LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
LANGUAGE: SPANISH
PRESENTERS: KELLY VARGUEZ AND KAREN BAHR

Colleagues Karen Bahr (NE CCI) and Kelly Varguez (USCCI) have teamed up again to create and share new exercises that will breathe life into participants’ interpreting study sessions. Based on authentic Spanish-language legal documents and court proceedings, Karen and Kelly’s newest materials are full of authentic terminology born of recent reforms to justice systems across Latin America. Participants will comprehend and interpret high-register Spanish into high-register English and vice versa, thus building and internalizing new terminology in an innovative way. Past participants have called the pair’s presentations “challenging” and “top notch” with material that hits the nail on the head. Attendees will spend the session brainstorming, interpreting, evaluating, discussing, reviewing and redoing. Kelly and Karen are known for their energy and dynamic presentation style, so bring a recording device and headphones and join them for a new take on traditional technique work.

Objectives: Participants will interpret from Spanish to English and vice versa, use new terminology developed during judicial reforms in Latin America, complete technique work for improved skills, and evaluate their performances.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: JUANITA ULLOA, Ph.D.

Are you easily understood when interpreting? Do you know if your diction is clear? We will analyze the role diction plays in interpretation. Find out about our seven articulators and which ones produce which sound. This awareness improves your overall sound production and will help you project more effortlessly. For example, are you using a darker “a” sound for English than Spanish or Italian? Learn how to release the jaw to avoid blockage of otherwise beautiful diction, projection, and resonance. Receive a personal evaluation in front of the class, or just listen and learn. Please bring a text in your source language to compare. We will also review popular English diphthongs which, when rushed, keep us from being understood. (Yes, native English speakers need this, too!)

Objectives: Learn how awareness of your alignment can improve your diction and clarity as an interpreter.

LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: ESTHER NAVARRO-HALL

Sim-Consec™ (Simultaneous-Consecutive) is an exciting combination of two interpreting modes plus portable technology. It is quickly becoming the technique of choice for many settings in conference and community interpreting. This workshop will show you how you can implement this technique in your day-to-day work as well as explore its possible use and important considerations for legal interpreting. Now that you have been introduced to the Sim-Consec™ method, come improve your skills in a supportive, small-group setting. For participants who are not familiar with this hybrid technique, basic concepts will be reviewed during the first hour of class. We will cover some practical considerations of digital pens and other devices used for Sim-Consec™ via selected exercises. Your Sim-Consec™ ability will be enhanced by group practice and instructor’s feedback. NOTE: Please bring your smartphone and a set of ear buds to this session. If you have a laptop or iPad, bring it too. Digital pens will be provided by the instructor for group practice during class.

Objectives: 1) Present the hybrid technique. 2) Allow the opportunity for small-group practice. 3) Provide resources for future practice.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTER: JEFF TORRES

This workshop calls attention to the unique situation court interpreters find themselves in daily. Interpreters find themselves on the front line of explosive encounters with defendants, witnesses and others involved in courtroom proceedings. Other than law enforcement, interpreters are often in direct communication and physical contact with convicted murderers, child molesters, rapists and other types of dangerous individuals. This is NOT the case for most courtroom employees, including judges, clerks, district attorneys or public defenders. This workshop addresses the unique safety situation court interpreters work in, and addresses issues specific to court interpreter safety by teaching the interpreter how to recognize potential threats which may be encountered in a courtroom environment. From civil matters to multi-defendant homicide trials, this course will familiarize the interpreter with the actions, terminology, physical signs and subtle indicators associated with inmates, defendants and the public which may result in direct assault or other negative contact between an interpreter and an individual utilizing interpreter services. Interpreters will learn varied methods of assault utilized by potentially hostile individuals in courtrooms, court holding cells, attorney conference rooms and jail interview rooms. Interpreters will also gain valuable insight as to personal positioning while interpreting and how to most effectively use listening devices to maximize safety.

Objectives: This workshop will familiarize participants with inmate criminal behavior, personal situational safety awareness, personal safety options (including personal demeanor, courtroom attire and public contact considerations), and personal health-hazard safety equipment options.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH WITH ZAPOTEC LEXICON
PRESENTER: ODILIA ROMERO

In recent decades, the United States has witnessed an unprecedented immigration of indigenous people from Southern Mexico, primarily from the State of Oaxaca. The Mexican government estimates that there are more than 120,000 indigenous Oaxacans currently living in the United States. Census reports reveal that indigenous people from Mexico make up the largest Native American population in the State of California today. As U.S. immigrants, Oaxacans face not only the cultural dislocation of being immigrants but are economically and socially marginalized. This workshop will provide information for interpreters to better work in conjunction with these communities. Topics covered include migration patterns and trends of indigenous peoples from Mexico and Guatemala to Los Angeles, issues of language diversity and languages spoken by indigenous peoples from Mexico and Guatemala, cultural beliefs and self-governance structures, cultural and socioeconomic diversity among indigenous groups and how they differ from mestizo Mexican and Guatemalan migrant populations, and the cultural, intellectual, and financial contributions indigenous migrants make to the City of Los Angeles.

Objectives: Educate interpreters on critical areas of indigenous culture and migrant experience in California to increase social awareness as well as service-delivery and accessibility for this population. The training will include background information and demographics of indigenous populations in the United States. A discussion of the challenges faced by these populations with respect to their linguistic and cultural differences. Practical strategies to make your institution and staff more culturally competent and sensible in their interactions with indigenous community members.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTER: PAULA ARTURO

From a theoretical point of view, ethical formalism (i.e., the belief that an action will be right or wrong depending on its logical form or formalization in Codes of Ethics) has long been rejected by ethicists as it fails to provide practical guidance in real-life scenarios. Yet, when we discuss Ethics at translation or interpretation conferences or other training opportunities, formalism is the dominant approach being passed down by trainers to attendees. The world has changed since Plato first introduced us to formalism over two millennia ago. Translators and interpreters currently face complex ethical dilemmas and modern Codes of Ethics fail to provide answers for everything. Language professionals make judgement calls and those judgment calls can be significantly improved by putting them to the test with modern ethical tools. In this workshop, we will look at the most significant advancements in modern ethical theory and how these advancements can improve our professional practices in today’s challenging world. The workshop will be divided into three parts. Part 1 will consist of a brief introduction to modern ethical theory. Part 2 will consist of small group discussions where attendees will work together to solve ethical dilemmas based on real-life situations that translators and interpreters regularly face. Part 3 will consist of a single-group discussion of how each ethical problem was solved and how a modern Code of Ethics for translators and Interpreters should be framed.

Objectives: 1) To discuss modern ethical theory and how it applies to real-life scenarios. 2) To demonstrate the importance of a clear ethical framework for translators and interpreters. 3) To find solutions to some of the complex ethical problems translators and interpreters face. 4) To develop practical tools for solving future dilemmas when real-life scenarios exceed current Codes of Ethics.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GUIDE: AGUSTIN DE LA MORA

This session provides a unique opportunity to learn about our history, the law, and court interpreting at the very places where momentous things happened and history was made. We will take a three-hour tour of the capital city including the Lincoln Memorial, the site where Martin Luther King gave his civil rights speech, the White House, the Capitol building, the Supreme Court, and the Jefferson Memorial. Throughout the tour, we will see relevant buildings for interpreters such as the Department of State, Kennedy Center, Watergate Building, Organization of American States (OAS), Federal Reserve, and the Willard hotel where the term “lobbyist” was born.

Objectives: Attendees will learn about the constitutional system and many of our government institutions on a never-before experienced level, helping them understand the complex structure of the American government and court system by listening to why, where, and how things were conceived and are presently applied, while physically standing at the place where they happened. This session gives attendees a unique chance to learn in the historical settings of our nation’s capital. A not-to-be-missed opportunity.

LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: JAMES W. PLUNKETT, III

Court interpreters must continue to develop their linguistic, extra-linguistic knowledge and skills to deliver an accurate and complete product via simultaneous interpretation. Often, interpreters focus too much on the end product rather than on the process that is necessary to achieve it. The purpose of this workshop is to provide interpreters with an understanding of and ability to apply the tools needed for professional-quality simultaneous interpreting in court. Court interpreters at an intermediate level of expertise in the simultaneous mode have reached this level thanks to their hard work studying vocabulary and practicing for many hours. However, they still get stumped by invisible barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Participants must bring recording devices and headsets, pens and paper, and should expect to work in small groups and individually.

Objectives: Participants will better understand and apply the elements that enable professional-quality simultaneous interpreting in judiciary proceedings. Participants will learn about simultaneous interpreting theory; develop bilingual term lists and glossaries for legal topics; analyze and practice strategies and coping tactics; and conduct self-assessment exercises to monitor and improve simultaneous mode.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: ERNEST NIÑO-MURCIA

Having a reliable note-taking system is a key element for interpreting effectively in the consecutive mode. That said, what works for one person may not make sense to another. Because note-taking is as individual as handwriting, it is best for interpreters to work on creating their own system of notes that combines basic elements: letters, symbols and spacing. This session will expose participants to a “menu” of note-taking techniques, with actual examples from colleagues, before offering opportunities for practice to identify and perfect their individual note-taking style.

Objectives: Participants will be able to begin identifying their optimal note-taking style through exercises and feedback.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: SPANISH
PRESENTER: SYLVIA FALCHUK

The Spanish Language has grown categorically in the past few years. It has become the second most-spoken language in the world, it will be the third most widely used web language by 2050, and 50 million people will speak Spanish in the U.S. However, most of the linguistic policies on the Spanish language are created by landmark institutions like the Real Academia Española, Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua and the Instituto Cervantes. Translators and interpreters are oblivious to the fact that while they sit alone with a computer, surrounded by dictionaries, glossaries and reference material, interpreting in courts, jails or hospitals, worried about stylistic, grammatical and terminological issues, they are also making linguistic policy. This workshop will reflect on the importance of understanding the political, cultural and economic factors of Spain surrounding the Spanish Language that impact language professionals’ daily work and will challenge attendees to think about all these professional issues and exchange visions and thoughts. This workshop will be delivered in Spanish.

Objectives: This session will raise interest and awareness among translators and interpreters about the importance of the economic, cultural and political factors surrounding the Spanish language that have an impact on our daily work. We will invite translators and interpreters to measure the importance of these issues on our daily work. This session will also help professionals to develop critical thoughts on these topics, to better understand the importance of the Spanish language in the US, and to rethink our daily work activities and professional attitude.

LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH WITH SPANISH LEXICON
PRESENTER: JOHANNA PARKER

In this interactive session, participants will consider how the medical/legal arena of workers’ compensation differs from other medical and legal settings and how this impacts the role of the interpreter and the standards of practice they adhere to. We will review how the workers’ compensation system is structured and examine the challenges for interpreters in workers’ compensation medical appointments including specialized acronyms and terminology, the linguistic and cultural challenges of interpreting conversations about pain and sight translation of long and detailed questionnaires with no provider present.

Objectives: Participants will analyze how interpreting in workers’ compensation cases differs from other medical and legal settings and how this impacts the standards of practice that the interpreter follows. They will understand the basic structure of the workers’ compensation system and learn techniques to handle some of the challenges of interpreting in medical appointments in this system. Participants will also engage in practical skill-building exercises including brainstorming terminology, sight translation, and consecutive interpretation.