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This spring, two staff members from the UMass Translation Center—Assistant Director Lara Matta and Senior Project Manager Shawn Lindholm—along with the center’s director, professor Regina Galasso, attended the 28th Annual New England Translators Association (NETA) Conference held at UMass Boston.

The event is the largest annual translation and interpreting conference in the region, bringing together more than 200 translators, interpreters, project managers, other language professionals, educators, and students. 

While there, Matta and Lindholm met with languages professionals, students, and participated in panels and talks.

“The NETA conference presented a wonderful opportunity to connect with professionals in the field! It was great being able to meet in-person, for the first time, partners with whom I have been collaborating and communicating remotely for almost three full years,” says Matta. “The day felt like a reunion, especially considering the number of attendees who had a direct connection to the Translation Center, be they our clients, vendors, or part of our workshop community (over 66% of the presenters have worked with the UMass Amherst Translation Center in some capacity).”

The team also highlighted some of the Translation Center’s services, collaborations, and achievements. They had information available about the University of Massachusetts Amherst Online Certificate in Professional Translation and Interpreting, housed in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and talked up the other translation and interpreting courses offered by the programs in that department.

Reflecting on one of the panels, Lindholm says, “By far, the topic on everyone's mind is how AI is affecting the industry. My takeaway was that since it's here to stay, translators need to learn how to best incorporate it into the daily workflow. AI programs should be viewed as a tool, not as a means to an end because, as good as a translation may seem, there will always be the need for a human element in the process to proof and address cultural nuances. ‘AI in the Language Services Industry’ hosted by Steeve Auguste, a Haitian-Creole-speaking language professional who collaborates with the Translation Center, provided a forum for language professionals to share ideas and current practices as well as how best to educate clients on the need for continued human interaction. As a Project Manager beginning to receive requests to proof AI translations, it was helpful to hear the translator requirements and concerns so they can be addressed at the outset."

During the conference, Galasso also introduced NETA’s endnote speaker Ross Perlin, linguist, translator, and author of Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2024); presented on the "Getting Started as a Translator" panel with Helen Eby and Erika Schulz; and received the 2024 Ilse Andrews Service Award for her contributions to the organization.