14 Jul The Pot of Gold
- by Janis Palma © It’s what we all work for. It’s where we expect to be someday: retired… with a pension. For many of us, it’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. True, some pots are bigger than others, and...
07 Jul The Couch – Where we analyze our professional dilemmas
Posted at 02:27h
in Ethics, Interpreting, Professional Practices, Recent Posts, Translation
6 Comments
The Couch is back. This is a space where we can share our doubts, our knowledge and help our colleagues. All data that might make the parties or case identifiable have been removed. Please note: all contributions should be sent to the Editor and not entered in...
30 Jun 7 Tips for Working with Court Interpreters
We have another Guest Post. This time, our guest is Ryan Bridges a contributing writer and media specialist for the Presentation Training Institute. Ryan regularly produces content for a variety of business and presentation blogs, based around the transitional challenges which comes with communication and...
23 Jun The Passion Propelling us Forward
By Gio Lester © 2017 One of the reasons we love what we do is the impact it has on other people’s lives. We work to feed our passion for learning and helping others while we also put food on the table. Maybe the order should...
16 Jun False Friends
Posted at 05:01h
in Community Interpreting, Court Interpreting, Interpreting, Odds & Ends, Recent Posts, Translation
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This article by Janis Palma was first published two years ago, almost to the date. It is a good reminder of the importance of proper terminology and the traps we face in our work - both translators and interpreters!
©Janis Palma- 2014
Beware of false friends! I don’t mean the people, I mean the words.
One of the first impulses a young interpreter must overcome is the use of words that may, at first glance, seem to be equivalent terms and concepts in two languages... but are not. Taking that direct path from similarly-sounding words in our source and target languages is not always wrong, but part of being a good interpreter is knowing exactly when to take this path and when not to. In the rapid pace of judiciary interpreting, our brains may lean heavily towards cognates in source and target languages. Cognates are words with a common origin or etymology. True cognates, like “library” and “librería” in Spanish or “livraria” in Portuguese, with a common Latin root -- liber -- may come to have new and different meanings with usage and the passage of time. In this example “library” is a place where books are kept for people to read or borrow, whereas “librería” or “livraria” is a place where books are sold. So although they may be true cognates, these words have become false friends, or faux amis.
09 Jun Courthouse by Any Other Name
Okay, perhaps it’s a bit far-fetched to compare a courthouse to Shakespeare’s famous rose, but I have to admit that after months away from court (or, should I say, du palais de justice…our francophone neighbors certainly have a way with words, don’t they?!) when I...
02 Jun The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting: A Multifaceted Resource
Posted at 00:01h
in Ethics, Interpreting, Professional Practices, Recent Posts, Tools of the trade, TRAINING
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This post was originally published on The Savvy Newcomer on August 2, 2016. Republished with permission from the author, Helen Eby, NAJIT Member and one of the leaders of our 2017 Advocacy Day efforts. By Helen Eby ©2016 One of my resources is The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting,...
26 May NAJIT 2017 Was Memorable!
Posted at 00:01h
in Advocacy, Ethics, Interpreting, NAJIT Affairs, Recent Posts, Terminology, Tools of the trade, TRAINING
1 Comment
And here are some moments for you to relive. Header photo courtesy of NAJIT member Flávia Lima who also contributed some of the photos in the gallery. If you'd like to add a picture, please send it to tno_editor@najit.org. ...
19 May Got Social Media?
This article was originally posted on November 15, 2012. Some social media tools have added features, others have lost their appeal. As ephemeral as some of its elements are, social media is here to stay. Got something to add? Use the comments area below. By Gio...
12 May What is happening to my brain?
by Janis Palma, USCCI, NCJIT-S I can remember how to say “Compass Rose” and “boatswain” in Spanish at the drop of a hat, but I cannot remember what I ate for lunch 2 days ago. I can recall every word of a 2-minute narrative by a witness and...