Freelancer Survey from Common Sense Advisory

The news of the economic downturn flashes across newspapers, television newscasts, and blogs each day. How is the translation industry holding up? Common Sense Advisory conducts quarterly business confidence surveys to take the pulse of buyers of translation services and language companies. Now, we’re inviting freelancers to participate in a special survey designed especially for translators, interpreters, and other language professionals – we want to hear directly from those who actually do the language work! Share your thoughts, and take our quick survey. Send the link to your colleagues, and post it far and wide on blogs, newsgroups, email listservs, and anywhere else you gather with other freelancers to discuss the profession. In exchange for your participation, we will send you a complimentary summary of the survey results.

Freelancer survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=YdwnpScR1j70HWyTodob_2bA_3d_3d

Telephone Interpreting on National Public Radio

Tonight, listeners of the second most popular radio program in the United States, All Things Considered, heard the perspective of a telephone interpreter. National Public Radio reaches 20 million people.

Hopefully, this commentary, based on the piece that was published in the November/December issue of Health Affairs, will help those who use interpreting services understand a little bit more about this unique perspective.

You can listen to a recording of the broadcast here.

An Ode to Telephone Interpreters

The November/December issue of the journal Health Affairs includes a Narrative Matters piece called, The Voice on the Other End of the Phone, a glimpse of a day in the life of a telephone interpreter, focused on health care scenarios. The full text is available in PDF format here.

Enjoy!

New Book on Telephone Interpreting

The book on telephone interpreting is now available!

There will be a book signing at the International Medical Interpreters Association conference this week. Read the press release from Common Sense Advisory here.

Here are some reviews for the book:

This is a much-needed and invaluable contribution to the literature on the practice of interpreting. The volume provides unique insight into the relatively new field of telephone interpreting, and should be required reading for anyone involved in interpreting over the phone, whether as a practitioner,consumer, or educator.

Holly Mikkelson, Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Monterey Institute of International Studies and author, The Interpreter's Companion and The Interpreter's Edge

Organizations of all kinds are awakening to the fact that telephone interpreting is not a substitute for other types of interpreting, but is a vital and growing specialized area within the field. Rich with examples, this book is a must-read for all interpreters, and is highly recommended to coordinators and managers of interpreting services.

Izabel Arocha, President, Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association, and Professor of Interpreting, Boston University

This guide is a valuable resource both to interpreters seeking to enter the world of telephonic interpreting and to interpreter service managers interested in introducing telephonic interpreting in their facilities. The author clearly has extensive first-hand experience in the field, providing concrete examples as well as conceptual frameworks. The writing is straightforward and easy to read. I would suggest this book to anyone getting involved with telephonic interpreting.

Cynthia E. Roat, U.S.-based consultant on language access in health care, principal author, Bridging the Gap and former co-chair of the National Council of Interpreting in Health Care

Nataly Kelly's book is the definitive guide to telephone interpreting, and helps reveal the growing importance telephone interpreting has in our society and economy.

Louis Provenzano, President and Chief Operating Officer, Language Line Services

Ecuadorian Association

Interpreters and translators in Ecuador now have an active professional association:

Asociación de Traductores e Intérpretes del Ecuador (ATIEC)

The association has been holding regular events, such as a simultaneous interpreting workshop in September, and a CAT tools workshop in October.