This article by Jennifer de la Cruz was first published on December 5, 2014. It started off like any other day. I had been working in court for just enough time to have experienced most types of hearings and a trial or two. I had just...
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It’s the last week of April and NAJIT’s Annual Conference is just around the corner. Before we know it, we will be in San Antonio, polishing skills, learning what’s new in the field, catching up with old friends and making new ones. And although I...
The phrase itself should set off an alarm. Or perhaps “militant” is too strong a word. How about “the advocate interpreter”? Merriam-Webster defines militant as "having or showing a desire or willingness to use strong, extreme, and sometimes forceful methods to achieve something,” or, in...
**Flashback First Friday continues with a piece on honesty in the profession from 3 years back** Recently, I had some work done at the house. It was a simple installation of a security system, done by a pretty reputable company with a clean-cut salesman...
“Respect yourself and others will respect you.” ― Confucius The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines protocol as “a system of rules that explain the correct conduct and procedures to be followed in formal situations.” There were no such rules, standard procedures, or protocols for interpreters in courts of law within the...
The NAJIT conference in Atlanta was intellectually stimulating and for some of us—or maybe all—it was also very good for the soul. We laughed, we sang, we danced, we ran into old friends and made new ones. In short, a lot of those present thought...
**Flashback First Friday** This was originally posted on the NAJIT Blog back in 2012. Leave a comment about being challenged! A good, healthy session of constructive criticism by a senior colleague about our performance or skills as interpreters is something I venture to say we would all...
At the memorial for deceased South African leader Nelson Mandela on December 10, 2013, the world-wide interpreting community was stunned and dismayed when a fake sign language interpreter was shown on television and the internet pretending to interpret the words of heads of state...
Sometimes my first answer is NO if I know I am not qualified to perform a task. However, if the authorities persist due to the nature of an incident, that incident is likely to be documented. It comes down to personal ethics; more precisely, it...