Any seasoned interpreter will tell you why we work in teams on long assignments. There is research on the matter of interpreter fatigue and the negative effect it has on accuracy and appropriate rendition. Team interpreting has been done at least since the Nuremberg trials,...
The cat is out of the bag. You can’t un-ring a bell. These are a couple of sayings we hear to express the concept of not being able to go back. This is our reality with remote interpreting in court. Many courts have found tremendous...
Over a year ago, I landed a great gig. I work four days a week under an open-ended long-term contract and have been happy there. However, the job is unexciting and repetitive. My colleagues are great, the judges treat me well and are accommodating when I...
In a prior blog, I wrote about the interpreter’s qualifications from a Human Resources perspective. Today I would like to share my thoughts as an interpreter and tell you about some ways I think we gain knowledge and experience, aside from formal education. I’ve been an...
Dear Readers, Happy September! I’ll never understand how, but time just keeps whizzing by. I hope that you have all enjoyed your summer. I spent mine in the trenches of remote interpreting (and attending Co>Lab, a peer study group for interpreting nerds!) but that will be...
To quote Shakespeare, “apparel oft proclaims the man”. It has taken me over a year to finally have the courage to write this blog. The reason for my delay was that I did not wish to offend anyone. I realized that many interpreters believe that their...
Let me begin with a disclaimer: documentation about the early codes of ethics for judiciary interpreters, also called codes of professional responsibility, is scant or lost altogether. I am writing mostly from memory and some documents I have been able to track down, which means...
Introduction As an interpreter with over 22 years of experience, I have witnessed the evolving dynamics within our profession. In Wisconsin, there is a shortage of court-certified interpreters. However, this shortage is not due to a lack of potentially qualified professionals but rather a failure in...
In Wisconsin, the State Court Interpreter Program and certification are turning twenty years old in the Fall of 2024. The first staff interpreter jobs in our state were created shortly after the certification became available. Recently, a few counties have advertised jobs in this category....
Many times, I am saved by the bell. Last week I was in court, on time waiting for my early morning case to start. As we waited over 90 minutes, the ADA, judge, sheriff’s officers, clerks, and LEP defendant were understandably frustrated. The practice in...