[http://goglobalatsnu.blogspot.com/]
This morning, I tweeted on twitter and updated on facebook about an interesting article on examiner.com with the title "Reasons why you should raise a bilingual child" (http://www.examiner.com/x-17553-Denver-Bilingual-Families-Examiner~y2009m7d29-It-cant-hurt). I want to follow up on one statement the author of the article made. In speaking about her desire for her child to be multilingual, she said, "It can't hurt [emphasis in original]." She went on to say, "It hasn't hurt me. On the contrary, being a bilingual journalist has opened twice as many doors as being a monolingual one would ever have!"
This simple statement about doors being opened to a bilingual journalist reinforces one of the points I have been making to students interested in Southern Nazarene University's Spanish-English Translation major. SNU's translation major prepares students for a variety of careers in addition to translation and interpreting. I think the translation major would make an excellent course of study for anyone interested in journalism. What is often not appreciated about translators is that above all else, good translators are good writers. One of our major emphases in the translation major is to make sure our students write well in English and in Spanish. It is not enough to write well in one of the languages. We expect our students to write well in both languages. Also, we do not just want our translation majors to be able to churn out good term papers in Spanish and English and nothing else. They have to be able to write in a variety of styles for many different contexts.
I am convinced that being able to write well in both languages and being able to understand fully and speak competently in both languages will open doors for students in all sorts of fields where highly skilled written and oral communication is an essential element of the job, such as journalism, editing, public relations, international business, international project management, translation (of course) and other fields.
If you're interested in learning more, check out the details of SNU's translation major at http://goglobalatsnu.net/translation.htm.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Another reason to hate spammers
[http://www.goglobalatsnu.blogspot.com]
This morning I posted on Twitter and Facebook a link to a ZDNet article (“Spammers go multilingual, use automatic translation services,” http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3813) about how spammers are using automatic translation services to go multilingual. Globally, about 95% of spam is in English. Now, with automatic translation services, spammers can produce their spam in English and then translate it into German (46.5% of spam in Germany is in German) or French (53% of spam in France is in French). The ZDNet article shows how spammers are aware that non-English speakers are more likely to respond if the pitch is in their first language rather than in English. Give them credit for a global awareness that is only recently being shown by a lot of others who want to play on the global stage.
The writer of the article made an interesting observation. He said, “Despite the easy [sic] of use and free nature of automatic translation services, their use is prone to decline due to the questionable quality of the translated messages, which could potentially undermine the efforts the spammers are putting in the first place. Cultural diversity cannot be achieved automatically….” I am not too sure about the probability of decline due to concerns about quality. “Phishers” seem more attuned to quality issues. After all, their game depends on the quality being good enough to snare unwary victims. Spammers, on the other hand, seem more focused on quantity. If you can pump out enough of the stuff, someone is bound to click on a link.
I particularly appreciate the last comment of the writer: “Cultural diversity cannot be achieved automatically.” I’ll add, neither can it be achieved easily. It requires hard work and a commitment to keep working at it. It can also be exciting, a little scary at times, and lots and lots of fun. In the end, however, it is all worthwhile.
This morning I posted on Twitter and Facebook a link to a ZDNet article (“Spammers go multilingual, use automatic translation services,” http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3813) about how spammers are using automatic translation services to go multilingual. Globally, about 95% of spam is in English. Now, with automatic translation services, spammers can produce their spam in English and then translate it into German (46.5% of spam in Germany is in German) or French (53% of spam in France is in French). The ZDNet article shows how spammers are aware that non-English speakers are more likely to respond if the pitch is in their first language rather than in English. Give them credit for a global awareness that is only recently being shown by a lot of others who want to play on the global stage.
The writer of the article made an interesting observation. He said, “Despite the easy [sic] of use and free nature of automatic translation services, their use is prone to decline due to the questionable quality of the translated messages, which could potentially undermine the efforts the spammers are putting in the first place. Cultural diversity cannot be achieved automatically….” I am not too sure about the probability of decline due to concerns about quality. “Phishers” seem more attuned to quality issues. After all, their game depends on the quality being good enough to snare unwary victims. Spammers, on the other hand, seem more focused on quantity. If you can pump out enough of the stuff, someone is bound to click on a link.
I particularly appreciate the last comment of the writer: “Cultural diversity cannot be achieved automatically.” I’ll add, neither can it be achieved easily. It requires hard work and a commitment to keep working at it. It can also be exciting, a little scary at times, and lots and lots of fun. In the end, however, it is all worthwhile.
Monday, July 27, 2009
From QERC to Viva Oklahoma: It's been a good summer.
It’s been over three months since I’ve done anything with my blog. (By the way, this blog posts to FB as a note. If you read it on FB and want to check out the blog, go to http://www.goglobalatsnu.blogspot.com.) By mid-April, I was so overwhelmed with all that was going on that I decided something had to give or I would go bonkers, and the blog was one of those “somethings” that had to give. Now that the end of summer and the start of the new school year are in sight, I think it’s time I get back to blogging about SNU’s great opportunities for going global.
In April, I went to Costa Rica to spend several days working with SNU students studying at QERC. It was my second visit to QERC. What a great place to spend a semester and what a great opportunity for SNU student! Want to know more about QERC? Check out http://www.snu.edu/qerc.
As soon as the semester was done, I went to Austin for the annual meeting of the Association of Language Companies (http://www.alcus.org), which is a trade association for language service providers. Of all that I learned at the meeting, the one item that will have the most impact on my teaching at SNU is the awareness of the growing impact of technology on the translation and interpreting industry. That means that more of that element must be integrated into SNU’s Spanish-English Translation major. (Dicho sea de paso, which is Spanish for “by the way,” I’m writing this blog post on a MacBook Pro, a first for me. Part of integrating more technology into our translation major means accepting that not every translator prefers a PC. Life would be some much simpler if that were so!) I’ve also subscribed to the trade magazine Multilingual Computing and will have copies of that magazine available for SNU students.
Soon after my Austin trip, I went to Boston to attend the annual meeting of the New England Translator’s Association (http://netaweb.org/cms). Why go all the way to Boston to attend a translator’s meeting? #1, it had some great speakers scheduled. #2, my two daughters live in Boston. (Which reason do you think was the most important?) One of the downsides of being located in Oklahoma is the lack of local professional development opportunities for translators and interpreters. There are enough translators and interpreters in Oklahoma that we should be able to get together and start doing some local continuing education. This is a project I hope to work on during the year. If we get something going, it will provide support for aspiring translators and interpreters as well as for those who are already working in language services.
This past weekend (07/25), the company in which I am a partner (http://www.multilingualservice.com) had a booth at the Viva Oklahoma Hispanic Exposition in Oklahoma City. I have some photos of our booth on my FB wall if you’re interested. I think it was a successful effort for us. We even got to pitch our services to Drew Edmondson, Oklahoma’s Attorney General and aspirant to the governor’s office. Perhaps we’ll get to translate some material for his campaign.
Speaking of translating for prominent events, our company will do some translation for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s “Arte en la Charerria: The Artisanship of Mexican Equestrian Culture” exhibit, October 10, 2009-January 3, 2010 (http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/events/event.aspx?ID=127). The museum description says, “Arte en la Charrería contains more than 120 examples of the excellent craftsmanship and design distinctive to the Mexican cowboy. The exhibition introduces audiences to the work of talented Mexican artisans who manufacture the articles and costumes that embellish and distinguish the charro tradition.” A great opportunity to see a little of Mexico’s influence on the U.S. cowboy culture.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
lolcat Bible Translation project
One of our Go Global majors at SNU is the Spanish-English Translation major. Most people probably don't think of studying translation as fun, nor do they think that being a translator can be a fun job. After all, all you do is read what someone else wrote and then write it in a different language, right? However, I have proof that translators can have fun too! Check out the lolcat Bible translation of Genesis at http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Genesis_1. There's even an audio version at http://vonkempelen.com/audio/job-16604918-0.wav. Translators just wanna have fun!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Multilingual entrepreneurialism
I recently read an interesting article on the Fort Worth Business Press web site (http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=9962). Catholic Charities in Fort Worth has built up an impressive translation and interpreting capability in response to its refugee and immigrant ministries. A major part of working with immigrant populations is helping them communicate as they navigate various federal, state and local government, legal and social service offices. According to the article, Catholic Charities’ translation/interpretation service handles about 325 appointments a month and is able to provide interpreting in 72 languages. It currently works with about 125 trained interpreters. Now Catholic Charities is using that same resource to help provide financial support for its ministry. The agency recognizes that there is a big demand in the business sector for translation and interpreting services in the Fort Worth-Dallas area. Thus, with a big demand in the market and a well-developed language service capability, Catholic Charities’ Translation & Interpretation Network (TIN) is launching out to become a major language service provider to the business community as well as to immigrant populations. Ninety percent of the fees collected by the service go to support the work of Catholic Charities.
What is happening in Fort Worth is a good example of using entrepreneurial skills and multicultural awareness to support a valuable outreach ministry. I wonder if SNU’s translation major could not also use a little entrepreneurial skill to provide outreach. My experience as a translator in Oklahoma City shows me that there are many immigrants who need simple documents translated (birth certificates, marriage licenses, school diplomas) but who do not have the money that most professional translators would charge for such service. My experience as a translation company owner shows me that translation of personal documents for fees that most immigrants can pay is at best a break-even proposition. However, what if we set up a translation lab at SNU and used advanced translation students, under the supervision of a professional translator, to provide low-priced translations of personal documents? Our students would gain valuable experience and we would provide a much-needed service. Think about it.
What is happening in Fort Worth is a good example of using entrepreneurial skills and multicultural awareness to support a valuable outreach ministry. I wonder if SNU’s translation major could not also use a little entrepreneurial skill to provide outreach. My experience as a translator in Oklahoma City shows me that there are many immigrants who need simple documents translated (birth certificates, marriage licenses, school diplomas) but who do not have the money that most professional translators would charge for such service. My experience as a translation company owner shows me that translation of personal documents for fees that most immigrants can pay is at best a break-even proposition. However, what if we set up a translation lab at SNU and used advanced translation students, under the supervision of a professional translator, to provide low-priced translations of personal documents? Our students would gain valuable experience and we would provide a much-needed service. Think about it.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Eating empanadas and drinking mate in Oklahoma
It seems that the more I think about helping Southern Nazarene University students go global, the more aware I become of the global opportunities on and around our own campus. Just last week while talking with a student who will enter SNU in the fall, I mentioned to her that several of the majors in the Modern Languages Department came from other countries. I was trying to help her see the opportunities she would have on campus to get to know and study with international students. Part of learning to go global locally is learning with and from students who bring completely different perspectives and experiences to SNU because they come from contexts that are quite different from those of most of our students.
The next day, I met for an hour with the Chinese husband of one of our international graduate students. In our conversation, he asked me what I thought about Tibet. My Chinese friend was worried because his father travels frequently to Tibet for work and he had heard about violence directed at Chinese in Tibet. I responded that I only knew what I read in the newspapers and heard on the news, but that it seemed to me that Tibetans were just asking for what most other people want, that is, the freedom to be themselves and to govern themselves. He said that it was a confusing situation for him because all that he knew about Tibet was what the Chinese government allowed to be published. Since arriving in the U.S. in January, he has heard views that give a different side of the story. He is also learning what it means to go global by having to evaluate perspectives that bump up against his own. Later on that same day, I spent forty-five minutes with a student from Honduras and then ended my afternoon by speaking for an hour with a student from Mexico. It was a very international day for me without ever leaving campus.
I attended a meeting tonight (Saturday) that reminded me again of the global opportunities in our backyard. The church of which I am a member is making plans to start a new Hispanic congregation. The new congregation will be led by a bilingual/bicultural couple. The husband is from Argentina and the wife is from Oklahoma, although she has lived in Argentina and speaks Spanish with a decidedly Argentine accent. (I am definitely going to have to learn to speak “argentino” and drink “mate”. I already got a little practice being argentino because the hosts served us Argentine empanadas…very good!) What sets this planned congregation apart from the other new Hispanic church starts in which I have participated is that it is planning to be a bicultural/bilingual work from the start. The group wants to do this because many Hispanic families include family members who are not comfortable using Spanish. They may be children of Spanish-speaking parents or non-Hispanic spouses of Hispanic immigrants or second-generation Hispanic adults who want to maintain their ties to the Hispanic community but who cannot communicate well in Spanish. Thus, when we start our home groups, we are going to be ready to have two groups meeting in the same home at the same time, one group using English and one using Spanish, if we need to.
I am excited about being a part of the new Anglo-Hispanic congregation. I am also excited about being part of a university that offers its students such great opportunities for broadening their understanding of the world while they are on campus as well as when they study or participate in summer programs abroad. What a great place to study! What a great place to teach!
P.S. The NY Times is running an interesting series about an Iraqui translator/interpreter who has immigrated to the U.S. Check it out at http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/leaving-iraq-an-iraqi-christian/.
The next day, I met for an hour with the Chinese husband of one of our international graduate students. In our conversation, he asked me what I thought about Tibet. My Chinese friend was worried because his father travels frequently to Tibet for work and he had heard about violence directed at Chinese in Tibet. I responded that I only knew what I read in the newspapers and heard on the news, but that it seemed to me that Tibetans were just asking for what most other people want, that is, the freedom to be themselves and to govern themselves. He said that it was a confusing situation for him because all that he knew about Tibet was what the Chinese government allowed to be published. Since arriving in the U.S. in January, he has heard views that give a different side of the story. He is also learning what it means to go global by having to evaluate perspectives that bump up against his own. Later on that same day, I spent forty-five minutes with a student from Honduras and then ended my afternoon by speaking for an hour with a student from Mexico. It was a very international day for me without ever leaving campus.
I attended a meeting tonight (Saturday) that reminded me again of the global opportunities in our backyard. The church of which I am a member is making plans to start a new Hispanic congregation. The new congregation will be led by a bilingual/bicultural couple. The husband is from Argentina and the wife is from Oklahoma, although she has lived in Argentina and speaks Spanish with a decidedly Argentine accent. (I am definitely going to have to learn to speak “argentino” and drink “mate”. I already got a little practice being argentino because the hosts served us Argentine empanadas…very good!) What sets this planned congregation apart from the other new Hispanic church starts in which I have participated is that it is planning to be a bicultural/bilingual work from the start. The group wants to do this because many Hispanic families include family members who are not comfortable using Spanish. They may be children of Spanish-speaking parents or non-Hispanic spouses of Hispanic immigrants or second-generation Hispanic adults who want to maintain their ties to the Hispanic community but who cannot communicate well in Spanish. Thus, when we start our home groups, we are going to be ready to have two groups meeting in the same home at the same time, one group using English and one using Spanish, if we need to.
I am excited about being a part of the new Anglo-Hispanic congregation. I am also excited about being part of a university that offers its students such great opportunities for broadening their understanding of the world while they are on campus as well as when they study or participate in summer programs abroad. What a great place to study! What a great place to teach!
P.S. The NY Times is running an interesting series about an Iraqui translator/interpreter who has immigrated to the U.S. Check it out at http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/leaving-iraq-an-iraqi-christian/.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I love hot links!
O.K. The title for this blog is a tease. I’m not talking about the kind of hot links you eat (although I do love those). I’m talking about the kind that you click on from your Internet browser. I usually blog (goglobalatsnu.blogspot.com) about global opportunities at SNU or going global locally (i.e., global issues in the Bethany/OKC area). With this blog post, I thought I would just share some links that should be of interest to novice translators, aspiring translators and translation students. At the end, I’ll also include a link to a funny take on Twitter as well as a link to Pat Buchanan putting his foot in his mouth on Hispanics in the U.S. If those last two links sound more interesting than the translation links, just skip to the end of the blog.
Yesterday I spoke with a student who is very interested in translation. I always like talking to students who are interested in translation. In the short time that I had with the student, I answered some questions and tried to explain a little bit about career opportunities in translation. That’s the kind of talk you can’t do very well in a few minutes. So, my suggestion to students (and others) interested in translation is to check out some translator/translation blogs. A good place to start would be with Masked Translator at maskedtranslator.blogspot.com/. I don’t know who Masked Translator is, but he/she says,
"I am the Zorro of the translation blog world! Masked Translator is not trying to sell you anything or self-promote. Masked Translator just wants to tell it like it is about the real life of a professional translator."
Besides the interesting posts by Masked Translator, on the right side of the blog there is a list of links to other resources. Many of those other resources will have links to even other resources. From one location, you can discover endless possibilities to help you get a feel for what the world of translation is all about. Be sure to click on the link to the Translation Journal blog (translationjournal.blogspot.com/). From there, you can click on the link to Translation Journal (translationjournal.net/journal/). Translation Journal is a great translator resource.
While you’re clicking on links, check out ProZ.com (proz.com/). ProZ is a translator resource site/translation job clearing-house that is full of information. Of course, every aspiring translator/translation student should check out the website of the American Translators Association (ATA) at atanet.org. When you navigate to places like ProZ.com and the ATA website, spend some time following links and seeing what information is there. All of it will give you some insight into the life and work of translators. Also, check out regional translator associations. I’m a member of the Mid-America Chapter of the American Translators Association (ata-micata.org/), the regional association that covers Oklahoma, and the New England Translators Association (netaweb.org/cms/), the translators association that has events in Boston where two of my children live. (I’m always looking for an excuse to go to Boston to visit them.) Most regional translator associations hold monthly, semi-annual or annual conferences and workshops and would welcome aspiring translators at those events.
I’m always also on the lookout for interesting translation related links. I recently found a short article in the Wall Street Journal on the work of a British playwright/translator. You can read the article (Turning Paris into Brooklyn) at online.wsj.com/article/SB123758495427799425.html. If you’re a comic strip fan, you might like Blondie’s comic strip for 03/25 (blondie.com/dailies/index.asp).
Finally, as promised, a Twitter link and a Pat Buchanan link. First, check out the funny take on Twitter at dailymotion.com/video/x8puil_twouble-with-twitter-soustitre_creation. Next, ask yourself why Pat Buchanan is so afraid of Hispanics in the U.S. (dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/24/712489/-Buchanan-still-scared-of-the-scary-Latinos).
Ciao!
Yesterday I spoke with a student who is very interested in translation. I always like talking to students who are interested in translation. In the short time that I had with the student, I answered some questions and tried to explain a little bit about career opportunities in translation. That’s the kind of talk you can’t do very well in a few minutes. So, my suggestion to students (and others) interested in translation is to check out some translator/translation blogs. A good place to start would be with Masked Translator at maskedtranslator.blogspot.com/. I don’t know who Masked Translator is, but he/she says,
"I am the Zorro of the translation blog world! Masked Translator is not trying to sell you anything or self-promote. Masked Translator just wants to tell it like it is about the real life of a professional translator."
Besides the interesting posts by Masked Translator, on the right side of the blog there is a list of links to other resources. Many of those other resources will have links to even other resources. From one location, you can discover endless possibilities to help you get a feel for what the world of translation is all about. Be sure to click on the link to the Translation Journal blog (translationjournal.blogspot.com/). From there, you can click on the link to Translation Journal (translationjournal.net/journal/). Translation Journal is a great translator resource.
While you’re clicking on links, check out ProZ.com (proz.com/). ProZ is a translator resource site/translation job clearing-house that is full of information. Of course, every aspiring translator/translation student should check out the website of the American Translators Association (ATA) at atanet.org. When you navigate to places like ProZ.com and the ATA website, spend some time following links and seeing what information is there. All of it will give you some insight into the life and work of translators. Also, check out regional translator associations. I’m a member of the Mid-America Chapter of the American Translators Association (ata-micata.org/), the regional association that covers Oklahoma, and the New England Translators Association (netaweb.org/cms/), the translators association that has events in Boston where two of my children live. (I’m always looking for an excuse to go to Boston to visit them.) Most regional translator associations hold monthly, semi-annual or annual conferences and workshops and would welcome aspiring translators at those events.
I’m always also on the lookout for interesting translation related links. I recently found a short article in the Wall Street Journal on the work of a British playwright/translator. You can read the article (Turning Paris into Brooklyn) at online.wsj.com/article/SB123758495427799425.html. If you’re a comic strip fan, you might like Blondie’s comic strip for 03/25 (blondie.com/dailies/index.asp).
Finally, as promised, a Twitter link and a Pat Buchanan link. First, check out the funny take on Twitter at dailymotion.com/video/x8puil_twouble-with-twitter-soustitre_creation. Next, ask yourself why Pat Buchanan is so afraid of Hispanics in the U.S. (dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/24/712489/-Buchanan-still-scared-of-the-scary-Latinos).
Ciao!
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