New England Translators Association
 A Professional Resource for Translators and Interpreters
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Board Meetings and Monthly Meetings

NB: Both NETA board meetings and NETA monthly meetings are held virtually via Zoom.

NETA board meetings are held four times a year, generally in September, January, March, and June. Final dates, times, locations, and agendas are announced in advance via email.

Attendance Policy:
Any NETA member may attend a
board meeting as an observer. Once you've received an email with the meeting agenda, we ask that you tell the board which agenda item(s) you are interested in via email to board@netaweb.org. At the meeting, you will be invited to speak about those items. Board members may or may not discuss those items, depending on time constraints. NETA members can sit through the whole meeting, unless the board moves to proceed in a closed session.

Board meeting dates for 2023-24: September 23, January 27, March 23, and June 15.

General meetings are usually held once a month from September through April on Saturday afternoons. The fee is $25 for nonmembers.

2023-24

September 30: 18th Annual Translation Bash - virtual, with Zoom rooms, 1:30-4:30 Log into our website, tell us your language pair, and receive a copy of this year's English source passage. Translate that passage at your convenience before bash day, and join in as we debate the ins and outs of each sentence. We'll have a facilitator in place for English>Spanish, English>Portuguese, and English>French. If you work into another language and would like to participate on September 30, indicate that when you register. We'll keep a tally. If a given group is large enough, we will attempt to find a facilitator. Smaller groups and pairs can readily work on their own. NB: This year we will have Spanish>English and French>English reverse bash group, which will work on a passage on the same theme as that of the English source text that the majority of participants will be discussing.


October 21: Adapting Interpreting Techniques to Target Listeners in Legal Settings,
 2:00-4:00  Interpreting in legal settings is not always between two people engaged in a dialogue and not always for the record. Sometimes the exchange is between English speakers and must be relayed to a Limited English Proficient (LEP)person in the simultaneous mode; other times it may be testimony by the LEP individual for the record, to be interpreted in the consecutive mode. Attendees will learn techniques interpreters can use to adapt their renditions to each particular context, and how to determine which technique to use during interpreting encounters to maximize the source language speaker's and target language listener's optimal communication and mutual understanding.

Our speaker, Janis Palma, is an English-Spanish interpreter and translator with more than 40 years of experience. She has worked as an independent contractor for private attorneys, government agencies, state and federal courts, and worked a s a staff and supervisory interpreter for the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico.


November 18: Advocacy 101 for Interpreters and Translators, 2:00-4:00  Based on work done for NAJIT in 2017, a panel of three participants will explain how they were able to support interpreters through advocacy and provide some steps that other interpreting and translation groups can follow to do the same.

Our panelists, Milena Calerari-Waldron, Rudy Téllez, and Helen Eby are al leaders in their field and have extensive experience advocating for interpreters in institutional, state and federal contexts with a significant record of success.

December 9: Annual holiday party in Woburn, MA

January 20: Implicit Bias and Racism in American Health Care: Our Roles and Responsibilities as Interpreters, 2:00-4:00  This interactive workshop will engage participants in an exploration of the history of racism, stereotyping, and bias in the American health care system. We will identify strategies to uncover and reduce one's own implicit biases and consider our role as interpreters in recognizing and addressing racism and bias when we encounter it in our work. 

Our speaker, Lisa Walker, graduated from Northern Essex Community College in 1986 with an AS in Interpreting for the Deaf. She worked for several years as a staff interpreter at the New England Home for the Deaf in Danvers before going on to become a Physician Assistant (PA) and educator, working for the past 26 years teaching the next generation of PAs. As a longtime advocate of language access, Lisa has designed medical interpreting curricula, presented on a wide range of topics for interpreters and health professional, and serves on the board of Found in Translation, a nonprofit organization providing training for bilingual refugee and immigrant women as medical interpreters.
                                   JANUARY MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO A FAMILY EMERGENCY.  RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 2024


February 17: Terminology Management: From Source to Target in Four Easy Steps, 2:00-4:00  Translators rely on correct terminology. In this session, we will build on skills translators already have and use them to compile terminology readable by machines. After a brief review of the basics, we will walk through the main steps of term identification, research and documentation. Our product will be terminology in a simple format (e.g., a spreadsheet) that can be imported into, and read by computer-aided translation tools. The session will be suitable for those translating technical material in any language and domain.

Our speaker, Barbara Inge Karsch, is the owner of BIK Terminology, a terminology consultancy and training company. Since 2010, she has been providing terminology development, training and consulting for Adobe, Facebook, Intuit, Zeiss and others. She draws on her extensive experience in-house for Microsoft and JD Edwards.

Barbara completed a BA and MA in translation and interpretation and has done PhD-level research in terminology science. She is Adjunct Professor at New York University and teaches regularly at the Middlebury Institute at Monterey.

As US delegate to ISO TC37, Barbara led the recently published revision of ISO 12616:I Terminology work in support of multilingual communication--Part 1: Fundamentals of translation-oriented terminography. Barbara has dual citizenship from Germany and the United States.


March 16: Voice Movement Therapy for Interpreters, 2:00-4:00  Registered Voice Movement Therapy practitioner Mali Sastri will present an experiential workshop in the expressive arts modality Voice Movement Therapy and how it may benefit the voices of those working as interpreters. Through guided exploration, improvisatory games, and combined vocal and movement exercises, this virtual workshop aims to increase vocal flexibility, dexterity, relaxation, confidence, and trust in the power of your own authentic voice, specifically for those using--and fatiguing--their voices in their work.

Our speaker, Mali Sastri, is a registered Voice Movement Therapy practitioner based in Boston. She trained with VMT founder Paul Newham, and with Anne Brownell and Christine Isherwood in London, UK from 1999-2001. In 2011 she qualified as a professional member of the International Association for Voice Movement Therapy. Mali has worked with individuals and groups primarily in the Boston area for over 15 years. For 10 years she was part of the music education program at Tunefoolery, a Boston nonprofit for musicians in mental health recovery. Her work rides the edge between the artistic and therapeutic, with an emphasis on breath and the song-as-container. She herself is a singer, songwriter, composer, performer, and artist-practitioner--a forever student and lover of voice.


April 13: Cultural Humility: Is It Important for Interpreters? 2:00-4:00 In this workshop we will explore Cultural Humility and discuss if this process can be helpful for the practice of interpreting as well as tin the work of the interpreter within the larger context of the organizations we serve. The goal of this session is to provide a safe environment for consideration of the Cultural Humility framework. Join in on this relaxed and engaging session to learn about this concept and decide for yourself whether Cultural Humility should make it into your interpreter toolbox.

Our speaker, Esther Bonin, is ACSI's Director of Language Services. She is an international language industry expert with over 20 years of experience. She holds a degree in Translation & Interpreting Skills from Univeritat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, and an MA in International Relations from Durham University in Durham, England. She has worked on both sides of the Atlantic as a certified translator and interpreter, a professor, and a language access consultant. Recently she has led interpretation programs for a language service company in Arlington, VA, where she was responsible for all commercial and government interpreting programs. She has also led a team of over 75 interpreters and translators for a large Massachusetts hospital system.

Esther is recognized as a thought leader in the areas of language access, D& I, and interpreter training. A conference and community interpreter herself, with experience in media, legal , healthcare and educational settings,  she has worked for commercial, government and nonprofit clients directly, and as a program manager overseeing contract execution and deliverables.


2022-23

September 17: 17th Annual Translation Bash - virtual, with Zoom rooms, 1:30-4:30 Log into our website, tell us your language pair, and receive a copy of this year's English source passage. Translate that passage at your convenience before bash day, and join in as we debate the ins and outs of each sentence. We'll have a facilitator in place for English>Spanish, English>Portuguese, and English>French. If you work into another language and would like to participate on September 17, indicate that when you register. We'll keep a tally. If a given group is large enough, we will attempt to find a facilitator. Smaller groups and pairs can readily work on their own. NB: This year we will again have a Spanish>English reverse bash group, which will work on a passage on the same theme as that of the English source text that the majority of participants will be discussing.


October 22: The Six Ps of LinkedIn Success,
 2:00-4:00 As a new season begins, networking can play a crucial role in seeking new contacts. Translators and interpreters alike are sure to benefit greatly from the presentation focused on the use of LinkedIn. Our speaker will cover planning, profile, people, participation, perseverance, and patience. With it you'll:
• Be able to create a detailed LinkedIn profile that promotes your service in the best possible way
• Learn how to vet and build a professional network that provides real value
• Discover how regular participation can ultimately yield clients who have sought you out

Known for pulling rabbits out of hats and turning lead into gold, today our speaker, Chris Morton, is an independent business communications consultant. His 25+ years in the medical device, medical imaging, information security (infosec), software, hardware, and other B2B/B2C realms enable him to enhance web and print content for accuracy, readability, and continuity.

Chris has been a marketing director, author, ghostwriter, copywriter, technical editor, IT instructor, seminar speaker, newsletter managing editor, computer reseller/consultant, digital graphics artist, publishers' rep, and old-school lithographer. Only the first position came from answering an ad.

Typically over 300 people view Chris Morton's profile over any given 90-day period, and his thought leadership has amassed a regular following of over 4,200 LinkedIn users.


November 19: Trial Preparation for Court Interpreters, 2:00-4:00  During this meeting participants will learn best practice to prepare for interpreting during any trial. We will cover: 1) Understanding your role(s); 2) Team interpreting needs and best practices, both in-person and remote; 3) Understanding the case at hand; 4) Anticipation and preparation; 5) Terminology tools and resources; 6) Preparing the "clients" (clerks, attorneys, judges, etc.); 7) Final first-day prep; and 8) In-trial adaptations.

Our speaker, Javier Castillo, is president of Castillo Language Services, Inc. in Greenville, NC. He is an interpreter, translator, consultant and internationally recognized speaker. He is a Federally Certified Court interpreter, a NC AOC-certified court interpreter, a Certified Medical Interpreter (CCHI) and a contract interpreter for the U.S. Department of State, and he routinely interprets for international delegations and high-level speakers across the United States and abroad.

Since 2007 Javier has offered training workshops for court, medical, conference and community interpreters throughout the United States. He has provided in-house training for interpreters in hospitals, Administrative Offices of the Court and departments of social services. He recently developed and taught training courses for the Department of State Office of Language Services. 

He has designed and taught courses on working with interpreters in the legal field at Campbell Law School and the UNC School of Law. He has also taught Continuing Legal Education courses for members of the judiciary.

Javier is a frequent speaker and trainer at national and international conferences. He is the President of the Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters (CATI), the Chair of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT), Head of the U.S. chapter of the International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI) and an active member of the American Translators Association.

December 10: Annual holiday party in Woburn, MA


January 21: Mental Health Treatment: Trauma and Implications for the Medical Interpreting Process, 2:00-4:00  At this meeting we will explore how trauma and related emotions manifest during the medical interpreting process, affecting not only the clinical encounter, but also the medical interpreter. We will focus on Mood Disorders and PTSD. Participants will be able to define transference (clients' feelings/reactions) and countertransference (therapists' feelings/reactions) and understand their implications for the therapeutic relationship as well as their impact on the medical interpreter, therapist and client alike. We will also discuss the interrelatedness of Major Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, present
ing the symptoms characteristic of each disorder, their diagnostic definitions and connection to interpersonal trauma. The centrality of acculturation and its implications for assessment and treatment will ge emphasized throughout the meeting.

Our speaker, Maria del Mar Farina, is an Associate Professor and Master of Social Work Program Director at Westfield State University and Adjunct Professor at Smith College School of Social Work. She maintains a practice working with the Latino community. Her research pertains to American immigration policy, immigrant integration, nativist discourse and white power groups.


February 18: Machine Translation: Tips and Tidbits, 2:00-4:00 This webinar introduces some methods for using the machine translation component of Trados Studio 2022 with your own work, as well as with other MT sources. Users of other CAT tools willl be able to apply much of the information to their own setups because the speaker will focus on the quality of MT output and what you need to do to it to produce high-quality translations. The second half of the webinar will present the ideas of a few industry leaders on how to incorporate MT into your workflow, and the concept of translation "grades."

Our speaker, Diana Rhudick, is the current president of NETA as well as its cowebmaster. A graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, she has 30+ years of experience as a translator of French and Spanish texts and as an editor of English texts. Currently, she also works as a project manager for a boutique translation agency.


March 25: Stability and Change in the Spanish of Boston--A sociolinguistic perspective, 2:00-4:00  The goal of this talk is to provide answers to three questions: (1) What do linguists do? (2) What do linguists know about Spanish in the United States? And (3) What can linguistics tell us about how Spanish is spoken in the Greater Boston Area? In answering these questions, the talk will adopt a sociolinguistic perspective, emphasizing the interplay between linguistic and social factors that shape the structure and trajectory of language use within speech communities.

At the heart of the sociolinguistic perspective is an appreciation for the ways i which language use is variable, rather than homogeneous. that is, close inspection of the behavior of individual and groups reveals socially and linguistically conditioned patterns of variability in the use of sounds words, and phrases. Intergenerational transmission of such sociolinguistic patterns is a key factor in determining whether a community's characteristic ways of speaking are undergoing change. Sociolinguistic analysis of Spanish-speaking Bostonians reveals evidence of both continuity and change in the community.

Our speaker, Daniel Erker, is an Associate Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Boston University. He teaches courses on language variation and change, Spanish in the United States, language and music, the biological evolution of language, the linguistic structure of Spanish, and language and identity.

Erker earned an M.A. in linguistics at the Graduate Center of the City University of Ne York and a Ph.D. in linguistics at New York University. He is currently the director of the Spanish in Boston Project, a federally funded research initiative that investigates the sociolinguistic behavior of Spanish-speaking Bostonians. Erker has published research in several leading linguistic journals, and his work has been featured in the Boston Globe, on NPR, and in a TedX talk. He has investigated a broad range of phenomena, ranging from microlinguistic variation in speech sounds to macrolinguistic trends such as the intergenerational maintenance of immigrant languages. He is currently working on two books, one on Spanish in Boston and another on cross-linguistic morphosyntactic variation. 


April 15: Researching Challenging Legal Terminology: Tricks, Tools and Pitfalls, 2:00-4:00  The advent of the internet has made available to translators and interpreters a vast array of resources. In fact, so much is available that it is often hard to decide where to start and which sources to trust.

This interactive session will provide participants with concrete tools and guidance for researching the thorniest of U.S. legal terms, including words that lack a natural legal equivalent in other languages (such as "upward/downward departure") and provide clear criteria for identifying reliable mono and bilingual sources. The session is language neutral.

Our speaker, Katty Kauffman, is a conference and legal interpreter, a graduate of Pedro de Valdivia School of Law in Santiago, Chile and the Certificate Program in Comparative US/Latin American Legal Reforms at Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C. A member of NAJIT and AIIC, she is a contributor to the 2nd Edition of Fundamentals of Court Interpretation and a member of the Editorial Board of the 2nd Edition of Sandro Tomasi's Criminal Law Dictionary. A federally, Maryland, Florida and D.C.- certified interpreter, she is a frequent speaker across the U.S. on the criminal procedure reforms that have swept Latin America. Katty is former staff interpreter with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and currently works as a freelance court and conference interpreter from her home base in Washington, D.C.


2021-22

September 18: 16th Annual Translation Bash - virtual, with Zoom rooms, 1:30-4:30 Email mcomenetz@gmail.com, tell us your language pair, and receive a copy of this year's English source passage. Translate that passage at your convenience before bash day, and join in as we debate the ins and outs of each sentence. We'll have a facilitator in place for English>Spanish and English>French. If you work into another language and would like to participate on September 18, just write to us. We'll keep a tally and let you know about other people who sign up to work in your language pair. If a given group is large enough, we will attempt to find a facilitator. Smaller groups and pairs can readily work on their own. NB: This year we will again have a Spanish>English reverse bash group, which will work on a passage on the same theme as that of the English source text that the majority of participants will be discussing.


October 23: Ethics, Conduct, Reputation and Judgment in the Interpreting Profession,
2:00-4:00  We will cover the overlapping areas of fundamentals of ethics, application of codes of conduct, building a solid reputation, and the judgment by others regarding interpreting encounters.

Conventionally, training materials address the core of interpreting services appropriately by describing and emphasizing codes of conduct. Simultaneously, the real-life context of an interpreter's performance is supremely important: each partner in the encounter exchanges cues, signals or comments on the perception of the value of the services received/provided/contracted.

The concept of reputation, on the other hand, is seldom covered when discussing interpreter services. Indeed, it presents a puzzle: reputation is a portrayal of who one is. However, it is dependent on qualifiers provided by others. Formal or informal evaluations become the starting point for communicating any judgment connected to our skills or professionalism at large. Additionally, the notion of quality of service, attached to an individual's performance, has come to signify the measurement of the worth of the interpreter as a professional.

We survey here factors and circumstances that affect all of these moving parts. We also offer recommendations that, applied responsibly and consistently, can help interpreters define a path of confidence and effectiveness grounded on accountability, respect and reputation. Finally, this will also be an interactive session as we collect valuable insights from the professional practice of the participants.

Our speaker, Cesar Muedas, serves as Program Director for interpretation and translation services at the Tennessee Language Center (TLC), an agency of the Institute for Public Service at the University of Tennessee. His role of supervisor at TLC began in 2014; his work as interpreter and translator dates back to 1990. Cesar graduated from Yale University with a PhD in Chemistry in 1991 and from Vanderbilt University with an MBA in 1998. Before his tenure in a language service organization, he engaged in research and commercial work in Chemistry, business consulting, marketing and sales. A native of Peru, Cesar became a US citizen in 2004.


November 20: Consecutive Skills Building for Court (and Other) Interpreters, 2:00-4:00  Attend our skills-building workshop to polish your consecutive interpretation! We will use in-class discussion, exercises and feedback to identify weaknesses and provide practical solutions for improvement. Topics covered will include deep listening, analysis, self-study and note-taking. Leave armed with the tools to take you consecutive interpretation skills to the next level.

Our speaker, Athena Matilsky, holds a BA in Spanish Interpreting and Translation from Rutgers University and a Master's in Conference Interpreting from Glendon College, York University. She is a Federally Certified Court Interpreter (Sp<>Eng), a Certified Healthcare Interpreter (Sp<>Eng) and a New Jersey Journeyman Court Interpreter (Fr<>Eng). She was editor-in-chief of Proteus in 2015, and she served as a staff interpreter for the New Jersey Judiciary from 2013-2016. Currently she works as a freelance interpreter/translator and trains candidates for the state and federal interpreting exams. She owns her own company, Athena Sky Interpreting (https://athenaskyinterpreting.com/), where she coaches students on interpreting technique, and also works in collaboration with Interpretrain. She is an active members of NAJIT, the ATA, and the DVTA. When she is not teaching and interpreting, you may find her practicing Acroyoga or studying French.


December 11: Annual holiday party in Medford, MA.


January 29: Translator as Expert Witness,
2:00-4:00  Translations are used in various federal courts and administrative bodies, and the translations are required to be accurate.

A qualified translator may prepare a translation accompanied by a statement of accuracy to be entered into evidence and may later be called on to testify on how they prepared the translation and the choices they made.

An expert witness testifies about matters within their professional knowledge and experience, and their engagement as an expert witness may include consulting with counsel, preparing a declaration, and testifying in a deposition and in court.

In this presentation, our primary speaker, Bruce Popp, will be joined during the last half hour by Michael O'Laughlin. Bruce will discuss the related concepts, roles and documents, including the difference between qualified and expert, and between a statement of accuracy and a declaration. He will use his own experience to provide advice on a translator serving as an expert witness. 

Whether you want to know more about the statement that you sign when you translate a birth certificate, or you're considering expanding the services that you provide, this presentation will have something to offer you.

Bruce Popp and Michael O'Laughlin will each discuss their experience as expert witnesses.

Bruce Popp is an ATA-certified translator from French into English. He is an experienced patent translator who has presented many times at NETA monthly meetings and at ATA conferences. He has been engaged as an expert witness twice.

Bruce, in a parallel career, is a historian of physics with a particular interest in Henri Poincaré. He has translated or written two books and is preparing a third book that is under contract. He is revising an article for publication in the Journal for the History of Astronomy. The Fulbright US Scholar program is reviewing his application for a grant to support research as a visitor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Dr. Michael O'Laughlin holds advanced degrees from Oxford and Harvard Universities, where he studied nine languages. He is the founder of the Boston University Interpreter Training program, which recently closed, after 19 years, due to Covid economics. At present he works as an expert witness for foreign languages and cultures. As such he has consulted on over 350 cases. Although no longer working as an interpreter, he serves on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Court Interpreters, which fights for better pay and treatment of court interpreters. He can be reached at michaelolaughlin10@gmail.com.


February 26: Transcription 101+, 2:00-4:00  This presentation was spawned on NETA's groups.io discussion group when a member inquired about what and how to charge for transcribing and translating some videos. Our speakers will offer an introduction to transcription and translation. There will be plenty of opportunity for Q & A.

Rudy: Your voice is much faster than your fingers. Sometimes recordings are clear enough, but nobody includes commas, periods and m-dashes when they speak. Rudy will share how he makes transcribing efficient and painless, with the full understanding that translation then follows.

Antje: Transcription and subtitling are interesting and fun niches in translation. Antje will point out and explain the intricacies of these tasks, why the compensation offered is often unacceptable and unsustainable, and how colleagues should approach this issue.

Rudy Heller started transcribing for law enforcement agencies back in the 1980s, after which he garnered much experience producing transcriptions and translations for private industry. Lately he has returned to doing transcription work for the government, but only when he can work at his own rate.

Antje Ruppert is a German native and freelance translator (GER<>ENG) specializing in technical, medical, IT, marketing, and business content with over 30 years of experience in the industry. She served on NETA's board until last year and is NETA's long-term membership coordinator.


March 26: The Top 100 Most Prescribed Drugs, 2:00-4:00  This presentation will consist of a review of the indications/uses of the 100 most common prescribed drugs, including the pathological conditions which these drugs are used to treat. We will also review the potential adverse effects of those drugs.

Our speaker, Thomas Carey, has been a professor of Allied Health at Berkshire Community College for 39 years. He is also program director for the Respiratory Care Program there. He holds a BS from Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY and a Masters in Public Health from UMass Amherst. The courses he has taught include Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Medical Terminology, Nutrition and Pathophysiology.


April 16: The Human Dimension of Machine Translation: Fight-or-Flight vs. Tend-and-Befriend, 2:00-4:00  This webinar will cover three elements of the "man vs. machine" paradigm as it applies to translation and interpreting:
1) A brief comparative history of advances in the development of human-centric and machine-centric translation and language-related technologies; 
2) A few snapshots/sketches of the changing attitudes towards machine translation and an overview of underlying circumstances, from technology to digital divides and geopolitics; and
3) A few ideas and personal experiences that may highlight potential advantages of the "tend-and-befriend" approach.

Our speaker, Konstantin Lakshin, became interested in computational linguistics when he was in middle school. He was trained by some of the best Soviet-era researchers in the field and worked on several natural language processing projects. His experience after immigrating to the US includes teaching, being an independent translator and interpreter, and managing a translation company.

August 13: NETA's annual summer picnic, 12:00-5:00 We are delighted that our annual summer social event will take place in person again this year. This is a potluck event. Members will receive publicity with specifics. We hope to see you there. 


2020-21

September 26: 15th Annual Translation Bash - virtual, with Zoom rooms, 1:30-4:30 Email mcomenetz@gmail.com, tell us your language pair, and receive a copy of this year's English source passage. Translate that passage at your convenience before bash day, and join in as we debate the ins and outs of each sentence. We'll have a facilitator in place for English>Spanish and English>French. If you work into another language and would like to participate on September 26, just write to us. We'll keep a tally and let you know about other people who sign up to work in your language pair. If a given group is large enough, we will attempt to find a facilitator. Smaller groups and pairs can readily work on their own. NB: This year we will have a Spanish>English reverse bash group, which will work on a passage on the same theme as that of the English source text that the majority of participants will be discussing.


October 17: Developing Confident Communication in English: Accent Improvement for Non-Native English Speakers,
2:00-4:00 Everyone has an accent. Yet bilingual professionals who have been in the US for decades can still struggle to be understood and to feel that they are getting the respect that they deserve. In this interactive session we will discover and practice the shape of Standard American English and understand its music; explore how posture and breath impact articulation; understand the common errors that non-native English speakers make; and develop strategies to enhance communication skills. There will be plenty of time to answer your burning questions and address the words and phrases that you find challenging, so start making your list!

Our speaker, Kara Lund, has been a voice and speech coach, college-level educator, and film and stage performer for over 20 years. As founder and CEO of Speech Revolution, Kara coaches clients between Boston and Paris to be clear, confident and credible when presenting in English. Because strong content without strong delivery lacks impact, she helps client sharpen their delivery skills in three ways: through customized Accent Reduction courses for native and non-native English speakers; Voice Coaching for public speakers in and out of the C-Suite; and Delivery Skills Workshops that focus on managing stage fright, developing positive body language and effective voice skills. Kara's work helps clients gain a stronger, more competitive edge in their professional fields, and bring their storytelling to a whole new level of professionalism and inspiration.


November 21: Interpreting in Court for Pre-trial Proceedings, 2:00-4:00  The initial attorney-client conference in a court proceeding often includes instructions for criminal procedure; forms, affidavits and charging documents; references to sentencing codes and manuals; and counsel's plans and strategies. Legal jargon abounds, and many defendants are left overwhelmed. This is all the more true for LEP defendants. What can and should the court interpreter do to facilitate the exchange of messaging between the attorney and the client?

Referencing the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure, we will examine the anatomy of pre-trial proceedings in federal court from the moment of an arrest to the actual pre-trial hearing, review pertinent documents and forms, and consider the legal terms that typically arise, along with possible Spanish equivalents. We will also take note of potential ethical missteps on the part of the interpreter vis a vis various codes of professional conduct as well as standards and procedures. Special consideration will be given to the delivery of interpreting services during the Covid pandemic.

Our speaker, Jose Kleinberg, is a native Colombian raised in a multilingual family and educated in an American school. He trained as a lawyer at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota and then worked in several contexts in his home country. After arriving in Massachusetts, he earned certification from the Judicial Language Center in Boston and subsequently joined a team of freelance court interpreters from diverse backgrounds. Meanwhile, he pursued a law degree and became a member of the Massachusetts Bar in 1995. He also was certified by the Administrative Office in Washington, DC, as a federal court interpreter. Today Jose holds the position of Staff Interpreter at the United States District Court in Providence, RI. In his free time he especially enjoys tutoring ESL to adults, working as a voice talent in recording studios and attempting to write fiction.


December 12: Virtual holiday-time modified Pecha Kucha social gathering


January 23: Lookin' for Links in All the Wrong Places,
2:00-4:00  When you search for terminology or background information online, you can't always be sure the hits you find are accurate or appropriate to the text you are translating This talk will address ways to solve this problem. The speaker will review available options for search engines, in both Mac and PC, and some of the ways they differ. She will then weigh the pros and cons of some of the most common online dictionaries and translator sites, with a focus on her working languages of French and Spanish into English. While the presentation will touch security issues related to searching the web, the main purpose is to discuss ways to decide which links to follow when searching for a term or topic. Along the way, the speaker will discuss a few tips and tricks for creating effective searches.

Our speaker, Diana Rhudick, is the current president of NETA, as well as its cowebmaster. A graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey California, she has 30+ years of experience as a translator of French and Spanish texts and as an editor of English texts. Currently, she also works as a project manager for a boutique translation agency.


February 20: Partnering with Families to Promote Language Justice in Educational Settings, 2:00-4:00  Through a Community-Based Participatory Research approach, we partnered as local grassroots immigrant parents who prefer to communicate in languages other than English, advocates, community interpreters, translators, and researchers to examine factors that support and hinder communication between schools and immigrant families of children with special needs in Massachusetts. We also gathered and are currently disseminating recommendations generated by families to inform institutional practices, key decision-making processes, and policy development that enhance language access services and family engagement in educational settings. 

Our panelists are as follows:
Angélica Bachour, parent advocate, community interpreter and translator
Consuelo J. Pérez, artist, parent advocate, activist
Loreto P. Ansaldo, former teacher, community interpreter and translator
Catalina Tang Yan, doctoral candidate at Boston University School of Social Work

March 20: Red Pill or Blue: Unpleasant, Life-changing Truth or Blissful Ignorance? 2:00-4:00  March 20, 2021. You have a choice: accept unpleasant, life-changing truth that changes how you conduct business from this day forward, or continue in blissful ignorance. Every day, outside forces are at work trying to access your accounts and peruse your personal data. Sooner than we'd like, the day will come when they try to get to the content you hold in your professional practice. In the 21st century, information is a commodity, and value is put on it. In this session we will discuss hackers and scammers, securing data storage and file transfer, and passwords.

Our speaker, Joseph Wojowski, has been a translator for 14 years and is an Adjunct Professor of Translation and Localization at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He is also the administrator of the ATA Language Technology Division, and former vice president of the Midwest Association of Translators and Interpreters.


April 17: Can Interpreters Hear Their Own Voices When Interpreting? 2:00-4:00  Through a series of true-to-life examples, we will coach interpreters on how to maintain accuracy and completeness with each interpreted rendering. Despite possessing high language and interpreting skills, interpreters can make mistakes that go unnoticed. These mistakes may seem insignificant, but they are vital to the message. What is a possible cause? Even seasoned and skilled interpreters may interpret at a lower level as they get tired. Or they may have interpreted for patients with similar medical conditions, and instead of listening carefully for the meaning of the current message, they anticipate what the speaker will say. As we shadow the many wonderful interpreters in our communities, we see that it is important to have a conversation about qualifiers and quantifiers. They are a key to reducing any lack of completeness that could result in our inadvertently harming a patient.

Our speakers are Zarita Araujo-Lane, MSW, LICSW and Andrew Jerger, CHI™. Ms. Araujo-Lane has 30 plus years of experience and is recognized as one of the leading presenters on cross-cultural communication tools for a variety of institutions servicing an array of professionals working in the education and healthcare fields. She has been invited to conduct national and international trainings on cross-cultural topics to both large and small groups using creative approaches such as case scenarios and storytelling. She has vast experience working with cross-cultural populations in medical and mental health organizations. She is the president and founder of Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc.™ (CCCS, Inc.™), a small woman- minority-owned business since 1996 with 250 interpreters and translators.

Andrew Jerger, primary instructor for medical interpretation courses, is an experienced interpreter and instructor. He spent 11 years in the Dominican Republic teaching public speaking courses in Spanish, English language classes, and Spanish reading and writing classes. He successfully completed the Art of Medical Interpretation® course at CCCI (54-hour certificate of accomplishment by CCCS, Inc.™) and went on to become a language coach before joining the CCCI faculty in 2009. He has since completed certifications in both CHI™ & CMI.


July 17: NETA's annual summer picnic, 12:00-5:00 We are delighted that our annual summer social event will take place in person again this year. This is a potluck event. Members will receive publicity with specifics. We hope to see you there.


 
  

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