Letter from the NOTIS President · Wright, Marilyse Benyakar, Larissa Kulinich. Later the Committee...

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE

11 Meeting

Our Members

3 NOTIS and WITS

Notes

8 Court Interpreter

Program Update

9-10 Localization and

Professional Develop-

ment: Past Experiences

and Future Opportuni-

ties

4-5 Letter from the

WITS President

12-13 NOTIS Candi-

date Statements

Volume 22 No.4, Fall 2008

7 King Co Bar needs

Volunteer Interpreters

THE NORTHWEST LINGUIST

Letter from the NOTIS PresidentBy Larissa Kilinich

14 Cultural Corner

Continues on page 6 ��

Dear NOTIS members,

It is time of the year to take stock ofour successes and accomplishmentsduring 2008 and look ahead. Speaking ofour achievements, we have many thingsto celebrate and be grateful for.

First, NOTIS is much bigger andstronger now than it has ever been be-fore due to the tireless and selfless workboth of the Board Directors and mem-bership at large. I would like to thank eachDirector in particular for their profession-alism, commitment, utmost sense of re-sponsibility and a shared passion for vol-unteer work. It is a feeling of camaraderie,serving common goals and an awarenessof doing great things for the sake of theprofession and the community that unitesall of us in our service and makes it fulfill-ing and rewarding. And I can never over-estimate the significance of the fact thatwe have continued to collaborate with oursister organization WITS.

The year 2008 has been particu-larly special in the history of bothNOTIS and WITS — we have cel-ebrated the 20th Anniversary of both or-ganizations. Many of you participated inthis festive event that took place on Oc-tober 4 at the Mercer Island Commu-nity Center. It drew over 100 people.The celebration turned out to be a hugesuccess, - with the recognition of the

Founding Members and Past Presidentsof both organizations, interesting, infor-mative and insightful speeches of the twokeynote speakers — Justice SusanOwens of the Washington State SupremeCourt, Chair of the Interpreter Com-mission for the Judicial Branch, and JudyLangley, an accomplished professionaltranslator who has been working for theUnited Nations for many years. The cel-ebration provided an excellent opportu-nity to socialize with friends and col-leagues and meet new professionals, notto mention an uplifting atmosphere —white table cloths, beautiful flower ar-rangements and good food! Needless tosay, a lot of work had been put into it. Iwould like to extend my heartfelt appre-ciation to the WITS and NOTIS Pro-gram Committees and all the volunteersfor their enormous work and endlesshours they invested to organize thisevent. On the NOTIS side, my specialthanks go to the Program Committee Co-Chairs Andrea Brugman and JonasNicotra. I also want to recognize BoardDirectors Cristina Paget, MarilyseBenyakar, Renee Palermo for their greatcontribution. I also want to thank WITSPresident Kenneth Barger for his invalu-able help and support.

Another highlight of 2008 has beena two-day Localization Workshop on Au-

15 Events and Board

Meetings Calendar

2

FALL 2008 THE NORTHWEST LINGUIST

Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society

A chapter of the

American Translators Association

OFFICERS

President Larissa Kulinich

Vice-President Andrea Brugman

Treasur er Cristina Paget

Secretary Kendrick Wagner

COMMITTEES

Directory Caitilin Walsh

Membership Reneé Palermo

Program Andrea Brugman

Jonas Nicotra

ATA Certification Jean Leblon

(425) 778-9889

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

Chinese SIG Michelle LeSourd

(206) 764-8909

Medical SIG Renée Palermo

Cristina Paget

OFFICE MANAGER

Reneé Palermo

The Northwest Linguist is published in February, May, Au-

gust, and November. Letters to the Editor, short articles of

interest, and information for the calendar and other sections

are invited. Please send submissions to Editor at

[email protected]. Submissions become the property

of The Northwest Linguist and are subject to editing unless

otherwise agreed in advance. Opinions expressed are those of

the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the

Editor, the Society, or its Board.

Editor Laura Wideburg

Layout Rosa Bendezú Allen

Production Rosa Bendezú Allen

Deadlinenext issue January15, 2009

NOTE: Subscriptions for non-members are $12.00 a

year. Send a check, payable to NOTIS, 1037 NE 65th

Street, # 107, Seattle, WA 98115

NOTIS Membership FeesIndividual & Institutional $35.00 a yearCorporate $50.00 a year

For membership information write to: NOTIS,

1037 NE 65th Street, #107, Seattle WA 98115 USA

or call: NOTIS Voice Mail (206) 701-9183.Email: [email protected]: www.notisnet.org

For information on the ATA contact225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590Alexandria, VA 22314Tel: (703) 683-6100 Fax: (703) 683-6122Email: [email protected] Website: www.atanet.org

WITS Board of Directors/Chairs

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kenneth Barger, President

[email protected]

Steve Muzik, Vice President, Eastern Washington Link,

Board Development Committee Member

[email protected]

Jesse Acosta, Secretary

[email protected]

Eugenia Munday, Membership Chair

[email protected]

Vania Haam, Board Member

[email protected]

Kamal Abou-Zaki, Board Member

[email protected]

Veronica Barber, Board Member

[email protected]

Hernan Navas-Rivas, Board Member

[email protected]

Ferdinand Vélez, Board Member

[email protected]

Barbara Hua Robinson, Programs Co-Chair

[email protected]

Marta Reyes, Board Member

[email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND OFFICERS

Claudia A’Zar, Advocacy Chair, PR & Outreach Com-

mittee Member

[email protected]

Nicole Lee, Hospitality Chair

[email protected]

Diana Meredith, Email Guru

[email protected]

Sheila Harrington, Webmaestra

[email protected], [email protected]

Julie Bryan, PR/Outreach Committee Chair

[email protected]

Ginger Wang, Treasurer ex officio

[email protected]

Alicia Lanzner, Programs Co-Chair

[email protected]

Verla Viera, Newsletter Editor

[email protected]

OFFICE MANAGER

Christina Zubelli

[email protected]

The Northwest Linguist is published quarterly by the

Washington State Court Interpreters & Translators Society, PO

Box 1012, Seattle, WA 98111-1012.

Our voicemail telephone number is (206) 382-5690.

WITS has a Web page which can be visited at www.witsnet.org.

3

FALL 2008THE NORTHWEST LINGUIST

NOTIS Notes

WITS Notes

New Members

Dawn Andrews French > EnglishGerman > English

Lance Bergstrom

April Berumen Spanish <> English

Alban Bodjrenou English > GermanChinese <> EnglishEnglish <> French

Guillermo Bremauntz

George de Orbegoso

Carla Di Franco German > English

Halyna Field English <> RussianEnglish <> Ukrainian

Eleonore Mitchell English <> German

Rosario Montero Spanish > English

Sarah Officer

Nicole Pennebaker French > English

William Plumley English <> Spanish

David Simmons Spanish > English

Wendy Tan English <> ChineseCantonese <> EnglishMandarin > EnglishMandarin > Cantonese

New Members

Tina Machuco Spanish

Corporate Members

Jovi Lee Mien

Rejoining Members

Niuvis Ferro-Gonzalez Spanish <> English

Azucena Flores-Urueta English > Spanish

Victor Guzman English <> Spanish

Alan P. Lai English <> ChineseCantonese <> EnglishEnglish > Mandarin

Maria Cristina Paget Spanish <> English

Rita Pavone English <> ItalianPortuguese > EnglishFrench > EnglishSpanish > English

Wendy Tan English <> ChineseCantonese <> EnglishMandarin > EnglishMandarin > Cantonese

Corporate Members

Russian Translation Service

Translation 4 All

4


Thus far it has been an exciting 20th anniversaryyear for WITS and NOTIS. We’ve seen how far ourorganizations have come from their small beginnings.And we’re just getting started.

We celebrated our anniversary in style on October4, in a joint celebration of the two societies. I once againhad the pleasure of sharing the stage with NOTIS Presi-dent Larissa Kulinich as we introduced WITS andNOTIS founding members and former presidents to theattendees. As I have noted before, I am encouraged tosee that almost all founding members and former presi-dents of both societies continue to be members today.

The introduction and recognition of these dignitar-ies was followed by remarks from Justice Susan Owensof the Washington State Supreme Court and from NOTISFounding President Judy Langley. Then we enjoyed asumptuous meal, accompanied by wine and dessert. Therespective Programs Committees of our two organiza-tions really came through with a great event, free tomembers and their guests.

Once this event was over, it was time to pack bagsand get ready for the next adventure. On October 7,Claudia A’Zar, Emma Garkavi, Katrin Johnson, JudgeDennis Yule, and I were to make a presentation at theJudge’s Annual Conference in Spokane. This was a fol-low-up to our successful presentation to the Districtand Municipal Court Judges Association on June 2. Jus-tice Owens introduced us, and for the next two hours,we presented on court interpreting techniques, chal-lenges, tips, credentials, and related issues. The judgesin attendance at our session had stimulating questionsabout tricky areas of interpreting such as use of collo-quial expressions, why we do not act as cultural brokers,and many others.

This presentation differed from the previous one inthat after our presentation, we heard from RobertLichtenburg of the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hear-ing, an office of the Department of Social and HealthServices. This was fascinating for me personally, be-cause my knowledge of interpreting for the deaf andhard of hearing was limited, and Robert’s presentationwas very enlightening. There are many differences, bothsubtle and dramatic, between foreign language inter-preting and sign interpreting. We look forward to col-

laborating with him (and the excellent interpreters whoworked with him) in future presentations.

Now we look to the future and our next twentyyears. Or at least to next week. By the time you read this,the IV WASCLA Summit will have taken place inWenatchee, and we’ll be looking forward to the HolidayParty, to be held on December 6. Be sure to come andbring something really yummy from your country oforigin! �

Letter from the WITS PresidentBy Kenneth Barger

Lew and Ann Macfarlane, Susana

Stettri-Sawrey and Kenneth Barger

Kamal and Elham Abou-Zaki

5


NOTIS and WITS 20th Anniversary Celebration!

Current and former presidents

and founding members

Founding Members

Kenny and SusanaWITS and NOTIS presidents

Larissa Kulinich and Judy LangleyKenneth Barger and Justice Owens

Milena and Andrea Ferdi and Selma Nadir

6


gust 23 and 24 which ATA and NOTIS offered our mem-bers jointly. The Workshop was very well attended andhighly appreciated by the attendees. The participants wereawarded 6 ATA continuing education credits for the firstday and 3 credits for the second day of the Workshop. Thelion’s share of preparation on the NOTIS side was done bythe NOTIS Co-Chair Jonas Nicotra. Thank you, Jonas!

Speaking of the administrative matters, I would liketo focus on two major things. First, the NOTIS Board ofDirectors made a decision in March 2008 to start thepreparatory work to amend the NOTIS Bylaws to makethem more consistent and bring them into compliancewith common parliamentary practices and state legisla-ture. That was a thorough, multi-stage process. First, anAd Hoc Committee was established: Jean Leblon, MarissaWright, Marilyse Benyakar, Larissa Kulinich. Later theCommittee was joined by Renee Palermo. The Commit-tee put together a packet of proposals for the Board toconsider. I would like to thank the members of the AdHoc Committee for their time and commitment. TheBoard discussed the proposals at a number of successiveBoard meetings. Then the Board consulted a professionalparliamentarian on this matter, - Mr. Paul McClintockwho is currently the Bylaws Committee Chairman forthe Washington State Association of Parliamentarians.After more discussion, the final version of the Bylawswas approved by the Board on June 21, 2008. And finally,the approved version was sent to the ATA attorney forreview. You will get the documents explaining all thechanges and amendments in the mail. We plan to amendthe Bylaws at the NOTIS Annual Meeting on November15, 2008. I would encourage you to come to the meetingand vote for the amendments.

The other administrative matter has to do with theduties of the Office Manager and Membership Coordina-tor. As you know, Director Renee Palermo has been ful-filling these duties since the beginning of the year on avolunteer basis. On behalf of the Board, I would like totake this opportunity and thank Renee for all her greatwork! Renee will be stepping down from both positions.

As of the beginning of November 2008, RosaBendezu Allen assumed the responsibilities of NOTISMembership Coordinator. Thank you, Rosa! The OfficeManager position will be transitioned as of January 2009.

As always at the end of the year, we have BoardDirectors whose terms are expiring and who are step-ping down. This year, out of 13 Directors, six of them are

leaving the Board: Caitilin Walsh, Ken Wagner, MarissaWright, Lilly May Bayley, Marilyse Benyakar and LarissaKulinich. I can never thank enough these wonderfulpeople who have served on the Board many years, andcontributed a lot to NOTIS! Perhaps you know that someyears ago, Jean Leblon referred to himself as a dinosaur,and this definition has become a standing jocular phraseamidst the Board members. It would be very true to saythat Caitilin Walsh is another dinosaur of NOTIS — Caithas been serving since 1992 — sixteen years!!! Cait hasbeen instrumental for the organization in various capaci-ties. From 1998 to 2000 she was President of NOTIS, formany years she has been the Webmistress (and continuesto be), for the last couple of years she has been a Directorof the ATA Board. We have relied heavily on her exten-sive knowledge and expertise. Thank you, Cait!

The next Director of the “dinosaur” category is KenWagner. Ken has been on the Board since 1998 —tenyear!! For many years in a row, Ken has been Supervisorof the elections at the Annual meetings. He has beenresponsible for lending the ATA DVD to members sothat they might get continuing education credits. Thislast year, Ken has been serving as NOTIS Secretary.

Marissa Wright, Lilly May Bayley and MarilyseBenyakar have served for six years! For many years, Marissahas been fulfilling the duties of Secretary until Ken tookover last year. Marissa was a member of the Bylaws AdHoc Committee. Lilly May has been Chair of the BoardDevelopment Committee for many years in a row; shehas served as Outreach Committee Co-Chair, and hasbeen responsible for providing snacks and beverages forthe Annual meetings for many years. Marilyse served atwo-year term as Vice-President, was a member of theBylaws Ad Hoc Committee, this year she has been Chairof the Board Development Committee. From the bottomof my heart, I want to express my gratitude to these dedi-cated professionals and wonderful friends.

The good news is we have excellent candidates whoagreed to serve on the Board: Kathryn German, JamieLucero, Marjan Van Spaandock, Katrin Rippel, Faiza Sul-tan, Loiuse Morehead. Our candidates are accomplishedprofessionals with many years of experience and excel-lent reputation. I would like to thank them for their will-ingness to serve.

And finally, this is my last address to you in thecapacity of NOTIS President. I have had the privilege ofserving you as President since 2004. And prior to this, I

Continued from page 1 ��


7


Joke Box

CREATIVE WORDING

Being Creative with Troublesome Kin!

You are working on your family geneology and for sake of example, let’s say that your great-great uncle,Remus Starr, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1899.

A cousin has supplied you with the only known photograph of Remus, showing him standing on the gallows. Onthe back of the picture are the words:

“Remus Starr: horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, 1885. Escaped 1887, robbed the MontanaFlyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged, 1889.”

Pretty grim situation, right? But let’s revise things a bit. We simply crop the picture, scan in an enlarged imageand edit it with image processing software so that all that is seen is a head shot.

Next, we rewrite the text:

“Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisi-tion of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad.

Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leaveto resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renownedPinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor whenthe platform upon which he was standing collapsed”.

Spanish interpreters are needed on a regular rotationat the Bilingual Spanish & Immigration Legal Clinic onWednesday evenings in downtown Seattle. A typical vol-unteer commitment is one Wednesday evening every 6weeks. Interpreters of various languages are also used at avariety of clinics held in various King County locations onan as-needed basis. After Spanish, the top languages areVietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese, though need arisesfor other languages from time to time as well. Legal and/orprofessional interpreting experience is required. Pleasecontact Rebecca Fogarty at [email protected] or206.267.7029 for more information.

Interpreter Commission passes

reciprocity provision

The Washington State Court Interpreter Commis-sion recently adopted language allowing for reciprocityfor Oregon State and federal certification, as well as certi-fications from other states that use the state consortiumexam and similar standards to Washington’s. The policypassed in June reads:

Reciprocity with Other States

King County Bar Needs Volunteer InterpretersBy Rebecca Fogarty, KCBA Neighborhood Legal Clinics Program Manager

(a) Interpreters certified by the Oregon Court In-terpreter Certification Program or the Federal CourtInterpreter Certification Examination Program may be-come certified by the Washington Administrative Officeof the Courts upon: (1) providing formal written docu-mentation of certification status; (2) providing a letterfrom the certification program stating that the inter-preter is in good standing; (3) submitting to a fingerprintbackground check; (4) executing the Oath of Interpreter,and (5) obtaining an interpreter ID badge from the Wash-ington Administrative Office of the Courts

(b) Interpreters who have taken and passed the oralcertification exam developed by the Consortium for StateCourt Interpreter Certification, but administered by an-other state court interpreter program under the sametesting standards used by the Washington AdministrativeOffice of the Courts, may become Washington certifiedupon (1) providing written documentation of passing theoral certification exam from the administering state; (2)passing the Washington Court Interpreter Program writ-ten exam; (3) attending a mandatory class on the Introduc-


8


On August 11, 2008 the Court Interpreter Programwas proud to grant Registered Interpreter accreditationto twenty new interpreters representing the followinglanguages: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Bulgarian, Dutch,Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japa-nese, Portuguese, Punjabi, Samoan, Tagalog and Urdu.To earn this credential the interpreters (1) passed a writ-ten exam on English, legal terminology and interpreterethics; (2) passed an oral proficiency exam in their targetlanguage(s); (3) passed a criminal background check; and(4) attended a daylong course on interpreter ethics, court-room protocol, and the three modes of interpreting. Asseen in the photo, their oath was administered by JudgeRon Mamiya of Seattle Municipal Court and member ofthe Interpreter Commission.

On October 3, 2008, the Interpreter Commissionheld its regular business meeting at the Pasco SchoolDistrict Office. In conjunction with the meeting, it metwith students and faculty of the local high school inter-preter/translator training programs. Local court admin-istrators and certified interpreters also attended. Thestudents spoke about their studies and preparation forDSHS certification, and hopes for court certification.They also took advantage of the opportunity to ask foradvice and guidance from the court certified interpreters.

A major role of the Interpreter Commission is todevelop policies for the Court Interpreter Program, andat its October meeting it created two new rules regardingtraining and testing for registered and certified inter-preters. First, beginning in 2009, all candidates who passthe written exam will be required to attend a daylongorientation program. The purpose of this class is toprovide candidates with clear information about the ac-creditation process, the profession of court interpreting,the court’s expectations of court interpreters, and waysto develop and improve interpreting skills in the threemain modes — consecutive, simultaneous and sight trans-lation. This new requirement will apply to both certifiedand registered candidates.

Second, also beginning in 2009, certified candidatesmust pass the oral exam within three years of passing thewritten exam. If a candidate does not pass the oral examwithin three years, he/she must retake the written examand the orientation class previously mentioned. Underthe previous policy, a candidate who passed the written

Court Interpreter Program UpdateBy Katrin Johnson

exam could continue to take the oral exam over and over,without ever having to retake this screening test or at-tending another training event. Finally, while it is notincluded in the policy language, next year the Court In-terpreter Program is going to work hard to provide ac-cessible, affordable exam preparation courses, for thosecommitted to passing the oral certification exam.

For any questions about the court interpreter regis-tered or certified accreditation process, please contactus at 360.704.4062. �

Ron Mamiya, Presiding Judge of Seattle

Municipal Court and member of the State

Interpreter Commission, swears in newly

registered interpreters


served a two-year term as Vice-President. It has been achallenging yet an exciting and rewarding experience. Iwould like to thank all of you for your support. I wouldalso like to share with you the major lesson I have learnedhaving served on the NOTIS Board for 7 years. I havededuced the FOUR Cs that provide for the successfulwork of a Board of volunteers, which are:

CourtesyCommitmentCoordinationContinuityI wish NOTIS to keep growing and developing! �

9


During the August 23rd - 24th weekend, over 40members of ATA and NOTIS, from the Northwest andother parts of the country, met in Seattle to hear fromfour excellent speakers. They were also able to exchangeexperiences and ideas on tactics and strategies, tech-niques and tools to guide translators, particularly thosejust entering the profession, through the challenges oflocalization.

The general focus of the presentations was how to bestoffer our clients more value beyond translation services, inorder to compete more successfully in the global market.

The first speaker, Keiran Dunne, is an associateprofessor of Modern and Classical Language Studies atKent State University. He offered not only his perspec-tive from the classroom, where he teaches graduatecourses in localization and language project manage-ment, but also shared his experiences as a localizationsubcontractor for many different business clients.

To highlight the difficulties and pitfalls of localiza-tion and globalization, he entertained and enlightenedus by showing a number of sample commercials aimed atdifferent markets and asked us to reflect on the possibil-ity of localizing them. We discussed as a group which adswould be more internationally accepted and widely un-derstood. The winner ended up being a Nike ad with notext or spoken words. It consisted only of amazing breakdancing performances by different young people, pre-sented in a minimalist black and white format.

He went on to explain more in-depth approachesto localization, from the 80’s early challenges to locatetranslatable strings in source code to the more currentinternationalization of Windows GUI objects. He gaveus an overview on how to use specialized software andtranslation memory tools to make localization easierand more effective. He also started a general discussionon machine translation. He encouraged us to search theInternet for types of content that we encounter moreoften in our translation projects (such as end-user li-cense agreements, privacy policies, terms of use docu-ments, etc.). Then, by using the TM alignment feature,those texts would be ready to be used in current andfuture projects.

During the last part of his presentation, he devotedtime to explain the steps involved in localizing help files.Some important suggestions included the general rulethat the user interface should always be translated be-fore the help, that attention should be paid not to disturbcoding and text format and to avoid translating the tableof contents before completing the translation of the helpdocument. He encouraged us to bring to the client’s oragency’s attention any unaddressed internationalizationissues in the early stages of a project to save time andmajor problems later on. At the same time, we woulddemonstrate our value as language professional in thegeneral effort of internationalization.

One example given centered on hard-coded strings.These strings are embedded in the program code and donot show up in the localization files. The problem couldbe that the translator did not receive all the source filesor that the company missed something in the engineer-ing process. He listed what the requirements should befor agencies, clients, and freelancers; from professional-ism to clear expectations. He encouraged us to takesome programming courses, just to become more famil-iar with fundamental concepts. And, if possible, practiceby localizing a shareware or free program.

Keiran concluded his excellent presentation by urgingus to position ourselves as providers of professional busi-ness services, rather than a translator and/or a localizer.

* * *In the afternoon, Carla DiFranco, Program Man-

ager for Windows International at Microsoft, gave a verylively presentation on the topic: “Software User Assis-tance Localization: Skills and Globalization.”

Addressing in particular those in the audience justentering the field of localization, Carla outlined somebasic concepts of localization, starting with the defini-tion of the main terminology used in the industry:

*UA/UE/Help, which indicate the different docu-mentation items produced (and translated) for the enduser: user assistance, UA; user education, UE; and theHelp systems;

*Localization, the process of adapting a softwareprogram for a specific market;

Localization and Professional Development:

Past Experiences and Future OpportunitiesBy Carlotta Boyd and Laura Parma-Veigel


1 0


*Localizability, or the design of software that can belocalized into many languages without changing the code;

*Globalization/Internationalization, meaning thedevelopment of programs based on code and featuresthat are not specific to any particular language or market.

It is important to remember that these four broadcategories are tightly interconnected, requiring that all thepeople involved in the development and marketing of aproduct for the global market recognize, understand, anduse the same platforms, encoding, and translation tools.

Carla specifically illustrated in detail the differencesbetween HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and XML(Extensible Markup Language), in terms of flexibility, re-liability and ease of use. For the purpose of localization,HTML and XML both offer different and significant ad-vantages, but also unique challenges.

The discussion of font management and encodingstandards was particularly interesting, the differencesbetween them and the importance of choosing the rightencoding for the localization process, as means to gener-ate and display correctly special characters unique toeach language, and in terms of software development.

As translators, it is crucial to know how the devel-opment process works and to be able to recognize differ-ent formats and requirements, in order to be a valuableresource for the translation and localization tasks.

An extensive analysis of the relationship betweenCAT tools and the localization of UA documents fol-lowed, focusing particularly on the importance of creat-ing a well organized terminology database, knowing howto use the CAT tools and validating the final files toensure tag integrity and error resolution prior to handoff.

In the second part of her presentation, Carla focusedon the concepts of Globalization and Localizability, andon the philosophical, development, and management is-sues that define them.

A major component of any globalization process isthe issue of content creation. In order to ensure consis-tency within the source documents and facilitate thetranslation process, it is important to use controlled lan-guage and style guides. Also, to avoid problems at theend, it is imperative that legal issues, specific to eachlocale where the product will be distributed, be addressedat this stage. Carla offered a series of examples of contentcreation, HTML vs. XML, and what constitutes a “good”globalization effort.

A discussion of the localization project managementphase, from localization planning, to cost management, toproject communication and vendor management con-cluded the presentation.

An animated and productive networking hour endedthe Saturday session.

* * *

The Sunday morning session, organized by NOTIS,included two spirited presentations by Hiram Machado

and Colleen Nylund, of the localization project manage-ment firm Adaquest, who directed their attention spe-cifically to translators and localizers.

In “Translator Technology Focus: Using Tools andLocalization to Maximize Success,” Hiram Machado

started the presentation by focusing on a general over-view of this industry and its 20-year history. He thenemphasized the importance of the global marketplace toUS companies, by stating, for example, that over 50% ofthe American software companies sales are made over-seas. Hiram provided extensive market data and an analy-sis of the different translation/localizations clients byindustry sectors.

He urged us to keep current and use technology toour advantage, from translation memory to project man-agement systems, and even to take another look at ma-chine translation, which has improved over the years, butstill needs the assistance of competent reviewers.

Hiram concluded his presentation by providing acomprehensive look at emerging trends in the industry.One example is the trend of developing the initial docu-mentation with translation in mind, by setting specificguidelines for the source language. Finally, he suggesteda couple of interesting books to use as reference: “Com-puter-Aided Translation Technology” by Lynne Bowkerand “Localization of Information Technology” by RaviKumar Jain B.


the Board. With a charming smile, Jean puts his Frenchhat on, says “Au revoir” and leaves the coffee shop —hestill had much to prepare as the next day he was flyingacross the country to an ATA meeting! �



1 1


This issue Katrin sits down with “Dinosaur” Jean LeBlon at a

local coffee shop and discovers his remarkable pre-translation history

as part of her series on NOTIS and WITS founders as we celebrate our

20th Anniversary.

Man of Many Hats —meeting Jean Leblon

We have a man in our midst that is unshakable presentsince the beginning of the organization, clearly active anda creative shape shifter. By the same token, you don’t hearloud and colorful stories about him; he is rather quiet andalmost invisible. It’s that kind of person, when you askother people about them, their tone of voice becomesthat gentle touch it has when speaking of someone whohad left a deep impression on them. The person in ques-tion is Jean Leblon.

Jean Leblon was born in Belgium and his life focusedaround languages from an early age. He spoke French andDutch fluently, studied Classical Languages at school,and added German during the German occupation. Afterhigh school, he decided to go to America, learning En-glish while on a Merchant Marine ship to the New World.After spending eight months travelling with three GI’s,Jean decided to settle down in the state of Kansas. Heattended college, learning Spanish and studying English,and later moved on to graduate studies at Yale.

He completed his Ph. D. in French Philology andLiterature at Yale University. He dedicated many years toteaching at Yale and Vanderbilt University before movingto Seattle and changing careers to become a Translator,French Terminologist, Copy Editor, and Localizer atMicrosoft.

Together with few like-minded people, he createdNOTIS in 1988. Jean Leblon served as Secretary, Trea-surer and President for that organization. Furthermore,he was past president of the Alliance Française de Seattle,past vice president of Seattle-Nantes Sister Cities Asso-ciation, member of Modern Language Association andAmerican Association of Teachers of French, and served17 years on the ATA’s Board of Directors —and stillserves in ATA committees with conscience and passion.He was husband (his wife on) and is father of two daugh-ters.

Jean describes himself as having a serving nature, apassion for exchange and connecting with people throughgiving and helping - and entertaining. If he wouldn’t have

Meeting Our MembersBy Katrin Rippel

chosen the language path, he would have become an ac-tor. Actually, he was an actor in various French languageplays, including major roles in Beckett, Moliere, Marceau,Anouilh, etc.

Nevertheless, during NOTIS’ Fifth Anniversary cel-ebration, as Ann Macfarlane told me recently, he gave apresentation on the various “hats” that people wear inlife. He arrived with five self-made hats and demonstratedin a lively manner the shifts one take to accomplish allthose roles every day.

Another demonstration of his flexibility of switch-ing “hats” was particularly helpful to Courtney Searls-Ridge, when, during NOTIS’ Tenth Anniversary celebra-tion, he jumped in and gave Courtney’s well preparedspeech. Courtney was president of NOTIS at that time,yet still too nervous to give a speech in public.

No matter which role he plays, his “Dinosaur”-col-leagues —as he refers to the old-timers like himself —recall him as “extremely helpful and cooperative, verycharming, highly intelligent and knowledge full”.

“He is this familiar stranger who seems so wise, se-rene and kind and one always sees as an ATA proctorduring ATA certifications.” says Kenneth Barger, Presi-dent of WITS. And Courtenay Searls-Ridge adds: “Hehas such an interest in next generation and what they aredoing.” And everybody mentions his incredible enter-taining and educational lecture “Is Translation Litera-ture?” at the Translators Day 2007 (read article in “TheNorthwest Linguist” Fall 2007) and recall details theyrefer to as “I will never forget that in my life!”.

In 2003, the Republic of France has honored JeanLeblon with the “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des PalmesAcademiques” presented by the Consul General ofFrance at the Alliance Française de Seattle. “This highlyprestigious award was established in the early 19th cen-tury and recognizes academic achievement in the field ofFrench language and literature”, explains Christine Knorr,Executive Director of the Alliance Française de Seattle.

Jean told me at the end of our conversation that hisvision is fulfilled: NOTIS, which just celebrated its 20th

anniversary, has a wealth of volunteer servers and theprograms are amazing. He especially admires the depth of


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Kathryn German

For many years NOTIS has been a wonderful sourceof educational support, valuable contacts, work oppor-tunities and other resources, and I am honored to beconsidered as a candidate for the Board of Directors. Ibelieve it is important to continue this work and extendthese valuable services throughout the Northwest.

I received a M.A. in Spanish Literature from theUniversity of Washington and a B.A. in Spanish fromSanta Clara University. These studies were accompa-nied by a Fulbright at the Universidad Católica in Quito,Ecuador, and additional studies at the UniversidadCatólica in Lima, Peru. Since that time, I have completedthe coursework in Translation at the Translation & In-terpretation Institute at BCC, as well as several coursesin Translation in Barcelona and Ávila, Spain. Currently,I work full-time as a Spanish translator for QuorumReview, part-time as an instructor in the Interpretationand Translation Program at Puget Sound Skills Centerfor high school students, and I also teach the translationportion of the Introduction to Translation and Inter-pretation course at the Translation & Interpretation In-stitute.

Thanks for considering me for this opportunity toserve an organization that has been so important for theNorthwest community of translators and interpreters.

Jamie M. Lucero

Very recently, I began serving NOTIS as an interimboard member for Caitilin Walsh, who is now in Ireland.It has been and continues to be a pleasure to serve in herstead. As a freelance French to English translator andtranslation tools consultant, Program Manager of andinstructor in the Bellevue Community College (BCC)Translation and Interpretation Certificate Program, andtranslation graduate of the Monterey Institute of Inter-national Studies, I have diverse skills and experience tooffer NOTIS. In addition, I have worked closely in re-cent years with Board members Jonas Nicotra and An-drea Brugman to bring NOTIS members various work-shops at BCC that are valid towards ATA continuingeducation credits.

As an elected Board member, I will not only workwith the Board and membership to achieve the general

objectives of NOTIS, but also strive to expand and di-versify workshop offerings available to NOTIS mem-bers, to improve representation and participation ofNOTIS members not based in the Seattle metro area, todevelop collaboration with other ATA Chapters (par-ticularly in the Western region), and to upgrade the tech-nical capabilities of NOTIS where appropriate.

Louise Morehead

The personal and lifetime background that hasbrought me to the interpreting and translating field iswide, lengthy, and varied. In fact, it includes living inFrance and on the East and West Coasts of the US, study-ing on both continents —many subjects if not translat-ing and interpreting — and being used to combiningtalents and activities in a dynamic fabric of action that hasbeen my life for quite a while.

This is currently the case - typical of my life-longexperience; I am currently working to develop and ex-pand my translating-interpreting business and activity,while including continuing education in this field and inmy other major professional field of training: psycho-therapy. I also currently teach - on the side, as we say.

When I envision participating and contributing tothe activity and support of NOTIS, the feeling I have isquite like my feelings on approaching all my interpret-ing, translating, or therapeutic events, large or small:Let’s see what I can do and where this takes me. I feelneither confidence nor the lack thereof —rather a pro-found curiosity that has brought me this far and thanksto which I now find myself among us all here at NOTIS -and in our combined fields. Let’s see what I can do andwhere this leads.

Renée Palermo (Incumbent)

My goals for the upcoming term is to continue asthe Co-chair of the NOTIS Medical Special InterestGroup (MedSIG), to do my best to see that their needsare being met and to ensure that the mission of theformer Society of Medical Interpreters (SOMI) lives on.I am currently the NOTIS Office Manager and serve onthe Administrative Ad Hoc Committee which strives tostreamline the management of the organization. It is my

NOTIS ELECTION FOR THE BOARD 2008CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

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hope that by remaining on the board I can provide conti-nuity and further strengthen the abovementioned areas.

Katr in Rippel

I am honored to have been asked to become a mem-ber of the NOTIS Board of Directors. The translatorcommunity and NOTIS have been a great resource formy establishment and career as a language professionalin the Pacific Northwest. Currently, I am part of NOTIS’

newsletter “The Northwest Lin-guist” committee, where I writethe column “Meeting our Mem-bers” and assemble the Calendarof Events.

As a Board Member, I hopethat my contribution of time, ideasand enthusiasm will help increasethe importance of NOTIS in theNorthwest. I would like to help

promoting NOTIS to local businesses and organiza-tions as their resource of local language professionalsthat can help bridging caps of communication and cul-tural differences in a global business world.

Born in Germany, I grew up in Dresden, learned inStuttgart, and then worked for 16 years in internationaltourism. After assignments in Germany, France and theUnited States, I moved to Washington State and com-pleted certification programs in Translation and Soft-ware and Website Localization at the T&I Institute andthe University of Washington. In 2005, I launchedMENU Translations & Services, a web design and local-ization firm specializing in the travel, hotel and foodindustries.

Faiza Sultan

Ms. Sultan owns her own company, Translation4all,LLC. She has over five years management experience intranslation, role playing, Interpretation, language devel-opment and localization projects managing over 50 trans-lators and linguists. She also has over 10 years experi-ence in teaching Arabic and English languages at alllevels, which include three years in teaching Arabic atcollege level and four years experience in developingKurdish and Arabic lessons (listening and reading) forthe GLOSS project which include selecting texts andaudio segments according to students’ level.

Ms. Sultan has experience in giving lectures aboutIslam and the Middle East in the USA, as well givinginterviews about the political and socio-cultural situa-

tion in Iraq for various TV and Radio stations. She hasworked with mixed media production and text-writingfor radio and print including short stories and poetry inArabic as well as developed and directed dramatic dem-onstrations for UNICEF in Iraq.

Ms. Sultan holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in En-glish from the University of Mosul —College of Educa-tion, and has DSHS Medical Certifications for Kurdishand Arabic Languages, a Certification of Excellency inthe DLI Gloss Project at the Foreign language Center,Fort Lewis.

As a board member of NOTIS, I will be faithful tothe organization’s mission. I will be committed to thepublic and to the mission of the board. I will make myselfavailable to participate effectively and affirmatively indiscussions. I will strive to find ways to make NOTISmore accessible to linguists. I will tag on the mission ofheartening more members to join the organization.

Marjan Van Spaandonk

I look forward to making the most of the opportu-nity to serve on the board of directors for NOTIS. Hav-ing been a member of the translation community in theNorthwest for many years, it is impossible not to beaware of the presence and activities of NOTIS. To have achance now to become actively involved in the organiza-tion is an enticing prospect.

I am a Dutch native with a degree in Dutch compa-rable to a B.A. I started my career as a Dutch languagehigh school teacher in the Netherlands. Shortly after Imoved to the U.S. in 1982 I entered the field of localiza-tion and translation of English to Dutch language prod-ucts. Most of my work experience centers around hightech programs and medical software. Over the years Ihave worked alternately as a free-lance translator/proof-reader nationally and a localization project manager lo-cally.

I have a passion for language in general and for Dutchin particular. I would like to put this enthusiasm and myexperience to good use on behalf of NOTIS. Aside fromthe personal joy of working with like-minded individu-als, my interests lie in helping NOTIS grow as a networkfor all its members, to increase its services and to expandits influence. Thank you for your trust and support.

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In “Emerging Trends: Look Beyond Current Trans-lator Tools to Prepare for the Future,” Colleen Nylundgave us hints on how to stay competitive in the market-place by increasing our skill set, which would also allow usto command higher fees. She suggested that we take intoconsideration the Project Management Certification andexplore localization engineering to gain a better under-standing of project cycles, software processes and builds.

Thanksgiving, the American holiday I missed the most when I was living abroad, is just around the cornerand is making me think of “American culture” lately. While in Sweden for the Gothenburg Book Fair this pastSeptember, one of the members of the Swedish Academy, Horace Engdahl, declared that American literaturewas too “parochial” to rise to Nobel Prize in Literature standards. This put me in mind of a Thanksgiving dinnerI made for my German in-laws and friends of my husband one year when we spent November in Hildesheim.After slaving over the usual turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, I was rewardedwith this praise from one of the attendees (an English teacher to boot!): “I didn’t know that there was such a thingas American cuisine! This food is actually quite good.”

Actually, most of the food served at the Thanksgiving table is Native American cuisine passed through aEuropean filter, and, as new waves of immigrants add spice to this cultural stew, various new dishes land onAmerican tables. Something new is being created on this continent still, something where Native words likesquash, raccoon, moccasin, pemmican mixed with Mexican-Spanish words like rodeo, lasso, corral and Germanwords like sauerkraut, Kindergarten, flavored with Chinese ketchup, dim sum…well, you get the idea. OurAmerican language is rich with the cultures of the world, and our literature is not as parochial as Horace Engdahlbelieves, just because we do not follow European literature styles, and our Thanksgiving feast is truly a feast for thesenses and the palate, as it is wealthier in taste than Europeans can imagine. We lucky translators and interpretersget to play our part as well, stirring the stew pot so that the flavors are released! Happy Thanksgiving! �

CULTURAL CORNERBy Laura A. Wideburg



Both days of seminars were incredibly valuable to usas translators, not only for the topics discussed, but also forthe opportunity to satisfy some of our ATA continuingeducation requirements, locally and at a relatively low cost.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank ATAand NOTIS for organizing this invaluable seminar and forgiving us the opportunity to share our thoughts withother colleagues. In particular, we want to thank JonasNicotra, NOTIS Program/Outreach Co-chair, for his tre-mendous effort and support during and after the seminar.Thank you, Jonas, for a job well done! �

tion to Court Interpreting, provided by the WashingtonAdministrative Office of the Courts, and (4) meeting re-quirements three through five in paragraph (a) above. TheWashington Court Interpreter Program reserves the rightto reject oral certification exam test scores for individualswho passed the exam more than four years prior to appli-cation for certification in Washington and have subse-quently performed little or no court interpreting.

(c) Interpreters certified under provisions (a) or (b)above are subject to all Washington Certified Court In-terpreter requirements for continuing certification, in-cluding continuing education.

Those interested in the minutes of the commissionmeetings may read them online. Minutes are posted afterbeing finalized and approved at the following commis-sion meeting. Currently, the June minutes are posted.The October minutes will be posted after being approvedat the first 2009 meeting. The URL for accessing theseminutes is http://www.courts.wa.gov/programs_orgs/pos_interpret/index.cfm?fa=pos_interpret.minutes

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Events Calendar

Date Event Details Location

NOTIS Annual Meeting & Info: +1(206) 701-9183 Bellevue Community College

November 15, 2008 ATA Conference Recap 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm North Campus, Room 110

10700 Northup Way, Bellevue

November 17, 2008 Canadian Language Industry Showcase 2008 www.ailia.4poyntzdezign.com Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

November 21-23, 2008 2008 ACTFL Convention and www.actfl.org Orlando, FL

World Languages Expo

Northern California Translators www.ncta.org San Francisco, CA

November 22, 2008 Association (NCTA) Trados for Beginners

Organización Mexicana de Traductores (OMT) Guadalajara,

November 29-30, 2008 XII International Congress of Translation www.omt.org.mx/ Mexico

and Interpretation, San Jerónimo 2008

December 2-4, 2008 Gilbane Conference Boston www.gilbaneboston.com Boston, MA

“Content Management”

University of Washington

December 6, 2008 NOTIS/WITS Holiday Potluck Party Info: +1(206)701-9183 Waterfront Activities Center,

Seattle, WA

December27-30, 2008 Modern Lasnguage Association (MLA) www.mla.org San Francisco, CA

American Assn. of Teachers of Slavic &

December 27-30, 2008 Esatern European Languages www.aatseel.org San Francisco, CA

(AATSEEL) Annual Conference

February 10, 2009 TAUS Round Table — Localization www.translationautomation.com Seattle, WA

Business Innovation

February 20-21, 2009 ACM International Workshop on http://langrid.nict.go.jp/iwic2009/ Palo Alto, CA

Intercultural Collaboration

For more international, national, and local events, please see: www.notisnet.org, www.witsnet.org, www.atanet.org

NOTIS / WITS Board Meetings:

Organization Date & Time Location Contact

All Board Meetings are open to the membership of their respective organizations.

NOTIS December 11, 2008, 6:30 p.m. TBD [email protected]

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Printed on recycled paper.

NOTIS1037 NE 65

th Street #107

Seattle WA 98115

Voice Mail: (206) 701-9183E-mail: [email protected]: www.notisnet.org

Wireless Communications Equipment for Interpreters

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move to a spot offering the best hearing and visibility, where the interpreter can concentrate on the message withoutinterruptions or distractions.

Although some courts provide this type of equipment for its interpreters, availability is not always guaranteed. Andmany courts and other venues don’t even offer it.

For less than $100, interpreters can now have their own set of wireless transmitter and receiver, includingmicrophone and earphone. In many instances, the rental of similar equipment for just one day exceeds this purchase cost

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Letter from the NOTIS President · Wright, Marilyse Benyakar, Larissa Kulinich. Later the Committee...

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