This intensive workshop for translators specializing in the social sciences and humanities strives to provide a mixture of informative talks by experts, exchange of ideas among colleagues, and ample opportunity for networking with other academic translators spread over three to four days in the idyllic Nahetal near Mainz. There will be two in-depth sessions (in English) with invited speakers (Allison Brown and Anna Frankhauser), one each morning of the workshop. One afternoon will—weather permitting—be set aside for a group hike in the surrounding vineyards and along the Nahe—or up to the ruins of Rheingrafenstein fortress—and Kaffee und Kuchen at the architectural jewel of the Kurmittelhaus in Bad Münster. The other afternoon will be filled with shorter sessions (in English or German) offered by the workshop participants themselves (for details, see below). The workshop will officially end Saturday morning, but those who choose can participate in a cruise up the picturesque Rhine valley.
For more information, visit the BDÜ website at http://seminare.bdue.de/4595.

There will be an international conference (III Congreso Internacional de Traductores e Interpretes) in Lima on May 2 and 3, 2020.

“We look forward to the participation of professionals and academics, as well as translators and interpreters in training. We are sure that the plenary speakers that will participare in CITI Lima 2020 are the first reason of interest for many people. In addition, individual presentations will support the academic and professional levels of this event.”

For more information, visit: https://citilima.pe/

I will definitely be attending.  Please, let me know if someone else is going to this conference.

There were some great candidates as well in the interpreting-related categories for this year’s ProZ.com community choice awards. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated!

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The results are in. Thank you to everyone who nominated candidates, and all who voted in this year’s Community choice awards. Here are the winners in the translation-related categories:

Blog: Best overall blog related to translation. Thoughts on Translation – Corinne McKay ​ Website: Best overall professional translator’s website. http://transcreativity.com/ – Patricia Mora ​ Twitter: Best overall Twitter account. @erik_hansson – Erik Hansson ​ Facebook page/group: Best overall Facebook page or group. Things Translators Never Say ​ Podcast: Best podcast (series or single podcast). Marketing Tips for Translators ​ Trainer: Active trainer in in-person or online training. Tess Whitty ​ Article: Best article published (online or in print form). When the Unthinkable Happens and Giving Up Work Isn’t an Option – Nikki Graham ​ Book: Best book published (print or digital format). May include re-releases or new editions. Finding and Marketing to Translation Agencies: A Practical Guide for Freelance Translators – Corinne McKay ​ Blog post: For a single blog post, as opposed to the “blog” category, which is based on a blog as a whole. “Dealing with PDF files during a translation project” – Nancy Matis ​ ProZ.com profile: Most professional/attractive ProZ.com profile. Alexander Manaenkov – Games, Apps, Web | manoftranslation.com​ ​ Most helpful contributor: All-around contributions, be they in forums, in term help, on social media, etc. Sheila Wilson ​

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In relation to Amazon’s new service, Amazon Translate, One Hour Translation has been announced as partner in the delivery of Neural Machine Translation (NMT) services to enterprise customers. From the press release:

One Hour Translation, the world’s leading hybrid translation agency and largest online translation agency, announced that Amazon has selected it as a key partner to deliver Neural Machine Translation (NMT) based solutions to enterprise customers.

NMT is a revolutionary technology allowing computers to perform human-like translations that make sense.

One Hour Translation combines Neural Machine Translation (NMT) technology with human post-editing and quality control, delivering high-quality human level translation, that costs much less and is done much faster than the human only alternative.

OHT is already using the Amazon NMT engine to improve the translation efficiency of enterprise customers such as iHerb, a world leader in food supplements, and other customers.

OHT allows business customers to fully leverage and benefit from the powerful NMT technology. OHT’s software is connected to all the top NMT engines, and adds a multi-step, streamlined process, before and after the NMT stage itself in order to provide business customers with a complete end-to-end solution.

Using One Hour Translation, business customers can send up to hundreds of thousands of projects in parallel for translation. The OHT hybrid system will select, on the fly, the most appropriate NMT engine, as well as the required pre-processing, post-editing, and quality control measures needed in order to deliver high-quality translation to business customers.

“Hybrid NMT based systems are the future of professional translation services,” says Ofer Shoshan, founder & CEO of One Hour Translation. “OHT’s hybrid translation system allows our top customers to receive high quality translations at a fraction of the cost and time of human only translation. We see growing interest from customers in hybrid translations and we have enterprise customers who are already using it,” added Shoshan. “We believe in NMT and will announce new NMT related products and services in the next few weeks,” he concluded.

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The Access to Knowledge Awards are presented annually to top contributors supporting the Translators without Borders mission. These award winners are leading the effort to ensure vulnerable people have access to vital knowledge in local languages. These awards are the preeminent honor given by Translators without Borders to those from the humanitarian, development and language sectors working in the field of communications in the right language.

The awards, which honor volunteers, donors, and non-profit partners, are given within six categories: Right to Knowledge Award for a translator or translation company who has translated humanitarian content with Translators without Borders; Excellence Award for an individual who has volunteered ‘above and beyond’ in supporting Translators without Borders; Empowerment Award for an individual or organization who has helped train or mentor new translators; Communicator of the Year for an individual who builds awareness of the need to increase access to knowledge; Humanitarian Communicator for a non-profit that exemplifies increased access to information in the right language; and Donor Award for an individual or organization that has significantly contributed to the financial health of Translators without Borders.

Congratulations to ProZ.com member Gladis Audi, on the French Translation Team receiving the Empowerment Award, and to Ashutosh Mitra, Monika Saraf and Bhashna Gupta, receiving honorable mention as part of the eCancer Hindi team.

See the full awards announcement >>

As you may have already heard, the European language industry association (Elia) and ProZ.com have teamed up to broadcast this year’s event, Together 2018. Together is an annual two-day event from Elia, where language service companies and independent professionals convene for open dialogue on industry trends, to learn mutually-relevant new approaches, to update technical skills and, ultimately, develop lasting relationships to serve their end clients better. This year, the event will be held on February 22nd and 23rd.

If you are a ProZ.com Plus subscriber, you will have access to the broadcast and recordings from this year’s event for free.

All you have to do is:

1. Make sure you are logged in to your ProZ.com account.
2. Go to ProZ.com/TV at https://www.proz.com/tv/Together2018 (also found under the “Member activities” section of the site menu).
3. Enjoy.

This event has been approved for up to 7 ATA Continuing Education points. Important: in order to earn CE points, you must click the “Get credentialed” button on the timer above the video player on https://www.proz.com/tv/Together2018.

Translation challenges over the next decade and how to address them

Today’s guest post was written by Paula Ribeiro – president and co-founder of the Portuguese Association of Translators and Interpreters (APTRAD). Paula is a long-time ProZ.com member and part of the Certified PRO Network. APTRAD will be holding its second international conference on May 17th, 18th and 19th in Porto, Portugal.

APTRAD, the Portuguese Association of Translators and Interpreters, was established in February 2015 by a group of freelance professionals in response to a perceived need for a modern, creative and innovative approach in order to achieve greater cohesion and exchange of information at a national level within the profession. After almost one year of hard work we are proud of achieving some of the important goals we initially set.

APTRAD’s motto – Interpreting the present to translate the future – reflects the Association’s aim to promote and foster the growth of its professional members, and to support the integration as professionals of all future translators and interpreters into the market.

Pursuing this thought, APTRAD is to hold its 2nd International Conference from 17 to 19 May 2018 in Porto, Portugal – a bilingual event full of opportunities to explore, learn, share, and of course network! The conference, based on the theme Translation challenges over the next decade and how to address them, will explore the challenges of a professional freelance translator and/or interpreter during the next decade and how to address and overcome them.

As in 2016, where we welcomed more than 300 participants from all over the world, we are all trying to turn this event into a big party for translators, interpreters and linguists in general joining us in our beloved hometown – Porto.

The organization of this event becomes much easier with the valuable help of our partners, in which ProZ.com is included as an essential reference in the career of so many professionals. Thank you for your support!

Feel free to visit our website at and more specifically the conference website and drop us a line if you need help or some extra information about the event!

And if you are still considering, see what participants had to say about APTRAD’s 1st International Conference in 2016 here.

Also, and because an event is just not work time, be sure to check out the amazing fringe events awaiting you in Porto.

See you this May! We promise you an unforgettable event and lots of fun!

For more information:

APTRAD website: www.aptrad.pt

APRTRAD conference: www.aptrad.pt/conference/conference

Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/2019483394940324/

At the 69th National Book Awards in November 2018, the prestigious American literary prize will honor both author and translator in the new award category for translated literature.

The National Book Foundation, the non-profit organization that has been administering the awards since 1950, announced the new category on February 1, 2018, saying that it is meant to “broaden readership for global voices and spark dialogue around international stories.”

“We now have the opportunity to recognize exceptional books that are written anywhere in the world, and to encourage new voices and perspectives to become part of our national discourse,” said David Steinberger, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation, in a media statement.

The new Award for Translated Literature is the first category to be added to the National Book Awards since 1996. The other four categories are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature.

Among the recipients of the National Book Awards include American literary greats Philip Roth, John Updike, Bernard Malamud, and Norman Mailer. Many awardees have also won the Nobel Prize for Literature, including William Faulkner and Saul Bellow, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction such as Alice Walker.

“We are a nation of immigrants, and we should never stop seeking connection and insight from the myriad cultures that consistently influence and inspire us,” said Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation.

The winners in the new category will receive a bronze sculpture and a USD 10,000 prize money to be split evenly between the author and translator. Finalists will receive USD 1,000, a medal, and a judges’ citation.

This literary translation prize is more than just good news for an industry that has long struggled not just for recognition but also for compensation. In January 2018, Slator reported that literary translators in the US and Germany have challenging work conditions that make it hard to “earn a living.”

Read more >>

ELSPEET, THE NETHERLANDS, AUGUST 10th 2017 – Pieter Beens, freelance translator and owner of Dutch translation company Vertaalt.nu, introduces xl8 review. This new review project focuses on products that will bring health and productivity improvements for translators. The project initially starts with a monthly review, but inventors and manufacturers are already eager to participate.

“xl8 review is a great new way for translators to look at innovations that can improve their lives”, says Pieter Beens. He started the project out of curiosity, initially reviewing books on his business blog. Combining his interest in product innovations and review experience for various newspapers and magazines, he decided to bring out xl8 review to specifically focus on products that can be of use for translators. “Every year many tools and products are introduced to improve our lifes, but it is up to xl8 review to prove what they are worth.” The success of the new series of product reviews is already indicated by a huge list of inventors and manufacturers wanting to have their products reviewed, says Beens. “I have a book scanner, innovative flower pot for offices and hydration bottle among others. Manufacturers are really interested in having their products tested for the specific translation industry.”

The first review is to be published in a couple of weeks, and a new review will be added each month afterwards. Beens: “My initial plan is to publish monthly, but the long list makes it almost essential to increase the frequency.” xl8 reviews will be posted on The Open Mic as well. ProZ.com has also shown an interest in useful reviews for translators. The xl8 review project will therefore have a reach of tens of thousands of translators.

Website: https://www.vertaalt.nu/xl8-review

Just a reminder that voting in the 2017 ProZ.com community choice awards ends when July does, so if you haven’t cast your votes yet, don’t wait!

Vote here >>

Arabic-Spanish translator Shadi Rohana is judging the Arabic portion of a rotating translation contest:

The contest was begun by a Mexico-based group, with each choosing a poem from the language they work in, presents it, and then solicits submissions. Rohana chose Mona Kareem’s poem “حدود.”

“Like many other poets she is also a translator,” Rohana said over email, “and and I chose ‘حدود‘ because it’s my favorite poem in her recent book.”

The contest open until end of July, and the Spanish translation of the poem should be sent directly to [email protected]. There are no special requirements; the contest is open to all.

“The winner will be announced on the website,” Rohana said, “and there might be some ceremony involved in December—we’re still not so sure. This year we had concursos in Russian, Catalan and Mayan language. We are also trying to see what kind of prizes we can give, but for now what’s certain is that the winner will be published in places like Periódico de poesía, which is a poetry magazine that belongs to the UNAM (the National Autonomous University of Mexico) and another magazine called Sin Fin, and both are part of the organizers.”

AUSIT ANNUAL MINI-CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER 17-18, 2017, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA

*

CALL FOR PAPERS

TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING: ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM

Submission deadline: 31 July 2017

Bridging the gaps between languages and cultures as we do, it can sometimes be difficult for those of us in the interpreting and translation industry to balance expectations.  Particularly when working with sensitive information or in tricky situations, our errors in judgement can have far-reaching consequences.  In these circumstances, our professional ethics can help us make informed judgments to navigate tricky situations and guide us through ethical dilemmas.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of AUSIT’s ongoing commitment to raising professional standards and awareness of the translation and interpreting industry, this year’s mini-conference serves as the best opportunity to reflect on our professional and ethical values, converge our thinking and discuss.

The Organising Committee is now inviting translation and interpreting scholars as well as practising translators and interpreters to submit proposals for papers addressing the conference theme, Translation and Interpreting: Ethics and Professionalism.  Presentations on all related aspects are welcome including, but not limited to, practice, theory, research and pedagogy.

SUBMISSION

Proposals for individual papers should be submitted as abstracts of 250 words via the submission page (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ausit2017) by 31 July 2017.

TIME ALLOCATION

Papers will be allocated 20 minutes for presentation plus 10 minutes for discussion.

IMPORTANT DATES

31 July 2017: Submission deadline

1 – 31 August 2017: Committee appraises abstracts and notifies presenters of acceptance

22 September 2017: Registration deadline for presenters.  Presenters need to register for the Mini-

conference on or before this date.

17 – 18 November 2017: Mini-conference, NAGM & Jill Blewett Memorial Lecture

APPRAISAL CRITERIA

Please ensure that you meet all or most of the following appraisal criteria.

• You clearly state the purpose of the presentation.

• You focus the content of your presentation, pacing it so that it fits into your allocated time slot (timekeepers will stop presentations at the advertised times).

• You contribute a presentation of good quality.

• You clearly reflect the conference theme in your presentation

RESEARCH PAPERS

– You define the method/approach, data and results (if applicable) in clear terms.

– You note the implications/relevance of the findings.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE PAPERS

– You clearly identify the issues discussed as issues arising from particular professional situations.

– You clearly identify the implications/relevance.

For any enquiries, please contact the Organising Committee via natminiconf(at)ausit.org

DANBURY, CT, USA and DUBLIN, IRELAND – 15 June 2017. Translators without Borders (TWB) and The Rosetta Foundation (TRF) have agreed to merge operations. The merger, announced today at the Localization World conference in Barcelona, brings together the two leading non-profit organizations focused on better access to information in languages people understand.

In the past five years, and especially since the devastating outbreak of Ebola in 2014-15, there has been a greater awareness that language is a critical part of humanitarian response and development work. TWB and TRF have responded by building technologies and communities of translators to ensure non-profit organizations have access to high quality local language resources. Additionally, TWB has developed its Words of Relief crisis response service, which has been active in a number of major crises, including the Ebola outbreak, Nepal earthquake and the European refugee crisis.

“We have all seen time and again, for example recently during the refugee crisis in Greece, how information can save and transform lives. For information to be effective it needs to be in local languages,” said Andrew Bredenkamp, board chair of TWB and member of the TRF board. “The need for local language information is huge, urgent, and growing fast – this merger will give us greater scalability and a stronger platform for advocacy to help meet this need.”

With this merger, the organizations will increase efficiencies and ensure that both entities continue to offer high quality language services to the aid community and the affected populations they serve.

Aimee Ansari, executive director of TWB and Olga Blasco, TRF executive for the past 1.5 years, worked together to complete the deal, backed by the boards of both organizations. Olga has said, “I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with Aimee, a veteran of the humanitarian sector who truly understands the importance of language. Over the coming months, we will work together with the TWB and TRF teams to merge operations as required to meet our strategic goals and, most importantly, to strengthen outreach and processes for our highly motivated translator communities.” Olga will be relinquishing her role as executive to become a new TRF board member.

TRF works with translators through the Trommons platform, developed by the Localisation Research Centre at the University of Limerick and exclusively licensed to TRF, who have open-sourced it. TWB has been operating on the ProZ.com powered translation center, which it has recently complemented with state-of-the-art open-source translation technology and CRM functionality to build its unique Kató translation platform. For now, services to partners will continue as normal on both platforms, while some administrative tasks will be merged.

TWB was founded as a United States non-profit in 2010 by Lori Thicke. TRF was founded by Reinhard Schäler during the Action for Global Information Sharing (AGIS) conference in Limerick in 2009. Further details will be communicated to the organizations’ communities over the next six months. Additionally, the organizations have jointly created an FAQ; specific questions can be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].

San Francisco, California: Boostlingo, a next-generation interpreting delivery platform, has partnered with ProZ.com to bring the world’s largest community of freelance interpreters to users of its platform.

Boostlingo has made interpretation widely accessible, offering language service providers (LSPs) on-demand access to Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) and Over the Phone Interpreting (OPI), advanced scheduling and administration, 24-7 customer support and usability across all devices. Leveraging pre-screened freelance interpreters from ProZ.com, Boostlingo will provide LSPs direct, efficient access to the ProZ.com database and its worldwide interpreter network.

“ProZ.com has built an amazing reputation and brand in the language industry. Combining the power of Boostlingo technology with the marketplace benefits of the ProZ.com ecosystem will create an unmatched interpretation network,” Boostlingo CEO Bryan Forrester said of the partnership. “We are excited to join forces with ProZ.com.”

ProZ.com has provided tools and opportunities to members in the language industry since 1999. Boostlingo will integrate with ProZ.com’s pre-screened freelance interpreter pool, syncing with ProZ.com interpreters to efficiently fulfil immediate VRI, OPI and in-person interpreting opportunities.

“We’re excited to help interpreters expand their businesses through this partnership with Boostlingo,” said ProZ.com President Henry Dotterer.  “Boostlingo has built an impressive platform for businesses that offer interpreting services, and we’re glad to help connect interpreters to the resulting business opportunities.”

To generate greater use of the ProZ.com interpreter network and the Boostlingo platform, both parties have agreed to cross-promote, maintain high industry standards, and work closely together to improve the speed and ease at which a third party can access a qualified interpreter. More information can be found at www.ProZ.com and www.boostlingo.com.

ABOUT BOOSTLINGO: Boostlingo, LLC is a language software and technology company based in San Francisco, California. Boostlingo is focused on defining the next generation of interpretation technology solutions. The software is device agnostic, infinitely scalable and compliant across all common regulatory and security requirements. By providing access to On-Demand VRI, OPI and On-Site scheduling services, Boostlingo intends to advance global visibility and support the interpreter community.

ABOUT PROZ.COM: Founded in 1999, ProZ.com is home to the world’s largest community of freelance translators. Companies that require translations can use the site’s directory to find translators or translation companies at no charge. In addition, translators working on jobs have a structured means (called “KudoZ”) of obtaining assistance from colleagues on challenging terms. Many other services are provided for translators, including discussion forums, in-person and virtual meetings, the “Blue Board” database of translation outsourcers with reviews, and more. The ProZ.com interpreting pool launched on June 1, 2017.

Qualified interpreters may apply at http://www.proz.com/pools/interpreters.

May 24, 2017 marks an historical milestone for all professional translators, interpreters and terminologists as the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution A/71/L.68 recognising the role of professional translation in connecting nations, and fostering peace, understanding and development.

In the same resolution, the United Nations General Assembly declares 30 September to be UN International Translation Day to be celebrated across the entire UN network.

Official recognition of the International Translation Day (ITD), first celebrated back in 1953, has been one of FIT’s longstanding missions since its inception. Many attempts have been made to seek official recognition of ITD especially from our partner UNESCO. As recently as early 2015, a delegation with a letter signed by FIT President to the Secretary General of UNESCO attended the inaugural launch of the International Mother Language Day but to no avail.

Multilingualism, successful implementation of which is intricately linked with professional translation, interpreting and terminology, is one of the key pillars of the United Nations and it is a central component of its engagement with citizens from 193 Member States through its 6 official languages. It is particularly poignant that Resolution A/71/L.68 compliments the Nairobi Recommendation of 1976 widening the scope to encompass all human endeavours by recognising the role professional translation plays in connecting nations – the very theme of ITD2016, proposed by the American Translators Association (ATA).

This resolution also enshrines and celebrates the importance and the irreplaceability of professional translation in international human endeavours. It highlights the critical need for training the next generation of professional translators, interpreters and terminologists to meet this ever increasing demand as international interaction, cooperation and collaboration continue to grow. The United Nations, in collaboration with its university partners, has been one of the leading centres of excellence in training the translators, interpreters and terminologists who will continue to play a critical role in international security and prosperity in Member States and across the UN.

Both FIT and the UN are about bringing people together. Resolution xxx not only brings the UN and FIT closer together; with ITD coinciding with the International Week of the Deaf (IWD) and following the successful inaugural combined observation and celebration of the IWD and ITD last year, it is hoped that the celebration of ITD across the UN will also highlight the important role played by the national and regional sign languages especially in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finally, it is important to remind the Federation and the wider profession that 2017 already marks an important milestone. The European Commission and the wider European Union will be observing and celebrating the ITD for the first time in conjunction with European Day of Languages (EDL) following last year’s successful meeting between the Director-General for Translation (DGT) and Director General for Interpretation (DGI) and FIT President at the European Commission.

Smartling, a translation technology and service innovator, has announced it was named by EContent magazine as a 2017 product trendsetter for its Mobile Delivery Network translation platform.

The select list is a result of the magazine’s effort “to find out what products are helping content creators of all kinds stay on top of their game,” said EContent magazine Editor Theresa Cramer. “Whether it’s the booming podcast industry, the burgeoning market for virtual reality, or the proliferation of devices bringing content straight into the home, our editors have sought out the technologies driving the digital content industry’s growth.”

Smartling’s Mobile Delivery Network solves what traditionally has been a problematic interdependency between mobile app release cycles and translated content updates, enabling developers, translators, and localization professionals to work independently of each other. Updated translations and newly localized content are delivered to the app through this over-the-air service, which means multilingual content and translation edits can be released on a separate schedule, completely decoupled from updates to the app’s core code.

Read more >>

Iconic Translation Machines (Iconic), a leading Machine Translation (MT) software and solutions provider is pleased to announce its involvement in the creation of ChemZent™, the first and only indexed and searchable English-language version of Chemisches Zentralblatt – the oldest compendium of German chemistry abstracts dating from 1830-1969.

Iconic partnered with CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, to produce ChemZent. This new CAS solution provides immeasurable value to researchers and institutions worldwide by allowing users to access the entire Chemisches Zentralblatt collection in one place using SciFinder ®, searchable in English with indexing of relevant chemical substances and concepts for ease of discoverability.

Iconic enabled this solution by developing innovative machine learning technology to extend its existing machine translation and natural language processing solutions. Iconic’s unrivalled expertise together with CAS industry-leading scientific information analysis made the launch of ChemZent possible within one year of idea inception.

The process of creating ChemZent involved large scale digitisation and translation of 140 years’ worth of German chemical information – journals and patents – for indexing and search. Iconic digitised 800,000 image-based PDF documents via Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

It then extracted individual articles, separated them into fields by author and title, and machine translated them from German into English, before CAS indexed the records for search. On completion more than 3 million chemical abstracts and one billion words were translated across the entire Chemisches Zentralblatt collection.

Full case study available here: www.iconictranslation.com/cas-chemzent/

Read more >>

The tenth annual Best Translated Book Awards were announced on May 5th, with Lúcio Cardoso’s Chronicle of the Murdered House, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson, winning for fiction, and Alejandra Pizarnik’s Extracting the Stone of Madness,translated by Yvette Siegert, winning for poetry.

See more >>