Have you ever given thought to your public speaking skills? Whether your answer is yes or no, we republished a piece that will have you thinking about it. And, who knows, taking action. Besides being an interpreter and a translator for over 20 years, I have...
There is a new colleague on The Couch. Read the post and see if you can lend a hand. Please note: Contributions to The Couch should be sent to the Editor and not entered in the comments. We will make sure that all data that might make the...
As my colleague Ernest Niño-Murcia stated in his candidate statement to run for NAJIT’s Board of Directors, “Interpreting is not a job for me; it is a way of life.” That is certainly true for me. When you are a professional translator and/or interpreter, at every...
Growing pains in a profession, or an association, can manifest themselves in many ways. We at NAJIT seem to be experiencing one of those right now on the question of professional fees. When can we talk about them? With whom can we discuss and share...
Have you ever heard the term, word picture? If you are a trained interpreter, chances are you have. Often, it is explained as a remedy; a way to describe a term that has no equivalent in the target language. However, word pictures are much more...
The song "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" became a hit in 1970 when Marty Robbins wrote and recorded it. It quickly rose to the top of the country charts in the US at a time of great social and economic upheaval. The 1960s and its...
Maybe it is time to make friends with Spanglish. …And Italish, Portinglish, 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 litigant...
The dry season doldrums are cyclical, but we are usually caught off guard. And if you are one of those who romanticized being a freelancer, this can be a tough wake up call. There is no easy remedy. That’s why most of us do something on...
By Gio Lester © 2017 Living in a multilingual community can be rewarding and frustrating all at the same time. Miami is such a community. I find rewards in being exposed to so many languages and cultures wherever I am. It is frustrating when the population can't differentiate...
By Jennifer de la Cruz © 2015 It’s hard to believe that some 3,000 days have passed since I stepped foot onto the justice center grounds to begin my career as a court interpreter. Today, I filled my computer wastebasket with work logs that dated back...