Masked Translator

No 2. Conferences
ATA conferences are sometimes great, sometimes not that great. Sometimes it makes sense to fork out $1000 to go to one, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s the way all conferences are. H...

An interesting blog I've just come across by a translator in Nigeria. I appreciate the Nigerian and African takes on the profession very much--check it out:
Headfirst into the Meddle
Languages like...

Normally I like to focus on translation on this blog and not interpreting, but this is another interesting piece that was on "All Things Considered" on NPR today:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story...

NPR's "All Things Considered" had an interesting piece of the art and science of (literary) translation today:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97002969.
After listening, lookin...

No. 5. Certification
In general, the ATA certification model works pretty well (in theory, at least), especially since the brouhaha when they introduced the CE thing has been resolved. The board ha...

No. 10. Voting and Membership Categories
The ATA has a bewildering array of membership categories: associate, active, certified, corresponding… Who all can vote or hold office is more than a bit co...

Have you ever noticed how translators pretty much only ever say nice things about the American Translators Association? This is because the ATA makes you swear an oath of allegiance when you join. ...

We'll blog again if there is a spare moment in Orlando, otherwise after the ATA conference. Be sure to vote or to make arrangements to vote by absentee ballot if you go!

There’s a good article by Motoko Rich in the NY Times today about U.S. publishers and books in translation. Rich interviews David R. Godine who, as we mentioned in a previous post, published Le Clé...

A couple of times a year I get an e-mail that reads basically:
Dear Masked Translator,
I’d like to be a literary translator. How do I get started?
Sincerely,
Earnest and Hopeful
Well, first let’...