The Interpreter’s Special Interest Group will be meeting on Saturday February 13th from 10 AM to 12 noon at the AATIA headquarters in the International Center of Austin on 2nd street and Trinity. In the meeting Joseph Brettell, a Licensed Court Interpreter will present on certification exams for court interpreters, training materials available to aspiring court interpreters, and the realities and practice of court interpretation. We will have a practice session of real texts which are commonly seen in the courts. All interpreters or other interested parties are welcome. See you then!

AATIA is pleased to present a complimentary translation memory tool webinar for freelancers during our next membership meeting on January 9. A qualified trainer from Across Systems will demonstrate how to put this tool into practice.

Please join us at the International Center of Austin. The meeting begins at 1:00 and the webinar begins at 1:30. 

If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may also join us online by registering via this link:
 https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/473840274

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

The academic overseers of the language of Cervantes have unveiled their first Spanish grammar guidelines in nearly 80 years, Nueva gramática de la lengua española: el español de todo el mundo. The 3-volume, 4000-page tome was produced by the Real Academia Española in collaboration with 21 sister organizations in Latin America and other places where Spanish is spoken, including the United States. According to the website of the Real Academia, the new grammar aims to provide a "map" of the Spanish spoken around the world today. Read more.

We have two great events on the calendar!

The next membership meeting – Saturday, September 12 – will feature a Web 2.0 Technology presentation by Jorge Ungo (*see below).

And there’ll be a special celebration for International Translators & Interpreters Day, scheduled for late September/early October.

Watch this blog for more details on both these excellent opportunities for translators and interpreters!

* Recognition for the healthcare interpreting profession is on the rise, as is the need for skilled interpreters. With training resources usually tailored for the more commonly encountered languages, some interpreters may feel isolated and lacking in language-specific training and resources. In the past decade, however, worldwide internet usage has grown by over 300%, and the new wave of Web 2.0 technology is providing interpreters with easy and cost-effective ways to create and share resources with colleagues all over the world. From wikis and blogs to social bookmarking – this presentation will demystify the world of 2.0 and will demonstrate how interpreters can use technology to connect with colleagues and share important tools and resources.

Jorge Ungo is the Southwest Region Manager for Pacific Interpreters – a nationwide leader in healthcare interpreting. In his regional manager role, Jorge consults with health and social service organizations throughout the Southwestern United States on how to design and implement cost-effective yet highly efficient language access programs. Prior to his work with Pacific Interpreters, Jorge was the director of an international interpreting program, responsible for business operations including sales and marketing, HR administration, operational logistics, and company-wide training. Jorge is President of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators (TAHIT) and a board member and membership co-chair on the National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare (NCIHC). 
 

The Translation and Interpreting program at Austin Community College will offer the first course in the series this Summer.

FRNL 1070 - Introduction to Translation and Interpreting is intended for individuals who are fluent in a foreign language and interested in putting their language skills to work. It offers an overview of the translation and interpreting professions and defines the knowledge, skills, and credentials necessary to work successfully as a translator or interpreter. Students also gain an awareness of the general problems involved in translating and interpreting.

This class meets once a week for 10 weeks at ACC’s Highland Business Center. There are two sessions available:
18 97482 Wednesdays, 5:30 - 8:30 PM - June 10 - August 12
18 97483 Saturdays, 1:00 - 4:00 PM - June 13 - August 15

Tuition is $175 for students in the ACC District. You may register in person at ACC Highland Business Center, 4th floor, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM, M-Th and 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Friday; or by phone at (512) 223-7542.

For further information, contact:
Esther Diaz
Translator and Interpreter Trainer
ATA Certified for Translation from
English to Spanish and Spanish to English
mediaz@austin.rr.com
(512) 731-5266

If you are even occasionally dealing with translations involving Apple computers, the iPhone or the various types of iPods, this site could be a great resource. It links to official Apple manuals in many languages and covers everything from desktop Macs to MacBooks and peripherals. You can read the manuals on-screen or download them as PDF files.

In the Winter issue of SOURCE, the newsletter for ATA’s Literary Division — edited by AATIA’s own Michele Aynesworth — Tony Beckwith, another AATIA stalwart, makes a return appearance with his By the Way column and BTW cartoon. Special features include an interview with Arnie Johnston, whose translations of Jacques Brel lyrics made such a splash at the last ALTA conference; Mark Herman’s look at strategies for translating names in opera (that’s Bo-RIS, not BO-ris); and a machine translation of an Argentine zamba ("Knock-kneed, I sing to you") guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye.

Foreign Exchange Translations, Inc. has recently launched a blog aimed mainly at translators working in the health care field, but there’s stuff there of general interest, as well, such as the intriguingly titled post "Catch two pigeons with one bean"  and the announcement of a new translation-related podcast produced by Colorado-based translators Eve Bodeux and Corinne McKay. Have a look!