ALTA NTP (Legal Specialty Certifications) case studies
ALTA NTP · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The ALTA National Translation Provider (NTP) exam is a translation-competence assessment associated with ALTA Language Services, a US-based company that provides interpreting, translation, training, and language testing. It is aimed at working or aspiring translators - freelance translators, bilingual staff who regularly handle translated documents, and candidates who want an external evaluation of how accurately and naturally they render a source text into a target language. The ALTA NTP case studies are 5 cases and about 3,214 words.
1The Uncle, the Men, and the Brother: Preserving Ambiguity in an Asylum Declaration
You are translating a three-page sworn declaration (Spanish into English) for an asylum filing due in 48 hours. The declarant, 19, from Guerrero, dictated her statement to a paralegal rather than writing it herself.
696 words, about 3 min2Allergen Recall in Japanese: Apology Register Versus the Client's “Confident” Brief
JA into EN: a 420-character recall notice for a Tokyo confectionery, due in six hours to a US public-relations team. Assess the draft's first two sentences against the source.
632 words, about 3 min3One German Term, Two English Ones: A Glossary That Collapses a Regulatory Distinction
DE into EN: a 40-page instructions-for-use document for a Class IIb infusion pump, feeding both EU MDR technical documentation and a US 510(k) at once. The client glossary, marked “approved,” maps Zweckbestimmung and bestimmungsgemäßer Gebrauch both to “intended purpose,” and the glossary owner is on leave until after Friday's deadline.
653 words, about 3 min4A Hijri Date, a Handwritten Correction, and a Name That Must Match the Passport
AR into EN: a certified translation of a Sudanese birth certificate for a US green-card filing, due in three days. The document gives the birth date only in Hijri form, 12/09/1444, with no Gregorian equivalent.
631 words, about 3 min5Skincare Copy for Amazon US: An Idiom, a Botanical Story, and a Claim the Product Cannot Make
ZH into EN: five Amazon US bullets, 30 words each, for a botanical skincare serum launching in ten days. Source: 「本草配方，温和不刺激，祛痘淡印，立竿见影。」 and, in the same block, 「7天见效」.
602 words, about 3 min