Translating for a Multilingual European Union: Putting Multilingualism into Context Dr Angeliki PETRITS Language Officer European Commission, UK angelique.petrits@ec.europa.eu
What is multilingualism? several languages spoken within a geographical area; a person s ability to master several languages; a policy requiring an organisation/ a company/an institution to use several languages for communication 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 2
The world s top 10 languages by the number of native speakers Portuguese Bengali Japanese German Mandarin Arabic Russian Spanish Hindi/Urdu English 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 3
European Union 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 4
EU official languages over time 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 5
European Institutions European Parliament European Commission Council of Ministers of the European Union European Court of Justice European Court of Auditors European Central Bank 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's Brussels, Luxembourg, 6 Strasbourg, Frankfurt
Linguists in the EU Economic & Social Committee Council Committee of the Regions Parliament European Central Bank Court of Justice Translation Centre Court of Auditors Translators: 4300 Interpreters: 1000 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 7
Different jobs for linguists Translators Conference Interpreters Lawyer linguists 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 8
Interpreting for Europe... into English Translating for Europe... into English 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 9
Council of Ministers 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 10
Translators in the EU institutions European Parliament Council of the EU European Commission Court of Justice Court of Auditors Economic & Social Committee 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 11
We translate and interpret from and into all the EU s 23 official languages 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 12
and cover all subject areas 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 13
Languages in EU and UN UN: 6 working and official languages EU: 23 Working and official languages (plus Croatian now for some meetings) 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 14
The legal basis Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Citizens have a right to address the official EU bodies in any of the EU s official languages and to receive a reply in that language. Council Regulation No 1/58 Regulations and other documents of general application shall be drafted in the official languages. 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 15
Translation and democracy Thanks to translation, people can help build the European Union and contribute to its openness and legitimacy. 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 16
Translation as part of the legislative process Translation is central to the legislative process Translation and editing contribute to better regulation 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 17
Types of languages Official/working/Treaty languages: 23 Procedural languages: English, French, German Semi-official languages: Basque, Catalan, Galician, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 18
Semi-official languages UK or Spain Commission Citizens Written communication in the regional language Reply in the regional language Designated body Translation Original mail + translation into official language Reply in the official language Commission Services 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 19
European Commission Initiates new legislation Implements EU policies and supervises compliance with EU law 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 20
DG Translation Some 2500 translators and support staff 50% in Brussels 50% in Luxembourg Field Offices in Member States 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 21
Over 2 million pages translated in 2011 Growth in the number of translated pages 2000-2011 2 500 000 2 000 000 1 500 000 1 000 000 500 000 0 17/10/2012 2000 2001 2002 2003 University 2004 2005 of St 2006 Andrew's 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 22
Language of original documents (%) 90 80 70 60 English 50 40 30 French 20 10 0 Others German 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 23
Number of translated pages 2011 by target language (%) 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 EN FR 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 24 DE IT ES NL PT EL PL SK BG DA CS RO SV LT HU FI SL LV ET MT GA others
Main document types 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 25
Our services Translation of confidential texts 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 26
Quality assurance 1. Before translation: editing of originals, Clear Writing campaign and training, preparatory work 2. During translation: translation aids and tools, information sharing (Note/Elise) 3. After translation: revision/review/spot-checking; evaluation; feedback 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 27
What else do we do? Links with schools and universities Machine translation Terminology and tools Studies LIND-Web European Day of Languages Visiting Translator Scheme 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 28
Translation contest for Europe s budding linguists Website: ec.europa.eu/translatores Facebook.com/translatores Twitter: @translatores 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 29
Clear Writing campaign Be concrete not abstract KISS! Keep It Short and Simple Cut out excess nouns Ask before you start: what, who, when, where, how, why, how much? 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 30
European Master s in Translation 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 31
What does DG Interpretation do? Provides quality interpretation for meetings in all 23 EU languages Organises conferences Manages the Commission's meeting rooms and their technical installations 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 32
Institutions and bodies served by DG Interpretation Commission Council Economic & Social Committee Committee of the Regions E.I.B. Agencies & Foundations 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 33
DG Interpretation - Staff Approx. 850 in all 600 staff interpreters, 250 admin staff Largest interpreting service in the world In 2011 : 150,000 interpreter days About 60 meetings a day 700-800 interpreters a day 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 34
How do interpreters work? 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 35
4 main methods Simultaneous (symmetric/asymmetric) Relay/retour Consecutive "Chuchotage" Example of a meeting with 23 languages: 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 36
A conference interpreter is: A communicator Inquisitive Well informed A quick thinker And as well as languages, has: Stamina Flexibility, and sometimes... A common language and identity with the delegates 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 37
Cost of multilingualism Translation and interpreting in all EU institutions put together cost each EU citizen just over 2 euros per year. The cost of multilingualism adds up to less than 1% of the annual EU budget. 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 38
17/10/2012 University Name of of event/occasion St Andrew's 39
Challenges ahead Future EU enlargements Doing more with less Modernity: efficiency gains by developing tools Recruitment: replacing retiring staff and attracting new blood 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 40
Job opportunities Permanent job (EU official) Contract staff External contractor (freelance) Trainee 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 41
Recruitment competitions for EU officials Publication: Official Journal of the European Union (C edition) EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) website www.eu-careers.eu Selection procedure: 5 to 9 months 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 42
Recruitment criteria You must be an EU citizen You must hold a full university degree (BA) in languages or another field (translator) Master s in Conference Interpreting (interpreter) No professional experience is required 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 43
Language knowledge Perfect command of your main language or mother tongue Very sound knowledge of English or German or French (first source language) Very sound knowledge of a second source language among the EU s official languages 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 44
Other skills People with non-language degrees please apply! Translator profile and skills needed: see ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/workwithus/staff/profile 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 45
Competitions 2011 Lawyer linguists into Bulgarian, Polish, Estonian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Swedish, Maltese Language editors into English, Italian, Maltese, Swedish Translators: into Czech, Hungarian, Latvian, Maltese, Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian Interpreters: into Czech, Danish, Estonian, Latvian, Swedish 2012 (to be confirmed) Translators into English, French, Irish, Italian, Latvian and Portuguese 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 46
The competition process Apply online (July for translators) Pre-selection test (numerical, verbal & abstract reasoning) Translation or interpreting tests, group exercise, structured interview, oral presentation 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 47
What can the Commission offer you? 4500/month starting salary Good leave entitlement Varied and challenging work with scope to shape your own career in the Commission Excellent language learning opportunities Job security Multicultural environment Flexible working-time arrangements (translators) 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 48
Translation outsourcing 28 % of DGT s total output was outsourced in 2011. Documents of all kinds are outsourced EXCEPT urgent, politically sensitive or confidential documents Certain specialised documents if no in-house capacity Non-EU languages if no in-house capacity 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 49
Traineeships Duration: 5 months Two rounds per year, starting in March and October For university graduates only For EU citizens but a quota for other countries nationals Competence: able to translate from two EU languages into your main language Monthly grant 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 50
More information? Web: ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation Facebook.com/translatingforeurope 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 51
DG Interpretation on the Internet For more information, visit: http://www.facebook.com/interpretingforeurope http://www.youtube.com/user/dginterpretation http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/scic/become-aninterpreter/ 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 52
Thank you for your attention! 17/10/2012 University of St Andrew's 53