Media Release

Tongues galore at Christchurch translators’ conference 27 May 2016

Christchurch will see an influx of the nation’s top linguists this weekend as the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters (NZSTI) hold their annual conference in Christchurch for the first time since the 2011 earthquake.

This year the society is celebrating its 30th anniversary and the keynote speech will be delivered by Patrick King, a founding member of the organization and director of the New Zealand Translation Centre in Wellington. His speech will put the translation and interpreting community’s work in perspective as linguistic professionals work to deal with the ever increasing demands created by globalization. The address will show how translation and interpreting in New Zealand has grown from a cottage industry to a global network, says conference Media Manager Peter Campbell.

“With the advent of the internet, a translator or interpreter can work from any location, servicing clients from practically any location around the world. This was unimaginable in 1986 when the society was first established,” Campbell says.

Presenters at the conference include Dr Henry Lui, President of the International Federation of Translators and a former NZSTI president. The second keynote speaker is Professor John Minford whose address promises to look at how translation has played a critical role in Chinese and European relations over the past three centuries.

“Translators and interpreters are at the front line of any cultural contact. It is their ability to convey meaning and culture tactfully, accurately and concisely which in many ways determines the success of cross-culturally interactions,” says Campbell.

Understanding is critical to any form of enterprise, whether it is a trade deal or understanding the instructions of proscription medicine. Much of what makes the world work depends on the speed, accuracy and reliable of translators and interpreters working behind the scenes to ensure cross-cultural understanding.

The New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters was established to ensure that translators and interpreters in New Zealand have the skills, knowledge and support necessary to perform this demanding and responsible job.

“Translation and interpreting is an art which takes many years to become good at. Most translators have studied several years at university, have often lived overseas for several more years gaining the linguistic skills and cultural background necessary to work as translators or interpreters. Even with this experience not everyone is good at it,” says Campbell.

“When dealing with different languages you are faced with different cultures, cultural and linguistic concepts and history. Any given phrase may reference cultural, historical aspects which one culture takes for granted and are completely mystifying to another culture. The process of translation and interpreting requires a constant search for not only equivalent words but also equivalent cultural or historical references in order to provide meaning. When we talk and write we make reference to our own culture constantly without realizing how culturally specific much of it is. The translator/interpreter has to constantly find ways of creating mutual understanding out of what can sometimes be very different experiences and world views. It is challenging and exhausting work.”

Another challenge that translators/interpreters face is the diversity of subject matter. Freelance translators and interpreters have to work with an astonishing array of subject matter ranging from highly technical engineering and architectural terms to medical or scientific terms.

“In order to translate material you need to be able to understand it in both languages. This requires a large general knowledge and an ability to learn quickly. It is not enough to be able to look up a dictionary, you have to understand the ideas and the concepts. This can only happen if you understand the subject. Consequently a good translator/interpreter needs to be curious and constantly studying in both languages.”

The conference will be an opportunity for translators and interpreters from around the country to exchange notes, brush up on skills and hear tales of some of the adventures that happen when living two cultures simultaneously.

The conference is held at Rydges Hotel, Latimer Square, Christchurch on 28-29 May, 9.30 am - 3.30 pm.

ENDS

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