Today we’re featuring a short Q&A with Rose Newell who will be speaking about “Translation agencies: debunked and exposed“.
Thank you for agreeing to present at the upcoming IAPTI First International Conference, Rose! We’re delighted to have you as a speaker. In your presentation, you’ll be debunking and exposing translation agencies. Why this topic?
Rose: In short: because I believe some things need to be said. The intention of the title is to be a little provocative, perhaps even confrontational towards those agencies engaging in practices that are undermining our industry and damaging their clients (and therefore the economy as a whole). By no means are all agencies in need of debunking and exposure – but I think the good guys are often just as unaware of the poor practices of their contemporaries as translators are. However, for translators, telling the good and bad guys apart is getting harder – and it goes beyond paying good rates and paying on time. It moves into the (criminal) realms of deception and misrepresentation. Open discussion of these matters among students, experienced professionals and honest translation companies is long overdue.
How will the attendees benefit from your presentation?
Rose: Attendees will hopefully enjoy the ‘wall of shame’ pin board, where they will have the chance to share their (anonymised!) experiences and benefits from those of their colleagues. This ‘wall of shame’ and the talk itself should make it easier for translators to put their finger on that funny feeling, build on their confidence to say NO and give them an understanding of why NO must be said.
Which presentations are you planning to listen to yourself?
Rose: All of them? They all look quite interesting! From a business perspective, I am probably most intrigued by Nick Rosenthal’s talk (“Customer service: What we can learn from other industries”) or that of João Roque Dias (“The Golden Triangle: Translator; Client, and Money”). The ethics-themed talks from our keynote speaker Mona Baker and Emmanuël Hazé are also badly needed in our profession, so I am curious what they have to say.
What would you say to somebody who’s considering registering for the conference?
Rose: Do it! It is your chance to hear a wide range of talks and meet interesting colleagues from all over the world. No translator is an island, after all – even if we decided to hold a conference on one.
What else are you planning to do in London?
I plan to see Macbeth at the Globe with some colleagues just after the conference. London has a great history and a lot of culture to experience, including many free museums and exhibitions. I am British, of course, and though I have never lived in London, it has become a welcome landing pad for all my visits to the UK since my decision to avoid plane travel in 2008. There’s no place like home.
Thank you, Rose!
If you’d like to attend Rose’s presentation, register now!