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A Report on the Arctic College Interpreter-Translators Program

Author: Marlene Semsch
Publication Year: 1993

This article provides a historical overview of interpreter/translator (I/T) training in the Northwest Territories, focusing on Arctic College programs at Thebacha Campus (Fort Smith) as compared with Nunatta Campus (Iqaluit). The Northwest Territories Department of Information formed the Interpreter Corps in 1979, and launched I/T training at the same time. The same department became Culture and Communications a few years later, and the program was renamed “the Language Bureau,” which in 1993 provided on the job training for Dene or Inuktitut-English employees.

In 1987, a one-year I/T certificate program was developed at Arctic College by Marilyn Phillips and the Language Bureau. By 1993, a second year diploma was in place. At the time of this paper’s writing, it was offered in two locations: Thebacha (for Dene students) and Nunatta (for Inuit Students). To qualify for the program, students had to be orally fluent in Dene and have completed Grade 10. They often learn to write in their language in the program, “since a standardized system of writing Anthapaskan languages [had] only recently been accepted” (96). The languages taught were “Gwich’in, North Slavey, South Slavey, Dogrib, and Chipewyan,” (96) and the Dene classes were “Professional Development, Northern Studies, Keyboarding, Communications, Speech and Performance, Listening Labs, English Writing Lab, Dene literacy, Linguistics… Translation Methods, Interpreting Methods, Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpreting, and two Practica” (97).

One major challenge this program encountered was evaluation. No Dene native speaker had completed a degree in interpreting or translating or written a “CTIC” exam. Most elders were unilingual, and thus unable to evaluate simultaneous interpretation (as judged by the program). A second challenge was enrolment, which was endemically low, in part because potential students could not find housing for their families near each campus. Finally, I/T services were in such high demand that translators often did not need formal training to acquire a job.

Abstract: 

This report briefly outlines the historical developments of interpreter I translator training in the Northwest Territories. It describes the origins of the present Arctic College I IT programs at the Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith and Nunatta Campus in Iqaluit and describes their similarities and differences. It outlines admission requirements and course offerings and discusses some of the challenges faced in training aboriginal translators and interpreters.

Access this Resource:

The full text of this article can be downloaded from erudit. 

Semsch, Marlene. “A Report on the Arctic College Interpreter-Translators Program.”  Meta 38, no. 1 (1993): 96-91.

 

Additional Info

  • Publication Type: Journal Article
  • In Publication: Meta
  • Keywords: Language|Review and Evaluation|Terminology Development|Education
Last modified on Saturday, 26 May 2018 19:54