Court Interpreting for Indigenous Languages

Over the past decade, government agencies and courts in the United States have seen an increasing demand for language access for Mayan languages like K’iche’, Mam, Q’eqchi’, indigenous languages of Central America, and other underrepresented languages.
This presentation is tailored for language professionals and addresses the inherent challenges in assisting speakers of indigenous and underrepresented languages within the U.S. court system. It thoroughly explores effective strategies to address these challenges, ensuring accurate and high-quality interpretation services for courts, attorneys, probation officers, and social services.
Designed to acquaint language professionals with the U.S. Courts, courtroom participants, and the necessary protocols for providing interpreting services, this presentation emphasizes best practices and lessons learned. It specifically focuses on the complexities encountered when facilitating language access for speakers of indigenous and underrepresented languages, where many terms lack direct translations, and a considerable portion of the speakers may experience literacy challenges.

Learning Objectives:

After viewing this webinar, the participant will be able to:
• Explain the roles of various participants in a US courtroom, including judges, attorneys, witnesses, and interpreters.
• Discuss the expectations, best practices, and ethical considerations for interpreters working in the US courts, including issues related to impartiality, confidentiality, and cultural sensitivity.
• Describe the proper protocol to be followed by court interpreters both while on and off the record, including procedures for handling confidential information and maintaining professionalism.
• Demonstrate how to handle linguistically challenging situations, such as identifying linguistic equivalences for terms that may not have a direct translation to or from an indigenous or underrepresented language, and ways to effectively conveying meaning while maintaining accuracy and clarity in interpretation.

Presenters:

Graciela Zozaya brings with her over 30 years of experience in language access, with specific focus in the healthcare and legal fields, including her roles as a patient advocate and interpreter for Texas Children’s Hospital, Manager of the Language Access Program at Harris Health System, interpreter and translator for court proceedings, and a manager of the translation department for Lopez Negrete Communications, the largest Hispanic-focused advertising agency in the US. Graciela has also created her own training tracks for medical and court interpreters and has been providing training for the past 12 years. She has been invited to teach some of her own training courses at the University of Houston – Downtown campus.
Active in the professional community, Graciela served as Director of Professional Development for the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators (TAHIT), as Treasurer and later as Vice President of the board of the Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA), and held the positions of Director, Vice Chair and Interim Chair for the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI).
Originally from Mexico City, Graciela has lived in the Houston area for over 25 years. She is a Certified Medical Interpreter, a Master Licensed Court Interpreter and an ATA Certified Translator and is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Winston Kent Scott, PhD, has conducted research and been deeply engaged with Mayan language communities in Guatemala, the United States, and Canada since 1996. A cultural anthropologist by training, Dr. Scott’s work has focused on social and economic impacts of large-scale agriculture in rural Guatemala municipalities, sociolinguistic mobilization within Indigenous communities, and traditional religious systems. He has taught courses on these topics at the University at Albany, SUNY. Dr. Scott has dedicated years working amidst Q’eqchi’, Kaqchikel, and K’iche’ Mayan language groups in Guatemala and has participated in and taught courses dedicated to these languages. Since 2015, Dr. Scott has been continuously involved in assisting Indigenous Guatemalan immigrants to the United States in receiving access to legal, medical, and educational services in their native languages. Dr. Scott has also volunteered as a project director for programs that are dedicated to assisting Indigenous Guatemalans to gain access to medical and mental health resources in their native languages for alcohol and substance abuse.