Courtroom Interpreters

Regarding “Translations Can Complicate Trials” (Feb. 28), as president of the California Court Interpreters Assn. I would like to make the following comments:

Our profession has been called “the second oldest profession in the world” and this cliche appears to carry with it the onus that we suffer abuse from our “clientele.” The truth of the matter, at least as far as court certified interpreters in California is concerned, is that all certified interpreters have passed a rigorous test, which concerns itself with the regionalisms of their language, techniques of interpreting and professional ethics. We are now under the further obligation of participating in continuing education activities for the purpose of maintaining and improving our skills.

Experienced interpreters, such as Doris Weitz, have the savoir-faire and know-how to inquire meanings of unfamiliar words from a witness who uses regionalisms or colloquialisms. Although the word rancho turned out to mean something different to a person from El Salvador than to a person from Mexico, this was a trivial detail and had no bearing on the case at hand. Interpreters are human and mistakes are inevitable. However, trained and experienced interpreters will always inquire or correct an unintentional error when it comes to their attention--if indeed one has been made. The bottom line is that attorneys in a trial will use anything to help their client. This is neither the first nor the last time that an interpreter’s skill or expertise will be impugned in order to further one of the opposing sides in a trial.

In comparing the emotive style of the Feb. 24 interpreter with the one on Feb. 27, did anyone stop to think of the differences in the witness herself on the two days? On Feb. 24 Rosa Lopez was emotional and distraught. On Feb. 27 her style was simple and matter-of-fact.

Isn’t it strange that such a furor arises over the use of an interpreter in Los Angeles, when one considers that for millenniums interpreters have been used on the world stage of events--like the United Nations--and no grave injustices, wars or nuclear holocausts have resulted from their interpreting?

RICHARD C. WEATHERBY

Garden Grove