Are You a Member of the Media?
Contact ATA for industry insights and responses to current affairs involving the translation and interpreting professions.
Media Contact
Adrian Aleckna, ATA Interim Executive Director
+1-703-683-6100 ext. 3019 | interim-executive-director@big5vn.com
What is the American Translators Association?
Founded in 1959, ATA is the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the world with thousands of language experts in more than 100 countries.
ATA’s mission is to promote the recognition of professional translators and interpreters, to facilitate communication among its members, to establish standards of competence and ethics, to provide its members with professional development opportunities, and to advocate on behalf of the profession.
What’s a translator?
What’s an interpreter?
What’s the difference?
ATA answers the frequently asked questions and provides some key talking points.
Understanding what’s at stake
Translation and interpreting mistakes can be costly, even disastrous. It is critical to hire qualified translators and interpreters. ATA can help you find the right professional.
Video Library
ATA offers a library of videos that highlight its many events, programs, and member benefits. Watch them all!
ATA 66th Annual Conference: Get Ready!
No matter what your language, specialty, or experience level, you’ll discover ways to enhance your translation and interpreting skills and grow your business. Get a glimpse of ATA66 in Boston, October 22-25, 2025.
ATA 65th Annual Conference: Highlights
The ATA 65th Annual Conference was held in Portland, Oregon, from October 30-November 2, 2024. Relive ATA65 with event highlights and stories from attendees about their experience!
School Outreach 2022 Contest Winner
ATA member Aída Carrazco, an English to Spanish translator based in Mexico, won the 2022 ATA School Outreach Contest. See photos and videos from her presentation.
The ATA Mentoring Experience
Listen to mentors describe their experience taking part in ATA’s Mentoring Program. Mentors volunteer to help mentees but, in return, they gain new perspectives and appreciation for their translation and interpreting careers.
Public Outreach
The importance of professional translation and interpreting is often not understood by the general public. As part of an ongoing outreach campaign, ATA provides for-publication content to spread insight to a wide range of readers.
How to Translate Your Website: 3 Key Considerations
You’ve launched a website for your business or organization. Congratulations! Now, what next? If you want to reach an even wider audience for your website, consider translating it into a different language. Did you know that translating your website into another language can help you attract even more website visitors from all over the globe?…
Read MoreHow to Recognize and Implement Quality Interpreting (Hint: It Doesn’t Involve Your Bilingual Staff)
With a set of quality standards in place, it is possible to make healthcare accessible to limited English proficiency individuals without delaying patient care or interrupting your workflow. As many as 1 in 10 working-age adults in the U.S. has limited English proficiency (LEP). Let alone the personal employment and economic implications of this reality,…
Read MoreMachine Translation vs. Human Translation: Will Artificial Intelligence Replace the World’s Second Oldest Profession?
Translators pride themselves on being excellent communicators, and so they should. After all, it’s their job! But sometimes, even the best communicators can talk until they’re blue in the face and still have not really communicated what needs to be said for lack of common ground with their audience. That’s exactly what happened in the…
Read MoreBreaking Intercultural Communication Barriers in Business
Have you ever sensed that you offended someone in a work setting without understanding why? Or have you ever worked with someone from another culture and found their behavior confusing, or even rude? When different cultures are involved, these types of misunderstandings are common. And in today’s globalized business landscape, you’re likely to frequently interact…
Read More7 Tips for Crushing an International Meeting Remotely, According to an Interpreter
As millions around the globe have moved their classes and even social gatherings online, international business and meetings between speakers of different languages look a lot different. In a pre-pandemic world, along with thousands of other professional language interpreters across the globe, I facilitated in-person multilingual interactions with regularity. Now, with a few adjustments, we…
Read MoreHow to Avoid the Pitfalls of Free Online Translation Tools
Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Chinese authorities conducted a city-wide correction campaign to fix embarrassing translation gaffes. The mistranslations included signs labeling people with disabilities as “deformed” and wet-floor warnings advising to “slip carefully!” While the press had a field day with the story, many translators were left shaking their heads. Why?…
Read MoreTop Six Reasons You Should Caption Your Social Media Video Content
No matter what industry you’re in, video content is likely part of your marketing strategy. And if it’s not, it should be. According to a report by Cisco, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022. And 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service…
Read MoreHow to Avoid Misinformation: Cross-Border Strategies PR Pros Should be Thinking About
At a time when misinformation and fake news are running rampant, communication, and more specifically the written word, is arguably more important than ever. The last thing public relations (PR) pros want to do is jeopardize brand image by miscommunicating to a critical audience. The fact that PR budgets are down and advertising dollars are…
Read More25 Million Americans Don’t Speak English: Translators and Interpreters Essential in Pandemic
At the time of this writing, millions of Americans are have been ordered to stay home, instructions that are hard enough to grasp if you speak English—even harder still for the eight percent of Americans considered limited English proficient (LEP). As new updates and guidelines are issued by the day—in English-only communication, for the most…
Read MoreContent Marketers: Time to Call in the Language Professionals?
The U.S. is the largest consumer market on earth, but did you know that 96% of the world’s consumers reside beyond the country’s borders (according to the U.S. Small Business Administration)? Nonetheless, content marketers have largely focused on English-speaking markets because of their high internet penetration and enormous spending rates. Translating and adapting content for…
Read MoreAre You a Member of the Media?
Contact ATA for industry insights and responses to current affairs involving the translation and interpreting professions.
Media Contact
Adrian Aleckna, ATA Interim Executive Director
+1-703-683-6100 ext. 3019 | interim-executive-director@big5vn.com