The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2022 - 38

CF
selected from the following
genres:
y News stories (e.g., articles,
commentaries, or features
in major periodicals)
y Correspondence and reports
(general subject matter)
y Technical material
(with adequate contextual
information)
y Academic articles and
books (with adequate
contextual information)
The examination does not
target specific subject areas,
such as law, finance, science,
or medicine, although source
passages may include some
specialized terms that can
be found readily in general
reference sources. The texts
are sophisticated enough
to include not just facts,
but also abstract language,
hypotheses, argumentation,
and supported opinions.
The level of translation
competence targeted by the
examination is based on the
ILR standard for Translation
Performance Level 3.4
Key
expectations are as follows:
y 100% comprehension of
the source text, with or
without resources.
y A translated text that
accurately conveys
the facts, views, and
arguments presented in
the source text.
y Style and wording that
generally adhere to targetlanguage
norms and do not
obscure meaning.
y Few or no errors in
grammar, usage, spelling,
or punctuation.
A passing examination is
not expected to be perfect.
The minimum acceptable
standard is a polished draft
translation, subject to
quality control.
Understanding
the Statement
The Statement on Level of
Performance is not meant
to discourage qualified
translators from taking
the certification exam. On
the contrary, the aim is to
clarify publicly what the
standards are for earning the
credential. In turn, we hope
to give potential candidates
realistic expectations and
also ease the level of anxiety
that comes with any testing
situation. The key takeaways
here are:
1. Your work on the exam
doesn't have to be
perfect, but it does need
to show that you can fully
understand a source text
and communicate its
content clearly in your
target language-not
only the details, but the
way they come together
to form an overall
description or argument.
2. The exam is unlike a real
translation assignment
in that you aren't given
a " style sheet " or a
glossary-just general
translation instructions,
which only occasionally
will give away a technical
term or abbreviation.
Therefore, you already
need to be familiar with
the style and feel of
typical published texts
in your target language
(e.g., articles, essays, and
opinion pieces).
Please note that the Knapp
Review quotes ATA's
definition of translator
38 The ATA Chronicle | July/August 2022
certification as " a midcareer
credential. " Until
recently, it was defined this
way on ATA's website and in
other public materials, which
may have unduly discouraged
less experienced translators.
We've decided to remove that
descriptor because decades of
grading experience have
shown that there's no ideal
profile of a successful
certification candidate. Even
when ATA's Certification
Program introduced
eligibility requirements
(ERs)-a combination of
education and/or years of
NOTES
1.
professional experience-the
result was that the number
of candidates decreased, but
the overall pass rate didn't
rise. We concluded that the
ERs had denied some
qualified translators access
to the exam and that any
future ERs would need to be
more accurate predictors of
performance on the
certification exam. Thus far,
the best-known predictor is
performance on the practice
test.5
So, if you're interested
in getting certified, try a
practice test and see how
you do!
Knapp, Lorena. " Certification Consultant's Statement on the
Membership Requirement for ATA Certification, " The ATA
Chronicle (July/August 2020), 12.
2.
An Overview of the History of the ILR Language Proficiency
Skill Level Descriptions and Scale (Interagency Language
Roundtable).
3.
Interagency Language Roundtable Language Skill Level
Descriptions-Reading.
4.
Interagency Language Roundtable Skill Level Descriptions for
Translation Performance.
5.
Preparing for ATA's Certification Exam: Benefits of Taking a
Practice Test.
Larry Bogoslaw, CT is chief editor and
publishing director at East View Press, an
academic publisher in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After earning an MA in Italian and a PhD in
Slavic languages and literatures, he co-founded
the Minnesota Translation Laboratory, a community language
service. He has taught Russian and translation courses at various
colleges and universities. An ATA-certified Russian>English and
Spanish>English translator, he serves as deputy chair of ATA's
Certification Committee. larry@translab.us
David Stephenson, CT is chair of ATA's
Certification Committee. An ATA-certified
German>English, Dutch>English, and
Croatian>English translator, he has been an
independent translator for over 30 years,
specializing in civil litigation and creative nonfiction.
david@bullcitylang.com
www.atanet.org

http://bit.ly/consultant-statement http://bit.ly/consultant-statement http://bit.ly/consultant-statement https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/IRL%20Scale%20History.htm https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/IRL%20Scale%20History.htm https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/IRL%20Scale%20History.htm https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/ILRscale4.htm https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/ILRscale4.htm https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/AdoptedILRTranslationGuidelines.htm https://www.govtilr.org/Skills/AdoptedILRTranslationGuidelines.htm https://www.atanet.org/certification/practice-test/ https://www.atanet.org/certification/practice-test/ http://www.atanet.org

The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2022

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