There is an undeniable strength in the ITI community, and as we move towards the end of this difficult year we are taking the opportunity to focus on the good things that draw us all together.
ITI’s Christmas Hamper is an online members' day full of learning and networking with something for everyone. Designed so you can stay for the whole day or just drop in when you want to, the hamper will be filled with a variety of delights. There is a small admission fee of £10 that will go towards forming a new bursary fund for when we next hold a face-to-face ITI Conference.
The morning programme will comprise four webinars:
Sarah will talk about how she overcame the frequently experienced challenges of starting up a freelance translator career that led her to win the ITI Award 2020 for best Newcomer.
Click on Sarah's picture to find out more about her.
Affiliate
Affiliate
Sarah Bowyer is a legal and sports translator working from French and Spanish into English under the name Crossbow Translations. Following a degree in Modern Languages from Cambridge University, she practised as a solicitor at large, international law firms for almost ten years before changing career. She is passionate about promoting collaboration and connections within the translation profession and is the Business Mentoring Coordinator of the ITI French Network and Membership Secretary of the North West Translators' Network. Her work was recently recognised with the ITI Best Newcomer (Freelancing) Award in 2020
Francesca will give an inspirational overview of her wide-ranging mentoring experiences that contributed towards her winning Mentor of the Year in the ITI Awards 2020.
Click on Francesca's picture to find out more about her.
MITI
MITI
Francesca Matteoda started translating in-house in 1997 and has been working as a freelance translator since 2000. She specialises in medical and pharmaceutical translations from French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish into UK English and is also a fully qualified hatha yoga instructor.
Francesca was born and raised in London’s West End, but has been living in Madrid, Spain, since 2001. She has been a qualified member of the ITI since 2007, and a mentor for ITI MedNet since 2016 and for SpanNet since 2019. She takes CPD very seriously, and always exceeds the recommended 30 hours/year of CPD.
The humble comma has been the object of heated discussion over the years. It is the mark that generally takes up most space in punctuation guides and the list of recommended uses is long – as is the list of exceptions. In this webinar we will consider how its function has changed from a prosodic to a more syntax-based one over the centuries.
We will review the main uses (and abuses) of the comma paying special attention to discretional and controversial cases. We will then observe how the comma is used by contemporary writers in fields ranging from literature to science. Are there different rules (or levels of rigour) for different text types? Should we use the serial comma? Does the comma aid clarity and remove ambiguity in the same way for all audiences? Familiarity with the rules will help us make decisions more confidently in our work. (This presentation was originally developed for Mediterranean Editors and Translators.)
Click on Alan's picture to find out more about him.
Alan Lounds retired last year from his post as head of the Language Advisory Unit at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, where he managed the translation of institutional and academic documents and the creation of language support resources. He continues to work as a freelance editor and translator and also teaches academic writing. He is a founder member and former chair of Mediterranean Editors and Translators.
With the recent ‘Black Lives Matter’ events, the name 'Karen' cropped up repeatedly, bringing back what was already perceived as a white middle-aged lady who feels an unquestioning sense of entitlement. How did the name become linked to this negative image? More importantly, would speakers of other languages recognise this linkage and transfer it correctly, when it matters? If they heard the phrase ‘she was acting like a Karen’ will they literally interpret it as such, or will they explain what 'Karen' signifies?
A number of names are associated with class, ethnicity, looks and personality. This talk discusses the importance of names in communities. Summer looks at some of those names, their origins, meanings and what they pragmatically signify in English. Being aware of those links will make a difference when it comes to interpreting or translating them.
Click on Summer's picture to find out more about her.
Summer Mouallem is subject leader for Arabic and Senior Lecturer in Interpreting and Translation at the University of Central Lancashire. Summer also works as a freelance conference and public service interpreter where she has interpreted for royalty, high ranking government officials, the FCO, NATO, the EU and the UN. She is also a translator, trainer and consultant where she has run translation workshops at national and international levels, such as at The Hague and the Qatar Foundation.
Summer is currently undertaking research on taboo and interpreting, her other research interest is in the language of extremists post 9/11. She is a Qualified Member of ITI and holds two Diplomas in Public Services Interpreting (Law and Health) and a Diploma in Translation.
Summer has given many talks on cultural issues related to the Middle East, including Business Etiquette in the Arab world, in addition to talks on bridging the gap between public service and conference interpreters. In the last few years, Summer added Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) and transcription to her portfolio.
The afternoon programme will feature:
When two skilled translators are asked to tackle the same text, how different can their translations be?
Seasoned translators from French, Martin Hemmings, who specialises in corporate communications, and literary translator Ros Schwartz, sharpen their swords and go head to head to defend their choices. No blood will be shed, but this event will shine a light on the translation process and the complex decisions involved at every step.
Chaired by expert translator Chris Durban (FITI), the duel will be based on a page from the website of French railway operator SNCF explaining the measures they are taking to combat that perennial (and seemingly worldwide) problem of “leaves on the line”.
No knowledge of French is needed to attend this session.
Click on the pictures below to find out more about the presenters.
FITI
FITI
Chris Durban is a freelance translator (French to English) based in Paris, where she specialises in delivering publication-level texts to demanding clients – the shareholders, customers and partners of a range of French corporations and institutions.
For years she co-authored the Fire Ant & Worker Bee advice column in Translation Journal. In 2010 she published an updated and revised compilation of FA&WB columns in book form as The Prosperous Translator. In 2014 she contributed to 101 Things a Translator Needs to Know, published by WLF.
Chris regularly gives lectures/workshops on specialisation and working with direct clients, and has published many articles. Most emphasise the benefits that accrue to translators and clients alike when linguists take a proactive approach.
Have you ever thought about attending a Literary Summer School? Are you keen to dip your toe in the water but not sure what to expect or what may be expected of you? Ros will be interviewed by Sara Bawa Mason FITI to answer many of the questions you may have already thought of and maybe even encourage you to dive in.
A professional translator from French since 1981, Ros has over 100 works of fiction and nonfiction to her name. Her recent titles include Max Lobe’s A Long Way from Douala, a number of Georges Simenon’s Maigret titles, Mireille Gansel’s acclaimed Translation as Transhumance, and Sylvie Weil’s Selfies.
Ros frequently publishes articles and gives workshops and talks on translation issues around the world. She is co-founder and director of a series of literary translation summer schools which began at Birkbeck in 2011, then moved to City University and the University of Warwick. The summer school will be online this year, hosted by the University of Bristol.
In addition to her work as a literary translator, from 1988 to 2016 Ros ran a small translation company specialising in stylistically demanding texts in fields such as marketing, trade exhibitions, the environment, aid and development, the visual arts, cookery and tourism. She is currently a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at King’s College London and is co-chair of English PEN’s Writers in Translation committee.
In 2009 Ros was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2017 she was awarded ITI’s John Sykes Prize for excellence.
MITI
MITI
Martin Hemmings is a French to English translator and editor based in Manchester, England. He specializes in international development, humanitarian affairs, and corporate and institutional communications.
Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in French and Russian from the University of Oxford, and a master’s degree in translation studies from the University of Salford. A former teacher, Martin has been a freelance translator for 13 years. He is a qualified member of the U.K.’s Institute of Translation and Interpreting and serves on the institute’s outreach working group.
In 2019 he was the French Language Division’s Distinguished Speaker at the 60th annual American Translators Association conference in Palm Springs, CA, where he delivered a two-hour style workshop for French to English translators.
Join Ann and her guests for a world tour, chatting to members about Christmas where they live and how they are planning to spend the festive season. And there will be lots of other seasonal treats too. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the Christmas spirit.
All Christmas Hamper attendees will have the opportunity to sign up beforehand to join one of our eight networking rooms on Friday at 5 pm. Each room will take the theme of a common interest or hobby and start with the question “How does your interest in [title of the group] help you in your work and well-being?”.
We hope this will be an opportunity to meet fellow members with similar interests and to make valuable connections. If you wish to attend you must make your choice before Thursday midday so that we can ensure everyone is assigned to the correct room. Room titles and how to sign up will be shared with attendees after booking has closed.
Joining instructions will be emailed to attendees nearer the day.