Complete and Accurate Interpretation
Nonsensical Testimony
It is important for the interpreter to make every effort to state exactly what the witness said,
no matter how illogical, irrelevant, ambiguous, or incomplete it may be. Sometimes,
however, this simply is not linguistically possible for lack of context. In such cases, you
should inform the court that you need to clarify the statement with the witness before
proceeding to interpret it: for example, you could say, “Your Honor, the interpreter is
unable to make enough sense of the witness’s reply to adequately interpret it into English.”
Under no circumstances, however, should you materially edit, omit, or add to what the
witness stated. If the judge directs you to attempt to clarify the reply with the witness
yourself, you can report back such as follows: “Your Honor, the interpreter indicated to the
witness that the interpreter had not understood the reply, and the witness responded as
follows…”
Nonresponsive Testimony
As a court interpreter you have the responsibility of rendering nonresponsive answers given
by a witness as accurately as any other response. You should leave it up to the attorneys to
make the appropriate motions or requests to the court.
Voice Tone and Emotional Overtones
Emotions Shown by a Witness or Counsel
Triers of fact need to have a clear understanding of emotions such as anger, fear, shame, or
excitement that are expressed by witnesses. People convey their emotions not only in words
but also in facial expressions, posture, tone of voice, and other manifestations. These
nonlinguistic means of expression are very closely tied to culture and language, so when
people do not speak the same language they may misunderstand the emotional content of a
message. The court interpreter should strive to preserve this element of emotion through
moderate voice modulation. For example, when a cross-examining attorney bears down on
a witness, your tone should convey that forcefulness, and when a witness answers questions
in a timid way, your tone should convey that timidity. However, refrain from any kind of
dramatics. Interpreters are not actors and should not become the center of attention. Nor
should interpreters speak with no emotional affect or variations in their voice at all, unless
that is an accurate reflection of the tone of the witness. The key is moderation. This is
particularly important when a witness becomes very emotional, lashing out or bursting into
tears. In such cases, let the emotion come through, but attenuate your delivery slightly; do
not mimic the witness, especially since you can inadvertently increase the effect of the
testimony in doing so. Remember that the judge, counsel, and jury will correlate your
interpretation with their own observations of the witness’s behavior.
Emotions Shown by the Interpreter
The jury should judge the credibility of the witness, not take cues from the interpreter. It is
imperative that you remain emotionally neutral, expressing only the reactions of the parties
for whom you are interpreting. This may be very difficult at times, such as when graphic
photographs of crime scenes are shown to a witness, when a witness unintentionally says
something funny, or when a witness is not believable. One way to help keep your
composure is to try, before the appearance, to obtain information about the case, read
relevant materials, and perhaps see some of the exhibits (particularly if they graphically