Legal Interpretation Services
When it comes to legal matters, it’s the fine print that counts and any misunderstanding can have serious consequences. Whether you’re signing a new lease, taking the final steps in the immigration process, or anything in between, accurate interpretation and mutual understanding is vital. That’s why TNOLA’s legal interpretation services are preferred by legal professionals.
If you’ve ever copy and pasted a foreign phrase into Google translate, you may have noticed that what comes out doesn’t read quite right. This is because translation apps like the one in your web browser translate word-for-word. The process gets even more complex when you are trying to communicate verbally, especially with technically difficult topics that can’t be misconstrued. Every interpreter knows that words, ideas, and phrases often don’t have exact translations. That’s why it takes more than a dictionary to interpret accurately.
TNOLA Provides All Modes of Interpretation
Consecutive Interpretation
Simultaneous interpretation
Simultaneous interpretation involves interpreting the source language to the target language which the source language speaker is speaking.
The ability to fluidly transition between consecutive and simultaneous interpretation modes is essential as legal proceedings evolve to facilitate timely and accurate communication.
Legal Interpretation Services: The Settings We Serve
TNOLA’s interpreters arrive with industry knowledge and the ability to employ all modes of interpretation in the following legal settings.
- Attorney/Client meetings
- Depositions
- Investigations
- Sworn statements
- Immigration Appointments and Interviews
- Civil and Criminal Trials
- Domestic Hearings
- Custody Proceedings
- Disciplinary hearings
It cannot be emphasized enough that full understanding and accuracy are essential when a person’s safety, integrity, and family are hanging in the balance. Non-native English speakers are only given a fair trial if professional, legal interpretation services are employed. Sworn statements and testimonies have little value when meaning is lost in translation. Our legal system is built on the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty. It is not a crime to speak a different language, but if legal interpretation services aren’t provided, we are treating it as such.
On-Site Legal Interpretation in New Orleans and the Gulf South
New Orleans is a melting pot of cultures and languages. Why not be able to serve them all? TNOLA offers New Orleans legal interpretation services to lawyers and individuals who serve everyone in the Big Easy, no matter which language they speak.
Apart from the immediacy that on-site interpretation services provides, having an interpreter right in front of you ensures that you fully understand each and every word, mood, tone, and belief.
Professional legal interpreters can go beyond the words spoken because they know the words are just tools to communicate a core idea. They have a deep understanding of the cultural, industry-specific, idiomatic, and regional contexts of the languages in question, and they’re fully capable of communicating these intricacies to ensure comprehension.
If you’re bilingual, you may easily understand movies, news, and hold a casual conversation in your target language. However, do you think you could understand every word in a legal textbook or document with highly technical language? The fact of the matter is that bilingualism isn’t enough to ensure accurate interpretation. Professional legal interpreters have studied industry-specific terminology and meanings in great depth. This way, they’re able to use the best equivalents available and help you avoid any misunderstanding or confusion.
Legal Translation Services in New Orleans and the Gulf South
Legal translation is a little bit different than interpretation, and it’s more in-line with what people commonly think interpretation is.
Translation specifically has to do with written material. For example, a law firm may offer a Spanish version of their website, or a legal interpreter provides you with a translated copy of a contract. With translation, meaning only flows one way, from the source language to you.
However, if you facilitate a conversation by internalizing the meaning of each word and phrase and communicating it in a way that makes sense to both parties, you’re interpreting. Interpretation refers to two-way communication, where meaning is given and responded to.
As important as interpretation is, translation is equally important. When working with individuals with limited English proficiency, spoken word is only covers part of our clients’ needs. Most commonly in legal settings there will be related documents that need to be translated into the individual’s native language, and from that language into English. We have you covered in these cases as well and TNOLA’s legal translators are ready to accurately translate any contracts, certificates, documents, governmental correspondence, and other written legal material in our wide and varied pool of languages.