Pa. Dutch interpreters work to bridge gap between Plain sect abuse victims and the courts

• By Maia Nehme/LNP | LancasterOnline

Picture an Old Older Mennonite girl growing up on an isolated Lancaster County farm, her days devoted to chores and Bible study.

She believes her simple lifestyle, grounded in her faith’s emphasis on humility and forgiveness, will bring her closer to God. But not everything in this girl’s life is so simple.

In her Plain sect family, abuse of children is an open secret.

That girl — a real girl — is now a woman looking to help other little girls facing the same situation. She has been granted anonymity over concerns of retaliation from her community.

“I have personal experience being a helpless little abused child with no human to help me escape the horror,” said the woman, who did not want to talk specifically about how she was abused. “I want to be the voice for those who can’t speak for themselves. I feel driven to help these precious little souls, and with God’s help, I will do so.”

The woman is one of the state’s recently certified Pennsylvania Dutch court interpreters, tasked with translating between the German dialect and English during legal proceedings.

Pennsylvania Dutch, derived from Palatine German, is the native language for many Amish and Mennonites nationwide, and a significant portion of Lancaster County residents — as much as 10% by some estimates — are fluent in the language.

The Pennsylvania Dutch court interpreters program was born of a collaboration between Safe Communities, a nonprofit that supports survivors of child sex abuse, and the interpreter certification program of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

This year, 10 native Pennsylvania Dutch speakers were added to the state court interpreters roster. Seven others are currently preparing for certification exams. If they pass the exams, they will be granted interpreter status at the start of 2025.

Spreading the word

Safe Communities founder Linda Crockett learned about the need for Pennsylvania Dutch court interpreters through conversations with Amish and Old Order Mennonite women in 2021 and 2022.

The women explained that many Plain children lack English proficiency and require Pennsylvania Dutch interpreters when reporting sexual abuse, physical abuse and other crimes to law enforcement. Amish and Old Order Mennonites learn English in school, but most complete their formal education in eighth grade.

Until this year, Pennsylvania had just a handful of certified Pennsylvania Dutch interpreters, none of whom were native speakers.

Non-native Pennsylvania Dutch interpreters often have strong English accents and do not dress in traditional Plain attire, which can discourage Amish and Old Order Mennonite children from sharing their experiences with abuse.

“This meant cases were prematurely closed, young victims often returned to homes and communities where abuse continued, and mothers (were) punished by religious authorities who viewed the case closures as evidence that the mothers lied,” Crockett wrote in a Safe Communities publication.

Crockett discussed the need for native Pennsylvania Dutch court interpreters in November 2022 at a conference about preventing violence against women.

Natalia Petrova, administrator of the state interpreter program, explained to Crockett that some Amish and Mennonite women tried to become interpreters in the past but failed the written certification exam. The exam, which is designed for college graduates, tests applicants’ English fluency and knowledge of legal jargon.

“I realized that the level of English proficiency this took and the knowledge of the legal system was just almost too big a lift for most of the people in that community,” Crockett said. “They’re starting from more of a deficit than the average person in Lancaster County would be starting from.”

After spreading the word about the Pennsylvania Dutch interpreters program through Amish newspapers, Safe Communities held an introductory workshop at the Risser Mennonite Church schoolhouse in Elizabethtown in April 2023.

Getting certified

In the months leading up to the October 2023 written certification exam, Safe Communities organized nine three-hour study circles for the prospective interpreters.

Safe Communities also helped some prospective interpreters secure religious exemptions from state court requirements, including photo identifications (Amish people generally oppose having their picture taken) and a two-day orientation, which conflicted with Sunday church services.

During the study circles, participants memorized legal terms and honed their English speaking and writing skills, learning basic concepts such as synonyms, antonyms and idiomatic expressions.

They read Saloma Furlong’s memoir about leaving the Amish and practiced translating passages into Pennsylvania Dutch. (Furlong, who visited one of their study circles, described it as an inspiring experience.)

Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker also invited the prospective interpreters to spend a day in his courtroom to get a sense of what their jobs would involve.

“They’re amazingly unfamiliar with our court system,” Reinaker said. “It’s just so foreign to them.”

The certified interpreters are a mixture of current and former Amish and Mennonites. Crockett said several of them were inspired to become interpreters because of personal experiences with abuse.

LNP | LancasterOnline reached out to all 10 interpreters. Several of them declined to be interviewed, while others requested their remarks remain anonymous.

The interpreters who agreed to talk said they have been contacted by other states about being added to their interpreter rosters, but they have not done any interpreter work yet.

Crockett said one interpreter registered a business for himself and a few fellow interpreters in the hope of centralizing translation requests.

The woman who became an interpreter to help right the wrongs that were done to her has a child said she’s not looking for a spotlight.

“We are not in this for sensationalism,” she said. “We are in this to help abuse victims and, therefore, it is best to remain low key, especially until we get some real experience under our belt.”