Definition of pivotal[1] 1: of, relating to, or constituting a pivot Autumn is pivotal because it has a “central role, function, or effect” on the rest of the calendar year. Summer has just ended, the winter months are coming, and squirrels everywhere are going crazy making preparations....
The article below is a pertinent repost from 2018. The question, “how much should I charge?” for a newcomer to the profession can feel daunting, as it can be difficult at first to get an idea as to how much interpreters and translators earn on...
Other articles in the Get It Write blog discuss the confusion surrounding plurals and possessives (should we write “Happy holidays from the Smith’s” or “the Smiths”?). Making that distinction is arguably one of the trickier issues in English usage. Another is confusion about commonly used homophones: it is...
If I had been told a year ago that NAJIT’s Conference Committee would be organizing a remote event, I would not have believed it. The virtualization of “virtually” everything around us caught us all by surprise. It is a well-known fact that humans by our very...
I truly believe life is a great journey, and it sometimes takes us places we didn't know we would go. In my first interpreting position, I was hired as a staff medical interpreter, and after a few years interpreting in the real world and completing...
Before becoming a staff interpreter in 2015, I freelanced for more than seven years. During that time, I exchanged information with every single interpreter I crossed paths with during assignments or in class (once I found interpreting courses). I was desperately searching for a sense...
Every career has its pathway to the top. The general consensus among court interpreters is that our gold standard is the Federal Court Interpreting Certification Examination (FCICE). The test is only offered in the Spanish-English language combination, as the test writers explain on the website:...
I used to think that to be an association volunteer you needed to be extraordinary, extremely qualified, have all sorts of accreditations, certifications, a long resume, and be known to all in the profession. However, all you need is to have the will, the time,...
Another trip back in time. Athena Matilsky's 2018 article seems very apropos. Enjoy. This week it was my turn to post on the NAJIT blog, and I asked some of my colleagues what I should write about. I was told, “Don’t teach. Tell your story.” So...
It is sometimes difficult to separate ourselves from our professional persona, especially when trying to communicate with our clients. That fine line between being personable and too personal can become blurry. Knowing the difference Being personable simply means that you are polite, you are positive, you are...