Knowleadge, Skills And Abilities

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Essential for Court Interpretation
The following 32 knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) essential for court interpretation were identified in Study of California’sCourt Interpreter Certification and Registration Testing (2007) by ALTA Language Services, Inc. and were approved by the Judicial Council of California in April 2008.

Linguistic skills:
1A 1B 1C1D Native-like proficiency in all working languages Ability to think and react communicatively in all working languages Knowledge and use of a broad range of vocabulary, including legal terminology,subject-specific terminology, and slang Knowledge and use of cultural nuances, regional variations, idiomatic expressions, and colloquialisms in all working languages

Speaking skills:
2A 2B 2CAbility to speak with proper pronunciation, diction, and intonation in all working languages Ability to speak with a neutralized accent in all working languages Ability to project and/or speak softlyListening comprehension skills:
3A 3B 3C Ability to listen to and comprehend different rates of speech in all working languages Ability to listen to and comprehend various regional accents and/ordialectical differences in all working languages Ability to ignore auditory distractions and focus on source speaker

Reading comprehension skills:
4A 4B 4C Ability to read and comprehend overallmeaning and specific details of written text in all working languages Ability to read and recognize various written contexts, including formal and informal text, subject-specific vocabulary, idiomaticexpressions, and colloquialisms Ability to read quickly and with little preparation

Interpreting skills:
5A 5B 5C 5D 5E 5F 5G 5H 5I 5J 5K 5L 5M Ability to concentrate and focus Ability to processlinguistic information quickly Ability to make quick linguistic decisions regarding word choice or terminology selection Ability to apply short-term memory skills in retaining small units of information...