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This page contains brief articles, references and helpful hints to translators and interpreters. It is not intended to be an official guide to the profession but rather to offer ideas and resource links for further investigation by the reader. Please, ONLY use these references for personal interest and when using the information in any other setting, ALWAYS credit and cite the original source.

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Steps to Managing Spanish Language Translation

Given the wide variance of Hispanic dialects and literacy levels, managing Spanish language translation services is more complicated than it seems, says ViaLanguage CEO Chanin Ballance. Strategies that can be applied toward Spanish translation projects include using Latin American or Neutral Spanish, which excludes local grammatical and vocabulary disparities. It is more likely to be understood by all Spanish-speakers. Visual elements, such as colors, images, and symbols, should be embedded within the communication to "ensure a culturally sensitive result that preserves the essential meaning of the original message without alienating your audience," Ballance says. The creation of a style guide and glossary helps ensure translation consistency. Documents that change very little over time should be stored in a database to give translators the option of selecting a stored translation when working on a similar document. Ballance notes that the presentation of the style guide, glossary, and term list to in-house or community reviewers and translation teams should precede the project's launch by at least seven days. "Review by program managers or qualified members of the target audience can be another critical step in achieving the desired quality for your translated materials," he says. The reviewers should be chosen on the basis of their skill set, role, and schedule.
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From "Steps to Managing Spanish Language Translation"
Chief Marketer (CT) (05/04/09) Ballance, Chanin

New Lakota and Dakota Dictionary Published

After 25 years of work, the Lakota Language Consortium published the New Lakota-Dakota Dictionary in December 2008. The goal of the 20,000-word dictionary is to recover and preserve the languages of the Lakota and Dakota people. More than 300 speakers from all representative speech communities of the Northern Plains region participated in the project. Lakota Language Consortium Executive Director Wil Meya says the dictionary is "an indispensable resource for both advanced language users as well as beginning students." Following publication, the consortium circulated more than 400 free copies to Lakota and Dakota language consultants, schools, and education programs. "Re-establishing Lakota and Dakota as living languages is an ongoing process that relies on the interest and involvement of native speakers, language and education experts, as well as tribal and community leaders," Meya says. "The New Lakota-Dakota Dictionary provides a nexus for these language communities to engage a new generation of Lakota and Dakota speakers." The publication of the dictionary was made possible through contributions from the Dakota Indian Foundation of Chamberlain, South Dakota; Germany's Tatanka Oyate Foundation; the Grotto Foundation of Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Lake Prior, Minnesota; and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
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From "Revitalizing Lakota and Dakota Languages—One Word at a Time"
Ascribe Newswire (CA) (05/06/09)