Until now, PRO certification was only possible in one language pair. However, as announced here, since January 23, 2012, members of the Certified PRO Network are invited to submit their applications for certification in a second language pair (certification in more than two language pairs will be possible at some point in the future).

Initially, the screening process seeks to establish that an applicant meets or exceeds certain minimum professional standards in three screening areas: translation ability, business reliability and “online citizenship”. Since only site members who are already members of the Certified PRO Network are allowed to apply for certification in a second language pair, only translation ability is screened in this second phase (business reliability and “online citizenship” having been confirmed during the screening process for a first language pair).

These are the requirements to apply for PRO certification in a second language pair:

• Site members must be members of the Certified PRO Network already.
• A new application must be submitted, but containing only information on translation ability (sample translation in second pair, credentials, references, etc.).
• Willingness to keep on networking and collaborating in an environment consisting entirely of screened professionals.

To apply for inclusion into the Certified PRO Network or, if you are already a member, to apply for certification in a second language pair, complete your application with as much information as you can and submit it for review. The screening process may take up to 30 days.

More information on the ProZ.com Certified PRO Network is available here.

Looking forward to new applications!

Kind regards,

Lucía

“Dear all, I am glad to report that the translation of the guide on Psychological first Aid has received congratulations from the experts who reviewed the text and who are currently performing the style correction. The reviews were so positive that the area dealing with emergencies in the World Health Organization, through the Organización Panameña de Salud, has decided to edit it and publish it as an official document. Doctors of the World will be included in the credits and thanks section of the guide and therefore, as we are aware that this was possible only through your collaboration, we have asked the inclusion in the guide of the names of all the volunteer translators who performed this job. “

Congratulations to Marisa and Juan, and to the many excellent professionals who donated 2.5 millions translated words to humanitarian NGOs through Translators without Borders during 2011. Leaving a positive trace in the world is possible!

On December 28, two of his closest colleagues and friends, Dagmar Jenner and Judy Jenner, joined in a donation for Álvaro and are now inviting generous friends and colleagues to join them too.

Colleagues willing to help can make a donation via PayPal. More information on this fundraising is available here.

This week I interviewed Alejandro to learn more about Mox’s world and to know what the creator of the funniest cartoon about translation ever thinks of his characters and the  popularity they have gained among translators.

Here is the interview with Alejandro:

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1.- How did you come up with the idea of starting a blog combining cartoons and humor depicting the life of a freelance translator?

Excuse me, … humor? Where did you see any humor in my blog? I only depict the real life of a translator. In fact, readers often complain that the translator’s life is far crazier than Mox’s.

I got the idea for the cartoons from my wife. One day I saw her laughing at some silly cartoons related to her profession as a school teacher. In my opinion, the cartoons were kind of boring.
- “That’s not funny”, I told her.
- “But it’s soooo true”, she replied. “You should come up with a comic strip about  translators. Your geeky colleagues would love it.”, she added.
- “But I’m not funny and I can’t draw”, I argued.
- “So what? Just draw stick figures and don’t try to be funny or you’ll definitely mess it up”.

She was right about everything.

2.- Mox’s blog also features other characters who represent the different players in the translation chain? Tell me a little about them, for example, were they all created at the same time? Do you have any favorite characters? Which is the most popular character among Mox’s blog fans?

To be honest, I don’t believe I’ve created any characters. I just discovered them and gave them a voice.

For example, there is Bill, the ignorant direct client who keeps asking for quotes without specifying the number of words, and who expects delivery of a 200-page translation in 24 hours.

I don’t know who’s the most popular character in the blog, but Pam is certainly the one who is most despised. She is a Project Manager at a translation agency. She’s as evil as you can imagine, and enjoys inventing new techniques for turning freelance translators into slave labor.

By the way, did you know that there is a secret worldwide plot to destroy the translation sector and condemn translators to a life of misery? Few people know about this. “Mefisto” is their leader and these people are the evil force behind nightmares such as Google Translate.

My personal hero is Calvo, the senior translator who once was a young, naive translator, but who woke up to the real world and turned to the dark side when he discovered that a translation agency charged their clients 20 times more than they paid him. I wish I were more like Calvo and less like Mox.

3.-  What is the general reaction from your readers and why do you think they like your blog so much?

Freelance translation is a great profession but it can have its drawbacks. One of them is the lack of personal contact. How can you complain about or criticize your customers/coworkers/suppliers if you don’t speak to anyone during the day? Examples of this can be seen on ProZ.com forums, where translators are often just looking for some empathy or a means of unburdening themselves.

Mox has proved to be a good companion for translators. The feeling that many express when they visit the blog for the first time is “I’m not alone!”.

4.- Mox also has a book now. What will readers find in this book, how long did you work on it and how has the experience been for you so far? 

Basically, readers have to pay EUR 19.95 for a book which contains what is already available for free on the blog.

No, seriously, I’ve spent months of my life working on this book. Most of the content is previously unpublished, there are more than 100 new cartoons. Also, I tricked the, in my opinion, 13 best translator bloggers to each write an article for the book. These articles are truly amazing and, I believe, the best part of the book.

The feedback has been very good and Mox’s Illustrated Guide to Freelance Translation has become a popular Christmas gift. Also, something that makes me especially proud, a number of university professors have contacted me because they want to use Mox’s book on their translation courses to prepare students for “real life”.

5.- What are your plans for the future? Would you like to become a full-time cartoonist?

A full-time cartoonist? I am not sure about that… I already struggle to explain to people that I do have a job, that freelance translation is a real and noble profession.

In any case, I’ll give you an exclusive right here. So far, sales of the book have been so good that I’m already planning a new Mox book, which is due to come out at the end of 2012.

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For those who have never enjoyed Mox’s cartoons before here is an exclusive for Translator T.O. blog:

click on the image to enlarge

Mox’ book can also be found on ProZ.com books section.

You can follow Mox on Twitter @Mox_Translator and on Facebook.

For feedback and suggestions you can contact me at romina at proz.com.

Best wishes to all!

Romina

Machine translation (MT) technology is advancing at a rapid rate and this is a concern for many freelance translators. So this week I had the chance to talk to Hassan Sawaf, Chief Scientist for SAIC Linguistics, to learn what the future holds for freelance translators in his opinion.

You can listen to the interview here.

Interview highlights:

• Have you ever wondered what the future holds for freelance translators and whether  Machine Translation will ever be able to replace human translators completely?
• Are you unsure of how freelance translators can best use Machine Translation in their businesses?
• Do you ever think about the challenges and dynamics of computational linguistics, and the future of the industry?

Listen to the interview and find out what is Hassan’s take on these subjects.

You can follow Hassan Sawaf on Twitter here.

I hope you like this interview.

If you have any suggestions for possible themes for upcoming podcasts you can send them to romina at proz.com or via Twitter @ProZcom.

To listen to previous podcasts, check the podcasts tab in this blog.

Thanks for listening!

Romina

Further reading:

SAIC Throws Down the Gauntlet for Hybrid MT

With a pool of 900 carefully screened volunteers working from a dedicated translation center powered by ProZ.com, Translators without Borders has delivered so far in 2011 almost 2.5 million donated words in 57 language pairs for more than 50 humanitarian organizations.

Translators without Borders is contributing to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the largest wish-granting organization in the world that can be found in over 36 countries on five continents. With the help of generous donors and over 30,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 250,000 wishes worldwide since inception.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® International has designated Translators without Borders as their as “volunteer of the year 2010 2011″ with the following message from Avril Lee, their Affiliate Relations Manager:

Please accept the attached certificate on behalf of all the wonderful translators at TWB! Thank you for your great commitment! With much appreciation and warmest wishes for this Christmas season!

Many thanks to the volunteers who make Translation without Borders possible and to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® International for this act of kindness!

Kind regards,
Enrique Cavalitto
Translators without Borders Translations coordinator

Finding out where they appear in the freelance directory

The ProZ.com freelance directory is a searchable database of translators and interpreters that are registered at ProZ.com. This directory is the most popular in the translation industry, and represents the main source of jobs at ProZ.com.

Learning how to improve their directory listing to attract clients’ attention

Directory results are broken into two layers: the first layer consists of (paying) members, and the second consists of non-paying registrants. By default, each set of results is ordered by KudoZ points.

Checking ProZ.com resources to learn how to stand out from the crowd

There are several resources at ProZ.com to show you how to get the most out of the site. These include articles, videos, blog posts, webinars and more!

Receiving assistance from site guides and site staff

ProZ.com’s mission is to provide tools and opportunities that translators, translation companies, and others in the language industry can use to network, expand their businesses, improve their work and have fun. Site guides and staff will be happy to help you with this.

Visit the site guidance center at any time by clicking on “Site guidance center” under the About menu tab. There is also a direct link to it in the Support center.

I recommend you to try the “My directory ranking” tool now and go back to it after applying the tips suggested to see how your position in the directory and your visibility improve.

And if you need any help, please do not hesitate to contact site guides or site staff at any time.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards,

Lucia

Filed under: ProZ.com ]]> http://blogproz.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/new-site-guidance-center-learn-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-proz-com-experience/feed/ 0 luciaproz http://blogproz.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/podcast-interview-with-cj-evans-on-the-center-for-the-art-of-translation/ http://blogproz.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/podcast-interview-with-cj-evans-on-the-center-for-the-art-of-translation/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:16:15 +0000 Romina http://blogproz.wordpress.com/?p=1386 Continue reading →]]> Here’s a new ProZ.com podcast (see announcement).

For some time now, I have been flagging interesting news about features and events  organized by the Center for the Art of Translation. I contacted CJ Evans, TWO LINES managing director, to learn more about the Center and the three programs it offers.

You can listen to the interview here.

Interview highlights.

CJ Evans explains that the Center’s mission is to promote cultural understanding and dialogue through international literature and translation, with programs in publishing, teaching, and public events in the San Francisco area where it is located. He currently manages the online publication TWO LINES, which has been going on for 18 years.

The center currently has three programs underway:

TWO LINES. It is an annual anthology of international writing in translation. TWO LINES offers writing from over fifty countries, giving readers access to renowned and emerging writers from around the world. Each publication is guest-edited by translator and writers. The publication features the translation on facing pages with the original and  a short introduction (around 500 words) by the translator introducing the piece and the writer and talking about the process of translating that piece. This is a translation-focused journal.

Two Voices. It is the event series in San Francisco. The program is a reading series that features international authors and translators, presenting thought-provoking literature from around the world. These events feature renowned translators such as: Pulitzer-Winning Poet and Translator Richard Howard, Mexican writers  Carmen Boullosa and Pura Lopez Colome and top American translators of Scandinavian crime novels, Steven T. Murray (aka Reg Keeland) and Tiina Nunnally. See the full list of events here.

Poetry Inside Out. It is the Center’s literary arts program that fosters imagination and builds student’s problem solving, critical thinking, and literacy skills through the translation and composition of poetry. Although this is taking place only in San Francisco, the Center is working on the syllabus to bring the program to a national level.

Who can participate in the Center’s activities? How?

There are two ways:

• in person: in San Francisco, translators and the public in general can attend these events which are generally free.
• online: there are also audio recordings for all the events. Those interested in hearing other colleagues talk about the craft of translating can check the list of audio recordings here.

CJ highly recommends the one  with Lydia Davis discussing her acclaimed new translation of Madame Bovary.

Translators willing to participate can submit articles to the journal (currently the Center is working on the next anthology. The center also has volunteer positions for younger translators to work in the Center’s office.

You can get in touch with the Center through its website, Facebook and via Twitter.

I hope you liked this interview.

If you have any suggestions for possible themes for upcoming podcasts you can send them to romina at proz.com or via Twitter @ProZcom.

To listen to previous podcasts, check the podcasts tab in this blog.

Thanks for listening!

Romina

An interesting announcement about a call for papers on literary translation and comparatism was shared some days ago in the translation news section of ProZ.com. The announcement was really interesting so I contacted Paula Meiss, who is one of the founding members, editor-in-chief and translator coordinator of the journal, to learn more about 452°F and this call for papers.

Paula explained that 452°F is an academic journal of literary theory and comparative literature. It was created in 2009 by a group of young researches and university lecturers based in Barcelona, Spain. Its goal is to help pre-doctoral students start publishing their work and also function as a bridge between these young researchers and more established ones. Another goal of the journal is to spread the results of the research in other languages other than English so the journal also accepts papers for publication in Catalan, Spanish, Basque, Portuguese, Italian, Galician and French. Once articles in any of these languages are submitted they make sure the articles are translated into English, Catalan, Spanish and Basque.

Paula also talked a little about the team of translators and proofreaders of the journal. She explained that the team is open to all translators and proofreaders willing to participate as long as they are willing to collaborate once or twice a year translating one or two articles. Volunteers can send their CVs to proyectos@452f.com.

Regarding the call for papers for the journal’s upcoming issue  she explained that the journal works with monographic sections and the 7th issue will be dedicated to literary translation and comparatism. Even though the journal is not devoted to translation studies, for the 7th issue articles about the relationship  between literary theory and comparative literature as a discipline will be accepted. The lines of research that will be accepted are:

a.    Intersemiotic and interlinguistic translation
b.    Translation and censorship – comparative reception of translation
c.    Literary translations and traditions
d.    Comparative literary translations
e.    Literary translation and criticism

Towards the end of the interview Paula describes the benefits of participating in this type of journal and shares some details about how rewarding her experience has been so far.

You can listen to the podcast here: ProZ.com podcast, 2011-10-28

The deadline for submissions is January 31st 2012. You can find more information here.

If you have any suggestions for possible themes for upcoming podcasts you can send them to romina at proz.com or via Twitter @ProZcom.

To listen to previous podcasts, check the podcasts tab in this blog.

Thanks for listening!

Romina

On October 29 and 30 ProZ.com First Latin American Conference 2011 will be held in Montevideo, Uruguay. The goal of this conference is to provide translators with a means to stay updated on the main areas of the translation business. One of the speakers at the conference will be Xosé Castro Roig, who is a freelance translator, editor, proofreader, copywriter, TV host, semi-pro photographer and stand-up comedian. Xosé travels around the world teaching writing, translation and proofreading in Spanish. The session he will be presenting in Uruguay is entitled “Dudas ortográficas frecuentes y novedades de la reforma académica“. In this session Xosé will be speaking about common doubts about Spanish spelling and grammar translators, proofreaders and editors may have. He will also be addressing the latest reform by the Royal Academy of Spanish (RAE, in Spanish).

Xosé believes that apart from networking, acquiring knowledge and sharing experiences one of the main benefits of attending conferences about translation and interpretation is human contact. In his opinion nothing compares to meeting a colleague in person. This is the basis for building a solid foundation for a professional relationship. In his words conferences are the opportunity of putting a face to a name.

I also asked Xosé to provide a brief description on how he got involved with translation and how he chooses the varied topics of his presentations. I could not help asking him about the role humor played in his professional life and he explained that humor is a fundamental part of his life. He cannot conceive the idea of being bored with what you do and he strongly believes everything is better with a smile.

Towards the end of the interview Xosé gives a very interesting piece of advice to aspiring translators and translators trying to get established.

I feel very lucky to have had the chance to attend one of Xosé’s presentations and I highly recommend them, not only because the content is enriching and helpful but also because you will have a lot of fun. Xosé uses humor as one of his main strategies to reach his audience and his strategy never fails.

You cannot miss the opportunity to meet Xosé Castro Roig in person in Montevideo. There is still time to register for the conference in Uruguay so hurry! You will have a great time. You can see the full program here.

You can listen to the interview with Xosé here: ProZ.com podcast, 2011-10-21

If you have any suggestions for possible themes for upcoming podcasts you can send them to romina at proz.com or via Twitter @ProZcom.

To listen to previous podcasts, check the podcasts tab in this blog.

Thanks for listening!