By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A group of professional interpreters and translators launched Thursday the nation's first association to help upgrade interpretation and translation work and services.
The Korean Association of Translation and Interpretation (KATI) held an inaugural ceremony at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul with the 100 selected members present. KATI is the first officially recognized organization in the field.
``I have frequently received complaints from the government and foreign clients about poor interpretation and translation services. It is because they used less skilled and unqualified interpreters and translators. In other words, there was no institute offering information about competent, high-experienced and qualified language experts,'' Kim Ji-myung, chief director of KATI, told The Korea Times. ``KATI will serve as a trustworthy information source for clients looking for the language services.''
Kim pointed out that many government officials are unaware that translation is not just the process of merely translating Korean into other languages.
``The government usually requests speech draft translation work just a few days before an event during which the speech will be made. In many cases, therefore, translators stay up all night to complete the task, resulting in unsatisfactory output,'' Kim said.
``Good translation should deliver not only sentence meaning itself but also background information to those unfamiliar with Korean society and culture. Thus, translation work has to run with a totally different plan, content and perspective. Enough time for research and supporting materials including budget also guarantee creditable translation.''
KATI plans to nurture interpreters and translators specialized in Korean history, culture, and society.
``Unlike lucrative fields such as economy, politics and technology, there are only a few interpreters and translators here specialized in the very Korean subjects ― Korean history, culture, and society. We will form a special team made up of skillful language experts in these fields, enabling the government and clients to utilize them in promoting Korea's image to the rest of the world,'' said the former Korea Times reporter.
The association is also working to issue an official license for interpreters and translators specialized in law. The first conference regarding the license will take place in September.
Applicants must go through a somewhat touch censorship process to become regular members.
First, applicants have to have at least three years experience in interpretation and translation in the following eight languages ― English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, Spanish, German, and Arabic. Then they must win approval from the association.
Kim, a graduate from Yonsei University's English Department in 1971, worked as a reporter at The Korea Times between 1970 and 1976. She earned a master's degree in simultaneous interpretation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in 1981.