Graduate Certificate Program in Translation
Annual Report
2003-2004

1. Enrollments
In September 2003, at the start of its seventh year, the program officially had 25 students, 3 in French, 6 in German, 2 in Italian and 14 in Spanish. 19 students were pursuing an MA and 6 were Certificate students. Seven students graduated, six in May and one in August 2004. In the course of the year (through August 20, 2004), 35 qualifying exams were administered and 26 students were accepted into the program. Eighteen of them have enrolled as of September 2004. Seven students are currently inactive and two have dropped out of the program. The program is thus entering its eighth year with 33 students, a 32% increase over last year: 1 in Armenian, 7 in French, 5 in German, 1 in Italian and 19 in Spanish. 28 are MA students and 5 are Certificate students.

2. MA exams, graduation and employment
Students Amy Allen (German > English), Rodney Bogardus, (French > English), Shayne Karas (Spanish > English), Robert Lightner (German > English), Elisabeth Lyman (French > English), Jennifer Rospenda (Spanish > English), and Kimberly Vaitonis (Spanish > English) successfully took comprehensive examinations for the MA. Two graduates have found employment as project managers with translation companies, Amy with Iverson Language Associates and Kimberly with Argo Translations. Robert has moved to Germany where he plans to work as a freelance translator.

3. Annual meeting
The Translation Program Coordinating Committee held its annual meeting on November 21, 2003. Faculty also consulted frequently via e-mail and in person.

4. Program courses offered
Semester 1:

Professional and Technical Writing (ENG 435)

Document Design (ENG 439)

Advanced Professional Writing (ENG 708)

Business and Professional Aspects of Translation (FLL 525)

Introduction to Translation (FRE 425)

Institutions and Culture of Contemporary France (FRE 450)

German for Professional Purposes (GER 461)

Internship in Translation (MAFLL 730)

Introduction to Translation, Spanish to English (SPA 347)

Introduction to Translation, English to Spanish (SPA 348)

Introduction to Interpreting (SPA 349)

Semester 2:

Editing and Publishing (ENG 434)

Writing for Information Technology (ENG 436)

Rhetoric, Writing, and Information Technology (ENG 709)

Seminar in Literary and Cultural Translation (MAFLL 709)

Computer-Assisted Translation (MAFLL 726)

Internship in Translation (MAFLL 730)

Seminar in Advanced Spanish Translation (SPA 447)

5. Curricular and program changes
Since the English Department has created separate graduate courses in professional writing and in writing for information technology, these were added to the list of electives for MA students: Advanced Professional Writing (ENG 708) and Rhetoric, Writing, and Information Technology (ENG 709).

The College of Letters and Science has made the Translation Program's S&E Budget permanent. Over half of this is earmarked for the annual maintenance and upgrade fees for the translation software necessary to our course in Computer-Assisted Translation.

6. Presentations, conferences and organizations
Lorena Terando gave a presentation on translation to the class on International Careers on February 12 and Madeleine Velguth represented the Translation Program at an informative table at German Day at UWM (November 14). Magaly Zeise and Madeleine Velguth attended the annual American Translators Association (ATA) conference in Phoenix, AZ Nov. 5-9, 2003. Lorena Terando attended the Second American Translation Studies Association Conference in Amherst, MA March 26-28, 2004 and presented a paper on "Building an On-Line Community" at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona's VI International Translation Conference in Barcelona, Spain, May 10-12, 2004. Madeleine Velguth presented an analysis of Raymond Queneau's translations, "Queneau traducteur à l'épreuve de l'étranger" at an International Queneau Colloquium in Luxembourg on October 10, 2003.

Our Translation Program brought several speakers to campus during this academic year. Hélène Wimmerlin, Sales Representative for Iverson Language Associates and David Santori, Project Manager at Iverson spoke to the class on Business & Professional Aspects of Translation. Saul Arteaga, owner of a translation agency in Beloit spoke to Susan Rascón's Introduction to Interpreting class. Literary translator Alexis Levitin came to campus on March 18, 2004. His talk on translating sonnets was co-sponsored by the Departments of English, FICL, FLL and Spanish & Portuguese and the Centers for International Education and Twenty-First Century Studies.

On March 13 we hosted a regional meeting of MATI (Midwest Association of Translators & Interpreters) and on July 10-11 we hosted MATI's first annual conference. This was followed by a 3-day workshop on Computer-Assisted Translation.

Madeleine Velguth proctored an ATA accreditation examination on our campus on July 10.

7. Special achievements
Lorena Terando's translation of Belen Boville's La Guerra de la cocaína: drogas, geopolítica, y medio ambiente was published as The Cocaine War in Context: Drugs and Politics by Algora Publishing in March 2004. Lorena was also asked to be a member of the 2004 ATA (American Translators Association) Honors & Awards Committee.

On September 12, 2003 an hour-long documentary, for which Susan Rascón's advanced students transcribed and translated interviews done through interpreters, premiered nationwide on PBS. There will be encore broadcasts of "In A Just World - Contraception, Abortion & World Religion" during the next two years.

8. Interpreting
Susan Rascón continues to be active on the State Court Interpreters Panel. She interpreted for a two-week trial in federal court in April, 2004.

9. UWM Language Services
Lorena Terando has developed a translation referral service offering low-cost translations to the UWM community and to others willing to hire student translators. Six jobs have been done so far in 2004, four for campus and two outside: translation of academic documents, interpreting for a conference, reviewing the translation of a book chapter for accuracy, translation of a web site, glosses of magazine articles and translation of product labels. The UWM Language Services is fully and officially operational as of September 2004.

10. New hire
Assistant Professor Susanne Lenné was hired to teach German Translation, starting in January 2005. A native of Germany, Prof. Lenné has a translation degree from the Johannes Gutenberg Institute at the University of Mainz and a Ph.D. in German from the University of Cincinnati.

11. Retirement
June 30, 2004 marked Madeleine Velguth's retirement. As of July 1 Lorena Terando is Coordinator of the Translation Program.

12. Program needs
Lorena Terando, who directed New York University's on-line translation program before coming to UWM, presented a proposal for an on-line translation certificate. While this proposal was not among those funded, the feasibility of offering on-line translation instruction should continue to be studied. We are regularly asked whether we offer courses on line, and direct students to NYU, the only on-line translation certificate program we know of. Some of our current translation students commute from as far away as Chicago, Appleton and Sturgeon Bay. They are very happy to be able to take some of the English electives (435 and 436) on line and would welcome more on-line courses.

Respectfully submitted,
Madeleine Velguth, Coordinator, Graduate Certificate Program in Translation, 1997-2004