There’s something we never want to talk about. Not unless it comes knocking on our door. But lately, it’s been knocking on many people’s doors, people I know, people I don’t know, one right after the other: mothers, fathers, leaving us grown children orphaned and...
Have you ever been on assignments that booked you for a hearing but turned out to be a full-length trial? One that involves extensive evidence submission and multiple witnesses. These situations are inevitable as sometimes thing changes at the last minute. But what can we...
When the topic comes up among my colleagues of discussing our work as interpreters with lawyers and judges, they unanimously and enthusiastically agree that we have a lot to tell them. The following is the gist of what I would say upon such an opportunity. I...
Any seasoned interpreter will tell you why we work in teams on long assignments. There is research on the matter of interpreter fatigue and the negative effect it has on accuracy and appropriate rendition. Team interpreting has been done at least since the Nuremberg trials,...
The cat is out of the bag. You can’t un-ring a bell. These are a couple of sayings we hear to express the concept of not being able to go back. This is our reality with remote interpreting in court. Many courts have found tremendous...
Over a year ago, I landed a great gig. I work four days a week under an open-ended long-term contract and have been happy there. However, the job is unexciting and repetitive. My colleagues are great, the judges treat me well and are accommodating when I...
In a prior blog, I wrote about the interpreter’s qualifications from a Human Resources perspective. Today I would like to share my thoughts as an interpreter and tell you about some ways I think we gain knowledge and experience, aside from formal education. I’ve been an...
Dear Readers, Happy September! I’ll never understand how, but time just keeps whizzing by. I hope that you have all enjoyed your summer. I spent mine in the trenches of remote interpreting (and attending Co>Lab, a peer study group for interpreting nerds!) but that will be...
To quote Shakespeare, “apparel oft proclaims the man”. It has taken me over a year to finally have the courage to write this blog. The reason for my delay was that I did not wish to offend anyone. I realized that many interpreters believe that their...
Let me begin with a disclaimer: documentation about the early codes of ethics for judiciary interpreters, also called codes of professional responsibility, is scant or lost altogether. I am writing mostly from memory and some documents I have been able to track down, which means...