** Crimson/Kelly

[gibbylod]

How did the ATA exam go?

[crimsonandclover]

It was ok. I honestly have no idea if I passed, and I need to stop googling, since I was reading that one year a few years ago, not a single person passed the GE-EN or EN-GE exams, and that they seem to be the hardest (and that's saying quite a bit, considering that the pass rate is less than 20% anyway). Also, that ridiculous things are counted as errors, like a women translating a word as "bill" (as in dollar bill - "Schein" for you German speakers) was deducted because she didn't use the word "banknote." WTH?

So I need to step away from Google. If I didn't have to worry about the grading, then I would say it was hard but do-able. With the tough grading factor, however, it's a crap shoot. There were only 2 other people taking the exam with me, though, so we had plenty of space. They each only had one general dictionary with them (they were EN-Spanish and Spanish-EN), which made me feel weird having about 7, including a few specialized dictionaries. Afterwards I spoke with the proctor, though, and he said it was highly unusual for someone to only have 1 dictionary. I know that I personally would have had no chance of passing without my specialized ones.

If you've got any specific questions let me know.

[gibbylod]

I did hear that they pick at every little thing when they grade the exams. Do you know what the minimum grade to pass is?

I think I would have done like you and brought all the dictionaries I could get my hands on. I've become so dependent on online dictionaries though, I should start practicing using my paper dictionaries so I don't feel so lost if I take the exam.

Is there a time limit for the exam? Is it one long text, or a collection of shorter texts? Are you able to pick a specialization or is it general and everyone takes the same exam for their language combination?

They have a similar exam in Costa Rica which I will probably take in order to be certified here, although I have a feeling it is much easier than the ATA exam because so many people here claim to be certified translators and make ridiculous mistakes (example: I have seen one translate "condominio" as "condom"!!). Unfortunately, you have to have lived a minimum of 5 years in the country before you are eligible to take the exam, so I still have to wait a couple more years before I can take it.

[crimsonandclover]

I did hear that they pick at every little thing when they grade the exams. Do you know what the minimum grade to pass is?
You're allowed to get 17 error points taken off. For minor things like spelling or punctuation it's 1 point off and up to I think 8 points for a mistranslation, although the definition of "mistranslation" is pretty vague.

I think I would have done like you and brought all the dictionaries I could get my hands on. I've become so dependent on online dictionaries though, I should start practicing using my paper dictionaries so I don't feel so lost if I take the exam.
I haven't used paper dictionaries since...um... college, maybe? But I didn't find that to be a big problem. I bought some good used specialized dictionaries on amazon and was glad I did. Also bring an English monolingual and a source-language monolingual dictionary. I used the English monolingual to look up spelling and one word that I wasn't sure if I was using correctly. The German monolingual one I used to get ideas for synonyms when the general Ge-En dictionary I was using didn't give me a good translation for a word in the text.

Is there a time limit for the exam?
Yes. 3 hours.

Is it one long text, or a collection of shorter texts? Are you able to pick a specialization or is it general and everyone takes the same exam for their language combination?
The passages are different for each language combination. There are a total of 3 passages: 1 general, 1 scientific/medical/technical, and 1 legal/financial. You have to do the general one and then choose one of the specialized texts. I chose the legal/financial one, and it really was a mix of legal/financial. I had expected it to be one or the other. The technical text (which I only looked at for about 3 second before deciding I was definitely not choosing that one) was also a mix of medical/technical and not one or the other. The passages are each a good half-page, single-spaced, 12pt Times. More like 2/3 page.


They have a similar exam in Costa Rica which I will probably take in order to be certified here, although I have a feeling it is much easier than the ATA exam because so many people here claim to be certified translators and make ridiculous mistakes (example: I have seen one translate "condominio" as "condom"!!). Unfortunately, you have to have lived a minimum of 5 years in the country before you are eligible to take the exam, so I still have to wait a couple more years before I can take it.

If I were you, I would wait and take that exam if it has a higher pass rate. The only reason I decided to take the ATA exam is that it will automatically qualify me to take the German equivalent, whereas otherwise I would have to provide lots of documentation on previous translation experience since I don't have a degree in translating. When deciding whether to take the ATA exam, also take into consideration their testing sites. On their website they have the tests scheduled for the current year and then somewhere you can click on a list of previous testing sites so you see whether there's even a chance there will be one close to you. There has never been one in Germany, but they do have them occasionally in Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, so I would have to travel there to take it, and you have to factor in travel expenses, etc. That's why I decided to go ahead and do it while I'm in the States and can drive there *relatively* easily. Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

[gibbylod]

Thanks for your responses

Now that you're done with the exam, I hope you can relax and enjoy the rest of your time in the US!