A Note on Fousesquawk Translations

As my regular readers have noted, the last few years have featured a lot of activity on this site involving translations of articles from Europe regarding the migration crisis and the spread of Islam on that continent. In addition, I have posted a series of translations of European articles reporting on the presence and activity of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Specifically, I have chosen articles in Spanish, Italian, German, French, Swedish, Dutch, and Portuguese. In addition, I have assisted Gates of Vienna and Vlad Tepes blog in translating articles and news videos in those languages.

The question arises (or at least I assume it has) as to whether Fousesquawk employs a team of translators to perform these tasks. Actually, that is not the case. I do these myself based on my own knowledge of these languages. These are not computer-generated translations. Nor are they what would be considered professional translations since I do not have a translator certification. Years ago, I took the tests in Italian and Spanish but did not pass.

My language ability comes from a lifetime of study and living overseas. Specifically, I  have spent three years in Germany, three years in Thailand, and five years in Italy. I attended the US State Department Foreign Service Institute (FSI) studying Thai for six months in 1974 prior to my posting to Bangkok with DEA in 1975-1978. In 1982, I attended the Defense Language Institute school of languages at Monterey, California (DLI)  for one month studying Italian prior to my posting to Italy from 1982-1987. I studied Spanish and French in high school and university respectively and my wife of 47 years is from Mexico. Beginning in the 1990s, I have been studying Portuguese, Papiamentu, Lithuanian Swedish, and Dutch on my own. The translations that I do are those in which I am at a sufficient level in reading and/or listening comprehension. 

As for translation aids, I use my extensive library of dictionaries, grammar books, and textbooks in the appropriate languages (see photo below). While there are some valid online translation aids, simply doing a Google or computer-generated translation is not reliable and would inevitably produce several errors in syntax and vocabulary. Anybody with zero knowledge of a language could do those.

I am putting my resume below minus information as to address, phone number, etc. to show my experience and levels of language competence. At various times during my government career, I have been tested by FSI or DLI in Thai, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese. These are oral interviews either in person or by telephone. Their grading scale is one to five, with one being the lowest (knowing just a few words and phrases) and five the highest (educated native proficiency). Levels 2-3 are in the area of limited working proficiency to working proficiency. 

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science degree 1970. Police Science and Administration, California State University at Los Angeles

Master of Education degree 1993. Social Foundations of Education, University of Virginia (UVA)

MILITARY SERVICE

January 1966- November 1968. US Army Military Police Corps. Stationed in Germany. Honorably discharged as Specialist 4th Class.

EMPLOYMENT

     July 1998- September 2016

Lecturer in English as a Second Language (ESL) at University of California at Irvine Extension

     Irvine, Calif- 92616 (949) 824-5991

August 1995-June 1998

Adjunct lecturer in ESL at Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Virginia. Also taught two semesters in Administration of Justice Department. Reason for leaving: Relocation to California.

July 1973- August 1995

Special Agent US Department of Justice- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Duties: Conduct investigations of drug trafficking at national and international During this time- I was stationed in various posts of dutv. including 6 years in Los Angeles. 3 years in Pittsburgh, 3 years in Thailand, and 5 years in ltaly. While in Italy, I served 4 years as Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Milan office. From 1990-1995, I was assigned to DEA's Office of Training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia as a Course Developer/lnstructor, teaching drug law enforcement courses to state and local police.  I was also a Course Developer/Instructor for DEA’s Instructor Development Course training newly-assigned instructors in methods of instruction. From 1993-1995, I was assigned to DEA’s International Training Section conducting similar training seminars overseas for foreign police counterparts. I retired from government service in August of 1995.

 

      December 1970-June 1973

Special Agent- US Customs Agency Service, Los Angeles, California

Duties: Investigation of violations of drug smuggling laws. In 1973, I was assigned to the newly-created DEA as part of a presidential reorganization.

 

OTHER WORK

April 1992-Apri11994

Volunteer teaching assistant, English as a second language (ESL), Fairfax County, Virginia, Dept. of Adult Education. Nominated for Governor's Award for Volunteerism 1993.

April-June 1998

      Volunteer Instructor, Drug Awareness, Fairfax County (VA) Girls' Probation House, Fairfax, Va.

PUBLICATIONS

The Languages of the Former Soviet Republics-Their History and Development. Book published by University Press of America (UPA), Lanham, Maryland 2000.

The Story of Papiamentu-A Study of Slavery and Language. Book published by UPA in 2002.

Erlangen-An American’s History of a German Town. Book published by UPA 2005.

Kompa Nanzi and Brer Rabbit-Two Tricksters and Their Fates. Article in Caribseek Kaleidoscope, 2003.

Slavery and the Development of Papiamentu, Article published in Journal of Caribbean Literatures, 2007.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

      Erlangen Heimatsverein (Erlangen, Germany Historical Association)

      Association of Federal Narcotic Officers (AFNA)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS

      Spanish: Tested at 3+ speaking level by US Army Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California 1993.

      Italian: Trained at DLI 1982- Tested at 3 speaking level by DLI in 1990.

     Thai: Trained by US State Department, Foreign Service Institute, Roslyn, Va. in 1974. Tested at 2+ speaking level by DLI 1990.

      French: Tested at 2+ speaking level by DLI in 1990.

     Portuguese: Tested at 2 speaking level by DLI in 1993.

     German: Tested at 2 speaking level by DLI in 1991.

     Dutch:  Not tested. Estimate speaking-reading level at 2+.

     Swedish:  Not tested. Estimate speaking-reading level at 2+.

    Papiamentu:  Not tested. Estimate speaking reading level at 2/2+.

    Lithuanian:  Not tested. Estimate speaking-reading level at 1+.

 

After much thought I have decided to post this information, not to toot my own horn, but to set aside any questions or doubts some readers might have about how these translations are conducted.