This page includes a variety of resources and links to organizations in the translation industry, individual translators and consultants with whom I have worked in the past, as well as a section containing resources for those interested specifically in the Arabic language.

Make sure to check back frequently as this section is sure to grow a great deal over the coming months!

[NEW] Articles

• Useful article by Abdulaziz Al-Dammad entitled Domestication vs. Foreignization in English-Arabic Translation. Originally published 2/2/2008 on ProZ.com.

[NEW] On-Line Terminology Resources

There is an ever growing amount of on-line resources for those working in the language services industry. I decided to start the list below simply to provide an example of the websites I use on a regular basis. As with the other sections of this page, recommended additions are always welcome via e-mail to info@pjdarabictranslation.com.

• UNTERM - United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database - Available in the six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian), this database is intended for use by UN language and editorial staff - however anyone can access it on-line.
• Babylon - This company offers dictionaries in a multitude of languages, as well as a program allowing users to quickly and efficiently look up translations for individual terms and expressions. Also offers free online translation.

Organizations

American Translators Association (ATA) – national organization for individual translators and interpreters, translation agencies, and corporations actively engaged in the fields of translation and interpretation: http://www.atanet.org

In addition to being an industry wide organization, the ATA also offers 15 different language and sector specific divisions, otherwise known as professional interest groups. For a list of these groups, go to http://www.ata-divisions.org. While there is not currently an Arabic language division, a Yahoo Group has been formed to gauge the level of interest in forming an Arabic language division. Click on the appropriate link below to either join the YahooGroup or subscribe to its mailing list. We will be meeting during this year's annual ATA conference. Join the Yahoo Group to see specific information on this meeting, as well as to receive periodic updates on our efforts to found an ATA Arabic language division.

Click to join arabic_translation_ata

Subscribe to arabic_translation_ata Powered by tech.groups.yahoo.com

Colorado Translators Association (CTA) – regional ATA chapter offering professional development and networking opportunities to translators in Colorado: http://www.cta-web.org

Freelancers

Another Boulder based translator - Corinne McKay - operates www.translatewrite.com.  Corinne is a French to English translator and was recently elected to head up the ATA's French language division.  Her site includes a great deal of information for those interested in becoming a professional translator as well as great resources for those already working in the field. 

This is a great resource for translators looking to maximize the benefits of using their computers. Published by Jost Zetzsche, translation industry consultant and founder of the International Writers' Group, provides this free biweekly newsletter as an extension to his book, A Translator's Tool Box—A Computer Primer for Translators. There is a wide variety of software programs out there designed specifically for translators and there is probably no better starting point than Dr. Zetzsche's book and newsletter.

There are also a variety of websites providing a meeting place for those needing and providing translation services. I have used each of these in the past with varying degrees of success. Most of websites offering this service encourage - but do not require - you to become a paying member in order to access and bid on the translation jobs posted. Each of these sites allows you to both search on-line directories for the translator with the appropriate expertise for your project, as well as simply post projects without conducting a search. Posting a project will allow available translators in the desired language pair to submit bids on your project. The list below includes links to the main page of each site as well as to my specific profile page in some cases to provide one sample of a profile on one of the sites.

• ProZ.com - profile
• Translatorscafe.com
• Language123.com - Patrick D'Silva - Translation Services
• Applied Language - http://www.appliedlanguage.com

Arabic language

American Association of Teachers of Arabic – http://www.wm.edu/aata - This organization is based at the College of William & Mary and offers information on pedagogy, research, fellowships, and employment opportunities for those interested in learning or teaching the Arabic language.

Books - this is a list of books that I find useful for the beginning Arabic translator. Most (if not all) of them are available on-line vendors such as Amazon.com.

• Hatim, Basil. English-Arabic/Arabic-English Translation: A Practical Guide. Saqi Books, 1997.
• Dickens, James. Thinking Arabic Translation (Thinking Translation). Routledge, 2002.
• Sofer, Morry. Translator Self-Training: Arabic - A Practical Course in Technical Translation. Schreiber Publishing, 2002.

If you operate or know of a website that would be a good fit on this page, please e-mail info@pjdarabictranslation.com with “Resources” in the subject heading.  We are especially interested in establishing reciprocal links with relevant sites.