West Midlands Group

A report on our June workshop by Jacinta Kal On the 11th of June, several interpreters, translators and students gathered at Aston University for an interpreting workshop. Because I exclusively translate and have no experience with interpreting, I decided to attend so I could learn more about the different modes of interpreting, and of course also to meet some colleagues! The day started off with a talk by Eva Lohwasser on retour interpreting and its implications for CPD. Eva Lohwasser In her talk, Eva discussed the different points of view on retour interpreting, which is where an interpreter interprets from their A language (mother tongue) into their B language. This A>B interpreting was (and still is) frowned upon in some institutions and by some interpreters. Eva then went on to pose the question: if someone is equally at home in their A and B language, do the users of the interpreting really perceive a non-native accent as bad quality? And what IS quality anyway...

Translating & tweeting at Aston A report by Amanda Wilson, photographs by Charlie Gobbett Friday 20 th March 2015. Not your average Friday because of the partial eclipse forecast for the UK. Everywhere people flocked outside in their droves to catch a glimpse (from behind ‘eclipse glasses’ or using pinhole projectors, naturally!) and outside the Main Building at Aston University was no different. Thanks to Emmanuelle Jeannot who brought some glasses along, members of the West Midlands Group were able to safely view the eclipse before getting stuck into their Translation Workshop and AGM. Who said that AGMs are dull and boring?! For me the eclipse was overshadowed by the WMG event! The day was lively with a festive atmosphere , ‘partially’ due to the eclipse but probably more to do with the opportunity for networking with colleagues old and new. Once everyone had made their way inside for coffee and the welcome, groups were formed for the translation workshops; ...

Bookings are coming in for our translation workshop on 20 March. If you've never been to a translation workshop before, please do come and try it out. They're always interesting and fun! We work in language-specific groups on short texts, attempting to produce a collaborative translation - if only of the first sentence! There will be fascinating discussions of tricky aspects (and we're hoping to have some extra-tricky ones this time, including puns and rhymes) and plenty of insights into other people's approaches. This time the workshop is split into two halves, with an introduction to Twitter by Lloyd Binham in the middle. This means that tweeting will be permitted - and even encouraged, but not enforced - in the second half of the workshop. At 5pm we will be relocating to the Bacchus Bar for a tweet-up (non-tweeters also welcome!) For more details and to request a booking form, please see the Events page.

There were eleven of us at the WMG committee meeting in Birmingham yesterday. Appropriately, we met in the Edwardian Tea Room of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which is where, ten years ago, four translators met for coffee and decided to revive the West Midlands Group of ITI. It was wonderful yesterday to see that there are still so many people - from founding members to newcomers - happy to take an active part in running the group! I'll be posting some memories of the past ten years on the new WMG history page over the next few days and weeks. Feel free to comment and add your own to this post. Bärbel McCloskey, Jakub Sacharczuk, Liz Smith, Rekha Narula, Mike Hanson, Charlie Gobbett, Ros Mendy, Juliet Hammond-Smith, Ulrike Nichols, Shelagh Rothero and Jean Darvill Happy 10th anniversary, everyone!

Meet and Greet/Seminar with Susan Lankfer When: 21 October, 4-6pm Where: Aston University,  Main Building, 5 th  floor, room 574 In 2013 we launched our mentoring programme in collaboration with the Department of Translation Studies at Aston University. Seasoned translators and interpreters  provide practical insights to MA students into the challenges and chores of our everyday working life. The students and mentors agree on a day and time to meet either electronically or in person and the mentors share their experiences and answer the students' questions. Please join us for this informal event that is a first opportunity for students and mentors to meet and possibly set up a schedule. What a translation agency does for you A Seminar with Susan Lankfer, Comtec Translations Susan is the Head of Business Development at Comtec Translations where has been working for five years. Starting as a Project Manager and working her way to Head of Business Development,...

Photos from our walk with the WRG are now online ( here ) including a steam train, beautiful lunchtime views, a free-range pig and the ruins of Hailes Abbey.

A chance to enjoy some tourism in the Cotswolds and to catch up with old friends and colleagues, and meet new ones from two ITI regional networks. We start with a short steam train ride on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway (GWR) from Toddington to the attractive town of Winchcombe, followed by a walk (5 miles) which includes a long climb up a hill, rewarded by fine views and a picnic at the top. Then back down the other side, taking in the medieval ruins of Hailes Abbey (seen from the outside) with the help of an ice cream, and a last stretch back to Toddington in time for tea. Meet 10.30 onwards for coffee at Toddington GWR station, in the Flag & Whistle refreshment room. Buy your ticket first (single to Winchcombe, adult fare £7, child £3). We’ll catch the first train of the day at 11.10 and people can also join us at Winchcombe station, setting off at 11.30, or in the town itself around 11.45. See www.gwsr.com for more info on the railway, http://www.w...