Standard Procedure for Language Translators

I. All language translators must adhere to the following standards of practice when
translating documents:
1. The translator will hold in confidence any privileged and/or confidential information entrusted to
him or her in the course of their work.
This includes any information pertaining to any parent, guardian, or student, including their
name, date of birth, address, performance data, medical information, disability status, and
any other information pertaining to the student.
The translator must adhere to all existing federal and state laws concerning
confidentiality (for example, HIPAA).
The translator will not permit any third party to have access to personally identifiable
information from a student under any circumstance, and paper copies must be
destroyed within a reasonable period after translation work has been complete.
All electronic files pertaining to students shall be kept in an electronically secure
location. The translator is personally responsible for ensuring that all electronic
documents are kept secure and confidential.
2. The translator will convey meaning while maintaining the linguistic integrity of the written
Message;
Linguistic integrity is not achieved when the target language is rendered word-for-word
from the source language. Linguistic integrity implies that nothing is added or omitted
in the target message.
At the simplest level, a proficient translator faced with an expression like blind as a
bat will use an idiom that conveys the same meaning, register, and impact rather
than render it word-for-word.
Culturally specific terms that do not exist in the target language cannot be expanded to
include a long-winded explanation of it; nor can they be omitted altogether. The
translator or interpreter must come up with an appropriate term given the nature and
purpose of the document. Sometimes a footnote is the best solution to an
unresolvable term.
3. The translator will represent his or her qualifications and capabilities honestly and always work
within them.
The translator will decline assignments that are beyond his or her expertise or capacity.
Subcontracting to a colleague to meet an unrealistic deadline--or for any other reason--
is not acceptable.
4. All translations must be written in clear and well-structured language; there should be no
grammatical or spelling errors present in the translated document.
If the translator encounters what seems to be an error in the source document, he or
she should contact the Coordinator of Translation and Interpreting as soon as
possible to receive clarification on how to proceed.
The translator must be a highly-skilled proofreader. This includes information contained in
headers and footers, such as student name, dates, and student ID numbers.

5. The translator should enhance his or her capabilities at every opportunity by continuing
education in language, document formatting, the educational field and professional practice.
Translators are encouraged to maintain membership in professional organizations
such as ATA, attend conferences, attend seminars, and participate in online fora to
increase their subject knowledge. Specialized trainings related to the educational
translation field, such as a training on the translation of IEPs, are highly encouraged.
National certification is also available through ATA, and certified translators will
be considered preferred translators for the district.
Translators are encouraged to use online glossaries available on the Massachusetts
DESE website, as well as online resources such as linguee.com, proz.com, and
wordreference.com. Specialized bilingual dictionaries for translators are also good
resources.
Translators should remain knowledgeable of the existence of officially translated
psychological tests and other relevant tools used to evaluate students, such as the
WISC-IV in Spanish, in order to translate related terms accurately.
II. Drafting and editing translations
Templates:
All translations must be submitted in a single file, with all pages in the same order as they
were received in the source document. This file can be either be a PDF or a Word document.

Although many translated forms can be found on the Massachusetts DOE website
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/iep/tforms.html, they may need to be modified. Please be
aware that most of these files are protected, so if they are used, the translator should remove
the file protection in order to format them correctly. Also, if the translator decides to use these
forms, in most cases he or she will need to combine many different files into one.

General formatting:

The translator should ensure that the formatting closely resembles that of the source document,
with exceptions for complex tables and graphs. Formatting of graphs and tables are discussed
below.

Page margins should be kept similar to the source document, with a minimum of 0.5 inches on
all sides (top, bottom, left, and right). Even if the source document has smaller margins, the
translation must have a minimum of 0.5 inch margin on all sides.

Font size should be at a size that is easily readable for the target language. In most cases,
translators should avoid decreasing the font size in order to force text to fit onto one page.

In most cases, is not necessary that the translation be the same number of pages as the source
document, given that the length of the translated text may be different than the source text.
However, in some cases (such as a 1-page consent form or flyer), it can be desirable or even
necessary to try to keep the form to one page. Many times this can be achieved by eliminating
unnecessary spaces. However, decreasing margins and font sizes should be avoided whenever
possible.

When translating reports that contain formatted tables, it is not necessary to completely
replicate the formatting of the table. Basic grid formatting is acceptable for tables.

When translating reports that contain graphs, it is preferable to scan the page with the graph
and insert it into the translation as an image. This can be achieved with applications such as
Snipping Tool or by using PDF-to-Word conversions. In some cases it is possible to insert Text
Boxes over the graph labels to translate graph labels and titles.
 The translator should ensure that there are page breaks between the different forms
and reports contained within a single request.

Page headings must contain the exact same information as the source document.

Page footers should contain the following information: student name in English (only for
languages in which the student name on the page headings cannot be read by English-
speakers, such as for Arabic, Nepali, Urdu, Burmese, etc.), page numbers if applicable, and the
name of the form (i.e. N1, admin, IEP, N3, N3A, etc.).

Dates, signatures, initials, logos, proper nouns, checkboxes, and handwritten notes:

For dates, translators should use the convention that is most widely understood by speakers of
the target language. In Spanish (and other languages that use different date formats),
translators should avoid using only numbers in dates as this can lead to confusion. For example,
in Spanish, a US date of 12/4/16 should be written as:
4 de diciembre de 2016 or
4-diciembre-2016 or
4-dic-2016

To indicate where someone has signed their name on a document, the translator should
write the translation for the word [signature] in brackets or parenthesis. For example, in
Spanish, to indicate that someone has signed his or her name, it should look like this:
[firma]

When the translator is translating a document on which someone has written their initials, he or
she should write the translation for the word [initials], in brackets.

When translating reports that contain logos, it is not necessary to include these logos on the
translation. Translators should indicate the presence of a logo by typing the translation for logo
in brackets. For example, in Spanish, it can be written as: [logotipo]. If this is needed for a
translation, translators should contact the Coordinator of Translation and Interpretation.

Proper nouns, such as the name of schools, programs, departments, and assessments should be
kept in the source language, unless the name of the program or department aids in the
understanding of what it represents. A good practice is to write the name of the department or
program in the source language, and then include a translation in parenthesis.

Checkboxes that are marked on the source document should also be marked on the translation.

For handwritten notes, as long as the note is legible, the translator should type exactly what
is written, translated into the target language. However, if it is not legible (except for the case
in which it is a signature or initials), translations should indicate so with the word [illegible]
translated into the target language. An example of this is when someone prints their name on
the attendance sheet but their handwriting is not legible.

Editing:

The translator is responsible for proofreading the entire document. Spell and grammar checks
should be used when available for the target language.
 As a last check, it is recommended to read through the translated document without looking at
the source document, to make sure that the translation is written in clear and well-structured
language, and that there are no literal translations or incorrect grammar transferred over from
the source language.

Before submitting the final document, after proofreading the translation, translators
should ALWAYS go through the below checklist to make sure that there are no errors.

o Check student name, student ID numbers, and all dates on EVERY PAGE
o Check page footers
o Check goal numbers and goal titles, if applicable
o Ensure checkboxes are correctly marked (or unmarked)
o Margins must be 0.5 inches on all pages and all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
o Make sure there are no missing pages and that pages are in the correct order

Preparing document for submittal:

All documents should be submitted in a single file.

In most cases it is preferable to submit translations in Word format.