Breaking down language barriers

Stephanie Williams remembers a time when she was the only Spanish-language interpreter working in the Prince William County courthouse.

In 1989, Williams, a Manassas resident, was the first interpreter hired to work in Prince William General District Court, she said.

"I was the lone interpreter then. Years later, they hired another one and then more and more ... started to come," Williams said.

Over the past 20 years, the need for court interpreters in the county and throughout the state has soared.

By 2003, when Williams stopped working regularly at the Manassas courthouse, she and the several other interpreters who were on duty on any given day were needed all the time, often in all courtrooms, she said

"I'm a fast walker, but by the time they built the fifth courtroom [in Prince William General District Court], they were causing people to be a sprinter," to go from courtroom to courtroom and interpret, said Williams, who left court interpreting to start a language academy in Manassas.

Courts in Prince William County, and throughout the state, rely on foreign-language interpreters to help them communicate with defendants and witnesses who don't speak English.

Interpreters are needed in Prince William's Circuit Court, General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts nearly every day now.

In the county and the state, the greatest demand is for Spanish-language interpreters, although interpreters of other languages, including American Sign Language, are also needed.

The interpreter's job is to translate, word for word, what lawyers, judges, witnesses, and others say in the courtroom. It's no easy task, Williams and other interpreters said.

"The fallacy is that people see us in court and think it looks easy. People who are bilingual might see us and say 'That looks fun, that looks easy.' But people do not understand the level of linguistic skills required," Williams said.

Ernesto Luna, a freelance interpreter who recently began taking assignments in Manassas, agreed.

"Even if you're very fluent in Spanish and English, you need training and skills to be able to faithfully convey the message from the source language," Luna said. "This really is a specialized endeavor."

For one thing, interpreters have to know the legal terminology of both languages they're working in.

They also have to be skilled speakers and listeners.

Interpreters are called on to perform three kinds of work: simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting and sight translation.

In the first type, interpreters translate at the same time as someone is speaking, so interpreters have to speak and listen at the same time.

In the second type, interpreters begin translating after a speaker has finished talking. This type of interpreting is frequently used when witnesses are testifying.

In sight translation, interpreters read and orally translate documents.

Interpreters can't say anything that's not said in court or on a court document, Luna and Williams said.

"You cannot add or explain anything. That's not your job," Luna said.

The interpreters are not lawyers and aren't supposed to give legal advice, he said.

"The fact is that interpreters cannot operate unless there is a third person present," Luna said. "It's not up to you to interact with anybody. You're not a messenger, not a social worker, not a police officer, not any other category of human being. You're just a conduit of communication."

Most interpreters are freelance contractors, but last year the state General Assembly approved adding eight staff Spanish-language interpreter positions at courthouses throughout the state, said Paul DeLosh, judicial services director with the Virginia State Court Administrator's Office.

Two of the staff interpreters work in the county courthouse, DeLosh said. In addition to the staff interpreters, two or three contract interpreters are also needed on a typical day in the county courthouse, he said.

In Virginia, it's recommended, though not required, that courts use certified Spanish-language interpreters.

Virginia offers a voluntary certification process that assesses an interpreter's vocabulary and ability to perform the three kinds of interpreting.

Williams said she recalls when the certification test was first introduced in Virginia.

"When they first started using the test, most people did not pass," Williams said. The Virginia state judicial Web site lists 122 Spanish-language interpreters who are certified to work in Virginia. Of those, 82 are listed as available to work in Prince William County.

In Virginia courts, certified freelance interpreters are paid $60 an hour; non-certified interpreters are paid $40 an hour.

In federal courts, certified interpreters are paid $376 for a full day, $204 for a half-day and $53 an hour for overtime. Non-certified interpreters are paid $181 for a full day, $100 for a half-day and $31 an hour for overtime in federal courts.

Staff interpreters in Virginia courts are salaried employees.

The career can seem appealing to many people with good language skills, Williams and Luna said.

But, they warn, it's not for everyone.

After 15 years of interpreting in the Prince William courthouse, Williams left to open her own language academy in Manassas.

"I'd say after 15 years I was burnt out," Williams said. "You're dealing with [witnesses and defendants] who are not the most upstanding citizens, and it can take a toll."

Luna said he began working as an interpreter because as an immigrant from Cuba, he's "been an interpreter his whole life."

But after working as a court interpreter for about four years, he said, he's not sure if he wants to continue doing it. Luna has also worked as an interpreter at conferences and said he prefers that kind of interpreting.

"When I came to the U.S., I just heard that court interpreting was a well-paid and highly needed job, but I prefer conferences," Luna said. "Court interpreting tends to be monotonous and the terminology is quite the same all the time."

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014