On Language Fillers

We all use them at some point whether in conversation or while interpreting. Not that we should, but we do. And this article in The Atlantic offers an interesting explanation as to why. Do you know what your most common fillers are? My students at the University of Arizona would always finish their semesters with a clear concept of what their “greatest hits” were, so they could strive to minimize them while interpreting. “Umm…” “uuh…” “esteee…” (in Spanish)… “eeeeh…” We’d be especially interested in hearing from our colleagues who speak other languages about what their fillers are in THOSE languages. We hope you enjoy the article and drop us a line or comment!

Keepin’ It Fresh! (by Irene Radillo, FCCI)

Talking about our native tongues, here.

Much has been said, written and discussed about this topic, and it is particularly interesting to those of us who find ourselves in the same position as the author whose article I share at the end: long-term immigrants to an English-speaking country. Think of the overall impact being surrounded by the English language has on our fluency and breadth of vocabulary, especially if everyone in your household prefers English: it becomes our default language, our go-to language for everyday things. Please read on!

Many of us acquired our computer skills and professional language here, and not in our native country, for example. So being as eloquent in that language may be less easy the longer we stay here. Please read on! I’ll share with you some ways I’ve challenged myself to “live” more Spanish. It’s been amusing but frustrating at times.

1. I always pick “press X for Spanish” whenever calling customer service. When I’ve heard the CSR struggle, I offer to switch to English and they usually sound relieved, but others have told me they MUST speak in Spanish when on the phone, so we muddle along. Sometimes their Spanish is less than ideal, sometimes it’s me being stumped on a term. Banking, in particular, is something I’ve only done here in the United States as an adult, so it’s not as smooth as it’d be in English.

2. I’ve switched my cell-phone and computer interface language to Spanish, and that has proven very challenging. For both, I eventually switch back to English. If I were to keep it in Spanish, I’m sure I’d be less frustrated, but for now I switch back and forth.

3. I choose the Spanish audio option for any show I can, and keep it that way unless I feel the dubbing has been done inartfully.

4. When watching a movie in a language I don’t speak, I choose subtitles in Spanish.

5. Whenever possible, I text in Spanish (siblings, colleagues, friends), even if they are fully bilingual. Texts from my sibs in Mexico help me keep abreast of slang and neologisms that postdate my departure from the country (ie, godinismo, godinear).

6. Spanish-language podcasts (Radio Ambulante, Algarabia, BBC and tons of others) and some radio programs (Radio Educación from Mexico).

7. Choosing opening pages on my browser from various news sources in Spanish. I make sure to read some headlines and articles before navigating away.

One last thing to consider is that there is the Spanish (or other language) spoken HERE, and then its counterpart in the country of origin. Frequently, they differ in interesting ways. You can sometimes tell when that non-English article has been written by a person who lives here in the US. So it´s good to find articles written in the foreign country itself.

There are of course other ways to stay connected with your living, ever-changing native language. Other examples that don’t work for me, for example, are telenovelas and local Spanish radio stations.

Find the article below. I hope you’ll share other ideas you’ve put into practice, and tell us of the results.

John Bichsel retires from National Center for Interpretation

by Yvette Citizen, FCCI

It’s been officially announced! John Bichsel, Curriculum and Testing Specialist, is retiring from The University of Arizona’s National Center for Interpretation @uofanci. John started working at NCI back in 1986 when his academic advisor, Dr. Roseann Dueñas Gonzalez, hired him while he worked on his Masters in ESL. Throughout that period he took leave a few times – once to spend a year traveling in South America and another to serve a two-year Fulbright stint in Mexico – but upon return each time he continued collaborating with Dr. Gonzalez, Victoria Vazquez, Paul Gatto, and the rest of the NCI team to champion equal access for limited- and non-English speakers by developing interpreter quality training curricula and assessment instruments, a mission he continues to be very passionate about. These are a few accomplishments during his tenure at NCI:

• He participated in the development and administration of the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Exam (FCICE) when the program resided at the University of Arizona. This included working with myriad Spanish, Navajo, and Haitian Creole consultants to certify court interpreters for the AOUSC. In addition to writing and revising materials, John was integral to the piloting and validation of these high-stakes examinations. As he will tell you, the privilege of working with Spanish, Haitian, and Navajo language experts was the best part of his job. Sadly, the Navajo and Haitian Creole interpreter certification programs were cancelled, and early plans to certify up to 55 languages were also put on hold.

• John formed part of the Expert Panel for Fundamentals of Court Interpretation: Theory, Policy, and Practice (2012), by Dr. Roseann Gonzalez, Victoria Vazquez, Esq., and Holly Mikkelson.

• From 2001 – 2016 John collaborated with the NCI team to develop several sign language interpreter certification exams for the state of Texas, including ASL/English; Trilingual (ASL/English/Spanish); Certified Deaf Interpreter; and ASL/English specialty certifications for legal and medical interpreters. https://hhs.texas.gov/doing-business-hhs/provider-portals/assistive-services-providers/board-evaluation-interpreters-certification-program/bei-testing

• John developed a wide body of curricula for the numerous workshops and trainings offered by NCI and his voice is immortalized on the audio recordings.
  He also helped develop numerous other examinations, including the Spanish and Cantonese certification examinations for the San Francisco Fire Department; the Kaiser Permanente Spanish examination for bilingual physicians; medical and state legal examinations for Navajo; and NCI’s in-house legal and medical credentialing examinations (the CICP and MICE).

John Bichsel & Yvette Citizen

John was born in Tacoma, one of seven children in a family that moved from Fargo to Montana to Minnesota while his father, a mechanical engineer on the intercontinental Northern Pacific Railway, accepted every promotion that came his way. John studied German in high school, not knowing that someday he would end up in the Southwest, work for Dr. Gonzalez, and marry into a Mexican family; in fact, John is my ‘better half’ or ‘half an orange’ as they say in Spanish (meaning that together we form a whole and beautiful orange, which we do!). We’ve been married for 23 awesome years. John has dedicated his career to professionalizing interpreting and protecting the rights of linguistic minorities. And for that, we are grateful. ¡Gracias Juanito!

Funding for Interpreter Services

by Irene Radillo, FCCI

Court and Medical Interpreters: Read this! The funding for the services you provide could be at risk.

As a language services provider, it’s important that you be aware of what laws support the financial coverage for the services you provide. Where the funds come from and how they are justified, because they are under fire as you read this… There are entire courses dedicated to teaching in depth about the 2 main pillars, but our goal in this blog entry is to provide you information on 3 facts: (1) the basics, (2) links to sites where you can dive in to be fully informed, and (3) an update on efforts to change the status quo, which could affect us all as interpreters and translators.

1. THE BASICS: Title VI of the US Constitution and Executive Order 13166. An excerpt from https://www.lep.gov/video/video.html

   • “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. National origin discrimination includes, among other things, failing to provide meaningful access to individuals who are limited English proficient (LEP). Executive Order 13166 requires federal agencies that provide federal financial assistance to develop guidance to clarify the language access obligations of recipients of such assistance.” So, we see the importance.

2. Here are direct links to useful sites explaining both Title VI and EO 13166:

   • Title VI of the U.S. Constitution: https://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/titlevi.htm

   • Executive Order (E.O.) 13166: https://www.justice.gov/crt/executive-order-13166

3. And here’s what’s in the news recently about efforts to designate English as the one official language of the United States of America: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/white-house-meets-with-group-urging-english-as-official-us-language/

A paragraph in the article above that should REALLY catch your eye states (and let’s ignore the use of the word “translation”…): “Guschov told the Review-Journal his group is ‘particularly urging’ aides to advise Trump to repeal an executive order signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000 that directed federal agencies to offer translation services for residents with limited English proficiency.” Can we possibly guess what a repeal of this EO would mean for court interpreters? Also for healthcare interpreters, of course (Medicaid and Medicare are both recipients of federal funding).

And by the way, did you know English is not the official language for the country, but 31 states have in various ways designated it so for themselves? Do you know what YOUR state’s stance on the matter is? Here, check it out (as of 2014): https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/12/states-where-english-is-the-official-language/?utm_term=.7a32b2bbf72d

We think it’s important that we all stay alert regarding what’s going on with this topic, and make our voices heard when we see the opportunity to do so! Our professional lives depend on it! We invite you to comment and share your thoughts and related articles. Thanks!