UA News: Institute provides training for Navajo interpreters

Thursday, June 2, 2011  

"A group of 33 students were competively selected to earn free certification from the UA’s Navajo Interpreter Training Institute to gain eligibility to serve as interpreters in New Mexico and Arizona state courts.

Many of the 33 students enrolled in the University of Arizona's Navajo Interpreter Training Institute have similar backgrounds – they began their unofficial role as English-to-Navajo language interpreters as children translating for their parents and grandparents.

Now, as adults who live and work across Arizona and New Mexico, they still find themselves providing the same service.

The UA's National Center for Interpretation on Sunday ended a six-day training institute to prepare the group as part of the first steps needed to become certified Navajo/English court and medical interpreters and to help ensure equal access for healthcare and justice for limited or non-English speaking Navajos."

Get the Story:
Preserving the Navajo Language, One Interpreter at a Time (UA News 5/31)