Prepare to Translate or Interpret

Today we were talking about one of our units of competency, Prepare to translate and interpret and some of its elements referred to research, glossaries, innovative ways of dealing with possible language difficulties, etc.

Here you have a great example of research triggered by casual conversation amongst colleagues while having tapas: Marchando una de calamares by Clara Guelbenzu in Bootheando. Notice how she says that she was trying to dilucidar el asunto: clarify and illustrate the point in question.

Alpacas in Ecuador by Philippe Lavoie

Why don't you try doing the same for your last assignments*?  La Posada Oveja Negra had us discussing the differences between llamas (Lama glama), alpacas (Vicugna pacos), vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) and guanacos (from the Quechua huanaco), which are all South American camelids.  Do a bit of  research to clarify and illustrate the main differences amongst these camelids.

We also worked very hard to find the exact meaning of this passage: Mantienen los residuos no reciclables por uso en la propiedad por debajo de  una onza diaria por persona. If you read La Posada's website, you'll find this sentence which confirms your understanding of it:
"We produce less than one ounce of non-recyclable trash daily per person!"

*I'll be curious to see what you find out about the music policy in Nazi Europe and DWIs. 

Preparing For Assignments

Booteando brings to us another excellent post, this time on the preparation interpreters need to undertake before a specialised assignment. She gives Fisheries and Aquaculture as a hypothetical conference topic. Please visit the post even if you can't read Spanish. It will give you a very clear idea of the amount and type of research one must go through. Some of the glossaries are in English (one is Australian).
You can all read the link to a Practical Guide for Professional Conference Interpreters.

Intérpretes: Preparación

Thanks to Bootheando for pointing out this very interesting video on how two Spanish interpreters prepare before a conference job. The conference is on emotional intelligence.

It is all in Spanish, sorry all of the Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese students!