Have you ever wondered just why we have a German Language Division? Isn’t it enough, after all, to be a member of ATA, an association offering a professional home to both translators and interpreters alike? For some of us, attending the annual conferences gives us the opportunity to meet and mingle with people speaking and writing all kinds of languages and covering a multitude of subject areas. Even for those who choose not to a end the conference, ATA membership puts the clout of a huge organization right at our fingertips, a wealth of information on business practices and learning opportunities. Put simply, it puts us in touch with our industry, and along with that comes the potential to tap into the network of over 10,000 members ran ging from freelancers to company owners, universities and government agencies.
Yet, there is beauty and benefit to specialization. The ATA’s 20 divisions, whether language or content related, offer just that: the opportunity to specialize. To come together – physically or virtually – with others who share a common language and often a common cultural under standing. These people are, after all, our colleagues. By forming contacts within a division, we can help each other in very specific ways, learning from each other, and even collaborating with one another.
The German Language Division was first conceived by a group of German translators and interpreters twenty years ago at the 1996 Annual ATA Conference in Colorado Springs.
A kick-off meeting, chaired by Claudia Kellersch, was held in April 1997 in conjunction with the Southwest Regional Conference in Austin, Texas. Establishment of the division was officially approved by the ATA Board in November 1997, and the first Annual Meeting of the division was held at the 1997 Annual ATA Conference in San Francisco. This makes 2016 a combination of homecoming and twenty-ish year anniversary! Back in 1997, the GLD consisted of 368 members. Our membership currently stands at 1543, ranking it the third largest language division after the Spanish and the French Language Divisions. That’s a lot of collective wisdom and experience! Not only that, considering the fact that many freelancers operate from an “office for one,” having access to colleagues all over the world means a lot to many of us.
So, what is the official word on divisions, you ask? Well, according to the ATA bylaws (Article XIII, Sec on 1, to be precise), “A Division of the Association consists of members who share a common interest in a specific aspect of the profession.” In our case, that aspect is language. The bylaws go on to state that a division “provides information and services to its members in their own specific field of interest, organizes meetings to further cooperation and information exchange among them, and supports and promotes the policies and objectives of the Association.”
In terms of the organization’s focus, many of the early committees formed under the division have fallen by the wayside over the years as we have seen a shift away from content specialization media (literary and sci-tech) and print-based to greater connectivity with our members on virtual platforms (e.g. through the website, newsletter) and the conference events and speakers. In addition, many of the functions of these division committees seemed to overlap with other ATA committees.
And just what are we doing to achieve these goals? In the GLD, we foster that exchange of information primarily via the GLD listserv. (Note: if you are not already a member of our busy online community, click here for info on how to join!). Not a list kind of person? Click around here on the GLD website. There, you can also find a link to the biannual newsletter interaktiv, which offers a plethora of interesting articles, profiles, news items, a calendar of upcoming events, and much, much more. And in the digital age, we have a growing means to interact with one another, be that through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or whatever comes next.
We also connect on a personal level by meeting each year at the Annual ATA Conference. Whether we take the opportunity to catch up over breakfast at the conference hotel, over a cup of coffee before attending the guest speaker session or during the GLD’s social networking event, the conference provides many opportunities to match faces to names and to find out more about the people we work alongside. Sometimes, these contacts flourish to become work collaborations or real life friendships. (Note: If you haven’t already, check out ATA’s 57th Annual Conference, which will be in San Francisco November 2-5, 2016. And find a list of German-related sessions here.)
Sounds great, right? But what makes all of this work? Well, first and foremost, you do! The members participate by voting to elect an Administrator and Assistant Administrator who then appoint a Leadership Council (LC). The LC is responsible for ensuring that the division provides those core services to the members, and you – the members – are crucial for informing the LC about things that need to be done. It is your feedback (whether in person or via email/phone) that allows the LC to find our division guest speaker every year, for example. Your feedback also lets us know what kind of services you want and need. Your willingness to contribute to the listserv makes it a lively and useful venue. Your dedication and commitment to writing articles and conducting research for the newsletter, not to mention the editorial team’s hard work, make interaktiv the benchmark ATA division newsletter. The list goes on and on.
Moving forward, I would like to encourage those of you with interest and ability to consider volunteering for the division. Just ask me or any other LC member to find out how. This is an election year, and we depend on our members to ensure the continuity of the activities we enjoy and have come to expect. We hope to see you in San Francisco this November!
Melissa Field grew up in rural Union County not far from Knoxville, Tennessee. She studied German at the University of Tennessee and then earned a Masters of International Business from the University of South Carolina. In her early career, Melissa held various managerial accounting positions in the automotive industry, first with Volkswagen at their corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg and later with Bosch at their North American headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and at their production plant in Charleston, South Carolina. She began working as a freelance translator almost fifteen years ago and has been a member of the ATA ever since. Melissa is currently the GLD’s Assistant Administrator.