ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the most common criminal offences and civil-law issues that one are likely to encounter in his/her work as a court interpreter. It also discusses the resources that are available to help one research the subject matter and terminology. An alternative resource that should not be overlooked, even in the case of major languages, is human experts: Bilingual or monolingual professionals, elders, missionaries, and scholars, regardless of what country they live in, may be of assistance in your terminology research. The novice interpreter who encounters an unknown term is likely to turn first to the most obvious resource, the bilingual dictionary. Even the defendant for whom you are interpreting, or his friends, may be consulted about the meaning or appropriate translation of a term, provided it is done with the knowledge of all the parties in the case. With the case of printed resources, information obtained from human resources should be cross-checked for verification.
