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American Translators Association (ATA)
The American Translators Association (ATA), founded in 1959, is the largest
professional association of translators and interpreters in the U.S. with
over 6,000 members. Its primary goals include fostering and supporting
the professional development of translators and interpreters and promoting
the translating and interpretation professions.
Mission:
to advocate and promote the recognition of translation as a profession;
formulate and maintain standards of professional ethics, practices, and
competence; and improve the standards and quality of translation.
Testing and accreditation:
ATA has an accreditation program that tests and accredits translators
in a variety of language pairs. Accreditation ensures that the individual
translator meets professional standards for translation in a specific
language pair and direction (from or into English). Please note that this
exam is only for translators, i.e. individuals who render information
in writing from one language to another. The test does evaluate an individual’s
skill in spoken interpretation. The test is currently available for translators
who work [from] bold English into Dutch, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Italian,
Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish; and for translators
who work into English from the same languages plus Arabic. The fee for
the exam is $100 and membership in ATA is required. Further information
may be obtained by contacting ATA Headquarters.
Membership Information:
Membership in ATA is open to anyone with an interest in translation as
a profession or as a scholarly pursuit. Membership fees range from $50
for students to $95 for associate members. Active membership, with voting
privileges, is only available to those who have passed the ATA accreditation
exam. Organizations and businesses with an interest in translation may
also join, with annual fees of $120 for nonprofit institutions at $120
and $175 for corporate businesses..
Annual Conference:
ATA holds an annual conference every fall. The 1998 conference will take
place from November 4-8 at Hilton Head Island, N.C. This event consists
of panel discussions, workshops, and scholarly papers, and features presentations,
exhibits, a job exchange, accreditation testing, and opportunity to make
professional contacts. Information about the next conference can be obtained
from ATA Headquarters. In the past, the focus has been primarily on translating
and interpreting in business, diplomatic, literary and scientific fields,
although community and medical intepreting is beginning to attract some
interest at ATA conferences.
Publications:
A variety of publications are available including a Translation Services
Directory, Proceedings of the Annual Conference, a Consumer’s Guide to
Good Translation
Contact Information:
American Translators Association
1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 220
Alexandria, VA 22314-2840
Telephone (703) 683-6100
FAX: (703)683-6122
E-mail: ata@atanet.org
Website: www.atanet.org
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