TRANSLATORS MEET IN “CHANDIGARH”, THE CITY BEAUTIFUL, ON 22 OCTOBER 2016

Browsing through books by international authors, appreciating the cinematic artistry of world cinema, and leading a life of comfort given the technological developments and scientific discoveries that traverse the world with international joint-ventures and knowledge transfer, are all illustrations of areas where linguists render their invaluable services through Translation, Interpretation, and Subtitling.

In view of globalisation and widespread business expansion plans, many corporate houses are using the services of linguists in different forms – Written (Translation Product/Service usage) and Spoken (Interpretation Service on-site) – at different stages like marketing, production, and after-sales. These language professionals ideally come from three establishments – Universities offering specialised courses in Translation and Interpretation, Language schools or Cultural Centres offering language courses, and Native lands.

Constrained by internal factors (budget, volume, and time) and external factors (knowledge, and material and human resources), corporate houses usually opt for one of the three options – Machine Translation, Employees with linguistic capabilities, and In-house Translators and LSPs (Language Service Providers) – or a combination thereof to fulfil their business needs.

It seems unlikely that the establishments and/or corporate houses interact with the customer or end user or with each other prior to recruitment campaigns, with a view to discuss the curriculum, specific requirements, and the technologies in this trade (CAT tools, etc.). The quality of work is thus eventually dependent on on-the-job training or self-learning initiatives that are not always documented or shared. When working for LSPs and sometimes for direct clients, most of the independent translators operate from their homes due to flexibility of time, geographical limitations, and/or the industry set-up. Given the limited opportunities to interact with their colleagues, translators do not essentially communicate with each other and when they do so on certain occasions, their agenda is dominated by quick business leads with less attention being paid to sharing knowledge in the areas of marketing, training, and sales techniques to name a few.

Therefore, with this understanding of a translator’s profession, I believe that a lot needs to be done by all stakeholders – Establishments, Corporate Houses, and Linguists so that everybody can benefit from it and contribute to the growth of this industry.

With this thought in mind, I have taken an initiative to organise a one-day event in my city – “Chandigarh”, the city beautiful – where we can all meet and learn from each other.

Venue details:
- “The Pelican” (www.hotelpelican.in) in Chandigarh on 22 October 2016 from 10:00 am to 06:00 pm.
- Please ensure your presence at the venue by 10:00 am for registration and welcome tea.
- The registration fees per participant will be finalised on the basis of the total number of confirmed participants for the event.
- A vegetarian buffet will be served for lunch and there will be a tea break in the afternoon
- The hotel has accommodation facility for which outstation participants will have to contact the hotel directly (Phone: 0172-5003258) or may choose to stay in a place of their choice and convenience. All travel and accommodation expenses are to be borne by the participants.

Guidelines for speakers and presenters:
- All presenters are requested to share a short profile description of themselves as translators.
- Presenters are requested to share the topic that they would like to talk about, by 7 October 2016. The ideal duration of a presentation would be 15-20 min. to give an opportunity to a maximum number of participants to share their thoughts.
- In case of visual presentations, presenters are requested to share their slides/presentations in advance via email or carry printouts that could be shared with all participants during the event.

General information:
- The complete schedule shall be prepared and shared with all participants by 14 October 2016.
- I shall also need the support of a few volunteers to help organise the event. I shall share the details at a later stage with those who come forward.

Let us all meet on 22 October this year and make this event a success :)