Nothing lost in translation with this interpreterBy
Sharon SullivanGrand Junction CO Colorado
Anna Stout stands outside the Mesa County Justice Center where she works as a translator/interpreter.
Sharon SullivanGRAND JUNCTION — After Anna Stout gained fluency in Spanish around the age of 20, she said she knew language was her passion.
Two years ago, Stout, 24, established a freelance translation/interpretation service — a business which is thriving.
“It’s a great business to be in right now. It’s recession-proof,” Stout said. “I could not think of a better career. I love my job. I love every aspect of it.”
In the written aspect of her job Stout translates things like birth certificates and legal documents. She also translates from English into Spanish for brochures, advertising and other business materials.
“I do it in a culturally competent way,” Stout said. “You can’t get that from an electronic translator — so much is lost.”
Translators and interpreters consider meaning, context and nuances in language, which is why much is lost when a computer is used for translating, Stout said.
Interpretation requires more than being bilingual; it requires focused concentration.
Stout attends court proceedings, public meetings and other forums where she simultaneously listens, translates in her mind what was just said and speaks it aloud into a transmitter for the targeted audience, who wears headsets.
Stout first realized she could turn her interpreting skills into a career after Mesa State College Spanish professor Tom Acker asked Stout to interpret for various community meetings.
“There was a need and no one was doing it (outside of court),” Stout said. “It came easily. And from that came contacts that turned into paid jobs.”
Stout also accompanies non-English speaking clients to doctor appointments. Stout said she’s present as an “invisible voice.”
“I’m there at conscious surgeries. Any time there’s communication I have to be there,” Stout said.
“I have so many different clients, I’m never doing the same thing. So I never get bored.”
Stout studied Spanish in high school, but it wasn’t until she started traveling to El Salvador that the language “solidified” for her. She’s traveled to El Salvador 10 times since 2004.
When she was 19, she started the Foundation for Cultural Exchange with the intention of fostering a sister city relationship between Grand Junction and a village in El Salvador — a relationship approved by the City Council in 2005.
A sister parish was established between Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Grand Junction and a church in El Salvador with the intention of raising funds for service projects there.
Each summer Stout leads a group of Americans on a two-week trip to El Salvador.
“I love the culture. I think Spanish is a really beautiful language,” Stout said.
Stout double-majored in applied professional Spanish and Spanish language and literature, with a minor in international studies, at Mesa State College. She completed a judicial exam that allows her to interpret for the court.
Steve Laiche, an attorney familiar with Stout’s work at the Justice Center, tried speaking a little Spanish with Stout after running into her Tuesday at a cafe near the Justice Center.
“I really like working with Anna,” Laiche said. “She has so much on the ball. She has a pilot’s license. Every time I talk to her, I ask, what’s next? — the Nobel Prize? She’s smart and ambitious. She speaks beautiful Spanish.”
Stout works anywhere from 25 to 50 hours a week. She’s never advertised — all her business is through word-of-mouth.
Stout said she enjoys being her own boss and has “great” clients and coworkers (the lawyers and doctors).
“I don’t have bad days at work,” she said.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
Source:
http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20081008/COMMUNITY_NEWS/810079996/1001&parentprofile=1059&title=Nothing%20lost%20in%20translation%20with%20this%20interpreter