Here is an op-ed published in today's Boston Globe regarding America's views regarding language, especially in light of the upcoming presidential elections.
The article also ran in the International Herald Tribune, and has generated some interesting discussion on Daily Kos - feel free to comment on the article there if you would like to join in on the debate regarding this topic.
For more information on this topic, visit this entry from Common Sense Advisory's blog, the Global Watchtower.
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Telephone Interpreting Book
Exciting news!
Today it was announced that my book, Telephone Interpreting: A Comprehensive Guide to the Profession, will be published through Language Line Services. Click here to read the full press release.
While this book is entirely separate from the From Our Lips to Your Ears project, many readers have written me as a result of stumbling across information online about the telephone interpreting book. So, it seemed important to share this update here as well.
For more than a year now, I've received your emails asking me how you could obtain a copy of the telephone interpreting book. Up until now, I was unable to let you know when the publication might actually reach you, and could only thank you for your continued patience.
Now, I am able to reassure you that, thanks to Language Line Services, my book will finally reach the public and help others learn more about telephone interpreting.
As many of you know, telephone interpreters worldwide comprise a large part of our family of interpreters. They serve an important purpose in ensuring the delivery of all kinds of services that are provided via telephone in a variety of fields, including insurance, 911/emergency calls, finance, telecommunications, health care, social services and more. As such, their work can be extremely difficult, yet vital to both the lives of individuals and the functioning of society.
The publication of this book will expand the knowledge base for researchers, consumers and language professionals alike, hopefully enabling greater levels of quality to be reached through telephone interpreting.
The book will be published in the course of the next few months, and more updates will be shared through both my and the publisher's websites.
Thanks again to all of you for your patience - now that the wait is nearly over, the book will soon be out there, helping the world, just like the very interpreters who inspired it to begin with.
Today it was announced that my book, Telephone Interpreting: A Comprehensive Guide to the Profession, will be published through Language Line Services. Click here to read the full press release.
While this book is entirely separate from the From Our Lips to Your Ears project, many readers have written me as a result of stumbling across information online about the telephone interpreting book. So, it seemed important to share this update here as well.
For more than a year now, I've received your emails asking me how you could obtain a copy of the telephone interpreting book. Up until now, I was unable to let you know when the publication might actually reach you, and could only thank you for your continued patience.
Now, I am able to reassure you that, thanks to Language Line Services, my book will finally reach the public and help others learn more about telephone interpreting.
As many of you know, telephone interpreters worldwide comprise a large part of our family of interpreters. They serve an important purpose in ensuring the delivery of all kinds of services that are provided via telephone in a variety of fields, including insurance, 911/emergency calls, finance, telecommunications, health care, social services and more. As such, their work can be extremely difficult, yet vital to both the lives of individuals and the functioning of society.
The publication of this book will expand the knowledge base for researchers, consumers and language professionals alike, hopefully enabling greater levels of quality to be reached through telephone interpreting.
The book will be published in the course of the next few months, and more updates will be shared through both my and the publisher's websites.
Thanks again to all of you for your patience - now that the wait is nearly over, the book will soon be out there, helping the world, just like the very interpreters who inspired it to begin with.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Interpreting, a Commodity? Not a Chance.
Today, a press release went out to announce the appointment of the new President of the American Translators Association, the largest association for translators and interpreters in the United States.
It included an excellent quote:
"Our services tend to be commoditized and it is the Association's objective to demonstrate that neither translation nor interpreting is a commodity. Just as knowing how to cook doesn't make you a chef, knowing another language doesn't make you an interpreter or translator. There's a lot more to it than that."
This quote nicely echoes perfectly a recent post from this blog, which stated, "Interpreting is anything but a commodity".
It's reassuring to know that the elected representative of 10,000 interpreters and translators is leading with this exact motto. Starting off on the right foot, indeed.
And, it's nice to think that the "discount store" mentality that plagues our industry may be on its way out. Once consumers have a better understanding of the major financial and legal risks posed by inadequate T&I services, they will be better able to make purchasing decisions using the right criteria. For this to happen, client education is key. Many clients base their decisions only on price, because they simply don't know any better. Slowly but surely, the word is getting out.
It included an excellent quote:
"Our services tend to be commoditized and it is the Association's objective to demonstrate that neither translation nor interpreting is a commodity. Just as knowing how to cook doesn't make you a chef, knowing another language doesn't make you an interpreter or translator. There's a lot more to it than that."
This quote nicely echoes perfectly a recent post from this blog, which stated, "Interpreting is anything but a commodity".
It's reassuring to know that the elected representative of 10,000 interpreters and translators is leading with this exact motto. Starting off on the right foot, indeed.
And, it's nice to think that the "discount store" mentality that plagues our industry may be on its way out. Once consumers have a better understanding of the major financial and legal risks posed by inadequate T&I services, they will be better able to make purchasing decisions using the right criteria. For this to happen, client education is key. Many clients base their decisions only on price, because they simply don't know any better. Slowly but surely, the word is getting out.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
It's Starting to Sink In...
My Inbox recently did a little dance.
Within just a few days, I received a host of articles singing the praises of interpreters, from newspapers across the country. And, what pleases me even more is that individual interpreters are getting some well-deserved recognition!
First, on 11/2, Josie Huang of the Portland Press-Herald in Maine wrote an excellent article about medical interpreting in Maine, in which she mentioned our interpreter colleague, Mahmad Nazir. Josie's article is especially important because she helps our profession by debunking the common myth that anyone who is bilingual can interpret. She also included a quote about the dangers of using children as interpreters, another topic very dear to my own heart, as displayed by the recent Op/Ed published in a Florida paper.
Then, on 11/5, Justin Chapura wrote an article for The State about, well, -the state- of court interpreting in South Carolina. His article profiled court interpreter Britt Hunt, who answered many questions about our work that will be of great help to prospective interpreters and the public alike. Our flagship association for judiciary settings, the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, also got a nice mention. [Photo: Interpreters at NYC Criminal Court]
Also on 11/5, an article by Mark Coleman appeared in the Star-Bulletin, focusing on the work of sign language interpreter Jan Fried. An excerpt appears below:
Q: Who would hire a sign-language interpreter?
Indeed. Fried's quote demonstrates that interpreters are often present throughout the milestones of the lives of individuals, as well as major social and political events.
Lastly, on 11/4, Georgia Probst wrote an article for the Journal-Sentinel related to the ever-growing budget for court interpreters in Wisconsin. It states:
Funding for interpreter reimbursements is currently $827,100. The budget bill increases that to $1,060,000 million in 2007-'08 and $1,125,100 in 2008-'09.
A budget of $1 million. In a single state. In a single setting.
Regardless of the setting, this plethora of praise for interpreters and recognition of our work is more than just a passing trend. It's a testament to the fact that interpreting has an extraordinarily high value, both tangible (monetary) and symbolic of our changing society- one that is constantly growing as this value is recognized by those who are observant enough to understand it.
Interpreting is anything but a commodity.
And, as societies become even more diverse and the world continues to "globalize", it will continue to be recognized - both in the marketplace and in the public - as the highly-skilled, premium service that it truly is.
Thankfully, this is part of what the From Our Lips to Your Ears project is all about.
Within just a few days, I received a host of articles singing the praises of interpreters, from newspapers across the country. And, what pleases me even more is that individual interpreters are getting some well-deserved recognition!
First, on 11/2, Josie Huang of the Portland Press-Herald in Maine wrote an excellent article about medical interpreting in Maine, in which she mentioned our interpreter colleague, Mahmad Nazir. Josie's article is especially important because she helps our profession by debunking the common myth that anyone who is bilingual can interpret. She also included a quote about the dangers of using children as interpreters, another topic very dear to my own heart, as displayed by the recent Op/Ed published in a Florida paper.
Then, on 11/5, Justin Chapura wrote an article for The State about, well, -the state- of court interpreting in South Carolina. His article profiled court interpreter Britt Hunt, who answered many questions about our work that will be of great help to prospective interpreters and the public alike. Our flagship association for judiciary settings, the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, also got a nice mention. [Photo: Interpreters at NYC Criminal Court]Also on 11/5, an article by Mark Coleman appeared in the Star-Bulletin, focusing on the work of sign language interpreter Jan Fried. An excerpt appears below:
Q: Who would hire a sign-language interpreter?
A: Wherever deaf and hard-of-hearing people want to communicate and they want to do it directly. I have interpreted everything from births to deaths.
Q: How did you do that?
A: Well, as regarding the person's last words, or the surviving member's comments to the person dying. Or the hospital personnel, the things that they're saying to the family as the person is dying. I've interpreted funerals, weddings. You pretty much name it. Political speeches. I've interpreted for the Clintons when they were here, for Al Gore. I've interpreted for several presidential candidates, here and in California.
Indeed. Fried's quote demonstrates that interpreters are often present throughout the milestones of the lives of individuals, as well as major social and political events.
Lastly, on 11/4, Georgia Probst wrote an article for the Journal-Sentinel related to the ever-growing budget for court interpreters in Wisconsin. It states:
Funding for interpreter reimbursements is currently $827,100. The budget bill increases that to $1,060,000 million in 2007-'08 and $1,125,100 in 2008-'09.
A budget of $1 million. In a single state. In a single setting.
Regardless of the setting, this plethora of praise for interpreters and recognition of our work is more than just a passing trend. It's a testament to the fact that interpreting has an extraordinarily high value, both tangible (monetary) and symbolic of our changing society- one that is constantly growing as this value is recognized by those who are observant enough to understand it.
Interpreting is anything but a commodity.
And, as societies become even more diverse and the world continues to "globalize", it will continue to be recognized - both in the marketplace and in the public - as the highly-skilled, premium service that it truly is.
Thankfully, this is part of what the From Our Lips to Your Ears project is all about.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Interpreting Is Not Mere Child's Play
Last week, an article ran in the South Florida Sun Sentinel that addressed children who provide interpreting services for their parents. For those of us who work as professional interpreters and understand how difficult and complex our job can be, the thought of a child interpreting is a very scary one. Our reaction is probably similar to that of a neurosurgeon forced to imagine his job being performed by an 11-year-old candy striper. Frightening.
Sadly, the article did not include views from professional interpreting associations, in spite of the fact that there is no shortage of these in the United States (not to mention right in Florida). It's easy for those of us who work on these issues on a daily basis to forget that the general public still needs outreach and education -and awareness- of our profession.
For this reason, I wrote an Op/Ed that the Sun-Sentinel graciously published in its Sunday edition. Its circulation is approximately 320,000, so I am glad to know that it arrived at the doorsteps of plenty of folks who will learn a bit more about the dangers of allowing children to interpret. And, hopefully this little bit of advocacy for our field will help readers in the general public learn more about why professional interpreters are so important.
This is, after all, the focus of the From Our Lips to Your Ears project, which, thanks to the byline where the project is mentioned by name, is also reaching more than a quarter of a million people today.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Another Great Week
This has been another tremendous week for the project, with stories pouring in and all kinds of great support! Here are a few updates:
- Special thanks to Amparo Alvarez of The Wellness Community of Greater Miami for helping to spread the word throughout Florida and the rest of the nation! I've noticed several more hits on the website from Florida-based locations as a result of her efforts!
- The program was also featured in the New Routes electronic newsletter, and on the project website, located here.
- A radio show in a Western state has expressed an interest in featuring the From Our Lips project on an upcoming program. More to come on that soon!
- The sample story, titled, "The Right Answer", shared here and on the project site, will be featured in an upcoming issue of a newsletter for University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Multilingual News
The From Our Lips to Your Ears project is featured in the News section of the September issue of Multilingual magazine.Multilingual is the leading industry magazine for Web site globalization, international software development and language technology.
Published 8 times yearly, it is read by more than 15,000 people in 60 countries. Information and current news are also provided by www.multilingual.com.
Friday, August 3, 2007
More Support!
Another exciting week for the project!Story submissions have been coming in from around the globe, including several that are wonderfully thought-provoking, with great potential for publication.
Special thanks to our friends in Canada at Interpreters Niagara/Hamilton, a program of a larger organization funded by the provincial government called Information Niagara, which provides information services and is devoted to volunteer opportunities. As a program of Information Niagara, they provide interpretation services free of charge for victims of domestic violence to non-profit human service agencies.
They were kind enough to feature our program in their Interpreter Information newsletter for interpreters, pictured above.
I am especially happy that interpreting associations have been so supportive. In addition to getting in touch with me to share their kind words, many have taken the initiative to spread the word through their newsletters, listservs, websites and more!
Special thanks to the California Healthcare Interpreters Association for letting members know about the project. I've already begun hearing from interpreters as a result of these efforts! Check out their newly revamped website by clicking on the link above.
Also, the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society (NOTIS) shared the Call for Submissions as well! I've started hearing from interpreters in the Northwest as well. NOTIS has a great quarterly newsletter worth checking out called the Northwest Linguist. You may download copies of it from their website.
Nearly all major providers of telephone interpreting services have been in contact to voice their support for the project, and in an effort to help out, they have been sharing the call for submissions with thousands of interpreters through their newsletters and interpreter relations staff. As a result, I've been hearing from interpreters for languages that I don't get to deal with every day (Thai and Bulgarian, for example). I really appreciate this wonderful support that enables me to reach literally thousands upon thousands of interpreters!
Special thanks also to Lola Bendena, who kindly shared information about our project through the multi-languages email newsletter.
Thanks also to utranslate4me.com for spreading the word about the project!
It's also amazing how many interpreters have connections in the publishing world. If the response so far is any indication, I expect you may see some translations of the book into other languages shortly after publication, as well as publishers overseas who are already starting to express an interest in the project.And, who knew that so many interpreters are also writers? I've begun to hear from many interpreters that are either published authors or shopping around manuscripts. This gives me a great chance to share information about the writing and publishing processes with them while learning about their projects.
I already had some lists in Amazon to help interpreters find books about interpreting all in a single place, but I've since updated them with additional finds. By the way, these lists are purely to help interpreters - they do not generate profits of any sort for this project. You can access them through the links in the right sidebar.
The main project website continues to receive hundreds of new hits as a result of all of this help in getting the word out, and that's exactly the goal - for interpreters in all settings to have a chance to contribute!
In fact, while it is quite a surprise, this blog itself is also beginning to see more and more traffic - not nearly as much as the main website of course, but more than what I originally could have anticipated.
I already knew our main project was receiving visitors from around the world, but I didn't expect the blog to receive so much international attention as a result of it. The site stats indicate that this blog has had visitors from several continents already. In fact, I even added a little visitor map at the bottom to show who is visiting from what locations. It doesn't track every single person, but it's fun to see the different locations of visitors who've stopped by.
The blog has now been submitted to lots of RSS and Atom feed directories such as Blogaholix, and we're starting to see more and more traffic on the main project site as a result. Searching for the project name in Google now yields nearly 1,000 results. Not bad for only a couple of weeks!
Also, I feel blessed that so many university professors and other interpreting colleagues are helping to share contacts and resources, as well as potential writers with great stories to share about interpreting.
Feel free to email me to let me know how you are helping to spread the word, and I am happy to reciprocate with a mention here if you like.
And for the single most exciting accomplishment for the week with relation to the project goal of striving toward greater appreciation of interpreters in society, I am happy to report that the Associated Press did a story on the national need for interpreters in the U.S. courts. The story was picked up by newspapers in nearly every state, not to mention many countries around the world. Both the American Translators Association and the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators were quoted in this important story.
Little by little, interpreters are getting more recognition. And it's about time! I am thrilled that our project is helping to fuel this effort.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Like Wildfire...
This is how the news about the project seems to be spreading- like wildfire, albeit in a positive, non-destructive way, of course.
Our project got a mention on the Multilingual Computing site, and the release was picked up by ABC12 (Flint and Bay City), ABC6 (Philadelphia), the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Pasadena Star-News, the Business Press (Southern California's Business Newspaper), La Nación USA,
A blog post about the project was also picked up by a newsfeed in Finland, and was also posted to the Talk to Japan newsgroup, as well as another blog in Japan.
I was also thrilled to see that the project is showing up on a translation studies blog in China. Thanks very much to the blog owner for doing a translation of the call for submissions!
Also, the project was picked up by JuraBlogs, a site in Germany, and Vivendo e Traduzindo, a blog from Fabio M. Said, a translation colleague in Brazil.
The project was also kindly mentioned on the Twisted Tongues blog, featuring the very insightful writing of Dena and Daniel Shunra. They run the Shunra Translation firm and work between English, Hebrew, Dutch and German. If you are a reader of the ATA Chronicle, you might recognize Dena's name - she is a frequent contributor.
I was also pleased to see that the Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Association (MITA) was so kind as to share our call for submissions on their website.
Also, the call for submissions was posted at the Yahoo Group site for a community-based organization called Invisible to Invincible: Asian Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago.
I am very pleased to see the word spreading so quickly, and to so many unexpected (but much appreciated) places.
Our project got a mention on the Multilingual Computing site, and the release was picked up by ABC12 (Flint and Bay City), ABC6 (Philadelphia), the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Pasadena Star-News, the Business Press (Southern California's Business Newspaper), La Nación USA,
A blog post about the project was also picked up by a newsfeed in Finland, and was also posted to the Talk to Japan newsgroup, as well as another blog in Japan.
I was also thrilled to see that the project is showing up on a translation studies blog in China. Thanks very much to the blog owner for doing a translation of the call for submissions!
Also, the project was picked up by JuraBlogs, a site in Germany, and Vivendo e Traduzindo, a blog from Fabio M. Said, a translation colleague in Brazil.The project was also kindly mentioned on the Twisted Tongues blog, featuring the very insightful writing of Dena and Daniel Shunra. They run the Shunra Translation firm and work between English, Hebrew, Dutch and German. If you are a reader of the ATA Chronicle, you might recognize Dena's name - she is a frequent contributor.
I was also pleased to see that the Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Association (MITA) was so kind as to share our call for submissions on their website.
Also, the call for submissions was posted at the Yahoo Group site for a community-based organization called Invisible to Invincible: Asian Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago.
I am very pleased to see the word spreading so quickly, and to so many unexpected (but much appreciated) places.
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Word is Getting Out!
Over the past couple of days, I've been hearing from our colleagues from Down Under as a result of the project being mentioned in the eNewsletter for AUSIT, a professional association for interpreters in Australia with more than 750 members. Thank you, AUSIT!The national symbol for interpreting services in Australia is pictured at left.
I am also happy to report that many university professors around the world have also been willing to help spread the word among fellow faculty and students.
Our project continues to receive mentions in the blogosphere! It has been mentioned on Transblawg, a blog for German translators, the N-Zone blog, written by Norayda de Leon-Jones, a Spanish<>English court interpreter, and the Translation Blog, written by Céline Graciet.
This week, I also heard from a colleague to let me know that she had already heard about the publication in a variety of ways. The fact that people are hearing about the project from multiple sources is encouraging. Still, my hope is that all interpreters will have the opportunity to participate in the project, if they are so inclined. So, there is still work to be done and still more interpreters to reach. If you are interested in helping get the word out, feel free to visit the project website for some ideas.
The media release continues to be picked up by so many sites, we've lost track! A few new ones we received through Google Alerts include the SmartMoney site, ABC7 news (Los Angeles) and WLS-TV / ABC (Chicago).
In response to the recent story in the Washington Post, I am also supporting other journalists who are writing about interpreting issues. More items are currently in the works. If this project is mentioned in any of them, I will be sure to post an update here.
You can now subscribe to the From Our Lips to Your Ears blog in a reader. To do that, simply click on the small orange icon in the right-hand column. This enables you to view this blog using the news reader of your choice (Yahoo, Google, Explorer, AOL, etc.).Within just a couple of days of adding the subscription feature this week, the FeedBurner stats indicated that quite a few people are already subscribing to this blog in a news reader. That was a surprise to me, but I chalk it up to the fact that we all enjoy reading positive things about our profession. Also, I may have underestimated the number of contributors who like to stay updated about the project.
I've also been getting requests from individuals for me to receive my "newsletter" and be added to my "mailing list". I had not yet planned for either of those, but given the interest, it looks like I will need to do so in the near future. For now, I've added another new feature, so that now, you can receive blog entries via email. If you're interested, it's easy to do - just enter your email address into the little box in the right-hand column.
Each day, more and more submissions, questions and ideas keep pouring in! So much so, in fact, that it's very hard to keep up with it all. Still, it's inspiring and encouraging to see so much support, both within the U.S. and internationally, for the project.
At this point, several of the interpreters and colleagues who have contacted me have said that this project is a wonderful public relations effort for the entire interpreting community. I consider it an honor to help people understand the value of interpreters in society. So, I can see why the project is being viewed this way. Still, my goal is much simpler: to collect and record anecdotes that demonstrate how interpreters are changing the world, and make them available through a publication. I believe that one of the project's benefits will be greater outreach to the public at large, in a positive way.
Thanks again for the amazing support, now evidenced through hundreds of emails, thousands of unique hits on the project website, as well as your continued phone calls and comments on this blog. As a special treat, click here to learn how to say Thank You in 465 languages.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Around the World and Back
The news about the project continues to spread across the globe, and the collaboration and support being received are truly inspiring. We continue to receive hundreds of new hits on the project website each day.
In addition to our earlier posts today with updates from Ireland and Australia, special thanks go out to Ravi Kumar, President of the Indian Translators Association in New Delhi, India, for spreading the word about the project to ITA members.
More and more places have also picked up the news release, including ABC-11 (Raleigh-Durham), another Law firm (specializing in worker's comp), the Oregon Herald, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and AOL Hispanic Business.
Also, I am excited to share that the project has also made its way to Turkey in the July issue of a newsletter that reaches 6,000 Turkish linguists. Special thanks to A. Erol for making this possible, and for taking the time to actually embed images from our project's site. To use the only Turkish I know (aside from the names of dishes and songs): Teşekkür ederim.
Thanks to everyone for helping to spread the word about our project!
In addition to our earlier posts today with updates from Ireland and Australia, special thanks go out to Ravi Kumar, President of the Indian Translators Association in New Delhi, India, for spreading the word about the project to ITA members.
More and more places have also picked up the news release, including ABC-11 (Raleigh-Durham), another Law firm (specializing in worker's comp), the Oregon Herald, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and AOL Hispanic Business.
Also, I am excited to share that the project has also made its way to Turkey in the July issue of a newsletter that reaches 6,000 Turkish linguists. Special thanks to A. Erol for making this possible, and for taking the time to actually embed images from our project's site. To use the only Turkish I know (aside from the names of dishes and songs): Teşekkür ederim. Thanks to everyone for helping to spread the word about our project!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Manic Monday - Part 3
To round out the Monday Madness...I just finished a live segment as a guest on "From the Headlines" on Washington Post Radio with anchors Hillary Howard, an Emmy-winning reporter, and Bob Kur, who has been a substitute anchor on Today, NBC News at Sunrise, as well as a moderator and panelist on Meet The Press. My participation in the segment was with relation to the recent article that ran in Sunday's paper.
Hillary and Bob were kind enough to mention the full title of the book, "From Our Lips to Your Ears: How Interpreters Are Changing the World", several times during the brief (6-minute-long) segment.
As is commonplace with live segments, there was not nearly enough time to share everything that one would like to share, but I did manage to convey a couple of key points, including the fact that being an interpreter requires a lot more than just being able to speak two languages. Also, I was able to point to the 2000 U.S. Census data, which shows that Montgomery County has a large number of individuals who speak languages other than English at home (about 31% of the total population), and that there are more than 5,000 speakers of West African languages in the county.
You can download the audio file here.
Manic Monday
The word continues to spread, far and wide!
Over the weekend, the counter on our website showed that we have already received more than 1,000 visitors to our site since the release went out. Not bad for only a few days!
I've exchanged emails with colleagues from across the globe at this stage, and am excited to report that many of our friends in various countries are planning to share the project with their association members and colleagues too. If you are planning to spread the word, feel free to tell me about it - I'll be glad to reciprocate with a mention on this site.
It's truly a blessing to be meeting so many great people from around the world, and from so many disciplines either within, or related to, the profession of interpreting!
Now, for some media updates:
We are also happy to report that, as our call for submissions makes its way around the world, several friends are starting to post it to forums for interpreters in various language pairs. A colleague from Turkey was kind enough to post it to a forum for Turkish translators and interpreters, and it will be mentioned in the July issue of a newsletter for Turkish translators that reaches 6,000 linguists and agencies.
In addition, the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies group kindly shared our call for submissions with their network, and posted our call for submissions to their site. We really appreciate that they have been so willing to support us in this way.
We've also made some new friends in the blogosphere. One blog in particular by Céline Graciet is worth checking out, and she was kind enough to mention our project.
An interpreter based in Japan named Lionel Derset wrote about our project on his main blog and another blog located here. I really loved what he had to say about the project:
This is precisely one of the things I hope to accomplish with the book: to gain greater recognition and appreciation for interpreters. All interpreters.
Over the weekend, the counter on our website showed that we have already received more than 1,000 visitors to our site since the release went out. Not bad for only a few days!
I've exchanged emails with colleagues from across the globe at this stage, and am excited to report that many of our friends in various countries are planning to share the project with their association members and colleagues too. If you are planning to spread the word, feel free to tell me about it - I'll be glad to reciprocate with a mention on this site.
It's truly a blessing to be meeting so many great people from around the world, and from so many disciplines either within, or related to, the profession of interpreting!
Now, for some media updates:
- The media release was picked up by several other news sites, including the Denver Post, KGWKAIT (ABC channel 8), KGO-TV (ABC channel 7 - San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose), and the Whittier Daily News.
- It was also picked up by website sources such as FindLaw, MedWorm and Kwintessential. Law firms based in New Mexico, Minnesota, DC, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas also posted the release.
- I was also happy to see it get picked up by websites devoted to Latino readers, such as Hispanic Abilene, Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston, and others.
- The Memphis Area Library Council also posted a notice about the project. We love libraries!
- And in the category of "most unexpected", our project's release was also posted on the Pink Sheet Daily, the Hollywood Reporter and a soap opera site (?)
We are also happy to report that, as our call for submissions makes its way around the world, several friends are starting to post it to forums for interpreters in various language pairs. A colleague from Turkey was kind enough to post it to a forum for Turkish translators and interpreters, and it will be mentioned in the July issue of a newsletter for Turkish translators that reaches 6,000 linguists and agencies.
In addition, the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies group kindly shared our call for submissions with their network, and posted our call for submissions to their site. We really appreciate that they have been so willing to support us in this way.
We've also made some new friends in the blogosphere. One blog in particular by Céline Graciet is worth checking out, and she was kind enough to mention our project.
An interpreter based in Japan named Lionel Derset wrote about our project on his main blog and another blog located here. I really loved what he had to say about the project:
"There are a very few single life testimony of conference interpreters I have read about in the past, and several life records and essays in Japan by veteran interpreters. [...] It also means that Nataly Kelly may usher in a little bit of multiplicity in the perception of interpreting where A class conference interpreters are seen at the top of a pyramid under which everything is undistinguishable. Any move to expand the view and perception of the scope encompassed by interpreting is a welcome move."
This is precisely one of the things I hope to accomplish with the book: to gain greater recognition and appreciation for interpreters. All interpreters.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Washington Post
The print media coverage continues!Today, the project got some well-placed publicity in the Sunday edition of one of the leading newspapers in the country, the Washington Post.
The project was mentioned not by title, but as, "a book on interpreting", in connection with a quote given to a reporter in an article regarding court interpreting.
The article appeared on the front page of the Metro section, and was published in the online version yesterday.
The Sunday print edition of the Post has a circulation of approximately 1 million. Here's hoping the article will direct a few more people to discover the From Our Lips to Your Ears project, so that the world can learn about the important work of interpreters.
Note: if you haven't heard about this story yet, you may want to read the full article. It is a very important story about a case that was dismissed when the court was unable to locate an interpreter for a rare language (Vai). Since the story broke in the post, the AP has done follow-up stories, and it has also been covered on CNN, NBC, FOX and many other large news sources.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Print Media Coverage
Today the news about the project hit newsstands throughout New Hampshire, with an article featuring the book in the local newspaper, rated "New England's 2006 Newspaper of the Year".
A follow-up article will also be printed in a local business biweekly.
What a perfect way to end our exciting first week (three days, actually) of this project!
A follow-up article will also be printed in a local business biweekly.What a perfect way to end our exciting first week (three days, actually) of this project!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
More Flurries...
Media Updates:
As Google crawls the web, I'm beginning to see that a larger number of other sites published the release than what I first realized. It was picked up by KRNV-4 (Reno-Tahoe) SciWeb, Netscape, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Las Vegas Business Press, the Sacramento Bee, DrKoop.com, and several others.
People keep sending me new links to places where they've run into either the release or the call for submissions - please feel free to keep doing that. I love to know how individuals are hearing about the project, and I am very pleased to know that even just the press announcement is helping the general public to hear some positive news about interpreters.
Many interpreters are also helping to spread the word via listservs, forums and blogs. Special thanks to Aurora Humarán for spreading the word in Argentina through La Cabina.
Project Updates:
We've already started receiving stories from various places around the world! I am very encouraged by both the quality of the writing, and the care everyone is taking to maintain confidentiality. One story in particular made me laugh out loud, and it did a great job of demonstrating why interpreters are so necessary. I feel very privileged to be on the receiving end of these, and very much look forward to sharing them with everyone through this treasury.
Many people have also been bouncing story ideas off of me via email to see if these would be of interest. I am always happy to give feedback, so please feel free to keep contacting me with questions.
The project website also continues to receive hundreds of unique hits each day. Instead of slowing down after the release went out as I had expected, each day I am pleasantly surprised as there are more and more visitors welcomed to our site.
I really appreciate each and every effort to share information about the project, and will reciprocate by making every effort to ensure the project continues to be deserving of such attention.
As Google crawls the web, I'm beginning to see that a larger number of other sites published the release than what I first realized. It was picked up by KRNV-4 (Reno-Tahoe) SciWeb, Netscape, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Las Vegas Business Press, the Sacramento Bee, DrKoop.com, and several others.
People keep sending me new links to places where they've run into either the release or the call for submissions - please feel free to keep doing that. I love to know how individuals are hearing about the project, and I am very pleased to know that even just the press announcement is helping the general public to hear some positive news about interpreters.
Many interpreters are also helping to spread the word via listservs, forums and blogs. Special thanks to Aurora Humarán for spreading the word in Argentina through La Cabina.
Project Updates:
We've already started receiving stories from various places around the world! I am very encouraged by both the quality of the writing, and the care everyone is taking to maintain confidentiality. One story in particular made me laugh out loud, and it did a great job of demonstrating why interpreters are so necessary. I feel very privileged to be on the receiving end of these, and very much look forward to sharing them with everyone through this treasury.
Many people have also been bouncing story ideas off of me via email to see if these would be of interest. I am always happy to give feedback, so please feel free to keep contacting me with questions.
The project website also continues to receive hundreds of unique hits each day. Instead of slowing down after the release went out as I had expected, each day I am pleasantly surprised as there are more and more visitors welcomed to our site.
I really appreciate each and every effort to share information about the project, and will reciprocate by making every effort to ensure the project continues to be deserving of such attention.
Flurry of Activity
Wow! The last 12 hours have been quite a whirlwind!
Media Activity:
General Project Updates:
Media Activity:
- I did an interview with a local reporter who's writing up a story about the project.
- An online travel publication (with 50,000 readers) is interested in publishing an excerpt once we have completed the book, helping travelers to understand the value of interpreters.
- The call for submissions has been shared on a site for freelance writers called novelspot.
- Hispanic Business and several other sources picked up the release.
- Bloggers are starting to cover the project, including one blogger based in Brazil whose blog covers false cognates and idiomatic expressions in Portuguese and English.
- Another blog dedicated to health information issues also posted our call for submissions.
- The media coverage has been generating lots of traffic to the website - hundreds of unique hits in the first few hours of "opening shop".
General Project Updates:
- Dozens of emails have been coming in through the project website, all of them very positive, supportive and enthusiastic! I feel blessed to have so many people helping to get the word out and encouraging interpreters to participate.
- The FAQ section of the website has been updated to include some of the questions that have been asked, and the FAQ document on the Downloads section has also been updated (more on this below).
- A colleague in Israel with a wonderful interpreting project gave me a great idea for gathering stories in language pairs that do not include English (ex. Hebrew<>Amharic). I look forward to working with her and hearing the important stories of the interpreters in her group.
- The kind folks at the Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters have agreed to share project materials at the information table during the upcoming conference to encourage participation.
- One question I received from various individuals was, "Do you only want happy stories?" The short answer is, "No." We want stories that demonstrate the value of an interpreter, which is the purpose of the project. These may include a range of emotions and outcomes, including ones that are sad or negative - these can be powerful and thought-provoking. The FAQ has now been updated to include this question.
- Another common question asked was, "What about confidential information?" The short answer is, "Don't share it." In summary, all confidential and identifying information should be removed by the contributor prior to submission. Our forms require the author to indicate that this has been done before submitting the story. If this is not done and the story is selected for publication, the story will be edited accordingly. As a reminder, prior to publication, all authors will complete and sign a comprehensive release form. This happens closer to the publication stage. The updated FAQ also reflects this.
- An unexpected question I've heard multiple times is, "Can I share a story if I'm not an interpreter?" The answer is "Yes." We're looking for stories that show the value of interpreters. We may consider having a special section or supplement with these types of stories. Some of my medical education colleagues have suggested that these would be fantastic to show the "lessons learned" from the stories. We'll definitely keep that in mind as a possible follow-up material to provide.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
News Release
Our press release went out at 7:56 am, and by 9:30, I had already received phone calls from reporters in my local area.
By 11:30 am, I received a WireWatch report that indicated that the release had been picked up by numerous sources, including:
By 11:30 am, I received a WireWatch report that indicated that the release had been picked up by numerous sources, including:
- Yahoo!
- AOL.com
- Forbes.com
- Hoover's
- MarketWatch (Dow Jones)
- WPRI (FOX 21 Eyewitness News)
- WCNC (NBC 6)
- KRON (Channel 4 - Bay Area News)
- WFAA (Channel 8 - Dallas/Fort Worth)
- Los Angeles Times
- The Press-Enterprise
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- The Seattle Times
- DallasNews.com
- Texas Cable News
- Austin American-Statesman
- Las Vegas Business Press
- AZ Central
- Latin Vision
- NurseWeek
- BizJournals.com
Official Launch
Today is the day in which our official media release goes out announcing the book, to coincide with the launch of the publication website.While all of my other writing projects have been meaningful in different ways, this one is especially important, seeing as how it is a way of giving back to the interpreters I've had the pleasure of interacting with over the years. I look forward to compiling and sharing their stories.
In addition, it truly aims to tell the world about the important work that interpreters do. In their own words.
Yesterday, I let a few close colleagues have a verbal or quick email "sneak preview" regarding the project. The positive response so far has been wonderful - a few colleagues even asked if they could go ahead and submit stories. Already today, several association leaders and individuals from various countries have responded with kind emails and an interest in helping to spread the word.
Another individual offered to share fliers at two important conferences coming up in September, and I will be taking her up on the offer.
And, I received a suggestion regarding a wonderful speaker who recently gave a moving tribute to interpreters at another conference. She has tentatively agreed to write a forward for the book. I could also hear her "light up" when we spoke. I'm very excited that she's interested in participating.
I also was fortunate to receive a quote today from a friend that will be just perfect for the introduction of the book. I won't reveal it just yet, but it talks about the importance of stories in our lives. Perfect for this project.
The news release won't go out for another hour or so, and there are plenty of emails to send out to friends and colleagues to share the basic information on the project. Thanks to everyone so far for all of your support for this project! I look forward to sharing more updates here periodically.
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