An Interview with Cordelia Novak

 

Cordelia, thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Your new book is out “Diary of a Court Interpreter”, so far it seems to be received quite well, although it did create some controversy. Can you tell me why you decided to write and publish it?

Firstly, thank you for inviting me to talk to you.  The book idea arose from my need, a desperate necessity even, to find an outlet for all the emotional baggage and all the abundance of stories that I was privy to at work, which I then carried around in my head and brought them home in the evening. After a very short initial period, nobody in my family wanted to listen to my yet another ‘hard day at the office’ any more. Writing it down sounded like a good idea, and it became a form of catharsis, it allowed me to clear my head, and to keep my sanity in one piece, my way of processing all the court experiences, including some truly traumatic scenarios. An interpreter is a lone ranger in the court, as opposed to, say, barristers, solicitors and police officers, who can debrief with colleagues after the case ends.

Can we talk about the controversy that your book caused among some of your fellow interpreters?  

Ah, yes, the controversy. That reaction among colleagues was not totally unexpected, as court interpreters are known for their strong opinions on anything which relates to the profession. They are very proud professionals and protective of the way each individual interpreter conducts themselves at work. During the debate I was accused of describing scenarios where the interpreter had overstepped the mark, went far beyond interpreter’s role, and got emotionally involved, which apparently is a serious transgression if you aspire to call yourself a professional interpreter. I do get emotionally involved on occasion, it is only natural to do so, and I am not prepared to apologise for doing so. Interpreters are humans and our humanity becomes a part of the equation whenever we step into the dock. That is what sets us apart from Google Translate and other translation apps.  Definitely the case of we need to agree to disagree on whether our compassion and empathy is a flaw or an asset in an interpreter.

Bearing in mind this mixed reaction your book attracted, do you have any regrets about writing and publishing it? 

None whatsoever. In fact, if anything, it inspired me to carry on writing on the subject, and it gave me a few ideas about how to structure my second book on court interpreting.  Initially I thought View from the Dock was going to be a one-off project, and I would move on to other topics, but as a result of the reaction to it, I can now see how the second book is almost necessary. It is likely to be more of a commentary on the profession and introduce more discussion on the subject of how the role of the court interpreter is perceived by various groups involved in the legal process, as well as by the outsiders who have never put a foot inside a courtroom in their lives. There will still be plenty of anecdotal content, but it will accompanied by more reflection. As such it is likely to create even more controversy.  Time will tell.

Second book? I can’t wait! When can we expect it? 

Not for a while. I wouldn’t like to make promises I cannot keep, especially that as we are having this conversation in the middle of Covid-19 lockdown, whereby the majority of courts are closed, I might not be able to collect any significant volume of new material for some time. I write best when the events that trigger the thought processes that lead to the writing are still fresh in my mind and when my emotional reaction to them is still strong.  In the meantime, I would like to invite you to read my blog, soon to be published on this website, A Diary of a Lockded Down Interpreter.

Looking forward to it! 

Interview by Nikki Adams, Editor and Publisher