College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > Modern Languages > Student Resources > Translator & Interpreter Corps

Translator and Interpreter Corps

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About Us

The Translator and Interpreter Corps at DePaul is a volunteer, student-based language access facilitation service designed to respond to pressing community need for intercultural communication. This program not only provides students with concrete real world experience, but it also teaches them the professional guidelines, best practices, and code of ethics in the translation industry.

Mission

This program’s goal is to provide immigrant, low-income and/or limited-English proficiency (LEP) individuals with access to key language services that would otherwise be unavailable due to linguistic and socio-economic factors. These volunteer services support DePaul University’s Vincentian mission, while responding to the educational needs of its students by preparing them for their professional careers. TIC is committed to promoting linguistic justice and diversity through human rights-based advocacy and community translation and interpreting, in the hopes of working toward a more equitable, just, and peaceful society.

Founded in 2015 through support from the MacArthur Foundation, this program is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Law School’s Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic and the Department of Modern Languages. TIC is currently funded through a DePaul University Academic Initiative Grant and the Julian Grace Foundation.
TIC is proud to be on the forefront of experiential learning by offering an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in translation and interpretation as volunteers offering pro bono services through DePaul to community-based organizations in the Chicagoland area. The work of student volunteers advances the university’s Vincentian values of enfranchising and empowering through service. These high quality, pro-bono language services are available to community-based organizations offering immigration, legal, and social services to low-income individuals with limited-English proficiency.

TIC provides advanced language students with a unique cultural and experiential opportunity to gain professional experience in legal and community-based translation and interpretation, as well as project management, supported by the structure of an academic environment.

 
For further information, please contact the Director of Translator and Interpreter Corps, Elias Shakkour.

The field of translation and interpretation is at a point of very rapid development and has become a pressing necessity in many fields. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the translation and interpreting professions are projected to grow by 18% by 2026, as a result of globalization and increased presence of LEP and non-English speakers in the U.S. (1).  Despite the aid of automatic translation and other computer translation tools, nuanced human intervention remains essential, hence the need for talented linguists.

Translation and interpretation skills, combined with other language and intercultural skills, are advantageous in many careers, as is productive and responsible volunteer experience. There are a host of employment opportunities that interact directly and indirectly with translation work, namely, scientific and medical research, business operations, literary work, trade and patent work, media, immigration and legal services, government and intergovernmental positions, educational translation in schools and universities, hospitals and nursing care facilities, as well as museums and historical sites (2). Thus, students will find that the skills acquired through their volunteer translation and interpretation work will have lasting professional value across a variety of disciplines and fields.

1 See, “Occupational Outlook Handbook: Interpreters and Translators.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/interpreters-and-translators.htm
2 See, Hammond, D. “The Translation Profession in the United States Today.” (1990). The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 132-144.


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