AATIA’s Spanish Special Interest Group (SpanSIG) will host a workshop on English-Spanish contrastive grammar in Austin on Saturday, April 5, 2008. The day-long workshop will focus on compared grammar structures, discursive elements, phrasing and wording, direct and indirect speech, idioms, false cognates, and the “transcreation” (translation + creation) methodology for identifying these foreign elements and adapting them to the target language.

Although the workshop is aimed mainly at translators of English to Spanish, translators of Spanish to English will benefit from the discussion of contrastive grammar and “transcreation” methodology.

The presenter, Xosé Castro, is an English > Spanish technical translator and localization specialist based in Madrid, Spain, whose work also includes writing, dubbing, and subtitling for television and film. He has taught translation courses and seminars for T&I programs in Spain and has spoken at numerous international workshops and conferences on a variety of translation topics, including software and website localization, movie script translation, writing in neutral Spanish, and proofreading. Among many other distinctions, he is the creator of the online help for the CD-ROM version of the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary).

The workshop will be held at the International Center of Austin. Participants who are ATA-certified will be eligible to earn six continuing education points. Registration for the workshop will begin in early March.

The Translators and Interpreters Practice Lab, better known as TIP-Lab, is offering its 18th Spanish Translation/Revision Workshop, specially designed and tailored for professionals working in any country of the world who translate from English into Spanish. It will run from July through December 2008.

Texts translated by the participants will be reviewed by Leandro Wolfson, a nationally known translator from Argentina who specializes in human and social sciences, and returned to the participants with revisions and annotated comments.

The workshop will cover general interest topics with no particular focus on specialized terminology or subject matter. Only applicants with extensive translation experience and full (native or highly proficient) command of Spanish (written form) and English (comprehension) will be accepted. For evaluation of their proficiency, applicants must submit a short narrative in Spanish (approximately 250 words) in which they describe their professional training and activities and the reason why they want to participate.

The American Translators Association has approved the workshop for continuing education (CE) credits. The Harvie Jordan Foundation is offering five $100 scholarships to qualified AATIA members.

Workshop fee is US$250 per participant (US$30 non-refundable administrative fee included in this amount). Registration deadline is Monday, June 16, 2008. We encourage AATIA members to register by March 1, since registrations will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis until the quota is filled. Download the brochure for more information and the application form.

Esther Diaz will speak on Demystifying Cardiovascular Terminology at a medical seminar in Houston on February 23–24, 2008, sponsored by the American Translators Association and its regional affiliate, the Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA). This professional development event targets experienced translators and interpreters who are seeking advanced-level continuing education:

• Overcome the unique challenges when translating for the healthcare consumer
• Learn to use the appropriate register, protect patient rights, and follow government regulations
• Effectively translate examination notes, prescriptions, autopsy reports, and other medical records
• Understand cardiovascular procedures to achieve an accurate translation

An ATA certification exam sitting will be offered on Sunday, February 24. Separate registration is required for the exam. ATA-certified translators can earn 9 Continuing Education Points for attending both days of this seminar.