Not Just an Interpreter
When I was studying interpreting in RMIT, I was told that converting information from one language to the other is my job. I am not to advocate and taking a neutral position is the safest bet. A recent assignment for the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources changed my view on my role. It was […]
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Ethical Price Reduction & Heroic Effort
An elderly Chinese couple from Hong Kong issued proceedings in Melbourne Country Court against their accountant daughter for failure to return the money held on trust. The elder couple were in their 60s and they migrated to Australia a few years ago to live with their daughter and son-in-law. They remitted their life savings to the daughter’s home loan […]
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Accurate Translation of Phone Intercept Shortened Drug Trial
A container of floor tiles from Hong Kong arrived at Fremantle, with heroin concealed inside. Police followed the truck from the port to a warehouse in Perth and subsequently 4 Chinese was arrested. Telephone intercepts became key evidence in the police’s case to prove that the accused had knowledge of what was inside. Our multilingual Chinese legal interpreter was […]
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Seamless Handover in Lengthy Proceeding
This case involved a claim by a China-based plaintiff of misused company funds against an Australian director. Our Chinese court translator Dongmei assisted with the pre-trial translation of a large folder of journal accounts of expenses and agreements written in Chinese. The case lasted for two years and failed to settle. One month before the trial commencement, […]
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30 Day Murder Trial at Victoria Supreme Court
The client was a female Vietnamese Chinese refugee with 3 years of primary school education and a gambling addiction. She was charged with murder of another Vietnamese woman who did not speak Cantonese, who wanted her money lent to the accused back. The accused chose a Cantonese speaking interpreter instead of a Vietnamese interpreter, hoping […]
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Why Learning a Second Language?
I work as a Chinese interpreter in Melbourne speaking English, Mandarin, Cantonese as well as a southern Chinese dialect called Teo Chiew. Whenever people are impressed by the number of languages and dialects I speak, I tell them learning a language is probably the last thing on my list if I have been left to my own accord. I […]
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Assisting Job Seekers with Industry Specific Bilingual Vocabularies
I have been interpreting for many Chinese job seekers in their employment consultant interviews over the last 13 years. As a fly on the wall, I have witnessed the frustration of many newly arrived or established migrants struggling to find work in the industries they worked in their own countries, due to language barriers. For […]
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Know Thyself: Are You an Auditory or Visual Learner
We human beings are not born equal, some are good at making things with their hands, while others are quicker in picking up a new language. I have come to appreciate this much more after the birth of my daughter two years ago. So that is why we have the division of labor in our […]
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Transition to a New Certification System
Translators and interpreter accreditation used to be life-time, once one passes the examinations set by NAATI [National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters] until a few years ago. Starting from October 2017, a transitioning process has kicked in, where those life-time practitioners under the old system will be encouraged to apply to be re-certified under […]
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How to Work with a Chinese Onsite Interpreter?
Here are some tips that will make your first experience using an interpreter more pleasant. Before a Job: Briefing Interpreter – the Weakest Link Brief the interpreter adequately to make sure the interpreter knows the purpose of the job. Give them the relevant background to get them onto the same page. For a court booking, […]
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