Lingua Franca

Fall 2016 Events and Guest Speakers

By Kristine Doll

The fall 2016 semester’s events included a panel presentation and discussion about careers in translation (Nov. 3) and multiple guest speakers in the department’s classes.

Careers in Translation. Representatives from regional businesses that hire bilingual personnel and translators, as well as the owner of a regional translation agency met with students on November 3 in the Office of Career Services (ECC) to discuss careers in translation. Topics ranged from the types of requirements needed, to salaries, to the level of satisfaction with this particular career choice, among others. The evening’s event was open to all students and was conducted in English.

Guest Speakers. We were pleased to welcome several guest speakers to both the community placements and translation courses this semester. Guests to the community placements class spoke about the importance of contributions that students can make to their communities by volunteering their time and their language skills. Representatives from the City of Salem, the MA Probate Court, and the Boston-based educational service agency Inversant emphasized the need for bilingual workers in the national and regional job markets. Working with any of the department’s approved community partners can give students real-world experience while developing their language skills and cultural knowledge. The community also benefits by having people who can translate or interpret for non-English or limited-English speaking residents. One of the many projects in which the Community Placements class participated this semester was training as election day poll personnel for the City of Salem.

Laura Santamaría

The Spanish translation class, SPN450, welcomed several guest speakers specializing in various fields, including two translators from Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Laura Santamaría of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona addressed the complexity of legal translation in the international arena. She provided students with activities designed to simulate court proceedings in Spain and guided the class through several translation exercises.

Lluis Comes

Lluis Comes, also from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, spoke about subtitling and dubbing films and songs as possible career paths for those interested in translation as a profession. A translator, lip synchronizer and lyricist, Comes’ work includes Harry Potter and Disney films. He played numerous clips of movies and songs he has dubbed or subtitled and had students join him in several subtitling exercises.

Professor Bill Coyle will join the SPN450 Spanish Translation class on December 1 to explore literary translation.

James Moore

Next semester’s events include the visit of Mr. James Moore, former senior US diplomat with extensive experience in foreign policy implementation and international education. Mr. Moore was recognized in 2015 with the Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award and is the recipient of several other State Department awards.