27
October
2016
|
12:18 PM
America/Chicago

Translation and Interpretation: Opportunities for Bilingual Students

img_4231On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the Translation minor at University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) in collaboration with Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA) presented a panel on how to get started in the translation and interpretation professions.

More than 35 students, alumni, faculty and community members attended the event and asked questions about ethics, professional organizations, and test preparation to begin a career as interpreters and translators.

Panelists included Graciela Zozaya, chair of the Board of Directors of the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters; Sandra Dejeux, president of HITA and in-house interpreter and translator for Fort Bend Justice Center, and Jarek Garlinski, a renowned Polish-English literary translator.

The panel is part of the Language and Professions Speaker Series, which will also feature "Babel's 'Rain of Stars': On literary Translation and Poetry" by UHD professor and Houston's Poet Laureate Robin Davidson on Nov. 9; and a panel on "Translating for Houston's Minority Languages: Arabic and Urdu" by HITA's Rafiqullah Rahman and Adil Berrada on Nov. 16.

Houston is the most ethnically diverse metropolitan area of the country, and part of this diversity includes Houstonians with limited-English proficiency in urgent need of quality and professional translation and bilingual services. According to a preliminary study by Rice University's Kinder Institute, there are more than 80 different languages spoken in the Houston area.

UHD initiatives such as the Translation Minor, Language and Professions Speaker Series, and Continuing Education courses in Medical and Court Interpreting seek to ameliorate the linguistic needs of Houstonians and provide bilingual students with the professional development and language skills needed for these professions.

Questions about these initiatives should be directed to the program coordinator, Dr. Rey Romero.