United Nations - UN Translation services Organisational structure Resources

Languages Working languages of Secretariat: English, French Official languages for intergovernmental meetings and documents: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese Also German Translation ServiceGerman Translation Service

Documentation Division Part of the United Nations Secretariat, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management –Translation Service (6 langs) –Editorial, Terrminology and Reference Service –Contractual Translation Unit –German Translation Service

Activities of Document Division (1) Translates all official UN documents, meeting records, publications and correspondence Prepares summary records of bodies entitled to such records Arranges for contractual translation and text-processing

Activities (2) Edits official UN documents, meeting records and publications Ensures linguistic concordance among the 6 official languages of resolutions, decisions and other legal instruments Issues editorial directives for the UN Secretariat

Activities (3) Provides reference and terminology services for authors, drafters, editors, interpreters, translators and verbatim reporters Develops terminology databases

Workloads 2002 A/57/289: self-assessment and report on Documentation Division: –1,650 words for translation to be revised –1,815 words for self-revised translation –3,960 words for revision

Employment: translator/precis writer Competition: written exam 1.Translation of general text in one SL (2.5 hrs, eliminatory) 2.Translation of text chosen from 4 texts in other SL (1.5 hrs) 3.Summary (1 hr) 4.Translation of text chosen from four specialised texts (economic, legal, social and political) (1.5 hrs) No dictionaries, no computers

Employment: verbatim reporter Competition: written exam 1.Translation (2hrs, eliminatory) 2.Translation of text in another SL (1.5 hrs) 3.Editing of text (1.5 hrs) No dictionaries, no computers

Employment: proofreader Competition: exam 1.Proofreading 2.Desktop publishing 3.Knowledge of printing 4.Language aptitude

UN Office Geneva Languages Services, part of Conference Services Division –One translation section for each of the 6 languages and support sections (reference and terminology; text-processing) –160 permanent translators, plus freelancers translate 50 million words per year –Provides translation for 50 bodies at UNOG

UNOG recruitment Exam details and sample texts

UN organisations and useful documentation sites Chart of UN organisations UN System of Organisations website indexUN System of Organisations Official Document System (ODS)Official Document System –UN documentation database –searchable Document Centre UN System libraries UNTerm termbaseUNTerm

Reading Cao, Deborah and Zingmin Zhao (2008) ‘Translation at United Nations as Specialised Translation’, Journal of Specialised Translation, 9.Translation at United Nations as Specialised Translation Kudryavtsev, Eduard and Louis-Dominique Oedraogo (2003) Implementation of Multilingualism in the United Nations System (JIU/REP/2002/11), Geneva: United Nations.Implementation of Multilingualism in the United Nations System

Task 1 Go to the UN website: Find out about the functions and size of the main bodies of the UN: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic & Social Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat. Explore the various functions of the Documentation division and the Meetings and publishing division:

Task 2 Go to the UN site Document Centre. Study meeting records of the Security Council. What topics are discussed? What is the structure of meetings? What are recurring phrases in English and your other language if applicable?Document Centre

Task 3 Examine speeches of the Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, in English and in your other language if applicable. ( Study the structure, and recurring phrases in the speeches.