The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020 - 5

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Why ATA Should Open the Certification Exam to All Professional Translators | Matt Baird
Do we want to become a certifying agency, or do we want to remain an
association that represents the interests of its members and also provides the
possibility of certification?
If ATA opens its certification exam to nonmembers, it would eventually develop into
a certifying body and an organization where representing the interests of its members
becomes a side activity.
The number of members would decline because many translators/interpreters
join ATA with the intention of becoming certified. Many of them remain members
to retain their certification and because they see the great work and advantages of
being a part of a big association that works to defend the interests of translators and
interpreters (e.g., ATA's efforts regarding AB 5 in California to ensure its members
understand the possible implications and to encourage them to ask legislators to
exempt translators/interpreters). If membership is no longer required to retain
certification, many would get certified and leave without developing any interest in
the organization.
Financially, this would weaken ATA. I read the financial report in the January/
February issue, and the problem of the declining number of members, even before
decoupling was announced, has to be addressed. The membership fees are the
biggest contribution to ATA's budget. If people no longer needed to be members
to retain their certification, membership would drop and the additional exam fees
would not be enough to finance both certification and the current activities of the
association over a long period. Furthermore, more exam graders would have to be
found, trained, and paid accordingly.
Membership and certification should go together.

Marianne Beyer
Opening Certification to Nonmembers
I'm in favor of decoupling. I work in Brazil and know many very good translators
who want to be ATA members but simply cannot afford it. I support the argument
that membership and certification can be mutually exclusive, but I would only
support the proposal fully if, when approved, it allows members who are certified to
retain their certification without having to continue paying membership dues if they
leave the association.

Liam Gallagher | São Paulo, Brazil
Bring Your "A" Game to Video Game Localization | Marina Ilari
Great summary of the many things we need to do when localizing a game! Some
people believe video game localization is easy because we're not translating super
technical or scientific papers, but terminology in games-that may even be madeup-can get really hard really quickly. Thanks for sharing.

Santiago de Miguel | Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.atanet.org

American Translators
Association
April 24

Two Spanish-speaking
interpreters help
expand access to
COVID-19 information
"You don't think about
being an interpreter and
translator as being a
'public service'....But I
think it truly is and it's a big
responsibility as well."
Read more-
https://bit.ly/35aiIfo

TOP TWEETS
Language Learning Apps Are
Seeing A Surge in Interest
During The COVID-19 Pandemic
#COVID19 | Forbes:
https://bit.ly/2yNoWWy
APR 24 / @ATANET / #1NT #XL8
When Coronavirus Care
Gets Lost in Translation-
Medical interpreters must now
work remotely, multiplying the
challenges for front-line doctors
and non-English-speaking patients.
#COVID19 | New York Times::
https://nyti.ms/2yIR0ud
APR 23 / @ATANET / #1NT #XL8
American Translators Association

5
https://www.bit.ly/35aiIfo https://www.bit.ly/2yNoWWy https://www.nyti.ms/2yIR0ud http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020

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