T&I Articles

Consequences of Miscommunication

October 31, 2019 by Catalina Natalini

Once, I was hired to provide interpreting services for a mental health evaluation. The person I was supposed to interpret for, and her daughter, arrived late to the appointment. The parent explained to me that she had had a hard time leaving work, but was determined to come to avoid going back to jail where she had spent three days already!

How had this happened?

It all started with some notes and calls from her daughter’s school. Because the parent didn’t speak English, her two daughters had translated the letters to her and answered the phone calls. They told her both were just standard school notifications and she didn’t need to do anything about them.

Despite her daughters’ reassurances, the parent decided to go to school just to make sure all was well, but when she got there, she was told nobody could speak to her in her mother tongue.

So, when some time later, the parent was arrested she had no idea why. After spending three days in jail, she appeared before a judge and it was then, through the interpreter provided by the court, that she learned that one of her daughters had missed so many days of school that a truancy case had been opened against her, as parent. Not knowing this, the mother had missed the hearing in truancy court and hence, a warrant for her arrest had been issued. The parent was astonished to learn this and explained to the court her version of the story. The court allowed the parent to be released on her own recognizance and asked to appear in a truancy court. It was there that the mental health evaluation I had been asked to interpret for had been scheduled.

As this case, clearly shows, translation and interpretation services are KEY for a good communication with non-English speaking people. It also underscores the serious consequences that having children relaying information to the non-English speaking parent may have. It is well understood in the industry that children lack the emotional and intellectual maturity to serve as interpreters for their parents. Not to mention the fact that, sometimes, they may have a conflict of interest as the information they are to convey may incriminate them. It is simply unfair to put them in such a position.

In order to incorporate and to connect with non-English speaking groups in your community, translation and interpretation services provided by professional translators and interpreters is a must.

If your school, hospital and/or business has non-English speaking groups, and you want to make sure that information in their original language reaches them, or you want to further discuss this topic, please, call me at 302-312-3939 or send me an e-mail me at .

Tri-State HRMA’s 33rd Annual Conference

August 9, 2019 by Catalina Natalini

On May 2^nd, I attended the Tri-State Conference for Human Resources Managers in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It was a great experience to participate as an exhibitor in this conference and to meet and talk with other Human Resources Managers from so many different fields. Human Resources Managers attended this conference for different reasons: to improve their jobs performance, to find better ways to help employees, and to learn and grow.

What, you may wonder, has my company in common with the Human Resources Managers of other businesses?

The answer is simple: Communication!

Most businesses, at one point or another, need to communicate with speakers of other languages who may have limited English proficiency. The services provided by translators and interpreters can help your business reach out to these individuals so that they can assimilate to the new culture and systems, or, simply, so that they can better understand, as consumers, the services your business provides.

Good communication starts with the intent to communicate. To consider using a translating and interpreting service is the first step towards this goal. Whether your business needs to communicate written (translation) or oral (interpretation) information, our services will help you do so in a fast and culturally respectful manner.

SPECIAL SUMMER OFFER: 10% DISCOUNT

Receive 10% discount when you schedule your translation projects in the month of August 2019. For more information, contact: Catalina J. Natalini at

Is the interpreter a member of your team?

August 9, 2019 by Catalina Natalini

My dear friend María Pérez-Chambers, a Federal Certified Court Interpreter, currently serving a term as Justice of the Peace in the state of Delaware, often says, “the interpreter is a retrofit in the courtroom.” In my experience, her statement is also true in every other environment and system where interpreters provide services, because all these environments existed before the addition of an interpreter to the process.

Professionals who work with interpreters often wonder whether interpreters are officers of the court, or members of the medical or the IEP team. The answer is yes, interpreters are members of those teams because they share the purpose of the team, and because they must take into account the environment, the system, and established protocols when providing their services while simultaneously working within the standards of practice for professional interpreters.

As every other professional in your team, the interpreter has standards of practice that delimit their performance, and professional boundaries that allow them to do their job in an ethical manner. These professional boundaries should be respected in the same way that the professional boundaries of other professionals are respected. Doing so will allow the interpreter to perform their duties and contribute to the positive outcome of your session. As a professional member of your team, interpreters understand that you need to verify their credentials, education, certification, and professional background.

Yes, interpreters are a retrofit in any given environment where services are provided to the public, but with some flexibility and common sense when integrating their services, they can be an invaluable addition to your team.

Work with your interpreter the same way you would with any other member of your team to get the maximum benefit from their services.

On the Duality in Interpretation

April 15, 2019 by Catalina Natalini

This picture first appeared in an article titled: “The Earliest Depiction of an Interpreter” from the Unprofessional Translator Blog.

The picture is taken from a frieze from the tomb of Harembab, an Egyptian Pharaoh. The frieze is currently housed in the National Antiquities Museum at Leiden, Holland.

If you look carefully, the interpreter is shown as having two bodies in this picture. Each body facing one of the speakers. This picture has been food for thought to me for a long time.

This is exactly what interpreters do! This duality aspect is a true fact about the nature of our work. In order to convey meaning, we connect simultaneously with both speakers at the linguistic, social, cultural and educational levels.

There is always two of everything as each speaker belongs to a specific society and culture, some speakers also come along with their professional culture such as the legal or medical culture. There are two sets of educational levels and two sets of etiquette and behavior that are evident in the way each speaker expresses. All these factors interacting literally “through” the interpreter. In fact, a case of “dual personality” going on for the interpreter!

So, every time I see this picture, I realize that I am the medium and the vessel for all this dual activity and that moving from one speaker’s vision of the world to another’s is what I do every time I am interpreting.

If you want to learn more about the history of this picture, visit the Unprofessional Translation Blog.

Translators…Translation…WHAT?

April 1, 2019 by Catalina Natalini

Over the years, whenever I said I was a translator or I am in the translation business, people have normally responded by saying one of the following:

“So, you translate what other people say?”

“Oh, so how many languages you speak?”

Yes, it has to do with languages, but a professional translator works with language in the written form. Translators are indeed competent in their mother language (language A) and in one or more foreign languages (languages B and C). They primarily translate from languages B and C into language A. The reason for this is that often the highest level of competence will be in the mother language or language A. Some translators are highly bilingual or very knowledgeable in one specific subject matter, and are capable to translate from language A into language B or C.

Translators’ linguistic skills focus mainly on reading and writing therefore, many translators may not be fluent speakers of languages B and C, and that is fine as what they really need is high reading and writing linguistic skills.

When buying translation services, you want to make sure that the translator is a native speaker of the language your document is going to be translated into, or at least highly competent in language B or C, and with a good knowledge of the subject matter.

Any questions or comments, please contact me at .