Dear ATINS members,

I hope that everyone has been enjoying this beautiful summer.

These are our 2022-2023 board members.

We are happy to serve you and rest of the Nova Scotian language community.

Dear ATINS members,

I hope that everyone has been enjoying these first couple weeks of summer, particularly as Covid restrictions have been lessening and our community is feeling safer now than ever before.

These are our 2021-2022 board members.

We are happy to serve you and rest of the Nova Scotian language community.

ATINS is happy to announce a number of interesting free training offers that are designed to sharpen translators' and interpreters' linguistic or commercial sword.

ProZ.com is hosting its Freelance Success Summit April 7-8-9, 2020 for free. You may register here.

ProZ.com is also offering free access to both its Spotlight Training as well as its Video Library through June 1st, 2020. Please click on the links above in order to access them.

Additionally, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Manitoba (ATIM) is offering a free CTTIC webinar entitled Emojis, Emoticons, and Smileys on April 22, 2020 at 4PM AT presented by Jeff Staflund, Ed.D., M.C.I., C. Tr., C. Int. Please find all the necessary information to register and participate here.

We hope that you will be able to benefit from these free resources.

Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, please note that ATINS has decided to cancel the CTTIC Certification Exams scheduled for this spring.

ATINS members have been receiving fraudulent job interview offers from businesses claiming they saw members' profiles on the ATINS website.

These emails have sometimes come from unknown individuals and sometimes from reputable companies, such as Macmillan, the NY-based editor. Sometimes the official websites are linked in the email as well, which further falsifies credibility.

The fraudsters take information from real companies and even the names of real HR representatives, so as to make the offer seem credible.

If the interview process is said to take place via Google Hangouts, the "recruiter" makes errors in English, asks for private information like your address, date of birth, etc., this very likely indicates that it is not a legitimate job offer.

ATINS strongly recommends to be increasingly vigilant, and NOT to reach out to these recruiters, but rather to contact the real company through their official websites (not linked in the email).

Claudine Belhomme, Interpreter and Certified Translator/President, Association of Translators and Interpreters of Nova Scotia

All ATINS members are cordially invited to attend our Annual General Meeting, which will be held at the Museum of Natural History on May 30, 2019 .  The museum is located at 1747 Summer Street, Halifax. Please mark your calendars and stay tuned. We will post further details on this event within the next few days.

We are happy to announce that starting this year, we are offering the exam in both paper and computerized versions. That is, candidates may choose to write their exam either with pen or on their laptop. Please read the special rules pertaining to the electronic exam at the end of this communication (inset).

For both the electronic and paper versions, the translation exam will consist of two texts to be translated:

1.     A compulsory general text and

2.     A choice between two moderately specialized texts (financial and scientific).

      (All texts will be approximately 175–185 words in length.)

We encourage you to look into taking the community or medical interpreter certification exams, which are available in 11 languages: Arabic, Cantonese, Farsi, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish, and Hungarian, or the court interpreter certification exam, which is available in seven languages: Cantonese, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi and Spanish.

Kindly be advised that the interpreter certifications consist of two phases: written, and oral. Only the first phase, that is, the written translation test, will be given on September 22. The oral tests (phase 2) will only be offered once candidates pass the corresponding written component this fall.

Anyone wishing to write the certification exam should carefully review the CTTIC exam application requirements (link below).  If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at certification@atins.org.

To help you prepare, we have enclosed the CTTIC Translation Exam guides (in French and in English) as well as English and French texts from the 2017 exams.

Please note that during the examination the use of any type of electronic device (apart from the laptop used by candidates taking the electronic exam) is strictly prohibited. (Electronic devices include but are not limited to cell phones, pagers, Blackberries ®, iPods®, laptop computers, and tablets). Any such use will result in the candidate’s disqualification; the examination will not be marked and the fee will not be refunded.

The deadline to submit exam applications is May 31, 2019.
To reflect changes of price at the CTTIC level, and additional exam costs, the exam fee is now CAD 350.

We are looking forward to receiving your applications.

ATINS

Important Links

Translator Exam Application Requirements.pdf

Interpreter Exam Application Requirements.pdf

Computerized Exam Rules.pdf

What to expect in phase 2 of the interpreter exams.pdf

Exam Registration Form.docx

CTTIC-Candidate's Guide_En.pdf

CTTIC-Candidate's Guide_Fr.pdf

CTTIC English_ 2017.pdf

CTTIC French_ 2017.pdf

Rules - Electronic Exam

Candidates will bring their own laptop computers with MS Word (or some other word processing software capable of reading Word files) installed to write the exam, and they will assume responsibility for any technical issue, including power failure or issues related to the operation of the computer or its software. Tablets or computers without a USB port may NOT be used for this exam.

Candidates are allowed to use Word’s spelling and grammar checking features, but internet access and use of any other software or electronic devices are strictly prohibited.

Candidates may bring as many print dictionaries and reference documents as they like but no electronic dictionaries or devices will be allowed.

Once the candidate is given the exam texts, the exam will be considered taken, and no retake will be offered or may be demanded in case a candidate is unable to finish their exam because of technical difficulties arising from computer or software issues. A candidate may request that their exam be marked even though they might not be able to finish translating both texts.

Dear ATINS Members and Friends,

We would like to advise you of a common scam that appears to be making the rounds again: The Cheque Overpayment Scam. The fraudsters behind this scam normally approach translators but any business can be affected.

What the scam typically “looks” like:

A “client” approaches you for a quote. You agree on a price and turnaround time. The “client” says they can only pay by cheque (giving some excuse why). When you receive the cheque, you see that it is for more money than what was agreed to. The “client” has some excuse for the overpayment and then asks for you to send the difference back. The unsuspecting translator returns the difference back to the “client” or the “client’s colleague.” Eventually, the bank determines that the cheque was fraudulent. You are now responsible for paying back the reversed funds and any related fees to your bank, and that “client” has disappeared with your legitimate money in their pocket.

The names, emails, stories and excuses the fraudsters use for the Cheque Overpayment Scam are always different and ever-evolving. The stories may even seem elaborate and convincing. But while the stories change, the motive of the fraudster does not: they just want your money.

How to protect yourself:

• Do not accept any overpayments. If a client has sent you too much money, refuse to accept it. Do not cash the cheque under any circumstances. Return it to the sender and report the incident to the authorities.

• Do not accept payment by cheque, especially from unknown or first-time clients. There are more reliable methods of payment including Interac e-transfer, PayPal that can be used.

• Do not begin any work until you have received payment and it has officially cleared your account. Note: the bank can come back many months later and tell you a cheque was actually fraudulent.

• Do not feel pressured to “act now”. Fraudsters will use pressure tactics and quick turnaround times against you.

What to do if you have received an email you suspect is an overpayment scam:

• Don’t respond to the email.

• Report the email to the Canadian Government’s Spam Reporting Centre and/or the Anti-Fraud Centre. Spam isn’t just “annoying, unwanted” emails. It is also defined as “false or misleading electronic representations.”

If you believe you have already fallen victim to a scam, please report this to the following authorities:

• Your local police’s non-emergency line.

• The Provincial Police’s non-emergency line.

• The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Finally, if you’re aware of any other fraudulent schemes where translators and/or interpreters are targeted, please let us know.

ATINS

ATINS held its 2018 AGM on May 31 at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax.

Sixteen members attended and enjoyed a small buffet of Chinese food.

The agenda included a short presentation on the new website and its features. Final adjustments are being made and soon the site functionalities should afford the association many benefits.

It was also the occasion to announce the names of the three new certified members who received their certificates this year.

We are very pleased to welcome Rima Assouad (English-French), Catharine Lailson (Spanish-English), and André Muise (French-English). Congratulations to these new Certified Members.