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The differences between court interpreters and language translators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a court interpreter and a language translator. Additionally, a language translator has an average salary of $45,490, which is higher than the $44,300 average annual salary of a court interpreter.
The top three skills for a court interpreter include vice versa, court cases and court hearings. The most important skills for a language translator are proofreading, foreign language, and target language.
| Court Interpreter | Language Translator | |
| Yearly salary | $44,300 | $45,490 |
| Hourly rate | $21.30 | $21.87 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 20% |
| Number of jobs | 4,250 | 21,450 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A court interpreter is responsible for translating one language to another in real-time in a courtroom setting. Court interpreters work closely with clients and law officers to relay accurate and reliable information from the actual context. Apart from having excellent communication skills, a court interpreter should also possess extensive knowledge of the legal industry to understand and interpret terms accordingly. They also translate legal documents for court reference. In some cases, a court interpreter may also read the statements beforehand to have a good grasp of courtroom procedures.
Language translators are linguistic professionals who are responsible for converting information from one language to another to help people read the translation based on the original source. These translators must use a computer to translate the original language into their native language. They can work for software development companies as under contract independent foreign language translators. They must utilize target language to translate and transcribe critical information and performing immediate data analysis. Language translators must also provide interpretations for meetings, conferences, and administrative hearings for any sponsored functions.
Court interpreters and language translators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Court Interpreter | Language Translator | |
| Average salary | $44,300 | $45,490 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $72,000 | Between $29,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Central Islip, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Oregon |
| Best paying company | City of Houston | Bloomberg |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a court interpreter and a language translator in terms of educational background:
| Court Interpreter | Language Translator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | English |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between court interpreters' and language translators' demographics:
| Court Interpreter | Language Translator | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1% | Male, 39.4% Female, 60.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 35.4% Asian, 14.1% White, 38.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 31.5% Asian, 18.0% White, 38.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 15% |