🍃 Think before you print 🍃
Version date: 25 July 2026
Check the online programme for any changes
Amy Dara Hochberg, Barcelona, Spain
This talk examines how AI-mediated, real-time speech-to-text technologies are reshaping multilingual clinical communication and redefining the role of language professionals. These systems transcribe spoken interaction instantly and display it as written text during consultations. Unlike conventional transcription software or auto-generated captions used after the fact, they operate live within the clinical encounter.
I will explain how and why these systems are currently used in healthcare contexts, e.g., to support clinicians’ note-taking, to provide on-screen text for patients, or to feed machine translation tools that render speech into another language in real time. Examples will be drawn from interactions involving English, Spanish, and Catalan, and will include reference to tools such as Google Live Transcribe and Microsoft Translator.
Crucially, these technologies do not eliminate the need for language professionals. Instead, they depend on multilingual language professionals to monitor output, correct errors, manage terminology, ensure pragmatic appropriateness, and intervene when automated processes misrepresent meaning. In some models, the language professional works alongside the technology as a linguistic mediator, editor, and risk manager during the live interaction.
Drawing on emerging practice and research, I will examine how authority, authenticity, and patient voice are negotiated when speech becomes data in real time. I argue that language professionals play a central role in safeguarding accuracy, nuance, and ethical standards in technology-mediated consultations, ensuring that patients’ voices are faithfully represented.
This session is aimed at medical linguists, translators, interpreters, and others interested in AI-mediated accessibility. It will provide practical guidance that participants can apply in their work, including ways to educate clients and to advocate for greater accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing people and those who are not proficient in the local language. It will also help mitigate potential harms associated with current AI-driven technologies.
About the presenter
Amy Dara Hochberg, PhD, is a multilingual health communication researcher, academic and medical translator, and EFL teacher whose lifelong profound deafness and lived experience fuel her work on language access in healthcare.Ruth Simpson, Chablis, France; Mailys Cardonne, Angoulême, France
Translators and editors are experts in voice. We spend our days interpreting our clients’ intentions, recreating their message or tone of voice in our translations and ensuring that what they say comes out clearly and effectively when we edit. But when it comes to our own voice in client relationships, things can be less straightforward. Most of us have experienced moments of uncertainty: an unclear brief, a rushed deadline, a phrasing choice that doesn’t quite sit right. We weigh things up, choose our battles and decide how (or whether) to speak up.
It can be tempting to stay silent and accept unclear briefs, unrealistic deadlines, low prices or awkward wording because it’s what “the client prefers”, especially in the current climate. When our voice goes unheard, quality suffers and our confidence can take a knock. Yet speaking up does not mean creating conflict. It means guiding clients with clarity, tact and authority.
As two marketing translators working with French and English, but in opposite directions, we will share real examples of when using our voices improved a project, strengthened trust and led to better long-term collaborations. We will look at practical, transferable ways to:
This session is aimed at translators and editors who want to build stronger client relationships while safeguarding quality and growing their business. Attendees will leave with clear, realistic ways to ensure their voice is heard, so that their clients’ voices can be heard more clearly too.
About the presenters
Ruth Simpson lives in Chablis, France, and has been translating professionally since 2008 in the fields of wine and spirits, beauty and personal development. Alongside her translation work, she has developed Wine Words, a specialist English-language training school for wine professionals. Ruth also plays the ukulele and has conducted the METM choir since 2017.Edward Errante, Nantes, France
Translators without formal legal training may encounter legal language in the course of their work, whether incidentally in routine jobs or in explicitly legal assignments. However, tasks that initially appear manageable often conceal unsuspected difficulties and heightened risk. This presentation will provide non-specialist translators with a set of tools for recognizing these challenges and responding to them effectively.
This session will first introduce a practical framework for evaluating a text’s “legal intensity” and its associated risk. Participants will learn how increasing legal load and legal complexity correlate with greater risk of mistranslation and liability, which will equip them to make an informed decision on whether to accept the assignment, decline it, or seek collaboration.
Using real-world examples drawn from authentic documents primarily in French and English, the talk will identify common red flags, including dense legal jargon, jurisdiction-specific terminology, false friends, and Latin expressions that create potential pitfalls for translators. Particular focus will be placed on “shape shifters”: seemingly ordinary terms—such as “equitable” and “consideration”—that acquire technical meanings in legal contexts and must be correctly identified to ensure accuracy.
Special attention will be given to cross-jurisdictional translation, especially between the Common Law and Civil Law traditions, where institutional and doctrinal differences often preclude direct lexical equivalents. Translators must therefore adopt a functional approach and identify appropriate conceptual counterparts.
Participants will also be introduced to key reference sources and actionable research tools that they can apply to ensure full understanding of the legal concepts in their source documents, equipping them to successfully craft accurate and clear translations.
Attendees will leave the session with a toolkit enabling them to make informed decisions about legal assignments, spot hidden hazards in seemingly straightforward texts, and apply effective research techniques for navigating unfamiliar legal concepts with confidence.
About the presenter
Edward Errante earned his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and practiced in San Francisco before joining Université de Paris as a lecturer in U.S. and English law, where he taught for over 30 years. Since 2002, he has also worked as a freelance legal and financial translator (FR>EN, ES>EN).Nancy Tahir, Lisbon, Portugal
Automated translation on social media platforms introduces new forms of digital misaddress, where messages are redirected and reframed in ways that shift power dynamics between sender and receiver and reshape the participants’ identities in the discourse. This presentation, based on original research undertaken as part of my doctoral studies, examines this phenomenon and its impact on power. Power refers to the authority that enables the speaker to direct the narrative and influence the course of events. Misuse of such power or loss of its control is represented in the hidden algorithmic intervention that turns the speaker from a position of credibility and strength into one of suspicion or exposure to legal consequences or political exploitation.
In this presentation I will analyse a sample of case studies from different social media platforms such as Facebook, WeChat, and Instagram using a qualitative comparative discourse analysis; the data is based on posts that have been translated from languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Thai into English, and vice versa. The analysis identifies several types of potential errors, including technical limitations represented by context collapse in translation and systemic bias when different cultural norms are imposed.
This presentation has significant implications for translators, editors, transcreators, and content creators as professionals; it transforms their role from being text producers into guardians of digital context and linguistic risk consultants. The presentation gives language professionals a glimpse into how they can assist their clients with preventive authorship and strategic post-editing, which would be very helpful for politicians, activists, public figures, and governmental representatives who are affected by such errors.
This research aims to contribute to a new understanding of the relationship between language, technology, and power in the digital environment, highlighting the value of human-in-the-loop interventions that lies in spotting ‘algorithmic gaps’ which can cause digital misrepresentation.
About the presenter
Nancy Tahir is a certified legal (Arabic<>English) translator and court interpreter. She holds a Master’s in Translation from Saint Joseph University, Dubai, and is currently a PhD candidate in Translation Studies at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Her interests include legal and literary translation, AI, neural MT, MTPE, ethics and human–AI collaboration.Silvie van der Zee, Utrecht, Netherlands; Marianne van Amersfoort-Gerritsen, Warnsveld, Netherlands
Ever wondered why some texts spark excitement while others fall flat – even when the facts are the same? The secret is framing: the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) art of choosing words, images and metaphors that shape how people think and feel. It is a powerful tool used not only in marketing materials but also in politics, the news and social media, so it’s important to find out how to spot it and harness it in your own translation and/or transcreation.
As translators and editors, we have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to shape our clients’ message in a meaningful way. In this interactive session, you’ll discover how framing can shape your language choices and enhance a message, influence perceptions and even drive business success. We’ll dive into real-world examples from marketing, media and everyday translation challenges. You’ll learn practical strategies to use framing to your advantage, making your translations not just accurate, but impactful and persuasive. Plus, you’ll get to test your framing instincts in a fun quiz. Can you tell how framing was used in the examples we will show? You’ll get the chance to share your own experiences, so we can all learn from one another, and we’ll also show you how to apply the technique to your own texts, for instance on your LinkedIn profile or website. Examples will be in Dutch, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Although we focus on framing in the context of translation, editors and copywriters will also find our approach applicable in their work. If you think it’s a question of accuracy alone, come find out how framing changes the game – and learn to play it.
About the presenters
Silvie van der Zee is an English to Dutch translator from Utrecht with a Master’s degree in Translation Studies from Utrecht University. She has been translating since 2011 and specialises in marketing, tourism and e-commerce. Her passion for travel is reflected in her business name The Traveling Translator.Fiona Grace Peterson, Bologna, Italy
Chronic health conditions, such as depression, long Covid, arthritis and diabetes, affect around one in four adults globally. The percentage of freelancers coping with such conditions is generally thought to be higher, due to the flexibility that freelancing provides to work around the challenges of long-term ill health.
But how exactly can freelancing serve as a viable career path for people with chronic health conditions? And how might that path need to evolve to better support those people?
In this presentation, I will explore the intersection of freelancing and living with a chronic health condition, hoping to help those affected feel acknowledged and supported. The session will shed light on the unique challenges posed by this way of working, through the results of an online survey that I ran in 2025, articles and blog posts by freelancers with a chronic health condition, and my own experiences.
Specifically, participants will learn about:
This session is designed for freelancers, particularly those who are directly or indirectly affected by chronic health conditions, and anyone interested in future-proofing their business by creating accessible and sustainable freelancing practices. Whether you’re a newcomer or a seasoned professional, you’ll come away with practical ideas and a fresh perspective.
About the presenter
Fiona Grace Peterson taught English as a foreign language before moving into translation and copyediting. Then, after completing a nursing degree, she began specialising in medicine, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. She lives in Bologna, Italy.Tia Nutters, Zuidlaren, Netherlands
This presentation offers practical strategies for translators who want to work more consciously with gender in literary texts. Drawing on my recent publication in a Dutch translation studies journal, I will show how translation choices can either reinforce or challenge gender stereotypes – and how professionals can actively contribute to more gender-inclusive language use.
Some strategies respond to structural features of language, such as grammatical gender, where masculine forms are often treated as the default, e.g. Spanish los alumnos for mixed groups, or German der Arzt as a generic doctor. Other strategies operate at the meaning level, for instance in response to the use of stereotypical adjectives (‘sweet’ vs ‘tough’) or gender-marked terms like ‘fireman’, which subtly shape how characters are perceived.
At the syntax level, translators can also make impactful decisions. By adjusting the ‘camera angle’ of a sentence, shifting perspective, or reconsidering the use of possessive pronouns, professionals can reshape how agency and relationships are expressed. As language continues to evolve towards greater inclusivity, translators are in a unique position to lead and experiment with new forms.
I will illustrate these strategies using examples from three recent literary works translated into Dutch, in which gender plays a central role: Becoming Eve (2019) by Abby Chava Stein, translated as Eigenlijk Eva (2022) by Lette Vos; So Late in the Day (2023) by Claire Keegan, translated as Op het allerlaatste moment (2024) by Harm Damsma and Niek Miedema; and Girl, Woman, Other (2019) by Bernardine Evaristo, translated as Meisje, vrouw, anders (2020) by Lette Vos. While the focus is on English–Dutch translation, the strategies are transferable to other language contexts.
The session will conclude with a short interactive segment in which I will invite participants to share their own examples and approaches, thus helping to expand a shared, practice-based toolkit for gender-inclusive translation.
About the presenter
Tia Nutters is part-time translation researcher and works as grants adviser and grant proposal editor at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. She is also a member of the Advisory Board to the Dutch Foundation for Literature, which assesses literary translation grant applications.Michael Farrell, Mortara, Italy
In today’s world of shifting alliances and rising costs, finding ways to avoid vendor lock-in isn’t just smart, it’s essential. Faced with the impossibility of upgrading a perfectly functioning Windows 10 laptop to Windows 11, I decided to turn a problem into an opportunity. I set out to find solutions that maximize digital sovereignty: open-source tools, minimal vendor lock-in, GDPR-compliant European servers, privacy-focused software and a general preference for European solutions that support open initiatives over tech giants.
The experience began with a careful look at the essential tools every professional freelance translator needs. While I’m not particularly tech-shy, I was very mindful of the barriers less tech-savvy colleagues might face and was pleasantly surprised to find that most solutions are remarkably user-friendly. The most daunting challenge is grasping unfamiliar jargon: distros, package managers, federated services, end-to-end encryption, sync protocols; but I’ve done the homework, so you don’t have to.
Once you have got all that under your belt, even the most tech-squeamish translator can significantly boost their digital independence. Attendees of this presentation will walk away with practical knowledge on:
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or someone who fills with dread at the mere thought of installing new software, and whether you’re switching from a Windows or Mac environment, this session offers a hands-on roadmap to working smarter, safer, and more independently in an increasingly hostile digital world.
About the presenter
Michael Farrell is a translator; researcher at the International Center for Research on Collaborative Translation; and lecturer in post-editing, machine translation, artificial intelligence, and computer tools for translators at IULM University, Milan. He is the developer of IntelliWebSearch and a member of AITI, the European Association for Machine Translation, and MET’s Council.Zdenka Ivkovčić, Samobor, Croatia
Learning new languages or improving proficiency in other languages is a lifelong project for language professionals. For some, such as translators and editors, having more languages under their belt increases their income streams or helps them stay competitive in a global market. For others, such as EU interpreters, adding a new language is a necessary career progression. Whatever the reason, most adult language learners face at least one of the following challenges: interference from their mother tongue, reduced memory capacity, fear of making mistakes, tendency to over-analyse grammar or lack of time.
In the first part of the presentation, I will describe eight micro-strategies used during the interpreting process, which language learners can use to overcome some of the above-mentioned challenges and improve their output in the foreign language. Each micro-strategy will be accompanied by examples in English. At the end of the first part, participants will work on handouts with exercises in English to practice these micro-strategies on their own.
In the second part, I will describe two simple exercises used in interpreter training that are equally effective in language learning. Participants will be given short exercises in English to practice in pairs. Both exercises will be monolingual.
This session is designed for language professionals currently learning a new language, wanting to learn a new language in the future, or interested in improving their existing language skills.
About the presenter
Zdenka Ivkovčić is an experienced translator and conference interpreter working from English, Czech and Slovene into Croatian. She is currently working on transforming her passive knowledge of Slovene into active use.Mary Fons i Fleming, Barcelona, Spain; Amy Dara Hochberg, Barcelona, Spain
Interpreting and other accessibility services are commissioned by meeting organizers for various reasons. However, communication with users of these services—presumably an important goal—is not always prioritized. Organizers face budget, time, and space constraints as well as a perceived need for seamlessness for most participants. These issues often crowd out the aim of communicating meaningfully with all participants. The resulting choices stymie the work of hired interpreters, both signed and spoken, live captioners, and other service providers, significantly hindering full and equal participation. Participants who require these services become less visible and less able to contribute, making organizers less likely to appreciate the benefits of inclusion measures and more reluctant to prioritize them at subsequent events.
In the context of our presentation, we posit spoken language interpreting as an accessibility service at any event where a single spoken language dominates. After reviewing the types of services that can be provided at in-person and remote events and the basic requirements for their delivery, we will discuss frequent practices that make them less useful than they could be (for instance, by limiting floor questions to the dominant language) and likely reasons for each. We will then propose constructive approaches that can be suggested to organizers so that meetings can be more inclusive. Rather than focusing on our needs as service providers, the first step is to identify how organizers’ default choices may detract from their own goals. The clincher is identifying suggestions that require the least effort and cost for the client.
Any METM participant who organizes meetings or provides language or accessibility services can contribute to this session and learn from it.
About the presenters
Mary Fons i Fleming is a conference interpreter, consultant interpreter, translator, and editor who first developed an awareness of disabilities while working on assignments for a Down syndrome advocacy organization. She has organized mixed signed-and-spoken interpreter teams and interpreted remotely for blind and visually impaired participants.Tatiana Kaplun, Strasbourg, France
In today’s multilingual environment, translation and interpretation are often marketed as separate services, particularly in Europe. Yet, private market clients rarely think in those terms. They tend to think in terms of outcomes. Will the meeting be a success? Is the documentation in order? Will anything undermine their public image? Such clients expect communication – and communication professionals – to deliver. So why do we, as language professionals, continue to insist on the divide? And should we, given the challenges we all face?
Yes, the distinction matters. As translators, editors and interpreters, we know that all too well. We are aware of the differences in skills, training and cognitive processes. But a lesson in terminology is not what our clients need. They are looking for clarity and straightforward solutions that work. Perhaps we should not try to correct the next client who confuses “translation” with “interpretation”. What if we were to reframe the conversation, and offer not isolated services, but a comprehensive communication package?
This talk – potentially of interest to all language professionals – will explore practical and professionally viable ways for making that happen by outlining two possible paths:
We will examine how closer collaboration increases quality, reduces risks, and improves your positioning in the market, making your business more resilient in the process. And if you keep an open mind, this talk might just give you the inspiration to explore new ideas and a blueprint for moving away from isolated services to a more cohesive communication package.
About the presenter
Tatiana Kaplun, PhD (AIIC, SFT), is a conference, business and diplomatic interpreter and freelance translator based in Strasbourg. Accredited by several international institutions, she has also worked extensively in the private market, and in interpreter training and academic research. She enjoys music and watercolour painting in her free time.Valeria Cervetti, Rome, Italy
Audiovisual translation (AVT), in which matching guidelines, schedules, and strategies must be applied worldwide, has become a global frontier in translation.
Audiovisual content needs to be translated, culturally adapted, and made accessible, and streaming platforms have put the profession of audiovisual translator on the global stage.
In this presentation, I will examine subtitling as one of the main forms of AVT, focusing on its history and development in Italy. Subtitling has long been a minor practice in the Italian audiovisual industry, where dubbing has traditionally been preferred. For many years, subtitles were mainly used by film enthusiasts and DVD users. However, the arrival of streaming platforms such as Netflix, which launched in Italy in 2015, significantly changed the AVT landscape and revitalized the role of subtitling.
The lack of a strong Italian tradition in subtitling might seem to be a disadvantage, but could it actually be an opportunity for a new “Italian subtitling school” to shape the future of AVT in Italy?
I will address this question by outlining the ever-evolving nature of the industry and identifying the linguistic and technical skills required to begin a career as a subtitler. I will also highlight the key differences between translating for dubbing and for subtitling, examine how the global industry currently operates, and explore how streaming platforms are reshaping this traditional craft.
This presentation is aimed at anyone interested in subtitling and, in particular, people interested in working in the AVT sector in Italy.
About the presenter
Valeria Cervetti started working as an audiovisual translator in 1999. She specializes in subtitling. Since 2014 she has given lectures and workshops in audiovisual translation for Italian and European universities. In 2025, she established the Scuola di traduzione audiovisiva together with Matteo Amandola and STL Formazione.Ana Sofia Correia, Lousã, Portugal
Language professionals without domain-specific qualifications are often asked whether they have sufficient expertise. The question – posed by clients, colleagues or an insistent inner voice – is based on the assumption that expertise belongs only to those who generate knowledge, not to those who make that knowledge usable. Indeed, expertise is often framed as credential-based or evidenced through authorship of technical or scientific content.
At the same time, experienced language professionals develop deep practical knowledge through repeated exposure to document types, stakeholder environments and review processes. Yet many struggle to recognise or articulate this expertise in conversations with clients and colleagues, weighed down by that all-too-familiar imposter syndrome: “Can I really be considered a subject-matter expert if I’m not a clinician, or lawyer, or engineer, or scientist?”
This presentation explores how subject-matter expertise actually develops and what it looks like in day-to-day practice, drawing on examples and prompting attendees to reflect on how these patterns appear in their own work. The session will be divided into three practical stages, looking at:
The talk will be relevant to translators, editors, writers and other language professionals working with specialised content across sectors.
Attendees will leave with practical ways to recognise, consolidate and communicate their expertise without relying on formal credentials.
The goal is not to position language professionals as domain authorities, but to make visible the expertise our profession already builds – and to help attendees articulate that expertise more clearly and confidently in their own practice.
About the presenter
Ana Sofia Correia is a medical translator and writer who specialises in helping complex medical information work in real-world contexts. She collaborates with clients across clinical, regulatory and patient communication settings and is active in professional training, community building and cross-disciplinary collaboration within the medical communication ecosystem.Miriam Hurley, Florence, Italy
At METMs past, we’ve gathered in Spanish, Catalan, Italian, French, and Portuguese language breakout groups to translate wickedly tricky texts. In Perugia, we’re going to put the spotlight on pesky words and phrases in Italian—with a nod to other Romance languages—to see what the hive mind can come up with.
My Pesky Words list originated early in my career when I realized that fellow translators would have come up with myriad possible solutions for these head-scratching, recurring terms and phrases that crop up so often in Italian texts and have no easy, fit-all solution. I started collecting the suggestions in a table on my website, and it has become an ongoing, collaborative project.
At this session, I’ll briefly introduce my Pesky Words resource, and then we’ll divide into small groups to tackle a selection of single words and short strings in specific contexts. To ensure fresh, spontaneous solutions, attendees should resist the temptation to look up options on my website. Afterwards, we’ll share our solutions with the rest of the room, referring back to my list to see how many are there already and to add new contenders.
While the session is suited to Italian-to-English translators, everyone is welcome to attend. Francesca Matteoda will be joining me on the day specifically to cover Romance language overlap and look after non-Italian-speaking attendees who need their annual dose of translating tricky texts with peers.
The session will be interactive and may get loud.
About the presenter
Miriam Hurley is an ATA-certified IT>EN translator. Originally from Oregon and long based in Florence, she has been translating since 2000. She opened a translation studio in Florence in 2024, specializing in certified translations, film, and social sciences. She likes to be a connecting glue in both virtual and in-person communities.Clare Vassallo, Swieqi, Malta
The translator’s preface constitutes a key element of the liminal text of a work and an opportunity for the translator to speak in the first person. In other words, it is not simply an addition to a text but a mode that influences readers’ expectations and interpretations, as they are drawn into sharing the insights, methods and intentions of the translator which, in turn, influence their reading.
The preface is a valuable space that no translator should ignore. The intention and the skopos of a translation as reflected upon in the preface leaves a precious trace that future translation researchers will use to understand the shifts in translation theory and practice in various historical moments.
The term ‘paratext’, derived from Gérard Genette (1987) and developed by Kathryn Batchelor (2018), focuses specifically on how translators introduce their translations. I will examine the genre of the preface and build on Batchelor’s definition of the term: “a paratext is a consciously crafted threshold for a text which has the potential to influence the way(s) in which the text is received”. Indeed, paratextual insertions have also been used as instruments of political approaches to translation, as in the case of feminist translation strategies of hijacking and of inserting comments and footnotes within the translated text in the translator’s own voice.
The presentation will be based on examples of old and recent prefaces in English that provide insight into the motivation and methods used by the translator. Attendees will learn more about the use of the preface as a space through which the translator can connect directly with the reader, achieve visibility, and gain value.
About the presenter
Clare Vassallo is a Professor of Semiotics and Translation Studies at the University of Malta. She has published several articles and chapters on aspects of translation. She is also a literary translator and has translated the work of a number of Maltese poets and prose writers into English.Timothy Barton, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Chris Durban, Paris, France; Helen Oclee-Brown, Kent, UK
In these challenging times for translators, most freelancers are already taking steps to keep their businesses on track. But in a field as diverse and fast-moving as ours, is there truly a “best” path to building a sustainable, resilient career?
Some advocate diversification: expanding into multiple subject areas or services to spread risk and increase income streams. The upside is flexibility; the downside is the risk of becoming a jack of all trades and a master of none. Others argue for specialization, or even hyper-specialization – positioning yourself as the go-to expert for premium clients who value deep subject knowledge and are willing to pay for it. Yet this path carries its own risk: if the market shifts, a narrowly defined niche can lose momentum and put you back at square one.
And what is the best path for aspiring translators? To study translation as a discipline and specialize later? Or to study a non-language field first and then acquire translation and interpreting skills to layer on top of that foundation?
In this panel discussion, Timothy Barton and Chris Durban will explore the implications of specialization and diversification for translators, guided by moderator Helen Oclee-Brown. They will share what has worked best in their own careers and report on experiences of other colleagues in the profession. They will present suggestions for various translator profiles, as well as practical examples for translators entering the profession – or seeking to strengthen their position – as 2026 draws to a close.
This presentation is designed for translators of all language combinations and at every career stage. The session will conclude with an open Q&A.
About the presenters
Timothy Barton is a freelance translator (French, Spanish and Catalan to English), interpreter and editor based in Namibia. He works mainly for international institutions, including the UN, WIPO and the WTO. His company provides interpreting equipment for international meetings in Namibia. Timothy is also a sworn translator of the High Court of Namibia.Martina Abagnale, Arnhem, Netherlands
Many language professionals pride themselves on being adaptable, responsive, and easy to work with. However, the very traits that help us build strong client relationships can quietly turn into exhaustion, frustration, and a lingering sense that we are never doing enough. When does ‘listening’ become overextending? When does flexibility make you go over your limits? And how do we recognize that tipping point before something breaks?
In this session, I draw on my personal experience building and marketing a software service after many years working as a freelance language professional. Approaching a product with a service-provider mindset seemed natural, but the transition exposed blind spots around boundaries, feedback, and professional self-worth, and forced me to rethink what it means to serve clients well.
Rather than offering universal truths, this talk uses lived experience as a starting point for reflection. At the end of the presentation, I will provide prompts that invite participants to examine their assumptions about responsiveness, customization, and value, and to consider how their professional voice shows up in everyday decisions. How can we express informed opinions, offer guidance, and even challenge client requests rather than defaulting to compliance?
This session is aimed at language professionals at any career stage who feel caught between wanting to do right by their clients and wanting to do right by themselves. It will be particularly relevant for those navigating periods of growth, change, or new professional roles, or anyone sensing that something in their current way of working no longer feels quite sustainable.
About the presenter
Martina Abagnale is an Italian translator specialized in finance. Active since 2019, she has also worked as a trainer, industry speaker, and event organizer, sharing her passion and knowledge about finance, translation, and anything in between. In 2025 she co-founded Lemon Twist, a business-management software for freelance language professionals.Sandra H. Lustig, Hamburg, Germany
Universities have traditionally relied on the services of translators and editors for academic publications, public relations, and administrative texts. In recent years, the nature of the work demanded by universities has been changing along with the translation and editing landscape in general.
This interactive discussion session addresses current developments in translating and editing for universities that affect in-house or freelance language professionals. For each of the two topics—internationalization and artificial intelligence—I will first briefly share my experience and the experiences of university translators in the northern German network of university translators. Then, attendees will be invited to contribute their experience and questions to the discussion.
Internationalization of universities
Artificial intelligence
Participants can expect to come away with a better understanding of the impacts of these trends at various universities and in various countries, and how translators and editors are approaching them.
About the presenter
Sandra H. Lustig is an in-house translator for Leibniz University Hannover. She is a member of a Germany-wide network of university translators and coordinates a network of university translators in northern Germany. As a freelancer, she works for numerous universities, academics, and other clients.Sandra Young, Birmingham, UK; James Lupton, Brighton, UK
This talk examines how the challenges of translatability – and the possibilities that emerge when facing them – are central to ensuring minoritised voices are heard and to demonstrating the value of language professionals. We will demonstrate our point drawing on our experience interpreting for the Beyond Compliance Consortium, a group of researchers and practitioners investigating the relevance and limitations of international humanitarian law (IHL) concepts for people living in conflict situations.
During this collaboration, we have faced translation challenges that gave rise to broader discussions with the consortium about whether IHL concepts are understood in the same way by minoritised people, and what their translatability means in terms of international law. Our clients have included both native Spanish speakers and a bilingual indigenous leader who spoke Spanish and Nasa Yuwe. This highlighted two vital aspects that appeared to be echoed in other settings: the complexity of translating concepts across languages and the fundamentally different ways of perceiving the world, including the relationship between individuals and the collective.
We use this specific experience to illustrate our point. However, we believe that these questions are also important for other language professionals – interpreters, for example – in their reflections on translatability and how this can positively contribute to the profession, in particular by recognising the agency of (often minoritised) target language speakers. Our talk further seeks to demonstrate how cultural negotiation can be used to give voice to people who are commonly silenced and reveal the multiplicity of the – often hidden – borders translation must navigate. We believe that successfully communicating the relevance of cultural negotiation will help language professionals demonstrate their worth in today’s world.
We hope our story will be of interest to attendees from many disciplines, and they will be invited to share their different opinions and approaches surrounding cultural negotiation.
About the presenters
Sandra Young is a translator and interpreter specialised in human rights and international law. A passion for giving people a voice has always been a driving force behind her work, as has sharing ideas and worldviews with a great diversity of people.
“The respondent referred to this impact as an aspect that distinguishes/distinguished X from Y." In this statement from a qualitative research article, the tense of the verb distinguish determines whose voice the reader hears: past tense puts the observation in the mouth of the respondent; present tense suggests that the distinction is universally acknowledged.
In research articles, past tense generally marks an utterance as referring to the author’s own findings, whereas present suggests universality. Writing about qualitative research may pose the additional challenge of integrating (present tense) examples from interviews. Direct quotations can be punctuated accordingly, but in paraphrasing it is often tense that signals whether a statement is reported matter, a consensus, or an authorial conclusion. Where multilingual authors report on interviews conducted in a language other than English, the situation may be further complicated by language interference.
As editors or translators, we may be caught in the crossfire of tense conventions in different languages. The more alert we are to possible tense issues, the better we can help our authors adopt appropriate English-language and/or disciplinary conventions, and communicate clearly to their readers.
After an introduction to tense use in English-language research articles and the implications of tense choice for speaker voice, participants will divide into smaller groups to consider further examples from the presenter’s editing practice. Do we agree on what tense is required in a given example? What would we advise the author? Can we identify patterns and/or draw up guidelines to help editors and authors negotiate this grey area in academic writing?
The interactive session will be relevant for all editors, translators, and writers of research articles in English. Though the examples will be taken from social science texts, the issues with tenses apply to all academic writing.
About the presenter
Maria Sherwood-Smith lectures in academic English at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Leiden University, the Netherlands, where she gives courses for early-career researchers on various aspects of academic communication and participation. She also works as an academic editor and translator.
Elina I. Nocera, Perugia, Italy
Language reflects the history, culture, values and collective experiences of the people who speak it and affects how we think and interpret the world around us. The words we use are powerful. When used well, they can inspire, motivate and unite, but when used inaccurately, they can harm, divide and exclude.
In today’s complex world, paying attention to the words we choose and communicating inclusively are more important than ever. Yet biases relating to people’s physical, cultural and personal characteristics keep creeping into everyday language, often without us even realising.
In this talk, we’ll explore what bias is, different types of bias and their consequences, and why it’s important to recognise it. We’ll also dive deeper into four isms – sexism, ableism, ageism and classism – and reflect on ways we can break them.
Communicating more inclusively is not about being politically correct, and it’s more than just replacing words with others. It’s about being accurate, embracing empathy and putting people first, helping them feel recognised and included in the conversation.
This session is for all language professionals who want to increase their awareness of bias and its impact and make the texts they write, edit, translate or transcreate more relatable to a broader audience.
About the presenter
Elina I. Nocera is a bilingual Italian–English marketing translator with 18 years of experience who has branched out into copywriting. She helps brands connect with their audiences through a natural tone of voice. Elina is based in Perugia and is a member of MET, IAPTI, and the Italian Copywriters’ Association.
🍃 Think before you print 🍃