There are so many people in the US who do not speak English. While learning English is an important step for immigrants to become integrated into our culture, both socially and economically, we do need to do what we can to help people them out. I just read this article about a law in Kansas that does just that. Rea Read more…

Linda Covey sat next to a courtroom bench Friday afternoon, conducting a murmured conversation with a defendant’s father while the magistrate judge moved on to other cases.

Speaking in Spanish, Covey told the man that his son was being moved to another county jail, and he needed to contact the court to find out how much his son owed in court costs and fines. She also told the man that his son had 90 days to pay or his driver’s license would be suspended.

After several minutes of conversation, the man thanked Covey and left the courtroom.

Helping Spanish-speaking people understand the complexities of the legal system is part of the daily routine for Covey, a full-time interpreter for Ford County District Court. She also helps English-speaking people navigate the system and fills in wherever she is needed.

Covey said she has worked as an interpreter for five years, and she believes she was born to do that job.

“I’m not saying that pridefully, not at all,” she said in a recent interview. “I’m just saying that I’m a tool to be of service, and that’s what I do.”

Helping people understand the courts

Under Kansas law, courts must have interpreters when needed to help a non-English-speaking person understand what is happening. The interpreter translates the proceedings into the person’s native language, listens to the person’s response, then translates their comments into English for the court.

I guess to say that Harry Potter-mania breaks all geographic and cultural boundaries is an understatement. It only took three days for an unauthorized Spanish translation of the latest Harry Potter book to show up on the internet. It even was available for reading in Afghanistan in the local language! More.

Unofficial translators produced a Spanish version of J.K. Rowling’s latest Harry Potter book in just three days.

Just three days after the English version was published, hundreds of PDF pages appeared on the internet with the latest adventures of the boy wizard translated into several languages. The sites where the unofficial version is available have received more than four million hits so far.

“Thanks to the whole team; they have done us justice and have given us the right to read the book in our language and enjoy it more”, says Maria, a Mexican reader. But most of the comments on the blogs are anonymous, which is the key to this phenomenon. Proyecto DH is a team of translators and proofreaders, but it’s almost impossible to get in touch with them through official channels - something that makes it difficult for lawyers to go after them.

Salamandra, which is already working on translating the original text and will publish the official Spanish version in several months, has not started any such legal action. It’s not just in Spain where unofficial versions flourish. Demand in China has ensured that, prior to the official translation due to be published in October, plenty of fake versions are available in Chinese.

Although they are missing some sections and contain errors, the book’s price is attractive: just two euros. In New Delhi and Bangladesh, non-authorized copies of Harry Potter have become the top products of travelling salesmen. In India, You can buy a copy for less than four euros and in Bangladesh, jus one euro. Even in Afghanistan, avid fans can pick up the books. A US courier company delivered the latest work from author J.K. Rowling to 50 residents of Kabul the same day that it was released worldwide. Just three days after the English version was published, hundreds of PDF pages appeared on the internet with the latest adventures of the boy wizard translated into several languages. The sites where the unofficial version is available have received more than four million hits so far.