The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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thelinguist.uberflip.com DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 The Linguist 21 FEATURES It goes without saying that having a legal background is a tremendous advantage for a PSI in the CJS. Refusals to provide advance disclosure of documents do beg the question as to how unprepared and, more often than not, not legally qualified PSIs are supposed to cope. My motto is "a good interpreter is a prepared interpreter" and 'prepared' means knowing and understanding your legal terminology before you even step foot in court. We were overwhelmed by the respect – even admiration – for our craft that we were shown in NI. The other professionals working on the case (solicitors, barristers and police officers) treated us as equals, which is very rare in England in my experience. Likewise, the client didn't put us up in a grotty hotel or in rooms above a noisy pub, as some do in England (yes really!), but instead booked us into a comfortable hotel in a peaceful rural setting – the only downside being that we were miles from anywhere. The breakfast was either a 'full' or a 'small' Irish breakfast – the 'small' option still huge by English standards and including copious amounts of fried potato and soda bread. CONSIDERATIONS DURING THE HEARING Initially audibility was poor. My colleague was seated next to the defendant in the dock (in this court it was of the glass-enclosed variety). As is usual in the Crown Court, the barristers were seated in front of us, facing the judge and jury with their backs to us. A cry for help to the judge resulted in a microphone and headphones being speedily provided. The barristers spoke at a manageable speed, with one notable exception, who delivered huge chunks of information without seeming to pause for breath, despite several alerts to our presence. Visibility from both the dock and the witness box gave us panoramic views of all of the players in the court room, so there were no problems there. As regards comprehension issues, the defendant's French was heavily accented, as it was her second language and she had apparently never lived in France. Her English was limited to what she had picked up on remand in prison awaiting trial. All of the legal personnel spoke English with strong Northern Ireland accents, peppered with such gems as 'wee girl' and exclamations like 'ock!'. Their political stance was revealed by clues such as their use of 'Londonderry' (used by unionists) versus 'Derry' (generally favoured by Irish nationalists). Having family in Northern Ireland, and therefore being au fait with not just the politics but also the geography and culture, turned out to be a huge advantage. CITY VIEWS (Clockwise from top left): Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast; a civil rights mural along the 'peace line'; street art in Londonderry/Derry (the name used indicating unionist/nationalist sympathies); 'Hands Across the Divide' sculpture in Derry/ Londonderry; and Downpatrick courthouse KENNETH ALLEN, 'C IVIL RIGHTS MURAL, BOGSIDE', GEOGRAPH.ORG.UK (CC BY-SA 2.0); ©S HUTTERSTOCK; FABIOCASADEI, 'H ANDS ACROSS THE DIVIDE STATUE - DERRY' FLICKR (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) ; 'A RDFERN, DOWNPATRICK COURTHOUSE, ENGLISH STREET' WIKIPEDIA CC BY-SA 3.0