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!
**First Friday Flashback, from Sept. 2014** The Call for Papers for the 2016 NAJIT conference in San Antonio has been announced! Remember, even if you can't submit a proposal, you can recommend a great presenter! This year's Conference Committee needs your input - click on the...
I’m a perfectionist and an introvert. I’d be willing to bet a lot of interpreters are (that’s a different post), but not as many as translators. I loved translating from the time I heard of it, and like every other idealistic liberal arts undergrad, I had romantic ideas of how I could translate [ha] my love into a professional calling: I was going to be a literary translator! My name would be as famous as Gregory Rabassa’s!
To say that we interpreters are sometimes exposed to trauma is an understatement. Perhaps the worst is how it can happen so suddenly. I can go about my day nice as you please, interpreting tedious status conferences where attorneys are all legalese about dates and...
We all wish we had one. I saw a beer commercial today that used the concept to sell beer! “The simple life.” Beer? Really? Yes. We all definitely wish we had one. But for judiciary interpreters in particular, and I really don’t know if I can pinpoint why,...
This is a republishing with an update. Enjoy. - by Gio Lester ©2013 - I teach the introductory module on legal translation for a Brazilian translation, interpreting and language school. It’s an online course and my students are spread all over the world: Estonia, Belgium, the US,...
You may recognize this week's guest author from some of his previous NAJIT Blog contributions, including last summer's "Holly is a Big Deal in Ohio", posted on August 15th 2014. I'm pleased to announce John Shaklee is joining the Blog team. While we work out...
Prima donna: A very temperamental person with an inflated view of their own talent or importance. (Oxford Dictionary) We all know at least one of those, don’t we? Or maybe we have been one at some point or another in our lives (gasp! Do we dare...
When I first started learning to interpret, I shadowed the radio in English. It took me months before I was able to even attempt simultaneous interpretation from English into Spanish. At first, it was hard enough to keep up in just one language. “Today we...
*** First Friday Flashback, from Oct. 2013 *** Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune. —Sam Walton As my translation business has grown, the amount of work for private clients who need...
© 2012 Giovanna Lester [This article was first published on May 18, 2012] One of the issues most discussed at interpreters’ and translators’ meetings and forums is contracts. What should and should not be in a contract, the details we did not cover, how to ensure payment,...