Events & announcements

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 >>

bab.la and Lexiophiles would like to warmly welcome each and every one of you to this year’s TLL competition. The game is on – the competition has officially started! It’s once again time to find and nominate your favourite blogs/Facebook pages/Twitter accounts and YouTube channels. Last year’s participants will be automatically nominated.

See more and make a nomination >>

A new online magazine called Connections has released its first issue. Connections collects interviews, articles and other contributions from translation professionals, and is a product of the members of the Standing Out Mastermind group.

This first issue of Connections contains contributions from, among others, the following ProZ.com members:

Noura Tawil

Pharmacist &Writer,Naturally Translated!

Carolina Garrido

16 years´ experience, MA in education

Anzhelika Kuznetsova

Psychology, Finance and Law

Rea Gutzwiller

Rafa Lombardino

A network of professional translators

You can read the full magazine by clicking on the link or image below:

Read online >>

The European Language Industry Association (Elia) has launched a new membership initiative for language service companies and independent professionals to connect and join forces with the ultimate goal of better serving end clients, strengthening the language industry in the process.

Companies and individuals who believe in the power of positive working practices are invited to sign up as Founding Members before 31 May 2017 and help shape the development of Elia Engage and its activities.

Building on the aims of Elia’s annual Together conference, which provides the venue for both parties to come together in person for open discussion and constructive dialogue, Elia Engage is the interactive forum for companies to meet and develop connections with skilled independent language professionals and, together, establish best practices for enduring, long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.

Elia Engage will be led by committee, with independent professionals and language service companies equally represented. Founding Members will have numerous opportunities to influence the initiative and will be able to join various working groups that will focus on developing key aspects to help both parties achieve success and fulfilment in their businesses. This is an unheard of opportunity to be part of something from the ground up and to contribute directly to creating a legacy for the language industry built on respect and positivity.

All Elia Engage members will get a profile on the Elia Engage website to promote their services, the opportunity to communicate across borders, access to resources and services, and more. In addition, individuals will receive a 10% discount to attend future Together events.

Elia Full Member companies receive access to Elia Engage as part of their Elia membership and simply need to sign up and commit to the aims of Elia Engage and actively support positive working relationships. The membership fee for independent professionals such as translators, interpreters, localisers, consultants and project managers is €110 for 12 months. Register as a Founding Member by 31 May 2017 and receive the prestige of being an early adopter and the chance to influence the industry; independent language professionals who sign up as Founding Members will benefit from extended membership until 31 December 2018 for a special rate of €90.

See more >>

From the website:

The global languages industry is evolving apace and there’s huge opportunity for candidates aiming to build a career in this space. But the question arises… with whom?

Adaptive Globalization engages with hundreds of applicants working within the localization and translation industry every week and provides them with advice and information on prospective employers.

We manage a global job-seeker community of over 30,000 translation, localization and language technology professionals, together with a constant influx of new ‘out-of-industry’ talent and entry-level professionals. Our candidates are always keen to learn which employers may offer them the most progression and fulfilment in their careers, as well as the best employee benefits, compensation and rewards.

Why not enter your company for a BELA 2017 − an opportunity to gain widespread industry recognition as a leading employer and attract the best talent for your business?

To select the BELA 2017 winners we will analyze information provided by every LSP that submits data to us, choosing one winner in each of five categories:

• Best Language Service Provider for Employee Well-being
• Best Language Service Provider for Employee Retention
• Best Language Service Provider for Career Progression
• Best Language Service Provider for Employee Benefits
• Best Client-side Localization Employer

See more and enter >>

Every year since 2013, the ProZ.com community choice awards have been held to recognize language professionals who are active, influential or otherwise outstanding in various media throughout the industry. Nominees and winners are decided entirely by the ProZ.com community.

Nominations are now open for the 2017 edition of the awards. You can see how the awards work and submit your nominations here >>

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) is proud to announce the results of its 2017 Board of Director elections. The newly elected Board Members are as follows:

Director-at-Large
Kevin Cunningham
Ginevra Deianni

They will join current members:
Enrica J. Ardemagni, PhD, President
Lisa Morris, Treasurer
Directors-at-Large:
Sharon Brauer
Joy Connell
Jaime Fatás-Cabeza
Gaye Gentes
Carlos Garcia
Maria Schwieter
Allison Squires, Ph.D.

NCIHC is a multidisciplinary organization whose mission is to promote and enhance language access in health care in the United States. The newly elected Board Directors will join the other directors to round out a national group of experts in the language services industry.