Is special training required to become a court interpreter?
Yes. Court interpreting is a very demanding profession that requires complete fluency in both English and the foreign or sign language. The level of expertise required for this profession is far greater than that required for everyday bilingual conversation. The interpreter must be able to deal with the specialized language of judges and attorneys, as well as with the street slang of witnesses and the technical jargon of criminologists, police officers, and expert witnesses. Most people do not have full command of all registers of both English and the foreign language and, therefore, require special training to acquire it. Although there are no minimum college-level requirements that must be met in order to apply to take the state certification test, applicants are encouraged to complete formal, college-level course work and training in both languages and modes of interpreting before applying for the examination. If no college-level courses are available, the following self-study techn
