NMTIA introduces new scholarship for interpreters
In memory of our late colleague Sandra O. Caldwell, we are creating a new scholarship to help aspiring court interpreters pay for the oral portion of New Mexico’s court certification exams. Any NMTIA member in good standing is eligible to receive it, but preference will be given to applicants who have professional experience in the legal or interpreting fields. Please consider making a contribution to help fund this scholarship!
Juan José Peña Scholarship 2024
This $500 scholarship from NMTIA will help an NMTIA member in good standing to attend a national interpreter-translator conference. The recipient will be a member who has never before attended a national conference and commits to taking NMTIA materials to the conference and reporting back on their experience to membership. All members are welcome to apply, but preference will be given to interpreters and translators who work in languages other than Spanish. Application deadline is November 30, 2024. Complete details here.
Some Dem candidates relying on Google Translate in official websites
Politico reviews Democratic presidential primary candidates’ Spanish-language websites – those that exist – and finds defects of all kinds, including reliance on machine translation.
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/2020-democrats-spanish-translation/
Germans battle over gender neutrality in language
The use of an asterisk to replace masculine or feminine word endings has re-ignited a cultural/linguistic fight over language purity at a time of cultural change.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/world/europe/germany-language-gender.html
Court interpretation quality varies by state
A survey piece in Stateline, an initiative of Pew Charitable Trusts, shows that court interpreting in some states – not New Mexico – leaves a lot to be desired. Some states don’t even certify interpreters, and some that do certify don’t always require certification as a condition for working in legal proceedings.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/bad-translation-by-court-interpreters-injustice
Desperate Afghan interpreters still wait for visas
Afghans who risked their lives to work with American troops face death all over again as the U.S. government delays or denies visa applications. The Trump administration reduced visa issuance last year by 60 percent from 2017. But the Obama administration did not do much better for interpreters. More than has been killed while waiting for visas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/01/23/14078814-1827-11e9-a804-c35766b9f234_story.html
State Dept. Interpreter caught up in Trump investigation
Some Democrats in the House of Representatives want to hear testimony from State Dept. interpreter Marina Gross about President Trump’s unusual diplomatic behavior. The demand was first made last year, but now that Democrats are in the House majority, Gross could be subpoenaed to testify in Congress. The call for her to speak to Congress also follows a New York Times report that Trump seized her notes after meeting with Putin in Hamburg in 2017. However, some commentators argue on ethical grounds against summoning Gross to testify.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/15/dont-subpoena-trumps-interpreter/
Mexican court interpreters documentary
A 12-minute documentary on the New York Times website provides a fascinating look at the work of interpreters in Chihuahua who work with defendants who speak indigenous languages, but not Spanish. These interpreters seem to be paralegals as well as language professionals. Interesting for everyone, but a must-see for court interpreters (subtitles provided).
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004284660/unsilenced.html
Training Home-Grown Interpreters
Valley Community Interpreters is working to expand the pool of New Mexico interpreters.
http://www.kunm.org/post/interpreter-training-program-aims-foster-nm-industry
Google Pixel Buds: is Babel fish dream of in-ear translation now a reality?
How is technology going to change our profession?
Google translation headphones are here, and they’re going to start a war
UN recognizes International Translation Day and the professionals who make diplomacy possible
For the first time this year, the United Nations official celebrated international translation day on September 30.
http://www.un.org/en/events/translationday/index.shtml
New Mexico: Savoring the Spanish of my youth as the language marches on
Article by Simon Romero, published in the New York Times on August 23, 2017.
https://nmtia.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TIMES-INSIDER.pdf
Is it ever okay to ask children to interpret for their parents?
When is it OK to ask children to translate for their parents in emergency situations? That’s a question law enforcement agencies are wrestling with more and more. That’s because 18.5 million children in the U.S. have at least one immigrant parent, and more than half of those parents don’t speak English fluently.
Medical interpreters
This article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Ranjana Srivastava gives a window into the emotional challenges of medical interpreting.
https://nmtia.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/NEJM-the-Interpreter.pdf
Literary Awards Department at PEN America.
For the fourteenth year in a row PEN America is pleased to announce our 15 Heim Fund grantees, whose translation works span 13 different languages and a diverse range of genres. Alongside this PEN is also celebrating the inaugural winner of the new PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature.
https://pen.org/announcing-2017-penheim-translation-fund-grants/
Juan José Peña in Memoriam
Longtime NMTIA member Juan José Peña died on June 11, 2018 at the age of 72.He was a Vietnam veteran, political activist and an institution in the New Mexico interpreting world. He will be very much missed. He is survived by his daughter Margarita and his partner of 23 years, another NMTIA interpreter, Ann Tran.
Court Interpreters Say When They’re Mistreated, Immigrants Suffer Too
Translation: Better pay and higher standards mean a more just system for all
“The labor dispute is now spilling into the immigration courts, and it’s having an impact on the immigration judges, the attorneys like myself and, more importantly, … the individuals that are before the courts,” Nieblas said. “That shouldn’t be the case.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/immigration-court-interpreters_us_5846ef38e4b016eb81d82ef3
How can we better represent you?
NMTIA aims to represent and provide useful training for translators and interpreters in all languages and fields. However, our board is currently dominated by court interpreters, primarily working in Spanish<>English. If you are NOT a Spanish court interpreters, we need your help! Here are a few ideas:
1) Please consider nominating yourself for the board during the next elections (January)
2) Help organize an NMTIA training in your area of interest/specialization
3) Give us ideas about what trainings would be useful, and how we can better represent you.
Please contact info@nmtia.net to give us input!
Send us postings
If you hear of job openings or training opportunities that you think should be listed on our website, please send the details to webmaster@nmtia.net. We are all volunteers, so all help is appreciated!
For recent articles of interest from our professions, visit the Useful Links.