Tony Rosado

COURT AND HEALTHCARE INTERPRETER ETHICS. DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES.

Court and healthcare interpreting are two of the fastest-growing fields in our profession worldwide. People’s mobility, sometimes motivated for professional reasons, and others because of political or financial instability, has created a new society where nationalities, races, cultures and languages live side by side like never before. Some essential services and basic human rights’ protections offered by the host country are usually provided in the country’s official language, leaving these newly arrived population at the mercy of the interpreting services of the host nation. Court interpreting protects our freedom and assets. Healthcare interpreting protects the quality of life and health of all foreign speakers. Both essential services to protect different values. To be effective, interpreters must go beyond the rendition; they must navigate through cultural waters that value different actions and beliefs. This presentation will deal with some of the similar ethical canons court and healthcare interpreters must observe, and through several scenarios will present some ethical rules that differ so the goal of effective communication with attorneys, judges, physicians and family members is reached.

BIOGRAPHY

Tony is an interpreter with a U.S. Department of State conference-level; a court interpreter certified by the U.S. government, and several States. An attorney from Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City, he has worked internationally as a conference interpreter, and interpreted for dead penalty trials, Olympic Games, and TV broadcasts. He has worked with many top level politicians, celebrities, athletes, and entrepreneurs, including presidents and popes. The author of two books on court interpreting, he is a visiting professor at various universities in the U.S. and overseas, a well-known conference presenter, and the author of the popular blog “The Professional Interpreter.”