Michigan State University launched the new Translation Center to meet the growing needs for high-quality translation and interpreting services that can increase access to information on campus and beyond.
The MSU Translation Center offers services in more than 20 languages including Ancient Greek, Arabic, Bengali, Catalan, English, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mandarin, Mongolian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Thai, Valencian, Vietnamese and Wolof. Pricing is competitive and quotes vary based on the services needed, content type, length, language and timeframe.
MSU Translation Center Director Anthony Grubbs said the center will help fill a gap for translation and interpreting services in the university community and the state of Michigan. Grubbs is also chairperson of the Department of Romance and Classical Studies and an associate professor of Spanish at MSU.
“We want to be able to offer, especially at the university, a service that supports access to information,” Grubbs said. “The MSU Translation Center will be able to provide professional translation services, vocational training for our translators, and academic opportunities for those interested in this type of career path.”
The center is staffed by a team of MSU faculty who teach in the departments of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures and Romance and Classical Studies. All translators have experience in academic and professional settings in both English and the languages in which they translate, and they are accustomed to evaluating the context and cultural nuances associated with translations and interpretations.
“We have an extraordinary number of talented faculty who are native language speakers, teachers, researchers, and translators,” Grubbs said. “Their expertise and backgrounds will help make the services we offer more diverse and inclusive across languages, cultures, and academic disciplines.”
Assistant Director and Spanish Instructor Charles Moulding said being on campus and in the community enables the Translation Center to address needs quickly and efficiently.
“The intersection of the community needs and the collection of language talent present at MSU makes it a perfect place to launch this first-of-its-kind center,” Moulding said. “As we gain more experience and are able to further integrate our services into the community, we will continue to strengthen our knowledge and increase consistency across our interpreters and translators.”
Some of the Translation Center’s recent projects have been with MSU units and organizations, including MSU Extension and the College of Human Medicine, as well as with local community partners and state government agencies.
The Translation Center is currently working on a project with the Michigan State Capitol Commission to translate parts of a German book of poetry by Hendrich Weidemann. The translation will be part of a 2023 exhibit about the Weidemann family’s immigrant experiences and influences on the arts and culture of Michigan.
“The Michigan State Capitol Commission is excited to partner with the new MSU Translation Center in the translation of a late 19th century book of German language poetry for an upcoming exhibit about Capitol artist Christian Weidemann and the Weidemann family,” said Valerie Marvin, historian and curator for the Michigan State Capitol.
The Weidemann brothers, Christian and Hendrich, immigrated from Germany to Detroit in the late 1860s. Christian was a foreman for William Wright Co. and led the team decorating the interior of the Michigan State Capitol from 1885-1890, while Hendrich wrote for the “Abend Post,” Detroit’s German-language newspaper.
“The artwork created and the design process in the Capitol Building has not been a story we’ve been able to tell before,” Marvin said. “With these new exhibits and spaces, we can take a deeper dive and tell a more complex story of the building through the Weidemann family and their contributions.”
Translations like this and the work done by the MSU Translation Center can help broaden the reach and impact of different kinds of stories and information for people across Michigan.
“The MSU Translation Center is important to the university’s work and making sure that information is accessible to all communities,” Grubbs said, “and MSU is uniquely positioned to support these endeavors.”
This story originally appeared on the College of Arts and Letters website.
