To commemorate and honor the hard work that interpreters and translators perform, the Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA) will host a conference for them in Southeast Texas on September 26 and 27. This commemoration has usually been held on September 30 in honor of St. Jerome's Day. St. Jerome was a biblical scholar who helped contribute to the theory and art of translation and interpretation. The two-day event will give the group more time to cover important issues relating to the art of translation.

The theme of the convention this year is "Terminology: Words Matter." Professionals from the legal, health, education, and oil industries will be guest speakers. Jorge Ungo, Director of Professional Development for HITA stressed, "Every industry has its own jargon. Our job, as interpreters and translators, is to convey the meaning of the message in another language. This can be quite a challenge in the target language. In order to do our work with accuracy and completeness, we must understand the exact meaning of industry-specific terms."

Each presentation will stress the importance of interpreters and translators knowing slang, jargon, regional language, and the correct terminology to be used in situations like courtrooms, medical facilities, labor hearings, and other such proceedings. Mistranslation, misinterpretation, or changing a message in any manner may have a detrimental affect on the outcome of any situation, therefore, competent interpretation and translation is vital.

This year, the conference will focus heavily on words rather than protocol, ethics, and similar subjects of past conferences. According to Ungo, this is because "The words really do matter."

30 June 2008