My heart is racing and the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I was in court, and when the judge called my case, she misspoke and said “Attorney Reme Bashi” instead of “Interpreter Reme Bashi.” The bailiff quickly corrected the judge (an...
Are you ever surprised by how we go from the Thanksgiving holiday, a season of taking stock of what we have, being grateful for all the good things in our lives, and recognizing the joy we share with our families, to just a few weeks...
“Elephants have six toes.” “Sally sells seashells by the seashore.” “My friends are named Sam, Stan, Stu, San, Sandy, Dee, and Dan.” What do all these phrases have in common? These three phrases are typically used in the popular children’s game “Whisper down the lane.”...
In the heart of Puerto Rico, a hidden treasure, thrives a small, close community of interpreters dedicated to the art of breaking down language barriers. Over the past year, since I embarked on my journey into the world of interpretation and became certified, I’ve had...
“Your Honor, why don’t we have the interpreter read the script generated by Zoom?” This was a question that came up in one of my latest remote hearing cases. If that was not enough to surprise many of us who are court interpreters, the judge’s...
As we were reading the Summer 2023 issue of Proteus (a great issue, by the way), we were both struck by an article entitled “Are we comfortable telling someone that they are limited because English is not their language?”, written by Ingrid Oseguera, an experienced...
Pain in the back of your throat. A pocket full of cough drops. Dry, hoarse coughing. We have all felt this at one point or another in our job as interpreters. Whether we have the flu, a cold, or even laryngitis, the symptoms could point...
You are sure to have encountered jokes concerning non-Thai speakers’ mistakes in their attempts to speak a tonal language. As funny as it may be, these jokes have a firm basis in real life since, from a tonal perspective, Thai is much more complicated than...
This article will exclusively address the interpretation aspect of the proceedings, omitting other case background and charges, which are readily available online. The defendant, Oscar Juracan Juracan, faces 1st-degree criminal charges before the Hudson County Superior Court in New Jersey and is a speaker of...
The Milwaukee-Chicago urban corridor has a diverse offering of food markets. This summer, I stopped in at the Seven Mile Flea Market in search of fresh fruits and vegetables. Ever since I can remember, I have been curious about two things: language and food. I...