In the heart of Puerto Rico, a hidden treasure, thrives a small, close community of interpreters dedicated to the art of breaking down language barriers. Over the past year, since I embarked on my journey into the world of interpretation and became certified, I’ve had...
Three years ago I retired from thirty years as a Spanish<>English court interpreter. Before that I was a classical guitarist — a good one, but not so phenomenally good as to make a reasonable living out of it. At around age thirty, I quit music...
No, I don’t mean the social “privilege” we all enjoy as interpreters or translators because of the education, general knowledge and specialized skills that give us a certain advantage over others a bit less fortunate. No, I mean the sort of privilege we are supposed...
Can we please standardize the name we use to refer to our profession and those who practice it? There are so many variations on a theme: legal interpreting, community interpreting, court interpreting, public-service interpreting, judicial interpreting, and of course, the one name adopted by our...
Uprooting While I was sitting on the couch with my mother, who is currently visiting me from Mexico, she sighed deeply, and when I asked her why she was sighing, she looked at me and said: “I so regret the decision I made years ago to...
The Couch is a learning place, not only for its contributors but also for our readers who engage in the ensuing discussions. So much has changed in the performance of our profession that educating clients about how to work more effectively with interpreters has become...
Imagine this scenario. You’re having an argument (I know, I know, none of us ever argue, but just…humor me for a moment). For the sake of the story, we’ll say it’s an argument with a spouse. As tensions and voices rise, you can feel a...
I would like to draw our readers' attention to the importance of NAJIT's Position Papers: this resource brings together research and opinions on topics of great impact on our profession. To refresh your recollection, following is a list of these resources. [vc_row][vc_column width='1/2'] General Guidelines and Requirements...
Below is an anonymized compilation of comments received by The NAJIT Observer in response to Bethany Korp’s blog post “What I Wish They Knew,” published November 25, 2016. Thank you to all who responded! I wish that everyone… … understood the function of interpreters and respected...
Diplomacy does not come naturally I admit I am not a good diplomat. Although I have learned to avoid the bull-in-a-china-shop approach, I confess that my first attempt at trying to get a federal judge to understand my need to research a case before interpreting for...