Institute of Translation and Interpreting North East Regional Group

Dear Translators and Interpreters in the North East

I would like to introduce the ITI NERG. I am part of the committee, and I look forward to put my experience in use for the future of the language services in the NE.

From the ITINERG website, http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/itinortheast/

“ITI North East is a regional group of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, a national organisation founded in 1986 in order to
* promote high professional standards for translation and interpreting services;
* serve as a meeting place for practitioners and users;
* offer advice to translation providers and potential employers and customers;
* establish links with local education establishments to offer practical advice to those wishing to enter the profession.

ITI North East arranges 3-4 meetings each year, with talks and discussions on topics relevant to translators and interpreters, as well as an organised walk in the summer and an annual social. It also keeps members informed of national ITI developments and other local language-related events.

Membership of ITI North East is open to anyone involved with languages (not just national ITI members). ”

FROM THE ITI EVENTS PAGE:

Translators’ resources on the net: what is ProZ.com?

This was the theme of the last ITI North East Meeting, held at Ponteland Community High School on 24 April 2008.

Stefania Williams described the main features of ProZ:

* A translators’ community, where translators and clients meet
* Glossaries – available to non-members
* Contact with agencies (blue board)
* Web pages for individual translators
* Forums (e.g. on Trados)
* Kudoz – for difficult terms you can ask help from other translators
* Creates networks, including with translators from other languages

An individual webpage includes a photograph of the translator, the usual information about languages translated, years of experience, fields of expertise etc., and also gives Kudoz activity, both in terms of questions asked, and questions answered.

Membership of ProZ costs $130 a year, or $70 for a reduced profile. It is also possible to register for free and still take advantage of some of the facilities.

Stefania reckons that Proz is for you if:

* You like the internet and e-commerce;
* You feel isolated working at home;
* You keep up with technology
* You are familiar with email communication
* You are good at international communication

It is less useful if you are already in a network, you mainly obtain work by face-to-face meetings or by word of mouth, and if you don’t like email communication.

Eugene Browne also spoke briefly about Powwows – informal get-togethers of ProZ.com users living in close proximity, sometimes with computer link-ups to translators in other parts of the world.

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