WLC Students Collaborate with National Park Service on Translation Project
Students in the Department of World Languages & Cultures recently partnered with Great Basin National Park to translate brochures and signage into different languages. This work was piloted by park guides alongside WLC academic advisors in an effort to make the park more accessible and to create meaningful, language-oriented service opportunities for students.
Students in Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish worked on this project and were able to come out of the experience with real-world translation experience. Professor Jerry Root had students in his French Translation course work with Great Basin for their final project. He remarked, “This project was a great example of professional opportunities for language students in WLC. This project allowed students to make an impactful contribution to the National Park Service and to engage deeply with the local landscapes we all cherish so much. The students in my French translation class now know this park (or at least its vocabulary – from sagebrush to bristlecone) nearly as well as the park rangers.”
The relationship between GBNPS and WLC built by the students, faculty, advisors, and park guides will continue to benefit students in WLC as they collaborate on future translation needs for the park. The Park Guides who piloted this collaboration said that in participating in this collaboration, WLC students have, “helped those often neglected by the National Park Service and created an outdoor space accessible to many, rather than the few."