To better serve our current and future students, the IEO team has developed new educational packages that will come in effect on August 1st of this year. The Advanced and the Basic Courses for Court Interpreters, our two most popular programs, will be offered in a variety of formats. Students will be able to choose among the following packages:

- Materials Only
- Materials Only + Interpretation Performance Assessment Test
- Materials Only + Interpretation Performance Assessment Test + the desired amount of glossaries and interpretation exercises evaluated by instructors

In addition to expanding the selection of training options, the new system will allow us to open our programs in more language-combinations adding to the existing assortment of 11 language combinations.

For more information, please visit the Programs page.

To comply with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Interpreter Certification Program requirements, certified interpreters are obligated to complete 16 continuing education units within the two-year compliance period. Now they can do it online! Please click here for a direct link to PA Court Interpreter requirements.

IEO students are also eligible for continuing education credits in the state of California.

Certified interpreters can choose relevant courses among seven Subject-Matter and three Skill Building Single Topic Units. Each single-Topic Unit is approved for 1.5 PA CEUs and for 3 CA CEUs.

All IEO courses are language-specific! Students will benefit from guidance of Language-Specific Instructors working in the following language pairs: English < > Albanian, Arabic, French, Hmong, German, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Instructions for English < > Korean and Haitian Creole interpreters will be available soon.

Our Advanced course provides comprehensive training and education to aspiring language professionals who are yet to earn their certification. This course supplies 15 CEUs In California and 12.6 in Pennsylvania.

For more information about IEO programs, please visit http://site.interpretereducationonline.com/programs/ or call us at 313-871-0080 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              313-871-0080      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Virtual tours are also available! Request an appointment at curriculum@InterpreterEducationOnline.com .

While the majority of participants were Spanish interpreters, there was a significant growth of language-specific options for other language combinations. Russian interpreters enjoyed Elena Bogdanovich’s pre-conference, day-long, skill building workshop. It was great to learn from a language professional of such caliber! Over ten Russian interpreters came to see our presentation on Courtroom Russian: from Legalese to Ruglish (presented by Jinny Bromberg and Irina Jesionowski). Many participants wished for longer language-specific sessions. “Thank you, I learned a lot from this class! Very, very beneficial. I sincerely hope that NAJIT will continue offering Russian-specific workshops”, wrote one participant in her evaluation form.

Another highlight of the conference for us, Interpreter Education Online representatives, was a chance to meet a few of our students in person. We are very excited for Rosa Bassett, a Spanish interpreter, who passed Florida written exam with flying colors. While taking our Basic Unit course, in addition to her talent for interpretation, she demonstrated a great work ethic and a strong resolve to learn and improve. She earned her success! We wish Rosa all the luck at the oral portion of the examination and in her career!

Maria Weir, a Spanish interpreter working in the Greater Philadelphia area, a board member of Delaware Valley Translators Association, and an IEO student, said, “It was a delight to attend Virginia Valencia’s note-taking and memory developing tricks as well as Agustin de la Mora’s Weightlifting for Court Interpreters. Both presenters were dynamic, entertaining and knowledgeable. They made my trip to the conference!”

Overall variety of presentations and workshops was amazing and it was so difficult to choose which session to attend! While debriefing the conference, Jinny chose Purvi Shah’s presentation, Vicarious Trauma, as the most memorable, and Irina, Melody Kramer’s on a lawyer’s thought process when working with interpreters.

The 31st NAJIT Conference was a great success thanks to our tireless Board and staff members, the Executive Director Robin Lanier and the Administrator Christina Filipovic.

We look forward to seeing everybody again next year in Long Beach, CA, where we are hoping to report on some empirical data regarding online interpreter training.

On April 15th, Essex Region Conservation Foundation debuted EnviroExpo conference, with the keynote opening speaker, President Bill Clinton. The EnviroExpo provides a job fair for the attendees, Enviro-Building Technology Forum and Seminars, as well as EnviroEconomic Roundtable Summit and a Children’s zone.

Keeping our Earth well and healthy is essential, not just for our own good, but also for economic reasons, which was exactly President Clinton’s point. Furthermore, he encouraged all of us to come forward and do our part in promoting environmental consciousness and saving of the Earth. Clinton mentioned LED lights, or use of left over cooking oil to run a mower, eliminating land fills and recycling its waste to create energy and in turn space for housing or other projects.

This is what Interpreter Education Online is about, providing high quality education and being environmentally conscious about it. We offer courses to students all over the world which reduces gas emissions and saves money for our students by cutting all travel costs or any additional expenses. We also save forests by providing courses online and being almost completely paper-free.

Hopefully, the private sector and the government will work together with in organizing and expanding this up and coming idea in helping our Earth. Interpreter Education Online is happy to do its part in making the Earth greener while educating interpreters.

One-day Legal Language Neutral Interpretation Technique ($80, includes materials)
March 2010
One-day intensive training course designed for speakers of languages other than Spanish who wish to learn techniques to improve interpreting techniques and to augment their knowledge of terminology used in court and administrative hearings.

10-hr. Legal Interpretation Technique for Spanish Speakers ($200 tuition, $100 materials – Acebo Interpreter’s Edge $75/Companion $25)
March 2010
Minimum requirement: bilingual (Spanish and English); interpretation experience preferred. This 10-hr. course focuses on techniques to improve sight translation, simultaneous and consecutive interpretation skills in legal and courtroom settings. Makes for great test preparation for oral certification exam. Students will use Acebo materials (Interpreter’s Edge & Interpreter’s Companion) in class and for at-home practice.

10-hr. Medical Interpretation Technique for Spanish Speakers ($200 tuition, $50 materials)
March 2010
Minimum requirement: bilingual (Spanish and English); interpretation experience preferred. This 10-hr. course focuses on medical vocabulary in Spanish and English while emphasizing the two major skills the interpreter needs in a healthcare setting: sight translation and consecutive interpretation. Topics covered include pregnancy in the first trimester, diabetes and sexually transmitted diseases. Students will be given glossaries, specific consecutive and sight translation exercises for each topic.

Think Latin America
A magical place in a unique country.A select group of professionals from major corporations.21 Countries. 2 Languages. 1000 Ideas.
April 7-9, 2010
Leading industry experts, strategists and true decision makers will get together in the region that was the least affected by the global economic crisis.

Multilingual Training for Health Care Interpreters
April 9 – May 22
Reno, Nevada

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care Goes to Washington!
April 29 – 30
4^th Annual NCIHC Membership Meeting
Washington D.C.

The Global Community: Capturing Customers Worldwide
May 10-12, 2010
GALA 2010 brings together suppliers, technology providers and consumers of translation and localization services to collaborate and discuss translation, localization and global content delivery.
Join us in the cultural and geographical heart of Europe for three days of practical and provocative ideas about building a global content strategy, running a language services company, and leveraging the latest language technologies and processes.

NAJIT 31st Annual Conference
May 14-16
Orlando, Florida
Rosen Centre Hotel
Orlando, Florida

2010 ALC Annual Conference
May 19 – 22
Venue – Miami Hotel in Miami, FL
The annual conference of the association of language companies. The four-day event includes educational sessions, workshops, networking events, and an exposition hall with leading language provider companies represented.

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
May 16 – 20
RID Region V Conference
Salt Lake City, UT

3rd Annual Southeast Regional
June 11-12, 2010
In 2008 the Medical Interpreter Network of Georgia (MING) reached out to medical interpreter associations in neighboring states to plan our first event. Joining MING were the South Eastern Medical Interpreters Association (SEMIA) in Kentucky, the Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators (TAPIT) and the South Carolina Health Interpreter Association (SCHIA). Held in June of 2008 at Emory University, the event attracted participants from the southeast region and beyond.

1st North American Summit on Interpreting
June 17, 2010
Join us for an extraordinary summit of Interpreting Profession Leaders to explore the current state of our field and to envision our future!

International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA)
September 3 – 5
2010 IMIA Annual Conference
Ensuring Patient Safety for Language Minority Patients
Boston, MA

TAPIT Annual Conference
September 10 – 13
Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.

Upper Midwest Translators & Interpreters Assn (UMTIA)
September 25
2010 Annual Conference

American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)
September 20-24
2010 Annual Conference
Philadelphia, PA

ATA 51st Annual Conference
Oct 27, 2010 – Oct 30
Venue – Hyatt Regency Hotel, 650 15th St, Denver, CO 80202 US
The four day event will include expert presentations, showcases panel discussions, scholarly papers, training workshops, certification testing and networking sessions for participants. It will also feature a vendor exhibit hall and job marketplace.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
November 19 – 21
Annual Convention and World Languages Expo
Boston, MA

Evolvement of language is continuous; many immigrant communities are mixing their mother tongue with English creating Spanglish, Franglish, Serblish, and others. With such being said, an interpreter should continuously be informed on connotations and meanings of these ‘new world’ words. Even immigrant communities in different regions of the United States have different accents and slang. For an interpreter and possibly a member of a particular immigrant community, education on the new terms and its meanings is gained through simple interaction and an interest of how the dynamic of immigrant communities is evolving.

Some may say that immigrants are just adapting to their surroundings, while others argue that these are the exact manners of how cultures disappear. Perhaps it varies on how one observes culture. For instance, the French are concerned that only 11% of the documents in 2005 of the EU were written in French, versus 44% in 1998; feeling that their language is endangered by westernization and overbearance of English. Still there is the fact that most of Africa and some Middle East speak French because they were colonized, not because they chose to. Urbanization and westernization of even most remote places of this Earth threatens to extinguish rare languages, and those are a part of someone’s culture. How do we preserve that?

Fifth Immigration Terminology Conference
for Interpreters and Translators
Saturday, January 30
No Cost for Attending
Contact Person: hsuco@mdc.edu
Time & Location:
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
627 S.W. 27th Ave. – Room 401, Miami, Florida 33135

This presentation will consist of the perspective from the Immigration Judge and the role of the interpreter in the courtroom. The legal definition with translation into Spanish of the terms most commonly used in Immigration Court proceedings and the terms that appear on applications filed by aliens seeking immigration relief and benefits in the United States will also be discussed.

Preparing for Interpreters’ Written Exams
Jan 30
Venue – SFSU Downtown campus, San Francisco, CA, US
Cost – $55-95

A 3 hour workshop that will guide aspiring as well as working interpreters about the requirements of different written exams that they have to take so that they can work as certified practitioners in their selected language pair and domain.

One-day Legal Language Neutral Interpretation Technique ($80, includes materials)
March 2010

One-day intensive training course designed for speakers of languages other than Spanish who wish to learn techniques to improve interpreting techniques and to augment their knowledge of terminology used in court and administrative hearings.

National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
3 – 6 February
Annual Conference
Denver, CO

ATA Spanish Language Division (SPD)
4 – 6 March
6th Mid-Year Conference
San Diego, CA

American Translators Association (ATA)
8 March
51st Annual Conference

10-hr. Legal Interpretation Technique for Spanish Speakers ($200 tuition, $100 materials – Acebo Interpreter’s Edge $75/Companion $25)
March 2010

Minimum requirement: bilingual (Spanish and English); interpretation experience preferred. This 10-hr. course focuses on techniques to improve sight translation, simultaneous and consecutive interpretation skills in legal and courtroom settings. Makes for great test preparation for oral certification exam. Students will use Acebo materials (Interpreter’s Edge & Interpreter’s Companion) in class and for at-home practice.

10-hr. Medical Interpretation Technique for Spanish Speakers ($200 tuition, $50 materials)
March 2010

Minimum requirement: bilingual (Spanish and English); interpretation experience preferred. This 10-hr. course focuses on medical vocabulary in Spanish and English while emphasizing the two major skills the interpreter needs in a healthcare setting: sight translation and consecutive interpretation. Topics covered include pregnancy in the first trimester, diabetes and sexually transmitted diseases. Students will be given glossaries, specific consecutive and sight translation exercises for each topic.

CHIA 2010 Annual Conference
From Face-to-Face to Cyberspace
Technology and Healthcare Interpreting
March 18 – 20
A joint conference with the Health Care Interpreter Network (HCIN)

Worldware Conference
Mar 16, 2010 to Mar 18
Venue – Santa Clara, California

ATA Translation Company Division 11th Annual Conference
Mar 18 – 20
Venue – Fairmont Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ, US

Two days packed with informative educational sessions that have been especially prepared to address the concerns and requirements translation companies’ owners and managers.

Carolina Association of Translators & Interpreters (CATI)
March 20
CATI Annual Conference
Charlotte, NC

American Translation & Interpreting Studies Association (ATISA)
March 22-24
The Sociological Turn in Translation and Interpreting Studies
New York City, NY

Multilingual Training for Health Care Interpreters
April 9 – May 22
Reno, Nevada

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care Goes to Washington!
April 29 – 30
4^th Annual NCIHC Membership Meeting
Washington D.C.

NAJIT 31st Annual Conference
May 14-16
Orlando, Florida
Rosen Centre Hotel
Orlando, Florida

2010 ALC Annual Conference
May 19 – 22
Venue – Miami Hotel in Miami, FL

The annual conference of the association of language companies. The four-day event includes educational sessions, workshops, networking events, and an exposition hall with leading language provider companies represented.

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
May 16 – 20
RID Region V Conference
Salt Lake City, UT

International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA)
September 3 – 5
2010 IMIA Annual Conference
Ensuring Patient Safety for Language Minority Patients
Boston, MA

TAPIT Annual Conference
September 10 – 13
Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.

Upper Midwest Translators & Interpreters Assn (UMTIA)
September 25
2010 Annual Conference

American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)
September 20-24
2010 Annual Conference
Philadelphia, PA

ATA 51st Annual Conference
Oct 27, 2010 – Oct 30
Venue – Hyatt Regency Hotel, 650 15th St, Denver, CO 80202 US

The four day event will include expert presentations, showcases panel discussions, scholarly papers, training workshops, certification testing and networking sessions for participants. It will also feature a vendor exhibit hall and job marketplace.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
November 19 – 21
Annual Convention and World Languages Expo
Boston, MA

Many across the United States are uniting in efforts to help those affected by this natural disaster; various organizations such as Save the Children, UNICEF, AmeriCorps and Red Cross, to name the few are accepting donations, volunteers, and any form of help that could be used to help the people of Haiti.

Please, if you have any questions or concerns or would like to join the benevolent efforts many are embarking upon, refer to the contacts below.

Catholic Relief Services:
Address and mail checks to: Archdiocese of Detroit CRS Relief Efforts (4th Floor), 1234 Washington Blvd. , Detroit 48226 ;
donate at www.aodonline.org,
or call 800-736-3467.

American Red Cross:
Go to www.redcross.org and click on “donate to the International Response Fund”
or call 800-REDCROSS.

The Haiti Foundation Against Poverty:
Nonprofit in Grand Rapids that funds an elementary school in Port-au-Prince seeks donations, food and medical supplies. For information, go to www.haitipoverty.org.

Registered Nurse Response Network:
Organization of registered nurses has activated its disaster relief program to recruit nurses to volunteer in Haiti .
Go to www.nationalnursesunited.org.

AMERICARES:
88 Hamilton Ave. , Stamford , Conn. 06902
or call 800-486-4357

MERCY CORPS:
Dept. W, P.O. Box 2669, Portland, Ore., 97208-2669
or call 888-256-1900

OXFAM AMERICA:
226 Causeway St., 5th Floor, Boston, Mass. 02114-2206
or call 800-776-9326

THE SALVATION ARMY:
615 Slaters Lane, P.O. Box 269 , Alexandria , Va. 22313

SAVE THE CHILDREN:
Haiti Earthquake Children in Emergency Fund, 54 Wilton Road , Westport , Conn. 06880 or call 800-728-3843.

WORLD VISION:
Haiti Earthquake Relief, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, Wash., 98063-9716
or call 888-511-6548.

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA:
333 Seventh Ave. , 2nd Floor, New York , N.Y. 10001-5004
or call 888-392-0392

INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES:
P.O. Box 630225 , Baltimore , Md. 21263-0225
or call 877-803-4622

U.S. FUND FOR UNICEF:
125 Maiden Lane , New York , N.Y. 10038
or call 800-367-5437.

Carbon footprint – the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment; specificall : the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period
Frenemy – one who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy
Shawarma – a sandwich especially of sliced lamb or chicken, vegetables, and often tahini wrapped in pita bread
Waterboarding – an interrogation technique in which water is forced into a detainee’s mouth and nose so as to induce the sensation of drowning
Locavore – one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible
Reggaeton – popular music of Puerto Rican origin that combines rap with Caribbean rhythms
Earmark – 1 : a mark of identification on the ear of an animal
2 : a distinguishing mark
3 : a provision in Congressional legislation that allocates a specified amount of money for a specific project, program, or organization
Flash Mob – a group of people summoned (as by e-mail or text message) to a designated location at a specified time to perform an indicated action before dispersing
Green Collar – of, relating to, or involving actions protecting the natural environment

http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/newwords09.htm

So there it is, a glimpse of what you may expect to hear more often, or even interpret in a courtroom. Some may seem amusing such as frenemy or locavore, as those are the expressions you may hear on the street. A dynamic in the society where an increased awareness of the environment exists, creates words such as carbon footprint, locavore, or green collar. Continually, we can see the climate and the mood of our fellow citizens by what words are entered into the dictionary, as they are ones widely used, or we can simply be amused by their origins.

However, with so few direct semantic, lexical and syntactic equivalents between the languages, court interpreters always face a dilemma: do I stick to the original as much as I can even if my delivery doesn’t sound perfectly “elegant” in the target language or can I tweak the original here and there, but my output will be smooth and linguistically “stylish”? The rule of thumb is that in legal settings, unlike in conference settings, linguistic fidelity should always prevail over our natural desire to deliver grammatically and structurally sound segments. All the pauses, hesitations, false starts, fragmented sentences and other idiosyncrasies of discourse should be preserved. That doesn’t mean, of course, that we can afford needlessly sloppy delivery or butcher target language unnecessary.
In medical settings, interpreters may act as clarifiers and can bring to the parties’ attention the fact that the register may need to be adjusted, so a patient could indeed understand what health care providers are saying to him or her. Court interpreters are lacking this luxury.

Many interpreters train their skills using television and radio programs, where professional anchors and media personalities use well-written scripts. It is nice to interpret well-trained public speakers. However, practicing interpretation of unscripted, colloquial speech with all its paralinguistic elements and choppy pattern may be invaluable for court interpreters.