Upcoming Events!

This issue

Note from de Editor P.12

DIY for Translators and Interpreters:

Creating Your Website P.1

Computer-assisted Translation Tools:

A Brief Review P. 2

Note from the President P. 3

Technological Solutions P. 3

Members Get-Togethers P. 4

Conference Report: ACFIT’s Fantastic

November Event P. 6

Member Profile P. 8

NITA Membership News P. 11

Winter 2012

DIY for Translators and Interpreters:

Creating Your Website By Lorena Pike

Feb. 4 Free Coffee Get-Together

March 10 Quarterly Meeting and Professional Development

Topic: “Gangs and Guns” (specialized terminology)

March 17 Simultaneous Interpreting Workshop with Katharine Allen

March 18 NITA hosts the ATA Certification Exam in Las Vegas

March 31 Interpreting Profanity and Ethics Workshop with

Alvaro Vergara-Mery and Cristina Sanchez

www.nitaonline.org

e-NITA NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

Winter 2012

This is a Call for Nominations for the NITA elections to be held in March 2012. You may nominate another member or yourself for any of the four positions that we will vote for this year: Treasurer, Secretary, and

two Directors. The Directors may focus on a particular area (such as Ethics, Membership, PR, etc.). These four positions will be for two-year terms running from March 2012 to March 2014. Nominations must be received by Friday, February 3, 2012. Nominees will be NITA members in good standing and will be approached by the Nominating Committee during late January and early February to confirm their willingness to run. Candidate Statements will be emailed to members by February 10, 2012.

All queries should be directed to members of the Nominating Committee, who have job descriptions for the open positions. The elections will be open for online voting in late February and early March. Members may vote online or in person during the Annual General Meeting on March 10 in Las Vegas. Thank you for considering taking your turn to help NITA thrive.

Karen Tkaczyk, Nominating Committee Chair, k.tkaczyk@nitaonline.org, (775) 309-1636

Many people have asked me about the easiest way to create a

promotional website, as opposed to an ecommerce website, to precisely promote their products or services. I would say that the most effortless way to establish a web presence is to go to Google (the most popular search engine) and type in “website designers.” Of course, the search results will be overwhelmingly extensive and most likely, you will have neither the time nor the drive to go through such a long list of technical, often unfamiliar information. Then you would pick the designer that is either closest to you or the one that promises that your website will come out on the first page of a search result. The second way that comes to mind would be to set up a blog (short for web log) on one of the many free sites that offer this service, such as Wordpress or Blogger, or why not a simple Facebook page? However, there are several important factors to ponder when deciding how to set up a website of your own – a place on the World Wide Web where your current and potential clients can see who you are and what you have to offer.

Continued on page 2

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Translation Journal, and it is being reprinted here with the gracious permission of Ilya Ulitkin.

The original text can be found at

http://translationjournal.net/journal/55computers.htm.

DIY for Translators … / Continued from page 1

I often compare a website to a brochure, where potential clients can see our values, services, educational background, and the like. A translator’s website should have basically the same content that a services brochure might contain, but the advantage is that the website is a digital version that can potentially reach a much wider audience. Because we are the only ones who know the details about our services and background and can also educate visitors to our website on the basics of translation and interpreting (including the difference between a translator and an interpreter), I am an avid advocate of the DIY method. The easiest, least painful way to create a website yourself is to use standard web and database tools. Once we take care of the following items, we will be able to get down to work on the design: Domain Name. This is the most important element of our website creation process. The domain name is the extension of our business name, and has to be chosen carefully. The main point in our case is to always include the word “translation” or “interpreting” (since it must say something about the services we provide). We should avoid using our personal name (unless it is included in the name of the business or DBA), make our domain name short and interesting, and reserve it for at least two years. Most hosting providers offer a free domain name with the purchase of a hosting package. The domain name may have to be renewed after the first year. It usually ranges from $9.99 to $14.99 a year, depending on the provider. The last component in a domain name, also called the top-level domain, is a three-letter word which basically communicates the business affiliation. The most common ones are .com, used by U.S. companies and businesses, .net for network providers or ISPs, .gov for U.S. government agencies, .edu for U.S. educational institutions, .org for non-profit organizations, and .biz for businesses (usually an alternative to .com when the domain name is already taken).

Continued on page 5

Two or three decades ago

the work tools of a translator included a typewriter and a collection of printed dictionaries, which are not difficult to handle. However, as a result of incredibly rapid progress in the field of electronic hardware and computer software, nowadays an important component of any translator's professional competence is the technological one, which, first of all, assumes skills in handling electronic resources and tools [1].

Now that we hear the expression “translator's work tools,” the first thing that comes to mind is a personal computer (a desktop or laptop computer, depending on one's personal preferences) and, surely, the Internet. Nobody translates the way they used to thirty or forty years ago because convenient electronic dictionaries, special translation software, and Internet resources are available, which allows us to keep up to date. This is especially important if we take into account the fact that we have entered the 21st century and virtually all translators use the Internet, the computer, and other electronic means in their work [2]. The idea of machine translation may be traced back to the 17th century. In 1629, René Descartes proposed a universal language, with equivalent ideas in different tongues sharing one symbol. Nevertheless, the development of machine translation started only in the 1940s when first electronic computers were designed. In March 1949, Warren Weaver, the director of natural sciences at the Rockefeller Foundation, intrigued by the way the British had used their pioneering Colossus computer to crack the military codes produced by Germany's Enigma encryption machines, formulated the concept of machine translation. He wrote, “I have a text in front of me which is written in Russian but I am going to pretend that it is really written in English and that it has been coded in some strange symbols. All I need to do is strip off the code in order to retrieve the information contained in the text.”

Weaver's memo attracted interest to the problem of machine translation, especially among the military. They were the first to actively support the development of the machine translation software. In the USA, much attention was paid to translation from Russian into English, while in the USSR, to translation from English into Russian.

Continued on page 6

Continued on page 4

Despite their efficiency and outlooks, the translation software and electronic

means cannot replace the human translator and

guarantee high-quality translations.

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utility installers). As a consequence, yours truly, who was in the middle of a translation, was forced to go on working and receive and deliver jobs without electricity, phone lines, fax or Internet at home (this is, I hope, of interest to translators).

When the tree fell, low-voltage lines (supplying power to homes) made contact with medium-voltage lines (23,000-volt distribution lines) and both types of lines made contact with the ground, either directly or through rain water. For a few instants, households were supplied with this voltage before the circuit breakers tripped. Per standard procedure, the grid tried to restore service three times. In some cases (as in my next-door neighbor’s home), the devices did not trip, probably due to defective grounding, and the current destroyed equipment inside the house. The heat generated by the electric shock pitted the concrete pavement in two spots and made a round hole 1¼ inches wide and 4 inches deep. Then the power company’s protection system was tripped and the power was cut, leaving us in the dark, in the rain and scared.

Even in the most sheltered environment, we are exposed to unforeseen circumstances, due to acts of man or nature. Here I will discuss the preventive measures I took and others that, had I used them, could have made things easier for me. Some of them are quick and cheap, others are costlier and take more time; all of them are profitable.

At home, after the power was shut down, the UPS (uninterruptible power supply) started up and gave me enough power to close programs and turn off the computer without data loss or file corruption. Several hours later, when the storm was over, I checked my (paper) schedule and saw that besides the translation due to be delivered to Nat the next day, Thursday, a job that was well under way, I had two editing jobs due to arrive on Thursday, for Anette and Pablo. There was also a job I had already received that needed to be sent back to Gustavo on Monday. I checked that the UPS still had enough power, then I turned on the computer and copied the files I was working on to a USB flash drive.

The next morning, I spoke with two friends who might have “granted me asylum” to finish my outstanding jobs.

continued on page 10

Editor’s Note: This article was originally written and published in Spanish in the ATA Spanish Division Newsletter, Intercambios, and it is reprinted here with permission from Salvador Virgen, who graciously translated it into English, and Graciela del Pilar Isaía y Ruiz, Intercambios Editor. The original version can be viewed at http://ataspd.org/2011/11/29/soluciones-tecnologicas.

I hope you have gotten a wonderful start into 2012, dear NITA members and friends! Time flies,

doesn’t it? Here at NITA we are quite excited, because we have a fantastic year of professional development opportunities in store for you. Our all-volunteer board of directors is working very

hard to bring workshops and presentations to both Reno and Las Vegas. We’ve had many

requests for specific workshops, and we are happy to make them happen!

As an organization, one of our goals is to continue growing our

membership in every corner of Nevada and surrounding states. We need your help to do this, so please support our professional organization by

either joining or renewing your membership today. You can do so safely and securely on our website: www.nitaonline.org.

March will be an action-packed month of activities in both Reno and Las

Vegas. Please have a look at our upcoming events on page 1. On a national level, the event I am perhaps the most excited about is the American

Translators Association’s 53rd Annual Conference. As many of you might know, it is held in a different city every year, and last year it was in

Boston (quite a long way from Nevada). However, this year, it will be held in San Diego (October 26 -29), so we are hoping that many of you will

attend. It’s a fantastic conference, with more than 150 educational sessions.

Enjoy the first newsletter of the year! I am very grateful to our

new NITA newsletter editor and board member, Lorena Pike, who is doing an excellent job at putting this publication

together. If you would like to contribute to it, please drop her a line at l.pike@nitaonline.org

Thank you for letting me serve as your president. It’s

been an honor to help lead our young and growing organization. Here’s to a healthy and successful 2012

for all of you!

Best, Judy Jenner

Note from the President

Technological Solutions By Salvador Virgen

In the translation trade, we face linguistic, managerial, or human relations problems every day, and each is solved in its own way. But (to paraphrase Calvino) there are things that only technology can give us, by specific means. This column will focus on offering technological solutions to the problems that translators face. N.B. No advertising is intended by the mention of software or hardware products. The author of this column is wholly independent of the companies that create and distribute these products. The author will appreciate any comments, queries and suggestions sent to soluciones@virgen.com.mx. Some months ago, a neighbor decided to trim the exposed roots of a 50- or 60-year-old ash tree, thus weakening its grip on the soil (this is of interest to horticulturists). A few days ago, a tropical depression turned into a hurricane and hit the coast of Veracruz, Mexico (this is of interest to meteorologists). Shortly thereafter, on a Wednesday afternoon, a downpour with gale-force winds struck the tree down (this is of interest to the Fire Department). When it fell, the tree pulled down phone and cable TV lines, as well as low and medium-voltage power lines (this is of interest to

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A chilly Saturday afternoon was the perfect backdrop for a

great gathering with friends, family, and colleagues. A couple of new members, an artist and two very young aspiring interpreters (or translators or both) added a spark of fun.

Our wonderful, kind organizer, Ligin Baker, was welcoming everyone with a great smile. The afternoon was a delight, and everyone had the opportunity to share experiences and tips about the art of translation and interpreting, as well as the court interpreter exam, among other topics. Everyone was delighted with the portraits made by the special guest from Taiwan, Martin Chiu, another skilled artist. It was a great time for sharing thoughts about two different kinds of art. We are looking forward to the next coffee get-together in Las Vegas!

Reno NITA Members Get Together to

Have Fun While Learning By Maria Davis; edited by Sandra Rentas

On November 18, NITA member Julia Page delighted our

Reno members with a wonderful presentation on medical interpreting. The audience got the opportunity to learn a little about the bumpy road that our profession still encounters, even in this day and age. It was very enlightening to learn about medical interpreting firsthand from the person that made it all happen at an Arizona hospital. Julia shared with us the steps that she had to take to change the minds of “I know what we

need” big shot board members, proving that all that is needed is a little window of opportunity to show how important professional medical interpreters really are. Members also learned about the resources available for getting started in the medical interpreting profession, as well as ethics, and even got to laugh at some funny stories. Julia, with her lively personality, abundant enthusiasm and passion for medical interpreting, grabbed everyone’s attention from the moment she said “Hello.” Of course, we all had a lot of fun getting to know one another, eating the delicious food and just talking; after all, as interpreters, we do talk!

Love for the Art:

Las Vegas Get-together By Lorena Pike

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DIY for Translators … / Continued from page 2

Hosting Provider. Most hosting providers offer hosting packages for less than $100 a year. We have to make sure we get a user-friendly control panel, unlimited bandwidth usage/monthly transfer, at least 99% uptime, e-mail hosting with unlimited storage, at least 10 email addresses, and POP/IMAP access, additional subdomains, unlimited disk space, at least 2 MySQL databases (to be able to install content management system programs like Wordpress, Joomla, or Drupal), e-commerce features, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) accounts for safely transferring large files to our clients, visitor analytics, and 24/7 customer service. It is advisable to choose a well-renowned provider who has been in business for several years, but beware of those that over-publicize their services and end up not providing 100% reliability and uptime.

E-mail on Own Domain. Many businesses that have a website do not use their domain name in their email addresses, which keeps them from having a professional email solution. So instead of using Gmail, Yahoo!, or the like, we should use our own domain name in the email addresses we provide to our clients (e.g., myname@translationrocks.com). Using an email client (Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express) is also very advisable once we set up our email addresses (remember the POP/IMAP access we have to make sure we get from the hosting provider). This type of software downloads the email messages we get in our inbox to our computer, allowing us to have all the messages from all our email addresses in one place, so that we don’t need to open an Internet browser to check our inbox. These programs also have contacts, calendars and to-do lists, which prove very useful for neatly organizing everything in one place.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Much has been said on the Internet about how to position a webpage for a higher rank on a results page. Google, for instance, has its own rules for directory inclusion (Google Places for business), which if not followed, could cause our website to be penalized or simply ignored by the search engine. Some simple strategies are having a dynamic website (changing and adding new content constantly – CMS (Content Management System) platforms are recommended), using only the keywords we need (in our case, translation, interpreting, etc.) without duplication, manually including our website in directories or search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask, or Yellow Pages, and avoiding flash content. We also have to include a privacy policy, a sitemap, and terms and conditions if we accept payments over the web (using PayPal).

Once we have all of the above in place, we can start thinking about designing our website. Writing the content is the first step of the web design process (remember the brochure), and we have to make sure it is professionally written. After all, we are expert translators, right? A standard promotional website typically has five pages:

Home: This page has to be attractive and engaging. Here we can write a welcome message and a summary of our services and achievements, and include links to our blog, a video, testimonials, etc.; in short, anything that will help make the visitor stay on the website and browse the rest of its pages.

About: This is also a very important part of our website. Here we need to say very nice things about ourselves, provide a little background about our education, experience and expertise, clients we have served, what

makes us different, and why we are professional translators and interpreters (remember to educate visitors about the profession).

Services: In this section, we need to include our offerings and describe our quality assurance process (if any; but it is advisable to have one). We must be very detailed and comprehensive.

News: This page could include news or developments regarding our business, the profession or the language industry at large (this is good content for search engine optimization).

Contact: The second most important piece of information will be included here. It is crucial to provide a phone number, email address, physical address or a P.O. box address (advisable for home-based businesses). A good strategy is to include a snapshot or interactive widget from Google Maps – the code is available at http://maps.google.com/help/maps/getmaps/quick.html

The second step will be to decide what tool we will be using to design our website. There are many software programs on the market that vary in features and price. These out-of-the-box solutions are also known as WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) programs, and, as the name indicates, they have graphical interfaces that show you exactly how the final product will look. Some are open source and free source, and others are very costly. They are very popular among professional web developers and designers, but since we don’t have a lot of money or time to learn HTML code (Hypertext Markup Language –the language used to write websites), we can find better solutions.

As I mentioned earlier, the easiest approach to the DIY method is to use standard web and database tools. These platforms have become very popular in the last few years, and many web designers are using them to let their clients do maintenance on their own websites (adding or changing content). These platforms are known as CMS (Content Management Systems), which are mainly geared toward blog creation, but can be modified to look like a regular website. The beauty of these systems is that they have a user-friendly interface that controls one or more databases where the site’s content is stored, and they allow independent management of the content and the design. Thus, it is possible to manage the content (add, delete, or modify) and give the design an entirely new look whenever we want, without having to rewrite or adapt the content. My personal favorite is Joomla, which is open source (meaning we can adapt it as we wish) and written in PHP code. It can be installed manually on a web server (hosting provider) that supports PHP, through the control panel. This platform is free (my favorite word), very intuitive, and developers and designers are constantly creating extensions (features to add and manage content, pictures, video, multilingual content, etc.) which can also be downloaded and installed for free. Another very popular CMS is Wordpress, which is also free if the hosting provider’s control panel offers its installation. It features a dashboard where content, widgets and plugins can be managed. Wordpress looks more like a blog, and would need some modifications to the PHP code to look more like a website. An easy approach to this would be to buy a ready-made template (themeforest.net has great ones) and just include our own content.

All of this may seem overwhelming, but we can start by reading more about website design for small business owners (there are plenty of resources on the web) and then begin the design process one step at a time. If we are able to spend time and effort on training ourselves to be better translators and interpreters, we can certainly invest some extra time to have a presence on the web, market our business and reach more clients. It only takes determination!

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Continued from page 6

How many interpreters does it take to put together top-notch one-day conferences twice a year? If

you are ACFIT (Affordable Conferences for Interpreters and Translators), it only takes two: Consuelo Cisneros and Silvia Page, both court-certified Spanish interpreters in Las Vegas. They have made it their goal to offer affordable professional development opportunities (hence the name, ACFIT) to certified and registered court interpreters who have to comply with the professional development guidelines set forth by the Administrative Office of the Courts. And have they come through. I’ve attended their last three events, which are held in May and November, and have been quite impressed with every event. While NITA is not affiliated with ACFIT, we help support each other, and NITA is delighted to help ACFIT promote their events. ACFIT has been kind enough to let NITA have a table at their events, where they allow us to hand out information about our organization. The most recent conference was held on November 5, 2011, in its home location: the well-appointed jury room at the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas. As always, the event was quite affordable. For Spanish interpreters, 7 credits were a bargain at $50 (early bird rate). Interpreters for languages other than Spanish could get 1 credit for a mere $10. Registration is always at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday, which is tough for night owls like me, but there’s always plenty of good coffee and bagels (included in the conference price). After checking in, each attendee receives a thick spiral-bound book, which includes all of the speakers’ slides and handouts. This is something I don’t see even at large national conferences, and the book is very handy to have (I’ve kept all of them as reference material).

In November, the morning started with an interesting workshop on ethics presented by Mariteresa Rivera-Rogers, a (still registered) court interpreter who went on to law school and is now an attorney in private practice. Despite her humorous remarks that she can put babies to sleep with her voice, her thoughts on ethics – from the attorney’s point of view – were very insightful and concise. The vast majority of the day was reserved for Dr. Carol Meredith, the high-profile interpreter and popular conference speaker with a doctorate in nutritional biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For someone with such outstanding academic credentials, Carol is incredibly approachable and down-to-earth. Her detailed and animated Spanish-language presentations were full of highly valuable information. The printouts of the slides included in the book were very informative, and it’s obvious that she has spent many hours creating them. This is a presenter who is not only very knowledgeable, but also very prepared. The entire day was dedicated to a variety of homicide-related topics, including crime scene processing, fingerprints, blood, and forensic photography, as well as exercises and audience interaction. I wasn’t able to stay for the last few hours, as my Dad was arriving from Mexico City and I had to run to the airport, but I felt that I got a very solid introduction to a whole range of homicide and crime scene investigation-related subjects that morning. For those of us who want to continue building our specialized vocabulary lists, this conference is the perfect fit. In general, all of the speakers I have seen at ACFIT have been outstanding. It is truly amazing how much two people can accomplish, isn’t it?

Be sure to attend ACFIT’s next conference in early May. For more information, please contact Silvia Page at silvia@ameralinx.net.

Computer-assisted Translation Tools: A Brief Review / Continued from page 2

Today, we can speak of three approaches to written translation: the first one is machine translation based on the rules of the source and target languages, the second approach involves statistical machine translation, and the third one is computer-assisted (or computer-aided) translation. The earliest “translation engines” in machine-based translations were all based on the direct, so-called “transformer” approach. Input sentences of the source language were transformed directly into output

sentences of the target language, using a simple form of parsing. The parser did a rough analysis of the source sentence, dividing it into subject, object, verb, etc. Source words were then replaced by target

words selected from a dictionary, and their order rearranged so as to comply with the rules of the target language. This approach was used for a long time, only to be finally replaced by a less direct approach, which is called “linguistic

knowledge.” Modern computers, which have more processing power and more memory, can do what was impossible in the 1960s. Linguistic-knowledge translators have two sets of grammar rules: one for the source language, and the other for the target language. Besides, modern computers analyze not only grammar (morphological and syntactic structure) of the source language but also the semantic information. They also have information about the idiomatic differences between the languages, which prevent them from making silly mistakes. Nevertheless, much remains to be done. The second approach is based on a statistical method: by analyzing a large amount of parallel texts (identical texts in the source and target languages), the program selects the variants that coincide most often and uses them in the translation. It does not apply grammatical rules, since its algorithms are based on statistical analysis rather than traditional rule-based analysis. Besides, the lexical units here are word combinations, rather than separate words. One of the well-known examples of this approach is “Google Translate,” which is based on an approach called statistical machine translation, and more specifically, on research by Franz-Josef Och, who won the DARPA contest for speed machine translation in 2003. According to Och's keynote speech at the Machine Translation Summit in 2005, a solid base for developing a usable statistical machine translation system for a new pair of languages from scratch, would consist in having a bilingual text corpus (or parallel collection) of more than a million words and two monolingual corpora of each more than a billion words. Statistical models from this data are then used to translate between those languages. However, the translated sentences are sometimes so discordant that it is impossible to understand them. Computer-assisted translation is quite a different approach. According to “Wikipedia,” computer-assisted translation, computer-aided translation, or CAT is a form of translation where a human translator translates texts using computer software designed to support and facilitate the translation process [3]. Continued on page 7

Conference Report: ACFIT’s Fantastic November Event By Judy Jenner

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Computer-assisted Translation Tools: A Brief Review / Continued from page 6

The idea of computer-assisted translation appeared with the first computers: many translators were against machine translation, which was the object of many studies in computer linguistics, but actively supported the use of computers as a translator's workbench. In fact the modern idea of computer-assisted translation was put forward by Martin Kay. His memorandum in 1980 combined a critique of the current approach to machine translation, namely the aim to produce systems which would essentially replace human translators or at best relegate them to post-editing and dictionary updating roles, and an argument for the development of translation tools which would actually be used by translators. Since this was before the development of microprocessors and personal computers, the context was a network of terminals linked to a mainframe computer. Kay's basic idea was that existing text-processing tools could be augmented incrementally with translation facilities. The basic need was a good multilingual text editor and a terminal with a split screen; to this would be added a facility to automatically look up any word or phrase in a dictionary, and the ability to refer to previous decisions by the translator to ensure consistency in translation; and finally to provide automatic translation of text segments, which the translator could opt to let the machine do without intervention and then post-edit the result, or which could be done interactively, i.e. the computer could ask the translator to resolve ambiguities [4]. Nowadays, the most widespread means of computer usage in translations is the software ensuring automation of the translation process, namely: (i) Electronic dictionaries (iFinger, Abbyy Lingvo, Collins-Ultralingua, Mobile Systems, Paragon Software, etc.) and corpora of national languages (British National Corpus, American National Corpus, Russian National Corpus, English-Norwegian Parallel Corpus, etc.); (ii) Computer-assisted translation tools (CAT-tools) or “translation memory” software (SDL Trados, MemoQ, Déjà vu, StarTransit, Wordfast etc.); (ii) Editor software (SpellChecker, StyleWriter, etc.) Electronic dictionaries can be monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual. Besides, they contain information on word forms, pronunciation (quite often voiced by professional speakers), and word collocations. They may also include dictionaries in particular fields of science (applied mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, religion, engineering, etc.), idioms, slang, etc. All electronic dictionaries can be conventionally divided into online and offline dictionaries. Online dictionaries require access to the Internet, while offline dictionaries can be installed on a computer and used offline. Dictionary software generally far exceeds the scope of hand-held dictionaries. Many publishers of traditional printed dictionaries such as Langenscheidt, Collins-Reverso, Oxford English Dictionary, Duden, American Heritage, and Hachette, offer their resources for use on desktop and laptop computers. These programs can either be downloaded or purchased on a CD-ROM and installed. Other dictionary software is available from specialized electronic dictionary publishers such as iFinger, Abbyy Lingvo, Collins-Ultralingua, Mobile Systems and Paragon Software. Some electronic dictionaries provide an online discussion forum moderated by the software developers and lexicographers [5]. An advantage of electronic dictionaries is their convenience, high speed of information processing, possibility to quickly import the equivalent of the searched for word into the text as well as compactness. However, some of the online dictionaries are based on the ‘wiki’ principle. It means that users themselves constantly upgrade it. An example of this is the Urban Dictionary [6]. However, as B. Osimo states, the advantage of continuous update has its

reverse side: a printed text is usually more accurate; before investing time and money in paper publication, authors and publishers usually try to have an acceptable product. As is well-known, with the Internet anyone can publish their own site (providing they do not infringe national or international law), even without an advisor, editor, or publisher [7]. As a result, the attitude of many lexicographers to electronic dictionaries is quite skeptical because their use may degrade the quality of translation. However, the advantages of electronic dictionaries are obvious. First, they are not as conservative as printed dictionaries since they are constantly updated. This is especially important when we deal with promising and rapidly developing sciences such as telecommunication systems, nanotechnology, computers, etc. Printed dictionaries become outdated very soon, and the only way to keep up to date with scientific and technological progress is to use electronic dictionaries. Second, electronic dictionaries provide an easy access to lexicographical resources and fast search for linguistic information, not only in the dictionary but also on the Internet. For example, the printed version of the Oxford English Dictionary has 12 volumes, and to find the desired word will not be an easy task, while the time needed to look through the volumes in search of the necessary word will take seconds in its CD-ROM version. Third, all electronic dictionaries have an option to add users’ dictionaries, which helps expand the basic version. Fourth, electronic bilingual and multilingual dictionaries make it possible to reverse the direction of translation [2]. Another way to improve your translation is the use of corpora of national languages. This is especially important when translating from a native language into a foreign language. A linguistic corpus is a set of texts which are collected and accumulated in accordance with certain principles, tagged and parsed, and have a special search engine. The expediency of corpora for a translator is explained as follows: (i) Corpora are a collection of samples of written and spoken language from a wide range of sources (literature, scientific publications, magazines and journals, academic reports, and dialogues). They are useful when you are not sure whether or not the word can be used in a given context; (ii) Texts presented in corpora have representative data, since almost all modern corpora include more than 100 million words and word combinations; (iii) Corpora may help solve different linguistic problems, including those in translation. Nevertheless, despite large and accurate representative data, corpora cannot cover all spheres of human activities, which makes them inapplicable to some fields of science, for example. The products based on the “translation memory” (TM) software are intended for professional translators and translation agencies. Such CAT-tools as SDL Trados, Déjà vu, StarTransit, Wordfast, etc. are now an integral part of the modern translation process. Their use is also expedient when some work should be done by a group of translators as it is necessary to provide consistent translation within one project. As a result, the translation is stored in one database available to all the participants of the translation process. The translators “see” the results of their work in real time. In this case, they can be connected to a single network locally or remotely. This is especially important for companies with branches in different countries.

Continued on page 9

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Meet one of our newest members, Verónica Ramirez, who is a translator and interpreter for the Clark County

School District and a certified court interpreter. She graciously shared her story with the e-NITA Newsletter.

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efforts to help us achieve our common goals.

Could you tell us something about your educational background, where are you from,

and basically, what you do? I was born in Veracruz, Mexico and I actually came to

California when I was about 15 years old, so I had gone all the way through 10th grade in Mexico, and then I came here and started high school, and that is when I learned English, but my previous education was obviously in Spanish.

How did you start working as an interpreter? I was actually unemployed at the time, and I met a friend at the community college. She was taking a computer class and so was I, and I don’t really understand how I got into that class, because it was about programming. I actually was looking for a basic computer class, but then the counselor said, “Well, since you like computers, just go ahead and take the programming class.” I did it not knowing what programming was all about. So I got there, and this friend of mine and I were the only Hispanics; everyone else was from India, so everyone knew everything about the subject matter, and we were completely lost. We were like, “What do you mean by ‘we need to write code?’ What is code, in the first place?” I guess I understood a little of what was going on. Then there was a group of five people, and they were having a hard time writing a piece of the code, and I think I just got lucky when I said, “Why don’t we do this?” And they tried it and it worked.

One of the friends I made from that group was working for the school district, and I told her that I didn’t have a job; that I was looking for something. And she said, “Why don’t you come and translate for us?” I wasn’t sure if I could do that. Back then, I didn’t know what the difference between translating and interpreting was. The first time I interpreted for the school district, I thought it was going to be something like in the United Nations. It turns out that I get there, and I am nervous, sweating and saying to myself, “Do I need a dictionary or something?” I walked in and I was expecting to see a conference room or something, but it turned out to be this small classroom with chairs for kindergarteners, where only the teacher and the parent were. It was the easiest thing that I thought I was ever going to do. And I thought, wow, are they going to pay me for this? So, that was the first time I actually got an assignment for interpreting.

Talking earlier about being involved in computers, has also being tech savvy proven helpful for the job that you do? Well, yes, but what I like the most about computers is actually fixing them. I am a translator and interpreter for the school district, but we really haven’t implemented any technology. We just have a computer and a couple of dictionaries. However, I guess it helps, because nowadays everyone is using technology, but in my case I think that it hasn’t been something that I really need for the work I do.

Let’s go back to the subject of computers and technology and talk about some of the software issues. There are probably some translators that don’t know that there are some tools out there that can actually help you ease your workload when you are working with translations. Have you tried using any of these tools? I really don’t have any experience with the software you mention. I actually learned that there are such things because I became a member of the ATA, and when I was reading through their magazine I thought, well what is this all about? I see TRADOS and things like that. I am looking for someone who actually has experience with that software so can I check them out and see if that is something that could help me out.

Do you have any online dictionary that you prefer or use the most? The only resources I use on the web are Wordreference.com and Proz.com.

Now, let’s talk about NITA. I know that you recently joined us. Can you tell us about how you feel about being a member of NITA? I first came across NITA through the workshops that I have attended. There is always a mention of the organizations for interpreters and translators, so some of those were obviously ATA and NITA. I wanted to belong to something, actually meeting people who shared the same interest as me. So I went ahead, after thinking about it for a while. I went to the website, I saw the announcements, the events that I actually would have liked to go to, but it was too late by the time that I realized that they had them. So, I just kept checking and checking to see if something was coming up. I looked at the membership and saw all the categories.

Continued on page 11

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NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

electronic technologies and the translator's skills, of good knowledge of a foreign language and theory of translation, because programs and translation software will not replace humans even in the long-term future—at least not until actual high-performance artificial intelligence is created. Therefore, much depends on the translator's personality and his professional experience, while electronic systems are useful, necessary and sometimes required supplements. References: [1] Komissarov, V.N. (1997). Теоретические основы методики обучения переводу (Theoretical Foundations of the Method of Training of Translators), Moscow: Rema [in Russian]. [2] Shevchuk, V.N. (2010). Электронные ресурсы переводчика (Translator's Electronic Resources), Moscow: Librait, [in Russian]. [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_translation. [4] Hutchins, J. (1998). Machine Translation 13 (4): 287-307. [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_dictionary. [6] http://www.urbandictionary.com/. [7] Osimo, B. Translation Course - http://courses.logos.it/EN/5_13.html.

Ilya Ulitkin is an Associate Professor of the Department of Linguistics at Moscow State Regional University and a freelance Russian-to-English translator and editor in the Quantum Electronics journal. Ilya can be reached at ulitkin-ilya@yandex.ru.

Computer-assisted Translation Tools: A Brief Review / Continued from page 7

Translation memories, also known as translation databases, are collections of entries where a source text is associated with its corresponding translation in one or more target languages. Typically, TMs are used in translation tools: the software divides the text into segments, which can be blocks, paragraphs, sentences, and even phrases. When the translator “opens” a segment, the application looks up the database for the equivalent source text. The result is a list of matches usually ranked with a score expressing the percentage of similarity between the source text in the document and in the TM [an exact match (100%) or fuzzy match (less than 100% match)]. Some of the advantages in using TMs include: (i) The translation can be performed much faster: unnecessary retyping of existing translations is avoided, and at most only parts of text need to be changed. (ii) TMs also allow a better quality control by offering translation candidates that have been already approved, with the correct terminology. Translation memory is a powerful technology, which can help reduce the cost of localization. However, the use of TM needs to be weighted and all factors taken in account, since the application of the TM software is justified and effective in translating texts with a high degree of repetitions. The final step in the translation processes is editing. Most translations benefit from careful editing to improve clarity and readability, since they can often be littered by wordy phrases, needless repetitions, clichés, trite expressions, vague terms, redundancy, pretentious language, illogical statements, homonym confusions, jargon, misspelled terms, incorrectly formed plurals and possessives, and other common errors. To improve the translation, one can use either human editors or editing software. Nowadays, almost all word processors have proofreading tools and even have options to pop up advice if some grammar or stylistic rules are violated. We may find information and instruction on how to deal with these problems in grammar handbooks, style guides, editing manuals, dictionaries of spelling and usage, and similar references. However, for an inexperienced translator, these resources have a nearly fatal flaw: they can help improve the translation only if the translator knows what to look up. Besides, it is easy to overlook punctuation and spelling mistakes, word choice, phrasing, and style. Thus, a translator needs software that will combine both proofreading tools and style tools, which will correct and polish drafts at the word and phrase levels. Examples of editing software are Editor and StyleWriter programs, which search for thousands of writing faults, including complex words, jargon and abstract words, wordy phrases, hidden verbs, passive verbs, clichés and long sentences. After the analysis of the text, the program provides prompts showing how to edit each sentence. Initially, the editing software was developed to help professional groups (lawyers, office workers, etc.) improve the quality and clarity of written communication. However, translators can also use this software to write in an International English Style—a style that is clear, concise and readable. Note in conclusion that use of electronic technologies is not a universal panacea for all the problems in translation. Despite their efficiency and outlooks, the translation software and electronic means cannot replace the human translator and guarantee high-quality translations. Their aim is to accelerate and facilitate the translation process, to help solve many problems appearing in the course of the process, and to minimize the time needed for translation [2]. A high-quality translation results from the combination of

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NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

Technological Solutions / Continued from page 3

Alas, they were either in my same situation or for some reason had no Internet access. For a moment, the idea of moving to a hotel until the crisis was over crossed my mind. It was not altogether absurd: for a set price, we could have electricity, Internet and maybe even breakfast. But I felt it would be better to be home so I could keep a close watch on the repairs. I went to a Starbucks: they have WiFi, power outlets and for the price of a coffee and a snack you can stay several hours without being bothered by the staff (your mileage may vary). Perhaps I could have gone to a cybercafé, but I wasn’t aware of any near my home, and in my experience they are noisy. Once at Starbucks, I wrote to Pablo and other agencies that often send me work to tell them that I was not available for any more jobs. Without exception, they were understanding and sent supportive messages. I told Anette not to worry if I did not answer right away. After that I finished the job in progress for Nat, checked it over and sent it. That took a couple of hours. During that time, a tiny editing job arrived (mea culpa: for some reason it was not on the to-do list), which I finished and sent in.

I went home and found that the power utility technicians were working; some of them promised to finish the same day; others said it would take three days. If the first group was right, the power problem would be solved by dusk, but not the Internet problem. The idea of checking into a hotel loomed again, this time more enticing. I remembered that my cell phone could serve as a modem for one computer; I just needed to use an USB cable and pay an extra charge. I spent a while looking for the cable and cursing myself for not being organized enough. When electricity was restored five hours later, the connection worked wonderfully: I visited my cell phone provider’s website (at a per-kilobit rate) and learned about

would have had to add funds; of course, this is not an issue for users with a flexible plan. Having the plan information handy before the crisis would have been very useful.

Contact lists. Email programs usually have a feature for exporting email addresses and importing them into a different computer (i.e., a laptop). It is a good idea to export them periodically and include those files (or the files containing them) in the list of folders to be routinely backed up to an external disk. Doing this would have spared

me some headaches. In particular, I had not written down Anette’s email, so I had

to ask one of her colleagues to tell her about my troubles. Gmail remembers contacts, thus solving this problem.

The to-do list. In my case, it was most useful to have this on paper, not in electronic format somewhere, which

would have meant extra minutes writing down or copying and pasting the data. (Printing while running on UPS power was infeasible and

not even thinkable, given the current a printer draws).

Installed software. I had bought a new laptop a month

earlier and “hadn’t had the time” to install translation memory software. I had to use an older, slower laptop that had

the software installed. I could have worked faster and more comfortably on the new computer. Besides, the old computer battery held almost no charge, forcing me to connect it to a power outlet in order to work.

Power: If your home has no power, one possible power source is your car. You can buy a device called an inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter and can supply AC power for a laptop or cell phone. There are also cell phone chargers that plug into the cigarette lighter. UPS minutes: The UPS gives us a few minutes to use the computer while the power is off. It’s important to have a clear idea (written down, if possible) of the actions we are going to take: copy files to an USB flash drive (including memories, source files and even emails with specific directions), return the TM license, and export DV or SDLX files. If you forget something, you may not get a second chance. By the end of my experience, things had turned out well: I delivered the jobs I had accepted on time, and my clients were grateful that I had told them about my circumstances. I had taken some precautions, but not enough; overall, I was lucky. Since you cannot count on being lucky every time, it’s better to be prepared. Salvador Virgen is a chemical engineer and professor of literature at the Universidad de Guadalajara. He is an ATA Certified Translator and is the current vice president of the Asociación Mexicana de Traductores (Mexican Translators Association.)

a two-day Internet plan: long enough to have the Internet service restored. I signed up for the plan, translated the file for Gustavo on my main computer, and used the laptop for communications (so everyone in the house could get email and Internet without disturbing my translation job). I could now access my email and search the Internet. I spent Friday translating and taking care of domestic and family affairs; on Saturday at noon Internet service was restored and things returned to normal. I had to work Sunday afternoon to finish the jobs for Anette and Gustavo, but managed to deliver them on time. This experience taught me a lot of things; the first of course being that nothing beats prevention. A few preventive measures would have made everything more bearable. Here are some steps I took or could have taken. Electrical setup. It doesn’t matter how good or expensive a UPS or a power regulator is: without good wiring, including physical grounding, the hardware will probably be useless, and its protection nonexistent. A visit from a qualified electrician to check the wiring and if necessary, ground the system, is an excellent investment.

UPS selection. Some units cannot start if there is no power, even when the battery is fully charged. In other words, it is impossible to turn on the computer if the UPS is not plugged into a working outlet. I recommend checking this out before you buy. It is also wise to check how much backup time the UPS provides, to make optimal use of that time. This figure is also important to check when purchasing a UPS. It is also worth remembering that over time the battery holds less charge (this takes several years). Finally, my UPS has a small display that shows how many more minutes the unit can sustain the existing electrical load (i.e., how long I have before the computer turns off). This feature is invaluable.

Cell phone. Some smart phones can connect to the Internet to send and receive emails and surf the Internet, usually for an extra charge or with a slightly more expensive plan; the details vary by company. Others can be used as modems to connect one or more computers (via an USB cable or WiFi technology) using a technology known as “tethering” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethering). Not all cell phones and wireless providers allow this; luckily, in my case it was possible. There are also devices that look very much like a USB flash drive that allow the computer to surf the net; some models can also be used as WiFi access points or have one or more Ethernet (wired) ports. It is a wise move to check the details and get the accessories before a crisis occurs.

My cell phone is prepaid and I had enough funds to make the calls I made and pay for the Internet package that I bought; otherwise I

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NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION

Editor

Lorena Pike

Proofreader

Roxane K. Dow

This a new section added of the e-NITA Newsletter where we will share information about the professional achievements of members. If you have information to share with us, please email Lorena Pike at l.pike@nitaonline.org.

Farewell to Rosa

Please remember that starting in March, there will be a

small fee for non-members to attend our quarterly meetings,

which will remain free for all members. We have four

quarterly meetings a year: in March and September in Las

Vegas and in June and December in Reno. We are delighted

to keep scheduling nationally known speakers, but NITA has

many costs associated with the events, including room

rentals, speaker fees, plane tickets/mileage, snacks,

printing, etc. Every NITA board member donates hundreds of

hours every year to make these events possible, and we try

to keep the costs as low as we can by having board members

act as hotels and drivers. Please continue supporting NITA by

becoming a member! We are one of the very few T&I

associations in the country that are able to offer four

entirely free yearly meetings for members. If you are not a

member, please join us before or at the quarterly meeting.

Your meeting fee will include a yearly membership – and at

$35, it’s cheaper than dinner! And yes, board members

also pay yearly dues.

Contributors

Maria Davis Judy Jenner Lorena Pike

Sandra Rentas Ilya Ulitkin

Salvador Virgen

English <> Spanish Translator and Interpreter Verónica Ramirez / Continued from page 8

Then I decided I would go ahead and became a member, and then it just so happened it was around December when they had their get-together, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet more people personally. I encouraged my friend Patty to come along and maybe chat with people who could understand what we were going through and maybe learn about some job opportunities that we didn’t know about. So she tagged along with me, and the first time I walked through the door I saw Ligin, and she is the nicest person. I can see why she is one of the organizers, because she has this vibe that makes you feel welcome. Since that moment I knew that I was going to belong there, that there was somebody that I could actually count on. Have you used the NITA Forum? I know about the Forum, and I actually love it. I even check it more than my Facebook, so that probably already says something. The first time I went to the get-together, Ligin’s father, who is an artist, made a portrait of me. It was a surprise, because I was just sitting there, talking – it was indeed a very nice conversation – and in the meantime he was drawing me, and then at the end of the get-together he just handed me my portrait, and it came out so well! I never like having my picture taken, but I love the portrait. Then, as soon as I got home, I scanned the portrait and went to the Forum to upload it. Do you have any final thoughts you want to share with e-NITA? I am actually looking forward to the next NITA workshop or any other get-together, so I can meet more people.

Farewell to Rose Carter We want to acknowledge Rose’s great job as a member of NITA Board of Directors. Her volunteer work played an important role in fulfilling NITA’s goals as a professional association. Rose had to leave the Board of Directors due to her relocation to another state, and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Congratulations to the following members!

Maria Davis – passed both the written and oral examinations for the Nevada Court Certified Interpreter Program Ixtla Malagón – passed the oral examination for the Federal Court Certified Interpreter

Program.

Creative Director

Claudia Grady

NEVADA INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION WINTER 2012

PO BOX 21207

RENO, NV 89515

Ph: 775.224.4476

Fax: 775.847.0659

info@nitaonline.org

Note from the Editor

I want to thank all of our contributors and the people who continue to

make publication of the e-NITA Newsletter possible. This issue is dedicated to technology and how it can make our jobs easier. I hope you find this information useful and enjoyable. 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, to me at l.pike@nitaonline.org. Submissions are subject to editing for content, length and/or style and grammar. Lorena Pike Editor

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