16 Jan Proteus Teaser

It was one of those “deer-in-the-headlights” moments. The judge proclaimed, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!” and then looked at me, pointedly, to interpret. The courtroom was silent. It is hard enough to come up with a good equivalent without having everyone waiting with bated breath. That is when my teammate took one look at me (not to name names, but she is now my office colleague and continues to help me out in a bind!), relieved me of the microphone and intoned, “mas vale pajaro en mano que ciento volando.”

Luckily for me, I had a brilliant colleague to save my skin. But for everyone else out there, get ready ahead of time by reading Leonor Valderrama de Sillers’s As The Old Saying Goes in this season’s issue of Proteus. Beautifully written and chock full of Spanish and English idioms and proverbs, complete with literal and actual translations, non-Spanish speakers and Spanish speakers alike will come away feeling they have broadened their horizons (now how do you say that in your language of choice?!)

Equally informative and remarkably in-depth, the Fall/Winter issue of Proteus also contains an academic feature article by Roda Roberts entitled Tiered Court Interpreter Systems. Ms. Roberts offers a comprehensive study of the different classification systems throughout the United States as well as other countries. The article offers models and comparisons of accreditation systems and invites discussion about how to choose the most suitable interpreters.

Feature articles aside, don’t forget to sneak a peek at the rest of Proteus. NAJIT News contains a letter from our chair, position papers from the board and a section on our presence at the ATA conference last November. In Items of Interest, our “Links” section ties you to the greater World Wide Web on a host of issues related to the profession. My favorite from this issue include links to articles on “Tricky English Pronouns” and “Tips for the Self-Employed.”

Also in Items of Interest, we have a brand new section called “How I Handled It.” This issue features an article written by our very own Angela Patricia Pedraza about a rather uncomfortable experience interpreting in a mental health institution and what she did to solve it. Interested in sharing your own experience? Submit to Proteus today! Then finish off with some light reading in Notable Quotables, For Better or Verse and The Last Laugh.

For those who are unfamiliar, Proteus is the big sister to our NAJIT blog. Through the hard work and dedication of the volunteer staff (you could be one of them! Keep an eye out for the application), we have produced a scholarly publication that meets the standard for professional excellence. A perk of NAJIT membership is access to the full newsletter, so if you are not currently a member, consider joining. You will be supporting NAJIT as it continues to pioneer and champion the field, lending support in numbers and educating about the need for accurate, ethical and educated interpreters.

Conclusion: Join NAJIT if you haven’t already and be sure to give Proteus a look. Then next time, if it’s you in the headlights right after the judge proclaims, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” you will know just what to say!

Proteus
URL: http://www.najit.org/php/proteusPHP/proteusauthorization.php