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The Agnese Haury Institute for Interpretation, which began with the idea of social justice in mind, continues to train interpreters across the nation and in other countries to be highly skilled and precise professionals.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
July 20, 2009

Nearly 30 years ago, longtime University of Arizona supporter Agnese Haury funded a translation and interpretation program that is now regarded as the preeminent interpreter training program in the country.

The National Center for Interpretation, which runs the Agnese Haury Institute for Interpretation, honored Haury with a Lifetime Commitment Award this month.

Haury was recognized for her contributions and support of the institute – now in its 26th year – which has continually grown in popularity among professionals nationally and internationally.

Without the support of Haury, "the interpreting profession would not have made the great strides that it has in providing access to the justice system and to health care to limited and non-English speakers," said Roseann Dueñas González, a UA English professor and the National Interpretation Center director.

Dueñas González recounted meeting Haury during the early 1980s after having helped develop the federal court interpreter certification exam.

She recalled that Haury was concerned that few people passed the comprehesive exam and, thus wanted to support a program that would help prepare professionals for the exam and also help build the academic and ethical foundations in the interpretation field.

"It takes a compassionate, visionary person like Agnese Haury to not only state her interest but follow it through with actions, and sustain those actions and commitment for a lifetime, as Agnese Haury has done," Dueñas González said.

The UA: The Core of Interpretation Training

The Agnese Haury Institute is grounded in social justice and exists to ensure that individuals with low English proficiency have qualified interpreters, whether that be in the medical, legal or business sector, Dueñas González said.

The institute – the nation's longest running training program for Spanish-English interpreters – has long been aware of the need for such professionals and its summer programs offer rigorous and intensive training to help professionals improve their high-demand skills. 

James Lyons, a high school Spanish teacher and freelance interpreter in New York, is participating in the institute to prepare for the federal examination at the end of the month.

"I really want to acquire the knowledge and skills to help to help my colleagues in the area and to improve myself," said Lyons, who completed the institute six years ago and said he has had little training outside of the occasional conference.

"I am often isolated as an interpreter and don't have time to practice," Lyons said, adding that working to improve precision is key. "A lot of times, a whole case can turn on a word."   

Since its inception, the institute has trained nearly 2,000 students.  

This year, nearly 30 students participated in the institute's medical training program, which ended July 19, and nearly 70 are involved in the legal training program, which continues through July 31.

All told, participants this year represent 25 states and 14 foreign countries, with 27 people intending to take the federal court interpreter certification examination.

Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., students in the court interpreting program practice simultaneous and consecutive interpreting and also sight translating in mock court settings. They also attend lectures on theory, linguistics, ethics, forensic pathology, drug and weapon terminology, and other topics. At the end of the day, their work is peer critiqued.

"There is so much information, so many different tools and support," said Catherine Torres, a legal and medical interpreter in California who also lives and interprets in Mexico.

"To be together in the institute with people who have so much experience has been helpful," she said. 

Joshua Elliott, a certified staff interpreter from Kentucky, said that is particularly important.

"You are dealing with so many people from so many different places," said Elliott, also a master's student in Spanish at the University of Louisville. In fact, as part of the institute, students learn how to work with a range of Spanish speakers – from Mexico, Cuba and Colombia and elsewhere.

"A lot of this will help me get better in the long term," Elliott said.

"And it's been an eye-opening experience," he said. "It's been good to come here and get more knowledge about the system, the experience and to realize the linguistic possibilities."

Growing Demand for Interpreters

Few other educational programs and training institutes for professionals exist nationally, said Linda E. Haughton, the institute's lead faculty member.

Hence the demand for qualified translators and interpreters is especially acute now, especially given the nation's influx of individuals who are not proficient in the English language.

The U.S. Census reports that Hispanics make up one-quarter of Arizona's population. Of the state's population, nearly 30 percent speak a language other than English at home, according to the bureau's data.

Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the translation and interpretation field is among those that will see an increased demand during the 10-year period leading to 2016 – with a 25 percent increase in the number of professionals in the field.

Too often, interpretation services are provided by bilingual family members and staff, rather than a trained specialists, or are offered telephonically, Haughton said, noting that the demand is increasingly notable in the medical field.

"The situation is not ideal," said Haughton, formerly a U.S. District Court staff interpreter in El Paso. "It is better to have a person there."

With the need for interpreters being unmet, miscommunication and mishaps are bound to occur, said Alfonso Villaseñor, a freelance conference interpreter, who completed the institute in 1992.

But these are the exact challenges the institute is attempting to address.

He also noted that interpretation is more involved than simply regurgitating words. It is about conveying an individual's persona – including gestures, grammar, dialect and intonation. And to become proficient in this type of communication takes a tremendous amount of time and practice. 

"It's not enough to speak good English and good Spanish," said Villaseñor, also an institute lecturer this summer. "Through these training mechanisms, you are mastering two languages and two cultures."