The Translating Division is the largest of the Institute’s four Divisions, with some 4000 members. The Division welcomes all members of the Institute who are working as professional translators, as well as student members interested in a career in translation. The Division is run by a volunteer Management Committee, elected at the Divisional AGM in May.
The purpose of the Division is to provide services to members in the form of:
· professional development events
· networking opportunities
· informal peer-to-peer support through its various e-groups
· resources for practising translators
All our activities are subsidised by an annual grant from the Institute, allowing us to offer events and other services at a reasonable cost to members.
Professional development events
The Division organises a programme of events such as workshops, talks and software demonstrations throughout the year and aims to cater to the needs of both experienced translators and new entrants to the profession. Details of our current events are listed below and are publicised in The Linguist, on our e-groups and via our Divisional mailing list.
Networking
The Division provides a range of face-to-face networking opportunities for members, both at its formal professional development events and at social occasions.
E-groups
Our e-groups – branded under the ‘TransNet’ banner – are forums for members to exchange information on a variety of translation-related topics. Queries posted on the general TransNet e-group cover subjects such as translation technology, certification of translations, working as a freelancer and a range of business issues. TransNet also has language-specific e-groups for terminological queries and support. Currently there are dedicated e-groups for translators working from and into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian and Eastern European languages.
TransNet is coordinated by one of our Division members, Erika Baker: please
click here to email her for TransNet joining instructions.
Resources
The Translator’s Pack, a series of PDF factsheets, is full of useful information for practising translators. The pack is available free of charge to Institute members: please contact the Management Committee via the email address below. The Translator’s Pack can also be downloaded from the TransNet members' page.
News/Reports
The Translators’ Arms
The Translators’ Arms is the name of a series of local, “bite-size” professional development and networking events run by the Translating Division.
The TD committee recognises that busy translators are not always able to give up a whole day for a professional development event – but members have also told us how much they enjoy getting away from their computers and meeting up with colleagues face-to-face.
Each Translators’ Arms event focuses on a specific, practical aspect of working as a translator, such as a particular technological or business issue, and includes plenty of time for questions and discussion.
Events are held on Fridays and follow a simple pattern of tea/coffee, a presentation of 45-60 minutes, time for questions and lunch at a nearby pub or café for anyone who would like to join in. If the idea proves popular, we would like to see Translators’ Arms opening in as many towns and cities around the country as there are members willing to act as “landlords”!
The first Translators’ Arms event was held at the newly refurbished Church Street Library in London in mid-August 2011. Our speaker was Ana Iaria, whose topic was ‘The Translator’s Office: from chairs to productivity tools’.
On 7 October, Karen Stokes spoke on “The Translator’s visibility: building your professional profile”, exploring successful strategies and practical tips for translators to develop their professional profile and the benefits to practitioners and the profession of greater visibility.
Dr Heather Fulford took over the reins for the third event in the series on 25 November, with a presentation entitled “Mind your own business: resources for freelancers”. Dr Fulford’s starting point was the importance of producing a business plan – not only when establishing your business but also on a regular basis – stressing its importance as a ‘live’ document. She then went on to explore specific areas of the plan in detail, including market research, finance, operations, marketing, sales and human resources, ending with a consideration of retirement and succession planning. Dr Fulford provided details of useful websites and other sources of business information throughout her presentation, which was followed by a lively discussion of members’ own experiences as freelance translators dealing with the realities of doing business in the sector.
Translating Division events are also publicised via TransNet and the Division’s events mailing list.
Events
TRANSLATING DIVISION AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Translating Division will be held on 19 May 2012 at 11.00 am. The meeting will take place in the Garden Room of the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN.
The Translating Division has arranged for a tour of the Museum’s current exhibition
Dickens and London for members and guests who wish to attend, following the formal meeting and a sandwich buffet lunch.
Attendance at the AGM is free of charge for members of the Institute: members wishing to attend are asked to return the
booking form to assist with administration. Members who wish to stay on for lunch and/or the tour of the
Dickens and London exhibition are asked to indicate this on the booking form, with the appropriate payment. Non-members are welcome to join us for lunch and the tour of the exhibition.
Members of the Divisional Management Committee are elected at the AGM. Nominations for new members of the committee are welcome and should be made using the
nomination form. Completed forms must be received at Saxon House no later than 4 May 2012.
JOINT ITI / EU / CIOL CLEAR WRITING SEMINAR
Thursday 5 July 2012 10.00 to 16.00
This full-day seminar is being organised jointly by the Institute of Translation and Interpreting and the Translating Division of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. It is generously supported by the European Commission Representation in the UK and will be held at its offices at 32 Smith Square in central London.
The event is aimed at all translators who are keen to improve the clarity of their written language and will include presentations by representatives from the Plain Language Commission, Clarity and the Web Translation and Editing units at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Translation, as well as a number of practical exercises.
Speakers:
Martin Cutts is Research Director at the Plain Language Commission and author of Lucid Law and the Oxford Guide to Plain English. The Plain Language Commission was founded in 1994 and works with organisations ranging from government departments and local authorities to financial services companies and international law firms, providing editing services and training in writing skills.
Daphne Perry is a member of Clarity, a worldwide group of lawyers and others who advocate using plain language in place of legalese, drafting documents that are both certain in meaning and easily understood, and avoiding archaic, obscure or over-elaborate language in legal and related work.
The Directorate General for Translation at the European Commission will be represented by David Monckom from the Editing Unit and Jonathan Stockwell from the Web Translation Unit.
Venue:
Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU
All bookings should be made using the booking form available on the ITI website (
www.iti.org.uk > ITI Events > ITI)
Fees:
Early Bird Rate (book by Tuesday 5 June 2012)
CIOL/ITI members - £35
Non members - £45
Students - £20
Standard rate
CIOL/ITI members - £45
Non members - £55
Students - £25
ITI and CIOL would like to thank the EU for their generous support of the Clear Writing seminar. They have generously provided the venue, two speakers and staff time. All other expenses – catering, advertising, documentation and travel expenses are covered by the fees charged for the event.
Management Committee
The Translating Division Management Committee encourages active participation and suggestions from the membership. We are happy to hear from members interested in finding out more about supporting the Division’s activities in either a formal or informal capacity.
Committee list 2011-12
