VITA - Victoria Interpreters' & Translators' Alliance

Additional Information:
Interpretation:
A good interpreter can increase your chance of success when interviewing a client.  A VITA interpreter is impartial and will give an accurate "transcription" of what is said during an interview and can further assist you in identifying issues of cross-cultural communication that may affect your situation and impede your mutual progress. 

VITA regularly provides confidential interpreting services for medical, legal, and government and social services interviews.   Our interpreters can attend emergency sessions at an extra charge; we prefer if we are contacted one week in advance.  
Translation:
Legal Documents - Documents translated by VITA can be notarized and used as official documents for  legal and immigration purposes. 

Multilingual Projects - VITA has experienced project coordinators who can manage large and complex assignments. If you would like to create on multi-lingual  document or many translations of one brochure, pamphlet or book.  VITA can deliver a professionally finished project without "extra costs" outside of our free estimate.
Fees:
VITA bills at a base rate of $35 per hour, with a one-hour minimum charge. We charge additional fees for RUSH projects. In general, it takes as long to translate a document as it does to compose it. If you have a complex and highly technical document, it will have to be researched and additional editors will be required. VITA translators will provide free estimates. 
How to Proceed:
Call the VITA messaging service at phone # (250) 360-9549 (in Victoria, Canada) and leave your name and number.  Your call will be returned by our dispatcher, who will ask you questions relevant to your needs and will have an appropriate VITA member contact you. 

Ask the VITA member and relevant questions, set a deadline for project completion and arrange pick-up and delivery or appointment time and place. 

When the work is complete the VITA member will bill you (for large projects, a project coordinator will be in charge of your work and will contact you and co-ordinate all production needs). Please pay the billing member directly. 

If you have any concerns over the work, or have difficulties with the bill, please call the pager number and ask to speak to the VITA Steering Committee – they will investigate your concern. 
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):
What language do I need services in? 
If you are trying to promote your service to a particular community, VITA can help you choose the languages that will be the most effective. We have statistics on the most commonly used non-English languages used in Victoria and British Columbia.

How long will it take? 
Please give us advance notice if you need an interpreter. For translations, we strive to give at least a one week turn around on all our work. We can usually accommodate rush translations. 

What other services do you offer?
Multi-lingual hardware and software expertise, in-house desktop publishing with high resolution output, fast turn-around time, multi-format and multi-platform saving for non-roman character languages. 

How is VITA structured?
VITA is a  registered non-profit organization.  VITA is governed by an executive steering committee, a board of directors, a constitution, and a statute of conduct to guide its membership. VITA functions as an independent organization without any funding from any government agencies.

How does VITA work? 
VITA is a network of free-lance interpreters and translators. Fees include wages for the people performing the work, plus a percentage to cover for administration, operating costs and equipment. The pride our members take in VITA is reflected in the quality of their work.

Will family member be sent as interpreters? 
Many of Victoria’s cultural communities have small populations.  For this reason, in some instances VITA will ask for details of the appointment to ensure that appropriate people are sent to interpret. To avoid conflicts of interest and breaches of confidentiality, family members will never be sent as interpreters.

Are you certified? 
There is no comprehensive government certification in Canada for interpreters or translators. Our members are all screened by our language captains before they are granted membership. Most of our membership have worked as language professionals for over ten years. Some of our members have language degrees and are affiliated with other professional organizations. All our work is guaranteed – we stand 100% behind what we do. Our work has been accepted by the federal and BC provincial governments.

What are some VITA clients?
As a policy, we do not reveal specific names of active and past clients since many of them prefer to remain anonymous.  Since VITA began working in 1995, our clients have included Canadian federal and provincial government agencies, airlines, large multinational corporations, local businesses, and other entities looking for quality translation work in specific or multiple languages.  We can source translators from a wide variety of language and dialect-specific cultural backgrounds to generate effective translations that meet client needs.  Our continued success and repeat business over the years is a  testament to the quality of our work.

Back to Main VITA Page