Dynamic Equivalence Blog

In the dynamic world of language services, simply being bilingual is never enough. For interpreters and translators working in the US market, continuous professional development isn't just a requirement; it's the foundational pillar of professional excellence and the key to success, especially in the current market. As our industries evolve with new technologies and increasing demands for specialization, how do novice and seasoned professionals continue to elevate their skills? It's about deliberate, targeted development. Here are a few of my suggestions: 1. Advanced Performance and Technique Training This is where the magic happens—refining the very acts of interpreting and/or translating. For Interpreters: We, language professionals, operate in highly specialized ecosystems. Like our counterparts in law, medicine, or consulting, we must continually refine our technical execution. This means specialized workshops on advanced skills .   For example, take courses in consecu...

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. A  Slator blog  published over a year ago was prompted by discussions about market changes that have some interpreters confused about how much to charge and the actual services they are providing. The blog touches specifically on Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) services being recorded and lack of market standards regarding compensation for the use of the interpreter's intellectual property. Although that is an interesting discussion there is little this Blogger can add to the conversation already underway on multiple social venues. However, market changes like the increased demand for remote simultaneous interpreting and the need to address the use of the interpreter's intellectual property beyond the live interpreted event give us an opportunity to discuss how we can market ourselves by engaging in service discussions with our network. Whether you decide to charge or not for the use of the recording of your interpreted rendition...

Pixabay image by Robert Jones. In a previous post we discussed the important role we play in legislative changes that impact us. A recent legislative change in California (AB5) put employment status in the forefront of many language professionals' minds. Changes in how an employee is defined in  H.R. 842 has left many interpreters thinking about their personal preferences in relation to employment status. Within our profession and industry, there are differing opinions related to whether interpreters/translators are being properly classified by language service providers, and whether legislation should be so inflexible that it prohibits or limits interpreters/translators who prefer to operate as a sole proprietorship.  H.R. 842 amends the definition of employee in the National Labor Relations Act by adding... “An individual performing any service shall be considered an employee (except as provided in the previous sentence) and not an independent contractor, unless— “(A) the ...

Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf on Unsplash   Who are you to your clients? This week, I was listening to Episode 56 of Troublesome Terps —I am a little behind on my podcasts — and the topic of how we represent ourselves and the effect that has on how our clients see us was brought up. Having recently touched on the topic of choosing our own clients , it felt fitting to continue the Know Your Market blog series for language professionals by touching on a very important topic: identifying your niche. What is a niche? "Honestly, it's whichever one of you can most easily imagine doing every day for the rest of your life."   Hanna Brooks Olsen, "Specialize or Diversify?" In relation to our profession specifically, our niche would be the specialties, modes, modalities, business practices, and combinations thereof that we are best suited for. Which begs the question: What makes us better suited for one over another?  Although I agree with Hanna in that our niche should b...

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay. Can I really choose my clients ? I remember wondering whether I had any say on who my clients were. Especially as a freelancer in times of scarce work or uncertainty, we may feel as though turning away clients is a recipe for failure. Can a business turn away clients and still survive? Can a business afford not to pursue every available opportunity? The answer was revealed to me while leading a sales team and learning about enterprise management. Yes! You can choose your clients. Yes! A business can survive even if it turns away clients. Yes! A business can indeed afford not to pursue every available opportunity, in fact, a business that only pursues opportunities that are aligned with their interest, values, etc. will be more successful than a business that chases after every opportunity.    What is your business? The first step to choosing your clients is deciding what you are selling. What service(s) are you able to offer?  When you...

Unsplash photo by Brendan Church I have had an opportunity to learn from Daniel Tamayo on multiple occasions. Those of you who have had the same opportunity know that he advocates for enhancing both our interpreting and translation skills as they are complimentary of each other. He recently spoke at the OCDE 2020 Interpreters and Translators Conference about how instrumental developing both skills has been in weathering the current pandemic. He also elaborated on his career path and how diverse his areas of expertise are, which inspired this entry. Should interpreters and translators specialize or diversify to build a successful career? Daniel Tamayo says that: "We should be generalist before we are specialist."  When discussing specialization, most practitioners in our profession see specialization in a couple of different ways: 1. skill based specialization (Are you a community interpreter, a conference interpreter, a video-remote interpreter, a translator, a translation e...

Unsplash photo by Scott Graham Getting started as a freelance interpreter or translator can be daunting, especially when it comes to the infamous independent contractor or sub-contractor agreements. Although some professional organizations like AIIC  (International Association of Conference Interpreters) and ATA (American Translators Association) provide their members with contract templates and information about common clauses, many clients (i.e. Language Service Providers or agencies, Organizations, Institutions, etc.) may provide us their own contract with different clauses. As an interpreter & translator, I will share some of the clauses I pay particular attention to, however, this should not be misconstrued as legal advise and a legal professional should be consulted for legal concerns related to any contract or agreement as well as any questions pertaining to any of the clauses shared in this entry.  Payment Terms & Compensation One of the first clauses I search...

Unsplash photo by Chris Montgomery The current situation has pushed many trainers and conference organizers to leap into the remote/online arena. Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to attend many online training events, webinars, and conferences as well as training opportunities specifically designed for trainers and presenters who have not yet taken the plunge. What have I learned? There are a couple of key items that can make your training, presenting, or learning experience more meaningful.   Preparation The first step to ensuring a positive presenting or learning experience is preparing for the online event. Testing your internet connection, access to the remote platform, and functionality of your headphone/speakers, microphone and camera is key to minimizing any glitches on training day.  Although many of the online conferencing and training tools have browser based access points, some may have limited functionality, I have found that the best p...

Unsplash photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko This week's issue of Connecting Cultures' Interpreter Development Newsletter included a short piece on a very important reality in our or any service profession: the importance of the experience we provide our clients. We often focus on the hard (or technical) skills required to provide quality service, such as linguistic, interpreting, and translation skills, however, as Winnie Heh always teaches the graduate students she advises at MIIS, our customers' experiences are more often shaped by our soft skills. For better or for worse, the reality of our profession is that we often provide services to monolingual, bilingual or even multilingual individuals who do not fully understand the value we bring or the technical skills required to do what we do. The value of well-developed soft skills is that they help us demonstrate our quality in a language they understand. In my experience, communication is the most essential collection of int...

Photo by Billy Pasco Throughout my translation and interpreting career, I have had a number of mentors, both formal and informal who have helped me develop and grow as a professional. Recently, I was approached by an interpreter seeking my mentorship and guidance as she makes a significant transition in her professional journey, and it made me reflect on my personal journey and my best mentorship experiences. Step 1: Research  One of the many reasons to seek out a mentor is for functional mentorship or get guidance and direction to acquire a specific skill or accomplish a specific goal. In my experience, as the mentee, it is important that we do some research and have, at least, a general idea of what we want to do and who can help us accomplish it. I do not have any regrets because my professional journey has helped me develop and grow, but had I done some research, my path may have been less bumpy and windy. Early in my career, I was unsure of what direction I wanted to head, I h...

Photo by Raúl Nájera A national conversation related to the professionalization of interpreting and translation in education has been developing under the Interpreting and Translation in Education (ITE) Workgroup. One of the committees under this Workgroup is the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice Committee. As a volunteer serving on the committee, I started reflecting on my ethical decision making journey and the many codes and standards I observe. I discovered that, in over 10 years of interpreting, my ethical decision making has evolved significantly. What is ethics? Ethics is a set of standards of behavior that tell us how we should act in any of the many situations we may find ourselves in (SCU, 2009). Codes of ethics established specifically for interpreters and translators, usually establish accuracy, confidentiality, and other commonly expected behaviors for all in our profession, as well as domain specific behaviors or practices that are specific to the sector to which w...