The National Center for Interpretation at the University of Arizona understands that interpretation is both an art and a science, requiring very specialized training. With this in mind, NCI has designed a number of different training workshops and institutes for:
• Legal/Court Interpretation
• Medical/Healthcare Interpretation
• Professional Translation
Our trainings, ranging from 2-day weekend workshops to the 2-week Medical Interpreter Training Institute and 3-week Agnese Haury Institute for court interpretation, are held year-round throughout the country.
With all trainings, emphasis is placed on skill building and practice with instructor critique and analysis. All of NCI’s instructors are Federally Certified Court Interpreters, with years of not only interpreting, but teaching experience, helping to ensure you receive quality training.
Financial Assistance is available for all workshops in the form of both interest-free payment plans and partial scholarships.
If you do not see a particular training near you, please contact us to see about scheduling one.
Legal Interpretation. What is Legal / Court Interpretation?
Legal / Court interpreters interpret for people who come before the courts who cannot communicate effectively in English. These include defendants and witnesses in criminal courts as well as litigants and witnesses in family and civil courts. Interpreters also work in out-of-court settings such as attorney-client meetings, depositions, witness preparation sessions, and interviews with court support personnel (e.g., probation).
For more Information please visit the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) at:www.najit.org
What are the Prerequisites for Legal / Court Interpretation?
A legal / court interpreter must have superior, unquestionable command of the two languages and must be able to manipulate registers from the most formal varieties to the most casual forms, including slang. The interpreter’s vocabulary must be of considerable depth and breadth to support the wide variety of subjects that typically arise in the judicial process. At the same time, the interpreter must have the ability to orchestrate all of these linguistic tasks while interpreting in the simultaneous and consecutive interpretation modes for persons speaking at rates of 200 words or more per minute.
What is the Goal of the Legal / Court Interpreter?
The goal of a legal / court interpreter is to enable the judge and jury to react in the same manner to a non-English-speaking witness as they do with one who speaks English. Also, the legal equivalence provided by the court interpreter is the record. It serves as the basis for any potential appeal.
For the legal / court interpreter, protecting the record is accomplished through disciplined and rigorous attention to transferring the conceptual message and style from the Source Language (English or Spanish) to the Target Language (Spanish or English).
Through the interpreter, the judge and jury are given the opportunity to make judgments about the general socioeconomic, educational, and cultural background of the witness on the basis of the speaker’s linguistic style and choice of words. The latter point is especially important in terms of its legal implications.
How we can help you Become a Legal / Court Interpreter.
We have developed training seminars to help legal / court interpreters go from aspiring interpreter to a Federally Certified Court Interpreter.
Since 1983, our training seminars, which are held throughout the United States, have helped over 2,500 interpreters enter the professional ranks in the following areas:
Medical Interpretation. What is Medical / Healthcare Interpretation?
It is interpreting that takes place in medical / healthcare settings of any sort, including doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, home health visits, mental health clinics, and public health presentations.
Typically, the setting is an interview between one or more healthcare providers (doctor, nurse, lab technician), health care team(s) and a patient (or the patient and one or more family members).
Information from the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) is available at: https://www.ncihc.org
What are the Prerequisites for Medical / Healthcare Interpretation?
A medical / healthcare interpreter must have superior, unquestionable command of the two languages and must be able to manipulate registers from the most formal varieties to the most casual forms, including slang. The interpreter’s vocabulary must be of considerable depth and breadth to support the wide variety of subjects that typically arise in the many medical / healthcare settings.
At the same time, the interpreter must have the ability to orchestrate all of these linguistic tasks while interpreting in the simultaneous and consecutive interpretation modes for persons speaking at rates of 200 words or more per minute.
What is the Goal of the Medical / Healthcare Interpreter?
Medical / Healthcare interpreters facilitate communication between patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and their physicians, nurses, lab technicians, and other healthcare providers.
When a patient has limited second language skills, it is nearly impossible for even the most skilled clinician to provide high-quality healthcare services without accurate interpreting performed by a trained, qualified interpreter who is familiar with medical terminology. If family members, friends or staff who are not trained as healthcare interpreters try to interpret in healthcare settings, errors in understanding and/or communication can occur, posing grave risks to the patient and immense liability to the healthcare institution.
How we can help you Become a Medical / Healthcare Interpreter.
We have developed training seminars to help Medical / Healthcare interpreters go from aspiring interpreter to a competent interpreter.
Since 2002, our training seminars, which are held throughout the United States, have helped over 400 interpreters enter the professional ranks in the following areas:
• Emergency medical response services
• Prescription drug instructions
• Emergency care
• Critical care
• Routine care
• Health insurance
• Behavioral health care
Professional Translation. What is Professional translation?
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text.
For more information please visit the American Translators Association (ATA) at: www.atanet.org
What are the prerequisites for professional translation?
Professional translators must have superior, unquestionable command of the two languages and must be able to manipulate registers from the most formal varieties to the most casual forms, including slang. The translator’s vocabulary must be of considerable depth and breadth to support the wide variety of subjects.
What is the Goal of the Professional translator?
Professional translators will translate the original message faithfully to satisfy the needs of the end user.
How we can help you become a professional translator.
Since 2007, our training seminars, which are held throughout the United States, have helped translators to start their professional journey in the following areas:
• ATA Certification
• Business Translations
• Medical / Healthcare Translations
• Legal Translations – Don’t forget to check out our Legal Transcription and Translation Workshop!
For more information, please contact the National Center for Interpretation at 520.621.3615 or visit NCI at: https://nci.arizona.edu/interpreter_training