PRO Act

Have you ever used an interpreting agency or hired an individual interpreter for your language needs? Have you placed your request and received an answer: “Let me check the interpreter’s/my schedule?” Have you ever wondered why that is? How come interpreters are not always available when an agency or client needs them? It’s because the majority of linguists work as independent contractors, servicing multiple clients and at least a handful of agencies. The majority of agencies, and even state and federal courthouses, don’t hire full-time interpreters and translators. Some larger entities will have a few full-time employees, mostly Spanish interpreters,…

When working with clients from India…

India, with a population of 1.353 billion people, is linguistically diverse with hundreds of languages and 22 scheduled (official) languages. And over 2.6 million people born in India are currently residing in the US! So what are some of the most common Indian languages that you are likely to encounter when working with a client from India? With 322 million native speakers and 270 million second languages speakers, Hindi is also the most spoken Indian language in the US with more than 863,00 speakers (as of 2016). Our Hindi interpreters are keeping busy, especially since many of them speak multiple…

India- A Linguistically Diverse Country

Did you know that only 43% of Indians are native Hindi speakers? With over 1.35 billion people comes great diversity, including linguistic diversity. Which is probably why India has identified 270 languages with more than 10,000 speakers according to their 2011 census. But 96.7% of India’s population speaks one of its 22 scheduled (official) languages natively. What are these languages? Here are the top 10 most spoken languages in India Other languages include Assamese: 15 million speakers Maithili: 13.5 million speakers Santhali: 7.3 million speakers Tamil: 6.9 million speakers Kashmiri: 6.8 million speakers Nepali: 2.9 million speakers Sindhi: 2.7 million…

Happy Arabic Language Day!

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Arabic Language Day falls on December 18th in celebration of the day the UN adopted Arabic as its 6th official language in 1973. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the standardized version of Arabic used in books, television, newspapers, etc. But the dialects can differ significantly from region to region. For example, words used in a spoken dialect can be completely different than a written word with the same definition. So someone trained in only MSA may have difficulties communicating with Arabic speakers in some regions. But can all Arabic speakers understand each other? It depends! There will always be some…

Bilingual Conundrum 😅

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Growing up bilingual I found myself switching between Polish and English depending on my ability to find the right word to express myself while struggling t find the same meaning in the other language. Sometimes I’d need a sentence to express what a single word communicates in the other language. And sometimes the connotations and cultural meaning in one language lacked giving my words the desired oomph I was looking for in the other language. That’s what makes translation and interpretation so fascinating, not only are word-for-word translations not equal, they’re impossible! And it’s true that English has some amazing…

Happy Hindi Day!

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Hindi Day or Hindi Diwas, celebrated September 14th, is an annual national day of celebration in India to commemorate the adoption of Hindi written in the Devanagari script as one of India’s official languages. It marks the day the Constituent Assembly of India approved the adoption of the language and the birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha, a Hindi scholar who advocated its adoption. Beohar Rajendra Simha September 14th, 1929 – October 25th, 2007 Today, Hindi is the 4th most spoken language in the world! With an estimated 615.5 million speakers worldwide! Did you know Hindi belongs to the same Indo-European…

Our latest GSA Contract!

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Taking our interpretation to the sky! I recently had an opportunity to get out in the field and watch my interpreters in action. It was a great pleasure to visit the training facility at Crestview and meet my interpreters, the students and instructors, as well as the contracting officers overseeing the GSA contract. The experience reminded me just why we do what we do… find the right specialized interpreters for specific events so that everyone can engage and have a fulfilling and productive experience. 🙂 But I also asked one of my amazing Spanish interpreters, Damaris, for her perspective on…

International Mother Language Day 🌏

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February 21st is International Mother Language Day Language is more than an aid in communication. It is shared culture, memories, identity, traditions, etc. Learning a foreign language is more than just vocabulary and grammar but learning a whole new way of thinking. It is what makes translators and interpreters so valuable. They are able to translate meaning between cultures and promote understanding between different peoples. Globalization has streamlined a handful of languages and made it possible for a variety of people to understand each other without the aid of linguists. But with a push to speak the few major languages…

Not all Peruvians speak Spanish!

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You have a Limited English Proficiency (LEP) client from Peru. So you need a Spanish interpreter, right? Only about 84% of the Peruvian population speaks Spanish! Peru considers its official languages to be Spanish and any native language that dominates in any given region. So speakers of indigenous languages tend to communicate with government bodies in their indigenous languages. Okay, so the LEP doesn’t speak Spanish well and prefers an interpreter in an indigenous language from one of Peru’s regions. Simple… right? But even knowing the region from which your client comes from does not guarantee a linguistic match. There…

Not all Mexicans speak Spanish!

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Imagine attorneys, court reporters, a deponent, and an interpreter all assembled and ready to go. The attorney speaks, the interpreter interprets, and the deponent… can’t understand a single word. It can be easy to assume that your Limited English Proficiency (LEP) client from Mexico speaks Spanish. Currently, 92% of Mexicans speak Spanish but not all Mexican speakers speak Spanish or are as fluent in Spanish as in their indigenous languages. Getting the wrong interpreter can be costly both in time and money, it can also affect the accuracy of their testimony and their case. Did you know that Mexico has…

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About us

LEGAL INTERPRETERS LLC is an interpreting agency founded by an actual interpreter with a broad and extensive interpreting experience. Agata Baczyk has been working as an independent interpreter for several years and decided to start her own interpreting agency in order to address the industry's need for professional and experienced interpreters. Most interpreting agencies are not able to screen or assess their interpreters effectively because they don't have the needed tools and knowledge of what that job entails. As a company led by a professional interpreter we are able to ensure that the linguists we contract with are knowledgeable and experienced.