What is consecutive interpreting?
Consecutive interpretation is a mode of interpretation in which the interpreter renders his target language interpretation after the speaker has stopped speaking. This is the most common form of interpreting for a witness in open court. This mode is also used at diplomatic and business meetings between two individuals or small groups. In addition to excellent linguistic skills, this mode of interpretation requires exceptional memory and superior note taking skills.
What is a Federally certified interpreter?
Federally certified interpreters (interpreters certified by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts) are those who have successfully passed a rigorous two part examination consisting of a written part and an oral part, testing their linguistic knowledge, ability to provide sight translation of written documents in open court and to render source language, both simultaneously and consecutively, into idiomatic English or target language without altering or adding to, or distorting the original in any manner. “With a 96 percent failure rate among test takers, no test is as stringent.” Berk-Seligson, Susan, The Bilingual Courtroom, The University of Chicago Press, (2002:218).
Additionally, Federally certified interpreters are often called upon to provide transcription and translation of forensic evidentiary recordings and translations of documents.
Furthermore, Federally certified interpreters must command a “high level [of] cross-cultural awareness and sophisticated skills, including the ability to manipulate dialect and geographic variation, different educational levels and registers, specialized vocabulary, and a wide range of untranslatable words and expressions.” Benmaman, Virginia, Legal Interpreting: An Emerging Profession, Modern Language Journal Vol. 76, No. 4 (Winter, 1992).
What is sight translation?
Sight translation is a hybrid skill between interpreting and translating and involves the oral translation of a written document in open court.
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