International Translation Management Conference TM-Europe 2009
The TM-Europe 2009 International Conference was held on October 1-2, 2009 in the Marriott Hotel in Warsaw. TM-Europe is an annual conference on management issues for the translation and localisation industry organized by the Polish Association of Translation Agencies (www.psbt.pl) and TM-Global (www.tm-global.org). This year’s theme was quality and terminology management and the relationship between Translation Service Providers and their clients.

The President of MAart Agency, Monika Popiołek, participated in the TM-Global Translation and Localisation Market Survey presentation as well as moderated the panel discussion on quality management. MAart Agency was one of the conference sponsors, as well as the organizer of the speed networking session.

International Translation Management Conference TM-Europe 2010 will take place in Cracow on 30 September – 1 October, 2010.

For more information see: http://www.tm-europe.org

International Conference on Translation in Malaysia
On 18-20 August, the President of MAart Agency, Monika Popiołek, and Peter Reynolds, TM-Global Consultant, attended the 12th International Conference on Translation held in Penang, Malaysia. Peter Reynolds of TM-Global presented a paper Translation Technology of Today in Theory and Practice. International Conference on Translation is a biennial international conference with participants from academia and industry which focuses on Asian issues and markets. This year’s edition was hosted by Universiti Sains Malaysia together with the Malaysian Translators Association, the Malaysian National Institute of Translation and the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka as the co-organisers, under the patronage of the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education.

  

 

MAart PMs and QCD revisers TILP-certified
MAart PMs and QCD revisers participated in another edition of the CLP course, organised by the PSBT and the The Institute of Localisation Professionals (TILP). The CLP Level 1 course is designed for all those interested in expanding their knowledge of innovative IT tools for localisation and associated project management methodology. The programme covers on-line training (10 modules) followed by a 4-day on-site practical workshop which took place on 4-7 August 2009 in Warsaw. The course includes on-line and on-site training, examination, certification and CAT tools licences. Four MAart project managers and QCD revisers (Mai Kubiak-Ho-Chi, Ewa Legumina, Małgorzata Miłek, and Grzegorz Wiśniewski) have successfully completed the course and received TILP certificates.

 

  

MAart Agency's Successful Bids for European Commission Tenders
In August MAart Agency has been awarded three more contracts by the European Commission for English to Polish translations covering legal, technical (transport, energy, telecommunications, information technology) and natural sciences (fisheries, agriculture and environment) translation projects - under tenders LEG08-EN20, TECH1-EN20 and TECH2-EN20 respectively.

Fine feathers make fine birds or the influence of verbal and visual communication on the perception of Poland by foreigners – Monika Baczyńska, reviser at the Quality Control Department of MAart Translations Agency

Whenever we go abroad, we expect to encounter reliable, accurate, clear and comprehensive information to help us get around a foreign country. This includes airport or train station announcements, signposts, directions, bus schedules, tariffs, descriptions of local attractions, monuments and tourist facilities, and even restaurant menus. What we wish for when abroad is convenience, good time and carefree travel. If we are puzzled, misinformed, frustrated or simply at a loss in a foreign country – some of the fun is automatically gone. Foreign tourists visiting Poland are no exception to the rule. Unfortunately, they often encounter complete lack of information in any foreign language, have to get by with gestures or decipher poorly translated scraps of information or messages.

Obviously, this affects the way Poland is perceived by foreigners. Public space communication and tourist information can do a lot for a country’s international image – provided the translation is correct. Translators have an important mission to fulfill and can help promote the image of Poland as a modern, attractive country worth visiting and relocating to. Scarce or inaccurate information should be eliminated from public space if we want Poland to be perceived as a progressive EU economy and encourage tourism. Time is of essence, especially in view of the upcoming Euro 2012  Soccer Championship, and we should make sure to provide foreign visitors with proper information – even basic logistical guidelines to help them get around Polish cities, as well as some more general information about the country, its culture and history.

As translators we need to take a more critical view of our surroundings and take more responsibility for the quality of multilingual communication in our immediate environment. The image of Poland that tourists and expats take away with them will undoubtedly contribute to international recognition and opinion about our country. The way we describe our tourist attractions and how we “translate” urban space, the way we present and market our top attractions – and, accordingly, how we demonstrate “hospitality through language” to our visitors – reflects on our standards and our openness to global communication and other nations. Let us not forget that even the most beautiful sights and ideas lack greater appeal if they are not marketed properly and accurately presented. Therefore, if we do not wish to remain unnoticed and unappreciated, we have to contribute a little to the campaign to promote Poland. The first task is to provide our visitors with correct and comprehensive information - only then we can try to promote a positive image of Poland. As translators we are proud of our national heritage, and we can do a lot to help overcome the inferiority complex we seem to be often grappling with as a nation.

Luckily, more and more decision makers comprehend the need to provide foreigners with multilingual information. Some of the institutions which have dedicated years of hard work to building a positive image of Poland among foreigners, also on-line, is the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and PAIiIZ. The purpose of the [Let’s] Translate Poland social campaign launched by MAart is an attempt to persuade our industry to join in the effort to promote our country to foreigners at the grassroots level and offer multilingual content free of charge to decision makers at the local and national level in order to ensure efficient multilingual communication in the public space.

Please join us and become a user and contributor to the Translate Poland portal - together we can and make a difference!

 

Quality Control Department

Grzegorz Wiśniewski, QCD Manager
All translations provided by translators cooperating with Mart Agency – both specialist (e.g. technical, medical, legal and financial) and general ones – are subject to multi-phase revision in accordance with the industry standard EN 15038. 

Ewa Legumina, QCD Coordinator and Project Manager
The aim of revision is to correct all errors, if any, in order to provide the client with top-quality translation. This complex process includes a number of stages: initial revision, full terminological and content-related verification, linguistic revision and professional review.   

Justyna Radzka, QCD Coordinator
Translation revisers are provided with proper tools that facilitate their work and follow processes that support the highest quality of translation. They use state-of-the-art computer-aided translation and verification technologies, terminological databases – co-developed with experts, translators and clients – as well as specialist dictionaries and glossaries. They also have proper competencies and experience in text translation and revision.  

 

Detailed information on “who is who” at MAart can be found on our webpage in the About MAart | MAart People. We encourage you to visit www.maart.pl on regular basis for more news.

Although creating the best possible image of Poland and Polish citizens abroad is one of the priorities of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the end result depends on all of us – Maja Zawierzeniec talks to Mr Marek Purowski, Head of the Web Portal Management Unit at the Department of Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Maja Zawierzeniec: The fifth anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union and the upcoming Euro 2012 Football Championship to be organized in Poland are an excellent opportunity for some kind of an ‘image audit’ of our country. It seems that, in spite of our aspiration to the G20 group and a number of  political highlights, like the recent appointment of Jerzy Buzek to the position of the EP President, Poland is still relatively little known, especially beyond Europe, and the image of the land and people is quite often molded by stereotypes, both negative and positive ones, which are often connected with the legends of great Poles, such as John Paul II or Frederic Chopin.       
What does the Ministry’s do to change this image?

Marek Purowski: It’s not easy to mold a positive image of Poland as all spheres of life contribute to create this final picture. Although creating the best possible image of Poland and Polish people abroad indeed belongs to priorities of the Polish MFA, the end result depends on all of us. What molds Poland’s image is our attitude and behaviour at home and abroad, just as the achievements of our immigrant communities, politicians, scientists or artists. All these elements determine the way we are perceived and judged by the world.   

The applicable measures taken by the MFA involve a continuous long-term process and coordinating a number of departments and organizational units, including our diplomatic agencies. As the head of a unit dealing with websites, I would like to focus on this particular tool and its use for the promotion of Poland.

In 1994, the MFA went online and the Internet became a new tool for its policy of global promotion of Poland. At first at the Ministry’s main website www.msz.gov.pl and since 2004 at dedicated website at www.poland.gov.pl, we published information and resources designed to show what Poland looks like nowadays. After five years of operation, in 2009, the website www.poland.gov.pl was thoroughly upgraded. The present version, with use of state-of-the-art technologies, presents Poland and Polish people in both comprehensive and interesting manner. The website, available in seven different language versions, presents facts and figures about Poland, its population, history, economy and politics. At the same time, we present great personages of the Polish science and culture and their achievements. We also publish a timeline of key events in the Polish history. All those interested in Polish affairs will find our website full of links to interesting sites and institutions. The objective of the website is to arouse interest in Poland through presentation of interesting information from various aspects of life. It is also used for highlighting of our important anniversaries and events. This year, for instance, these included: the 20th Anniversary of Freedom Regained and the Collapse of the Communist Regime in Central Europe, Grotowski Year, Mieczysław Karłowicz Year, Polska!Year in the UK. 

The activities of the Department of Public and Cultural Diplomacy, including the MFA website team, are closely coordinated with 22 websites operated by Polish institutes (http://www.culture.pl/pl/culture/instytucje/instytuty_polskie) and more than 120 websites operated by our diplomatic agencies abroad. Our mutual activities bring tangible results, the evidence being, for instance, our communication with Internet users.  

Maja Zawierzeniec: In 2004, the Ministry launched an official promotional web portal of the Republic of Poland, currently available in 7 languages. What is particularly important about poland.gov.pl?

Marek Purowski: From the very beginning, the Internet has been a dynamically changing medium. So has been Poland’s promotional portal. As we developed its first version in 2004, no one could have predicted how soon changes and updates would become necessary. As new technologies and Internet requirements emerged, in 2009 we found it urgent to redesign the website completely. We are likely to see another upgrade coming in the next three years or so. Nevertheless, the basic objectives are still valid. Our website provides information and resources about the 21st century Poland. Although it may also be considered as a source of information about the history of our nation and its historic personages, its basic aim is to show Poland as a modern and dynamically developing country in Central Europe. The goal of the website is to awake interest in Poland and encourage people to read more about our country at linked websites. We try to reach various target groups. Therefore the resources are designed in a comprehensive and attractive manner. www.poland.gov.pl is available as an element of the MFA’s web portal www.msz.gov.pl.

Maja Zawierzeniec: What are the partners of poland.gov.pl in your promotion of Poland?

Marek Purowski: In general, Poland’s promotional portal cooperates with all web portals which publish resources used by our website. We only use official portals publishing impartial and proven information. Of course, this also applies to the web portals operated by both government institutions and bodies, and by NGOs at home and abroad. Our constantly changing list of partners is available at our website.

Maja Zawierzeniec: What are the portal’s long-term goals?

Marek Purowski: The MFA plans to continue the development of its websites. According to the generally available statistics and studies, this tool is going to dominate in our life in the years to come. We wish to keep our websites up to date and upgraded on a regular basis. We are also planning to add new language versions. In order to improve the quality and viewer rates of our websites, we focus on both technological/organizational and content-related aspects. We keep tracing the directions in which the Internet develops in order to be able to make use of new technologies and solutions. Thanks to studying viewer rates, we will be able to adjust our websites better to the Internet users’ tastes and necessities. Moreover, we are going to launch new thematic websites. We are fully aware that what an Internet user in Poland or Europe finds interesting is not necessarily attractive for their counterpart in South America or in the US. Therefore, the websites operated for a specific language will be adjusted to a specific language group, geographic region and Internet users’ tastes. We wish to introduce some more interactive tools and improve the contact with Internet users. This requires some organizational changes and an editorial team able to develop and coordinate the activities of all of the Ministry’s websites.

From the diary of the novice reviser...

this disorder has been around since the days of the horse and buggy – ta choroba istniała już od zamierzchłych czasów powozów konnych

In this section the reader will find unpriced ideas that would be used to enhance the plant enterprise – W tej sekcji czytelnik znajdzie jedynie idee (bez wyceny)

Les members apportent ensuite leurs conclusions – Następnie, posłowie przedstawili swoje wioski

Franco Frattini, vice-president – Franco Frattini, wuceprzewodniczący

migraine prophylaxis during pregnancy – profilaktyka napadów migrenowych w ciąży

EU employment and productivity growth patterns have diverged sharply over recent years. – W ostatnich latach w UE modele wzrostu zatrudnienia i wydajności pracy znacząco się rozeszły.

När det är tomt på avlastningsbanan talar operatören om för ugnen att den skall tömmas. – Kiedy taśma załadunkowa jest pusta, operator komunikuje piecu konieczność jej opróżnienia.

När åkvagnen vill lämna gods så talar den om för ugnen att den vill lämna pallett på ugnens bana 1-8 (befintlig ugn) eller bana 9-12. – Kiedy wózek chce pozostawić ładunek, komunikuje piecu, że chce postawić paletę na taśmie 1–8 (obecny piec) lub 9–12.

Something to brighten your autumn evenings…

  

 

 

Źródło: http://www.oddee.com

MAart Agency is ISO 9001:2000 & PN-EN 15038:2006 certified