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Conference stresses need for interpreters - America, Dec 2005

By Dana Boone

David Jones asked the people in his audience to imagine being told they had heart disease and had to rely on a young sibling to interpret the prognosis of a doctor speaking a different language.

"How many of you want to use your 6-year-old sister to ask questions about that?" asked Jones, manager of Interpretation Services at Mercy Medical Center. "None of us."

Jones and others at a conference in Des Moines on Friday stressed the need in Iowa for skilled translators and interpreters.

The conference, hosted by Latinos Unidos of Iowa and timed to coincide with Latino Heritage Month, was called "Education: A Bridge to Employment." About 70 people attended the conference at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

The conference also highlighted the importance of a diverse work force, cultural understanding, education and health care.One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Jose Angel, who founded Clinica Medica Latina in Des Moines, said education must be emphasized.

"It's OK to work roofing, on the farm, or painting a shed or driving a truck. There's nothing wrong with that," he said. "But the kids' job is to get an education. And we're not doing as good of a job as we could of enforcing that."Workshops were designed to help organizations, businesses and individuals serve Latino employees and customers.

Some participants at a workshop about the value of translation and interpretation services lamented that their agencies are strapped for cash and frequently rely on bilingual workers or inexperienced volunteers for interpretation.

"You cannot rely on untrained interpreters," said Eugenia Hernandez , an Iowa City attorney and workshop moderator.

Agencies, businesses and groups must budget for language services, Hernandez said.

"What I've seen is people not valuing and not wanting to pay for those skills," said Minnie Mallard, program performance analyst and minority outreach liaison with the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs. "It's a valuable service. You need a professional. Then you need to pay for it and put it in the budget."

Ralph Rosenberg, director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, helped conduct a workshop about diversity. He said there are moral and religious reasons to have diversity in the work force, as well as economic reasons.

"It makes good economic sense to have a work force that is diverse instead of homogenous," he said. "We need to embrace diversity and civil rights. I think employers need to know that."

Eric Idehen, a community development officer at Wells Fargo Bank and board member of Latinos Unidos, said the bank has made strides during the past four years in hiring Latino bankers for each bank and conducting community outreach to hire more African-Americans and Asian-Americans.

J. Antonio Prieto, a retired Des Moines English as a Second Language teacher, said he's concerned that too many Latinos, and members of other minority groups, remain stuck in menial positions.

"We have a long ways to go," he said.

Court interpreters endure hectic pace - America, Dec 2005

By Candace Rondeaux

TAMPA - Jorge Padro has a hundred voices. One minute he's a witness. The next he's an attorney. Then he's the judge. He is not, however, a ventriloquist - though there are some days when he feels like one.

"Sometimes I'm talking, and I don't even know what words I'm saying," Padro said.

But the hundreds of Spanish speakers who pass through Hillsborough circuit courts daily do know, and they're listening intently. For them, Padro, a Spanish language court interpreter, is literally the voice of justice. He is one of six Spanish language interpreters employed by the Hillsborough courthouse.

Last year, those interpreters and a small roster of freelance interpreters for other languages were called on more than 23,000 times to help defendants, lawyers, witnesses and judges make sense of the often befuddling court system. High demand means hard work for interpreters. They constantly shuttle from between courtrooms because there aren't enough of them to go around.

"It's a tough job, but I really like helping people out," Padro said.

With the continued growth of the Hispanic population in the nation, the state and the Tampa Bay area, Padro's job is likely to get tougher. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are the nation's largest minority group. In Hillsborough County, Hispanics comprise 18 percent of residents, and nearly 21 percent of the population speaks a language other than English at home, according to 2003 census figures.

Those numbers translate into an average of 20 to 25 cases a day for some Hillsborough court interpreters. They work at breakneck speed, translating an average of 120 to 140 words a minute, while defendants, attorneys and judges talk in a steady stream of legalese and street jargon, said courthouse interpreter Aida Halluska. "It absolutely drains you," she said.

Two interpreters are typically assigned to full trials, leaving the remaining handful of interpreters to fill in the gaps as best they can.

"You might do a bunch of cases in the morning, and when you come back to the office you have 25 messages saying, "We need you to be in courtroom 9, 10, then 11,"' Padro said.

Staff shortages sometimes translate into short shrift for some who come to court. On one day in early June, it even led to complaints from dozens who were camped out in the courthouse hallway after a judge asked Spanish speakers to leave her courtroom. With nearly 300 cases on the docket that day, the judge said people would d have to wait outside until an interpreter could be found to help move their cases along. Laura Cruz, a Wimauma missionary worker, said people who showed up at 8:30 a.m. to have their cases heard waited nearly two hours before an interpreter arrived.

"If they're not going to have interpreters, then they should call these people another day," Cruz said. "There are many people here who speak English, but they want to make sure that they understand everything that goes on here."

The language barrier is not quite as high in Pinellas County, where Hispanics make up just 4.6 percent of the population, according to 2003 census figures. Only 12 percent of Pinellas residents speak a language other than English at home. As a result, the demand for the nine Spanish interpreters who work on contract for the Pinellas-Pasco circuit courts is considerably smaller. Last year, the courts called on interpreters just 1,741 times, said Pinellas-Pasco courts spokesman Ron Stuart.

In Tampa, some lawyers say the shortage of interpreters is also tough on their bottom line. Tampa attorney Dirk Weed, a veteran of the Miami-Dade court system who moved to Tampa several years ago, said the set-up for interpreters in South Florida seemed to work more efficiently.

"The interpreters here are incredible," Weed said. "But a lot of times it's difficult because you have to wait an hour or two for an interpreter to come in. For every hour or two that you're here waiting for someone to interpret, you could be back at the office doing more work."

There are about 52 staff interpreters working in Miami-Dade's 11th circuit. But the numbers are deceiving, said Miami-Dade Court Administrator Ruben Carrerou. Interpreters there cover the circuit's 112 courts but also work for public defenders and state attorneys, providing services in some 366,000 instances last year.

Hillsborough Court Administrator Mike Bridenback said he'd love to have more interpreters on staff, but budget constraints have tied his hands. Court qualified staff interpreters earn about $31,000 a year. But so-called exotic language interpreters for cases that involve Vietnamese, Russian or other more unusual languages work on a contingency basis for an average of up to $75 an hour. Sharp differences in private sector and federal court interpreter fees, Bridenback said, make for high turnover in lower paying state court jobs.

Court interpreters face growing workload - America, Dec 2005

By Lys Mendez and David Olson

Although the number of cases in the circuit needing interpreters has increased by 18.7 percent during the past fiscal year, it looks as though full-time interpreters will have to wait for reinforcements, probably until 2007. The court is using more contractors for less-used languages, which can range from Creole to obscure African dialects, in an effort to manage the load.

"We have no more job openings. And we do have more cases, more load as interpreters," said Augustín De La Mora, coordinator for the Department of Interpreters of the 9th Judicial Circuit. "But for the time being, we don't know if we are going to get them."

In the meantime, the lack of interpreters limits their use to criminal cases and to cases of restraining orders, according to De La Mora.

In July 2003, a revision to the judicial process of Florida called "Revision 7" transferred the budget for interpreters from the counties to the state under the management of the Office of the State Courts Administrator in Tallahassee. For this reason, many long trials must be rescheduled or proceedings must halt until the interpreter arrives.

Utica trial unfolds in English, Spanish - America 2005

By Rocco LaDuca

UTICA - Carlos Medina sat silently in court Monday morning as his murder trial began, yet the soft murmurs of a man whispering into Medina's ear could be heard after everything that was said in court.

Echoing the words of prosecution and defense attorneys, as well as the Oneida County Court judge, Spanish interpreter Tony Colon will sit alongside the Puerto Rican-born Medina throughout the week to make sure Medina fully grasps every moment of the trial that may seal his fate.

"The responsibility of an interpreter is to make the defendant feel comfortable with his being there, that he's part of the process and not just an observer," Colon said following Monday's proceedings.

"It helps them so they don't feel like they don't have any control in what's going on around them," Colon said.

Medina, 35, of Wiley Street, is on trial for charges of second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. In what was the city's first homicide of this year, Medina is accused of being one of the shooters in the Feb. 1 slaying of Juan Cirino, 20, near the intersection of Howard Avenue and Arthur Street.

Medina's trial is one of the more high-profile cases in which an interpreter has been used, Colon said. More commonly, he explained, interpreters are used in a variety of cases coming out of Family Court and City Court, where foreign-born individuals may encounter issues with their children or a range of minor charges, such as traffic violations.

In a patchwork-community like Utica, which includes a variety of foreign-born residents such as those of Bosnian, Russian, Laotian, Vietnamese, European and Hispanic descent, it is important anyone who speaks little or no English still gets treated fairly in the judicial system, Colon said.

"At the end of the day, it's important that they felt they had their day in court," Colon said.

As a private consultant, Colon, 50, of Utica, is among the state-qualified interpreters available to be assigned by the judicial system to assist in bridging the language gap for those who speak little English. The state pays such assigned interpreters $62.50 for four hours, or $125 for an entire day, Colon said.

In essence, the interpreter serves as a conduit with "tunnel listening" that focuses only on hearing what is said, and then repeating those words in the defendant's native language without changing their fundamental meaning, Colon said.

Regardless of the charges and circumstances, it is important for a defendant who speaks little English to play an active role in resolving such legal matters, Colon said. And that means supporting a trusting relationship between a defendant and his or her attorney.

Sometimes a defendant may ask the interpreter to help him or her make a legal decision, Colon said, but the interpreter has to always make clear that he's not there for legal advice.

In other cases, Colon explained, a defendant may see an interpreter as a sort of reassurance.

"Sometimes people are crying and in tears because they don't know what to do," Colon said. "So then they have a sense of relief that someone speaks their language."

Most importantly, however, an interpreter should remain hidden in the woodwork of the courtroom to avoid becoming any kind of hindrance in the flow of the proceedings, Colon said. As words are said, the interpreter repeats the statements with very little delay. The interpreter then only interrupts the court if he needs something repeated, or if the defendant has something to say.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Hernon, who is prosecuting Medina's case, agreed interpreters play an "absolutely vital" role in such trials, despite their low-key presence in the courtroom.

"Basically, I forget they're even there," Hernon said.

Richard Bach, Medina's defense attorney, also discussed how important a competent interpreter is to any defendant on trial.

"This is your life at stake," Bach explained. "One word or phrase could have a big effect when you're dealing with such a serious case. When you're hearing only an interpreted version, that can powerfully affect what gets communicated to and from the defendant."

Speaking In Tongues - America Oct 2005

By Domenico Maceri

Imagine finding yourself in a foreign country, standing before a judge. You don't know the language - at least not with any precision. You can't even communicate with your lawyer. Yet your freedom is on the line.

Unfortunately, that's a terrible reality faced by more and more people - not overseas, but right here in Alabama.

Increasingly, the people who make their home here may not call it a home, but a casa. And that's the simplest scenario. In addition to Spanish speakers, who make up the predominant immigrant group, a number of people have come to Alabama speaking lesser-known languages and dialects that make communicating even more difficult.

Maybe you think that's their problem. But their problem becomes our problem when state and federal courts are involved.

Our diverse population has created a growing need for skilled translators who can step into legal proceedings and bridge the language gap among immigrants, lawyers, judges and juries. But the need isn't being adequately addressed.

Language barriers have led to delays and even mistrials. Last month, a judge in Jefferson County had to declare a mistrial in a capital murder trial. The reason? Concerns about the interpretation of testimony from an important witness who had testified in Spanish.

The issue is crucial.

In court, a dropped or bungled word can cost a defendant his freedom, or grant it to him when it isn't warranted. That's not a chance our state or any state can afford to take.

Federal courts have established a program that certifies interpreters for legal proceedings. Of course, Alabama has only one certified Spanish interpreter for all three federal districts.

But that's better than what the state of Alabama has done so far. The state court system in Alabama is being encouraged to join a national consortium for court interpreters; it will cost $25,000 up-front, but will pave the way for some kind of certification process and provide resources and education for various languages.

Thirty-four states already have signed on. Alabama needs to be next. Although money is a perennial issue, making sure that defendants and witnesses can understand and be understood isn't a luxury. It's a requirement.

Medical Help in Foreign Languages? - America, Oct 2005

By Domenico Maceri

As the Hispanic population increases, more and more services are being provided in Spanish. Inevitably, government agencies are beginning to recognize individuals who have bilingual skills. In Seguin, Texas, the city council voted recently to provide a $30 per month stipend to 42 city jobs which provide services to Spanish-speaking residents. The vote was later changed and Seguin will not provide stipends.

Many municipalities across the country, however, do offer stipends to firefighters, police, and social workers who possess bilingual skills. The Phoenix Fire Department gives bilingual employees a $100 a month of extra pay. Bilingual police officers in El Mirage, Arizona receive an extra $100 a month, and in Glendale, Ariz $75. Los Angeles city employees in designated bilingual positions receive a 5.5 percent bonus if they use their interpreting and writing skills. Other agencies around the country offer similar compensation.

To qualify for the extra stipend one needs to pass a proficiency test in Spanish. The linguistic skills can be acquired in any way. One may have learned the skills as a child, in school, through travel, or through self-study.

Since many of the employees who often get these extra stipends are Hispanics, the programs appear to be ethnically motivated. That's not true because anyone passing the proficiency test, regardless of ethnicity, qualifies for the stipend. The linguistic skills are no different than computer abilities or any other specialized training employees might have.

I examined the bilingual tests given by an agency in California. They focus on phrases police, firefighters, and social workers need to be able to deal with Spanish-speaking clients. The linguistic knowledge was not complex and anyone who had taken two or three semesters of college Spanish could pass the "basic" level and get the 25-50 dollar stipend.

The "advanced" level was more demanding but the stipend's range was $75-120 a month. To pass this test, employees require more education and in all likelihood some specialized linguistic training.

Providing stipends for proficiency to employees who have bilingual skills is a very inexpensive way of dealing with the situation. Having to hire professional interpreters can be prohibitively expensive.

However, services in Spanish are problematic not just because of the question of stipends but also because the idea of language causes conflicts. Some people argue that services should be available only in English.

In fact, providing services in languages other than English is the law in many cases. Former President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, which requires that any organization that receives federal funding make a reasonable effort to provide services in languages other than English. An English-only group has sued President George Bush for not rescinding the order.

Section 203 of The Voting Rights Act says that if more than 5 percent or 10,000 voting-age citizens in a county don't speak English "very well," according to the US Census figures, and are fluent in another language, election materials need to be translated.

But even if the law does not force agencies to provide service in other languages, companies and other groups do so voluntarily. By making services available, immigrants can integrate faster into mainstream. Driver's license tests in other languages are an obvious example. By being able to drive legally, people can move more easily and interact with Americans rather than being isolated in their linguistic and social ghetto.

Some people argue that by providing services in other languages people never learn English. It's too easy. There is no incentive.

The fact is that there are strong incentives to learn English. This is most evident in education. If one wants to be successful, one must become literate in English. No American university offers medical school training in any language other than English. To become a lawyer, one needs to learn English. To become an engineer, it's the same.

Thus immigrants know very well that the ticket out of menial work is learning English. Paying employees a small stipend for bilingual skills is a smart way to encourage growth and understanding in our multicultural society. It sends a message to employees that their skills and knowledge are valuable and that those being served are also valuable.

Ballots in Spanish: a Mistranslation? - America, Oct 2005

By Domenico Maceri

When General Motors tried to sell its Chevy Nova in South America it took a while to figure out why many people would not buy it. In Spanish "No va" means "It doesn't go," i.e. "It's a lemon." The company renamed the car Caribe and things changed.

Mistranslation can cost money. When it happens with election ballots the problems are just as serious. Some people may not understand or be offended by the sloppy language.

It happened recently with election materials in Connecticut. Several Latino officials pointed out mistakes in the translation which included a number of typos but also grammatical and syntactical errors.

Connecticut officials attempted to justify their translation by saying that they used a "neutral" Spanish. Officials probably meant the translation was done in "standard Spanish" rather than the Spanish spoken by one local ethnic group.

The Spanish language, like any other major international languages spoken in many different countries, has some regional variations in pronunciation and vocabulary. The written language, however, is virtually the same from country to country.

American law states that the translation of election documents should be in a way that "local voters" can use. In translating documents, officials should reach out to the "local community" for help.

Some problems in translation are inevitable. The challenges sometimes can be traced to the original text. Election materials sometimes are written with a complicated style. At times the wording is not clear and voting "yes" on something may actually mean voting "no." That poses a problem for translators. If the original text is bureaucratic or ambiguous, should a translator try to capture those qualities in the finished product or render it into clear language that local people can understand?

Another problem emerges because of the limited number of qualified translators. In the U.S. very few college programs exists to train translators. Typically college degrees in Spanish or other foreign languages focus on literary analysis.

The translator responsible for the materials in Connecticut had a master's degree in Spanish. The degree might suggest strong qualifications as a translator but that is not necessarily the case.

The vast majority of students completing degrees in languages do not become translators or interpreters. This is in part due to the lack of job opportunities in the field but also to the lack of specific preparation in translation.

In other countries, on the other hand, translation is an important skill which is cultivated and considered a respectable profession. The translation of elections materials in the U.S. creates serious problems which go beyond language. Many people believe that citizens should know English if they are going to vote in the U.S.

In a way, that's like saying you have to be literate in English before you can vote. That is not the case. There is no literacy test to vote in American elections in English or any other language. If there were such a test, a significant number of native-born Americans would probably fail it.

To give all citizens the opportunity to vote regardless of their language fluency in 1965 Congress passed The Voting Rights Act. Section 203 of this legislation says that if more than 5 percent or 10,000 voting-age citizens in a county don't speak English "very well," according to the U.S. Census figures, and are fluent in another language, election materials need to be translated.

The law applies to Spanish, Asian, American Indian and Alaskan native languages because their speakers were recognized as having suffered discrimination and exclusion. African and European languages were left out of the law although a new proposal in the U.S. Senate would include these languages as well.

Voting is a fundamental right for citizens whether they are born in the U.S. or naturalized. We want all citizens to be able to vote. And steps are taken to eliminate barriers.

For example, we send absentee ballots to those who find it inconvenient or difficult to get to the polling places. We provide access to people with disabilities and assistance is given to enable them to vote.

Translating ballots as required by law is just another step to make sure people's voices are heard. But the translation needs to be done professionally so people reading the materials will not have problems understanding nor will they be offended by the language.

Officials in Connecticut heard the message and are taking steps to avoid future problems in translation. Hopefully, that will increase the notoriously low voter turn out typical of elections in the U.S.

Interpreters' Absence See Criminals Walk Free - America, Apr 2005

By Hendrick Mphande
Alleged Nigerian drug peddlers are walking free because court interpreters who speak their language are refusing to help with translations in the Port Elizabeth magistrate's court.

The Ibo-speaking interpreters claim they are not being paid for their services.

Policemen are also becoming increasingly frustrated as they see their hard work come to nothing.

Officials say an average of five cases involving cocaine, mandrax and ecstasy in which Nigerians are involved are thrown out of the court every month because interpreters refuse to come to court. It has been four months since an Ibo interpreter has provided translation services, a court official said.

Meanwhile, frustrated attorneys, prosecutors and investigating officers are concerned about the problem and its effect on the campaign to fight crime.

On Wednesday, the State withdrew all charges against a Nigerian citizen facing three counts of dealing in crack cocaine.

SAPS spokesman Johan van Greunen said it was now even tougher for the police to clean the streets of drug dealers.

He has urged the department of justice to speed up the recruitment of interpreters.

"It is unacceptable for cases to be withdrawn at such a high rate. We put so much time into investigations, only to have to withdraw the cases because we have no interpreters," said an inspector.

Port Elizabeth chief court interpreter Mbulelo Sohe said foreign interpreters had given up on providing their services because they were not being paid.

He said the regional office had told the court to use casual interpreters but "we don't know where we will get the funds to pay them".

Eastern Province Herald

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