Translation and Interpretation
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LOGISTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATIONThe National Planning Committee has committed to support three languages at the US Social Forum: Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) and English. This does not mean, however, that the entire Social Forum will be interpreted into all three languages. The opening march, the opening and closing ceremonies, the morning openings, the plenaries, and the People’s Movement Assembly - conducted primarily in English - will be interpreted into Spanish and ASL. The Language Access Team will have a coordinating office where you can go for information about translation and interpretation. This office will be one of the First Floor Dressing Rooms in the Civic Center. Which workshops will be interpreted into Spanish? The Language Access Team of the USSF will provide Spanish-English interpretation for approximately 10% of the self-organized workshops. All the workshops held in the following six venues will be interpreted: Westin International D, Westin International E, Westin Atlanta Ballroom C, Marriot Centenial Ballroom B, Renaissance Georgia Ballroom East, and Civic Center Piedmont A. These six venues will have interpretation equipment. This information will be included in the printed program in the listing of all the workshops. Many of the workshop organizers are providing interpretation for their own workshops, and other workshops are being held in Spanish. This information will be in the printed program as well. There may be changes in the program and other workshops interpreted that are not listed in the program so please come to the Language Access coordinating office for updated information about all the workshops being interpreted. How will the interpretation equipment work? We are working with the Prometheus Radio Project to set up interpretation equipment using FM transmitters and radios. There will be interpretation equipment at the Civic Center auditorium and in the six venues mentioned above. We will have radios available at the US Social Forum but we have limited resources so we are asking as many people as possible to bring their own radio. If your organization is bringing a Spanish-speaking delegation, please coordinate bringing radios for your delegation. The radios should be digital, portable (battery operated) and be able to select a specific frequency. (Many radios only have a "seek/scan" function which searches for the next strong signal and it is impossible to actually choose the frequency. Those radios might be cheaper but definitely would not work.) Here is a link to a radio that Prometheus Radio Project recommends and can be purchased for about $12: We are looking for organizations interested in purchasing these sound systems (FM transmitters and radios) and keeping them afterwards. If your organization is interested please contact the Language Access Team at languageaccess@ussf2007.org. We will also have access to some interpreting equipment to lend to organizations that will interpret their own workshop but do not have equipment. If your organization needs interpreting equipment for your workshop, please contact the Language Access Team at languageaccess@ussf2007.org In order to meet this need, we are looking for organizations who can lend their interpretation equipment to use during the US Social Forum. If your organization has interpretation equipment and is willing to lend it to the US Social Forum, please contact the Language Access Team at languageaccess@ussf2007.org. How will the ASL interpretation work? ASL interpretation for the self-organized workshops will be coordinated by the Deaf & Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights, which is bringing its own delegation of Deaf and Deaf-Blind individuals. Instead of interpreting for specific workshops, we will be providing ASL interpretation directly to Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing individuals. If you are Deaf, Deaf-Blind or Hard of Hearing, or if your organization is bringing Deaf, Deaf-Blind or Hard of Hearing members, please contact: What about other languages? While we do not have the capacity to provide interpretation in other languages, we want to support multilingual capacity in the ways that we can. One way that can do this is to waive the registration fees for anyone who is participating in the US Social Forum primarily as an interpreter. This includes the Language Access core team of volunteer interpreters and anyone interpreting full-time for an organizational delegation in any language. It does not include individuals who are interpreting for one or two workshops for a particular organization. Another way that we can support multilingual capacity in other languages is to connect volunteer interpreters with organizations bringing non-English speaking delegations. We have had people offer to help interpret in several languages, including Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Haitian-Creole, French, Italian, and Greek. If your organization is bringing a delegation that includes non-English speakers and you need help with interpretation, contact the Language Access Team at languageaccess@ussf2007.org and we will do our best to connect you with individuals who have offered to help interpret in other languages. If you are an individual who will be participating in the US Social Forum and can help interpret into other languages besides Spanish and ASL, please contact languageaccess@ussf2007.org. SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS Even when a workshop is being interpreted, English often continues to be the dominant language. If you are running a workshop that is being interpreted, here are a few tips to make it a more bilingual/multilingual space. (1) Give the interpreter a few minutes before the workshop begins to make a quick announcement about how the interpretation will work and to test the equipment. (2) Respect the interpretation by encouraging speakers to speak slowly and clearly. Be aware of the interpreters’ presence and give them time to catch up if necessary. (3) Be aware of non-English speaking participants. During discussion or questions & answers, remember that their participation depends on the interpretation and make space for their participation. (4) If there are non-English speakers making presentations as part of your workshop and their talk is being interpreted consecutively, make sure you leave enough time for the interpretation, instead of cutting into the speaker’s time. If you are running a workshop that does not have interpretation, we encourage you to facilitate informal interpretation by asking if anyone needs interpretation and if there are any bilingual participants who are willing to interpret. |