Eleanor CORNELIUS

Nomination Template/Mise en candidature Council
2014-2017/Conseil 2014-2017
To be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 30 June/À compléter et à envoyer
au secrétariat au plus tard le 30 juin.
Nominee / Candidat(e)
Name / Nom
Member association / Association membre
Country / Pays
Postal address (association) /
Adresse postale (association)
Email address / Courriel
Educational background and qualifications /
Éducation et qualifications
Field of work (translation, interpretation,
terminology) / Domaine (traduction,
interpétation, terminologie)
Positions of trust / Postes de confiance
• Current position(s) / Poste(s) actuel(s)
Dr Eleanor Cornelius
South African Translators’ Institute (SATI)
South Africa
PO Box 1710
Rivonia
2128
South Africa
[email protected]
• BA (University of Stellenbosch, South Africa)
• Higher Education Diploma (University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa)
• Master of Arts (Cum Laude) (University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa)
• D.Litt. et Phil. (University of Johannesburg,
South Africa)
• Accredited simultaneous interpreter (SATI)
(Afrikaans-English/English-Afrikaans)
Teaching of translation and interpreting at the
University of Johannesburg, South Africa; parttime freelance translator, editor and
simultaneous interpreter
I have been involved in the language industry for
the past 25 years, for the largest part as a trainer
of translators, text editors and interpreters. I also
worked as a full-time language practitioner
(translator and text editor) for a number of
years, and have worked continuously as a parttime freelancer translator, text editor and
simultaneous interpreter. In addition, as Deputy
Director: Language Planning at the Pan South
African Language Board (PanSALB), I was
responsible for the establishment of 11 nonprofit companies to compile dictionaries for the
11 official languages of South Africa – by the time
I terminated my employment at PanSALB, all 11
companies were fully functional and in
operation.
• Senior Lecturer, University of Johannesburg
(UJ)
• Member of the Council of the South African
Page 1 of/de 5
FIT – La voix des associations de traducteurs, d’interprètes et de terminologues à travers le monde
FIT – The voice of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists around the world
•
Previous position(s) / Ancien(s) poste(s)
Previous involvement in FIT / Participation
antécédente dans la FIT
Translators’ Institute since 2012
• Member of SATI’s Accreditation Committee
since 2009
• Member of the Humanities Teaching and
Learning Committee and of the First-Year
Support Forum at UJ
• Member of Peer Review Committees for
various universities in South Africa
• Deputy Director: Language Planning, Pan
South African Language Board (PANSALB)
No previous direct involvement in FIT
Nominee’s statement / Déclaration de la candidate ou du candidat
My motivation to be a member of Council / Ma
raison pour vouloir siéger au Conseil
I have been involved in structures of the South
African Translators’ Institute (SATI) for a number
of years, as a member of SATI’s Accreditation
Committee and its Council. Through this
involvement, I have learnt a great deal about the
language industry in South Africa in general, and
about our (SATI’s) accreditation system and the
professionalisation of language practitioners in
South Africa. I have benefitted tremendously
from the expertise and experience of FIT
President Marion Boers and a previous FIT VicePresident, Anne-Marie Beukes. I now feel myself
ready to get involved in an international body of
the stature of FIT. It would be a privilege to
represent South Africa, and the African
continent, on the FIT Council. Multilingualism is
the norm in Africa, and the multilingual
landscape in South Africa – with 11 official
languages – offers huge opportunities and
challenges for translators and interpreters; some
of these experiences and insights I will be able to
share with FIT, where appropriate. Conversely, it
is important for language practitioners in South
Africa, and Africa, to stay abreast with the latest
developments on the international front, as well
as best practices, and it would be incumbent on
me to keep my constituency informed in these
areas. Serving on the FIT Council will be
invaluable as far as this is concerned. It would
also be an honour to follow in the footsteps of
Marion Boers, a South African who served on the
FIT Council with much enthusiasm for many
years and who steered the FIT ship with
Page 2 of/de 5
FIT – La voix des associations de traducteurs, d’interprètes et de terminologues à travers le monde
FIT – The voice of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists around the world
My vision for FIT in support of FIT’s aims and
objectives / Ma vision de la FIT à l'appui des buts
et des objectifs de la FIT
distinction as President.
Although I will contribute to the best of my
ability to further ALL FIT’s objectives, there are
two specific objectives that I would particularly
want to actively promote:
The first relates to the FIT objective “to
encourage and facilitate the formation of such
associations in countries where they do not
already exist”: my vision is to encourage the
formation of translation associations on the
African continent which, in my opinion, is largely
under-represented in FIT: only one regular
member (SATI in South Africa), two associate
members (Algeria and the DRC) and one
observer member (Egypt). Although this may be
very ambitious, I would want to reach out to
neighbouring countries such as Botswana,
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique
in order to promote and advocate FIT and to
widen African representation in FIT. This may
take a very long time, but such a process has to
start somewhere and I would be very interested
in playing a part in the leg work.
My key skills / Mes principales aptitudes
Any other supporting information / Tout autre
renseignement à l'appui
The second relates to the FIT objective “to
promote the recognition of the professions of
translator, interpreter and terminologist,
enhance the status of translators in society, and
promote translation as a science and an art”: as
South Africa very recently passed new legislation
to regulate the language profession in South
Africa, there is ample scope and opportunity to
promote this objective of FIT locally and to
inform decision-makers and legislators of
international standards and best practices,
thereby promoting FIT on the one hand, but also
promoting the language profession in South
Africa on the other.
Organisation(al) skills
Communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Presentation skills (of academic/research nature;
workshop presentation)
I have done a substantial amount of research on
the area of legal translation in South Africa,
particularly on legal translator competence. I
have also done extensive research (including my
doctoral studies) on the topic of plain (legal)
language and document design, and I focused on
the promotion of the use of plain (legal)
language not only in English, but also in Afrikaans
Page 3 of/de 5
FIT – La voix des associations de traducteurs, d’interprètes et de terminologues à travers le monde
FIT – The voice of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists around the world
(thereby opening up avenues for the indigenous
African languages to follow suit). My knowledge
and experience of language development in
general, and lexicography and terminology
development in particular, may also come in
useful.
I would be prepared to accept the following positions on the Executive Committee if elected /
J'accepterais volontiers de siéger au Bureau si j'étais élu(e)
President / Président(e)
Not in a first term on Council
Vice-president / Vice-président(e)
Not in a first term on Council
Secretary General / Secrétaire général(e)
Not in a first term on Council
Treasurer / Trésorier(ère)
Not in a first term on Council
Picture: Insert a head-and-shoulders picture of
the nominee alongside and also attach it as a jpg
(at least 150 KB in size) / Photo : annexez un
portrait en buste de la candidate ou du candidat
de pair avec une version électronique (jpg d'au
moins 150 Ko)
By submitting this form I acknowledge that I have read the document “A commitment to FIT” and undertake
to participate fully in the work of the Council throughout my mandate if elected. /
En soumettant ce formulaire, je confirme avoir lu le document intitulé « Un engagement envers la FIT » et
conviens de participer entièrement au travail du Conseil tout au long de mon mandat si je suis élu(e).
Nominator / Proposant(e)
Name of member association / Nom de
l'association membre
Why the association wants to nominate the
candidate / Pourquoi l'association désire
nommer ce candidat/cette candidate
South African Translators’ Institute (SATI)
SATI believes it is important for the continent of
Africa to have representation on the FIT Council,
both to bring an African perspective to FIT and to
bring international knowledge back to Africa. We
feel that Dr Cornelius has the necessary
professional background and knowledge,
institutional experience, and enthusiasm and
dedication to be a successful and useful member
of the FIT Council.
Indicate the support (financial, administrative
SATI will support Dr Cornelius financially to
and others) the association will provide for the
attend the annual FIT Council meeting. We will
nominee if elected / Indiquer l'appui (financier,
also support her with advice and lessons from
administratif ou autre) qu'offrira l'association à la two previous FIT Council members, where
candidate si élue ou au candidat si élu
appropriate, and to the best of our ability in
offering information and other input in relation
to any tasks that she is given on behalf of FIT.
Page 4 of/de 5
FIT – La voix des associations de traducteurs, d’interprètes et de terminologues à travers le monde
FIT – The voice of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists around the world
Any other supporting information / Autres
renseignements à l'appui
Name of person submitting the nomination /
Nom du proposant ou de la proposante
Email of person submitting the nomination /
Courriel du proposant ou de la proposante
Position in association / Position dans
l'association
Association address / Adresse de l'association
Association email address / Courriel de
l'association
It is important for FIT to be future-looking and so
to balance experience with youth in its
leadership. Dr Cornelius is in a position to be able
to give a number of years of service to FIT and
brings with her modern views and ways of doing
things. Her experience as both an academic and
a practitioner is also important.
SATI believes that as a FIT Council member Dr
Cornelius’ task will not be to represent her home
association, but to work for the good of the
profession internationally.
Marion Boers
[email protected]
Executive Director
PO Box 1710
Rivonia
2128
South Africa
[email protected]
Page 5 of/de 5
FIT – La voix des associations de traducteurs, d’interprètes et de terminologues à travers le monde
FIT – The voice of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists around the world