The language of your world is a group of articles for all court interpreting and translation related issues. For matters related to the legal community and language professionals. We speak the language of your world®.
I am a federal court and state court interpreter that has been working for the court systems since 2005. In this blog I go into some subjects that will help guide attorneys on how to use court interpreters and professional translators.
For the more experienced attorneys and language geeks, we may delve more deeply into the inner workings of a language company focused on the legal industry. We will touch on subjects such as best practices and legal standards, industry concerns and the future of language in the courts.
I encourage you to contact the 24/7 help desk if you want to request an interpreter or a document translation. If you just want to talk about language issues or have suggestions for this blog you can contact me directly by clicking here. You can also post your comments or questions at the bottom of any article and I will surely reply to it. If you want to write a language related article to be posted here, that would be great too!
Interpreters may occasionally use a portable transmitter and portable receivers with headphones to pass out to the foreign language speakers. They are very convenient and useful but can only be used in certain proceedings like in hearings and in mediations.
I would suggest as a general rule of thumb, always use a federal court certified interpreter for all federal cases requiring a Spanish interpreter.
It is extremely common to have individual interpreters call law firms at the very last minute or the night before to inform them that they will not be able to appear for x or y reason.
In Florida, we have different levels of interpreter certification. …“Certified” interpreters are interpreters that have passed an oral and written exam. Provisionally approved interpreters are next on the website they have passed the written exam which is a very simple and basic exam. It is an exam that only measures basic English and some concepts. They also need to pass a two-day orientation.
Here in the United States, the term we use in the industry is “Certified”. Meaning that you would obtain a “certified” translation, not an “authentic” translation.
If you don’t hire a professional, your documentary exhibits may not be admitted and your witnesses may be unable to testify. You need to have a court approved translation or interpreter.
A good standard is the one created by the International Standards Organization, ISO 17100.
The featured picture is from a recent assignment for the federal courts in the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas).
Translations done by friends or relatives are usually not accepted and may be rejected, causing extra delays and even possible denial of any pending petition.
This system of 2 translators and the qualifications of each one is the so called ISO 17100 standard.
This ISO Standard, though a great tool, is not as common in the United States as it is in Europe, and many courts are completely unfamiliar with it…
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