The Wisconsin Director of State Courts Office has published the first Hmong-English legal glossary in the United States. It defines 800 common court terms and suggests equivalent Hmong phrases for many of them. The glossary is designed for interpreting legal proceedings and for translating government forms into Hmong. It should be a useful resource for Hmong interpreters and agencies working with the courts, law enforcement, social services, state government, research, and related fields.

The glossary defines general court terms and specific terms for criminal, juvenile, family, eviction, small claims, probate, and deportation cases. The equivalent Hmong phrases will help court interpreters develop common usages and attain the speed necessary for simultaneous interpretation. The glossary also will be used by court interpreter programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota for training interpreters and helping them prepare for the oral certification exam.

The glossary has been translated into White Hmong as the predominant dialect in America. There may be other acceptable equivalent terms available from Green / Blue Hmong, Lao, and regional dialects that are not included here. Comments on the glossary can be sent to the Wisconsin Court Interpreting Program at the address below.

• The glossary can be downloaded from the Wisconsin court interpreter website at www.wicourts.gov/services/interpreter/resources.htm.
• Printed copies are available from the Wisconsin Court Interpreting Program by contacting Marcia Vandercook, Marcia.Vandercook@wicourts.gov, 608-266-3121.
• Copies are also available from the State Bar of Wisconsin by contacting Kris Wenzel, outreach coordinator, kwenzel@wisbar.org, 608-257-3838.

Three Hmong interpreters with a strong background in court work provided translating and editing for the glossary. They are PaDer Lilian Lawbeerjour (Language Solutions, Milwaukee); Kazoua Yang (Ramsey County Interpreter Coordinator, St. Paul); and Ying Lee Xiong (Urgent Translations, Wausau). The glossary grows out of a collaboration of the Wisconsin and Minnesota courts, the Minnesota Translation Lab (Dr. Laurence H. Bogoslaw, Director), the Marathon County Bar Association Southeast Asian Outreach Committee (Shane Falk, chair), the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, and Hmong contributors across Minnesota and Wisconsin. The project was funded by grants from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (Bureau of Migrant, Refugee, and Labor Services) and the State Bar of Wisconsin (Local Bar Grant Competition).