Does anyone remember that commercial for a chocolate-covered coconut candy bar that could be bought with or without almonds? So, if you “felt like a nut” (if you felt like eating a nut, that is), you could buy the one with almonds, and if you...
After 17 years without a raise, the per-diem court interpreters in Massachusetts got an inflation adjustment of 50% but not a raise. It sounds great, but it isn’t. In fact, the implementation of this long-delayed inflation adjustment has been accompanied by a significant change in...
The following article by Athena was published a while back. The NAJIT Observer team would like to offer it for your reading pleasure once more. Enjoy! Have you ever taken a dash of one language with a sprinkle of another, mixed them together and simmered to taste?...
Per diem court interpreters succeed in securing a pay adjustment after 17 years! The most recent pay rate for per diem court interpreters was set in 2006. Since then, requests for an increase by individuals and the Massachusetts Association of Court Interpreters (MACI – www.maci-inc.org) to...
Have you seen what’s going on in recent news? Freelance court interpreters in Massachusetts and Colorado are mobilized and are saying “no more” to stagnant remuneration and inert policies in their respective court systems. And their efforts are getting the following headlines: Boston Globe: With no pay raise in 17...
The act of interpreting has been taking place ever since two groups of people met but could not speak each other’s languages. A friend of mine, who is working on her doctoral dissertation, found this quote from the work of Marzena Chrobak[1]: “In the Near East,...
Per Diem vs. Per Assignment I have been a freelance interpreter since January 2007. For the first seven years of that period, I was hired exclusively to work per assignment by agencies. It wasn’t until 2014, when I first became certified, that I started working per...
Two questions: 1) Is technology going to replace us? (Ironically, the “age-old” one.) 2) Does language really evolve so fast? I want to bring perhaps a different perspective, which others may have evoked in other places. As to technology, it is possible that AI becomes powerful...
It’s a lot of fun when you work in a venue where you can get together with colleagues to share anecdotes, ask questions, and learn new things to help you be a better interpreter. I was with some fellow interpreters recently talking about sayings in...
During the first NAJIT event I ever attended, the 35th Annual Conference in Las Vegas in the spring of 2014, my friend Gerda Prato introduced me to Tony Rosado. I was so excited that I still have the picture. I already knew who Tony was from reading...