It’s almost fall in the Northern Hemisphere! This means back-to-school time, and I’m seeing updates about new books in translation for kids.
There are now an unprecedented number of children’s books in translation. When I taught Spanish in K-12 schools, I loved discovering new children’s books in translation. I taught Spanish in elementary schools for several of those years and enjoyed Spanish-language read-alouds during circle time. Some of my (and the kids’) favorite books to read were Pato en bici, Just a Minute! (by the well-known author and illustrator Yuyi Morales), and Y si…. These three books are excellent for a language class because they combine both repetition and moments of surprise. This helps to solidify knowledge and keeps young readers engaged. Plus, the illustrations are so great.
An image from Pato va en bici by David Shannon, translated into Spanish by Elodie Bourgeois.
If a child in your life is learning another language, I highly recommend children’s literature in translation from Transit Children’s Editions. Transit Children’s Editions is an imprint of Transit Books, a nonprofit publisher of international and American literature based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Any favorite books from your own childhood? If you have kids or work as a teacher, what books are you reading with them right now?
Greetings, fellow humans! Yes, that’s right, this is a real human writing to you! 😊
I decided to call this post “The AI Edition” because I’m often asked about my stance on the use of artificial intelligence in translation work: Do I use it? Am I worried about my job? Will we have a chip planted in our brain one day, allowing us to speak any language we want? (Okay, maybe that last one is a little too apocalyptic.)
When or how to use AI is an important topic to discuss. My short and sweet answer is: I believe AI is a great tool for low-stakes needs with quick turnaround times. For example, perhaps you need to know the general idea of an email from an overseas client in a language other than your own, and you have to respond right away. Running the text through a tool like Google Translate or ChatGPT would be useful and quick.
I do not, however, recommend AI for most translation projects that need to resonate with a particular audience and require subject expertise. For example, a nonprofit institution will write up their annual report and include “calls to action” for their target audience to get more involved. This type of communication must connect deeply with the reader and uses specific vocabulary for the context. A few awkward words or phrases would have negative results. The type of work I do can’t rely on what is called “machine translation” or “generative AI translation.” If that’s enough of an answer for you, feel free to stop reading and go have that fancy coffee!
The third article is a statement about the use of a “translation station” in public schools. This is a worrisome topic for those of us who provide translation in education because many items we translate for schools (IEPs, board meeting minutes, etc.) should be treated as legal documents. These are high-stakes documents for children and their families that deserve the time, care, and subject expertise a human translator can provide.
Share your thoughts with me in the comments. When do you like to use AI? When do you avoid it?
Last month, I attended a webinar hosted by the Europarc Federation called “Stakeholder engagement in conservation: Creating meaningful engagement for better conservation outcomes.” I was particularly interested in this topic because my translation work for clients in the land conservation field is a key part of stakeholder engagement, as it ensures language access and direct communication. The primary takeaways for me were how to identify and work with people with different “nature values,” how organizations can effectively work with local, national, and transnational interests, and what mediators do to help especially tense situations.
Kristian Bjørnstad, Director of Norway’s Regional Parks system, discussed the concept of “nature values.” He identified three main values: “nature for nature” (the intrinsic value of nature and a desire to protect it), “nature as culture” (seeing nature as part of one’s cultural landscape and history), and “nature for society” (seeing nature as something to benefit people so they can make a living and thrive). Kristian showed how learning and working with the nature values of different groups helped his organization to move forward with a project in Norway’s Varanger Peninsula.
A cluster of homes on the Varanger Peninsula
Hildegard Meyer, who works for the WWF, talked about engaging stakeholders from an NGO perspective. She currently works to increase wildlife corridors and core habitats in the Carpathian Mountains. The WWF had to act as a mediator, looking at the influence and power of different stakeholders. For example, local stakeholders may be private landowners. National stakeholders could be a country’s transit authorities and open space networks. Transnational stakeholders may be government bodies and the agreements they have to abide by. She showed how local, national and transnational entities were able to eventually work together as this project gets off the ground.
A rural community in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania
What happens when tensions are high and you’re getting nowhere? Mediator Eva-Maria Cattoen, who provides conflict management for the environmental sector, shared two case studies from Austria. One was especially contentious: Mountain bikers were using local forest land illegally for recreation, and landowners were fed up. She discussed how her firm helped to mediate the conflict and come up with solutions that satisfied common interests.
Cultural differences naturally come up in some of my translation work because different groups of people have different “nature values.” Communication with a particular group therefore needs to resonate with that group’s values. Communicating with an audience in their own language is also key to developing strong engagement. It can be a tricky balance, but with cultural know-how and the right methods of communication, it’s possible!
Last year during Earth Month, I shared several conservation-related headlines that caught my eye. This year I’m sharing a film I saw on PBS called “A Thousand Pines.”
PBS has been celebrating Earth Month with a collection of films and shows that address conservation, wildlife on land and underwater, notable people who work in the climate arena, and more. The film “A Thousand Pines,” caught my eye because it tells the story of workers who come to the U.S. from Oaxaca, Mexico, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Oaxaca. The documentary follows guest workers in the temporary work visa program who spend several months every year in the U.S. planting pine trees on lands to be reforested. I think the film does an excellent job showing how teams carry out the job, what it’s like for team members day in and day out, and the relationships with their families back home. This film also inspired me to learn more about how these “forest management” programs manage (whether properly or improperly) large swaths of land across the U.S.
A short film called “Translators” recently came out, and it’s worth a watch. This film profiles young people who help their families navigate life in the U.S. by interpreting and translating. It’s easy to forget how much some kids do for their families when they have parents who do not speak English. After watching this film, I felt an immense respect for these kids and what they do for their families.
Welcome to 2024 and a new year of reading! There are three books I very much want to read this year. The first is How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. Fellow translator Corinne McKay highly recommended it in her “books of 2023” roundup.
I also want to read Tongolele no sabía bailar by Sergio Ramírez. I don’t know if it’s been translated into English yet. Ramírez is a Nicaraguan writer and a winner of the prestigious Cervantes Prize.
Alison Trujillo Translations 