February 2018


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Perhaps you have a document that you need to translate from a foreign language into English (or from English to another language), but you don’t know where to get this done. The Caribbean Interpreting and Translation Bureau can do it. Located on the UWI St. Augustine Campus for the past ten years, the CITB offers translation and interpreting services to members of the university community, as well as to the public.

This office has handled translations of every type, in numerous subject areas. Documents can be short and simple – for instance birth certificates, academic certificates, letters or police reports; or they can be lengthier reports or papers. Recently, Spanish subtitling was provided for the local film “Green Days by the River.” All translations are certified, and CITB is one of only two institutions in the country officially recognized by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago as a provider of this service.

Proof-reading of translations is another of our services.

If a client is seeking to do business in another country or to deal with a legal matter abroad, CITB has the capability to provide official translations into a number of foreign languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Interpreting is a key component in the package of services. Currently, most requests for interpreting are handled locally, but if there are no local interpreters to work in a specific language pair, professionals are sourced from a larger network outside the country. Interpreting services have been provided to a wide variety of clients such as government ministries, regional and international bodies such as CARICOM and the United Nations, as well as private sector organizations, at events ranging from one day to weeks in duration, and can cover any number of subjects. Even private individuals have access to interpreting services to conduct their personal business, which can include marriages and court appearances.

In 2005, the University acquired professional interpreting booths and a state-of-the-art wireless interpreting system, which was later supplemented by additional booths and a new digital interpreting system. This means that more than one conference can be handled at the same time, or in the case of very large events, there can be up to 24 interpreters working in three separate rooms at the same time in multiple languages.

CITB is closely associated with the Postgraduate Diploma in Interpreting that is offered every two years. Its first intake was in 2006, and graduates of the programme have played a key role in the interpreting services offered by CITB. There are 11 UWI-trained interpreters and six translators currently working. CITB was meant to be an incubator for language students seeking to make a career in the field of foreign languages.

As UWI celebrates its 70th anniversary, and the Centre for Language Learning marks its 20th anniversary, CITB can be proud that after just 10 years it has become a leader in translation and interpreting regionally.

The main translation office is located in Room 327, Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, in the Faculty of Humanities and Education, where you can bring in translation requests – simply walk in with your documents, make a downpayment, and collect the translation in a couple business days.