Unlike other countries in the world, the United States does not have a homogenous population. There are millions of people that come to America from other countries that are unable to speak or understand English. To make the court system more accessible to people who are not able to communicate in the dominant language of the country, the American Bar Association produced a guide called the ABA Standards for Language Access in Courts. A court that meets the standards described in this guide would be as accessible and accommodating to a non-English speaking person as it would be to a native English speaker.

Certified Court Interpreters

Because of the importance of the work, a court interpreter is processed much the same way a juror is. The person’s skills is tested and verified by attorneys from each side of the case. The interpreter is also questioned about his of her education, experience, certification, compensation, and relationship to the people involved in the case. The defense and the prosecutor want to ensure the interpreter is a neutral party. Not only do they want someone who can accurately interpret the defendant’s responses, but the prosecutor wants to eliminate the possibility of an appeal based on a language barrier. The interpreter will be disqualified for anything that indicates he or she may be biased.

Court interpreters are licensed by a state, federal, or third-party agency like the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT). According to the code of ethics they must abide by, interpreters are required to translate the information as accurately as possible and be objective during their dealings with the court.

How Court Reporters Work with Interpreters

Court interpreters are placed under oath just like witnesses. Only in their case, they must swear to accurately translate the proceedings to the best of their ability. Like court reporters, they cannot add their own interpretations or explanations of the materials and testimony presented. However, this does happen sometimes. This may be why, in some jurisdictions, two interpreters are required during legal proceedings.

Having another interpreter on the scene provides additional assurance that the translation will be accurate. The judge may check the interpreter’s accuracy during proceedings as well. For example, he may request that the court reporter read back from the transcript and have the second interpreter verify that the responses was correct. The first interpreter may face admonishment by the judge if it is found he or she was not relaying accurate responses.

The job of the court reporter is to take down the information verbatim. He or she cannot make corrections to the information even if the person knows that the translation is incorrect. It is not the job of the court reporter to correct the translator. However, he or she can approach the judge discretely and allow the problem to be corrected by the court.

Multilingual Broadcast Captioning and Webcasting

The Internet is a vast place and people in almost every country in the world participate online. A broadcast, or webcast, captioner is an extremely valuable asset because he or she will be able to made English Internet media available to people who don’t speak the language and vice versa.

According to 2010 statistics, over 60 million people speak a different language in America. Because of this, federal regulations have been adjusted to require all media to be closed captioned. Those with the skills required to do well in this field will have no shortage of employment opportunities.