A Brief History of The Couch Series [caption id="attachment_36172" align="alignright" width="300"] A symbolic representation of interpreters and translators fostering understanding, depicted by a figure on a couch and another actively listening[/caption] Since its debut in 2017, The Couch has been the place to provide our members with the space to discuss...
Let’s Test Your Ethics: The Digital “Assist” The NAJIT Observer Team Honoring the Lunar New Year Before we turn to this month’s ethical discussion, we want to pause to recognize the Lunar New Year. For many communities around the world, this celebration marks renewal, reflection, and the beginning...
Using wireless interpreting equipment provides a plethora of advantages. So why are so many of us still not using it? This technology allows interpreters to whisper into a microphone so our interpretation can be heard through headphones. The transmitter and the receiver(s) are not connected...
It was one of those weeks when everyone hates the interpreter. Weather is bad. Call quality is awful. And tempers are slightly more miserable than the shift. Of course, everything the interpreter does makes things worse. When she asks clients to speak up over the static,...
During the first NAJIT event I ever attended, the 35th Annual Conference in Las Vegas in the spring of 2014, my friend Gerda Prato introduced me to Tony Rosado. I was so excited that I still have the picture. I already knew who Tony was from reading...
We have all been there: tired and in need of a partner. Could there exist a machine that does the notetaking for me? I started to ponder about speech recognition many years ago when ASR (automatic speech recognition) was accessible via software (think Siri). I...
An agency that I have not worked with before recently got in touch, and we had the typical e-mail back and forth regarding compensation, cancellations, travel, etc. Here is that e-mail exchange. To: Garrett From: LSP rep Subject: In-Person Spanish Interpreter on Upcoming Date Hello, Garrett. I’ve been given your contact...
How could modern translations function without technology? There’s no denying the important role technology plays in our modern life. But it’s a double-edged sword since each new technological advancement poses a new risk to translators and interpreters: the possibility of one day being replaced by...
We are all in this together, but while we are all in the same sea, we are not all in the same boat. We know this pandemic has affected people differently, and everyone has experienced it in a different way. For most people, for instance,...
The Couch is a place for readers to engage in stimulating discussion. The subject of this month’s Couch is...