The recent [June 2013] weather-related tragedies in Oklahoma have been of particular interest to our family, given that my youngest brother has lived in Tornado Alley for nearly two decades. The world has borne witness to the incredible stories of strength in the face of...
This is a new aspect of what we do in court interpreting. When Facebook and Instagram and even text messaging were new around here, not many of the folks I interpreted for on a daily basis were fans. In fact, it wasn't until recently that...
Leslie Tabarez is a State Court Certified Interpreter in Pennsylvania. In this guest post from 2016, she reminded us that the truth can be hard to swalow. - By Leslie Tabarez © 2016 The phone rang. I picked it up. They needed me down at the courthouse...
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...
Once again, we revisit our archives for articles that were well received by our long time readers. Not so much of a throw-back, but a recycling of pertinent and valuable knowledge. Use the comments area to let us know how you like it. By Jennifer de...
Kathleen Shelly penned this for The NAJIT Observer in 2012. It remains just as relevant today. Please enjoy. - By Kathleen Shelly © 2012 A couple of weeks ago I was driving home from an interpreting assignment listening to NPR radio, as is my custom. The program...
This article was written on June 27, 2014. Enjoy! I generally start my day with a cup of coffee. By no means am I a morning person, and there is nothing like that freshly brewed first cup to get my day started. I wouldn’t consider myself...
This article by Katharine Allen, co-President of InterpretAmerica and former contributor to The NAJIT Observer, was originally published on October 11, 2013. The subject covered is of great importance to us: professional training. The article remains relevant despite the lapse of time since its original...
– by Giovanna Lester ©2015 That question has been whirling around the minds of many Florida interpreters since Rule 2.565 went into full effect on October 1, 2015. Among other things, Rule 2.565 defines new professional designations for interpreters (see definitions below) and who is allowed...
Continuing our retrospective, Jennifer De La Cruz answers our questions: NAJIT Blog- What did you learn from your participation in the blog? Jennifer: Simply put, I have learned how much has to go into publishing your thoughts for your professional colleagues. We have to consider how relevant, impactful,...