On April 28, 2022, the ATA hosted an online seminar about the ATA Certification Exam and how best to prepare for it. The presenters were David Stevenson, A Croatian/English grader and ATA Certification Committee Chair, Tianlu Redmon, a certified English/Chinese translator/interpreter and ATA grader and Brad Karl, a certified French/English translator and copywriter.

David started by highlighting the advantages of certification which include being highlighted in the ATA directory as certified and the awarding of a certification seal which can be affixed to documents. There are currently 32 language pairings, with Korean/English and English/Korean having been recently added. Currently 1800 ATA members are certified.

The price for taking the exam in $525 in 2022. The exam is 3 hours in duration and is open book; all print resources are permitted as well as digital glossaries and dictionaries. It consists of three passages of a general nature (no specialized knowledge required), each of which is from 225 to 275 words in English or the equivalent non-English language.

Candidates must translate two of the three passages provided.  There is no advantage in doing three as opposed to two translations. The exam is done in WordPad or Text Edit and is saved to a USB port. The pass rate across language pairings averages just below 20%.

Each passage is accompanied by translation instructions (TI’s) which explain the source, purpose, audience and medium of the translation. The TI’s provide context so that candidates can choose the proper register for their translations. David stressed that the exam is not primarily a vocabulary challenge. Instead it tests  source language comprehension, target language writing skills, the ability to adhere to the TI’s and whether the candidate can produce a natural sounding translation.

There are two graders for the exam with a third being called in when there is a split decision on passing or not passing the candidate. Errors are assigned 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 points depending on the severity of the error and candidates must score 17 points or less on each passage in order to pass. Three quality points can also be awarded for particularly good translations; the three points would be subtracted from the error total.

Failure in the exam is generally caused by grammar, spelling or punctuation errors; translation comprehension errors; translations not faithful  to the source text; and translations that are too literal in nature, i.e., ones that follow the source text’s syntax or grammar so closely that the resulting translation is not natural sounding.

In-person exams are organized by the local chapters; there are usually two in-person sittings at the ATA annual conference.  The in-person exam requires a laptop and is monitored by live proctors. The sessions are recorded. Candidates can also take the exam online by signing up for a time slot that is convenient to them. These sessions are proctored remotely and are also recorded. Print resources and digital dictionaries or glossaries stored on the computer are allowed but no CAT tools are permitted.

All three speakers strongly recommended taking the practice exam. It costs $80 for members and $120 for non-members and consists of one passage. Tianlu Redmon mentioned that since it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the practice test to be returned to the candidate, candidates should wait until they have received  feedback on the practice exam before taking the actual exam. It is also  important to practice using Word Pad or TextEdit and to know how to save a document as a PDF. She also recommended triple checking devices and chargers before beginning the exam and using the full three hours allowed before leaving the exam.

Ben Karl made the important point that the best preparation for the exam is experience. The practice test helps but is not a substitute for actual experience. He also stressed the importance of mastering basic technological skills such as saving to USB drives and using multilingual keyboards before attempting the exam.

The seminar was a useful primer on how to prepare for this rigorous exam. The ATA’s on-demand webinars can also provide useful information for translators on this as well as other important topics.

PATRICIA STUMPP

As summer winds down and we prepare for the fall and the holiday season, I hope you will enjoy the new edition of the Gotham. It includes an article with advice on how to prepare for the ATA certification exam as well as articles on two recent literary-oriented translation events.

It occurred to me recently that the Gotham is the perfect place to draw attention to the achievements of our members. If you have recently received any special recognition for your work in translation or if one of your translations has recently been published, please let me. I would be happy to spotlight it in an upcoming edition.

Best regards,

Patricia Stumpp

On June 6, 2022 I attended a roundtable presentation on promoting Italian literature in the US. The  event was part of a 3-day seminar on contemporary Italian fiction entitled Multipli Forti which was sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. The event featured appearances by prominent Italian authors, publishing houses that publish translated works, translators and educators.

Sitting on the panel were Beniamino Ambrosi, a literary agent from The Cheney Agency and the following book publishers:  Dan Simon of Seven Stories Press, Tynan Kogane of New Directions, Terrie Akers, Marketing Director of Other Press and Michael Reynolds, editorial director of Europa Editions. Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson Bookstores, was also on the panel which was moderated by Luca Briasco of Minimum Fax and Michael Reynolds.

Seven Stories has been in existence for 30 years and publishes political non-fiction, literature in translation, and other works of radical imagination.  New Directions, founded in 1936, focuses on avant-garde works. Other Press is an independent publishing house that publishes fiction and nonfiction from countries around the world as well as from the US.  Europa Editions was founded in 2005 with a mission to bring fresh international voices to the English language market

The question of how foreign literary works make it into the US market was a major topic of discussion.  The answer that emerged was that  books with subjects of particular interest to Americans as well as books with a strong local presence or sense of place are both attractive targets for publication in English. Reviews in the international press are important to attracting the attention of publishers of translated works as are recommendations from trusted sources such as agents and literary scouts. A book which is a big seller in its native country may also attract the attention of American publishing houses and agents more easily. Publishers also find titles at international book fairs such as the Turin book fair while international prizes such as the Booker Prize help to increase a book’s visibility among American publishers.

While common parlance dictates that translated books make up about 3% of titles published in the US in a given year, one of the panelists felt that 3% is an overstatement, i.e., that the actual number of translated works being published in the US is far below the 1% mark. Interestingly, it was mentioned that many translated works are now being published inside the EU, particularly in the UK, which has seen a rise in the number of Italian titles being published in English. It was also mentioned how the French government supports the culture of books and bookstores within the country.

When questioned about the future of Italian literature published in translation, it was mentioned that teaching Italian literature in U.S. universities could be a useful tool for promoting contemporary Italian fiction. The publishers expressed their openness to receiving pitches from American academics about Italian authors which could be good candidates for translation and eventual publication in English.

Patricia Stumpp

On July 27, 2022, The Strand Bookstore presented an online literary translation event entitled “Anton Hur & Bruna Dantas Lobato: Beyond Translation.” Anton Hur is the translator of the Korean novel “Violets” written by the  important South Korean author Kyung-Sook Shin. Ms. Lobato is the translator of “Moldy Strawberries” by Caio Fernando Abreu, one of Brazil’s most prominent chroniclers of Brazilian culture and society in the 1970’s and 80’s.

The Strand bookstore, founded in 1927, is the sole surviving bookstore of the forty-eight shops that once comprised New York City’s “Book Row,” an area clustered around Fourth Avenue.  The Strand, which is currently run by the granddaughter of the founder, carries over 2.5 million used, new, and rare books. Its in-store and online events feature dialogues with important authors and personalities.

The event began with readings by the two translators. Although Ms. Lobato’s translation was just recently published by Archipelago books, “Moldy Strawberries”  was written more than forty years ago during a time when Brazil was dealing with the AIDS crisis as well as life under a dictatorship. Ms. Lobato read from one of the eighteen stories in the collection which is entitled “Beyond the Point.” The selection was striking in its poetic quality and its expression of the longing for love and connection and the fear of rejection.

Mr. Hur’s translation of the Korean novel “Violets” is a coming-of-age novel which was just published by the Feminist Press.  The selection that Mr. Hur read was a delicate and poetic description of an incipient relationship between two young Korean girls. The book goes on to tell the story of one of the girls as a young adult and explores issues of rejection, obsession and violence against women in 1990’s South Korea.

After the two readings, the translators addressed various issues such as why they chose to translate these two particular books. It was clear that both translators were attracted to the way in which the authors addressed the issue of  “otherness” and how individuals perceived by society to be different survive in a hostile world. While considered by some to be outsiders in their societies, the principal characters in the both books are conventionally normal in their desire for love and acceptance. As Ms. Lobato stated, if the outside world cannot accept the desires of those classified as “others,” it is the world that is broken and not the people.

Both books presented certain unique challenges to the translators. Ms. Lobato   mentioned the particular rhythm of the author’s prose, its unique syntax and its crystalline language. She acknowledged how important the input of her editor was in her attempt to capture these effects in her translation.  She made the interesting comment that at a certain point the translator becomes “possessed” by the voice of the author.  Mr. Hur mentioned that there is still some ambivalence about the place of queer literature in contemporary Korean society.

The event was interesting in the way it showed how universal themes like love, rejection and “otherness” span the boundaries of international literature. The two translators were impressive in their commitment to presenting both the universality and the uniqueness of these two diverse voices to an English-speaking audience.

On July 27, 2022, The Strand Bookstore presented an online literary translation event entitled “Anton Hur & Bruna Dantas Lobato: Beyond Translation.” Anton Hur is the translator of the Korean novel “Violets” written by the  important South Korean author Kyung-Sook Shin. Ms. Lobato is the translator of “Moldy Strawberries” by Caio Fernando Abreu, one of Brazil’s most prominent chroniclers of Brazilian culture and society in the 1970’s and 80’s.

The Strand bookstore, founded in 1927, is the sole surviving bookstore of the forty-eight shops that once comprised New York City’s “Book Row,” an area clustered around Fourth Avenue.  The Strand, which is currently run by the granddaughter of the founder, carries over 2.5 million used, new, and rare books. Its in-store and online events feature dialogues with important authors and personalities.

The event began with readings by the two translators. Although Ms. Lobato’s translation was just recently published by Archipelago books, “Moldy Strawberries”  was written more than forty years ago during a time when Brazil was dealing with the AIDS crisis as well as life under a dictatorship. Ms. Lobato read from one of the eighteen stories in the collection which is entitled “Beyond the Point.” The selection was striking in its poetic quality and its expression of the longing for love and connection and the fear of rejection.

Mr. Hur’s translation of the Korean novel “Violets” is a coming-of-age novel which was just published by the Feminist Press.  The selection that Mr. Hur read was a delicate and poetic description of an incipient relationship between two young Korean girls. The book goes on to tell the story of one of the girls as a young adult and explores issues of rejection, obsession and violence against women in 1990’s South Korea.

After the two readings, the translators addressed various issues such as why they chose to translate these two particular books. It was clear that both translators were attracted to the way in which the authors addressed the issue of  “otherness” and how individuals perceived by society to be different survive in a hostile world. While considered by some to be outsiders in their societies, the principal characters in the both books are conventionally normal in their desire for love and acceptance. As Ms. Lobato stated, if the outside world cannot accept the desires of those classified as “others,” it is the world that is broken and not the people.

Both books presented certain unique challenges to the translators. Ms. Lobato   mentioned the particular rhythm of the author’s prose, its unique syntax and its crystalline language. She acknowledged how important the input of her editor was in her attempt to capture these effects in her translation.  She made the interesting comment that at a certain point the translator becomes “possessed” by the voice of the author.  Mr. Hur mentioned that there is still some ambivalence about the place of queer literature in contemporary Korean society.

The event was interesting in the way it showed how universal themes like love, rejection and “otherness” span the boundaries of international literature. The two translators were impressive in their commitment to presenting both the universality and the uniqueness of these two diverse voices to an English-speaking audience.