How should the transcript look if the interpreter does not use the first person?
A. A trained interpreter, such as those employed by Legal Language Services, will know to use the first person when interpreting a witness’s testimony; that is, s/he is interpreting and repeating back the words exactly as they are conveyed to him/her. When receiving an answer, s/he should answer in the first person as if he were the witness speaking the words. If the interpreter doesn’t do this and uses the third person instead, you need to transcribe that as words from the interpreter. To make matters worse, sometimes the witness will have enough English to understand some of what is said and jump in with the English answer without waiting for the interpreter. You will need to be ready to write what the witness says, whether it’s spoken through the interpreter or with his own mouth. The transcript will be the same.
Related Questions
- What is the protocol or the correct thing to do when using an interpreter – do I direct my questions or answers to the Deaf person or the interpreter? Who do I look at?
- How should the transcript look if the interpreter does not use the first person?
- What will the person(s) reviewing the advertisement look for?
