First year out - interpreted depositions

[Kyung]

This could potentially be the easiest deposition that will leave you with a headache.

Call from the agency.

Agency: We've got you on a really easy interpreted depo.
Me: Okay.

Let's break that down. So many things to consider here. Interpreted depos can be easy, really easy. But they can also be really, really difficult. It depends somewhat on the language being interpreted.

Let's break that down.

Spanish - the deposition will be most likely simultaneous translation, which means the attorney will start asking their question. And about three words into it, the interpreter starts going. So basically you will be listening to two voices all day long, trying to hear the English words. Of course, if your attorney knows some Spanish, there will come a point where the question will be asked and translated. The witness will answer. And because the attorney knows some Spanish, the attorney will not wait for the interpreter to translate in the answer back into English. Meanwhile, you're sitting there thinking did I miss the answer? Was there an answer? Speak up and clarify that you did not hear the answer translated into English. Chances are the attorney does that sort of thing all the time.

At some point, you might have a question, opposing counsel starts his objection, then questioning attorney replies to objection. Meanwhile, in the background you've got the interpreter translating question, witness answer, objection, questioning attorney's reply to the objection all at the same time. The potential here is four voices all at once. Take Control!!! Let them know you cannot take down all three voices at the same time and bec. it is being translated that it is even more difficult.

Or better yet, the witness will speak some Spanish, and will interrupt the interpreter's translation to answer. So you will have the witness going in and out of Spanish all day long. Joy!! If it goes on too long, and the attorney doesn't admonish the witness to listen to the translation and answer in Spanish, you might want to speak up. Or if this question comes up at the beginning, the witness speaks some English, we'll just use the interpreter as needed. Oh, no. You need to lay it down. It really makes for a clearer record if the witness is all in English or all in Spanish. Switching back and forth makes for a very confusing record.

Korean - simultaneous translation not possible bec. of syntax issues. Oftentimes you will end up with an interpreter who has a very heavy accent and is almost as difficult to understand as the witness. Trust me. I'm Korean. And I even have trouble understanding the accent. Oh, another thing to be aware of. They don't use male/female pronouns. So sometimes the answer will be translated with the wrong pronoun into English. So you're thinking, wait a minute, I thought we were talking about a male and the interpreter just said she.

Persian - ditto strong accent.
Russian - different dialects - your depo could end up not going if they send an interpreter who doesn't happen to translate the particular dialect your deponent speaks.
Chinese - similar to Korean.

In all depos beware of the interpreter who likes to editorialize.

Be prepared to read back. Sometimes attorneys like to ask really long convoluted questions which are really hard for the interpreter to keep track of. They will ask the attorney to repeat it. The attorney will look at you to read it back.

Try to get a caption so you have the correct spellings of the parties' names. Share it with the interpreter.
It helps them get down the names of people who the deponent might be referring to.

Also, because it is being interpreted, interpreted depos are slow, which is a good thing and a bad thing. Slow, so it makes for a very clean transcript. Bad because yoou could conceivably get 30 pages in an hour. So they're not high-dollar jobs even with a little extra being paid bec. it's interpreted.

Don't forget to swear in the the interpreter, then the witness.

Don't forget the interpreter certs at the end. So you'll have three certs - interpreter, witness, and you.

Don't forget to put the interpreter on the appearance page.

Interpreter depos can be tricky, but like the agency said, it's an easy depo;)

Good luck. Hope this helps.

[Teri Szucs]

From the point of view of an interpreter, the instruction should not be listen to the whole interpretation but listen only to the interpretation,  as the brain cannot take two inputs at once,  it would be like trying to have a phone conversation when your kids are speaking to you at the same time. As far as listening to two voices in  the background, good interpreters are trained to whisper, personally I have wireless equipment so I can sit anywhere in the room and I whisper into my mic. 

In California the test for Spanish interpreters has lowered standards considerably 5 years ago, so some interpreters will be easier to work with than others, given that some of  the newer interpreters  had taken the test 9 or 10 times and failed and can now pass. 

So if you want to work with interpreters  that will make your life easier and since many times the reporting agency also hires the interpreters,  it's kind of on you to let the agency know how you felt about the interpreter your worked with. 

[Kyung]

"Anything "stricken" from the record is to stay in. It just means that it is no longer valid, and if under review, the reviewer is not to consider that part of the record. NEVER EVER take anything out of the record," per Trina.

So, no don't take anything out. Transcribe everything.

[Heather Coiner]

Thank you, Kyung! I'll contact the firm that gave me this job. Hopefully they can give me some info on this. Thanks for your help.

[Kyung]

I would call the attorney and your agency. They need to give you the support you need.

If all else fails, don't use sic, use phonetic and give it the best phonetic spelling you can. Also, you might want to try to contact the clerk of the court, they might have information for you. Also, I take it this court does not have a regular court reporter? If it does, contact them. This case might have come up before and they might be able to help you.

Did you get the names of the interpreters? If not, the clerk might have them or interpreter services might that information at the courthouse. Contact them. They should be able to put you in contact w/these interpreter. I'm assuming they're court-certified since they're reporting in the courthouse.

I'll look into it or ask one of the "officials" to give you some feedback.

Sorry you had such a bad time. Even interpreted work can be hard.

[Heather Coiner]

I wish I would have read these warnings Thursday night! My firm sent me to a family court hearing. Turns out there were two Hmong interpreters! I should say too, I am a brand new reporter. The hearing was out of control. I spoke up at one point to tell the interpreter to speak up, but it didn;t help. I did ask the attorney and clerk for a list of names, which they gave me. The problem is, the witnesses would get going and mention a name in passing. I don't know the correct spelling of it. The names are Hmong, and I have no idea how to spell them. Should I call the attorney to get the name spelling or is it appropriate to put a [sic] next to a name that I know I wont even get close to spelling correctly. Also, a few things the judge struck from the record. Can someone tell me how to handle that. I know that in a depo that stays in. I'm not sure in a court case. So glad I found the Mentor site:)

[Kyung]

I haven't had to cross the bridge of realtime for the interpreter yet. Usually, I'll just read back the question.

[Mike Rowell]

Great post, Kyung. I really appreciate the insights.

Mary Ann, I was a little confused by parts of your response;
"And, by the way, full interactive realtime is different than "just" a rough draft, or "just" a view-only realtime screen; therefore, the cost for full interactive realtime is different than either of those other two services."
So does interactive real-time mean that editing on your laptop is reflected on their screens, whereas view-only doesn't? What are the differences?

Also, when an interpreter wants to view the real-time, do you charge him personally or does the attorney that is paying for the interpreter pay that fee as well?

[Kyung]

Yay!! Thought I was going crazy for a moment.

[Lisa Moskowitz]

I've always done the interpreter cert here in CA.

[Kyung]

You know, the agency just might be putting it in for you.