Translation Studies Internship Program
Fall 2021
During the Fall 2021 semester, six students working in the Spanish-English language pair were selected to enroll in SPAN 494 (Internship in Spanish): Alexis Ferrari, Anacelia Rosales, Lonnie Roberto McCoy, Maritza Guadarrama, Silvia Romero, and Alejandra Nuñes. During the internship, they were able to apply their language skills to complete translation assignments for real clients, all under the supervision of Dr. Claire Ziamandanis (Professor of Spanish [The College of Saint Rose] and ATA Certified Professional Translator). The students worked with different text types from a variety of contexts including education, healthcare, and financial aid; some students even had the chance to create subtitles for content related to immigration and entertainment!
The goal of the internship program is to introduce students to real-world translation projects and to teach them the basics of how to connect with clients, manage deadlines, tackle source texts about topics that they are not familiar with, and work as a proofreader. In the program, students had to learn how to leverage computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools to complete their assignments in an efficient and timely fashion. They were also put into pairs during the semester and tasked with proofreading each other’s work, thus understanding another very important aspect of a translator’s job.
After their internship, we asked the students some questions about their experience. Here’s what four of them said:
Why did you want to do this internship?
I wanted to gain experience in translation and to learn what it feels like to be a real translator, not just a student.
What has been your favorite part of the internship so far? Why?
My favorite part of the internship was my early mornings when I would get up to start my day. I would make coffee, open my blinds, and let the morning light in as I started up my laptop. It was peaceful, and I enjoyed going over my translations and learning how to use Café Tran. Although Café Tran was a little difficult in the beginning, I eventually got more comfortable with it. I also enjoyed feeling a sense of pride that I was actually doing translation work. It felt extremely pleasing to know I could apply myself once I learned how to get in my routine for the internship, especially because I started off feeling very nervous about the internship.
What difficulties have you encountered while translating in this internship?
The difficulties I encountered were related to not having a perfect understanding of technology and computers. I would always find myself having a problem that could be easily fixed by pressing a button, but I didn’t know which button or where to even find the button. I spent a lot of time researching how to use translation technology
Do you think this internship has impacted the way you perceive the importance of language study and the role that translation plays in our communities?
Yes, I feel that my knowledge of what translators do has expanded and I have so much respect for translators and all the hours they put into their work. The importance of the work and the role it plays for our communities is huge. I think translation plays a role in connecting communities: language is a wonderful thing and translation helps to share information to others. This internship has impacted the way I see that role and I am very happy to have expanded my knowledge about translation and how important it is.
Do you think this internship has made you feel more confident in your translation skills?
I think this internship made me more confident in my translation skills because I spent many hours dedicated to translation. These hours have contributed to my learning experience and provided me with self confidence that I did not have. Now I feel more comfortable with myself in translation.
Why did you want to do this internship?
I wanted to do this internship because I wanted to become more confident with my Spanish writing skills. I was hesitant to apply, but I thought it would be a great opportunity to prove to myself that I could render high quality translations after years of studying my heritage language. I also wanted the experience because this would be the perfect setting to put into practice everything I learned in class and to discover my shortcomings, as well as my strengths as a translator.
What has been your favorite part of the internship so far? Why?
My favorite part of the internship was being partnered with two interns, one for the first half and the other for the last half of the semester, as each other’s proofreaders. This was a very rewarding experience because I learned a lot from both interns through their suggestions and my review of their work. Throughout the internship, I always felt like I had someone I could count on, and I never felt alone while working on my projects. Also, I loved that Dr. Ziamandanis was always available and ready to help, and I am truly grateful for all the knowledge she shared with me throughout the semester.
What difficulties have you encountered while translating in this internship?
I encountered a few formatting difficulties while translating in the internship, but now I feel more prepared to work as a translator because of them. During my first project, I was using a different presentation software and when I converted it to PowerPoint some of the formatting was off. On my end everything looked good, but once I sent it to Dr. Ziamandanis and she opened it on PowerPoint it did not look the same. It was also difficult to convert PDFs into Word documents because sometimes the formatting just would not transfer correctly. The amount of time I spent formatting documents after I finished translating was both surprising and challenging, but I am glad I was able to experience this because it helped me grow as a translator.
Do you think this internship has impacted the way you perceive the importance of language study and the role that translation plays in our communities?
Yes, the internship impacted the way I perceive the importance of language study and the role that translation plays in our communities, because if a translator does not have a strong foundation in the target language, then the translation will not communicate the meaning that the source text is trying to convey. I was able to see this directly when I translated sections of healthcare websites that obviously did not hire a trained translator and the message was lost. Everyone deserves to read information in their preferred language that is understandable and accurate.
Do you think this internship has made you feel more confident in your translation skills?
Definitely! I feel that this internship not only made me more confident in my translation skills, but also in my language skills. I feel ready and prepared to apply to translation jobs or to volunteer with different organizations that require Spanish translators. I knew that translators dealt with more than just translating from one language to another but being a part of this internship helped me understand the significance of knowing and using different software and tools to complete a project.
Why did you want to do this internship?
I have plans of kickstarting my career in translation by doing freelance work, and this internship felt like the perfect opportunity to better understand the world of freelance translation work.
What has been your favorite part of the internship so far? Why?
I subtitled a video about a list of documents needed to apply for a Green Card, translating from English into Spanish. I am mostly interested in using my translation skills within the immigration field and I thought this was the perfect activity, because I want to help make resources for migratory processes be as accessible as possible.
What difficulties have you encountered while translating in this internship?
When it comes to subtitling, oftentimes you find yourself needing to compress what the source media displays, having to use as few words as possible but still giving an equivalent message. There are strict parameters in subtitling to make sure that the viewer can read the subtitles at a reasonable pace. It is especially difficult doing so from English to Spanish due to the nature of the Spanish language, that often uses more words and characters in sentences.
Do you think this internship has impacted the way you perceive the importance of language study and the role that translation plays in our communities?
It has and makes me even more appreciative of its impact on the people who need help with languages. Not only is it necessary that content from various fields be translated into multiple languages for the benefit of our communities, it is crucial that said translated content be of high quality, as any mistranslation, big or small, can negatively affect its function.
Do you think this internship has made you feel more confident in your translation skills?
It absolutely has. Not only did it provide me the resources to kickstart my career in translation, but it also made me feel more competent. It helped me acknowledge what my strengths and weaknesses are, and it helped me improve my way of communicating in a formal environment.
Why did you want to do this internship?
Translation is not only an area that I wish to pursue as a professional, but also a personal interest that has grown with each class I’ve taken here at CSULB. This internship was a great way to apply the knowledge I’ve learned and get real-world experience in this growing industry.
What has been your favorite part of the internship so far? Why?
My favorite part of the internship was being able to practice subtitling. I’ve always been fascinated with the whole process and although it may be tedious work, watching the final product is a huge payoff.
What difficulties have you encountered while translating in this internship?
I had some difficulties at the beginning of the internship since I didn’t have much experience with the process of reaching out to clients and returning the completed translations. However, my supervisor and fellow interns were incredibly helpful throughout each project.
Do you think this internship has impacted the way you perceive the importance of language study and the role that translation plays in our communities?
This internship did help me realize how important language study is. Each word that you use in your translation must be carefully chosen, which means that it’s important to become familiar with the terminology used in each text.
Do you think this internship has made you feel more confident in your translation skills?
This internship has not only made me feel more confident in my translation skills, but also made me realize where I can improve.
