Another week, done

This week's lessons were real killers.  Strike that - this week's Simultaneous lessons were real killers.  I continue to have the hardest time hearing what the heck some of the speakers are saying, due to the muffled sound and background buzzing.  What made it even harder this week is that the guy talked at 90 miles a minute.  It was only 145 wpm, but it was enough to send me reeling into what has apparently become my characteristic Spanish study mode: per J, I sit, grouchily, in front of my laptop at the kitchen table, mumbling "mmm, nnm, am, namumm," then burst out, "Shut up!  Shut UP!" and start jamming the pause key.

My appointments this week were a mixture of school and medical; I was thankful for the medical appointments, as I feel most satisfied with the outcome of those.  At times I consider putting my legal interpreting stuff on hold so I can pursue my CCHI (Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters) or IMIA (International Medical Interpreters Association) certificate first.  Unfortunately, the money is in the legal interpreting arena, and due to the immature/bureaucratic spending practices of a large local medical facility who shall remain nameless, my chances of making a living doing purely medical interpreting are slim to none.

And so I pursue bilingualism in legalese.  I'm getting there.  Next week I plan to sit in on some more court proceedings to absorb the common lingo and get used to procedures.

How to Make Crack Cocaine

I've been learning about different equipment used for making/processing a variety of drugs and the equipment's translations, so I figured I should do a little research.

Here's one step-by-step how-to:
How to Make Crack Cocaine

I still have a lot to learn.

The Bad Words

Just because I haven't posted anything in the last few days doesn't mean I haven't been studying.  Quite the contrary!  I received a belated prize from J earlier last week for completion of the previous week's study goals: new earbuds, as my $5 Hello Kitty ones from Target were on the fritz.  And Sunday I received last week's prize: a package of Twizzlers, which is now almost gone.  A little disgusting, since it's only Tuesday.

"Consecutive Lesson 12: Murder Witness" sounds more exciting than it is, for the most part.  Things like how many drinks were consumed and where illumination of the living room was coming from; stuff like that.  HOWEVER! at the end, the witness repeats some statements she recalls hearing from the defendant.  And I learned some new ways to say some words that I probably otherwise won't get a chance to use.

• Buey (in the context of cheating on your spouse) should just be translated as "ox."  It doesn't have much punch; however, according to Acebo, it's best just to translate it for what it is and be ready to inform anyone who cares that this is a reference to cuckoldry.  And yes, I also had to look up "cuckoldry"; I am familiar with the term, but I didn't have a clue what word we use these days in place of this antiquated, flowery word.  Turns out all we say is "cheat" or "be unfaithful."  Sort of flat.  What I'd like to do is incorporate some more modern form of the word "cuckold" into the English translation of buey in order to capture the deceit aspect of, well, "ox."  Still drawing a blank.
• Puta is a tricky word, because - as is the case for so many Spanish words - you can translate it all sorts of ways.  It can mean anything from "bitch" to "whore" to "working girl" to "prostitute" to "M-F-er," to (as an adjective) "F-ing," "bloody," "appalling," or (sarcastically) "just great."  Well, a lot depends on context.
• "Streetwalker" - in English - means "prostitute."  Somewhere I missed that lesson.  And, in Spanish, the best way to say "streetwalker" in Spanish is callejera, which is a word I commonly used to describe my sister.  She liked to be out and about, at parties, with friends, and not nesting at home much.  Unfortunately, callejera must be recycled to mean "stray," "wanderer," and "out and about."  I often hear males describe themselves as callejeros, but I don't think I've ever heard women use that word to describe their social preferences.  Perhaps it's another one of those words that only the men can use without a sexual connotation (e.g. hombre de negocios).  So unfair.
• There are so many more, but last one for tonight: Eres mas puta que una gallina.  Literally, "you're more of a whore than a chicken [or, more specifically, a hen]."  Are chickens whores?  I have never thought of chickens' sexual behavior; it's an unsettling topic, because the only sex I ever saw chickens engage in was growing up, when I would see the mean rooster jump the timid hen, and, well, that was that.  Would I notice if a hen was slutty or acted with come-on mannerisms?  Was the timid hen actually a slut and I didn't know it?  What did the other hens think about or do?  Did they wish they were the timid ones getting jumped?  Do most people - or Hispanics, at least - think of chickens as highly sexual animals?  We have that thought about, say, rabbits, but that's because of their high litter yield.  I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to understand how the sexual tendencies of a chicken brought about this phrase.  This is where having a non-embarrassable Hispanic girlfriend would come in handy. 

Dolor Aquí

Nothing irritates me more than providers who don't speak in full sentences directly to their patients and instead elect to try out their pigeon Spanish.  How's this for a physical therapy initial evaluation?:

PROVIDER: Tell her she can sit on the mat or on the chair, whatever is most comfortable.
...
PROVIDER (addressing her laptop): Oh no, they didn't give me ICD-9 codes, did they?

INTERPRETER: ¿Ay no, me dieron códigos diagnósticos 9?

PROVIDER: Oh, I'm just talking to myself.
...
PROVIDER: Now, on a scale, um...zero to diez; zero is nada, diez is awful...
...
PROVIDER (helping through some PT exercises): Now...pies...aquí.  And...this...abajo...no, like this. (pushes patient's leg the other way)  And, diez.  (holds patient's leg in one position) Uno dos tres cuatro cinco seis seite ocho nueve diez.  Ok?  Dolor?

I ask myself, why am I here?  I also ask myself, why is the patient here?  The patient might be better served googling "leg pain" and staying at home.

I was also asked by the provider (during the session) if the interpreting company would send a "translator" (yeah, whatever) the day after Thanksgiving.  Will the company just shut down that day, or will they send someone?  Do they need to ask me when I'm available also?

First of all, I'm a contractor, not an employee, so any request for interpretation services is an assignment I can accept or decline.  Secondly, this is an interpreting agency that supplies medical interpreters to hospitals and clinics nationwide, so they're not just going to "shut down" for a holiday, much less for Black Friday.  Thirdly, this is like the second assignment that I've done with this company, so I have no idea how they distribute assignments or if they will even be chosen by this clinic as the interpreting agency of choice for any subsequent assignments.  Quit wasting the patient's time with side conversations.

Of course, this was all preceded by my usual pre-session spiel - please speak directly to the patient, and I repeat everything you say - and the provider's declaration that they were already familiar with using interpreters.  It is always preceded by this.  I regularly interrupt everyone to reiterate they should speak directly with the patient, and occasionally I end up interpreting their "tell him..." and "ask her..." phrases after the providers don't pay attention to my requests so the patient can judge for him/herself whether he/she is being addressed appropriately.  But this is still getting out of hand.  I need to develop more effective ways to limit the time-wasting and non-patient-focused crap that people throw into these appointments.  Ideas, anyone?

Stereotypes

Someday I want to sit down and write a list of all the funny and weird stereotypes I come across in our cultures.  It would include things like, elementary school teachers seem to throw the word "manipulatives" in as many special education discussions as possible.  And things like, please don't let the jock-looking person in the conference room say anything, because he's just going to mumble a bunch of baseball-related idioms
that don't contribute anything to the meeting anyway, even in English.  And things like, doctors say "Mmm-hmm" and start poking at their patients' ears and tongues before they even hear the translation of what the patient just said.  And things like, Mexicans seem much more concerned if their child is "behaving well" in school than whether they're flunking math.  And things like, Americans get nervous and start talking about rescheduling an appointment if the client hasn't arrived two minutes prior to the appointment time, whereas Hispanics aren't phased in the least if they arrive 15 minutes late and usually don't offer any explanation for their tardiness.

But, alas, real life (laundry and vacuuming) is calling my name, so my list will have to wait.

Everything You Wanted to Know about Fingerprints (in Spanish)

This whole thing about how you can't interpret what you don't understand sure is true.

"The major fingerprint patterns are known as arches, loops, and whorls, and they come in different variations, such as the plain arch, the double loop, etc."  (Simultaneous 12B: Examination of Fingerprint Expert).

Something called the Despacho AMIFO, which is a Mexican collect of different forensics experts dedicated to justice, has some nice videos on a variety of topics.  I just watched the one on Dactiloscopia (which can also be spelled/pronounced Dactiloscopía, but Dactiloscopia sin acento is preferred by RAE) and it is very good.

Hollow-Point Cartridges, Warheads, and Gothic Architecture

Yes, they do have something very much in common!: ogives.


Our friend Mr. Webster defines ogive below:

ogive

noun \ˈō-ˌjīv\

1

a :  a diagonal arch or rib across a Gothic vault

b :  a pointed arch

2

:  a graph of a cumulative distribution function or a cumulative frequency distribution 

So there you have it.

In case you're still scratching your head: in Spanish, one of the word choices to describe cartridges' noses (pointed, flat, or hollowed out) is ojiva, which quite literally refers to that shape of two arches which intersect and form a point (or rounded point, or hollowed out point, etc.).  Ojiva is also another term for warhead, again because of the shape.  Who knew that old Villard de Honnecourt in 12something was incorporating a word of such widespread and common use into the language.  Ha.

Word of the Day

verticilo. (Del lat. verticillus). 1. m. Bot. Conjunto de tres o más ramos, hojas, flores, pétalos u otros órganos, que están en un mismo plano alrededor de un tallo.

In English: whorl.

And why do we care?  Because the lady who mispronounces her "rr"s and doesn't speak up is droning on about them in Simultaneous 12A.  "Levantamiento de huellas dactilares," or fingerprinting.

I see another word that I don't know:
indubitado, da. (Del lat. indubitātus). 1. adj. Que no admite duda.

However, "dubitado" does not seem to be a word according to the Bible - ahem, I mean, according to the Real Academia España:
La palabra dubitado no está registrada en el Diccionario.

Tell that to Miss Mumbler.

Simultaneous 11B...Still

Last week was the first time in weeks and weeks that I did not finish my usual three lessons by Saturday.  It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would.  This is probably due to the fact that I know quite well there is no way I could have studied or retained any more than I did.

Still, my Acebo studies are on track to take me into the first week of February with possibly some additional simultaneous passages to practice with.  I am a little concerned as to how the various upcoming holidays will throw off my study schedule, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I'm having a hard time getting my Motion to Suppress - Points and Authorities lesson spat out in time.  It's at 145 words per minute, but it's full of crappy abbreviations and numbers.  I've always been slow at numbers.

"Your Honor, the Prosecution has offered evidence that was obtained in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights and we are therefore asking that it be suppressed under Section 1538.5.  In facts very similar to those of People vs. Hargrave, Cal App. 3d vol. 212 page 1398, the Court heard the testimony of Officer Gerard...."  "Two cases on that are People vs. Perez, a 1989 at 211 Cal Appellate 3d page 1491, and People vs. Lopez, also a 1989 decision at volume 212 Cal Appellate 3d page 289."

I think it's unfair that in English you can say, for 1398, "thirteen ninety-eight," whereas in Spanish you have to say "one thousand three hundred ninety-eight" - which in Spanish is even more syllables than this.  Someone should make a rule that you can't cheat on numbers in English if it is being interpreted.