Need for language experts important

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From the Central Utah Daily Herald
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Need for language experts important

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DEBBIE HUMMEL - The Associated Press

It takes less time to train an airman to become a fighter pilot than it
takes to train an Arabic interpreter, but the accuracy of the latter may
be more important to national security, said the president of the American
Translators Association. Faulty translations have the potential to lead to
international incidents, ranging from health risks on items such as cans
of exported infant formula, to political misunderstandings, such as the
one in January that led to Iran briefly banning CNN for misquoting the
country's president.

"You can't risk getting the translation wrong," said Marian Greenfield,
president of the association, at a conference in Salt Lake City on Monday.
Billed as the first of its kind by organizers, the Translation Summit
brought together representatives from government, academia and the private
sector to talk about the increasing need for accurate translation
services. The conference, organized by the Center for Language Studies at
Brigham Young University and co-sponsored by the National Virtual
Translation Center and the American Translators Association, aims to
increase cooperation among the various worlds of translation and
interpreting with an eye toward the increased demand for translators.

Scholar and certified California courts interpreter Alexander Rainof
called for a government policy on language, saying the Sept. 11, 2001,
terror attacks were an "extraordinarily painful wake-up call" for U.S.
language translators. "A clear language policy on the part of our
government is more crucial than ever," he said. The country's well-being,
integrity and survival depends on an increased focus on teaching languages
at an early age, he said. "We have to start in kindergarten," Rainof said,
noting that it can take 25 years for someone to hone their skills in
another language.

Glenn Nordin, a federal language and culture adviser, told Rainof and
conference-goers they may get their wish. In January, President Bush
announced the National Security Language Initiative, designed to
strengthen national security and international commerce by developing
American students' foreign language skills through expanded programs from
kindergarten through college. Bush has requested $114 million in the next
budget year to help teach U.S.  students Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi,
Farsi and other languages that are rarely studied.

Nordin said the program will have three goals: expanding the number of
Americans speaking critically needed languages and starting the learning
process at a younger age; increasing the number of foreign language
speakers; and increasing the number of foreign language teachers and
providing more resources for them. "We now have a general momentum toward
a significant and lasting change in our national culture toward the need
of understanding and communicating in the world's languages," he said.


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