Current news

A happy blend of cognate abilities

Lidia Cazacu, currently a lecturer of Italian language at the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts of Chisinau, is, at the same time, a translator with a huge experience in this area. She started her activity yet in the times of the ex-Soviet Union when she worked as a translator in the well-known “Sputnik” of those times. It is possible than namely then the passion for translations sprout up in her, and subsequently she combined it with the passion for the profession of foreign language lecturer. This blend was a happy one, given the fact that the two related abilities of the distinguished lady – the one of lecturer and the one of translator of Spanish and Italian – harmoniously coexist in her professional activity.

The Association of Professional Translators of Moldova sincerely greets Missis Cazacu on the occasion of a new achievement in her domain, namely the publication of the manual “In giro per l’Italia in 14 tappe”. Our colleague Lucia Malic knowingly says about this manual:

“The development of the manual “In giro per l’Italia in 14 tappe” is based on a variety of authentic texts, songs, dialogues and useful activities for the study of Italian language. The manual is meant both for people with an incipient level of knowledge, and to those who already operate several linguistic means and have enough vocabulary to communicate. The manual is adapted to the requirements of Romanian speaking people and is meant to contribute to the improvement of the linguistic and social-cultural knowledge of the interested persons, it corresponds to the requirement of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, contains materials for beginners and, at the same time, for those who wish to certify their knowledge in this area and to obtain an internationally recognized certificate.
The authors combine the communication competence with the linguistic one and, consequently, the manual represents a real journey through the most beautiful places of Italy. Thus, the Italian reality is represented from the point of view of the social and cultural diversity of the Romanian speaking students.”

The manual launching event took place in the National Library of the Republic of Moldova, with the presence of Her Excellency the Ambassador of Italy in Chisinau, Valeria Biagiotti, ad of the co-author, Missis Marinela Vramuleț from „Ovidius” University of Constanza, Romania. Eleonora Rusnac, the president of the Association of Professional Translators of Moldova, together with other colleagues from the Association have also participated in the event. During the speech held at the event, the president of APT Moldova underlined the merits of Missis Cazacu as a professional translator, among which the translation into Italian of the well-known book of Spiridon Vangheli „Căciula lui Guguţă”.

We wish to our colleague Lidia Cazacu a fruitful activity further on, and we wish this activity to bring her a lot of emotional satisfaction, at least like at the above described event.

Chisinau, October 2019

Method of teaching English language based on logics

Tatiana Durimanova, member of АТР Мoldova, has authored a method of teaching English language based on formal logics that can be used in teaching any language being easily formalized in games and real-world situations. The overall scheme of the English language is just one A4-page big.

More information about the method and grammar scheme, as well as the fairy-tale on teaching English phonetics see at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiofUcZOSyqR8O4fP-yS85w?view_as=subscriber

Summer retreat, a training event organized for ATP Moldova members

Recently, the Association of Professional Translators of Moldova (ATP-Moldova) has organized a retreat - training event for its members. The special guest and moderator was Ms. Nina Vartic, senior lecturer at the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts. During the training event, the members of ATP Moldova carried out voice training and voice management exercises, learned how to put the correct accent in a sentence and how to change the meaning of a statement using the accent. They have also learnt several other aspects, which are useful in consecutive and simultaneous translation when using a microphone.

Ms. Nina Vartic has challenged translators and interpreters to try numerous rhymes and sayings which are difficult to pronounce.  In addition, the participants in the training event were trained by the moderator in some elementary acting skills.

The retreat was hosted by the "Secret Garden" guesthouse.

The surprise of the day for the participants in the event was a culinary delight - vegetable soup prepared in the out. 

The Association of Professional Translators of Moldova is a non-profit non-governmental organization founded in January 1998. Currently ATP - Moldova has about 50 members.

Eleonora Rusnac was elected as president of ATP Moldova for a new term

The General Assembly of the Association of Professional Translators of Moldova (ATP Moldova), held on Saturday, February 11, 2017, reelected Ms. Eleonora Rusnac as President of ATP Moldova for a new mandate. During this event, which is held every two years, the Board of the Association made a report on the activities carried out during the 2015-2016 mandate.

Ms. Eleonora Rusnac, President of the ATP Moldova, mentioned in her report that during the reference period the Board focused its efforts on activities falling under three main directions, namely administrative, promotional and training (internal for the Association members and within the School of Professional Translators). Additionally, efforts were undertaken pursuing the achievement of the Association cohesion and the cultivation of the belonging spirit to ATP Moldova and to the profession in general.

In its activity the Association pays an important attention to professional upgrading of its members. Thus, several lectures and presentations were made in a number of related areas to interpretation and translation. The invited speakers were Nely Balode, psychologist, lecturer at ULIM; Corina ERSOV, translator, member of the "Toastmaster's Club;"  Elena Filatov, public relations expert; Valentin Reabţov, interpreter at the Parliament of the Republic Moldova and tour guide at the "Intourist", in Soviet times.

The School of Professional Translators, set up by the Association, carries out training for persons already engaged in translation and interpretation activities, wishing to improve their skills, for students studying at the Department of foreign languages,  wishing to become a translator and / or an interpreter, and also for persons enjoying languages and translation. At the same time, the Board perceives the School of Professional Translators as a modality of promotion of the Association and of the translation profession in general.
The President noted that 12 new members joined ATP during 2015-2016 mandate and other two experienced translators became members of ATP Moldova at the beginning of 2017, which is considered a good realization.

A number of topics related to the work of the Association were discussed at the General Assembly and an amendment to Regulation of the ATP Moldova was approved by the present members. Next, the reports of the Certification Commission, the Supervisory Board, and of the financial report of ATP Moldova were presented. All of them were positively assessed by the Assembly.

The Association of Professional Translators of Moldova is a non-governmental non-profit organization, founded in January 1998. The key role of the ATP Moldova is to liaise and to facilitate collaboration among professional translators and to promote provision of high quality translation and interpretation services both within the Republic of Moldova and abroad. At present, the ATP Moldova has got 50 active members. Ms. Eleonora Rusnac holds the office of the President of ATP Moldova for the several years.

About Mărțișor 

In our republic everybody celebrates Martisor beginning with 1st of March and lasting the entire month. But how many of us really know the legend of Martisor and details about the origin of this holiday? It was proved that not too many. During of the General Assembly of the Association of Professional Translators from 27th of February this year, our colleague Alexandra Dobreanschi made a speech dedicated to Martisor, which was as painstaking as it was interesting. Read this speech in the rubric "Articles and Opinions". 

Means of promotion of APT Moldova.

On 27th of February 2016 Elena Filatov - PR specialist - made a presentation during of the meeting of APT Moldova members, dedicated to developing relationships with the public and using this procedure in promoting the Association of Professional Translators from Moldova,translators found out about the modern promotion methods of the Association, but also of the specialist translator, either s/he is a "freelancer" or employed in an organization.  Among the useful pieces of advice taken from this presentation are the following:

A translator is a brand and the Association is a brand too. They are overlapping. On the business card will be indicated both the name of the translator and the name of the Association.  There are various instruments of promotion: business card, website, blog, social networks:  Facebook, Instagram, Одноклассники, etc. "Exchange" advertising can be done, for instance, business cards will be distributed in various organizations, with whom it cooperates, so it should be distributed in the given organisation and vice-versa.  Facebook promotion is important due to the very visual element. It is good that the information about Association to appear in the frame of events, that are carried out with the participation of translators. Facebook promotion is cheaper than, for instance, TV promotion at "Moldova 1". The advertising banner will be used for promotion. A banner could be printed on office supplies, agendas, pens and will contain Association's contact data.  APT badges could be another way of promotion.

Round table regarding the new standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015 for the translation services 

The National Institute of Standardization (INS) organized on the 23rd of November this year a round table with the topic: "Translation services:  Perspectives and benefits as a result of implementing the European Standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015

The purpose of the event was to initiate cooperative relationships in the domain of standardization with educational institutions, as well as translation bureaus from Republic of Moldova, training them in discussions regarding the importance and necessity of implementing the standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015 translation services.  The conditions requested for conducting the service as well as the benefits that can be obtained as a result of it both for the clients and for the service providers. 

The respective standard established the demands for all the aspects connected to the translation process which affects, in a direct way, the quality and the process of providing translation services.  This includes provisions for service translator providers (PST) regarding the management of the main processes, minimum qualification services, availability and resource management, as well as other necessary actions for providing a quality translation service.

Thus, at the round table participated representatives of many translation bureaus from Republic of Moldova, representatives of the Association of Professional Translators from Moldova anduniversity staff and students. 

In his turn, Veaceslav Musteață, member of the Supervision Council of the Association of Professional Translators from Moldova referred to both the benefits and the constraints that appear as a result of implementing the standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015 in Republic of Moldova, offering in this context recommendations for their overcoming. 

The benefits of implementing the standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015 for PST and their clients:

  • The assurance of quality of translation services, by combining the efforts of at least two professionals: the translator and the reviser and via establishing a system of standardized processes. 
  • increasing the level of satisfaction of the clients 
  • improving the cooperative relationships between PST and the employees and their clients.
  • Increasing the PST credibility and the trust of clients in the quality of services 
  • increasing the productivity and profitability of PST by reducing operational risks and costs.
  • improving the management of the business by using resources more efficiently 
  • increasing competition on the translation services market 
  • facilitating obtaining financing via the projects of foreign financiers  
  • a better marketing instrument of the translation services 
  • High costs of the necessary resources for providing services according to the provisions of the standard, especially the costs of the technological resources, such as technological instruments for translation, management systems of the translation process etc.:
  • The lack of PST motivation to implement the given standard, taking into account high costs for certification and maintaining conformity and the reduced demand for translation services at a national and international level. 
  • Reducing the demand for translation services due to the increase of prices for translation services as a result of certification and maintaining conformity.
  • Lack of certain national bodies of specialized certification in the evaluation and certification of conformity with the given standard.  
  • The high costs for PST certification from Moldova, especially due to a lack of specialized certification bodies at a national level.
  • The potential constraints connected to the implementation of the standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015
  • Recommendations for overcoming the constraints connected to implementation of the standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015:
  • Carrying out an evaluation of the needs to implement the standard SM EN ISO 17100:2015
  • Carrying out an opinion poll regarding the satisfaction of the clients of the translation services. 
  • The awareness of the clients, of the PST and other interested parties with regards the need of implementing the given standard.
  • Conducting an initial evaluation regarding the level of preparation of PST for certification.
  • Organization of some training courses of PST for their preparation for evaluation and certification of conformity with the given standard.
  • Elaboration of a guide for PST regarding the preparation measures for evaluation and their certification with the given standard. 
  • Creation of condition for subcontracting external collaborators based on some simplified forms of tax administration.
  • Organization of some training courses for bodies of national certification for their specialization in the evaluation and certification of PSTcompliance with the given standard. 
  • Attraction of external financial assistance for partial coverage of the associated expenses with the implementation of the systems of traceability of the translation processes and PST certification.
  • Accreditation at the international level of the national bodies representatives of certification for ensuring the professionalism and their objectivities.

Source: click here

Stylistic guides 

The Facebook page of the Association of Professional Translator was placed the site: click here

and presents several stylistic guides for translators from various domains connected with international bodies such as: World Bank, World Health Organization, European Commission and others. Restrictions, limitations, suggestions and recommendations from the stylistic guides can appear tiresome and limiting for an experienced translator, but it forms a clear ground on which decisions can be founded on every step.  And for a beginner translator, studying such types of documents can bring a little light and structure in this difficult work.  When the communication style is distinctive and has an absolute importance for adequate sending of the message, the stylistic guide becomes especially necessary for translators. That is why we are publishing repeatedly these guides on the official page of APT Moldova. 

General Meeting of the Association of Professional Translators

On the 15th of February 2015 took place the general meeting of the Association of Professional Translators. The agenda of the meeting included many important issues, among them the presentation of the activity report of the council and the association comittees as well as the examination of some possibilities to promote the APT on the national and international level. Also, the president, members of the administration council and the committee of the association was chosen. During the meeting new members that joined the association during the year of reporting were welcomed. 

A new member of APT Moldova 

Mrs. Alexandra Dobrianschi recently joined the Association of Professional Translators from Moldova.  Alexandra has extensive translation experience. She began the translator activity during soviet times, when she worked for the famous Intourist. Then Cuba experience followed, where she has worked several years. Afterwards, her career turned to another domain - diplomacy.  Mrs. Dobrianschi worked for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration for more than 20 years. Thus, the translator experience was enriched with the diplomatic experience. It is a wonderful mixture. We say to Alexandra "Welcome! We are glad to have you among us!” 

Meeting with Hanna Kavasto, translator from Finland

On the 27th of September 2014, Hanna Kavasto participated at a meeting with the members of the Association of Professional Translators from Moldova. Hanna is a great friend of Republic of Moldova. She fell in love with our country many years ago, when she was working at OSCE. Then she fell in love with Romanian language that she studied and now speaks very well.  Now, Romanian language is one of the foreign languages that she Translates.

The translators present at this meeting could find out more things about work opportunities in the European Union and about the possibility to participate at a series of employment offers in projects implemented in European Union.   APT Moldova plans to organize a more formal meeting with this translator in November this year, to offer possibilities to all the translators to ask questions and to obtain answers referring to the activity of translator in European Union. 

Speciality Internship

In the period 12th of January - 26th of February 2014, APT Moldova accepted to guide the speciality internship of Miss Calugher Mariana, student in the IIIrd year of the faculty of foreign languages and literature of the State University of Moldova. In this purpose was elaborated a task book with the specification of the tasks in the domain of the three forms of translation: written in English and French language and simultaneous translation. In the indicated period the intern Calugher was guided by the APT President Ms. Eleonora Rusnac and by APT members Ms. Elena Ciobanu (the French language segment), Diana Şestacovschi and SandaIarincovschi (the English language segment). 

Natalia Conovca participated at the Translations Forum 2013 

Natalia Conovca participated in October at the Translation Forum 2013, organized by AFIT Romania. Topics discussed included translators and translation companies: quality standards in translation, that reprezent "machine translations", key elements of the field, adaptation to a continuously changing environment, etc.

Eleonora Rusnac translated the book "Bessarabia Uknown to the West"

Eleonora Rusnac recently translated from Romanian to English the book of the publicist Sergiu Ion Chirca”Basarabie! 

Libertatea și progresul vin de peste Prut”. The book appeared at Arc publisher with the title ”Bessarabia Unknown to the West”.  It is a book of great help for people from abroad, who want to know the most crucial moments from the history of our land.

Lidia Cazacu at the international conference from Spain

Lidia Cazacu participated with a communication at the International Seminar "Multilingualism, integration and web 2.0: to quality and equity in European education of the XXIst century", Spain, 2013.  XXI”, Spania, 2013. The event was carried out in the frame of the educational program Pestalozzi in cooperation with the Cervantes Institute from Alcala de Henares, Spain with the financial and logistical support of the Autonomous Committee "European Educative Programs" (OAPEE) from Spain and the Council of Europe.

Elena Ciobanu participated at a FIT training

Our colleague Elena Ciobanu participated this summer (July, 2013) at a practical training carried out by (FIT) - Europe (FédérationInternationale des Traducteurs) with the head office in Geneva.  This workshop took place in Czech Republic, in the cities of Prague and Bratislava, in the frame of a project financed by EU.  It was an event dedicated to deepening practical abilities of the translators in various domains: economy, geopolitics, commerce, finance, etc. It drew attention especially to the translation of neologisms in the target language.

Book Editing  

It is a teaching support that was elaborated for development of consecutive translation competences.  The textbook is structured in 2 parts - Part I presents theoretical aspects of consecutive translation and the second part is divided in units that contain a variety of activities of understanding, application and integration of the knowledge and consolidation exercises.  The book is for students and professors from the faculties of foreign languages and is focusing on English and Romanian languages.

Socialization Event

On 29th of June, this year, the Association of Professional Translators marked the fifth anniversary of the School of Professional Translator. The event took place in a modest room from "Tourist" hotel with the participation of about 25 people, both members of the Association and former participants of the School of Translator.  The modest room was not, in any way, an impediment to creating an atmosphere full of joy.  This thing was possible due to the funny stories retold by APT Moldova members, but also due to the possibilities of communication between the APT Moldova members and former participants to the School of Translator.  The latter could also establish contacts with the members of the Association in regards to possible cooperation in the future. The most important thing for them was still the possibility to listen to the experienced translators like Elena Ciobanu, Elizaveta Onofreiciuc, Natalia Alhazov, Diana Revenco and others retelling the most unusual experiences of translation. Veaceslav Musteață took care to make a collage of photographd with images of various editions of the School of Translator.  Everybody qualified this event as being pleasant and welcoming.

 

Category: Members' area