tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2618029197139250711.post5653648077966503429..comments2024-03-25T03:02:08.418-07:00Comments on Translation Times: You Don't Need an Interpreter!Judy Jenner and Dagmar Jennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15991071510108619107noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2618029197139250711.post-76057977545533470822013-02-18T06:19:58.064-08:002013-02-18T06:19:58.064-08:00Thank you for a great post. I have the same situat...Thank you for a great post. I have the same situation all the time for Swedish/English. Your advice is very good. My most embarrassing experience was interpreting a very technical hearing where the defendant was well aquainted with all the terms in English, while I had to struggle and sometimes double check. The worst was that I was never wrong, but the court saw my struggle and therefore had less confidence in my interpretation, especially while the defendant was sniggering all the timeElisabet Tiseliushttp://interpretings.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2618029197139250711.post-38985212974419759112013-02-14T12:47:14.184-08:002013-02-14T12:47:14.184-08:00@Tim: Thanks for commenting. Very interesting poin...@Tim: Thanks for commenting. Very interesting point indeed. That's why it's essential to use certified and sworn court interpreters for all proceedings. We don't add or omit anything. There sure is a lot of room for error when you work with people who have not been properly trained and who are unfamiliar with the profession's code of ethics.<br /><br />@dguanipa: Thanks for sharing this great story! Love the example you give -- and yes, that happens quite a lot, too. The interpreter says "delito grave" instead of the incorrect "felonía" annd everyone looks stunned. Ah, good times. And Spanglish is our enemy for sure. Your point about attorneys who know enough to be dangerous is spot on. If we had a dime for every time an attorney tells us they speak the language before proceedings start (as a warning? to put us on notice?) we'd be rich.Judy Jenner and Dagmar Jennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15991071510108619107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2618029197139250711.post-40536045715507792842013-02-14T10:51:02.360-08:002013-02-14T10:51:02.360-08:00I’m just going to throw into this deadly cocktail,...I’m just going to throw into this deadly cocktail, attorneys that know enough of the target language to be dangerous. To be fair, many moons ago, when I was a novice interpreter, an attorney actually saved me in a deposition (I could not figure out what “güiriro” meant and when I asked the deponent for clarification, the attorney said “It’s ok, I got it: weed eater.” Phew!) But this is not the norm. Back to the subject of your post, have you experienced a situation where the allegedly LEP person corrects your rendition or starts using Spanglish that sounds familiar to the English speaker and then they all look at the interpreter as though s/he has grown a third eye for using a different term? That is also fun.<br />Great post, I really enjoyed it and brought back memories!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2618029197139250711.post-29594460493335026852013-02-14T10:00:21.604-08:002013-02-14T10:00:21.604-08:00Interesting insights! It can also go the other way...Interesting insights! It can also go the other way:<br /><br />Sometimes you need an interpreter, but it might appear that the interpreter is doing "a little more" than just interpreting. When I was still practicing law in Germany, we once had to reject an interpreter for bias/conflict of interest (Befangenheitantrag).Tim Windhofhttp://uebertranslatorinohio.com/noreply@blogger.com