Blog

An Ode to Failure

“Tell me about your mistakes,” Sara Blakely’s father used to ask every night while she and the rest of their family ate dinner. She and her siblings would go around the table, comparing notes, discussing when they had messed up.

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The Art of Being Good Enough

This past March, I had the privilege of hosting a community coffee hour for one of my biggest heroes. Our guest of honor was Holly Mikkelson, who, among other notable accomplishments, created the ACEBO self-study interpreting materials. She never ceased

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Big Brain Club

During the first pandemic winter, I took on one of the hardest teaching assignments I’ve ever experienced: I tutored the son of a dear friend of mine with his fifth-grade homework. He was struggling a lot, and there were concerns

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Dear Fellow NAJIT-ers

Dear Fellow NAJIT-ers, Happy September! How the heck is it September again?! Time. It never stops. Jules, our fearless Editor-in-Chief, just sent me the nicest e-mail telling me he’d like to hear from me again. Eeek. I have been hiding

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A Threat to Our Profession

A few decades ago, “language access” was not really a phrase. Litigants who did not speak English were frequently left in the dark as to their own judicial proceedings, and this carried severe consequences. The evolution of court interpreting as

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When Your Brain Splits in Two

Did you know humans can’t actually multi-task? We are capable of lightning concentration if we try, and we can quickly shift focus if we practice. But we can’t actually do two things at once. When we interpret simultaneously, for example, we listen.

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Repetition is Key

I am not a baker. The world of yeasts and doughs, of icing, flour and exact measurements eludes me. Hand me some garlic and kale, and I’ll make you discover a love you never knew you had for green vegetables.

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The Trouble With Memory…

or How to Forget About Interpreting and Just Listen You know how the saying goes: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. I’m sure you have heard it; we all have. But have you heard the saying for interpreters? No?

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The Lovely Land of Language Interference

Have you ever taken a dash of one language with a sprinkle of another, mixed them together and simmered to taste? Of course you have! You’re bilingual. You’re bound to have stirred your languages together at one point or another.

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A Virtual Conference: LOTS Interpreter Needs

The first two weekends of June saw our NAJIT colleagues join together from around the country for our 42nd Annual Conference and first ever virtual one. On the West Coast, our valiant Pacific-timers rose at 7am to attend the days’ events.

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Expect the Unexpected

Happy April, everyone! Wow. We are one quarter of the way through 2021. It always amazes me how time just keeps on dashing by. I do love this time of year. Even Montreal is starting to wake up from its

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The Perils of Telephonic Interpreting

“Excuse me, speaking as the interpreter, could you please move the phone closer to the patient? The interpreter is struggling to hear everybody.” That was me, a week ago, attempting to provide telephonic medical interpreting services. The nurse complied, and

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The Fine Art of Making Mistakes

“Oh, that was terrible! I can’t believe how bad that looks,” said my 8-year-old niece the other day. She was referring to her own drawing, which was actually a very nice depiction of a butterfly. My niece would never speak

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