How does a person become a Judiciary Interpreter?
Judiciary interpreters come from all sorts of backgrounds: the humanities, social sciences, and even the natural sciences. The best undergraduate studies to become an interpreter, however, are foreign language and literature. There are two advanced degree programs in judiciary interpreting in the United States at this time: one at the Monterey Institute for International Studies in California, and one at the University of Charleston in South Carolina. Many judiciary interpreters have acquired their knowledge and skills through seminars, workshops, and other educational activities sponsored by professional associations. The most prominent of these is the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT). In order to work in the federal courts, interpreters in Spanish, Navajo and Creole must be certified by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The test consists of a written portion that measures language skills, and an oral portion that measures interpreting
