Maybe It Is Time to Make Friends With Spanglish …And Italish, Portugish, 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...

I know. The official name is “International Translation Day”. I changed it. I just have this thing about “interpreters” being included whenever anyone talks about “translators” and “interpreting” being understood as a part of “translation” in the title of such an important day. We all...

These days, when people ask me what it takes to be an interpreter, I tell them one part language skills, one part interpreter technique, and one part people management. When we embark on our interpreting career, learning interpreting technique is a good beginning, but it is...

          As I was putting on my make-up this morning getting ready for work, the thought crossed my mind in a flash: “I am putting on my war paint.” I realized it was a ritual, perhaps not too dissimilar from the rituals of our indigenous...

I was at a Holly Mikkelson training on August 3rd and afterward at lunch I asked her if I could blog about it.  She said yes, but another NAJIT member, esteemed colleague, and past guest blogger beat me to the punch.  I asked John P....

- by Gio Lester© I prefer depositions and arbitration to actual courtroom work. One of the first things I do is make sure the court reporters know I am on their team. This usually helps with the flow. From my personal point of view, ensuring that the...

On Saturday, July 12, 2014, the Franklin County Municipal Court auditorium played host to Operation Street Smart,  presented by a couple of officers with the D.A.R.E Special Investigation Unit of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and sponsored by the Community and Court Interpreters of Ohio...

- By Gio Lester Why would entrepreneurial individuals create a business to help others like them make money? That seems to go against the very core of Capitalism. But does it? And what are non-profits, actually? Well, the truth is that non-profit endeavors and money making are...