South African Translators' Institute

Last updated

South African Translators' Institute
Founded25 August 1956
TypeTrade association
Members
800
Website www.translators.org.za

The South African Translators' Institute (SATI) is the largest association in South Africa representing professional, academic and amateur translators and other language practitioners. Membership is open to anyone.

Contents

SATI was founded in 1956. [1] In 2012 there were around 800 members. [2]

The institute has adopted official names in South Africa's other official languages, namely (Afrikaans : Suid-Afrikaanse Vertalersinstituut, SAVI, Zulu : INhlangano yaBahumushi yaseNingizimu Afrika, Xhosa : Umbutho wabaGuquli wazeMzantsi Afrika, Sotho : Mokgatlo wa Bafetoledi wa Afrika Borwa, Northern Sotho : Sehlongwa sa Bafetoledi sa Afrika Borwa, Tswana : Mokgatlho wa Baranodi wa Aforika Borwa, Tsonga : Vandla ra Vahundzuluxi ra Afrika Dzonga, Swazi : Inhlangano Yebahumushi YaseNingizimu Afrika, Venda : Tshiimiswa tsha Vhapinduleli tsha Afurika Tshipembe, and Southern Ndebele : IHlangano yabaTjhugululi yeSewula Afrika). [3]

Purpose

SATI's purpose is to promote the interests of the translation profession in South Africa, chiefly through:

Other developments through which SATI contributes to translation in South Africa, include:

Industry recognition

Recognition for SATI in the translation industry in South Africa is sporadic, and SATI accreditation has no official recognition in South African law. However, some government departments prefer to employ SATI accreditees, e.g., certain metropolitan city councils [4] [5] and the police, [6] and a few government departments even pay their employees' SATI membership fees. [7] SATI's freelance tariffs have been used in some legislation as a yardstick. [8]

Membership

Membership is open to anyone from any country in any profession, though most members are South Africans who are translators. There are about 800 members.

The only requirement for membership is that new members agree to adhere to SATI's code of ethics and pay an annual membership fee (R845 in 2019). There are no membership examinations, although introduction of such examinations has been an ideal since the founding of the institute.

Code of ethics

The fifteen tenets of the SATI code of ethics are as follows:

All members of SATI shall:

Accreditation

SATI offers an accreditation examination to members [9] and has done so since 1990. In 2011, some 240 of its 800 members were accredited. Several members were accredited in more than one trade or language, and there were 390 accreditations. [10]

Members of SATI are encouraged to gain accreditation, but it is not required for membership. Accreditation is, however, required of members of the SATI executive committee and the executive committees of both formal and informal chapters of the institute. Formal chapters are required to have a certain minimum number of accredited members. Only accredited members are allowed to vote at SATI's annual general meeting.

Corporate members who adhere to specific requirements set by the Institute may also become accredited.

Types of accreditation

SATI offers accreditation for general translation, sworn translation, language editing, simultaneous interpreting, and terminology in various combinations of South Africa's 11 official languages and some non-South African languages such as Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Type of accreditationNumber of members (2019)
Simultaneous interpreting57
Language editing43
Terminology3
Translation: from Afrikaans to English20
Translation: from English to Afrikaans41
Translation: between English and Afrikaans27
Translation: other languages40
Sworn translation16
TOTAL (accredited members)217

SATI has an agreement with the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters in Australia (NAATI) regarding translation accreditation in other languages that are not as common in South Africa.

The examinations

Candidates taking the translation, editing and terminology examinations are given 24 hours to complete a number of texts at their own premises. During this 24-hour period they are not allowed to contact other humans. The product of the exam must be entirely their own (no external editors, proofreaders, etc.). To counteract the possibility of cheating, the translators' exams are particularly difficult, and the specific preferences of examiners are not made known to candidates. The exam papers typically include a literary piece, an academic piece, and a choice from certain broad technical fields.

The examination papers are marked independently by two examiners. In cases where one examiner passes and the other fails the candidate, a third examiner is appointed, with the view to a 2/3 ruling.

The interpreter examinations are held once or twice a year at different centres across the country, depending on demand. Interpreter accreditation is also available for South African Sign Language.

Members who fail an examination must wait 12 months before attempting the exam again. A list of current accreditees are available on the institute's web site.

Structure

The institute is run by an executive comprising a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, registrar and treasurer.

The following committees have also been set up to guide the institute's activities: Accreditation and Ethics.

SATI office-bearers and committee members work on a voluntary basis. Members of the executive are elected at an annual general meeting for a period of three years.

Members of SATI may establish regional and subject-specific chapters. There are a number of chapters: Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KZN, Free State & Northern Cape, Northwest and Emerging Practitioners.

Publications

Publications produced by the Institute are the Sworn Translation manual (guide to the practice of sworn translation in South Africa), and Bridging Language Barriers: SATI – The First Fifty Years (a history of the institute).

Coat of arms

In 1979 MAY, SATI applied for and registered a coat of arms at the South African State Herald. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National anthem of South Africa</span> National anthem of South Africa

The national anthem of South Africa was adopted in 1997 and is a hybrid song combining extracts of the 19th century Xhosa hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the Afrikaans song that was used as the South African national anthem during the apartheid era, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika", with new English lyrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advocate</span> Profession in the field of law

An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, in Scottish, Manx, South African, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Polish, Israeli, South Asian and South American jurisdictions, "advocate" indicates a lawyer of superior classification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychologist</span> Professional who evaluates, diagnoses, treats and studies behavior and mental processes

A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how individuals relate to each other and to their environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Certified Public Accountant</span> Title of qualified accountants in many countries

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United States, the CPA is a license to provide accounting services to the public. It is awarded by each of the 50 states for practice in that state. Additionally, all states except Hawaii have passed mobility laws to allow CPAs from other states to practice in their state. State licensing requirements vary, but the minimum standard requirements include passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, 150 semester units of college education, and one year of accounting-related experience.

Legal ethics are principles of conduct that members of the legal profession are expected to observe in their practice. They are an outgrowth of the development of the legal profession itself.

Software engineering professionalism is a movement to make software engineering a profession, with aspects such as degree and certification programs, professional associations, professional ethics, and government licensing. The field is a licensed discipline in Texas in the United States, Engineers Australia(Course Accreditation since 2001, not Licensing), and many provinces in Canada.

Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language.

The American Translators Association (ATA) is the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the United States with nearly 8,500 members in more than 100 countries.

The Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) is a professional association representing translators, interpreters and language services businesses in the United Kingdom. ITI is affiliated with the International Federation of Translators (FIT).

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the US-based CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals. The program teaches a wide range of subjects relating to advanced investment analysis—including security analysis, statistics, probability theory, fixed income, derivatives, economics, financial analysis, corporate finance, alternative investments, portfolio management—and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Chartered Certified Accountants</span> Global professional organization

Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwide. ACCA's headquarters are in London with principal administrative office in Glasgow. ACCA works through a network of over 110 offices and centres in 51 countries - with 346 Approved Learning Partners (ALP) and more than 7,600 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide employee development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Institute of Chartered Accountants</span> Institute in South Africa

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 48,000 members and associates who are chartered accountants (CAs(SA)), as well as associate general accountants (AGAs(SA)) and accounting technicians (ATs(SA)).

The Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland was the professional body representing actuaries in Scotland. The Faculty of Actuaries was one of two actuarial bodies in the UK, the other was the Institute of Actuaries, which was a separate body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. While the Faculty of Actuaries and the Institute of Actuaries were separate institutions, they worked very closely together, and the professional qualifications and professional standards for actuaries were identical in each of them. On 25 May 2010, voting members of the Faculty who took part in a ballot voted to merge the Faculty with the Institute of Actuaries, thus creating the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries which came into being on 1 August 2010, superseding the Faculty of Actuaries which ceased to exist on that date.

Certified engineering technologist (CET) is a Canadian professional certification awarded on the basis of academic qualification and work experience. Abbreviated as C.E.T., most Canadian provincial engineering and applied science technology associations offer this certification. Certification is voluntary and does not represent a provincial regulatory requirement or a statutory required license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of South Africa</span> Largest public university in South Africa

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 students, including international students from 130 countries worldwide, making it one of the world's mega universities and the only such university in Africa.

A certified translation is one which fulfills the requirements in the country in question, enabling it to be used in formal procedures, with the translator accepting responsibility for its accuracy. These requirements vary widely from country to country. While some countries allow only state-appointed translators to produce such translations, others will accept those carried out by any competent bilingual individual. Between these two extremes are countries where a certified translation can be carried out by any professional translator with the correct credentials.

The State of the Nation Address of the President of South Africa is an annual event in the Republic of South Africa, in which the President of South Africa reports on the status of the nation, normally to the resumption of a joint sitting of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of South Africa</span> Overview of and topical guide to South Africa

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South Africa:

The actuarial credentialing and exam process usually requires passing a rigorous series of professional examinations, most often taking several years in total, before one can become recognized as a credentialed actuary. In some countries, such as Denmark, most study takes place in a university setting. In others, such as the U.S., most study takes place during employment through a series of examinations. In the UK, and countries based on its process, there is a hybrid university-exam structure.

The Institute of Intercultural Management and Communication or ISIT, formerly Institut Supérieur d’Interprétation et de Traduction, is a French Grande École.

References

  1. "Western Cape Language Committee is awarded the highest honour". 26 June 2002. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  2. "The South African Translators' Institute". Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  3. "Constitution". South African Translators’ Institute. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Careers : Translator (Language Practitioner)". Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  7. "Address by Deputy Minister Ntombazana Botha, at The International Translation Day Celebrations". Department of Sports, Arts and Culture . 29 October 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  8. http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=83653%5B%5D
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Application GK/GN 2019: SK/GG 6175, 1978-10-06; Registration GK/GN 229: SK/GG 6298, 1979-02-09; Certificate issued 1979-04-06 (Afrikaans).