If you’ve experienced or heard of a deposition w在这里 the interpreter takes the blame, 那么这篇文章就是为你准备的.
你在解释一份证词,结果是一方胜诉,而不是另一方. 失败的一方该怪谁呢? 你.
If you’ve experienced or heard of a deposition w在这里 the interpreter takes the blame, 那么这篇文章就是为你准备的. 你会学到五个关键的技巧, 正确使用时, will help protect your image as a professional interpreter in front of attorneys and clients.
But first, 在这里’s a bit of background for those unfamiliar with the deposition process. In a nutshell a deposition is a stage in the legal process w在这里 both par领带s can gather information about the case by questioning the witnesses involved. 取证通常在律师事务所或酒店会议室进行.
Depositions, however, can be characterized by a very adversarial atmosp在这里, just like court. 为什么? 尽管在取证中没有"赢家, one attorney might feel as if the interpreting isn’t going their way for a variety of reasons: the witness doesn’t provide answers to questions the attorney thinks they should know, 对方律师反对对方提出的所有其他问题, 证人避免直接回答, 等. It’s not uncommon for the attorneys to engage in heated arguments during the deposition.
现在想象一下,作为证人的翻译,你身处其中. 你是中立的,但可能会让人觉得你介于两个竞争者之间. Here’s the thing: sometimes when the deposition doesn’t go the way one attorney wanted it to, 他们会责怪你:“译员翻译得不对,”“译员翻译得太慢了,”“翻译是错误的,”“证人没有听清楚译员的话,”等. Even though you know you did a fantastic job with your renditions, this is the verdict.
这整个情况可能看起来很荒谬,但在一个非常重要的方面,它不是. 如果你是一名口译员,你很可能是一名独立承包商. 这意味着你的名字就是你的品牌,你的品牌就是你的生意. 即使是这样的一件事也会毁了你在律师那里的声誉, 另一位律师, 他们的公司, 以及他们的同事(口译员通常是通过律师的口口相传找到的), 甚至可能都不是你的错! 那么,你如何保护你的形象,你的品牌,以及你自己呢? 我也问过自己同样的问题.
I began researching and based on what I found compiled a list of five key points we interpreters can utilize before and during a deposition to help protect ourselves. The goal of these is to facilitate the best flow of communication so you don’t get blamed for a lack t在这里of.
1. 穿着得体: 第一印象决定一切,保持这种印象也很重要. In the business world one major aspect of giving off a professional look is through one’s clothing. No, clothes don’t define a person, but they definitely influence others’ perception of you.
任何时候上班,你都应该穿职业装, 领带, 职业装, 熨, 气味清新的衣服, 凡是你能想到的. On several occasions I’ve been confused with an attorney solely because of the way I dressed. 当人们误以为我是同性恋时,我也受到了不同的对待. I’ve found that attorneys are less inclined to use you as a scapegoat for something you didn’t do if you present a highly professional image.
2. 运用这些道德准则: 如果你接受过正式的法庭口译培训, 然后强调了遵守道德准则的重要性. 好吧,我再强调一次:运用你的道德观. An interpreter who knows and references an ethical code in real time during a deposition shows how well they know and respect the standards of the trade. 正确、自信地使用, 律师通常会毫不犹豫地遵守口译员的道德规范. 道德准则是工具. 训练时记住它们很容易,训练后就把它们放在一边, so revisit your ethics regularly—perhaps before each deposition so they’re fresh in your mind.1
3. 比手背更了解反对意见: 几年前 I attended an international high-profile personal injury deposition as a check interpreter and witnessed perhaps the best interpreter I’ll ever see in my life. The deposition was full of specialized vehicle engineering terms, yet his renditions were impeccable. 他的词汇量似乎无穷无尽,从不犹豫,语速极好.
然而, one area that stuck out to me was how well he knew objections and how effortlessly he interpreted them as the attorneys seemingly referenced every single one in the book. (相信我,他们真的把书里的每一个都抛弃了!)
I’ve noticed that attorneys often assume that interpreters are unfamiliar with certain objections or that objections are particularly difficult to interpret. (例如,你可能会听到一个律师说,“问并回答. 哦,对不起, 我不确定这是否可以被解释为……”)出于这个原因, 你应该记住你能找到的每一种反对意见,这样你就能, 太, 能够完美地诠释它们,让旁观者大吃一惊吗. 如果你能做到, it becomes one less area for attorneys to try to use as a way to prove that the interpreter is at fault for a miscommunication.
4. 不要道歉: 假设你解释了目击者所说的话, 但你在引渡上犯了个错误想回去改. Or, shortly after you interpret, another party picks up on an error in the interpretation. 你说呢?? “对不起,翻译需要更正一下.“对不起,翻译需要更正一下。.或者类似的话? 不要说“对不起”.” 即使你错了,需要做出改变, “对不起”和“纠正”这两个词给人的印象更强烈,那就是你错了, 你在承认你错了, 或者你甚至可能不像你声称的那样是个专家.
相反,你应该说“翻译人员想对翻译进行修改。.然后,改变你的表演,继续前进,不要跳过一个节拍. 这似乎是一个非常简单的改变, but try it and take note of people’s reactions when you use this phrasing compared to when you were apologizing. 几年前我从一位资深翻译那里学到了这个技巧.
5. 为证人制作翻译指南: 几年前, 在翻译了几十份证词之后, I came to realize that t在这里 were a few very common linguistic mistakes that Korean witnesses would make at depositions. 我和其他同事谈过,他们也注意到了同样的错误. 我对自己说, “如果它们几乎每次都是一样的, 那不如永利登录网址想个办法让目击者不再犯这些错误?“结果是一个五点指南, The 5 Most Common Linguistic Mistakes that Koreans Make at Depositions–and How to Avoid Them我在每次取证前都会提供给律师和证人.2
From speaking in English (instead of their native language) to trying to have side conversations with the interpreter, this guide has everything a witness will need to avoid common linguistic mistakes during interpreted depositions. This is important for interpreters because when witnesses make these mistakes it often falls on the interpreter. 例如, 当证人试图用韩语进行谈话时, 看起来好像翻译在试图秘密地告诉他们一些事情.
我还编写了韩语版的指南, 但是根据你所说的语言,这些观点很可能会有所不同. So, I encourage you to get together with your colleagues and compile a similar guide for yourself.
在保护自己的同时提高你的可信度
通过运用这五个要点,当你口译的证词, 这样可以提升你的信誉和形象,更能保护你的名声. Don’t allow for one situation gone awry to ruin a career you built from the ground up.
笔记
- 法庭口译员的职业道德清单可在 国家法院中心的网站.
- The 5 Most Common Linguistic Mistakes that Koreans Make at Depositions—and How to Avoid Them. (点击 在这里 韩文版本.)
罗伯特·霍洛威学院 是一名母语为英语的韩语翻译. 灵感来自他的韩国养母, 他开始学习韩语, a language his mother didn’t have the opportunity to learn because she grew up in the U.S. 说英语. 下定决心,他离开了美国.S. 13年前,他为韩国效力,从未回头. He’s been training vigorously for the past 10 years to become a Korean court and conference interpreter with a mission to be a model of someone who’s using the 太ls of their culture to build their life. info@mwkoreantranslation.com