (702) 541-4647

e-NITA Newsletter Fall 2011 | Page 6

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Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a strong supporter of the court interpreting profession,

sent his official greetings in a letter to participants. In his brief note, he stated: “Hosting

the Consortium’s Annual Business Meeting here in Nevada evinces the necessity of recognizing the value of court interpreters and their dedication to our court systems.” The 2011 Annual Meeting, which included discussions on business issues of great importance as well as the most current accomplishments, challenges, and trends in court interpretation, was extremely productive and fruitful. The introduction of new Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs) into the Program’s credentialing process, specifically pertaining to one category of Nevada registered court interpreters, were successfully implemented at the begin-ning of the year. Several prospective court interpreters for Italian, Serbian, Bosnian, German, Croatian, and Dutch successfully completed the OPI process in April and May of 2011. I am proud to say that all of them demonstrated solid foreign language knowledge; they all received the top score of 12 on the testing scale. Great job, interpreters! The Program’s annual Skill-building Workshop was held in Reno and Las Vegas during the 4th of July

weekend. The workshop’s purpose was to assist those interested in going through the court interpreter credentialing process by facilitating additional training in preparation for future written and oral examinations. Additionally, the Skill-building Workshop is a mandatory prerequisite for interpreters interested in retaking the written examination. There were 36 attendees representing a myriad of foreign languages. The workshop’s curriculum was extensive. The educational focus was placed on areas such as cognitive understanding assessment, court phrases and legalese, court interpreter ethical challenges, a mock written examination, practical consecutive and simultaneous interpretation exercises, and more. The 8-hour training was offered in a language-neutral format. The Written Exam Retake was offered on July 6, 2011, via video-conferencing technology between Nevada’s two sister

locations – Las Vegas and Carson City. Fourteen test takers registered with the Program to retake the written test. Five examinees passed the written test retake with a minimum required score of 80%. The Rural Court Grant has been helping rural courts for almost a year. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Rural Court Coordinator and myself have collaborated to respond to the pressing needs of the Nevada rural courts for qualified court interpreter coverage. The Rural Court Interpreter Scholarship was established to fund training and certification for individuals connected to rural courts who wish to perform interpreting services. Candidates who have completed the mandatory Orientation Workshop for Interpreters in the Nevada Courts and achieved a successful score of 80% or higher on the written test may undergo oral testing each September. The Oral Performance Examination is a test designed to determine whether the candidate possesses the minimum levels of

language knowledge and interpreting skills required to perform competently during court proceedings. The test measures knowledge and fluency in both languages, as well as the ability to successfully render meaning from target to source language in simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting, and sight translation of documents. This year’s Oral Performance Examination was offered in Las Vegas and Carson City. Twenty-six candidates were orally tested in Spanish, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Community outreach is very important for

the continued success of the Certified Court Interpreter Program. The latest interactions with the Southern Nevada community were an informal “get-together” with students of Spanish at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and a live appearance at the Las Vegas radio station KRLV 1340 AM (¡Háblame! segment) this May and the “¡Ya Es Hora!” civic engagement in September. Please accept my most sincere “Thank you” for your support and involvement with the Certified Court Interpreter Program. Since this issue of the e-NITA Newsletter is the last one published this calendar year, I would like to wish you all a warm and happy holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

Fall 2011 Volume 03 / issue 04

editoreditoreditor

Lorena Pike

proofreaderproofreaderproofreader

Roxane K. Dow

contributorscontributorscontributors

Catherine Jan Judy Jenner Lorena Pike

Andrea Krlickova

creative directorcreative directorcreative director

Claudia Grady

If you would like to share an article or event, please e-mail

news to: lpike@exetranslations.com

PO BOX 21207 RENO, NV 89515

Ph.: 775.224.4476 Fax: 775.847.0659 info@nitaonline.org nitaonline.org

NITA was founded in 2008 to help elevate the quality and availability of language services in the state of Nevada. Its goals include advocacy for the profession and political action for legislation (certification), among others. NITA offers its members professional development opportunities, free quarterly meetings with presentations, voting rights in board elections, networking and much more.

NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

Highlights of the 2011 Nevada Certified Court Interpreter Program

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