QUESTION:
“Good afternoon. …[our court] is trying to find a Quiche interpreter for a pending criminal case. Quiche or K’iche is a Mayan language spoken in the central highlands of Guatemala. We’ve tried courts in major metropolitan areas, NAJIT, major universities, Language Line, and even the Guatemalan embassy in Washington, DC. I noticed in a Google search that a court in Louisville, Kentucky tried to find a Quiche interpreter in 2000 — not sure if they ever found one. There are also a few appellate cases out there that talk about exhausting all efforts to find a Quiche interpreter, so I know we’re not the first court in this situation. We even tried my brother, who happens to be a theology professor at Biola University, who happens to know Bible translators in obscure South and Central American dialects, which led us to a possible translator at a university in Texas, but now that seems to be falling through. We even priced a plane ticket from Guatemala to Sioux Falls ($697, much less that I thought), but we have no contacts there and the embassy could not offer any.”
“If anyone has any leads or suggestions on a Quiche interpreter, we’d be very grateful. ”
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES:
Quiche Interpreters
[also spelled K’iche’ and a number of other variations], compiled 12/2007 Court Administrator’s Office, 2nd Judicial Circuit, South Dakota 605-367-5979
1. From California:
Policarpo Chaj. 213-810-4730 Martin Perez 510-610-6555 Misael Itzep 909-941-9769 Orlando Tzul-Mendez 323-252-7198
Contact info, web page: www.bridgelanguage.com/viewInterpOctober2006.do
2.. From Massachusetts, through Minnesota:
We have a screened (non certified) interpreter of Quiche: Rene Moreno—-508-965-8474….Before Rene we had to use relay interpreting.
3.. Oregon:
Teresa Kilpatrick,
La Grande, Oregon area
etkilpatrick@gmail.com
(don’t have a phone number)
4.. From New Mexico Federal Court and AOC (excluding a couple already listed above):
Francisco Icala CA Los Angeles 323-263-3705
Fidel Sontay CA Los Angeles 323-791-3154
5. E-mail from the Colorado courts:
…Our courts have used a telephonic Quiche interpreter from IAL Language Services, Inc in the past for minor traffic cases. Vince Ciccolini is the contact his number is (877) 638-6818 or e-mail at vciccolini@ialservices.com The website is www.ialservices.com …
6. From Guatelama City:
I, Julio César Muñoz, Certified Translator live in Guatemala City if I can be of any help; please just give more details on how a person from Guatemala can make a short trip to this city or let me know any other available mean to send someone if no such an interpreter is available in USA so I contact an ethnic language institution in my country.
Regards,
Julio César Muñoz Certified Translator Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A.
(502) 2331 7719, mobile (502) 5417 1388 9. Various additional contacts, organizations, agencies, and others who may be able to help with Quiche or other languages:
Suzanne L Rogers [native Guatemalan]
Asturias Language Interpreters Tel. 520 241-4455 Fax 520 624-6772 PO Box 40643 Tucson AZ 85717-0643 www.asturiaslan.com
Sherry Goodman Regional Court Interpreter Coordinator Southern Region Judicial Council of California-Administrative Office of the Courts 2255 North Ontario Street, Suite 200 (818) 558-3022 Fax:(818) 558-3112, sherry.goodman@jud.ca.gov –
www.courtinfo.ca.gov
Guatemalan Consulate in Arizona:
Consul General de Guatemala en Phoenix Arizona
Licenciado Oscar Padilla Lam 602-2003660
E-mail suggestion:
“…You might also want to check with Debra Connors in the federal district court for the District of New Mexico (505-348-2210 ) or Rebeca Calderon in the Southern District of California (619-557-5205). Both courts have used Quiche interpreters several times in the last couple of years. The Oregon Judicial Department (Lois Feuerle 503-986-7041) and the Judicial Council of California (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/courtinterpreters/) are also good resources for interpreters of indigenous languages of Central America.
List of possible resources from the court in Sioux City, Iowa:
TransPerfect Translations – has a GSA contract for interpreting and translating over 100 languages: 202-347-2300
MN — http://www.mncourts.gov/FindInterpreters (actually had a Tagalog interpreter!)
NE — http://court.nol.org/community/cert_interpreters.htm
WI — http://www.wicourts.gov/services/interpreter/search.htm
Languages Unlimited: www.languagesunlimited.com 800-864-0372
Berlitz Translation Services (also interpretations): 800-423-6756
Total Language Solution: 1-866-691-5160 www.totallanguagesolution.net
Iowa Council for International Understanding 515-282-8269
betmar languages –612-571-3467
Enterprise Language Solutions (translate.com) 415-512-8800
Agnese Haury Institute for Court Interpretation/University of Arizona 520-621-3615
Joe Pittman, Administrator for Nebraska Association for Translators and Interpreters 402-397-0280 (www.natihq.org)
You may also want to consider connecting with a Bureau for Refugee Services (Iowa office: 800-362-2780).
E-mail from Delaware:
…This is a response I received from the person in our court who handles interpreter requests. The church referred to is in Wilmington, DE and Father Bill’s phone number is (302) 656-1372.
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Sagrario Aleman is a Spanish interpreter from Guatemala, she runs an interpreting agency in Pennsylvania and she was just in Guatemala last year or so, maybe she can be of assistance in locating a Quiche interpreter, here is her phone number: 215-947-2257, cell: 215-694-4089, email: alemanandassociates@att.net. Also you may want to try contacting St. Paul’s Church at 4th and Jackson Streets, ask for Father Bill, some of the parishioners are from Guatemala.
Assistance agency:
ORGANIZATION MAYA K’ICHE
11-62 Acushnet Ave
New Bedford, Mass 02746
Director: Anibal Lucas
office: 508/ 994-7396
cell: 508/ 264-0892
Professor in Buffalo who translated a Mayan book recently:
Dennis Tedlock
306 Clemens Hall
State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260
(716) 645-3422 / FAX 645-3654
dtedlock@acsu.buffalo.edu
Possible lead for a Quiche interpreter in Canada:
Luis Barnola,
Senior Program Specialist
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas
250 Albert Street
PO Box 8500
Ottawa, Ontario,Canada, K1G 3H9
California:
I believe Los Angeles, CA uses one. Try to call Rudy or Lorraine at 1-2138944370. I think he lives in San Francisco. If you have no luck, email me back, and I will ask my friend who also know someone else. Cynthia Parker, Spanish state and Federally certified interpreter in Los Angeles, CA