Once a year, most court interpreters take a continuing ed. class to keep up to date with our profession and to earn the points we need to renew our license. Last year I took mine at Eta Trabing’s workshop in Austin and I did it again this year on August 21. I’m glad I did.

We spent the morning waist-deep in a review of the “Code of Professional Conduct in Court Interpreting.” This might sound like a weighty subject, but Eta is skilled in the art of entertaining and educating at the same time.

Alex Trabing led us through the afternoon’s presentation on “Illegal Drugs: Terminology and Other Useful Information,” and I must say that his style and his material were engaging and interesting enough to keep me awake after a most agreeable round-table lunch at PF Chang’s. (more…)

The Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators is pleased to announce that the American Translators Association (ATA) has approved TAHIT's 4th Annual Symposium on Language Access as continuing education for ATA-certified translators. Those of you who are certified by ATA can earn up to 10 Continuing Education Points by attending this year's event!

Registration is NOW OPEN and the EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT deadline has been extended until July 15th! Register today and save $20 off of the regular registration. This year, we are also offering 1 day registration as well as group discounts.

To find out more about TAHIT's 4th Annual Symposium on Language Access, download the symposium brochure. 

Contact Graciela Zozaya at acalang@sbcglobal.net if you need additional information about TAHIT's Symposium.

We are looking forward to seeing you in August!

The American Translators Association (ATA) will host its 51st Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado, on October 27-30. This three-day event will showcase diverse panel discussions, expert presentations, training workshops, and scholarly papers. Both general and language-specific sessions will be offered. The conference will also offer language professionals one of the best opportunities to network with colleagues. Additional activities will include a Job Marketplace, vendor exhibit hall, and ATA certification testing. 

Earn 9 CE Points at an ATA Professional Development Event
Presented by the American Translators Association
and the Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association
  

Crowne Plaza Riverwalk
San Antonio, Texas
March 27-28, 2010

• AATIA Member Mike Magee will present a session on Patent Translations.
• Karen Tkaczyk will present From Soap to Drugs and Back, via QA and SOPs.
• Aaron Ruby will present Research Techniques and Primary Resources for Technical Translators

All presentations are non-language-specific.
Early registration ends March 19.

To learn more, see http://www.atanet.org/pd/scitech

Borderlands Community of Poets will feature "Bilingual Poets of Austin” at 4 pm, Sunday, February 28, at the Sunset Valley Barnes & Noble.

Poets include Tony Beckwith, Celeste Guzman-Mendoza, Ire'ne Lara Silva, Anjela Villarreal-Ratliff, Lydia Armendariz, Gloria Amescua, Steve Vera, Enrique Cabrera, with poet/writer/translator Liliana Valenzuela as presenter. 

Email for more information.

Tha Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition (AIRC) needs several volunteers for the upcoming statewide convention for immigration reform on Saturday, Feb. 20, 1-5 p.m., at the Travis County Expo Center.  Please email if you are interested in volunteering for the following positions:

• experienced simultaneous interpreters
• welcome table staffers (to help with sign-in, hand out programs, and sign out translation headsets)
• peacekeepers (to ensure the safety of conference participants)

For those who won’t be attending the ATA’s 50th Anniversary conference in New York, the AATIA’s November 14 meeting is the next-best thing! Four Austin members will provide a debriefing on their experiences at this milestone event in the Big Apple.

Pat Bobeck, who translates French and Spanish into English and specializes in (among other things) geology, petroleum engineering, and environmental sciences will talk about her visit to New York.

Esther Diaz, Administrator of ATA’s Medical Division, will also share her perspective on the conference.

And literary translators Liliana Valenzuela and Tony Beckwith will discuss their conference presentation, “Two Heads are Better than One: A Literary Translation Story,” and explain how they jointly translated a book of 73 stories riddled with jokes, puns, plays on words, cultural references, and onomatopoeia.

Join us and get a first-hand report of what’s going on at the heart of our industry. As always, there’ll be refreshments and lots of good networking on Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 4 pm at our downtown space at the ICA premises (check www.aatia.net for the address, directions, and parking instructions.)

Watch this blog for more details!

Free parking is available at the Convention Center parking garage, which is on the west side of the building that houses our offices. Enter from Brazos Street, inform the attendant that you are attending an AATIA event, and sign a garage parking record sheet. There is no charge. 
 

Once again, the Austin Classical Guitar Society has been kind enough to offer AATIA members a special rate for a very special event.

The legendary Kazuhito Yamashita , Japan ’s most celebrated classical guitarist, will be making a rare appearance in the United States, on Saturday, October 10th at the Northwest Hills United Methodist Church at 8:00pm.

Interested members can call the ACGS office (512-300-2247), mention AATIA, and receive their discount. Discounted tickets can also be purchased at the door. Members’ families are also eligible for the discounted ticket price.

Kazuhito Yamashita
Saturday, October 10th, at 8PM
Northwest Hills United Methodist Church
7050 Village Center Drive
Special Ticket Offer to members and affiliates of AATIA
Tickets $25 (normally $45!)
512-300-ACGS or AustinClassicalGuitar.org

Yamashita rose to international prominence when he performed phenomenal feats on the solo classical guitar including Dvorak’s New World Symphony and Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He has recorded and toured extensively with flute giant James Galway. His debut in Austin is one of ACGS’ proudest moments and is the ideal beginning to our 20th anniversary season.