I have come across a site of an Arabic translator at
http://www.proz.com/pro/13467
The site gives incorrect information.
The translator mentioned in that site alleges that he is officially certified and a holder of an MA in translation from the American University in Cairo (AUC). He also claims that he is a member of the Egyptian Translators Association and the Gulf Translators Association.
I am a translation teacher at the American University in Cairo, and I hereby affirm that the AUC does not have any program for MA in translation at all. We offer, through the Arabic and Translation Studies Division (ASD), Center for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE), only a one- or two-year professional certificate in translation and/or interpreting. You may verify this information from ASD website at
http://www.aucegypt.edu/conted/cace/div/asd.htm
or contact Dr. David Wilmsen, the Director of ASD, at dwilmsen@aucegypt.edu for information about the programs ASD offers.
In Egypt there is no Translators' Association, but only a modest recently established translators' union that does not enjoy much recognition so far.
There is nothing called Gulf Translators Association. I am
currently providing training for translators in Kuwait, and I have
connections and constant contacts with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. There is no Gulf Translators Association there.
Moustafa Gabr (Fellow of the Institute of Linguists, UK)
Kuwait
1. There was a misunderstanding that was cleared following the correspondence with Mr. Wilmsen. When Mrs. Qamar Abdu headed the department, we were told that the Professional Certificate is the equivalent of MA or Diploma in Translation and Simultaneous Interpretation Studies, and what I mentioned in Proz.Com reflected this understanding. When Mr. Wilmsen contacted me, I changed it to Professional Certificate the minute he contacted me.
2. The Alsun-Graduates Union is currently the Translation Association in Egypt (as far as I know from their meetings held yearly during Ramadan).
3. I took part in the final drafting of the Gulf Translators Association Bylaws (with the creator, Mr. Hassan ElAbaddi) when I used to work in Riyadh. I am not sure about their current activities because I left Riyadh more than a year ago, and consequently I do not know the current email address or even if they now have a website, but I will do my best to search for it in the next couple of days, so that you can make sure it exists!!!!.
I admit that I made a mistake by not verifying the MA issue further before posting my resume on Proz or other portals, but I lived in Saudi Arabia for over nine years and that is the belief I had for all of those years.
I have now changed the information on Proz.Com. I have also posted an updated resume with copies of the certificates after scanning them.
I hope to hear from Mr. Gabr ASAP, and I hope this is the beginning of an ever-lasting friendship, and a solid cooperation in the translation field.
Sam Ragab
Cairo, Egypt
I have read four articles by Mr. Gerasimov, published in the Translation Journal, on translation
memory tools and marketing of translation services. I find them very
interesting and useful for every freelance translator. Please continue publishing similar articles!
I was going to purchase Trados as more and more often it becomes a
must when getting projects from foreign companies, but having learned
WordFast is just as good, I am considering downloading and learning this
tool.
Also, I will probably refuse to do any free test translations in the future.
I was also interested to know that Andrei has bought four databases of
translation agencies. This is of special interest for me because I
have compiled my own database of translation
agencies. It holds 3400+ e-mail addresses and is growing every day. It is available from my portal: http://www.TranslationDirectory.com/jobs.htm.
Serhiy Onoshko
Lviv, Ukraine
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