A fairly straightforward way to determine whether an interpreter is substantially competent is to apply the benchmarks of interpreter competency. The following indicators of professional competence should give the attorney a way to assess whether an objection is in order to protect the integrity of an LEP individual’s testimony, keeping in mind that no one is perfect and that interpretation is difficult, even under the best circumstances.1 Competent interpreters should:
- Understand and know when to employ accepted modes of court interpretation (i.e., simultaneous, and consecutive interpretation and sight translation) as well as legal terminology.
- Accurately interpret without embellishment or omission, preserving language level and register.2 This includes providing simultaneous interpretation “of all open-court speeches, questions, answers, instructions, directions, and court rulings.” Interpretation of “a possible vulgar meaning” or of “[c]olloquial, slang, obscene or crude language, as well as sophisticated and erudite language” must be conveyed “in accordance with the usage of the speaker;” an interpreter “is not to tone down, improve or edit any words or statements.” Similarly, an interpreter must “not simplify or explain statements for a LEP or Deaf or Hard of Hearing person even when the interpreter believes that the person for whom she is interpreting is unable to understand the speaker’s language level. If necessary, the LEP or Deaf or Hard of Hearing person may request an explanation or simplification from the Court and/or judge.”3
- Make use of appropriate legal and bilingual dictionaries as needed. However, if the interpreter shows signs of not being able to accurately interpret, the interpreter is under an obligation to tell the court. Moreover, if there is no such disclosure, but the attorney determines that the interpretation is not accurate, the attorney should raise the issue immediately.
- Keep all information in confidence. This includes disclosures made by the LEP individual to another person through the court interpreter and any other information deemed confidential by the court.
- Maintain an impartial attitude. This means not having unneeded contact with counsel, witnesses, or interested parties. This rule applies in and out of court. And, needless to say, an interpreter must not give legal advice of any kind.
- Speak in an intelligible and firm voice. Interpreters should position themselves near the LEP individual or Hard of Hearing person in order to maintain appropriate contact that will facilitate the interpretation; they should not obstruct the view of counsel, the judge, or the jury.
- 1These competency benchmarks are based on accepted interpreter responsibilities as set forth by the State of New York. They are illustrative here because they reflect commonly accepted practices. See N.Y. State Unified Ct. Sys., Interpreter Manual and Code of Ethics 7–10 (2018).
- 2“In linguistics, the register is defined as the way a speaker uses language differently in different circumstances. Think about the words you choose, your tone of voice, even your body language.” Richard Norquist, What Is Register in Linguistics? ThoughtCo (July 25, 2019)
- 3N.Y. State Unified Ct. Sys., supra, at 7.