The NAJIT conference in Atlanta was intellectually stimulating and for some of us—or maybe all—it was also very good for the soul. We laughed, we sang, we danced, we ran into old friends and made new ones. In short, a lot of those present thought...
I spent Friday morning with Clifford Fisher, an attorney cum professor who educated us on the ins and outs of Recordings, Translations and Transcriptions. That afternoon I worked Accent Reduction with Juanita Ulloa, an opera singer who interprets in her spare time! We practiced...
Two months ago, my esteemed interpreter colleague Kevin blogged about studying for the interpreting exam. In particular he wrote, “If you are a complainer: quit complaining. If you are an interpreter who needs to pass an exam, dedicate yourself to skills building” (www.najit.org/blog, 3/13/15). Never...
Question: How can I be a great interpreter? Answer: Make sure you understand what you are interpreting. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, if we begin to interpret in our target language before processing the source, it is like trying to pedal before getting on the bicycle. You...
There is an expression, “The best way to learn something is to teach it.” I had heard this saying several times but it never resonated with me until recently. Spain is my home country and Spanish the main language in the soundtrack of my life....
**Flashback First Friday** This was originally posted on the NAJIT Blog back in 2012. Leave a comment about being challenged! A good, healthy session of constructive criticism by a senior colleague about our performance or skills as interpreters is something I venture to say we would all...
A little while back I offered to serve as an interpreter, for free, for a non-profit aid trip to Guatemala. I like to help out and it seemed like it was a good cause. I was willing to go out on a limb and offer...
I happen to be a state certified interpreter. By no means does this indicate that I am a perfect interpreter; I am not. It does indicate that I passed a test on a given day, with at least the 70% needed in each section in order to...
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 to 2006, and I couldn’t resist...
Thank goodness for words like “judge”. Juez just rolls off the tongue so nicely. I can say it in French with no problem at all, and assuming there is a similar concept in any other language of choice, a bilingual dictionary would probably make me...
