The Linguist

@CIOL_Linguists SPRING 2024 The Linguist 17 FEATURES Having already interpreted several murder cases, I was familiar with the legal distinction between 'murder' (meurtre) and 'manslaughter' (homicide). Murder occurs where there is an intention to kill or to cause serious harm but there is no such intention in manslaughter. However, I did have to check my understanding of the term 'felony', as it is not often used these days (the Infanticide Act dates back to 1938!). I interpreted 'felony' as crime, as opposed to just a délit, in order to convey that infanticide is a very serious offence; and rendered the antiquated phrase 'to wit' as c'est à dire ('that is to say'). Coping strategies The trial took place away from my home, which meant living out of a suitcase in a hotel during the working week and only going home at weekends. In some ways this is a definite disadvantage due to the toll it takes on family life, but on the other hand it can be helpful to live in your own little bubble. Not surprisingly, cases involving dead babies require a huge amount of professional skill by interpreters, who have to remain neutral and non-judgmental at all times (externally at least). The mother's seemingly detached attitude appeared to be at odds with the fact that her baby was dead, allegedly due to something she had done or failed to do. Although she wasn't hostile to me, but simply somewhat withdrawn, I felt that this wasn't the basis for a close working relationship. As a result, I had to be doubly careful not to let her seeming indifference adversely affect my body language and my interpreting performance generally. Everything changed for me when psychiatrists testified to "the balance of her mind being disturbed" due to her suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when she gave birth. They explained that her "coldness" (sa froideur) to others was a coping mechanism. From then on it was much easier for me to work with an alleged baby killer, which in turn helped the mother to thaw out a little and made our professional relationship easier. This was a bonus as we saw each other most days for five long weeks. She talked about the death of her baby in a phlegmatic way, which I endeavoured to mirror by keeping any emotion out of my voice. This was far from easy when having to interpret graphic evidence, such as photos, video clips and oral evidence from witnesses, who appeared both in court and via video link. In fact, some of the witnesses were so upset that the judge frequently had to call for breaks so they could compose themselves. Complex evidence Much of the medical evidence was in the form of diagrams and written reports. Fortunately, the lawyers took the view that the jury probably wouldn't understand most of the medical terminology, so they helpfully prepared several medical glossaries relating to the various parts of the body that had been injured, as well as other glossaries relevant to medical interventions and medications. Unfortunately, these glossaries weren't made available until the second day of the hearing! All the jury had to do was read them, whereas I had to interpret their contents with very little time to prepare (during my lunch break!). Why these glossaries had not been prepared in the 10 months leading up to the trial was never explained but it was a serious oversight. Receiving them on day 2 was better than nothing, and the abundance of medical terms in Latin was a bonus as I could leave those in their original language. Unlike conference interpreters, public service interpreters rarely, if ever, have sight of any materials before an assignment. This is not only 'interpreter unfriendly', it is negligent, especially in complex cases such as this one. If interpreters are booked well in advance of the start date of the trial, they can prepare, to some extent, by revisiting any relevant legal and medical glossaries (at least, if they know the nature of the offence, which isn't always the case when bookings are made by agencies). Sadly, I was booked at short notice. Much of the case centred on evidence about pregnancy, gestation periods and the medical personnel who deal with babies (midwives, paediatricians), as well as repeated references to all of the paraphernalia usually associated with babies, such as dummies, highchairs and baby slings. This subject matter was definitely outside my area of expertise and my comfort zone! After consulting various friends who have children, I hurriedly did a sweep of websites such as Mumsnet. It is a good example of the sort of ancillary non-legal research that a legal interpreter might have to do when the subject matter is specialised and involves not just formal medico-legal language but also related information. Interpreting for an infanticide case isn't for everyone and I am sure that many colleagues would have turned down a job like this. Without a doubt, being subjected to five weeks of prolonged and disturbing evidence took its toll, in particular having to watch a lot of video footage of the baby. I am, however, glad I did it because I was an essential part of a process which investigated how and why this particular baby died. IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK

• Cover