When I first joined the AATIA I served on a committee. All the members were — coincidentally — also Spanish translators. Given that random twist of fate, someone suggested that we write to each other in Spanish to discuss the business at hand. That struck me as a brilliant idea, since it would allow me to communicate informally in Spanish, which would be very helpful as most of my communication is in English. To my surprise, one of the members announced that she felt too intimidated to do that, saying she felt insecure about her command of written Spanish, and dropped out of the committee.

In my youth I was an actor in a theater group. Like the other actors, I’d read from my script during the early stage of rehearsals. But as we got closer to opening night the director would urge us to put down the script and act — really act. We rehearsed in a warehouse, with other group members sitting just a few feet away. I always felt intimidated and hung on to my script like a security blanket, defying the director and saying, “I’ll be fine when we’re actually on stage, with lights and an audience.” It took me a long time to realize that I was wrong, and that I was squandering a wonderful chance to get into my role in front of my peers, who were there to support me and encourage me, not sit in judgment of my performance.

I think that the committee member who didn’t want to write emails in Spanish was making the same mistake. Being involved with a group of translators is a chance to practice speaking and writing one’s “second language.” This is a priceless opportunity, which absolutely should not be squandered.