Swearing-in and more righteous indignation
On Friday, I attended the swearing-in ceremony of Nebraska’s newest certified interpreter, Alex Perez. It was a joyous occasion, and I am not saying this just because all the of the certified interpreters (myself included) got a certificate honoring their contributions.
On Sunday, I was still giddy from the whole experience, when I read the Sunday edition of the Lincoln Journal-Star. And more importantly, the letters to the editor. And my giddiness vaporized at reading one of that day’s letters from a reader who is appalled that legal forms are being translated into Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese (scroll down to the letter titled “Translations violate rules”).
But this time, I found a proper use to my righteous indignation. I wrote a heartfelt letter to the editor myself. On Monday, I got a call from somebody over at the S-J, who wanted to verify the spelling of my name.
Now, perhaps my rant was nothing but “sound and fury signifying nothing”. But I think I had a point. Let’s see if it sees the light of day.
January 30, 2008 at 11:19 am
You totally had a point. Whoever thinks that translations violate rules may have also been in favor of burning books like the Inqusition. Translations help communication and understanding amongst humans, which is something we sorely need.
February 5, 2008 at 6:57 pm
[...] ¿Se habla English? Life of a Translator A blog about, well, my life as a translator « Swearing-in and more righteous indignation [...]