The Routes into Languages National Network for Translation has recently supported the participation of two students in the Translation Conference hosted annually at the University of Portsmouth.
Samantha Hoose tells us what her experience of the event was:
My translation lecturer had said he needed one more student to help out at the annual translation conference, so I thought well why not, it could be interesting to be able to hear from professional translators from around the world. And also to gain more inspiration for my dissertation.
This year’s topic was about borders in translation, I was curious to know what kind of issues people would be talking about.
So I turned up at 9, a bit out of my comfort zone because everyone attending the conference had a significantly higher educational status than me. Professional translators, PHD students, members of the chartered institute of linguistics etc.
…And then there was me. A final year language undergrad. What could I contribute to this?
My main role was to help register the speakers and delegates, give them their information pack and guide them to any rooms if they were lost.
This didn’t take up too much time as most of the participants turned up within the first hour. This meant that I was able to attend all the talks I wanted to go to, which where all really useful! I learnt a lot about how translation works in the workplace, how political borders have had an impact on translation and about new topics in translation. Rosemary from the Institute of Chartered Linguistics gave a talk about crossing borders between academic, professional, amateur and student translators. This was really interesting and useful career wise. She talked about the importance of knowing exactly what is required in a translation brief. Practicing translators need to communicate more with their clients. This is something I can bear in mind for future reference.
Attending the conference has helped me to be sure that translation really is something I want to pursue as a career. I’m spending this year applying for my masters and hopefully meeting my grades before graduation!
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