The NAJIT Observer (TNO) was created in 2011 in response to NAJIT’s members need for a tool to share
information, first-hand experiences, and the occasional fun moment with colleagues. We are delighted
with the response TNO has received from our members and subscribers. And thanks to our dedicated
and generous contributors, TNO’s archive features an amazing number of posts that you can search by
category or author.
Do you want to contribute a post? Send us an email at TNO_editor@najit.org.
Enjoy The NAJIT Observer!
I can be clicking on “Likes” at 2:30 a.m. sometimes, not because I am such a great fan of Facebook but because I cannot sleep and decide to catch up on comments and posts by friends. I can wake up three and four times...
In my home I am “the fixer”. This is not a role that I chose knowingly and intentionally; it just came with the territory. I own a home, so if anything breaks I am the one in charge of fixing it or finding someone...
Maybe It Is Time to Make Friends With Spanglish …And Italish, Portugish, Haitian Creolish and any other language + English! It happened this way: Judge (English): “…mortgage…” Me (Spanish): “…hipoteca…” Litigant (No language): [Blank stare; look of incomprehension and confusion.] The question was repeated. All at once, understanding dawned and the...
I know. The official name is “International Translation Day”. I changed it. I just have this thing about “interpreters” being included whenever anyone talks about “translators” and “interpreting” being understood as a part of “translation” in the title of such an important day. We all...
* Maria Teresa Perez is a Spanish language interpreter. She has been a certified Spanish interpreter since 1996, previously applying her skills in California, and now as a Staff Interpreter with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County Vicinage. In her spare time, Maria...
Dear NAJIT Blog Readers, This week we'd like to share with you a special message from Mr. Freek Lankhof. Freek, thank you for all you've done throughout the years to strengthen our profession. - Kevin (You can read more about Freek in our June 6th, 2014...
These days, when people ask me what it takes to be an interpreter, I tell them one part language skills, one part interpreter technique, and one part people management. When we embark on our interpreting career, learning interpreting technique is a good beginning, but it is...
As I was putting on my make-up this morning getting ready for work, the thought crossed my mind in a flash: “I am putting on my war paint.” I realized it was a ritual, perhaps not too dissimilar from the rituals of our indigenous...
I was at a Holly Mikkelson training on August 3rd and afterward at lunch I asked her if I could blog about it. She said yes, but another NAJIT member, esteemed colleague, and past guest blogger beat me to the punch. I asked John P....