Professional Interpreting and Translation Services in Virginia
Do you need an interpreter for any of the following?
- Conferences
- Medical Appointments
- Court hearings and Depositions
- Court-certified interpreters*
- Business Meetings
- One-on-one communications
We also provide “Whisper” interpreting to avoid distractions. This kind of interpreting is mostly used for groups or conferences.
No Nightmares Here! No incorrect interpretations that people will be writing about for the next five decades. You know what we are talking about:
- What the President said but what the Polish people heard. President Jimmy Carter’s English to Polish interpreter made several egregious blunders during his 1977 trip to Poland (several years before the rise of Solidarność). When President Carter told the Polish people that he wanted to learn more about their economic and political desires, the interpreter said that President Carter wanted to know about their carnal desires. And, the interpreter added insult to injury by using some Russian words and phrases—absolutely not acceptable to the Polish people.
- Turkey or turkey? An interpreter thinking the speaker was talking about Turkey not turkeys did not realize his error even when the speaker talked about killing turkeys. However, the audience did.
Interpreting is extremely stressful. Professional interpreters must know both languages deeply, including culturally and idiomatically.
Idioms! What a mess we can make of idioms even going from one English country to another. How very difficult it is going from hearing an idiom or cultural saying in a source language and quickly finding the corresponding idiom in another language. For example, when someone is auditioning for something or going on stage, in English we say, “Break a leg,” meaning, of course, “Good luck”. The equivalent in Russian—“Ni pukha, ni pera!”—literally means “Neither feathers, nor feathers” and was first used with hunters.
Think about it: in a split second, an interpreter must go from “break a leg” to “neither feathers, nor feathers” to get the same context.
Not easy.
It takes years to become a top-notch professional interpreter.
This is why you need to contact us at Translations ABC. With over 35 years in the language services business, we have been able to find the best professional linguists available.
Do you need an interpreter in the Washington D.C. area (VA-MD-DC)?
Let Translations ABC help you. Our headquarters are in the D.C. area; this is where we do most of our interpreting work.
*Not all languages offer a certification. Contact us for the list of languages offering certification. We offer court-certified interpreters in those languages.