Thanks to Ana’s Twitter feed, not to mention BBC World, I have this report to share with you – if you live in a part of the world that has escaped coverage of this incredible (true) story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
Yearly Archives: 2012
Lessons in powerful writing (from a lawyer, of all people!)
I feel sure that good writing is key for most readers, so I think you’ll enjoy this entertaining and informative guest post by Clare Lynch, chief business writing expert at Doris and Bertie, a communications agency that helps businesses write in a way that’s “clear, honest and to the point”. This post originally appeared on Good Copy, Bad Copy, a blog about business writing run by the agency. Clare is currently doing a Law degree in her spare time.
Reporting from Brussels – Translation Studies Days, part 4
In this fourth and final part of my report from Brussels on the Translation Studies Days held on 20 & 21 September 2012, I’d like to present four projects from members of the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) research network, and the European Comparable and Parallel Corpora research group project.
Reporting from Brussels – Translation Studies Days, part 3
Today I offer you Part 3 of my report on the Translation Studies Days held in Brussels on 20 & 21 September 2012, looking at the three remaining studies that have been published. You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. The fourth and final part, concerning the very interesting Masters and PhD projects presented, can be found here.
Monday smile – Maple syrup marauders
Thanks to the great legal humor blog Lowering the Bar, that I have posted about before, I discovered that Canada had been the victim of a theft valued in excess of $30 million Canadian dollars – 10 million pounds of syrup (that’s approx. 4.5 million kilos).
Quebec produces 70-80% of the world’s maple syrup, and the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec does indeed store lots and lots of syrup in a central location. It apparently does this to stabilize supply in times when syrup is scarce (like now, because of problems with the American harvest), and so its inventory “can, therefore, be considered a global strategic reserve.”
Reporting from Brussels – Translation Studies Days, part 2
Following Part 1, this post will discuss the second of the five studies on translation and related matters recently published by the Directorate-General Translation of the European Commission, presented at the Translation Studies Days held in Brussels on 20 & 21 September 2012.
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Happy Birthday WordstoDeeds!
Dear Readers,
Today marks one year from the launch of this blog, and I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all so much for reading, contributing and sharing here.
My aim, as you know, was to create a platform for bridges to be built between translators, interpreters, legal professionals and academia. I feel we have made a really good start, and look forward to continuing this virtual adventure with you all.
Warm wishes and thanks to all of you.
Reporting from Brussels – Translation Studies Days, part 1
One of the main agenda items of the two Translation Studies Days held in Brussels on 20 & 21 September 2012, was the presentation of five studies recently published by the Directorate-General Translation of the European Commission.
Japanese court interpreters under pressure
I recently saw an article in the online newspaper The Japan Times that I thought might interest you. Prosecutors in Japan have started video-recording interrogations. Those readers that have done recorded depositions (for example for American lawyers) will be familiar with the added stress, but in this case, due to camera directions, there is also a possibility that the interpreter’s face will appear in the video.
The article discusses how the interpreters are having sleeping problems and are obviously even more concerned than usual about any possible inaccuracies. The move to record interrogations followed a cover-up in Osaka and an evidence-tampering scandal. The recordings are not yet used in every case, but are common for special investigations and cases leading to a lay judge trial (see this post for details about Professor Okawara and Professor Hotta’s projects involving the new lay judge system).
Court interpreters, have you ever been recorded? Lawyers, if you have been involved in a recorded session with an interpreter, how did you handle it?
By the way, WordPress had a funny moment this morning. It published half of a post on the Brussels Translation Days which is due out tomorrow. Sorry if you were sent it by mistake.
e-learning – EN/PT legal translation
Tradulínguas, the organizers of last year’s Lisbon conference (see my post here with a link to a report by Philippa Hammond) are offering an introductory course on legal translation delivered electronically. The trainer is Dr. Ana Soares, whose abilities as a lively speaker I can vouch for, having experienced them in person. She is registered as a lawyer in Portugal and as a solicitor with the Law Society of England and Wales, and teaches legal concepts at the Instituto Superior de Línguas e Administração in Lisbon, as well as being a legal translator.
The brochure on this e-learning course can be consulted here. Deadline for applications is 12 November 2012.
Credit: Thanks to Jillian for writing in about this.
Regarding disclosure, I have no commercial relationship of any kind with the company Tradulínguas, and provide the above details purely for information purposes.
From Words to Deeds: translation & the law 
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