Students/participants were assembled in the hall few minutes before 2:00PM. The HOD of Division 1 was actively present in the hall as she worked with members of ASTI Students’ Association (ASA) to prepare the stage for the presentation. The projector was set, the PowerPoint made ready and the table prepared for the Director and his close collaborators.

At about 2:13 PM, the Deputy Director came in and took his seat. Mr Obia Randy, the presenter, was later ushered in by the HOD.

At 2:30PM, the Secretary General of ASTI, Dr Ngandu, came in and took his seat.

The Director came in at 2:33PM.

Prof. Ayonghe immediately took the floor to moderate the event. A student of Division 1, level one (Brice), ushered a word of prayer. The participants were later invited to sing the National Anthem.

Prof. Ayonghe then read out the agenda and then gave the Director the floor to address the participants.

He thanked the moderator for giving him the floor and explained the importance of the event in the training of professional translators. He revealed that the presenter of the day was once a student of ASTI and that he had been one of his best students.

He also appreciated the activities of ASA and its executives. He promised that ASA will be very much accompanied by the administration and that the administration will make sure that they are given due recognition. To crown his welcome address, he thanked everyone for giving him a listening ear.

Prof Ayonghe then introduced the presenter, Mr Obia Randy. He was presented as a former student of ASTI who graduated in 2010. Today he is a successful professional translator and a certified specialist of SDL Trados.

Mr Obia took the floor and began by humbly greeting his former lecturers, whose statuses have changed in the course of the years. He also greeted the participants and said he was not there to teach them translation, but to prepare them for the translation market; tell them the things they should expect in the field as they graduate from school.

He spoke of marketing yourself as a translator. It is advised that translators adhere to website memberships (online); they should make themselves visible to local customers; create a professional relationship with Translation Agencies and sell their services on social media, produce complementary cards, join online groups, contact potential customers and talk about themselves.

He then discussed the difference between a CV and a resume; a resume is just a one-to-two page document that presents the experience of the applicant.  A CV is longer and gives details about the academic and professional career of the applicant

To show how long a CV can be, he highlighted some of the many aspects that appear in it.

He then discussed translation quotes. We are to be careful about the title and caption of our emails. It is also important to personalize the message to the receptor. The applicant should also introduce themselves in the email; the lecturers, the professional organizations to which they belong, etc. It is also important to consider the pricing of the job. If the job poster has attached a price to the advert, be sure that you are comfortable with it before you apply.

Translation invoice: This is a document that highlights the service rendered (document translated and the number of words/pages translated), the payment rates and the mode/method of payment.

There exist a document from APTIC that spells out all types of translation and interpretation services and their rates. It can be downloaded from the APTIC website.

Payment methods: PayPal is the most common payment method in Cameroon. However, one can only use it to receive money in Cameroon. Money bookers, etc. accounts are also advisable. Creation of accounts with these services is free.

Translation job websites: there exist a good number of them, which are very accessible. Translators are advised to always consult them.

Useful translation ressource sites: Lingue, reverso, etc. There are many of them that can be very helpful to the translator.

CAT tools : SDL trados, wordfast, déjà vu, concordancer, etc. For a translator to be successful nowadays, they must get acquainted with these tools.

Research, terminology and collocation

Lingue, reverso,google, etc. They are very instrumental for efficiency during the translation process.

Deadlines: All translator jobs are urgent. A good translator translates a minimum of 10 pages per day in their A-language. It is also important to share translation jobs with other colleagues.

Translation rates: This is determined by several factors. Rates differ if the clients are individuals, companies/agencies or organizations.

Project management

Here, translators translate, proof-readers and editors or revisers do their job, specialist of the domain read through, etc. while the project manager coordinates these activities and ensure the success of the translation process.

Functions of TMs

• Import
• Analysis
• Textual parsing
• Segmentation
• Alignment
• Term extraction
• Export’
• Retrieval
• Extract match
• In-context exact (ICE) match or guaranteed match
• Fuzzy match
• Concordance
• Updating
• Automatic translation
• Automatic retrieval
• Automatic substitution
• Networking

Translation memory tools: He also spoke elaborately about this.

Post-editing: As for post editing, he said he would prefer not to discuss it with us as it would be presumptuous to do so, according to him.

Online dictionaries: linguee, oxford collocation termium, European Union terminology.

 

 

GENERAL TIPS:

Never change the file name of a document after translation;

Never change the format of the document;  etc.

That was the end of his presentation.

The next thing on the agenda was Contributions from Staff/students.

The first person to speak was Dr Ngoran. He indicated that APTIC through the rates they provide helps Cameroonian translators very much. This document by APTIC must always be a reference translators should use when negotiating with clients.

Dr Ngandu took the floor and appreciated Mr Obia for his presentation. He also revealed that Mr Obia had been the President of ASA during his days in ASTI.  He joined Dr Ngoran to say that APTIC remains a reliable association for Cameroonian translators. He was very happy for the Director’s availability and dynamism.

Prof Ayonghe then took the floor and appreciated Mr Obia for how serviceable he has been to ASTI to date. She expressed her wish for Mr Obia to remain available in future. She then thanked the Director for his presence.

A PhD student also took the floor and appreciated Randy for his presentation and for the attitude he has always had since they were students and executive members of ASA. He commented on the aspect of building a CV. He emphasized that one should include only the very pertinent things that match the profile required for the job. He added that it is very important to be professional. That helps a lot.

The next speaker was also a PhD student. He emphasized on the respect of deadlines. The translator must learn and master the various time zones around the globe.

Questions and answers

1. Is it important to mention in the CV the language variety one speaks?

Answer: Put British English

2. How can women be very good professional translators?

Answer: Just be available and avoid unnecessary excuses.

3. How is today’s TRADOS different from yesterday’s TRADOS?

Answer: TMs are transferable for all versions of TRADOS.

4. Why is it that translators mention huge sums of money but they are not counted among the richest in the world?

Answer: It must be that translators are very humble and they don’t want to be noticed as very rich.

Closing remarks

The Director thanked Mr Obia for his hard work, passion/enthusiasm and professionalism for this long that he has known him.

The Director also thank Prof Ayonghe, Head of Divion 1, for being very dynamic and for organising seminars like this one.

He revealed that he has budgeted CFAF 5million for CAT Tools.

He told Mr Obia Randy that the present executives of ASA are also very hard working and that they have a high sense of direction and mission. He promised to empower them to realize their projects. He thanked everyone for listening.

Prof Ayonghe then moved the event ended.

A prayer was ushered by Brice of level, Division 1 and participants left the hall visibly satisfied.