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Have you ever read something and hear a bell go off in your head? “This word is out of place” or “Where is the comma?” It happened to me during a review of a legal text. Legal terminology demands research. Beyond the vocabulary issue, we...

31 January, 2020 /

This being the last Friday of the year, we will share below the most popular posts of 2019, by month. The selection is based on the number of comments the post received and that will vary greatly with the seasons. Summer is an especially difficult...

27 December, 2019 /

Not long ago, a colleague was trying to justify the practice of charging less, imposed by some agencies, on work performed using CAT tools. I do have an issue with that concept. I mean, when my doctor gets more accurate and expensive equipment, his rates...

27 September, 2019 /

Originally published in January 2015, this post remains relevant. Please enjoy. On this blog, we dedicate a great deal of time and effort to the profession of interpreting for the courts. We tell stories, share experiences, propose new ideas, and issue calls to action. This week,...

18 January, 2019 /

Almost three years ago, Jennifer de la Cruz delivered this informative piece. We hope you agree with us that it deserves another airing. Here it is and we look forward to your comments. Enjoy! Jennifer de la Cruz © 2015 On this blog, we dedicate a great...

22 December, 2017 /

- Gio Lester© for Proteus, 9/2014 I have always been a curious individual. I recall asking my mom if Jesus was history or legend (got a scolding for that one), and asking my Biology teacher where the first bacteria found RNA to replicate its DNA from...

04 August, 2017 /

The Couch is back.  This is a space where we can share our doubts, our knowledge and help our colleagues. All data that might make the parties or case identifiable have been removed. Please note: all contributions should be sent to the Editor and not entered in...

07 July, 2017 /
This article by Janis Palma was first published two years ago, almost to the date. It is a good reminder of the importance of proper terminology and the traps we face in our work - both translators and interpreters!
©Janis Palma- 2014
Beware of false friends! I don’t mean the people, I mean the words. 
One of the first impulses a young interpreter must overcome is the use of words that may, at first glance, seem to be equivalent terms and concepts in two languages... but are not. Taking that direct path from similarly-sounding words in our source and target languages is not always wrong, but part of being a good interpreter is knowing exactly when to take this path and when not to. In the rapid pace of judiciary interpreting, our brains may lean heavily towards cognates in source and target languages. Cognates are words with a common origin or etymology. True cognates, like “library” and “librería” in Spanish or “livraria” in Portuguese, with a common Latin root -- liber -- may come to have new and different meanings with usage and the passage of time. In this example “library” is a place where books are kept for people to read or borrow, whereas “librería” or “livraria” is a place where books are sold. So although they may be true cognates, these words have become false friends, or faux amis.
16 June, 2017 /
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