Resource Guide for

Court Interpreters

August 2016

This publication provides references compiled by the Council of Language Access Coordinators (CLAC)
Working Group on Language Neutral Training Materials.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of Interpreting……...………………………………………………………………. 3

Test Taking Strategies………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Glossaries………………………...…………………………………………………………… 5-6

Practice Exam Kits and Sample Tests………………………………………………………… 7

Practices Sites for Idioms……………………………………………………………………… 8

Additional Resources…………………..……………………………………………………… 9

Professional Organizations……………………………...…………………………………… 10

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Overview of Interpreting

United States Courts. Federal Judiciary Careers: Court Interpreter.

United States District Court, District of Maine. Taking an Interpreter’s Oath to Heart.

Open Learning Agency and Vancouver Community College. Ethical Challenges for Court
Interpreters.

Ken Strutin. Interpretation and Translation Resources for the Criminal Justice System.

Courtroom Demonstrations
Direct Examination. Questioning in Court: Prepping the Defendant.

Professor Wes Porter, Golden State University School of Law. Direct Exam I: Hosting a
Conversation.

Louisiana State University Trial Advocacy. Opening Statement Demonstration.

Cross Examination Style. Questioning in Court: Prepping the Defendant.

Consecutive Interpreter Practice

Essex Superior Court, Salem, Massachusetts. Philip Chism Trial Prosecution, Part I.

Essex Superior Court, Salem, Massachusetts. Philip Chism Trial Prosecution, Part II.

Essex Superior Court, Salem, Massachusetts. Philip Chism Trial Prosecution, Part III.

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Test Taking Strategies

Written Exam
Synonyms and Antonyms

English Maven. Synonyms and Antonyms Quiz

English Club. Idiom Quizzes.

The U.S. Criminal Justice Process: Definitions and Steps

Free Rice, English Vocabulary Quizzes

Oral Exam
FluentU, Practice Tongue Twisters

About Education. Reading Comprehension Dialogues

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Oral Argument Search.

Suffolk University Law School. Oral Arguments Before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court

TransLegal. Lawyer-Client Dialogue.

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Glossaries

Maupin Taylor & Ellis, P.A. Glossary of Terms for Judiciary Interpreters.

United States Courts. Glossary of Legal Terms.

New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. Essential Dictionaries for Court
Interpreters.

Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. Legal Glossaries.

TransLegal. Legal Glossaries.

New York Courts. Glossary of Legal Terms.

NOLO. Nolo’s Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions.

Vancouver Community College. Multilingual Legal Glossary.

MassLegal Services. Legal and Social Service Glossaries in Various Languages.

Duhaime. Duhaime’s Law Dictionary.

State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. Glossary of Legal Terminology-Most Frequently Used

Tennessee Courts. Glossary of Legal Terminology.

National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers. Legal Terminology.

National Center for State Courts. Glossaries for 2010-2011 Test Development: Armenian
(Eastern), Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese.

National Association for Court Management. Glossary.

National Center for State Courts. Glossary of Commonly Used Court & Justice System
Terminology.

Lexicool. Dictionaries and Translation.

The Idiom Connection. English Idioms and Quizzes.

Foreclosure University. Foreclosure Terms.

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Spanish
New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, Glossary of Legal (and Related) Terms and
Courthouse Signs English/Spanish.

Portuguese
New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, Glossary of Legal (and Related) Terms and
Courthouse Signs English/Portuguese.

Marshallese
Marshallese-English Online Dictionary.

Korean
Washington Courts. Glossary of Selected Legal Terms: English-Korean.

Chuukese
Oregon Courts. Glossary of Legal Terms for Multnomah County (Chuukese)

Ilokano
National Center for State Courts. Abbreviated Glossary for Ilokano Examination.

Arabic
Ayman Khatib, Khalil Ansara. Glossary of Legal Terminology English-Arabic.

French
SIL. French/English Glossary of Linguistic Terms.

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Practice Kits, Sample Tests and Recordings

The Interpreter’s Gym.

ChinaSona. Court Interpreter Preparation Class (Mandarin Chinese).

National Center for State Courts. Self-Assessment and Study Tools.

Prometric. Sample Court Interpreter Oral Examination.

Minimal Pair. Resources for Court Interpreters.

Speechpool.

New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. Resources for Professional Development of
Court Interpreters.

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Practice Sites for Idioms

Learn English Today. English Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions.

GoEnglish. Pocket English Idioms.

Kaete Hester. Understanding English Idioms. SlideShare.

American Interpreting. Idiomatic and Expressions 108 Module 4.

American Interpreting. Idiomatic Expressions and Slang 105 Module 3.

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Additional Resources

Written
Alcaraz-Varó, E., Legal Translation Explained – Translation Practices Explained, Vol.4.

Berg-Seligson, Susan, The Bilingual Courtroom: Court Interpreters in the Judicial Process (U.
of Chicago Press, 1990, 2002)

Dueñas-González, Vásquez & Mikkelson, Fundamentals of Court Interpretation (Durham,

Edwards, Alicia, The Practice of Court Interpreting (Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995)

Gile, Daniel, Basic Concepts and Modes for Interpreter and Translator Training
(Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995)

Jones, Roderick, Conference Interpreting Explained (Manchester: St Jerome, 1998)

Mikkelson, Holly, Introduction to Court Interpreting (Manchester, UK: St. Jerome

Newmark, Peter, A Textbook of Translation (Longman, 1988)

Rozan, Jean-François, Note-taking in Consecutive Interpreting (Tertium: 2005). *English

Online
Interpreter Training Resources

Note-Taking
Rozan, Jean Francois. Note-Taking in Consecutive Interpreting. (Geneve: Georg, 1956)

Interpreter Trainers. Consecutive Note-Taking, Part I.

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Professional Organizations

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators

American Translators Association

New England Translators Association

International Medical Interpreters Association

NAJIT Position Papers

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