Administrative Updates - 2011 Summer Issue

Dear CLD members:


Summer greetings to you all.  I understand all our members are busy making a living, but I want to provide you with some important updates on the activities in the Division since the last publication of the CLD Newsletter.


Our renewed newsletter was very well received by our members as well as other ATA members.  Ms. Thelma Ferry, the Administrator of the ATA Interpreters Division, emailed her congratulations and expressed her pleasure at reading the newsletter.  Mr. Jim Walker, a veteran ATA Certification Committee grader found our newsletter through a link on Facebook and complimented us on our "good work".  Our thanks again goes to the Editor, Katie Spillane, Layout Editor, Evelyn Yang Garland and all the contributors. 

Looking Forward to Boston


On March 14, 2011, our members successfully submitted their presentation proposals for the upcoming Annual Conference in Boston.  I am very pleased with the renewed interest in conference participation and presentation.  Kudos to Di Wu who coordinated this effort - he did a splendid job in soliciting exciting topics. 


We have invited a Division Distinguished Speaker who proposed to offer two sessions at the Annual Conference.  His name is Mr. Bok Kow Tsim.  His presentation subjects will be: “Chinese Translation of United Nations Documents, Part I: Organization and Operation;” and “Chinese Translation of United Nations Documents, Part II: Challenges and Solutions.”  Mr. Tsim’s work is informed by 30-years of professional translation and by his work as a former training officer at the UN's Chinese Language Service.  We want to extend our heartfelt thanks and warm welcome to Mr. Tsim, who kindly agreed to take the time to speak to us about our profession.


We anticipate a high turnout of presenters and attendees at this year's Annual Conference.  For those who will not be presenting in Boston, we hope you will consider contributing your ideas and expertise in other ways, by submitting written articles to our newsletter and/or to The ATA Chronicle, for example. 

ATA Division Administrators Summit & Formation of the Leadership Council


On April 29, 2011, I attended the Administrators Summit in Alexandria, Virginia.  ATA officers Nicholas Hartmann (President), Dorothee Racette (President-Elect), Boris Silversteyn (Divisions Committee Chair), Walter Bacak (Executive Director), and Jamie Padula (Chapter and Divison Relations Manager) met with Administrators of the 16 ATA divisions to share some best practices and to discuss the ATA's Governing Policy for Divisions.


In prior consultation with our Assistant Administrator Todd Cornell, I drove down south to attend the Administrators Summit on behalf of the CLD. 


At the Summit attendees first did a quick review of the ATA bylaws, especially Article XIII, which specifically relates to the Divisions.  We then re-visited the purpose of the Divisions.  In an effort to better serve that purpose, the ATA Board of Directors had discussed and approved the Governing Policy for Divisions that will supersede the current bylaws of the individual divisions. 


The new Governing Policy calls for the establishment of a Leadership Council within each Division.  Under this policy, the Division Administrator invites to experienced long-term Division members and talented newcomers to be members of the Leadership Council on an annual basis.  "The members of the Leadership Council, including the Assistant Administrator, shall be assigned specific tasks associated with the core services of the Division, such as the newsletter, blog, webpage, listserv, professional education offerings, hospitality planning and special projects."  


The new Governing Policy also stipulates that the Administrator should call for volunteers to form a Nominating Committee for the selection of Division Administrators.  "The Division Nominating Committee shall consist of at least two Division members, who must be voting members of the Association.  The Members of the Nominating Committee shall not be current members of the Leadership Council."  For CLD, this procedure will begin at the ATA 2011Annual Conference. 


The new Governing Policy reflects the reality of the CLD in a true light.  Ever since the Denver conference, a number of important CLD workgroups have been functioning.  These include the Conference Presentation and Participation Workgroup, the Newsletter Editorial Workgroup, the Chinese-to-English Certification Exam Workgroup, and so on.  The members who head these workgroups are our Division's de facto Leaders.  Consequently, they have been formally invited to serve as members of the CLD Leadership Council.  Their names and responsibilities are as follows:

Todd Cornell

Assistant Administrator

As the elected Assistant Administrator, Todd is a member of the Leadership Council.  ATA's new Governing Policy for Divisions stipulates: "The Assistant Administrator assists the Administrator and assumes the duties of the Administrator in his or her absence."  As a Council member, the Assistant Administrator will also be responsible for initiating and maintaining discussion topics on our Listserv.

Katie Spillane

CLD Newsletter Editor

Katie is responsible for the editorial duties associated with our newsletter and/or other public information when necessary.

Evelyn Yang Garland

CLD Newsletter Layout Editor

Evelyn is responsible for the format and design of our Newsletter and/or Division image projection.

Di Wu

Chairperson, Chinese to English Certification Committee

Di is responsible for coordinating key volunteers in our effort to establish the certification exam for Chinese to English translators.

Liping Zhao

Administrative Coordinator

Liping is responsible for our Division's clerical work as well as activity planning. 


The CLD is also seeking additional volunteers who can help with our planned website creation and maintenance.  Ideally we will need both a web master and a content manager.  We welcome any qualified individual to contact the Administrator for further information regarding these positions by emailing: acumen@acumentransmedia.com.

Chinese to English Certification Committee

After the Administrators Summit, a new Chinese to English Certification Committee was formed.  Mr. Di Wu became the chairperson of the new committee.  Working with Mr. Jim Walker, the ATA Certification Committee liaison for the CLD, Di successfully identified four other members who are willing to be the first crop of graders for the Certification Exam.  As of July 1^st, the following individuals are approved members of the Chinese to English Certification Committee:

            Di Wu, Chair 

            Anne Henochowicz 

            Darren Wright 

            Doug McNeal 

            Laura Truncellito 


Congratulations to all the new committee members.  The CLD appreciates your time, effort and all you will do for our organization. 

FIT Congress


August 1-4, 2011, the International Federation of Translators/Fédération International des Traducteurs (FIT) will hold its first Congress in the U.S.  Several of our Division members are planning to attend the FIT Congress in San Francisco.  Ms. Evelyn Yang Garland from our Leadership Council together with Prof. Yuanxi Ma, Di Wu and Xiaolei Kerr are organizing a networking event in a restaurant with representatives of the Translators Association of China (TAC).  We encourage all interested CLD members to join this event and help promote our increasingly collegial relationship with TAC and translators from China. We thank Evelyn for her enthusiasm and for taking the initiative to organize such an outreach activity on behalf of CLD.  We encourage all other members to follow her good example and step forward to expand the visibility of our Division.

Bin Liu, ATA Chinese Language Division Administrator (2010-2012)

English to Chinese Translator

e-mail: acumen@acumentransmedia.com

The Chinese to English Certification Exam:

An Interview with Chairperson Di Wu and Committee Member Darren Wright

* Basics *

What has been your role in the CLD certification workgroup?

Di Wu:

I am currently leading the committee.

Darren Wright:

At present, our most pressing work involves the selection and approval of exam passages, so I will be assisting with this effort.  After this has been accomplished, I will work on whatever is needed at the time.  I also expect to work in the future as a grader. 

What benefit do you see in the establishment of a Chinese to English certification exam?

Di Wu:

I definitely see benefits.  The demand for Chinese to English translation work is increasing by the day.  Due to the lack of certification, there is no way to gauge the skill level of a translator.  Right now, more and more young people are majoring Chinese in universities, and a “critical mass” of Chinese to English translators (who are native English speakers) has already been reached.  Chinese to English certification would be highly beneficial to those who want to pursue careers as Chinese to English translators.  It will also help LSPs in identifying competent translators capable of delivering high quality projects. 

Darren Wright:

I do have strong feelings about the significance of the establishment of a Chinese to English certification exam.  This accomplishment would be, for lack of a better term, huge for the following reasons:

• It would provide companies in need of Chinese linguists with a standardized method for gauging a translator’s abilities in a highly sought-after language combination;
•  It would provide translators with a way to advertise their abilities;
•  The exam would provide new translators with a standard, which would help them know what is expected of them as professional translators;
• Due to the international recognition that the ATA has received, this certification could provide Chinese-English translators with a means to establish themselves as professional translators on a national and international level. 

I also asked Gretchen Anderson, a project manager at The Language Exchange, what she thought about the importance of having an exam established for the Chinese-English combination.  Here is what she said:

"As an agency, it is most helpful when linguists posses a certification that is internationally recognized. ATA certification is held in high regard in the language industry and is internationally recognized.  When a linguist with interest in working with our agency contacts us, and they are ATA certified, we immediately recognize them as a professional linguist, versus a new “fly by night” entrepreneur.  This means that they are given more serious consideration and are automatically assumed to provide high quality translation work.  The chances of our agency working with ATA certified linguists versus non certified is much higher and also a preference in many cases."

To what degree has a lack of Chinese to English certification affected your career? 

Darren Wright:

At the present, there are only two widely accepted testing formats that I am aware of for written Chinese: the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) and the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK).  Unfortunately, both of these exams are not very useful to the majority of Chinese translators.  The DLPT is only offered to linguists who have been involved with the U.S. federal government or military.  The HSK, administered by the Office of Chinese Language Council International under the PRC Ministry of Education, is offered throughout mainland China and is used to gauge the Chinese proficiency of Chinese national minorities and foreign students.  Unfortunately, the exam is not generally understood or accepted in the U.S., and sittings for the exam are offered sporadically.  It is also mainly used for determining scholarship recipients in mainland China.  The ATA Chinese-English certification would most likely become the first widely acknowledged and accepted method for measuring a Chinese-English translator’s ability. 

* Previous Efforts *

The CLD’s certification efforts have been ongoing for at least a decade.  When and how did you become involved with the process?

Di Wu:

I am very passionate about working toward establishing the Chinese to English certification exam.  To be honest, I find it strange that there are certification exams for languages of smaller European countries into English, yet there is no certification exam from Chinese into English.   

Darren Wright:

Ever since joining the ATA in 2007, I wondered why there was an English-Chinese certification exam and not one for the Chinese-English language combination.  Starting late 2009/early 2010, I began emailing various individuals within the ATA hierarchy to inquire why this exam had not yet been created.  I eventually touched base with Terry Hanlen, the Certification Program Manager, who informed me that there had been multiple task forces in the past created to establish this exam, but that each group had stopped before finishing the job.   I provided him with my resume and told him that if there was anything I could do to help these efforts, I would be more than happy to pitch in.  From that, he forwarded my information to the CLD Administrator, after which I officially became involved in the development of the exam in mid-2010.

The process of establishing a certification exam takes four years.   Key steps include convincing the ATA that certification in a given pair is important, grader training, passage selection and preparation of grading guidelines.  Which steps have proven to be stumbling blocks for the CLD?

Di Wu:

It is my understanding that we were not able to select the appropriate passages for the ATA exam.

Darren Wright:

Since I am still quite new to the efforts to establish this exam, I am not certain what has prevented the exam from being established in the past, though in the time I have been involved, it has been finishing up passage selection before the deadline.  Being a part of the workgroup is a commitment that requires consistent effort.  I am confident that the current workgroup will be able to build on past efforts to establish the exam. 

* Looking Forward *

What is the next step for the CLD certification workgroup?

Di Wu:

We hope to have the test in place by next year.

Darren Wright:

Each of the members in the CLD workgroup is very dedicated to realizing a goal that has been in the works for a very long time.  At this point in time, we are in the middle of selecting and approving passages for the exam.  Our goal is to establish the exam as quickly as possible so that it can be offered in 2012. 

What can CLD members do to help?

Di Wu:

Be aware of our efforts and indicate their interest in taking the exam.  Currently the committee is already in place.  However, we will be needing more graders in the future.

Darren Wright:

To better answer this question, I consulted with Jim Walker, an experienced member of the ATA Certification Committee who has been working closely with the CLD to establish the Chinese-English certification exam as our liaison to the workgroup.  He suggested the following: 

• CLD members can support the effort by knowing that the group is working to establish the exam.  It is important to understand the benefits of being ATA certified so that those who translate from Chinese into English can be ready to take the exam as soon as possible when it is offered;
• CLD members should be ready to indicate interest in taking the exam when the CLD administrator, Bin Liu, asks.  This list "must include at least 50 names, 25 of whom are ATA members who list the new language combination in their profile in ATA's Directory of Translation and Interpreting Services."

* On a Personal Note *

How have you balanced your career as a linguist and an educator?  Does this play a role in your participation in the CLD certification efforts?

Di Wu:

Most of us translators are big time multi-taskers anyway.  I started teaching evening Chinese classes and launched my freelance translation business when I had a day job as an electrical engineer.  Now I am working as an in-house linguist at an LSP while still keeping my freelance business alive.  It has been continuous juggling act.  I believe the CLD certification effort is closely aligned with what I am already doing.

Darren Wright:

Each time I have been hired for a new position within the education industry, I recall something that my high school physics teacher told me after pulling me aside following one class where I was quite transparent in my dislike for high school.  She told me she bet one day that I would be an educator, to which I replied “I seriously doubt it.”  However, my love for everything Chinese inspired me to share with others the things that I have learned and enjoyed.  My careers as a linguist and an educator have always been intertwined, though at times I have focused on one more than the other.  

My role in the CLD’s current efforts to establish this exam is related to both my personal and professional interests.  I always like new challenges and the opportunity to work on interesting projects that require knowledge of Chinese.   The establishment of the exam gives me another goal to shoot for because I myself will be taking the exam in the future.  I also believe that being able to be certified by the ATA in my language combination will provide me with additional opportunities in the future.

Last but not least, what first got you interested in learning the Chinese/English language?

Di Wu:

I am a native Chinese speaker.  I was born and raised in Beijing China and came to the United States when I was 15 years old.  I have kept up my Chinese skills by conversing with family and friends, watching Chinese TV, movies, and reading Chinese material whenever I can.

Darren Wright:        
As I was preparing to graduate high school, Chinese was often discussed in the news as an up-and-coming language to learn, so I decided to attend Brigham Young University, an institution known for its foreign language programs.  After my first semester, I served a 2-year Chinese-speaking mission in Taiwan.  During this time, I had to study the language diligently, mainly so I didn’t feel like an imbecile while trying to communicate on a daily basis.  I became enamored with the culture and the language, so I decided to major in Chinese studies upon my return. 

Di Wu

Chinese <> English Translator and Interpreter

e-mail: champlanguage@aol.com

Darren Wright

Chinese <> English Translator and Interpreter

e-mail: darren@wrightchineselinguist.com

Katie Spillane (Interviewer)

Chinese > English Translator

e-mail: spillanetranslations@gmail.com