Membership to an association (Association of Indonesian Translators) better known as HPI

For translators or interpreters like myself, in the language pair English to Indonesian, belonging to an association is an important part of our integrity as professionals in the language services industry.

An association is:

Definition of association – Penerjemah Indonesia

So if we look over to the American Translators Association (ATA) website, the Association for interpreters and translator in the US, we can see that it was founded:

to advance the translation and interpreting professions and foster the professional development of individual translators and interpreters. Its over 10,000 members in more than 103 countries include translators, interpreters, teachers, project managers, web and software developers, language company owners, hospitals, universities, and government agencies.

As for the Association of Indonesian Translators or Himpunan Penerjemah Indonesia it was founded to help members acquire work, which later shifted to enhance the quality of translators and interpreters as we can see from this, in the About section:

History of HPI – Penerjemah Indonesia

As members of this Association we are provided membership card.

This is my membership card.

HARRY HERMAWAN – Penerjemah Indonesia
HARRY HERMAWAN – Penerjemah Indonesia

As so happens, if we are a member of HPI, we are also part of a larger family.

FIT (Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs / International Federation of Translators)

Yes, we are part of FIT.

So if you are planning your career on this path, and or still not sure what career you want to be, be a part of this large family. Look around or browse, and research more on this career. And, you will be on your way to becoming a translator or an interpreter. For more details, if you are in Indonesia, go to this website.

If you have any question about this article, or anything related to being a translator or interpreter in the language pair English to Indonesian, drop me an email, I’ll be happy to help you in any way I can. But, be smart with your queries.

Have a productive day.

Interpreters’ Booth in Simultaneous Interpreting

As an interpreter most of the time during simultaneous interpreting, a booth for the interpreting process is needed. The typical interpreting booth has a large clear glass screen in the front. This is important, as it will help the interpreter see the speaker and will help interpreters have a better visual of what is going on outside the booth.

Interpreting Booth

In the booth, an interpreting system equipped with a microphone, a headset, a control console, and sometimes, a monitor is present. This will allow the interpreter to have a closer look at the speaker. The interpreting system has, usually, a mute button that will help the interpreter to block any unwanted sound or noises when he or she needs to converse with other interpreters.

During the interpreting process inside the booth, the interpreter via headsets, listens to the speaker or speakers and simultaneously interprets into a microphone. The participants of the event or the audience can only hear the interpretation via  the headsets which are provided before the event begins. This helps minimize disturbance whether for the interpreter or the audience.

Translation Rates

Rates or in this case translation price is always a challenge for me. Deciding on the best rate for the translation activity that I provide is not always easy and it is always and should be based on projects.

quotation
translation quotation

It may seem tedious to always provide potential client rates or price. I mean, I may easily print that on some price list and upload on one page. But I don’t do that. One rule that I always say to myself that translation or interpreting is not a mass produce product. It is a product on a mass scale if we decide to i.e. we use machine translation. If this is the case the quality will be in question.

Again on the subject of price or quotation I may be contacted based on each project that comes to my email. It is understandable that this service may be unreasonable for some but again translation is not a product that we make or produce but it is our passion as translators to provide the best and for that we are giving a reasonable rate.

Hopefully, with experience and the types of translation that translator has on their resumé, the rates will hopefully be lower as the learning curve and the time to do research has decline.

Go to Proz.com to check any further references.

English humour

I don’t know what it is about English humour (not humor).

I just can’t explain.

But this bit is funny.

Anyway, here is a wholesome reading on English humour, “Of all the characteristics, good and bad, for which the English are known in the outside world, our sense of humour is one of the best-known and most positively regarded. The theory apparently goes that not only do we have more humour overall than other nations, it is consistently funnier too. This article will attempt to examine some of the major characteristics of English humour, and suggest some reasons for its development into such a powerful influence on our society and culture.