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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY OF TRANSLATORS & INTERPRETERSOCTOBER 2012

WORD for WORD

Word for Word 2 OCTOBER 2012

WHO’S WHO AT NZSTI?

PresidentSibylle [email protected]

Vice PresidentIsabelle Poff-Pencolé[email protected]

SecretaryIneke [email protected]

TreasurerHannah [email protected]

Council MembersAliandra Antoniacci (Chch)Ineke Crezee (Akl)Felicity Crowe (Akl)Marie Dai (Akl)Patrick Geddes (Wgt)Brigette Holland (Wgt)Henry Liu (Chch)Quintin Ridgeway (Wgt)Christiane Rupp (Akl)Christof Schneider (Akl)Peter Tuffley (Chch)

Address all correspondence to:New Zealand Society of Translators and InterpretersPO Box 109–677NewmarketAucklandhttp://www.nzsti.org

Word for Word TeamEditorsPatrick [email protected] [email protected]

Editorial TeamStephanie McGhie Ian Cormack Monika Llewellyn

Design & TypesettingNZTC InternationalISSN number 1178–6787

IN THIS ISSUE …

NZSTI Membership Categories 03

New Members 04 – 05

Letter from an Editor 06

President’s Message – by Sibylle Ferner 07

Text of Royal Society of New Zealand – 08 – 10 Consultation on the Provision of Language Support In New Zealand Society

NZSTI Conference Report – by Peter Tuffley 11 – 12

AUSIT Biennial Conference 2012 – Jubilation 25 13

AUSIT Biennial Conference 2012 – Preliminary Programme 14 – 16

NZSTI Enters Into Closer Working Relationship With 17 – 18the Ministry of Justice– by Patrick Geddes & Henry Liu

A Crash Course and Update on NAATI and NAATI Revalidation 19 – 20 – by Patrick Geddes and Robert Foote

Review of NAATI Testing Nears Completion 21 – by Patrick Geddes and Robert Foote

NZSTI Book Project – by Peter Campbell 22

Some Thoughts on the Translation of Verse 23 – 26 – by John Jamieson

Around the Council Table – by Patrick Geddes 27

T&I News Worldwide – compiled by Peter Tuffley 28 – 29

Branch News 30 – 31Auckland – by Gary Holt and Sibylle Ferner Wellington – by Patrick Geddes Canterbury – by Peter Tuffley

Advertisements and Notices 32

mailto:[email protected]




http://www.nzsti.org




NZSTI MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

Ordinary MembersOrdinary Members shall be those members who have passed the NAATI Professional Translator or Interpreter test, or have obtained an equivalent qualification as stipulated by the Council, and are or are about to be engaged in professional translation or interpreting.

ObserversObservers shall be those persons who have a particular interest in or contribution to make to the profession, but who are not qualified to be Members, or Affiliates of the Society.

AffiliatesAffiliates shall be those persons who have passed the NAATI Paraprofessional Translator or Interpreter examination, or have passed recognised interpreter / translation training with a satisfactory emphasis on role and ethics training which meets the requirements of the Council, but who are not qualified to be Members, or Fellows of the Society.

Please note: Under exceptional circumstances, the Council may at its discretion

waive or vary the preceding requirements.

NEW MEMBERS

The following people have been admitted to the Society or

have had their membership upgraded since the last issue of

Word for Word.

MEMBERS

AGUADA, Maria Alejandra (Trans, Eng>Sp) Akl

BEREA, Roxana Cornelia (Added Trans Fr<>Eng) Chc

BRAUN, Uschi (Added Trans, It<>Eng), Tauranga

CAMERON, Eileen (Trans, Sp>Eng; +AFF Port>Eng) Akl

CHIN, Kee Ho (Trans, Eng>Kor) Chc

DING, Yan (Lydia) (Trans, Eng>Ch) Akl

DOLATSHAHY, Behnaz (Trans, Eng>Pers/Farsi; +AFF Trans, P/F>Eng, Int P/F<>Eng) Akl

DONEGAN, Heida (Trans, Eng<>Ch; Int, Eng<>Mand) Akl

FIGUEROA, Valeria Edith (Trans, Eng<>Sp) Akl

FIRIOUBINA, Larissa (Trans, Eng<>Rus, Ger>Rus; Int, Eng,Ger<>Rus) Akl

GAILANI, Anna Nidar (Trans, Eng<>Ara, Greek>Ara, Eng; +AFF Int, Eng<>Ara, Greek) Akl

GEZENTSVEY, Desirée (Trans, Eng<>Sp) Wgt

GONZALEZ, Alejandra (Trans, Eng<>Sp) Chc

GULVIN, Amy (Trans, Sp>Eng) Akl

HEISE, Bernard (Trans, Ger>Eng) Whangarei

JACK, Gavin (Trans, Fr>Eng) Akl

KAMIYA, Yuki (Int, Eng<>Jap) Akl

KUNISAWA, Kiyoko (Kay) (Trans, Eng>Jap) Akl

MA, Mary (Trans, Eng>Ch; +AFF Int Eng<>Mand) Akl

McKAY, Allyson (Added Trans, Eng>Fr) Akl

MORIKAWA, Mitsuyo (Trans, Eng<>Jap) Arrowtown

NIEDERER, Joanna (Trans, Ger>Eng) Napier

PETRENKO, Olena (Trans, Eng>Rus, Ukr) Akl

PONS, Sylvie (Trans, Eng>Fr) Wgt

RALL, Alta (Trans, Eng<>Afrikaans) Akl

ROBERTSON, Olga (Is Memb, Added AFF Int, Eng<>Rus) Akl

ROJAS, Felix (Trans, Sp>Eng) Akl

SARTORI, Cecilia (Trans, Eng>Sp) Akl

SCOTT, Michael (Trans, Port>Eng) PNth

TISO, Giovanni (Trans, Eng>It) Wgt

WILSON, Rosamund (Trans, Fr>Eng) Nelson

WOHLFART, Irmengard (Added Trans, Ger>Eng) Akl

XIE, Qi (Trans, Eng>Ch; +AFF Trans Ch>Eng) Akl

XU, Hongjun (Thomas) (Trans, Eng>Ch) Akl & China

AFFILIATES

HIGURASHI Yukari (Int Jp<>Eng), Akl

GALBUSERA Jennifer (Int It<>Eng), Akl

GONZALEZ Marisa (Trans,Eng>Sp), Akl

SINGH Harpal (Trans, Pun>Eng), Aust and Akl

WANG Yishan (Int Chi<>Eng), Akl

OBSERVERS

BACELLAR JOHNSTONE Lesith, Wgn

DU TOIT Anna, Wgn

KHALIQ Mohammad, Chc

LIANG Caroline, Akl

SHIN Kate, Akl

YASIN Aafia , Akl


Hi! My name is Amy Gulvin and I’ve recently joined NZSTI as a full member with the language pair Spanish to English. I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation Studies from the University of Auckland at the end of last year, following my BA in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. I’ve been working part-time on translation jobs such as websites for the past year while studying, and am now hoping to get stuck in working as a translator based in Auckland. I’m also teaching Spanish part-time.

I’ve always loved learning languages; it’s something about being able to communicate with people from different places. To me it feels as if each language is like a different perspective from which to view the world. Someone said to me a few weeks ago that when people say they love languages they really mean they love meeting new people. I think that’s certainly true for me. One of the reasons translation appeals to me is because I’m quite passionate about communication. I see translation as one of the pathways that can break new ground and further open up our world through the sharing of information, ideas and business ventures across cultural boundaries.

Hi everyone, my name is Anka Sahin. I am a Turkish New Zealander living in Melbourne at present. Working as a translator/interpreter was my first full-time job after completing my BA in Politics, French and European Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. I was attracted to the profession due to my natural ability and strong interest in languages. In addition to English and my native Turkish, I also speak or read and understand to various degrees of fluency: French, Spanish, Italian, Azerbaijani and Te Reo Maori. Having gained my initial work experience as a translator/interpreter with the European Commission in Turkey, I have been practicing in this field for more than 13 years now with the last 8 being on a freelance basis during which time I also embarked on a successful career as an immigration specialist.

I currently work as a freelance translator from English into Turkish and from Turkish and Azerbaijani into English for several New Zealand-based companies. In the past, I also translated from French into English and Turkish as well as working as an interpreter in both directions between Turkish and English.

Apart from languages, my interests include travelling, reading, sampling different cuisines, cinema, football and rugby union. As a multilingual person with a passion for learning about other cultures, I have travelled independently in more than 60 countries on all 6 continents.

NEW MEMBERS

AMY GULVIN

ANKA SAHIN


My name is Irmengard. After I married, my new surname Wohlfart created some interesting reactions as English speakers might imagine. I think this was one of the catalysts for focusing my attention on cultural pragmatics and translation. Others arose from living in very different cultures before settling in New Zealand.

In that former life I worked as a practice nurse and in A & E. While my French withered away in New Zealand, I completed degrees in English and German Literature and Linguistics, in Language Learning and Teaching, and in Translation Studies. I am working towards a PhD in Sociolinguistics, focusing on the consequences of immigration over time and across generations.

In the 1990s, I started working at AUT (back then it was AIT), where I teach a number of language papers, for instance, English as a Second Language (ESOL) as well as Academic Writing to ESOL and native English speakers. I teach in the Translation and Interpreting Studies program and I also translate. My work has taught me a multitude of interesting facets in many fields. Most of all I enjoy translating literature, be that German into English or English into German, with English/Maori postcolonial writing fascinating me in particular because I have Maori family.

I am Xie Qi (Alan) from China. I came to New Zealand with my family last Feburary. We settled down smoothly in Auckland and all my family members have enjoyed our living so far in New Zealand. I am working now in a kiwi company which develops dairy products for the Chinese market. I worked as a translator for about 5 years in an information company in Beijing before coming to Auckland, which prepared me to some degree for being a translator in my current job.

I love reading, sports and music and my hobbies have enriched my life so much that I always find I do not have enough time to allocate for each of my hobbies. Since our arrival in New Zealand, we have made several trips around New Zealand, and we have found that the more we travel, the more affinity we feel with New Zealand, and the more strongly we feel that we have made the right choice in coming a long way from the northern hemisphere to a natural green destination surrounded by blue waters in the southern hemisphere. The climate, the landscape, the people, the pure environment are all the factors stimulating us to integrate into this great new nation at a calm and peaceful pace.

NEW MEMBERSCONT.

IRMENGARD WOHLFART

XIE QI (ALAN)


Patrick Geddes

Those who attended the NZSTI Conference in the nation’s capital city were treated to a fantastic event. Two full days of presentations covering general translation, literary translation and interpreting – there was literally something for everyone, and the conference dinner held at Parliament was entirely apt for a conference weekend held in the seat of government. In this issue of Word for Word Peter Tuffley gives us a detailed run-down of his experience as a professional translator attending the plenary and general translation stream. The conference was attended by just over 100 practitioners from New Zealand, Australia and even further afar.

The next major event on the T & I calendar is the Biennial AUSIT Conference to be held in Sydney from 1-3 December. Those who attended the last AUSIT conference in Perth will know that this is a magnificent opportunity to network with fellow professionals in Australia as well as hear some incredibly stimulating presentations. A number of NZSTI members will be making the trip ‘across the ditch’ and two of our most experienced practitioners will be presenting at the conference as well, namely Ineke Crezee from AUT and John Jamieson from NZTC International. We would encourage members to seriously consider making a trip across to Sydney in December – we’re certain you would get a lot out of it.

Back at home it is also worth celebrating the achievement of a major milestone for the Society – namely exceeding the 500 member mark. This has been a target for the Society for many years and in 2012 we achieved it. So congratulations to you all! The challenge is now to maintain this level of momentum. We can now make a strong claim to be truly representative of the T & I industry.

Finally, I have to make the rather sad announcement that this will be my final issue as an editor of Word for Word. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have assisted me in my role as editor, in particular Peter Tuffley, John Jamieson, Henry Liu and Sibylle Ferner who have been tireless contributors to the journal. My current employment has distanced me somewhat from the ‘pulse’ of the industry and I now think it is probably best that someone new comes to the table to take Word for Word on its next journey.

Happy Reading.

LETTER FROM AN EDITORBY PATRICK GEDDES


Sibylle Ferner

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

For a variety of reasons, some outside of NZSTI’s control, Word for Word has failed to appear in the last few months, and this is indeed our first edition 2012. Welcome back and all best wishes for our lovely magazine! So we now have a lot to catch up on.

In February, NZSTI has reached a major milestone by signing a Charter for Working Together with the NZ Ministry of Justice. From October, interpreters who want to work in the court system will have to be members or affiliates of NZSTI. Despite usually being classified as “community interpreting” along with interpreting in hospital or office settings, court interpreting is indeed far more demanding, at times requiring simultaneous whisper interpreting. When trials have to be aborted due to poor interpreting, as happened in Auckland last year, our profession comes into the spotlight and people wonder how an incompetent interpreter was able to work in the courts in the first place. To help avoid such calamities in the future, the Ministry of Justice has enlisted the help of NZSTI to assess the qualifications of interpreters and ensure that only suitably qualified people work in our courts. Some interpreters have already enthusiastically endorsed the new practice, while others, no doubt, will be left wondering why all their years of experience suddenly appear to count for very little. In my view, the answer to that is that an exam should form the basis of experience. When I first learned to drive a car (in Germany many years ago) and then passed my driving test, the examiner handed me my licence saying that I should not think now that I was already a competent driver, but rather by granting me a licence, he confirmed that my driving abilities were now “good enough for me to practice driving on public roads” and gain experience. We can easily see the analogy to interpreting. Just as poor driving habits can form and be practiced over and over during many years of traffic experience, frequently endangering lives and perhaps causing or narrowly avoiding serious accidents, interpreting habits that have evolved over many years without ever being validated in an unbiased exam, may also not conform to current best practice.

For NZSTI, this is a major recognition of our classification system for full members and affiliates based on qualifications and exams. NZSTI will be running more NAATI exam preparation workshops in the near future to assist those who have not yet obtained the qualifications required for court work in sitting and passing the NAATI exams.

In June, the Annual NZSTI conference was held in Wellington. It was a most interesting and successful event with plenty of options to choose from, both for translators and interpreters, for colleagues with a focus on commercial work or a literary bent. Our conference is always a wonderful forum to meet old and new colleagues, do some networking and socialising, up skilling and sharing experiences with those new to our profession. You can read all about it on the next pages.

I have been a translator for over 30 years and I am very fortunate that even after all this time I really enjoy what I do. As translators we learn so much from every single assignment. And if one assignment is less interesting or even somewhat tedious, it will not hang around for very long. Then it’s finished and something more enjoyable might come along. And last but not least, we get to meet other translators, a truly versatile and multifaceted bunch of interesting people. In that spirit, I am now looking forward to attending the AUSIT conference in Sydney in early December.

Happy translating and interpreting, everyone!

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEBY SIBYLLE FERNER

NZSTI WILL BE

RUNNING MORE

NAATI EXAM

PREPARATION

WORKSHOPS IN THE

NEAR FUTURE …


TEXT OF ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALANDCONSULTATION ON THE PROVISION OF LANGUAGE SUPPORT IN NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY

BACKGROUNDIn 1992, the publication of a discussion document, ‘Aoteareo: speaking for ourselves’ marked the first attempt to outline direction of a cross-sector language policy in New Zealand. In the process of developing this document, submissions were sought from over 200 groups and individuals across a broad base of different sectors. To date, this document still represents the broadest discussion of the issues regarding a national languages policy.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of this document and provides a timely opportunity to revisit the national discussion about languages and their place in New Zealand. In the intervening period, New Zealand’s population has become more diverse due to increasing migration and globalization patterns. As a result of these patterns, New Zealand is home to a greater number of languages spoken and a higher level of private bilingualism than twenty years ago.

There is at present no cross-sector national languages policy, either planned or implemented in New Zealand. Language policy in New Zealand presently operates through a large number of different policies across many different sectors.

The development of language policy is a complex issue involving considerations of education, cultural identity, economics, human rights, translation, interpretation, foreign policy, immigration, employment and equity, amongst many others. This consultation does not aim to address all the facets of language provision in all of these areas. Rather, it aims to offer a fresh starting

point for further discussion of cross-sector approaches to language provision and policy in New Zealand.

The Council of the Royal Society of New Zealand would like to present evidence, outlining what is known about the efficacy of languages policies. To prepare this statement, the Council is canvassing the Society’s Fellowship, Membership, Constituent Organisations and selected sector experts.

CONSULTATION FOCUSWe wish to discuss the following:

• any details of current, sector-based language policies, and measures of their efficacy;

• the impact on inter-cultural competencies of language provision;

• the consideration of which sectors have seen the largest improvement of evidence (research base) regarding the provision of language support since 1992 and how this new evidence impacts on future discussion of cross-sector language policies;

• the consideration of the impact of an across-government national languages policy.

Submissions to the consultation should be sent to Dr Paul Behrens ([email protected]) by the 30th of August.

RESPONSE FROM NZSTIAuckland, 21 August 2012

Submission by the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters Inc. (NZSTI) to the Royal Society of New Zealand regarding the Provision of Language Support in New Zealand

1) At present, government policy regarding the use of translation and interpreting services is very fragmented. NZSTI has recently (Feb 2012) signed a Charter of Working Together with the Ministry of Justice. From October 2012 all interpreters working in the courts will need to be Affiliates or Members of NZSTI.

The Citizenship Office accepts translations only from a very short list of service providers (5 translation agencies nationwide), compiled according to their own criteria and published on their website.

Other government agencies (NZQA, NZTA) require full membership, a stamp, and indeed separate registration with the respective agencies for translators who want their translations to be accepted by these departments. Other departments (Labour/Immigration) are much vaguer in their requirements, while some do not have any requirements at all.



This situation is confusing for those who need documents translated for official purposes or who need professional interpreting services in order to access government services. In NZSTI’s view, it would be far preferable if all government agencies had a uniform transparent system, with NZSTI membership as the main criteria, since NZSTI has a rigorous process for the evaluation of professional qualifications.

2) In addition to its admission criteria and process, NZSTI also has an up-to-date, comprehensive Code of Ethics and Code of Practice as well as specific Guidelines for different purposes including the Translation of Documents for Official and Legal Purposes.

In order to maintain the highest standards of professional practice and accountability to the public, NZSTI has a transparent complaints procedure allowing users of interpreting and translation services course for redress. The disciplinary process recommended by NZSTI is widely recognised by government departments and adopted by major interpreting and translation agencies. Our Immediate Past President is the Chair of the International Committee of Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure of the International Federation of Translators (FIT) see below.

3) It cannot be said and emphasised often enough that speaking two languages does not automatically make a person a competent translator or interpreter. This is a very common misconception. But it is a fact that the command of two languages is an inevitable prerequisite for becoming a competent translator or interpreter. For interpreters, interpreting in both directions, it is obviously vital that they speak both languages fluently and at a high level. For translators, a thorough passive understanding of their source language is far more important than their ability to use it actively (i.e. speak or write it).

This failure to recognise the training required to become a competent professional translator or interpreter leads to the all too common situations where untrained and unqualified family members or members of the public are asked to act as interpreters in very demanding situations, such as hospitals or courts, which can be very costly and pose a significant risk for all concerned.

The recognition of training and qualifications, that is recognition of translators and interpreters as professionals, can be implemented without any cost. Where funding is available, the offer of professional training can be increased through the provision of courses, scholarships and other resources.

4) It is well known that in New Zealand many immigrant children grow up in bilingual households, with two languages. This could be turned into a major resource for the country by making schooling available in these languages, especially in suburbs or areas where there is a concentration of certain languages, such as Samoan, Tongan, and Chinese-Mandarin etc. These children would then have a more educated command of their

TEXT OF ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALANDCONT.

IT CANNOT BE SAID AND

EMPHASISED OFTEN

ENOUGH THAT SPEAKING

TWO LANGUAGES DOES

NOT AUTOMATICALLY

MAKE A PERSON A

COMPETENT TRANSLATOR

OR INTERPRETER.


“home” language with the option of turning it into a useful contribution to the country’s economy. However, this would require a fairly flexible foreign-language policy in schools, where quite obviously one language does not fit all requirements.

NZSTI believes that progress has been made over the last 20 years since our last submission, but a better understanding of the issues around language competency is needed at government level as well as in the general population.

With our experience and expertise in this area, NZSTI is happy to be consulted on this and the wider issues of language.

ABOUT NZSTIThe New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters Incorporated (NZSTI) was established in 1985 as a representative body of practising professional translators and interpreters in New Zealand.

Objectives of NZSTI include:

• the promotion of high professional standards.

• the protection of the interests of its members and their clients.

• the provision of opportunities for its members for professional development.

Duly qualified persons are received into one or other of two categories of membership. The distinction between the two categories is important.

TEXT OF ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALANDCONT.

Ordinary (or Full) Members: persons with recognised and acceptable accreditation, tertiary education or outstanding experience in translation or interpreting.

Affiliates: persons who practise translation or interpreting or have an interest in the translation and interpreting professions but do not have sufficient qualifications or experience to qualify to be an Ordinary Member

These two categories are further broken down to allow for a distinction between the professions:

• Ordinary (or Full) member Translation

• Affiliate Translation

• Ordinary (or Full) member Interpreting

• Affiliate Interpreting

Some additional categories exist: Fellows, Retired Members, Honorary Members, and Foreign Members

Regional branches of the Society are established in centres where there is a sufficiently large group of professional translators and interpreters to warrant this, the affairs of the regional branches being administered by a locally elected executive. Currently, there are three regional branches in the three main centres of New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury branches.

In 1998, The Sign Language Interpreters Association of New Zealand (SLIANZ) became formally affiliated to NZSTI. SLIANZ is a national professional association which aims to represent and advance the field of sign language interpreting. SLIANZ has made a separate submission to RSNZ.

NZSTI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Māori Language Commission (Te Taura Whiri I Te Reo Māori).

NZSTI itself is affiliated to FIT (Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs), an NGO that enjoys Category A status with UNESCO.

ABOUT FITFIT (Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs – International Federation of Translators) is an international federation of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists gathering more than 100 associations from all over the world. Its purpose is to promote professionalism in the disciplines it represents. FIT is also concerned with the conditions of professional practice in various countries and strives to defend translators’ rights in particular and freedom of expression in general. FIT maintains formal consultative relations with UNESCO (Category A). Our Immediate Past President Dr Henry Liu is the current Vice President of FIT.

http://www.unesco.org/


NZSTI CONFERENCE REPORTPLENARY ADDRESSES AND GENERAL TRANSLATION SESSIONS

BY PETER TUFFLEY

The structure of this year’s Conference differed in a number of respects from previous occasions – most notably in offering a programme comprising separate streams of presentations. Another distinctive feature was to have each day beginning with a keynote address.

The first of these was to have been given by Attorney General and Minister for Culture & Heritage Chris Finlayson (who later hosted the Conference Dinner at the Parliament Buildings). However, the Minister had been unavoidably called away on ministerial business, and the address was given on his behalf by Culture & Heritage Ministry CEO Lewis Holden. (It should be noted that the Minister’s role as Attorney General underlines the significance of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between NZSTI and the Ministry of Justice.)

Mr Holden acknowledged the important role played by translating and interpreting in contributing to social cohesion in a multicultural society. He traversed the history of translating and interpreting in New Zealand, beginning with the Tahitian interpreter who accompanied James Cook. In a wide-ranging address that took in Maori translations of Shakespeare, the challenges of medical translation and the concept of translation and interpretation as art forms, he noted the role of translation in cultural diplomacy, giving the instance of New Zealand’s prominent position at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, featuring 72 New Zealand Books translated into German (in contrast with an average of 10 books a year).

The breakup into streams was preceded by another plenary presentation, in which NAATI Accreditations Manager Robert Foote gave an update on the NAATI Testing Project.

The General Translation presentation stream amply demonstrated the value of streaming the conference so as to cater separately for disparate professional interests, so that participants did not have to sit through presentations that were of little or no interest to them.

This stream offered a richly varied programme that covered many different topics while never failing to sustain interest. It began with an exciting “first” in the history of NZSTI conferences: a presentation by live video link from Boston, Massachusetts by Nataly Kelly, Chief Research Officer of the market research company Common Sense Advisory– a company whose focus, in its own words, “is on

assisting our clients to operationalize, benchmark, optimize, and innovate industry best

practices in translation, localization, interpreting, globalization, and

internationalization”. Addressing the theme of “Trends in the

Global Translation and

Localization Industry”, Ms Kelly illustrated how trade globalization has driven a 12.17% increase in volume and value in the market for outsourced language services – to a value of US$33.52 billion in 2012.

After morning tea, Australia-based Dutch translator Tineke Van Beukering, explored the opportunities open to translators in the field of machine translation post-editing. She was followed by a duet presentation by Henry Liu and Peter Tuffley examining some of the pitfalls and possibilities of Google Translate. This in turn segued to Christof Schneider’s “CAT in the Cloud” — a discussion of internet-based translation tools and the possibilities they offer.

Saturday afternoon saw a switch of focus from technology to language, with Peter Low, a frequent Conference contributor, illustrating a variety of strategies for dealing with source-language acronyms. Anna Guo followed with a fascinating presentation on the translation of vulgarisms in English to Chinese film subtitling, highlighting the contrast in the PRC between the prohibition of source-faithful “bad language” in officially approved movies and the faithfulness to source language evident in the world of Chinese independent movie-making.

Another frequent presenter at NZSTI Conferences, Dr John Jamieson, discussed the practical implications of skopos theory, with particular focus on the importance of adapting one’s approach as a translator to the kind of text one is translating – e.g. according to whether one is dealing with a writer’s subjective message, or a text dealing with matters that are shared between writer and reader, or more abstract texts dealing with matter that is not thus shared but is, as it were, “out there”.

Rachel Baskerville, Professor of Accounting at Victoria University presented an illuminating study of problems associated with the language of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), focussing on the use of language in dealing with uncertainty or probability (“probable” being defined as “an important word that determines whether or not you can put an asset on your balance sheet”). Among the issues Professor Baskerville highlighted was that, in addition to differences between how probability and uncertainty are handled in different languages, differences existed between different users of English – notably British and American – as to what constitutes probability. Drawing on a survey she had organized jointly with a colleague, Professor Baskerville illustrated the nightmares confronting translators of “IFRS English” – notably the challenge of translating an accounting standard expressed in such complex language as to be largely incomprehensible to most native English speakers.

Sunday opened with the second plenary keynote address, given by former NZ Ambassador Adrian Macey. Among the appointments


he has held, Dr Macey served from 2006 to 2010 as New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador, and he drew on his experience in this role to illustrate the multifarious manipulation of language and of language-related issues in the processes of climate change negotiations. Using interpreter time limits to curtail negotiations, interrupting interpreters in order to “correct” them, were among the games played by negotiators; other “games” included the creation of language solutions in order to preserve particular countries’ interests. Not least among the problems Dr Macey described was that of editors destroying the politics of an agreement by making “corrections” to the grammar of texts arrived at in hours of laborious negotiation.

The conference then divided again into streams. The reconvened General Translation stream began with Yuen May Fung giving an account of translation technology training in university programmes and courses in Hong Kong – a territory with a long tradition of English-Cantonese translation, now home to 9 universities, of which 8 teach translation and 3 offer courses in translation technology. Dr Idris Mansoor of Universiti Sains Malaysia then gave an account of the translation of Arabic texts into Malay, highlighting the issues involved in translation of words denoting items not present in the culture of the target language such as religious items, foods drinks, and clothing.

In the first of the subsequent presentations, Professor David Norton of Victoria University discussed the translation project that produced the King James Bible, covering the historic and literary background to the project, the principles followed by those who

worked on it, comparison of translations of specific passages in the King James version and those of Tyndale

and others. He also addressed the question of how it gained popularity despite early adverse reviews.

Loveday Kempthorne then gave what perhaps will be remembered as one of the more intriguing presentations of the Conference: an exploration of relationships between mathematics and early 20th century Polish and French poetry.

The closing presentation, by Patrick King of the NZ Translation Centre, addressed problems of translatability and the challenges posed by source language that is wellnigh untranslatable (if indeed it is translatable at all).

This brought to an end a presentation programme that was deeply satisfying in its rich variety and wealth of stimulating information and thoughts. Thanks and congratulations to the organizers of a truly splendid Conference.

NZSTI CONFERENCE REPORTCONT.


AUSIT BIENNIAL CONFERENCE 2012 – JUBILATION 251–3 DECEMBER 2012

Photos above and right: nZsti members in

attendance at the aUsit conference in Perth 2010

The flagship event on the Australian T & I calendar will take place at Macquarie University in Sydney from 1–3 December 2012 (Saturday to Monday) and a large contingent of NZ–based practitioners are likely to cross the ditch to attend. Among the presenters are fellow Kiwis John Jamieson from NZTC International in Wellington and Ineke Crezee from AUT. Academics and practitioners will interact with language service providers from both the private and public sectors. This is the 8th conference convened since 1999 and coincides with the silver jubilee of the founding of the Australian Institute of Translators and Interpreters (AUSIT).

The Memorandum of Understanding with AUSIT means that NZSTI members enjoy the same rates as AUSIT members.

The most up-to-date information on the conference and how to register is found at www.ausitconference.org.

The rates are as follows:

Standard Registration(31 August – 25 November)

General Admission A$ 310

AUSIT/ASLIA/NZSTI/WAAITI members A$ 270

Late Registration(after 25 November)

General Admission A$ 360

AUSIT/ASLIA/NZSTI/WAAITI members A$ 320

Student ticket: with proof of enrolment in a T & I course at a university or TAFE A$ 135

Day ticket: Entry to the conference for one day only A$ 115

Dinner ticket before 15 November A$ 137

Dinner ticket after 15 November, if available A$ 145

www.ausitconference.org


PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME(Content may change)

Conference interpretation in several languages will be provided, so that attendees can experience simultaneous interpreting in a real life situation. Interpreters wishing to try their hands and skills will have the opportunity to sit in the booth and get familiar with the equipment.

SATURDAY 1 December 2012

8:30–9:10 Registrations

9:15–9:40 Conference opening

9:45–10:40 Don Watson – Writer, historian Keepers and manipulators of the language – on some professional responsibilities of a translator or interpreter

10:45–11:00 Morning coffee

11:00–11:55 David Colmer – Amsterdam–based Australian translator Longer Chains? The Relative Freedom of Literary Translation

12:00–12:45 Sandra Hale – University of New South WalesImproving the quality of interpreting and translation in Australia – proposal for a new model

12:50–1:25 John Beever – NAATIWhere to next? NAATI’s response to recommendations of the first phase of the INT project and other initiatives

1:30–2:30 LUNCH

2:30–3:00 Jemina Napier, Sydney Ye & Stanley Song Macquarie UniversityUsing iPads for innovative pedagogy in interpreter education

Hajar Khanmohammad and Mojdeh YousefiIslamic Azad University, Tehran, IranReduction in Subtitling A case of reduction in the translation of three romantic comedy film subtitles

Daniel StepniakUniversity of Western Australia; State Administrative Tribunal (WA); Mental Health Review Board (WA)Interpreting for the mentally ill, intellectually disabled, and cognitively impaired in Tribunals

Uldis OzolinsMonash UniversityRewriting the AUSIT Code of Ethics: local interests and international comparisons

3:10–3:40 Anna KennyWestern Sydney Health Care Interpreter ServiceMedical Interpreting Challenges– Strategies for Professional Practice and Pedagogy

Vanda Kotikova NissenKaskelot Agency TranslationsOn the translation of Russian forms of address into English

Jim Hlavac Monash UniversityProtocols and logistics for telephone and video–link spoken interpreting

Libby Sterling and Ellen HawesQueensland Health Interpreter ServiceInterpreter quality issues in health care from a client perspective

3:40–4:00 AFTERNOON COFFEE

4:00–4:30 Helen SlatyerMacquarie UniversityLanguage proficiency tests as predictors of academic achievement in professional translator and interpreter education

Duoxiu QianBeihan University, ChinaA Comparative Empirical Study of the Internationalization of Science Journals

Revision, editing, checking… Same terms for the same tasks!Improving communication between practitioners and language service providers.WORKSHOPFacilitated by Adriana Rozada

Noraini Ibrahim GonzalezSchool Of Humanities, Universiti Sains MalaysiaThe group–based project as a pedagogical tool in liaison interpreting


SUNDAY 2 December 2012

9:30–10:15 Candace SeguinotYork University, Toronto, CanadaWhat process studies can tell us about improving our teaching of translation

Jing HanSubtitling Department SBS TVThe translator as a cultural mediator

Interpreters and translators working in the legal domain: a panel discussion

Karen Bontempo & Jemina NapierMacquarie UniversityExploring personality, pedagogy and practice: An international study of interpreters

10:15–10:45 MORNING COFFEE

10:45–11:30 Izumi InoueMacquarie UniversityThe Application of Task–Based Learning to Translator Education: Assisting the development of novice

John JamiesonNZTC InternationalInnovation? Renovation? Maximising the benefits of text type theory for practising translators

Sophia RaMacquarie UniversityIntercultural communication: Asian language community interpreters’ perspectives

Morning coffee extension: another 45 minutes to continue conversations.UnstructuredNETWORKINGsession

11:30–12:15 Ineke CrezeeAUT New ZealandTeaching health interpreting in multilingual and multicultural classrooms: Towards developing special pedagogies

Wang Jihong Macquarie UniversityWorking memory and Auslan/English simultaneous interpreting

Claudia Koch-McQuillanTransformative Learning for T&I educators: a case study from Macquarie University

Crowdsourcing: What are the implications? DISCUSSIONFacilitated by Sam Berner

12:15–1:30 LUNCH

1:30–2:10 Sarah Dillon eCPDNew horizons for CPD: innovative implementation of a CPD programme for T/I practitioners

Samira Salimi, Somayeh SalimiIslamic Azad University, Tehran, IranHuman and Automated Evaluation of Machine Translation: Is There a Correlation Between the Scores Obtained?

Heather GlassWAITITransforming PD from an exercise in point–gathering to a pathway to National Qualification

Bruce McIntyreSBS Subtitling and PPULOTE subtitling at SBS: policy, trends and impact

2:15–3:00 Brad PaezCommunicative sight translation practice(WORKSHOP)

June Eyckmans, Winibert Segers & Philippe AnckaertEthics In Translation Assessment(WORKSHOP)

CAT TOOL WORKSHOP Christian.SchmidtPrivate Practitioner, AdelaideManaging the complexity of an evolving profession – with translation theory

3:00–3:45 CAT TOOL WORKSHOP

7:30–10.30pm COCKTAIL DINNER AT LUNA PARK

AUSIT Biennial Conference 2012 – JUBILATION 25

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME (Content may change)CONT.

Christian.Schmidt


MONDAY 3 December 2012

9:30–10:30 Maria Zijlstra Journalist – ABC Radio National Lingua Franca programmeTwenty-five years of building bridges over the language gap: interviews with witnesses, movers and shakers within AUSIT

10:40–11:00 MORNING COFFEE

11:00–11:50 Renato Beninatto Corporate strategist and analyst, Chief Marketing Officer of MoraviaThe next 25 years – global trends in the translating and interpreting industry

12:00–12:50 Aline Remael Artesis University College & University of AntwerpFrom audiovisual translation to media accessibility. Audio–description and audio–subtitling

1:00–2:00 LUNCH

2:15–3:15 Jill Blewett Memorial Lecture – a free public event

3:30–3.45 AFTERNOON COFFEE

3:45–5:00 AUSIT NAGM National Annual General Meeting(closed event, AUSIT members only)

TITENTranslator and Interpreter Trainer and Educator Network meeting (free event)

AUSIT Biennial Conference 2012 – JUBILATION 25

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME (Content may change)CONT.


NZSTI ENTERS INTO CLOSER WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICEBY PATRICK GEDDES AND HENRY LIU

On March 2, the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters (NZSTI) and the New Zealand Ministry of Justice (MoJ) signed a joint charter laying the ground work for a much closer working relationship. The most significant aspect of this charter for NZSTI is the future role that NZSTI membership and training will have in the provision of interpreting services in court. Over time NZSTI membership should become the de facto criterion for the selection of court interpreters.

This is a major advance for NZSTI – possibly the most significant development in the Society’s evolution in the last twenty years. The courts are major consumers of interpreting services and a major agency in government and if this working relationship is a success then NZSTI stands to raise its profile and the role of its membership significantly.

The MoJ provides case management, administration and support services for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and District Courts, as well as for specialist courts and tribunals. In the preamble to the agreement MoJ states that “it [MoJ] does not have the expertise or time to assess the qualifications of and monitor the performance of interpreters, and the MoJ would like to rely on the assistance of NZSTI to perform these functions.” It goes on to state that “NZSTI will support the MoJ’s endeavours to raise the standard and quality of court appointed interpreters. The collaboration between the MoJ and NZSTI will deliver a quality service to courts and strengthen the profile of NZSTI. Ultimately, court users will benefit from the improved quality of interpreting services.”

The impetus for this agreement has come out of a joint desire “to ensure that legal proceedings conducted in New Zealand courts are equally accessible to all people regardless of an individual’s ability to communicate effectively in the spoken English language.“

This charter outlines how the Ministry of Justice and NZSTI will work together at a national level to raise the standard and quality of interpreting services in the

court system.

NZSTI members will be aware that there have been a number of high profile

cases of late where court proceedings have been severely and sometimes

irreparably impaired by poor quality interpreting. NZSTI has been providing assistance to the MoJ in dealing with these cases and this has provided the environment to develop this charter.

What will this mean for NZSTI members?

Of course, at this stage, this relates solely to interpreting members of the Society. In the future, in conjunction with the existing NZSTI Guidelines for the Translation of Official and Legal Documents, it is hoped that there will be benefit to translator members who may be carrying out assignments for court proceedings.

The responsibilities of the two parties to the agreement are as follows:

NZSTI undertakes to:

• Evaluate and assess competency levels of interpreters who will be engaged to interpret for the Ministry of Justice.

• Allocate appropriate resources to assess applications

• Advise applicants who failed to meet standards on pathways to retrain or upgrade and to gain NZSTI membership

• Provide periodic professional development opportunities for interpreters

• In particular, in the first 12 months, run at least two dedicated NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, Canberra) examination preparation workshops for those currently engaged in court interpreting

• Establish best practice guidelines with regards to working with interpreters and non-English speaking or limited English speaking clients for all court participants including court staff, legal counsel and interpreters

• Assist the court in addressing concerns regarding interpreting quality and proficiency

• Assist the court in determining outcomes for alleged breaches of the NZSTI Code of Ethics

• Advise the MoJ when court interpreter members or affiliates of NZSTI have their membership or affiliate status terminated


• Participate in six-monthly MoJ-NZSTI contact group meetings to assess progress on its obligations under this Charter, any issues which have arisen, and any other matters relating to this Charter it thinks relevant.

MoJ will:

• provide court specific training to NZSTI members as appropriate

• ensure appropriate working conditions for NZSTI members and court interpreters to maintain professional, health and safety standards

• in particular, in the first 12 months, establish a nationwide policy to ensure interpreters are provided with relevant information in a timely manner to support their preparation prior to a court engagement

• require that interpreters who presently work in the court apply for NZSTI membership

• from 1 December 2012 require that all court interpreters be interpreter members or affiliates of NZSTI with priority being given to members for any particular work if available. [Note: this requirement will be phased in over a three-year period to give people adequate time to acquire NZSTI member or affiliate status]

• ensure the same standards apply to individual interpreters and interpreters provided by agencies

• provide induction training for newly engaged court interpreters

• provide resources and support for any formal complaints and disciplinary hearings

• conduct robust monitoring and evaluation of the interpreters engaged by the court to:

– gauge whether the quality of interpreting in courts has improved

– determine ongoing training requirements

– assess the benefits to the interpreting profession.

IN CONCLUSION:A successful collaboration should have a fundamental impact on the make-up of NZSTI’s membership and the way that NZSTI operates. Similarly if this collaboration is not a success then it will be a serious missed opportunity for the Society and it is uncertain whether a similar opportunity would present itself again.


PictUre: robert foote, naati accreditation manager

A CRASH COURSE AND UPDATE ON NAATI AND NAATI REVALIDATIONBY PATRICK GEDDES AND ROBERT FOOTE

Those of you who have received the Australian National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI) accreditation will no doubt be fully aware what ‘Revalidation’ is. But for those of you who are considering applying for NAATI accreditation this article will hopefully give you a useful insight into what NAATI is, what its mandate is, how it operates, what Revalidation is in the context of NAATI and what Revalidation is designed to achieve. All of the following information is also available on the NAATI website – www.naati.com.au

WHAT IS NAATI?In layperson’s terms and going right back to basics, NAATI is a company that has been in existence since 1984 and is owned jointly by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments of Australia and is governed by a board of four directors, who are appointed by the owners. NAATI is the national standards and accreditation body for translators and interpreters in Australia and is the only agency to issue accreditations for practitioners who wish to work in the profession in Australia. As such it is the occupational regulator for translators and interpreters. There is no equivalent organisation in New Zealand.

There are five pathways to NAATI accreditation. These are:

i. passing a NAATI accreditation test,

ii. successful completion of a course of studies in translation and/or interpreting at an Australian institution approved by NAATI,

iii. providing evidence of a specialised tertiary qualification in translation and/or interpreting obtained from an educational institution overseas,

iv. providing evidence of a membership of a recognised international translating and/or interpreting professional association,

v. providing evidence of advanced standing in translating or interpreting.

For many years it has been possible for New Zealanders to sit the NAATI accreditation tests in the three main centres of Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch and NAATI accreditation is also one of the pathways for people to become members of NZSTI.

www.naati.com.au


A Crash Course and Update on NAATI and NAATI RevalidationCONT.

WHAT IS REVALIDATION?The NAATI website describes Revalidation as “the mechanism by which translators and interpreters with NAATI credentials demonstrate at regular intervals that they remain up-to-date and committed to the highest level of competency and currency in the profession.” The website goes on to state that the purpose of Revalidation is to:

• Retain the highest level of competency and currency in the profession,

• Ensure professional standards are maintained and enhanced,

• Foster long term sustainability and integrity,

• Demonstrate the practitioner has a commitment to the highest ethical standards,

• Be promoted as the preferred standard throughout the industry.

Initial consultations and work to an on-going process of Revalidation commenced in 2006 and from 1 January 2007 all new accreditations were awarded with an expiry date, initially after a period of 3 years, after which Revalidation was required to retain the accreditation. It was determined that accreditations awarded prior to 1 January 2007 would not expire or require Revalidation but continue for perpetuity because the requirement to revalidate was not a condition at the time that recipients gained their accreditation. That said, NAATI has actively encouraged people with pre 1 January 2007 accreditations to voluntarily submit to Revalidation and over 600 practitioners have done so.

While the initial intention was to start revalidating accreditations from 1 January 2010, there were two deferrals to this start date.

However, from 1 July 2012 onwards it became mandatory for NAATI accreditations to be revalidated. This means practitioners will henceforth need to provide evidence of meeting specific Revalidation criteria i.e.

Work Practice – this means an average of 10,000 words translation per year or 30,000 words over three years or an average of 40 interpreting assignments per year or 120 assignments over three years.

Professional Development – this means undertaking professional development activities in the areas of ethics of the profession, language maintenance, translating and interpreting skills development, as well as in optional areas of complementary skills development and contributing to the profession.

Evidence of meeting these criteria must be provided to NAATI about one month prior to the expiry date for the accreditation and NAATI has created a logbook specifically for this purpose. NAATI indicates that these criteria were developed following extensive consultation with Australian industry stakeholders, in particular the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) and Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association (ASLIA).

John Beever CEO of NAATI states in the 25th edition of its Naati News that “Revalidation will come to be seen as one of the key dates in development of both the translating and interpreting profession and the national accreditation system in Australia.” He goes on to say “I believe Revalidation is significant because it demonstrates translating and interpreting is joining other professions in how it ensures practitioner standards are maintained and enhanced. It aligns credentialing of translators and interpreters with the occupational regulation practice of major professions in this country and like countries.” He also alludes to the fact that deferrals of Revalidation have been the case of “some uncertainty and NAATI is working to dispel that.”

So love it or hate it, Revalidation is now a reality for practitioners in Australia and New Zealand and here to stay.


REVIEW OF NAATI TESTING NEARS COMPLETIONBY PATRICK GEDDES AND ROBERT FOOTE

In 2011, NAATI’s Board of Directors approved the commencement of a significant research project, the first phase of a three phase Improvement to NAATI Testing Project (INT). The Project is ambitious and wide-ranging, with scope for the INT broadly defined, encompassing accreditation standards, levels and types of accreditation, emerging technologies and assessment and training models.

Much of the conceptual framework in which NAATI operates has not been revisited systematically for some time and INT is intended to address that need. The work of the INT research panel is intended to inform the thinking of Members, the Board, stakeholders and NAATI as planning for the next stage of NAATI’s development is undertaken.

The first phase of the INT started in October 2011 and is being undertaken by a research panel led by Australian researcher, Professor Sandra Hale from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and includes top international and local experts across a broad range of translation, interpreting and related research areas.

The members of the research panel are Dr Mira Kim, UNSW; Dr Ignacio Garcia, University of Western Sydney; Dr Jim Hlavac, Monash University, Dr Barry Turner and Miranda Lai of RMIT, Helen Slatyer from Macquarie University, together with Associate Professor Catherine Elder of the Language Testing Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Professor Claudia Angelelli, San Diego University, and Professor Gyde Hansen, Copenhagen School of Business. The panel acts as expert consultants on aspects of assessment and evaluation. Advisors to the Project are Associate Professor Jemina Napier, sign language from Macquarie University, Dr Michael Cooke, Indigenous interpreting and Marc Orlando, Monash University.

NAATI was delighted to have secured the services of such a distinguished, experienced and multi-talented panel.

Phase One of the INT is to be completed within 12 months of its commencement and will be completed by the end of November 2012. Phase One of INT includes:

Review of:

• language, translator and interpreter testing literature

• government language service policies

• testing instruments, marking systems

• accreditation/certification systems

It also involves:

• consultations with stakeholders including completing a major survey

• working group discussions on different aspects of translator and interpreter accreditation and training including practitioners, service providers and educators

The emphasis throughout on discussions with stakeholders reflects NAATI’s wish to ensure the widest possible input to this process.

The research panel will develop and present a report including recommendations on pathways to accreditation, types and levels of accreditation, pre-testing, testing instruments, marking systems, examiner training/qualifications, examiner reliability, content validity and implementation.

Given the scope of the research project, NAATI expects that there will be significant changes to the current system flowing out of this work and more information about this will be provided in 2013.


The New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters invites you to participate in a new project which aims to increase the visibility of translators and interpreters in New Zealand and raise people’s awareness of our role and the benefits that we offer to the community.

If you have an experience you want to share, let us know.

This is an opportunity for you to get publicity for yourself as a translator and interpreter and share some of the more exciting or moving experiences that you have had and teach people about the culture or country where you have had some meaningful experiences.

We envisage producing a book with about 20 articles written by translators and interpreters. Each article should be about 2000 words in length and should include the following information:

• Country: The country and the time of the experience to provide some background for the setting;

• You: Should give information about yourself, who you are and why you were there;

• Event: What happened.

We want to show readers experiences in foreign lands and cultures which New Zealanders don’t get to see because they cannot speak with locals and cannot integrate with the other culture.

If you would like to be part of our NZSTI book:

• Think of an experience that you have had which gives an insight into a foreign culture or an important event overseas

• This event must show a cultural insight

• The event could be political, cultural or simply a moving/emotional experience that you had

• It could be a time when you made a difference to someone’s life because you could speak their language

• The experience or your understanding of the experience was possible only because you understood the local language

Please spend 30 minutes writing down ideas and thinking about what you will write. When you know what you will write about please send a 300 word synopsis to [email protected].

The sooner you respond, the more likely we have space available for your article. The final date for submitting has been extended to Sunday, 7 October 2012 and I am particularly interested in getting experiences from South America, Asian and the Pacific.

Thank you for your time and effort. I look forward to reading your exciting and interesting experiences from all over the world.

Best regards,

Peter Campbell NZSTI Book Project Manager Vice President, Canterbury Branch, NZSTI

Email: [email protected]

NZSTI BOOK PROJECTBY PETER CAMPBELL




SOME THOUGHTS ON THE TRANSLATION OF VERSEBY JOHN JAMIESON

I have long doubted the value of insisting on rhymed translations of poetry into English, but in the light of some spectacularly successful examples I have seen lately, I am beginning to see the light – maybe. But one thing is for certain – humorous doggerel simply must be translated with rhyme and metre to have any impact at all, just as a foreignised translation is completely useless for a corporate newsletter, whereas it may be a perfectly plausible approach to the translation of a literary work. Now there’s a thought – the genre equivalence between doggerel and corporate speak …

But back to the doggerel. Here is a piece of fun for all you Plato fans out there, by John Fowles, quoted by Per Qvale in his excellent work on translation that I have often referred to before: Fra Hieronymus til hypertekst. Oversettelse i teori og praksis (also now available in English). The piece turns on the initial rhyme between “Plato” and “potato”, the nonsensical “exquisiter”, and the contrast in tone between “exquisite” and “tum”.

“How exquisite,” cried Plato,

“The idea of a baked potato.”

But exquisiter to some

Is potato in the tum.

The first translation on offer is into Danish, by the leading translator Niels Brunse, with word-for-word English alongside:

“Min livret,” råbte Platon,

“er en bolle-idé med sukat-ånd,”

Andre vil dog hellere

nyde noget materiellere.

“My favourite dish”, cried Plato

is a bun-idea with sugar-spirit”,

But others will rather

enjoy something materialer.

As the author of the book points out, in order to find a rhyme with “Platon” (and yes, dear reader, Danish “ånd” works just fine), the translator has changed the dish on offer. He has also reinforced the Platonic concept of “idea” by introducing the idea of “spirit” as another contrast with the material world. This added emphasis helps to compensate for the loss of the primary Plato/potato opposition in the original. The most masterful touch is possibly the nonsensical comparative “materiellere” to match “exquisiter”, rhymed with “hellere” as non-standard for “heller” (the usual word for “rather”). The contrast in tone is not attempted. Anyway, generally this is an excellent translation in my view, and as far as I can judge.

Now here is the Norwegian:

Det aller beste Platon vet:

Idéen om en bakt potet.

Men noen vill heller prise

Poteter det går an å spise

The very best Plato knows of:

the idea of a baked potato.

But some would rather appreciate

Potatoes that can be eaten.

“HOW EXQUISITE,” CRIED PLATO,

“THE IDEA OF A BAKED POTATO.”

BUT EXQUISITER TO SOME

IS POTATO IN THE TUM.


This translation is also excellent – it has a more or less regular iambic rhythm, different from the multiple unstressed syllables for each stressed syllable in the original, but totally appropriate for the genre. The translator has neatly avoided the problem of the initial rhyme, but without compensatory emphasis as in the Danish version. However it seems to me that the contrast in tone between “exquisite” and “tum” is nicely, if discreetly, caught by the syntax, where a noun phrase ending in “potato” – “idea of a baked potato” – is balanced with a verbal phase beginning with the same word – “potatoes you can eat”. Another excellent translation, to my ear at least.

But had this Norwegian been the original, I would perhaps have translated it into English like this, committing some metrical and grammatical vandalism of my own:

The very best for Mr Plato –

the idea of a baked potato

but some would more appreciate

a pótató that cán be áte

So the dialogue could continue …

And here, to conclude, is my rendition of a similar piece by Nietzsche. The more conservative English version alongside is by Walter Kaufmann:

Heil euch, brave Karrenschieber,

Stets ‘je länger, desto lieber’,

Steifer stets an Kopf und Knie,

Unbegeistert, ungespässig,

Unverwüstlich-mittelmässig,

Sans génie et sans esprit!

Hail dear drudge and patient fretter

“More drawn out is always better,”

Stiffness grows in head and knee,

No enthusiast and no joker,

Indestructibly mediocre,

Sans génie et sans esprit!

which I prefer to paraphrase as follows:

Keep on pushing, worthy brother,

one good shove deserves another,

slow of thought and stiff of knee,

sturdy mediocrity,

toiling onwards in the dark,

bereft of intellectual spark!

FURTHER MUSINGS ON THE TRANSLATION OF VERSEOne of the most intense controversies on metrical translation in recent times was that whipped by Vladimir Nabokov over translations of Eugene Onegin. In the foreword to his translation, Nabokov writes:

In transposing Eugene Onegin from Pushkin’s Russian into my English I have sacrificed to completeness of meaning every formal element, including the iambic rhythm, whenever its retention hindered fidelity. To my idea of literalism I sacrificed everything (elegance, euphony, clarity, good taste, modern usage, and even grammar) that the dainty mimic prizes higher than truth.”

And this from a man who in his youth produced a masterful translation into Russian of Alice in Wonderland taking exactly the opposite approach!

To let you judge for yourselves, here is the transliterated original Russian of one stanza (with my ham-handed stress marks) and several translated versions, starting with Nabokov’s as your literalistic guide:

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE TRANSLATION OF VERSECONT.


Gm! gm! Chitátel’ blágoródnyy,

Zdoróva l’ vásha vsyá rodnyá?

Pozvól’te: mózhet být’, ugódno

Tepér’ uznát’ vam ót menyá.

Chto znáchit ímennó rodnýye.

Rodnýye lyúdi vót kakíye:

My íkh obyázaný laskát’,

Lyubít’, dushévno uvazhát’

I, pó obýchayú naróda,

O rózhdestvé ikh náveshchát’

Ilí po póchte pózdravlyát’,

Chtob óstal’nóye vrémya góda

Ne dúmalí o nás oní …

Iták, day Bog im dólgi dní!

(Nabokov, 1964):

Hm, hm, gent reader,

is your entire kin quite well?

Allow me; you might want, perhaps,

to learn now from me

what “kinsfolks” means exactly?

Well, here’s what kinsfolks are:

we are required to pet them,

love them, esteem them cordially,

and, following popular custom,

come Christmas, visit them,

or else congratulate them postally,

so that for the rest of the year

they will not think about us.

So grant them, God, long life!

(Arndt, 1963):

Heigh ho… Sweet reader, let me question,

How is your family? All well?

If you don’t mind the mere suggestion

And are at leisure, let me tell

The proper meaning of “relations”.

Here goes, then, word and connotations:

Folk to be earnestly revered,

Deferred to, cosseted and cheered;

At Christmas, thus decrees convention,

One goes to see them without fail

Or sends them greetings through the mail,

Just to be paid no more attention

For the remainder of the year …

A ripe old age God grant them here!

(Deutsch, 1943):

H’m, h’m! Dear reader, pray apprise me,

Are your relatives all well?

You might be pleased – if so, advise me –

To have your humble servant tell

What the word “relatives” embraces.

It means the people to whose faces

We show at all times due respect,

And whom we kiss as they expect,

And visit at the Christmas season,

Unless indeed we send a card

In token of our warm regard,

Lest they should miss us beyond reason

All during the ensuring year.

And so God grant them health and cheer!

(Johnston, 1977):

Hm, hm. Distinguished reader, tell me

how are your kith and kin today?

And here my sentiments impel me

for your enlightenment to say

how I interpret this expression:

our kin are folk whom by profession

we have to cherish and admire

with all our hearts, and who require

that in the usual Christmas scrimmage

we visit them, or without fail

send them good wishes through the mail

to ensure that till next time our image

won’t even cross their minds by stealth …

God grant them years and years of health!

(Elton, 1937):

Ahem! Most honoured reader, let me

Ask, – are your family quite well?

And might it please you to permit me

This opportunity to tell

The accurate signification

Of the words “family”, “relation”?

– With love and kindness we are bound

To treat relations; with profound

Respectfulness; to go to see them

At Yule – our custom national;

Or, through the post, to greet them all.

Thus, for the twelvemonth, you will free them

From giving you one thought; and so,

Long years God grant them here below!

(Hofstadter, 1999):

Hallo, hulloo, my gentle reader!

And how’re your kinsfolk, old and young?

Pray let me tell you, as your leader,

Some scuttlebut about our tongue.

What’s “kin”? It’s relatively subtle,

But you’ll tune in if I but scuttle:

Our kith and kin we’re meant to love;

We dish out kisses, tokens of

Our high esteem; we pay a visit

Each Christmas – it’s a Russian rut –

Or else send notes in greeting, but …

It isn’t out of kindness, is it?

It’s all so they’ll forget forthwith

Us kin – and so let’s toast our kith!

(Falen, 1990):

Hm, hm, dear reader, feeling mellow?

And are your kinsfolk well today?

Perhaps you’d like, you gentle fellow,

To hear what I’m prepared to say

On “kinfolk” and their implications?

Well, here’s my view of close relations:

They’re people whom we’re bound to prize,

To honor, love and idolize,

And, following the old tradition,

To visit come the Christmas feast,

Or send a wish by mail at least;

All other days they’ve our permission

To quite forget us, if they please –

So grant them, God, long life and ease!



SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? I should point out that the version by Douglas Hofstadter is not entirely serious – in fact he taught himself Russian by reading and translating this work, and manifestly he can’t resist any pun or word play that presents itself – that said, where the other translations sometimes verge on the bland, his can be refreshing.

My own preference wavers, but the Nabokov certainly fails to satisfy – somehow the form is definitely part of the content in this case. However, as a fellow practitioner I have a great deal of respect for all of the above – while admitting there’s nothing like the original!



AROUND THE COUNCIL TABLEBY PATRICK GEDDES

A NEW COUNCIL IS ELECTED AND PRIORITIES ARE SET This is the first edition of Word for Word since the most recent AGM, which was held on the final day of the NZSTI Conference in Wellington. At the AGM the following people were elected to be your representatives on the NZSTI Council.

Sibylle Ferner – Auckland (President)Aliandra Antoniacci – ChristchurchHannah Brodsky – AucklandIneke Crezee – AucklandFelicity Crowe – AucklandMarie Dai – AucklandPatrick Geddes – WellingtonBrigette Holland – WellingtonHenry Liu – Palmerston NorthIsabelle Poff–Pencolé – Palmerston NorthQuintin Ridgeway – WellingtonChristiane Rupp – AucklandChristof Schneider – AucklandPeter Tuffley – ChristchurchMicky Vale (SLIANZ) – Wellington

At the first meeting of Council in July the mission statement and three year objectives of the society were confirmed. These are:

Mission Statement (unchanged)NZSTI is a nationally representative body of translators and interpreters that provides a networking forum for its members, represents members’ interests, and promotes continued professional development, quality standards, and awareness of the profession within government agencies and the wider community.

Objectives 2012 – 2015Complete revision of our Code of EthicsContinue and expand offering of Professional DevelopmentImplement Charter of Working Together with Ministry of JusticeMaintain close working relations with AUSIT and develop closer working relations with other international professional bodiesHold regular meetings in all major branches with a solid level of interest Continue production of 4 issues of Word for Word per yearExpand assistance for Professional Practice through sample documents and guidelinesIncrease conference attendance (e.g. 150 (Auckland), 100 (Wellington), 75 (Christchurch))Maintain membership at level of 500 minimumIncrease profile and visibility of T/I professionsCouncil meets every two months now rather than every month because it was felt that this frequency was sufficient to carry out the majority of Council business, and in the modern age it was relatively simple to get consensus on urgent matters by email.

There has been some robust discussion around the Council, particularly in regard to fulfilling our obligations under the Charter on Working Together with the Ministry of Justice (see the article earlier in this edition of Word for Word).

Another priority for Council was establishing where to hold the next NZSTI Conference. Usually it would be Christchurch’s turn but Council has come to the conclusion that the city would not be in a suitable state by 2013; the sad reality is that much of the core pieces of necessary infrastructure, in particular accommodation and venues, were destroyed or seriously damaged in the 2011 earthquakes. Consideration has been given to the option of holding the conference in an alternative venue such as Tauranga or Palmerston North in 2013 but with members of the Canterbury branch still integrally involved in the planning and execution of the conference, with the assistance of some locally-based members. The organisation of a conference from afar will be a first for the society but Council was confident that the Canterbury branch was up to the challenge. Details of the location of the 2013 conference will be published in due course.

The Council was particularly excited to receive Peter Campbell’s proposal to assemble the unique experiences of NZSTI’s translators and interpreters into a book. This project has been circulated among the membership and should be available at the NZSTI Conference in 2013.


TRANSLATION OF UN TREATY ON DISABLED IN ARABICThe “Gulf Times” reports that the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of People with Special Needs (QSRPSN) has launched an Arabic sign language translation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

See more at http://tinyurl.com/7b4uhp8

CELEBRATING IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, POPE SEES TRANSLATION TROUBLESPope Benedict XVI told the German bishops that, as pope, he has celebrated Mass in different languages and that “The underlying common text often remains visible only from afar.”

One specific concern of the Pope has raised a question of faith. It relates to the Latin phrase “pro multis” in the Eucharistic prayer which describes Jesus as telling the disciples to take the chalice of his blood, which was poured out “pro multis”. In English, Italian, German and other languages this used to be translated as “for all”; however, some years ago the Pope ordered Catholics to use the more literal translation “for many”.

The pope said he knew how the change could affect the Catholic faithful: “They will ask: ‘Did Christ not die for all of us? Has the church changed its teaching?”

See more at http://tinyurl.com/8x5gwzn

TOP INTERPRETING LANGUAGES IN THE USAccording to a recent study, the top languages requested for interpretation in the U.S. in the last year, after Spanish, were Arabic, Mandarin and Vietnamese – but there were also some interesting local trends too.

See more at http://tinyurl.com/859ze88

GENOCIDE TRIAL DEADLOCK – A QUESTION OF TRANSLATIONIn Concord, New Hampshire, doubts about the reliability of translations reportedly contributed to the deadlock in the trial in Concord, New Hampshire, of a woman accused of concealing her role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

See more at http://tinyurl.com/brw2su4

T&I NEWS WORLDWIDECOMPILED BY PETER TUFFLEY

http://tinyurl.com/7b4uhp8

http://tinyurl.com/8x5gwzn

http://tinyurl.com/859ze88

http://tinyurl.com/brw2su4


SOCAL SURGE IN INTERPRETER DEMAND In Southern California, where more than 200 languages are spoken, companies that offer interpreters over the phone are in great demand by retailers, hospitals, banks, restaurants and other merchants.

See more at http://tinyurl.com/cuavkq5

IS THAT A FISH IN YOUR EAR? – TRANSLATION AND THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING (BOOK REVIEW)A review of this book by David Bellos in the Budapest Times begins: “Anyone living in this part of the world should be well aware of the importance of translation. Anyone in Hungary should be particularly aware. Very few non-Hungarians can understand the Hungarian language, so for a small nation like Hungary translation is a basic necessity if the country, so to say (sic), wishes to communicate with the outside world. On the same basis, it’s true that to be a translator is a common mode of employment in Hungary – certainly compared with a country of native English speakers such as Britain, Canada or the US.”

What follows is a description of a book that, among other things, seeks to explain the process of translation and related issues to the general reader. The reviewer observes: “Translators will be happy that someone has taken up their ‘cause’ and is presenting their case to the world.”

See more at http://tinyurl.com/6sfcjg6

FIRST GRADUATES FROM US UNIVERSITY SIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMMELouisville (Kentucky) University’s American Sign Language Interpreting Studies Programme, leading to a bachelor’s degree, was begun in 2010. Now more than 50 students are majoring in the programme, and the first ten of them graduated very recently,

See more at http://tinyurl.com/7sfck8c

PROMOTING AND PRESERVING ABORIGINAL LANGUAGESLanguage Maintenance and Language Revitalization Programs and an Aboriginal Interpreting Service (AIS) are among the initiatives being floated as new measures to protect Aboriginal languages and promote them among younger generations.

See more at http://tinyurl.com/73a6krt

T&I NEWS WORLDWIDECONT.

http://tinyurl.com/cuavkq5

http://tinyurl.com/6sfcjg6

http://tinyurl.com/7sfck8c

http://tinyurl.com/73a6krt


AucklandThe Auckland Branch held its AGM on Tuesday, 21 August 2012. The following committee members were elected or re-elected: President: Sibylle Ferner Treasurer: Michele Ryan Committee member: Gary Holt, Alberto Nadalini, Marlene Lu, Larissa Jivykh, Ineke Crezee, Premjeet Singh, May Fung. After the AGM, we had our August Branch meeting. David Atkinson gave a presentation on Translators and Psychological Skills, based on the findings of his recent research. The meeting attracted more than 40 participants, a very pleasing turnout. The following is a report of an Auckland branch meeting held in April, which we think is still worth publishing despite the amount of time that has elapsed.

BRANCH NEWS

NZSTI AUCKLAND BRANCH MEETING – 23 APRIL 2012Report by Gary Holt and Sibylle Ferner

For our April meeting we invited Nick George, the Interpreter Coordinator at the Department of Labour (DOL), to talk about translation and interpreting standards and practices in his Department. He gave us a comprehensive overview of Interpreting and Translation at the Department of Labour (DOL) and kindly provided a helpful handout which summarised his main points. There was obvious interest in this topic as there was a huge turnout about 60 people coming along and the room was full to bursting.

Nick’s main task is sourcing and organising interpreters for processing refugee applications. The pay rate for interpreters has been increased to $40 per hour and they are generally employed for 3-hour or 7-hour blocks of time. Rigorous background checks are carried out on prospective interpreters and they are classified on 2 levels (interpreters or language assistants). There are some issues with the qualification of interpreters. The department prefers interpreters with at least NAATI Paraprofessional or NZSTI Affiliate status, but for some languages it is simply not possible to find suitably qualified practitioners. Nick mentioned an example of a Wellington taxi driver who was asked to interpret in a high-profile court case.

The DOL has an internal ranking system. After each interview the case officer completes a multiple choice evaluation of the interpreter’s performance and the resulting score out of 5 determines an interpreter’s position on the DOL list. When work is available the interpreters are contacted in the order on the list. The department currently has 386 interpreters on its books.

The most important criteria in this interpreting is accuracy, not speed, and accuracy is also vital for the case officer who has to transcribe the whole interview afterwards. For this reason only consecutive interpreting is used and the interpreter’s notes must be left on file afterwards and not destroyed. Interested interpreters should contact Nick for further information.

It is the application interview which is of prime importance, thus less weight is placed on translations. The main requirement is that the applicant provides a “certified translation” from “a person familiar with both languages and competent in translation work”. The translator must not be a relative and only needs to sign the translation as being correct.

Nick also informed us that there was no consistent standard across the Department concerning layout or the use of standard forms. For ease of processing most jobs are given to translation agencies and sensitive documents are translated by the DIA Translation Service.

In the future Nick would like to establish one list of all interpreters in New Zealand. (Not all interpreters he uses are members of NZSTI) He would also like to see more sharing between government departments and more standardisation between them in terms of pay rates and standards required.

The hand-out mentioned has been made available in the members section of the NZSTI website (www.nzsti.org).

www.nzsti.org


WELLINGTON BRANCH REPORTBy Patrick Geddes

The Wellington branch has been squarely focused on the organization of the NZSTI annual conference in June and most branch events were put on the back-burner. We were very happy the breadth of presentations available to Wellington members who attended the conference.

Since the conclusion of the conference we have been able to organize two branch events; the first being a showing of the Russian film “Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten” which was held at the Goethe Institut on 18 July. This was a movie about a Russian to German translator who translated Tolstoy’s classic works. The event was attended by approximately 12 members and was thoroughly enjoyable.

The next event was an informal gathering at the Istanbul restaurant to plan the AGM and subsequent events for the year.

CANTERBURY BRANCH REPORTBy Peter Tuffley

So far this year we have had three meetings and a change of President: Christiane Rupp, elected at our November AGM, has now moved to take up a position at Auckland University; her successor, Aliandra Antoniacci, was elected on 4 May and took up office on 12 May.

Our first meeting of the year, on 6 March, was a convivial pot-luck dinner at Christiane’s home which subsequent feedback indicated was a success gastronomically as well as professionally, providing an opportunity for wide-ranging discussion of professional matters in in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It was especially pleasing to see two very recent members at the meeting.

A scheduled April meeting was postponed because of the illness and hospitalization of the Secretary; we finally met on Friday 4 May over dinner and drinks at Christiane’s home.

In addition to electing a successor to Christiane, we discussed local training needs, in particular the Professional Development Subcommittee’s invitation to Branches to request local training funded by NZSTI. We are very appreciative of this offer, and urge Branches who have not yet responded to do so.

At our third meeting, on Thursday 12 July, it was a particular pleasure to welcome two new members to a lively evening. The two main items were a further discussion of training needs and exchange of ideas for a book project intended to heighten awareness of what is involved in translation and interpreting and what its practitioners do.

It is also a pleasure to report on a distinction recently conferred on one of our senior members, Thai translator and interpreter Robin Bickley. Robin received the Sao Sema Thammachak award, which is presented annually to (mainly) Thai nationals in recognition of the work they have done to promote Buddhism both at home and abroad. It is a highly prestigious award and non-Thai recipients are few and far between.

There were 159 recipients this year: 158 Thai nationals and Robin. Robin was nominated by Wat Buddha Samakhee, the Thai Buddhist temple in Christchurch, in recognition of the advice and assistance he has given during recent years while the temple was being established.

The presentation was made by HRH Princess Sirindhorn on 30th May.

BRANCH NEWSCONT.


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