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Translation
is an essential part of our world, even though it is invisible
to most people in the United States. The Translation Summit brings
together three sectors of the translation world: government, academia,
and private industry. This translation world can also be viewed
from the perspective of requesters (the demand side) and providers
(the supply side) of translation services. Both supply and demand are invited to the Translation Summit. Although strictly speaking,
interpreting (spoken) is different from translation (written), interpreting is included
as a component of this conference.
Too often, these three sectors don't communicate very well with
each other. However, they all need each other. The U.S. Government
commissions large amounts of translation both into and out of
English, for various purposes and audiences. In the government
sector, requesters and providers of translation services are often
in the same organization, but that is not always the case, as
evidenced by the creation of the National Virtual Translation
Center. Private industry needs very substantial amounts of translation,
often to support international business activities. Here requester
and provider are very often different organizations, except in
the case of in-house translation departments. But even then, some
translation is provided by outside contractors, either translation
companies or freelance translators. Academia engages in translation
studies and translator education, while both government and private
industry need qualified translators. Academia applies theory to
real-world problems and needs to match the educational content
of their programs to the requirements of potential employers.
By the same token, government and private industry are faced with
the challenge of obtaining translations that satisfy the expectations
of their audiences. A clear understanding of quality, which is
not an absolute measure that applies uniformly to all translation
projects, is of concern to all stakeholders, particularly the
American Translators Association. In response to this concern,
a national standard for quality assurance in translation has been
under development for several years and was published in 2006.
The conference chair and master of ceremonies is Ray Clifford, Director of the Center for
Language Studies at Brigham Young University and President-elect of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
The theme of the summit is: Improving your Global Reach. this is accomplished through multilingual communication that is appropriate
for users. The Translation Summit features experts from all aspects of the translation industry including:
Opening Session: The Importance of Translation and Interpretation in our World
- Keynote: Alfred Mockett - Chairman and Chief Executive of Motive, Inc. and co-author of CED report on language
- Lew Cramer - President of the World Trade Center Utah
- Stephen Sekel - Head of Translation Services for the United Nations
Government
Academic
Private Industry
Sponsors of the
Summit include representatives from all aspects of the translation and interpretation industry. It is anticipated that the Summit will bring together
a mix of attendees representing all stakeholders in the translation
world, including requesters and providers within government and
private industry, together with leaders from academia. The structure
of the conference is intended to encourage interaction among these groups.
For more information about the Translation Summit speakers and the topics they will address, please visit www.translationsummit.org/agenda.htm.
For more information about the Translation Summit sponsors, please visit www.translationsummit.org/sponsors.htm
To register for the conference, please visit www.translationsummit.org/registration.htm |
