TRANSLATION JOB CAN BE LUCRATIVE Interpreters make more money than lawyers

It pays to know more than one language. And it pays good.

An alien worker with language skills, and lucky enough to get a call from the court, can make a lot of extra income doing translation job for legal proceedings.

“It can really be a profitable side job. It can give you a lot of money,” says a former banker who requested that she be identified only as Betty, her “western name.”

The US District Court pays a translator $65 per four hours, which is a little higher than the amount paid to a court-appointed lawyer, who gets $60 per court hearing and $40 for any work outside the courtroom. A translator who works beyond four hours — say four hours and five minutes — automatically makes $120 a day.

The local courts pay $15 per hour, which is way above the CNMI’s minimum hourly rate for wage earners. (Minimum wage in the CNMI is $3.05 per hour.)

The hiring of translators and appointment of defenders for those who can’t afford private lawyers, are provided by the Criminal Justice Act. The payment for these appointments are appropriated through the budget of the Federal Public Defender’s office.

“The translators’ job is very important. You have a big responsibility when you are a mediator between the court, the lawyers and the clients,” says Yang Ning, who owns a mini store in Chalan Kanoa.

Yang Ning says translating for the court and lawyers can be a lucrative job, but for her, the sense of fulfillment is more rewarding than her financial gain from the job.

“It’s not an easy job, but I’m enjoying it. The court and the lawyers depend on the translator to establish understanding and to make sure the case is successfully handled,” says Yang Ning, who has been on Saipan for seven years.

Because the CNMI is a multi-lingual community, the legal system has to accommodate the need for translators. An alien worker, for example, is allowed to make extra income by accepting a translation job, although it may not be included in the definition of the work for which he or she is hired.

“Technically, it can be considered ‘working outside the job category,’ but interpreters are needed in the courts. Or else how can a case succeed if there’s a language barrier? ” says a lawyer who asked not to be named.

Chinese translators are most in demand “because there are not too many Chinese on Saipan who can speak English,” says Betty.

The demand for Chinese translators increased recently when the US Immigration and Naturalization Service sent to Tinian hundreds of undocumented aliens from China who were en route to Guam and intercepted by US Coast Guard in the Marianas waters. More than 30 suspected alien smugglers were charged by the US Attorney’s Office at the US District Court on Saipan.

Yang Ning regularly gets calls from the court, prompting her to become a regular visitor at the law library.

“I have to study legal terms and procedure because if I don’t understand them how will I be able to translate them,” she says. “This is an American system and Chinese people know nothing about them. My job is to make them understand their situation, and tell the court what they have in mind.”

Translating legal terms, however, is not Betty’s cup of tea.

“Lawyers and judges have different language. They may be using English, but legal terms are too complicated; you can only settle for the closest translation,” says Betty.

Betty, who edits a newspaper for Chinese community on Saipan, is more involved in translating cultural books, tourism magazines, hotel brochures, and other written documents.

Betty has done translation for the Marianas Visitors Bureau, local hotels, Northern Marianas College, and other government agencies.

“I see this translation job as establishing a bridge between the Chinese community, the government and community as a whole,” says Betty.