The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022 - 15

communities. Following these
groups and checking out their
websites can be a great way
to help us learn terminology
and about the different
perspectives of people who
speak and write in our target
languages. For example,
LGBTQ+ organizations in
many countries-and not
just in places you might
expect-have a presence on
the web and in social media.
Take, for example, Helem in
Lebanon, Yaaj in Mexico, the
Russian LGBT Network, and
HaengSeongIn in South Korea.
These organizations' websites
can be very useful in learning
more about appropriate
vocabulary in other languages.
The Human Rights Campaign
also has a glossary of terms
in English on its website,
the National Immigrant
Justice Center offers a list of
Arabic LGBTQ terminology
for interpreters and staff,
and Asian Health Services
in Oakland, California, has
published an LGBTQ Glossary
in Chinese, Vietnamese,
Burmese, and Korean. (See
sidebar on page 14 for links to
these organizations.)
It's sometimes the case
that language authorities
such as the Académie
Française or Real Academia
Española might not
acknowledge-and will
often reject-resources
and linguistic solutions
that will help you navigate
issues of diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility.
Our training as professional
translators can lead us to
feel that we've overstepped
a boundary if we deviate
from their guidance.
However, when dealing
with race, women's issues,
and LGBTQ+ persons,
it's often the community
www.ata-chronicle.online
organizations that are the
real subject matter experts.
When in doubt, trust the
experts-namely, those who
are living these realities.
Words matter. Identity
matters. For translators who
aren't members of
NOTES
1.
2.
marginalized communities,
the first step is to recognize
our own privilege, to
acknowledge our own
limitations, and to broaden
our perspective regarding
communities of color,
women, and LGBTQ+
persons. Only with a
recognition of that privilege
can we produce translations
that help readers in the
target language access
the experience of those
living on the underside
of privilege.
Marshall, Alex. " Amanda Gorman's Poetry United Critics. It's Dividing Translators, " The New
York Times (March 26, 2021), https://nyti.ms/36KRTUn.
Kakissis, Joanna. " Hungarian Roma Are Translating Amanda Gorman; Her Poetry Speaks to
Their Experience, " National Public Radio (January 29, 2022), https://n.pr/3vbbkiB.
3.
McWhorter, John. " How 'Woke' Became an Insult, " The New York Times (August 17, 2021),
https://nyti.ms/3vM0PRS.
4.
Hafner, Josh. " Woman Fired after Blocking Black Man from His Apartment Building in Video, "
USA Today (October 15, 2018), https://bit.ly/USAToday-Hafner; also see Lang, Candy. " How
the 'Karen Meme' Confronts the Violent History of White Womanhood, " Time (July 6, 2020),
https://bit.ly/Time-Karen; Lewis, Helen. " The Mythology of Karen, " The Atlantic (August 19,
2020), https://bit.ly/TheAtlantic-Lewis.
5.
Hays, Tom. " White Woman Charged after Racist Central Park Confrontation, " Associated Press
(July 6, 2020), https://bit.ly/AP-Hays.
6.
Gómez Urzaiz, Begoña. " De las 'Marujas' a las 'Charo': ¿qué hace que un nombre propio se
vuelva meme? " Vanity Fair (November 21, 2019), https://bit.ly/VanityFair-GómezUrzaiz.
7. " Words We're Watching: Mansplaining, " Merriam-Webster, https://bit.ly/MW-mansplaining.
" Machoexplicación, alternativa a mansplaining, " FundéuRAE, https://bit.ly/Machoexplicación.
8.
9.
" 'C'est Quoi Le Mansplaining?'Ou Comment J'ai Cassé Mon Twitter, " Minute Simone (June 15,
2018), https://bit.ly/MinuteSimone-mansplaining.
10.
Fischer, Von Judith. " Mann, erklär mir nicht mein Leben! Das können wir gegen Mansplaining
und Alltags-Sexismus tun, " Elle (September 6, 2020), www.elle.de/mansplaining-sexismus.
11.
Clemons, Steve. " Arabic Words for 'Gay' Need to Be Better than 'Pervert' or 'Deviant,' "
The Atlantic (August 15, 2012), https://bit.ly/TheAtlantic-Clemons.
12.
Cisgender: A term used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically
associated with the sex assigned to them at birth. Heteronormative: The assumption of
heterosexuality as the given or default sexual orientation instead of one of many possibilities,
and that the preferred or default relationship is between two people of " opposite " genders.
Cishet/Cis-Heteronormative: This term refers to the assumption that heterosexuality
and being cisgender are the norm, which plays out in interpersonal interactions and society,
and furthers the marginalization of queer and gender diverse people. Source: Human
Rights Campaign, " Welcoming Schools: Definitions to Help Understand Gender and Sexual
Orientation, " https://bit.ly/HRC-gender-sexual-orientation.
Ray Valido (he/him/his) is a translation project manager with the Office of
Language Services at the U.S. Department of State. He heads the translating
division's desktop publishing portfolio and does formatting, graphics, and
accessibility work on Adobe and Microsoft platforms in various languages and
character sets. He has an MA in Spanish translation and localization management
from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. ray.valido@gmail.com
American Translators Association 15

The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022

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