Beginning Court/Legal Terminology for Interpreters
Alaina WebbCORPS
"This interactive workshop is designed for participants who are interested in pursuing court
interpreter certification. Many interpreters and interpreting students are interested in eventually
working in a court/legal setting but are unsure where to start. The information presented in this
workshop is primarily vocabulary/concept based and is designed to provide a foundation from
which to build a more well-rounded knowledge of what it means to work in legal and quasi-legal
settings. Certain court/legal settings require court interpreter certification while others do not, but
all court/legal settings share the same set of vocabulary and concepts. This workshop will be
vocabulary intensive and will also include common phrases encountered in both legal and quasi-
legal settings. Participants will work together in small groups to practice the new vocabulary and
concepts and collectively compile appropriate ASL concepts to represent what they learn.
Discussions about settings, certification requirements, and other considerations for working in
court/legal settings will also be discussed, and participants will have the chance to ask questions,
analyze situations, and interact in small groups to begin the journey toward court interpreter
certification."