“A bad interpretation can lead to a miscarriage of justice, with the innocent being convicted and guilty set free.” This famous saying is true in practice, especially in a legal setting. Legal interpreters need to convey the message correctly without any change.  For this, it becomes mandatory to research legal terms.

Issues in Legal Interpreting

Now with the advancements in technology, interpreters have access to various regions around the globe. Many countries have the same language; however, their legal systems, and legal codes, both panel and civil, follow different paths. We can see that the United States has a different legal system than other countries so we are seeking an equivalent.  Also, the different states in the United States use different terminology.

Interpreters come across many terms in the courtroom, and in spite of rigorous attempts by legal experts, interpreters, and lexicographers, there are no standard translations for many concepts and terms. Many other interpreting venues such as medical conferences and others also face this problem of lexical equivalency but not as often as in legal interpreting. This is because many fields like medicine, diplomacy, or business develop parallel ways with the same philosophies, and most of the time; the interpreter has access to vocabulary.  

Importance of Research in Legal Interpreting

It is important to do some research to decide the best terms that can be used for a particular concept.  However, interpreters think that it is not required as much, but it is needed.  Many interpreters rely on what they have learned at the start of their careers and refer to the ancient law dictionary (bilingual). As interpreters are looking for a quick fix, they think whatever is written in the dictionary is right, whether the term fits in the context or not.

Of course, this concept is worthless in every situation. The legal interpreter strives to convey the legal concept in the very best way. They use many sources such as monolingual dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries that are recently published, and legal codes as much as possible of different countries whose language they are going to interpret. These resources are important for legal interpreters. The important thing is to listen to the concept or term and grasp and analyze it before deciphering. The sense and logic work effectively in rendering the message rather than working like a machine.

Analyze and Speak

 It is important to analyze the concept and terms before speaking. If the interpreter does not analyze the term before rendering, then the meaning will change. It is always a better idea to do some research and write down the meaning as well as translation of those phrases and words that interpreters are not quite sure about.

Work further on preparing personalized glossaries with examples. All this is important and helps a lot. It is not a good idea to plug in the equivalent word that was also picked up somewhere. These ideas will improve the interpreting skills largely and working for justice will be fun.

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