Implications of ISO Standards for Translators and Interpreters: ISO TC37 Meeting Report
When you think of ISO certification, you might think it is about manufacturing. Yes, there are thousands of ISO standards to ensure quality of manufactured products. But did you know that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing specific standards covering translation and interpreting services?
In June this year, ISO TC 37 (ISO Technical Committee 37) held its annual working meetings in Matsue, Japan to progress language-related standards under the umbrella of “methodology and principles for terminology and language resources.”
JAT sent two members of its own ISO Committee, Benjamin Boas and Shigeki Fukuoka, to the Matsue meetings, and they and third JAT committee member, Emily Shibata-Sato will join us to provide an update at our September seminar. (N.B. We are trialling a new koryukai system this month as described below.)
The seminar will consist of three parts: Emily will give an outline of the ISO standard on translation that came into effect in April this year (ISO 17100 :2015) and several other translation- and interpretation-related standards now being developed; Benjamin will report on the Matsue meetings themselves, and Shigeki will present on how certification to ISO standards is conducted in general, how certification to newly approved 17100 is being started in Japan, and what impact it will have on the translation industry, freelance translators and small translation companies in particular. There will be time for Q&A.
(Shigeki and Emily will present in Japanese and Benjamin in English. Q&A will be in either language.)
Speaker Profiles
Shigeki Fukuoka started his career with Citibank, who sponsored him to complete his MBA at Penn State. Later, he had the opportunity to translate the then US best seller, Chicken Soup for the Soul into Japanese. Before becoming a freelance translator and interpreter, he was the representative director of SGS Japan, a subsidiary of a Geneva-based ISO certification company.
Benjamin Boas is a freelance translator and has been living in Japan for 8 years. He is the translator of "Ephemeral Dreams: Building 30 on Battleship Island" (Daiwa Shobo) and currently a visiting researcher at Keio University. This year, he published a book with Shogakukan about his experiences in Japan: 「日本のことはマンガ・ゲームで学びました」.
Emily Shibata-Sato is a freelance translator and interpreter and has been a JAT member since May 1985. She has served as JAT director (1985-86, 1996-2001) and auditor (2003-2007, 2009-2013) and is now a member of JAT’s ISO committee and Translation Contest Committee. She is a coauthor of Learning Technical Translation Skills from Experts (Kodansha, 2013).
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2015
Time: 14:00-17:00
Doors open: 13.30
Place: Forum 8, Shibuya (http://www.forum-8.co.jp/access/index.html)
Address: Dogenzaka 2-10-7, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0043; Phone: 03-3780-0008
Cost: JAT members 1,000 yen; non-members 3,000 yen (advance registration is NOT necessary)
Koryukai: Please email us at [email protected] by the end of Wednesday, August 26, JST, if you want to join a fixed-price networking dinner following the seminar. Details will be confirmed separately.
Inquiries: [email protected]