Effective July, 2010, the California Administrative Office of the Courts will begin using the written and oral court interpreter certification exams developed by the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts (Consortium). The decision to adopt the exams of the Consortium was based on the results of a comprehensive study conducted by ALTA Language Services. The report is now available electronically for the public to read here (PDF). Questions or comments about the study and the ensuing move to Consortium exams may be submitted to courtinterpreters@jud.ca.gov.

Overview of What’s New in Testing

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California Court Interpreter Exam Videos

In April, Monterey, California, hosted its first TEDx event. The TEDx program is an offshoot of the yearly Technology Entertainment and Design conference. TEDx events are independently organized by local communities.

Notably, TEDxMonterey featured live audio in 8 different languages including Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, German and Korean. Students from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) provided simultaneous interpretation during the conference.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with one of the student interpreters, Lu Ye, about the conference.

How did you first hear about the TEDxMonterey event and how did you get involved?
The MIIS (Monterey Institute of International Studies) organized the conference. They posted information inviting students to volunteer to interpret. Anyone in the school’s Conference Interpretation specialization could participate, and it was first-come, first-serve. There’s an assumption that students at that level are capable of doing the job.

Students found out about TEDx two weeks in advance and started preparing one week before the event. At rehearsals, TEDx speakers were invited to give briefings. Some gave their outlines, and some even recited their speeches beforehand.

What was the experience like of interpreting at TEDxMonterey?
It was great. The whole interpretation was broadcast live via the internet, so we got a lot of traffic. Our booth got over a hundred listeners from around the world. It was different from the classroom setting. The TED speakers spoke faster than what we’re used to in class. They talk without considering that people are interpreting what they say.

Do you have any observations about simultaneous interpretation after your experience at TEDx?
We have a practicum at MIIS which is organized in combination with other programs like business and international policy studies. Translation and Interpretation students go into booths to interpret for presentations that are organized in the auditorium. We practice without the pressure of making mistakes or shouldering responsibilities – we only have our peers sitting in and giving comments.

With TEDxMonterey, this was the first time I broadcast my interpretations around the world. The added pressure actually helped enhance the quality of my interpreting rendition. Personally, I feel that it’s easier for me to build a connection with the speaker this way.

During simultaneous interpretation you feel like your spirit flies out of your body and into the speaker. You begin to think like the speaker. You’re basically in that person’s mind, but speaking in a different language.

Lu Ye is a professional Chinese-English translator and interpreter based out of the Monterey area. She graduated with a master’s degree in conference interpretation this May. You can reach her at luludt2002 [at] yahoo.com.cn.

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Photo by TEDxMonterey

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Chew the fat is a colloquial phrase meaning “to talk or discuss informally, or to talk at length on a variety of subjects.” The phrase has been in use since the early 19th century. There is some debate as to the origin of the term. While some etymologists argue that it is a variation of the older phrase, to chew the rag, and others quibble about the varieties of meats or blubbers that the term’s original users could have been chewing, my favorite origin story comes from Cheapside, London.

To chew the fat could be an addition to the English language from the whimsical and free-spirited Cockney rhyming slang.

The user of Cockney rhyming slang replaces a word with its rhyme or with a phrase in which the last word rhymes with the original. To chew the fat comes from the more mundane “to have a chat.” Further muddling understanding is the fact that, often, the word that rhymes with the intended one is omitted and another portion of the phrase is used. Many examples of this can be found in rhyming slang terms for body parts: the word “feet” becomes “plates of meat” and shortens to simply “plates;” “legs” becomes “Scotch eggs” and, later, just “Scotches;” and “eyes” becomes “mince pies” or “minces.”

Cockney rhyming slang developed in the East End of London and in the suburbs around central London. It was first systematically recorded in 1859 in Ducange Anglicus’s The Vulgar Tongue: A Glossary of Slang, Cant, and Flash Phrases, used in London from 1839 to 1859. Several terms that are still used in and around London could already be found in this text, among them “apples and pears” to mean “stairs,” “Barnet-Fair” to mean “hair,” and “butcher’s hook” to mean “look.” The latter is frequently shortened to “butcher’s,” so that one is told to “take a butcher’s” at something of interest.

Despite recent research which suggests that the Cockney accent may no longer exist in London within 30 years, Cockney rhyming slang shows no sign of going out of use or losing popularity. Many British websites offer tutorials, translators, and even private lessons in the art of rhyming slang. In addition, internationally popular films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Ocean’s Eleven help add to the appeal of this linguistic game.

Related Links

The Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang

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Illustration by Chew The Fat!

According to a new study just released by the University of Chicago, a foreign accent may undermine a person’s credibility. Participants who took part in the study were asked to rate the truthfulness of statements made by both native and non-native speakers of English.

The researchers found that truthfulness ratings were lower for statements made by non-native speakers than those made by native speakers. The severity of a person’s accent also affected the score; statements made by speakers with heavier accents were rated as less truthful than those with milder accents. “Because an accent makes a person harder to understand, listeners are less likely to find what the person says as truthful,” researchers concluded.

To help individuals reduce their accents and be better understood by native English-speakers, ALTA provides a variety of Accent Reduction Training programs, ranging from self-study to instructor-led training for individuals as well as corporate groups. These programs provide maximum efficiency and effectiveness in reducing one’s accent because the learner is able to focus only on the sounds that he or she needs to correct in order to sound more like a native English-speaker. An initial assessment pinpoints the individual’s particular problem areas, and provides a rating according to whether each is a minor, moderate, or a major problem area. The learner can then tackle those issues in an organized sequence to maximize his or her progress. ALTA’s methodology uses a series of steps to help the learner understand the right way to produce a sound, and then assimilate that sound into his or her natural speech. Further support is offered in the form of online materials that can be used to practice in between classes.

Changing one’s accent is by no means an easy task; an accent is essentially a habit of how you speak. The objective of an accent reduction training program like ALTA’s is to break an old habit of speaking and replace it with a new one. However, it is a task that can be accomplished with practice, and it breaks down a significant barrier for non-native English speakers.

To invent words or not to invent words– that is the question.

On Sunday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin opted for the first choice. In a series of messages from her Twitter account, Palin commented on proposed plans to build an Islamic Cultural Center blocks away from the World Trade Center site. She initially tweeted, “Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate” [sic].

Online heckling about the word “refudiate” began almost immediately, and Palin quickly deleted the message. Instead of replacing it with a new message containing the word “repudiate” she wrote, “Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan…”. Shortly afterward, she defended her use of her invented word and compared herself to Shakespeare:

“Refudiate,” “misunderestimate,” “wee-wee’d up.” English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!

Palin certainly isn’t the first politician/ celebrity to create a neologism; however, she might be the first to say she was following in the footsteps of the Bard while doing so. Regardless of whether or not she (or her social media consultant) mistakenly typed “refudiate” into Twitter, the situation reminded me of one of my favorite TED Talks.

If you’re a regular Beyond Words reader, you probably know our writers love the lexicographer Erin McKean, and you might have already seen her wonderful Talk on the evolution of the dictionary. During her 15 minute presentation, McKean actually encourages viewers to invent words. She discusses the invention and legitimacy of words:

People say to me, ‘How do I know if a word is real?’ Anybody who’s read a children’s book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it. That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction. It doesn’t make a word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real.

McKean goes on to metaphorically describe English as a hanging mobile that moves with any change to the language. Its movement, she says, is beautiful, no matter what the language looks like when it stops. Shakespeare definitely set the mobile of the English language in motion. Among the many words he invented are auspicious, bloody, bump, castigate, critic, exposure, hurry, lonely, obscene, premeditated, road, and suspicious.

Is Palin this generation’s Bard of Avon? Our homegrown Bard of Alaska? Probably not (Going Rogue is a far-cry from The Tempest), but if she can learn to really love the word “refudiate,” she can keep all the glory that’ll come with its existence.

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You can follow ALTA on Twitter (where we rarely invent words, but always let you know when celebrities do). And if you’re interested in receiving a daily dose of language-related articles and media from around the web, you can also friend us on Facebook.

What began almost three years ago in New Jersey as a routine driving while impaired conviction, has slowly escalated into a state Supreme Court case and a rallying cry for both advocates and opponents of increased language assistance for immigrants across the nation. Police arrested New Jersey resident, German Marquez, on September 20, 2007, after he rear-ended another car while driving impaired. Authorities convicted Marquez of driving while impaired (DWI), careless driving, and refusal to take the breath test. This week, the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey ruled that officers must provide instructions in suspects’ native languages.

The case, which started in Plainfield, New Jersey’s, municipal court, revolved around Marquez’s refusal conviction. Marquez, a Limited English Proficient citizen, admitted to both the DWI and careless driving convictions, but he said he didn’t understand the officer’s breath test request at the accident scene because he didn’t speak enough English.

New Jersey’s Chief Justice Rabner delivered the opinion of the Court, stating:

The statute’s obligation to “inform” calls for more than a rote recitation of English words
to a non-English speaker. Knowledge cannot be imparted in that way. Such a practice would permit Kafkaesque encounters in which police read aloud a blizzard of words that everyone realizes is incapable of being understood because of a language barrier. That approach would also justify reading aloud the standard statement to a hearing-impaired driver who cannot read lips. We do not believe that the Legislature intended those absurd results. Rather, its directive that officers “inform,” in the context of the implied consent and refusal statutes, means that they must convey information in a language the person speaks or understands.

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Episode 10: The Language News Report

Welcome to the tenth episode of ALTA’s Beyond Words Podcast! Our podcasts provide listeners with the latest language news, language-related interviews, and language lessons that can be applied to real-world situations. They’re always brief, always informative, and always entertaining.

During the Language News Report, you’ll hear summaries of the last two weeks’ top language-related stories. You can listen to the podcast on our website or download it for later playback on any standard MP3 compatible device. We hope you enjoy listening!

Listen to Episode 10: The Language News Report

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Spinning Languages is a new monthly feature by Beyond Words that highlights albums from around the world. This month we’re showcasing three great albums from Brazil, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. We think they’d compliment any barbecue, pool party, or hot summer night. (We’re referring to the temperature.) You can order all of them directly from the excellent music store Other Music. Enjoy these July tunes!

Márcio Local: Márcio Local Says Don Day Don Dree Don Don (2009)

Márcio Local stands at the crossroads of two great traditions in modern Brazilian music, with one foot in samba, the heavily percussive Afro-Brazilian dance music that took its modern form in the early twentieth century, and the other in soul, the African American music rooted in the blues that attracted a mass audience in Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s. Once regarded as a faddish import, soul music has been effectively Brazilianized such that it now constitutes a local tradition in big cities like São Paulo and Márcio’s home town of Rio de Janeiro. Márcio has also discovered ways to combine these two traditions to forge new variations of samba-soul by exploring the ever-expanding modern soundscape of Rio. He is also something of a sensual romantic who makes music thinking about lazy Saturday afternoons at the beach, a game of soccer, the drama of sexual seduction, and the bustle of the urban scene. In this way, he belongs to another tradition in Brazilian music that celebrates the pleasures of everyday life and the redemptive power of a catchy tune. –© Samantha Tillman, Luaka Bop

Preview the album’s tracks below. We recommend track 5, “Sentimento Rei”:

A monthly feature by Beyond Words, Now Playing highlights some of the best foreign films currently playing at the theater. American attendance at foreign language films dropped exponentially during the last decade, with foreign film ticket sales accounting for less than 1 percent of business at the US box office. We don’t want foreign films to disappear from the American movie landscape– they remain a great way to expose American moviegoers to new languages and cultures. So, we’re providing you with a few plot synopses and trailers. All you need to do is make your way to a local art house and enjoy these films on the big screen.

Wild Grass

Director: Alain Resnais, Language: French
Alain Resnais, one of the towering figures of the French New Wave, demonstrates he still has plenty to say in this drama based on a novel by Christian Gailly. Marguerite (Sabine Azéma) is a successful dentist with a busy practice and an offbeat hobby, flying small airplanes. One day, while running errands, Marguerite loses her wallet, and it’s found by Georges (André Dussollier), a seemingly happy man with a wife, Suzanne (Anne Consigny), and two children (Vladimir Consigny and Sara Forestier). As Georges looks through the wallet and examines the photos of Marguerite, he finds he’s fascinated with her and her life, and soon his curiosity about her becomes an obsession. Georges’ attempts to integrate himself into Marguerite’s life begin to alarm her, and she hires a private security team (Mathieu Amalric and Michel Vuillermoz) to keep him away, but Georges is determined that his new love for her will not be denied. Les Herbes Folles (aka Wild Grass) received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. –© Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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