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The Blonde Interpreter – Part 4

I must say that the start of my career as a freelance interpreter is a bit of a blur. I know I emailed as many of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting’s corporate members as I could, having ...

The Blonde Interpreter – Part 3

Bath is a beautiful city, of which I fear I saw too little during my year on the MA Interpreting and Translation course at the University of Bath. My days began with a trek up the hill from the unive...

The Blonde Interpreter – Part 2

My second opportunity to go to Japan came in the fourth year of my undergraduate studies. Unlike the term in Japan in the first year, spending a year in Japan between the third and fourth years of th...

The Blonde Interpreter – Part 1

I’m a celebrity. At least, that is, according to my old Sunday school teacher, my drama teacher, my Dad’s financial adviser, or anyone from the village where I grew up. The reason for my sudden fame?...

Japanese-English Subtitling Workshop #1

The Japan Association of Conference Interpreters collaborated with Rikkyo University to provide a special workshop (internship program from Nov. 2021 to Jan. 2022) on Japanese-English subtitling, tau...

USA Freelancing without a Parachute #6 – Exciting, Yet Hazy Future

I. Prologue It was pure white. The kind of white that seemed inconceivable for a human face. On it, there were swirls of red in every direction. As the Kabuki actor Nakamura Hashigo continued to r...

USA Freelancing without a Parachute #5 – Interpreting Word for Word

Antipasto (Before the Meal) For me, part of the allure of becoming an interpreter was the opportunity to help bridge the gap. It is very fulfilling to be able to give two people or groups of peopl...

USA Freelancing without a Parachute #4 – Freefall

Jump on the count of three. One... Life is funny. Hard to predict. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something comes your way that you weren’t expecting. You see, the first week ...

USA Freelancing without a Parachute #3 – Please Fasten your Seat Belts

START YOUR ENGINES What happens when you have trained for years to be a conference interpreter, but the job that falls in your lap is all about technical translation? In a word, panic!! And wha...

USA Freelancing without a Parachute #2 – Around the world in 80+ Days

ON YOUR MARK The branches whipped into the car furiously knocking my elderly friends off their seats. The brake’s harsh squeal was matched only by the piercing horn, alerting onlookers to step asi...

USA Freelancing without a Parachute #1 – Unpredictable Beginnings

Overture It seems to me that big changes often happen in your life when you least expect it. For me, it was when I arrived at the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I was ...

Business Aspects to Interpreting for Commerce and Industry: Learning to think like a business owner (Part 3) Offers

Not Off-the-Shelf Because interpreting is a professional service, interpreters cannot sell their offer in the same manner as a physical product. Unlike a banana or a wrench, there is nothing to pu...

Business Aspects to Interpreting for Commerce and Industry: Learning to think like a business owner (Part 2) Value and Pricing

You say: I’m just an individual interpreter who gets almost all of my assignments from a few agencies; I feel more like a hapless laborer with three part-time jobs than an independent business. And my...

Business Aspects to Interpreting for Commerce and Industry: Learning to think like a business owner (Part 1)

Competitiveness: distinguishing your own business from others to win clients and command higher fees Preface For any profession like a medical doctor, financial accountant, notary public, real estate ...

Interpreting in the U.S. #11 – Profiles of American Interpreters (Part 2 of 2)

Jim Patrick How did you learn Japanese to the point that you could work as an interpreter? I’ll let you know when I get there. (laughs) The short answer is lots of study; both in America and in Japa...

Interpreting in the U.S. #10 – Profiles of American Interpreters (Part 1 of 2)

For my very last article, I would like to introduce you to some of the Japanese Conference Interpreters working in the U.S. I chose two from New York and two from D.C. All are dear colleagues and cons...

Interpreting in the U.S. #9 – Big Cities vs. Small Towns

If you have read any of my previous articles, it’s no secret that I live in the Midwest. I have been writing from the perspective of someone in the 15th largest city in my country. However, the view i...

Interpreting in the U.S. #8 – Marketing

Good morning, wherever you are! I bet you woke up today and said to yourself, I’d like to be making more money and working for clients I actually like. Right? Me too. Well, as luck would have it, that...

Interpreting in the U.S. #7 – Going Freelance

When I went freelance in early 2017, I was unsure how to begin. I read a few blogs, but mostly just followed my gut using the networks I had developed as an in-house interpreter. The result was that I...

Interpreting in the U.S. #6 – What Agents Want

Let me preface this article with a cultural difference: When you work as an interpreter in Japan, agencies are a big part of what you do. However, in the US, agencies are far less common. There are v...

Interpreting in the U.S. #5 – Remote Interpreting

Building on my last article about technology and interpreters, I would like to take you on a tour of the remote simultaneous interpreting movement that is disturbing the U.S. interpreting industry. Th...

Interpreting in the U.S. #4 – Interpreters and Technology

Greetings from sunny Columbus, Ohio. My name is Allyson and I work here as a conference interpreter. Now that we’ve gotten to know each other a little, let’s dive into an even thornier topic: Technolo...

Interpreting in the U.S. #3 – Struggles and Working Conditions

Greetings from sunny Columbus, Ohio. My name is Allyson and I work here as a conference interpreter. Over the next 8 articles, I will be giving you an honest, at times critical, overview of the Japane...

Interpreting in the U.S. #2 – Training and Certification

Greetings from sunny Columbus, Ohio. My name is Allyson and I work here as a conference interpreter. Over the next 9 articles, I will be giving you an honest, at times critical, overview of the Japane...

Interpreting in the U.S. #1 – In-house Challenges

Greetings from sunny Columbus, Ohio. My name is Allyson and I work here as a conference interpreter. Over the next 10 months, I will be giving you an honest, at times critical, overview of the Japanes...

JACI Interpreter Interview #3: Fri McWilliams

This interview of JACI-certified member Fri McWilliams took place in June 2017. - Tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born in Yamaguchi, but soon moved to Hiroshima where my parents still...

Special Interview: Mary Allred and Trevor Price

Depositions cannot take place without experts like Mary Allred (stenographer) and Trevor Price (videographer). Interpreters may be the ones bridging communication, but what happens in the room and wha...

JACI Interpreter Interview #2: Derek Wessman

This interview of JACI-certified member Derek Wessman took place in February 2017. - Tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born in San Diego, California, and grew up in Utah and Washingto...

JACI Interpreter Interview #1: Tom Eskildsen

This interview of JACI-certified member Tom Eskildsen took place in February 2017. - Tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born in Tokyo to Lutheran missionaries from the US. I grew up in...