Tag Archives: interpreter

Holly Behl Joins University of Texas at Arlington Faculty for Legal Interpreting

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Holly Behl has accepted a position teaching in the undergraduate Translation and Interpreting program at the University of Texas at Arlington. She joins the Modern Languages Department with many of the professors whose classes shaped her undergraduate experience, and will have the pleasure of teaching specialized interpreting topics such as interpreting in legal settings.

She will continue to accept projects involving Spanish to English translations of legal documents and serving as an expert witness on translation issues.

Fiat Justicia – Master LCI Awareness

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You may have seen some interpreters around the courthouse wearing a white button that bears their credential—Master Licensed Court Interpreter (MLCI). The slogan across the top reads Fiat justicia — “Let justice be done.” Holly Behl Texas Licensed Court Interpreter Dallas

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When Court Certified Isn’t Enough

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I’m always glad when a potential client calls me for the first time to check availability and rates. And I really like it when they also ask, “By the way, you are court certified, right?” This tells me the client is interested in doing things right—my kind of client. But, before I answer that question, I always have an internal debate over how detailed my answer should be. Normally, I conclude that they just want to know if I’m qualified to interpret for the assignment they are asking me about. So, I just say, “Yes.”

But, at least here in Texas, this seemingly straightforward question is actually quite complicated. I hope this post will shed some light on qualifications for court interpreters in Texas. Continue reading →

Urgent: Act Now to Save Iraqi and Afghan Interpreters

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For the past few days I’ve been trying to raise awareness of an urgent issue that touches on interpreting but is really a humanitarian issue: the September 30th expiration of the Special Immigrant Visa program. This program benefits U.S. allies, including Iraqi and Afghan interpreters who served the U.S. military.

In creating the program, Congress has recognized the need for these interpreters to receive visas. But, the application process is so lengthy and arbitrary that the program is about to close down with close to 80% of the visas left undistributed. Meanwhile, these interpreters are being targeted with violence and death threats for their role in the U.S. occupations. Some have already been killed. Many more live in hiding, unable to show their faces or support their families (read first-hand accounts of their experiences here). Setting aside my opinions on the wars, I strongly believe we must follow through on our promises to these interpreters.

Despite wide reporting of this critical issue in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and NPR, the visa program is set to expire tomorrow.

There are a couple of actions you can take:

  1. Sign a petition asking the U.S. Congress to approve the Afghan Allies Protection Act (2013 petition: Sign a petition asking the U.S. Congress to extend the program)
  2. If you live in the United States, contact your congressional representatives directly. You can look them up on this site and be contacting them within a couple of screens. I believe this will be the most effective because the senators and representatives are able to see that you are from their state or district.

If you are just seeing this information and the deadline has already passed, I encourage you to still let your voice be heard so that your congressional representatives will know this issue matters to their constituents.

You can keep tabs on the issue by following The List Project or the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.

[Updated 10/28/14 with current links]