By Sandra Dejeux and Marco Hanson Houston Sandra Dejeux: For years, I had thought that court interpreter training to prepare for state and federal exams was essential, but not enough. We needed more. Texas was in dire need of a comprehensive course that went beyond the six-hour orientation required by the state to qualify candidates for testing. The goal would be to help … [Read more...]
Acoustic shock: What interpreters need to know
By Maha El-Metwally Acoustic shock can have very serious implications for interpreters but we are not paying enough attention to it. This issue has gained more awareness in the context of remote interpreting but also in the context of colleagues who experienced acoustic shock while working in Canada, Paris and other places. As interpreters, we need to educate ourselves about … [Read more...]
Report from California – AB 5
By Lorena Ortiz Schneider What is AB 5 and why does it exist? Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) was authored by Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego and enacted on January 1, 2020. This bill sought to codify, even as it expanded, the State Supreme Court Dynamex decision of 2018, a wage order claims decision. In Dynamex, the State Supreme Court changed California’s … [Read more...]
Interpreting in the face of a pandemic
By Carol Shaw On January 21, 2020, the state of Washington reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States; on February 29, it announced the country’s first COVID-19-related death. The virus has since spread across the country, just as it has around the globe. And as the world hunkers down against COVID-19, those of us who work in language access services … [Read more...]
Vicarious trauma and interpreters
By Cristina Helmerichs The first time I heard of interpreters experiencing vicarious trauma was in 2000. First it was mentioned in relation to the interpreters working during a trial related to the Balkan Wars at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. But the idea was quickly expanded to include all interpreters working directly with victims of crime and/or … [Read more...]