INTERPRETERS UNIT

Plenty to chat about at CFI's big meeting in SF

Ethics, brain science, Ruglish -- a full agenda

14 Oct 2009

Media Workers Guild

Curtis Draves

Members and guests of the California Federation of Interpreters turned out in record numbers this weekend for what has become the premier educational conference for courtroom language specialists on the West Coast.

"We tried to give interpreters practical topics so they walk away with something useful, and they seemed to appreciate it," said Curtis Draves, Northern California professional division director and lead organizer of the two-day event in San Francisco.

Sessions ranged from a scientific exploration of the brain mechanisms involved in language perception to a talk on vocal technique led by a Mariachi singer.

Some sessions were designed to help interpreters keep pace with the novel words arising in the multicultural courtrooms of California. Some of the rudiments of “Ruglish” – a hybrid of Russian and English akin to “Spanglish” – were explained by Jinny Bromberg (photo) of Bromberg Translation Services in Michigan. (podcast)

Separate from the educational meetings, officers and activists found time for some union business.

Draves  announced during a stewards luncheon that he intends to run for president of CFI. Incumbent Silvia Barden has been serving as staff representative in the Los Angeles-area Region 1, and is relinquishing her title as elected head of the organization.

The interpreters form a statewide unit of the California Media Workers Guild, which in turn is part of the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America. About 800 courtroom language specialists are members of CFI divided among four regions.

One of the most talked-about conference sessions dealt with the fallout from the infamous Postville, Iowa, meatpacking-plant raid by immigration authorities. The raid led to hundreds of deportations, wrecked a small village economy in Guatemala and continues to generate headlines in the United States and Central America.

Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D., a federal interpreter and educator based in Florida, was one of 26 interpreters called to duty. He was the plenary speaker Saturday, when he called for a re-examination of ethics and organizational responsibilities of interpreter organizations. Camayd drew attention to human rights issues and abuse of process following the Postville proceedings. He summed up his views during an interview. (podcast)

Curtis Draves, who announced he is running for CFI president, and current interpreters president Silvia Barden paused for a moment during the conference

In another popular session, Mariachi singer and vocal trainer Juanita Ulloa of Austin, Texas, gave some advice on accent modification and controlling the voice.

Cultural assumptions may need to be checked along with one’s breathing technique, she noted. “In some cultures, it’s considered impolite to speak loudly, and that can be a problem for an interpreter if you aren’t aware of it,” she said. (podcast)

She appeared to be the only conference speaker to show up with her name on the Grammy ballot (for her latest bilingual CD for children.) But she wasn’t the only one drawing interpreters’ attention to the voice as an instrument.

Alexandra Baer, an interpreter from New Hampshire, delved into scientific studies about pitch, rhythm and how languages are perceived in the brain. The findings point to new ways interpreters can better their performance, she said, by tuning in to the nuances of different languages. (podcast)

The annual educational conference at the Cathedral Hill Hotel was followed by a daylong meeting of the union’s policy-setting board.  Officers and staff have begun to map new strategies to cope with the state financial crisis. Tough bargaining situations with court administrators dominated the agenda.