Becoming a court interpreter (Languages & Work) Language Learning Forum

Becoming a court interpreter
Tags: Law \| Interpreting
Language Learning Forum : Languages & Work

10 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

Iwwersetzerin
Bilingual Heptaglot
Senior Member
Luxembourg
Joined 5472 days ago
259 posts - 513 votes

Speaks: French*, Luxembourgish*, German^C2, English^C2, Spanish^C2, Dutch^C1, Italian^C1
Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin

Message 9 of 10

11 July 2012 at 11:34am | IP Logged

I don't work as a court interpreter myself, although I'm a certified court interpreter in my country (I'm a legal translator, but certification over here automatically includes both translation and interpreting). I do know many court interpreters here in Europe and also some colleagues in the US, so I know a few things about the subject.

In order to work as a court interpreter, you obviously need to understand very well how the legal system works and you need to know your legal terminology very very well in both English and Spanish (including all the variations between different Spanish-speaking countries). I would definitely recommend getting some training in law or legal interpreting. Many universities in the US have created courses in this field in the recent years as demand for Spanish-English court interpreters is huge and there are not enough qualified interpreters. There is also a federal certification and many States offer State certification. I would definitely recommend getting certified if you seriously intend to make a career in court interpreting, as certified interpreters have higher chances of getting hired and can charge higher rates (for those that are freelance).

You will need to interpret all kinds of different things, not only witness testimony, you will also need to interpret back to the witness or the accused everything the attorney, the judge, etc. say in the courtroom. Sometimes, you will only need to interpret one way, English to Spanish or vice-versa, sometimes it will need to be both ways. I'm not sure how exactly it works in the US, my colleagues over here interpret both ways most of the time. It often depends if it was the court or a lawyer who hired you. You will interpret a wide range of cases, minor traffic offenses, immigration cases, divorces to rape and murder with all their horrible details. You need to be able to stay professional and totally neutral at all times. Strong nerves are definitely an asset in this job. It can be quite straight-forward or it can be a nightmare, like having to interpret a coroner's autopsy report or a ballistics expert throwing a lot of very specialized terminology at you. It sure never gets boring, but you have to be prepared for all different kinds of situations. Ideally, you will know beforehand what the case is about, so you can prepare.

When you interpret from Spanish to English, you will interpret Spanish-speaking people from many different countries, so you need to be able to understand all the different accents and often also slang words specific to each country.

I don't know if it is the same in the US, but over here certified court interpreters also work for the police, so sometimes they are thrown out of bed at night when the police caught a drug dealer they need to interrogate with the help of an interpreter.

Most interpreters I know also work as translators and combine both professions.

Here are some links about court interpreting you might find helpful:
Federal court interpreters
What is court interpreting?
National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators
The Judiciary Interpreter (blog)

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask me any specific questions you have. I'm not an expert, but I might be able to help.
17 persons have voted this message useful

Taps
Diglot
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United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4643 days ago
15 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: English*, Spanish

Message 10 of 10

12 July 2012 at 7:24am | IP Logged

Iwwersetzerin wrote:

I don't work as a court interpreter myself, although I'm a certified court interpreter in
my country (I'm a legal translator, but certification over here automatically includes both translation and
interpreting). I do know many court interpreters here in Europe and also some colleagues in the US, so I know a
few things about the subject.

In order to work as a court interpreter, you obviously need to understand very well how the legal system works
and you need to know your legal terminology very very well in both English and Spanish (including all the
variations between different Spanish-speaking countries). I would definitely recommend getting some training in
law or legal interpreting. Many universities in the US have created courses in this field in the recent years as
demand for Spanish-English court interpreters is huge and there are not enough qualified interpreters. There is
also a federal certification and many States offer State certification. I would definitely recommend getting
certified if you seriously intend to make a career in court interpreting, as certified interpreters have higher
chances of getting hired and can charge higher rates (for those that are freelance).

You will need to interpret all kinds of different things, not only witness testimony, you will also need to interpret
back to the witness or the accused everything the attorney, the judge, etc. say in the courtroom. Sometimes, you
will only need to interpret one way, English to Spanish or vice-versa, sometimes it will need to be both ways. I'm
not sure how exactly it works in the US, my colleagues over here interpret both ways most of the time. It often
depends if it was the court or a lawyer who hired you. You will interpret a wide range of cases, minor traffic
offenses, immigration cases, divorces to rape and murder with all their horrible details. You need to be able to
stay professional and totally neutral at all times. Strong nerves are definitely an asset in this job. It can be quite
straight-forward or it can be a nightmare, like having to interpret a coroner's autopsy report or a ballistics
expert throwing a lot of very specialized terminology at you. It sure never gets boring, but you have to be
prepared for all different kinds of situations. Ideally, you will know beforehand what the case is about, so you can
prepare.

When you interpret from Spanish to English, you will interpret Spanish-speaking people from many different
countries, so you need to be able to understand all the different accents and often also slang words specific to
each country.

I don't know if it is the same in the US, but over here certified court interpreters also work for the police, so
sometimes they are thrown out of bed at night when the police caught a drug dealer they need to interrogate
with the help of an interpreter.

Most interpreters I know also work as translators and combine both professions.

Here are some links about court interpreting you might find helpful:
px">Federal court interpreters
What is court interpreting?
National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators
The Judiciary Interpreter (blog)

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask me any specific questions you have. I'm not an expert, but I might be
able to help.

Thank you so much for your very helpful comment. I do plan on starting the certification process and eventually
getting certified later this year. I actually hadn't thought of taking a course at my university, though. I'll look into
that too to see if there's anything like that. Thanks again, Iwwersetzerin!
1 person has voted this message useful

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