Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd.

(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2011 1

Syllabus

NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is

being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued.

The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been

prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.

See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Syllabus

TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD., DBA

MARIANAS RESORT AND SPA

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR

THE NINTH CIRCUIT

No. 10–1472. Argued February 21, 2012—Decided May 21, 2012

Title 28 U. S. C. §1920, as amended by the Court Interpreters Act, in-

cludes “compensation of interpreters” among the costs that may be

awarded to prevailing parties in federal-court lawsuits. §1920(6). In

this case, the District Court awarded costs to respondent as the pre-

vailing party in a civil action instituted by petitioner. The award in-

cluded the cost of translating from Japanese to English certain doc-

uments that respondent used in preparing its defense. The Ninth

Circuit affirmed, concluding that §1920(6) covers the cost of translat-

ing documents as well as the cost of translating live speech.

Held: Because the ordinary meaning of “interpreter” is someone who

translates orally from one language to another, the category “com-

pensation of interpreters” in §1920(6) does not include the cost of

document translation. Pp. 3−15.

(a) Section 1920 reflects the substance of an 1853 Act that specified

for the first time what costs are allowable in federal court. That pro-

vision defines the term “costs” as used in Federal Rule of Civil Proce-

dure 54(d), which gives courts the discretion to award costs to pre-

vailing parties. Crawford Fitting Co. v. J. T. Gibbons, Inc., 482 U. S.

437, 441. As originally configured, §1920 contained five categories of

taxable costs, but in 1978, Congress enacted the Court Interpreters

Act, which added a sixth category that includes “compensation of in-

terpreters.” §1920(6). Pp. 3−5.

(b) Because the term “interpreter” is not defined in the Court In-

terpreters Act or in any other relevant statutory provision, it must be

given its ordinary meaning. Asgrow Seed Co. v. Winterboer, 513 U. S.

179, 187. When Congress passed that Act in 1978, many dictionaries

defined “interpreter” as one who translates spoken, as opposed to

2 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Syllabus

written, language. Pre-1978 legal dictionaries also generally defined

“interpreter” and “interpret” in terms of oral translation. Respondent

relies almost exclusively on a version of Webster’s Third New Inter-

national Dictionary that defined “interpreter” as “one that translates;

esp: a person who translates orally for parties conversing in different

tongues.” Although the sense divider esp (for especially) indicates

that the most common meaning of the term is one “who translates

orally,” that meaning is subsumed within the more general definition

“one that translates.” That a definition is broad enough to encompass

one sense of a word does not establish, however, that the word is or-

dinarily understood in that sense. See Mallard v. United States Dist.

Court for Southern Dist. of Iowa, 490 U. S. 296, 301. Although all

relevant dictionaries defined “interpreter” at the time of the statute’s

enactment as including persons who translate orally, only a handful

defined the word broadly enough to encompass translators of written

materials. Notably, the Oxford English Dictionary, one of the most

authoritative, recognized that “interpreter” can mean one who trans-

lates writings, but it expressly designated that meaning as obsolete.

Any definition of a word that is absent from many dictionaries and is

deemed obsolete in others is hardly a common or ordinary meaning.

Given this survey of relevant dictionaries, the ordinary meaning of

“interpreter” does not include those who translate writings. Nothing

in the Court Interpreters Act or in §1920 hints that Congress intend-

ed to go beyond this ordinary meaning. If anything, the statutory

context suggests that “interpreter” includes only those who translate

orally. See 28 U. S. C. §1827. Moreover, Congress’ use of technical

terminology reflects the distinction in relevant professional literature

between interpreters, who are used for oral conversations, and trans-

lators, who are used for written communications. Pp. 5−11.

(c) No other tool of construction compels a departure from the ordi-

nary meaning of “interpreter.” This Court has never held that Rule

54(d) creates a presumption in favor of the broadest possible reading

of the costs enumerated in §1920. To the contrary, the Court has

made clear that the “discretion granted by Rule 54(d) is not a power

to evade” the specific categories of costs set forth by Congress, Craw-

ford Fitting, supra, at 442, but “is solely a power to decline to tax, as

costs, the items enumerated in §1920,” ibid. This Court’s conclusion

is in keeping with the narrow bounds of taxable costs, which are

limited by statute and modest in scope. Respondent’s extratextual

arguments―that documentary evidence is no less important than tes-

timonial evidence and that some translation tasks are not entirely

oral or entirely written―are more properly directed at Congress. In

any event, neither argument is so compelling that Congress must

have intended to dispense with the ordinary meaning of “interpreter”

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 3

Syllabus

in §1920(6). Pp. 12−15.

633 F. 3d 1218, vacated and remanded.

ALITO, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J.,

and SCALIA, KENNEDY, THOMAS, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. GINSBURG, J.,

filed a dissenting opinion, in which BREYER and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined.

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 1

Opinion of the Court

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the

preliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to

notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-

ington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order

that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

_________________

No. 10–1472

_________________

KOUICHI TANIGUCHI, PETITIONER v. KAN PACIFIC

SAIPAN, LTD., DBA MARIANAS RESORT AND SPA

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF

APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

[May 21, 2012]

JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court.

The costs that may be awarded to prevailing parties in

lawsuits brought in federal court are set forth in 28

U. S. C. §1920. The Court Interpreters Act amended

that statute to include “compensation of interpreters.”

§1920(6); see also §7, 92 Stat. 2044. The question pre-

sented in this case is whether “compensation of interpret-

ers” covers the cost of translating documents. Because the

ordinary meaning of the word “interpreter” is a person

who translates orally from one language to another, we

hold that “compensation of interpreters” is limited to the

cost of oral translation and does not include the cost of

document translation.

I

This case arises from a personal injury action brought

by petitioner Kouichi Taniguchi, a professional baseball

player in Japan, against respondent Kan Pacific Saipan,

Ltd., the owner of a resort in the Northern Mariana Is-

lands. Petitioner was injured when his leg broke through

a wooden deck during a tour of respondent’s resort prop-

erty. Initially, petitioner said that he needed no medical

2 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

attention, but two weeks later, he informed respondent

that he had suffered cuts, bruises, and torn ligaments

from the accident. Due to these alleged injuries, he

claimed damages for medical expenses and for lost income

from contracts he was unable to honor. After discovery

concluded, both parties moved for summary judgment.

The United States District Court for the Northern Ma-

riana Islands granted respondent’s motion on the ground

that petitioner offered no evidence that respondent knew

of the defective deck or otherwise failed to exercise rea-

sonable care.

In preparing its defense, respondent paid to have vari-

ous documents translated from Japanese to English. After

the District Court granted summary judgment in respond-

ent’s favor, respondent submitted a bill for those costs.

Over petitioner’s objection, the District Court awarded

the costs to respondent as “compensation of interpreters”

under §1920(6). Explaining that interpreter services “can-

not be separated into ‘translation’ and ‘interpretation,’ ”

App. to Pet. for Cert. 25a, the court held that costs

for document translation “fal[l] within the meaning of

‘compensation of an interpreter,’ ” ibid. Finding that it

was necessary for respondent to have the documents

translated in order to depose petitioner, the court con-

cluded that the translation services were properly taxed

as costs.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Cir-

cuit affirmed both the District Court’s grant of summary

judgment and its award of costs. The court rejected peti-

tioner’s argument that the cost of document translation

services is not recoverable as “compensation of interpret-

ers.” The court explained that “the word ‘interpreter’ can

reasonably encompass a ‘translator,’ both according to the

dictionary definition and common usage of these terms,

which does not always draw precise distinctions between

foreign language interpretations involving live speech

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 3

Opinion of the Court

versus written documents.” 633 F. 3d 1218, 1221 (2011).

“More importantly,” the court stressed, this construction of

the statute “is more compatible with Rule 54 of the Fed-

eral Rules of Civil Procedure, which includes a decided

preference for the award of costs to the prevailing party.”

Ibid. The court thus concluded that “the prevailing party

should be awarded costs for services required to interpret

either live speech or written documents into a familiar

language, so long as interpretation of the items is neces-

sary to the litigation.” Id., at 1221–1222.

Because there is a split among the Courts of Appeals on

this issue,1 we granted certiorari. 564 U. S. ___ (2011).

II

A

Although the taxation of costs was not allowed at com-

mon law, it was the practice of federal courts in the early

years to award costs in the same manner as the courts

of the relevant forum State. Alyeska Pipeline Service

Co. v. Wilderness Society, 421 U. S. 240, 247–248 (1975).

In 1793, Congress enacted a statute that authorized the

awarding of certain costs to prevailing parties based on

state law:

“That there be allowed and taxed in the supreme, cir-

cuit and district courts of the United States, in favour

of the parties obtaining judgments therein, such com-

pensation for their travel and attendance, and for at-

——————

1 Compare BDT Products, Inc. v. Lexmark Int’l, Inc., 405 F. 3d 415,

419 (CA6 2005) (holding that document translation costs are taxable

under §1920(6) because the “definition of interpret expressly includes to

‘translate into intelligible or familiar language’ ” (quoting Webster’s

Third New International Dictionary 1182 (1981))), with Extra Equi­

pamentos E Exportação Ltda. v. Case Corp., 541 F. 3d 719, 727–728

(CA7 2008) (holding that document translation costs are not taxable

under §1920(6) because an interpreter is “normally understood [as] a

person who translates living speech from one language to another”).

4 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

tornies and counsellors’ fees . . . as are allowed in the

supreme or superior courts of the respective states.”

Act of Mar. 1, 1793, §4, 1 Stat. 333.

Although twice reenacted, this provision expired in 1799.

Alyeska Pipeline, supra, at 248, n. 19; Crawford Fitting

Co. v. J. T. Gibbons, Inc., 482 U. S. 437, 439 (1987). Yet

even in the absence of express legislative authorization,

the practice of referring to state rules for the taxation of

costs persisted. See Alyeska Pipeline, 421 U. S., at 250.

Not until 1853 did Congress enact legislation specifying

the costs allowable in federal court. Id., at 251. The

impetus for a uniform federal rule was largely the conse-

quence of two developments. First, a “great diversity in

practice among the courts” had emerged. Ibid. Second,

“losing litigants were being unfairly saddled with exorbi-

tant fees for the victor’s attorney.” Ibid. Against this

backdrop, Congress passed the 1853 Fee Act, which we

have described as a “far-reaching Act specifying in detail

the nature and amount of the taxable items of cost in the

federal courts.” Id., at 251–252. The substance of this Act

was transmitted through the Revised Statutes of 1874

and the Judicial Code of 1911 to the Revised Code of

1948, where it was codified, “without any apparent intent to

change the controlling rules,” as 28 U. S. C. §1920. 421

U. S., at 255.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d) gives courts the

discretion to award costs to prevailing parties. That Rule

provides in relevant part: “Unless a federal statute, these

rules, or a court order provides otherwise, costs—other

than attorney’s fees—should be allowed to the prevailing

party.” Rule 54(d)(1). We have held that “§1920 defines

the term ‘costs’ as used in Rule 54(d).” Crawford Fitting,

482 U. S., at 441. In so doing, we rejected the view that

“the discretion granted by Rule 54(d) is a separate source

of power to tax as costs expenses not enumerated in

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 5

Opinion of the Court

§1920.” Ibid.

As originally configured, §1920 contained five categories

of taxable costs: (1) “[f]ees of the clerk and marshal”; (2)

“[f ]ees of the court reporter for all or any part of the steno-

graphic transcript necessarily obtained for use in the

case”; (3) “[f]ees and disbursements for printing and wit-

nesses”; (4) “[f]ees for exemplification and copies of papers

necessarily obtained for use in the case”; and (5) “[d]ocket

fees under section 1923 of this title.” 62 Stat. 955. In

1978, Congress enacted the Court Interpreters Act, which

amended §1920 to add a sixth category: “Compensation of

court appointed experts, compensation of interpreters, and

salaries, fees, expenses, and costs of special interpretation

services under section 1828 of this title.” 28 U. S. C.

§1920(6); see also §7, 92 Stat. 2044. We are concerned

here with this sixth category, specifically the item of tax-

able costs identified as “compensation of interpreters.”

B

To determine whether the item “compensation of inter-

preters” includes costs for document translation, we must

look to the meaning of “interpreter.” That term is not

defined in the Court Interpreters Act or in any other

relevant statutory provision. When a term goes undefined

in a statute, we give the term its ordinary meaning. As­

grow Seed Co. v. Winterboer, 513 U. S. 179, 187 (1995).

The question here is: What is the ordinary meaning of

“interpreter”?

Many dictionaries in use when Congress enacted the

Court Interpreters Act in 1978 defined “interpreter” as one

who translates spoken, as opposed to written, language.

The American Heritage Dictionary, for instance, defined

the term as “[o]ne who translates orally from one language

into another.” American Heritage Dictionary 685 (1978).

The Scribner-Bantam English Dictionary defined the

related word “interpret” as “to translate orally.” Scribner-

6 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

Bantam English Dictionary 476 (1977). Similarly, the

Random House Dictionary defined the intransitive form of

“interpret” as “to translate what is said in a foreign lan-

guage.” Random House Dictionary of the English Lan-

guage 744 (1973) (emphasis added). And, notably, the

Oxford English Dictionary defined “interpreter” as “[o]ne

who translates languages,” but then divided that defini-

tion into two senses: “a. [a] translator of books or writ-

ings,” which it designated as obsolete, and “b. [o]ne who

translates the communications of persons speaking differ-

ent languages; spec. one whose office it is to do so orally in

the presence of the persons; a dragoman.” 5 Oxford Eng-

lish Dictionary 416 (1933); see also Concise Oxford Dic-

tionary of Current English 566 (6th ed. 1976) (“One who

interprets; one whose office it is to translate the words of

persons speaking different languages, esp. orally in their

presence”); Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary 686

(1973) (“one who translates orally for the benefit of two or

more parties speaking different languages: . . . a transla-

tor (obs.)”).

Pre-1978 legal dictionaries also generally defined the

words “interpreter” and “interpret” in terms of oral trans-

lation. The then-current edition of Black’s Law Diction-

ary, for example, defined “interpreter” as “[a] person

sworn at a trial to interpret the evidence of a foreigner . . .

to the court,” and it defined “interpret” in relevant part as

“to translate orally from one tongue to another.” Black’s

Law Dictionary 954, 953 (rev. 4th ed. 1968); see also

W. Anderson, A Dictionary of Law 565 (1888) (“One who

translates the testimony of witnesses speaking a foreign

tongue, for the benefit of the court and jury”); 1 B. Abbott,

Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or

English Jurisprudence 639 (1878) (“one who restates the

testimony of a witness testifying in a foreign tongue, to the

court and jury, in their language”). But see Ballentine’s

Law Dictionary 655, 654 (3d ed. 1969) (defining “inter-

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 7

Opinion of the Court

preter” as “[o]ne who interprets, particularly one who

interprets words written or spoken in a foreign language,”

and “interpret” as “to translate from a foreign language”).

Against these authorities, respondent relies almost

exclusively on Webster’s Third New International Diction-

ary (hereinafter Webster’s Third). The version of that

dictionary in print when Congress enacted the Court

Interpreters Act defined “interpreter” as “one that trans-

lates; esp: a person who translates orally for parties con-

versing in different tongues.” Webster’s Third 1182

(1976).2 The sense divider esp (for especially) indicates

that the most common meaning of the term is one “who

translates orally,” but that meaning is subsumed within

the more general definition “one that translates.” See

12,000 Words: A Supplement to Webster’s Third 15a

(1986) (explaining that esp “is used to introduce the most

common meaning included in the more general preceding

definition”). For respondent, the general definition suf-

fices to establish that the term “interpreter” ordinarily

includes persons who translate the written word. Explain-

ing that “the word ‘interpreter’ can reasonably encompass

a ‘translator,’ ” the Court of Appeals reached the same

conclusion. 633 F. 3d, at 1221. We disagree.

That a definition is broad enough to encompass one

sense of a word does not establish that the word is ordi­

narily understood in that sense. See Mallard v. United

States Dist. Court for Southern Dist. of Iowa, 490 U. S.

——————

2 A handful of other contemporaneous dictionaries used a similar

formulation. See Funk & Wagnalls New Comprehensive International

Dictionary of the English Language 665 (1977) (“One who interprets or

translates; specifically, one who serves as oral translator between

people speaking different languages”); 1 World Book Dictionary 1103

(C. Barnhart & R. Barnhart eds. 1977) (“a person whose business is

translating, especially orally, from a foreign language”); Cassell’s

English Dictionary 617 (4th ed. 1969) (“One who interprets, esp. one

employed to translate orally to persons speaking a foreign language”).

8 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

296, 301 (1989) (relying on the “most common meaning”

and the “ordinary and natural signification” of the word

“request,” even though it may sometimes “double for ‘de-

mand’ or ‘command’ ”). The fact that the definition of

“interpreter” in Webster’s Third has a sense divider denot-

ing the most common usage suggests that other usages,

although acceptable, might not be common or ordinary. It

is telling that all the dictionaries cited above defined

“interpreter” at the time of the statute’s enactment as

including persons who translate orally, but only a handful

defined the word broadly enough to encompass translators

of written material. See supra, at 5–7. Although the

Oxford English Dictionary, one of the most authoritative

on the English language, recognized that “interpreter” can

mean one who translates writings, it expressly designated

that meaning as obsolete. See supra, at 6. Were the

meaning of “interpreter” that respondent advocates truly

common or ordinary, we would expect to see more support

for that meaning. We certainly would not expect to see it

designated as obsolete in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Any definition of a word that is absent from many diction-

aries and is deemed obsolete in others is hardly a common

or ordinary meaning.

Based on our survey of the relevant dictionaries, we

conclude that the ordinary or common meaning of “inter-

preter” does not include those who translate writings.

Instead, we find that an interpreter is normally under-

stood as one who translates orally from one language to

another. This sense of the word is far more natural. As

the Seventh Circuit put it: “Robert Fagles made famous

translations into English of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the

Aeneid, but no one would refer to him as an English-

language ‘interpreter’ of these works.” Extra Equipamen­

tos E Exportação Ltda. v. Case Corp., 541 F. 3d 719, 727

(2008).

To be sure, the word “interpreter” can encompass per-

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 9

Opinion of the Court

sons who translate documents, but because that is not the

ordinary meaning of the word, it does not control unless

the context in which the word appears indicates that it

does. Nothing in the Court Interpreters Act or in §1920,

however, even hints that Congress intended to go beyond

the ordinary meaning of “interpreter” and to embrace the

broadest possible meaning that the definition of the word

can bear.

If anything, the statutory context suggests the opposite:

that the word “interpreter” applies only to those who

translate orally. As previously mentioned, Congress en-

acted §1920(6) as part of the Court Interpreters Act.

The main provision of that Act is §2(a), codified in 28

U. S. C. §§1827 and 1828. See 92 Stat. 2040–2042. Par-

ticularly relevant here is §1827. As it now reads, that

statute provides for the establishment of “a program to

facilitate the use of certified and otherwise qualified inter-

preters in judicial proceedings instituted by the United

States.” §1827(a). Subsection (d) directs courts to use an

interpreter in any criminal or civil action instituted by the

United States if a party or witness “speaks only or primar-

ily a language other than the English language” or “suffers

from a hearing impairment” “so as to inhibit such party’s

comprehension of the proceedings or communication with

counsel or the presiding judicial officer, or so as to inhibit

such witness’ comprehension of questions and the presen-

tation of such testimony.” §1827(d)(1).3 As originally

enacted, subsection (k) mandated that the “interpretation

provided by certified interpreters . . . shall be in the con-

secutive mode except that the presiding judicial officer . . .

may authorize a simultaneous or summary interpreta-

tion.” §1827(k) (1976 ed., Supp. II); see also 92 Stat. 2042.

——————

3 This provision remains substantially the same as it appeared when

first enacted. See 28 U. S. C. §1827(d)(1) (1976 ed., Supp. II); see also

92 Stat. 2040.

10 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

In its current form, subsection (k) provides that interpre-

tation “shall be in the simultaneous mode for any party . . .

and in the consecutive mode for witnesses,” unless the

court directs otherwise. The simultaneous, consecutive,

and summary modes are all methods of oral interpretation

and have nothing to do with the translation of writings.4

Taken together, these provisions are a strong contextual

clue that Congress was dealing only with oral translation

in the Court Interpreters Act and that it intended to use

the term “interpreter” throughout the Act in its ordinary

sense as someone who translates the spoken word. As we

have said before, it is a “ ‘normal rule of statutory con-

struction’ that ‘identical words used in different parts of

the same act are intended to have the same meaning.’ ”

Gustafson v. Alloyd Co., 513 U. S. 561, 570 (1995) (quoting

Department of Revenue of Ore. v. ACF Industries, Inc., 510

U. S. 332, 342 (1994)).5

The references to technical terminology in the Court

Interpreters Act further suggest that Congress used “in-

——————

4 The simultaneous mode requires the interpreter “to interpret and to

speak contemporaneously with the individual whose communication is

being translated.” H. R. Rep. No. 95–1687, p. 8 (1978). The consecutive

mode requires the speaker whose communication is being translated to

pause so that the interpreter can “convey the testimony given.” Ibid.

And the summary mode “allow[s] the interpreter to condense and distill

the speech of the speaker.” Ibid.; see generally Zazueta, Attorneys

Guide to the Use of Court Interpreters, 8 U. C. D. L. Rev. 471, 477–478

(1975).

5 The dissent agrees that context should help guide our analysis, but

instead of looking to the Court Interpreters Act, it looks to “the practice

of federal courts both before and after §1920(6)’s enactment.” Post, at 4

(opinion of GINSBURG, J.). The practice of federal courts after the Act’s

enactment tells us nothing about what Congress intended at the time of

enactment. And federal court practice before the Act under other

provisions of §1920 tells us little, if anything, about what Congress

intended when it added subsection (6). We think the statutory context

in which the word “interpreter” appears is a more reliable guide to its

meaning.

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 11

Opinion of the Court

terpreter” in a technical sense, and it is therefore signifi-

cant that relevant professional literature draws a line

between “interpreters,” who “are used for oral conversa-

tions,” and “translators,” who “are used for written com-

munications.” Zazueta, supra n. 4, at 477; see also M.

Frankenthaler, Skills for Bilingual Legal Personnel 67

(1982) (“While the translator deals with the written word,

the interpreter is concerned with the spoken language”);

Brislin, Introduction, in Translation: Applications and

Research 1 (R. Brislin ed. 1976) (explaining that when

both terms are used together, translation “refers to the

processing [of] written input, and interpretation to the

processing of oral input” (emphasis deleted)); J. Herbert,

Interpreter’s Handbook 1 (2d ed. 1952) (“In the present-

day jargon of international organisations, the words trans-

late, translations, translator are used when the immediate

result of the work is a written text; and the words inter-

pret, interpreter, interpretation when it is a speech deliv-

ered orally”). That Congress specified “interpreters” but

not “translators” is yet another signal that it intended to

limit §1920(6) to the costs of oral, instead of written,

translation.6

In sum, both the ordinary and technical meanings of

“interpreter,” as well as the statutory context in which the

word is found, lead to the conclusion that §1920(6) does

not apply to translators of written materials.7

——————

6 Some provisions within the United States Code use both “inter-

preter” and “translator” together, thus implying that Congress under-

stands the terms to have the distinct meanings described above. See,

e.g., 8 U. S. C. §1555(b) (providing that appropriations for the Immigra-

tion and Naturalization Service “shall be available for payment of . . .

interpreters and translators who are not citizens of the United States”);

28 U. S. C. §530C(b)(1)(I) (providing that Department of Justice funds

may be used for “[p]ayment of interpreters and translators who are not

citizens of the United States”).

7 Our conclusion is buttressed by respondent’s concession at oral ar-

gument that there is no provision in the United States Code where it is

12 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

C

No other rule of construction compels us to depart from

the ordinary meaning of “interpreter.” The Court of Ap-

peals reasoned that a broader meaning is “more compat-

ible with Rule 54 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,

which includes a decided preference for the award of costs

to the prevailing party.” 633 F. 3d, at 1221. But we have

never held that Rule 54(d) creates a presumption of statu-

tory construction in favor of the broadest possible reading

of the costs enumerated in §1920. To the contrary, we

have made clear that the “discretion granted by Rule 54(d)

is not a power to evade” the specific categories of costs set

forth by Congress. Crawford Fitting, 482 U. S., at 442.

“Rather,” we have said, “it is solely a power to decline to

tax, as costs, the items enumerated in §1920.” Ibid. Rule

54(d) thus provides no sound basis for casting aside the

ordinary meaning of the various items enumerated in

the costs statute, including the ordinary meaning of

“interpreter.”

Our decision is in keeping with the narrow scope of

taxable costs. “Although ‘costs’ has an everyday meaning

synonymous with ‘expenses,’ the concept of taxable costs

under Rule 54(d) is more limited and represents those

expenses, including, for example, court fees, that a court

will assess against a litigant.” 10 C. Wright, A. Miller, &

M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure §2666, pp. 202–

203 (3d ed. 1998) (hereinafter Wright & Miller). Taxable

costs are limited to relatively minor, incidental expenses

as is evident from §1920, which lists such items as clerk

——————

clear that the word extends to those who translate documents. Tr. of

Oral Arg. 39; see also Brief for Petitioner 32 (“And the Code is wholly

devoid of any corresponding definition of ‘interpreter’ extending to the

translation of written documents”). As respondent acknowledged,

either the word is used in a context that strongly suggests it applies

only to oral translation or its meaning is unclear. See Tr. of Oral

Arg. 38.

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 13

Opinion of the Court

fees, court reporter fees, expenses for printing and wit-

nesses, expenses for exemplification and copies, docket

fees, and compensation of court-appointed experts. In-

deed, “the assessment of costs most often is merely a

clerical matter that can be done by the court clerk.” Hair­

line Creations, Inc. v. Kefalas, 664 F. 2d 652, 656 (CA7

1981). Taxable costs are a fraction of the nontaxable

expenses borne by litigants for attorneys, experts, consult-

ants, and investigators. It comes as little surprise, there-

fore, that “costs almost always amount to less than the

successful litigant’s total expenses in connection with a

lawsuit.” 10 Wright & Miller §2666, at 203. Because

taxable costs are limited by statute and are modest in

scope, we see no compelling reason to stretch the ordinary

meaning of the cost items Congress authorized in §1920.

As for respondent’s extratextual arguments, they are

more properly directed at Congress. Respondent contends

that documentary evidence is no less important than

testimonial evidence and that it would be anomalous to

require the losing party to cover translation costs for

spoken words but not for written words. Brief for Re-

spondent 20. Respondent also observes that some transla-

tion tasks are not entirely oral or entirely written. Id., at

20–24. One task, called “ ‘sight translation,’ ” involves the

oral translation of a document. Id., at 21. Another task

involves the written translation of speech. Ibid. And a

third task, called “ ‘document comparison,’ ” involves com-

paring documents in the source and target language to

verify that the two are identical. Id., at 21–22. Respond-

ent argues that a narrow definition cannot account for

these variations and that a bright-line definition of “inter-

preter” as someone who translates spoken and written

words would avoid complication and provide a simple,

administrable rule for district courts.

Neither of these arguments convinces us that Congress

must have intended to dispense with the ordinary mean-

14 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

Opinion of the Court

ing of “interpreter” in §1920(6). First, Congress might

have distinguished between oral and written translation

out of a concern that requiring losing parties to bear

the potentially sizable costs of translating discovery docu-

ments, as opposed to the more limited costs of oral tes-

timony, could be too burdensome and possibly unfair,

especially for litigants with limited means. Cf. Fleischmann

Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co., 386 U. S. 714, 718

(1967) (noting the argument “that since litigation is at

best uncertain one should not be penalized for merely

defending or prosecuting a lawsuit, and that the poor

might be unjustly discouraged from instituting actions to

vindicate their rights if the penalty for losing included the

fees of their opponents’ counsel”). Congress might also

have concluded that a document translator is more akin to

an expert or consultant retained by a party to decipher

documentary evidence—like, for instance, a forensic ac-

countant—than to an interpreter whose real-time oral

translation services are necessary for communication

between litigants, witnesses, and the court.8

Second, respondent has not shown that any of the hy-

brid translation/interpretation tasks to which it points

actually arise with overwhelming frequency or that the

problem of drawing the line between taxable and nontax-

able costs in such cases will vex the trial courts. It cer-

tainly has not shown that any such problems will be more

troublesome than the task of sifting through translated

——————

8 The dissent contends that document translation, no less than oral

translation, is essential “to equip the parties to present their case

clearly and the court to decide the merits intelligently.” Post, at 5. But

a document translator is no more important than an expert or consult-

ant in making sense of otherwise incomprehensible documentary

evidence, yet expenses for experts and consultants are generally not

taxable as costs. To be sure, forgoing document translation can impair

a litigant’s case, but document translation is not indispensable, in the

way oral translation is, to the parties’ ability to communicate with each

other, with witnesses, and with the court.

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 15

Opinion of the Court

discovery documents to ascertain which can be taxed as

necessary to the litigation. In any event, the present case

does not present a hybrid situation; it involves purely

written translation, which falls outside the tasks per-

formed by an “interpreter” as that term is ordinarily

understood.

* * *

Because the ordinary meaning of “interpreter” is some-

one who translates orally from one language to another,

we hold that the category “compensation of interpreters”

in §1920(6) does not include costs for document transla-

tion. We therefore vacate the judgment of the United

States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and remand

the case for further proceedings consistent with this

opinion.

It is so ordered.

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 1

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

_________________

No. 10–1472

_________________

KOUICHI TANIGUCHI, PETITIONER v. KAN PACIFIC

SAIPAN, LTD., DBA MARIANAS RESORT AND SPA

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF

APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

[May 21, 2012]

JUSTICE GINSBURG, with whom JUSTICE BREYER and

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR join, dissenting.

To be comprehended by the parties, the witnesses, and

the court, expression in foreign languages must be trans­

lated into English. Congress therefore provided, in 28

U. S. C. §1920(6), that the prevailing party may recoup

compensation paid to “interpreters.” The word “interpret­

ers,” the Court emphasizes, commonly refers to translators

of oral speech. Ante, at 5–6. But as the Court acknowl­

edges, ante, at 7, and n. 2, “interpreters” is more than

occasionally used to encompass those who translate writ­

ten speech as well. See Webster’s Third New International

Dictionary of the English Language 1182 (1976) (here-

inafter Webster’s) (defining “interpreter” as “one that

translates; esp: a person who translates orally for parties

conversing in different tongues”); Black’s Law Dictionary

895 (9th ed. 2009) (defining “interpreter” as a “person who

translates, esp. orally, from one language to another”);

Ballentine’s Law Dictionary 655 (3d ed. 1969) (defining

“interpreter” as “[o]ne who interprets, particularly one

who interprets words written or spoken in a foreign

language”).

In short, employing the word “interpreters” to include

translators of written as well as oral speech, if not “the

most common usage,” ante, at 8, is at least an “acceptable”

2 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

usage, ibid. Moreover, the word “interpret” is generally

understood to mean “to explain or tell the meaning of:

translate into intelligible or familiar language or terms,”

while “translate” commonly means “to turn into one’s own

or another language.” Webster’s 1182, 2429. See also

Random House Dictionary of the English Language 744,

1505 (1973) (defining the transitive verb “interpret” as,

inter alia, “to translate,” and “translate” as “to turn (some­

thing written or spoken) from one language into another”).

Notably, several federal district court decisions refer to

translators of written documents as “interpreters.” E.g.,

United States v. Prado-Cervantez, No. 11–40044–11, 2011

WL 4691934, *3 (Kan., Oct. 6, 2011) (“Standby counsel

should also be prepared to arrange for interpreters to

interpret or translate documents when necessary for

defendant.”); Mendoza v. Ring, No. 07–3114, 2008 WL

2959848, *2 (CD Ill., July 30, 2008) (“The interpreter is

also directed to translate filings by the plaintiff from

Spanish to English. The original and translated versions

will be docketed.”). So do a number of state statutes. E.g.,

Cal. Govt. Code Ann. §26806(a) (West 2008) (“[T]he clerk

of the court may employ as many foreign language inter­

preters as may be necessary . . . to translate documents in-

tended for filing in any civil or criminal action . . . .”).

Most federal courts of appeals confronted with the ques­

tion have held that costs may be awarded under §1920(6)

for the translation of documents necessary to, or in prepa­

ration for, litigation. Compare 633 F. 3d 1218, 1220–1222

(CA9 2011); BDT Prods., Inc. v. Lexmark Int’l, Inc., 405

F. 3d 415, 419 (CA6 2005); Slagenweit v. Slagenweit, 63

F. 3d 719, 721 (CA8 1995) (per curiam); and Chore-Time

Equip., Inc. v. Cumberland Corp., 713 F. 2d 774, 782 (CA

Fed. 1983) (all holding that costs for document translation

are covered by §1920(6)), with Extra Equipamentos E

Exportação Ltda. v. Case Corp., 541 F. 3d 719, 727–728

(CA7 2008) (costs for document translation are not covered

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 3

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

by §1920(6)). See also In re Puerto Rico Elec. Power Auth.,

687 F. 2d 501, 506, 510 (CA1 1982) (recognizing that

costs of document translation may be reimbursed, with­

out specifying the relevant subsection of §1920); Studieng­

esellschaft Kohle mbH v. Eastman Kodak Co., 713 F. 2d

128, 133 (CA5 1983) (allowing document translation

costs under §1920(4)); Quy v. Air Am., Inc., 667 F. 2d 1059,

1065 (CADC 1981) (allowing “translation costs” under

§1920(6)).1

In practice, federal trial courts have awarded document

translation costs in cases spanning several decades. See,

e.g., Raffold Process Corp. v. Castanea Paper Co., 25

F. Supp. 593, 594 (WD Pa. 1938). Before the Court Inter­

preters Act added §1920(6) to the taxation of costs statute

in 1978, district courts awarded costs for document trans­

lation under §1920(4), which allowed taxation of “[f ]ees for

exemplification and copies of papers,” 28 U. S. C. §1920(4)

(1976 ed.), or under §1920’s predecessor, 28 U. S. C. §830

(1925 ed.). See, e.g., Bennett Chemical Co. v. Atlantic

Commodities, Ltd., 24 F. R. D. 200, 204 (SDNY 1959)

(§1920(4)); Raffold Process Corp., 25 F. Supp., at 594

(§830). Pre-1978, district courts also awarded costs for

oral translation of witness testimony. See, e.g., Kaiser

Industries Corp. v. McLouth Steel Corp., 50 F. R. D. 5, 11

(ED Mich. 1970). Nothing in the Court Interpreters Act, a

measure intended to expand access to interpretation

services, indicates a design to eliminate the availability of

costs awards for document translation. See S. Rep. No.

95–569, p. 4 (1977) (hereinafter S. Rep.) (“The commit­

tee . . . feels the time has come to provide by statute for

the provision of and access to qualified certified interpret­

——————

1 Translation costs, like other costs recoverable under §1920, may be

“denied or limited” if they “were unreasonably incurred or unnecessary

to the case.” 10 Moore’s Federal Practice §54.101[1][b], p. 54–158 (3d

ed. 2012).

4 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

ers, for a broader spectrum of people than the present law

allows.”). Post-1978, rulings awarding document transla­

tion costs under §1920(6) indicate the courts’ understand­

ing both that the term “interpreter” can readily encompass

oral and written translation, and that Congress did not

otherwise instruct.2 I agree that context should guide the

determination whether §1920(b) is most sensibly read to

encompass persons who translate documents. See ante, at

8–9. But the context key for me is the practice of federal

courts both before and after §1920(6)’s enactment.

The purpose of translation, after all, is to make relevant

foreign-language communication accessible to the litigants

and the court. See S. Rep., at 1 (The Court Interpreters

Act is intended “to insure that all participants in our

——————

2 Currently,some federal district courts make the practice of allowing

fees for translation of documents explicit in their local rules. See Rule

54–4.8 (CD Cal. 2012) (allowing “[f]ees for translation of documents . . .

reasonably necessary to the preparation of the case”); Rule 54.1 (Guam

2011) (same); Rule 54.1(c)(7) (Idaho 2011) (allowing reasonable fee if

the “document translated is necessarily filed or admitted in evidence”);

Rule 54.7 (MD Pa. 2011) (same); Rule 54.1 (Ariz. 2012) (same); Rule

54.1(b)(4)(e) (SD Cal. 2012) (same); Rule 54.1 (NJ 2011) (same); Rule

54–5(d) (Nev. 2011) (same); Rule 54.2 (NM 2012) (allowing translator’s

fee if the translated document is admitted into evidence); Rule

54.1(c)(4) (SDNY 2012) (allowing reasonable fee if translated document

“is used or received in evidence”); Rule 54.1(c)(4) (EDNY 2012) (same).

See also Rule 54.03(F)(1)(c) (SC 2012) (allowing costs of certain docu­

ment translations under §1920(4)); Rule 54.1(b)(5) (Del. 2011) (same);

Rule 54(c)(3)(i) (Conn. 2011) (same); Misc. Order ¶7, Allowable Items

for Taxation of Costs (ND Fla. 2007) (allowing “fee of a competent

translator of a non-English document that is filed or admitted into

evidence”); Taxation of Costs Guidelines (PR 2009) (allowing fees for

translation of documents filed or admitted into evidence), available at

http://www.prd.uscourts.gov/courtweb/pdf/taxation_of_costs_guidelines_

2007_with_time_computation_amendments.pdf (All Internet materials

as visited May 17, 2012, and included in Clerk of Court’s case file);

Taxation of Costs (Mass. 2000) (allowing fees “for translation of docu­

ments . . . reasonably necessary for trial preparation”), available at

http://www.mad.uscourts.gov/resources/pdf/taxation.pdf.

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 5

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

Federal courts can meaningfully take part.”). Documen­

tary evidence in a foreign language, no less than oral

statements, must be translated to equip the parties to

present their case clearly and the court to decide the

merits intelligently. See, e.g., United States v. Mosquera,

816 F. Supp. 168, 175 (EDNY 1993) (“For a non-English

speaking [party] to stand equal with others before the

court requires translation [of relevant documents].”);

Lockett v. Hellenic Sea Transports, Ltd., 60 F. R. D. 469,

473 (ED Pa. 1973) (“To be understood by counsel for plain­

tiffs and defendant, as well as for use at trial, the [ship’s]

deck log had to be translated [from Greek] into the Eng­

lish language.”).3 And it is not extraordinary that what

documents say, more than what witnesses testify, may

make or break a case.

Distinguishing written from oral translation for cost­

award purposes, moreover, is an endeavor all the more

dubious, for, as the Court acknowledges, ante, at 13, some

translation tasks do not fall neatly into one category or

the other. An interpreter, for example, may be called upon

to “sight translate” a written document, i.e., to convey a

written foreign-language document’s content orally in

English. R. González, V. Vásquez, & H. Mikkelson, Fun­

damentals of Court Interpretation: Theory, Policy and

Practice 401 (1991) (hereinafter González). In-court sight

translation, Taniguchi concedes, counts as “interpreta­

tion,” even though it does not involve translating verbal

expression. Tr. of Oral Arg. 10. Yet an interpreter’s prep­

aration for in-court sight translation by translating a

——————

3 Noteworthy, other paragraphs Congress placed in §1920 cover writ­

ten documents. See 28 U. S. C. §1920(2) (2006 ed., Supp. IV) (“Fees

for printed or electronically recorded transcripts”); §1920(3) (2006 ed.)

(“Fees and disbursements for printing and witnesses”); §1920(4) (“Fees

for exemplification and the costs of making copies of any [necessary]

materials”). Nothing indicates that Congress intended paragraph (6),

unlike paragraphs (2)–(4), to apply exclusively to oral communications.

6 TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD.

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

written document in advance, Taniguchi maintains, does

not count as “interpretation.” Ibid. But if the interpreter

then reads the prepared written translation aloud in

court, that task, in Taniguchi’s view, can be charged as

“interpretation,” id., at 11, even though the reading in­

volves no translation of foreign-language expression—

written or oral—at all.

Similarly hard to categorize is the common court­

interpreter task of listening to a recording in a foreign

language, transcribing it, then translating it into Eng-

lish. See González 439. Although this task involves oral

foreign-language communication, it does not, Taniguchi

contends, qualify as “interpretation,” because it involves

“the luxury of multiple playbacks of the tape and the

leisure to consult extrinsic linguistic sources.” Reply Brief

for Petitioner 9 (internal quotation marks omitted). But

sight translation—which Taniguchi concedes may be

charged as “interpretation”—may sometimes involve sim­

ilarly careful linguistic analysis of a written document

in advance of a court proceeding. Davis & Hewitt, Lessons

in Administering Justice: What Judges Need to Know

about the Requirements, Role, and Professional Responsi­

bilities of the Court Interpreter, 1 Harv. Latino L. Rev.

121, 131 (1994).

Taniguchi warns that translation costs can be exorbi­

tant and burdensome to police. Reply Brief 19–22; Tr. of

Oral Arg. 20–21. The Court expresses a similar concern.

Ante, at 13–14.4 Current practice in awarding translation

——————

4 The

Court also observes that “[t]axable costs are limited to relatively

minor, incidental expenses.” Ante, at 12. The tab for unquestionably

allowable costs, however, may run high. See, e.g., In re Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Patent Litigation, No. C 03–02289, 2012 WL 1499191, *6 (ND Cal., Apr.

26, 2012) (awarding $440,000 in copying costs); Jones v. Halliburton

Co., No. 4:07–cv–2719, 2011 WL 4479119, *2 (SD Tex., Sept. 26, 2011)

(awarding $57,300 in fees for court-appointed expert). Translation

costs, on the other hand, are not inevitably large. See Brief for Re­

Cite as: 566 U. S. ____ (2012) 7

GINSBURG, J., dissenting

costs, however, has shown that district judges are up to

the task of confining awards to translation services neces­

sary to present or defeat a claim. See Eastman Kodak Co.,

713 F. 2d, at 133 (district court should not award docu­

ment translation costs “carte blanche,” but must deter­

mine whether such costs were necessarily incurred). See

also, e.g., Conn v. Zakharov, No. 1:09 CV 0760, 2010 WL

2293133, *3 (ND Ohio, June 4, 2010) (denying translation

costs where prevailing party did not demonstrate the costs

were necessary); Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. v. Diageo

North Am., Inc., No. 3:03–CV–93, 2010 WL 2651186, *3

(WD Ky., June 30, 2010) (same); Competitive Technologies

v. Fujitsu Ltd., No. C–02–1673, 2006 WL 6338914, *11

(ND Cal., Aug. 23, 2006) (same); Arboireau v. Adidas

Salomon AG, No. CV–01–105, 2002 WL 31466564, *6

(Ore., June 14, 2002) (same); Oetiker v. Jurid Werke,

GmbH, 104 F. R. D. 389, 393 (DC 1982) (same); Lockett, 60

F. R. D., at 473 (awarding costs for “necessary” transla­

tions); Kaiser, 50 F. R. D., at 11–12 (same); Bennett, 24

F. R. D., at 204 (same); Raffold Process Corp., 25 F. Supp.,

at 594 (same). Courts of appeals, in turn, are capable of

reviewing such judgments for abuse of discretion.

In short, §1920(6)’s prescription on “interpreters” is not

so clear as to leave no room for interpretation. Given the

purpose served by translation and the practice prevailing

in district courts, supra, at 3, there is no good reason to

exclude from taxable costs payments for placing written

words within the grasp of parties, jurors, and judges. I

would therefore affirm the judgment of the Ninth Circuit.

——————

spondent 26–27, n. 12 (listing, inter alia, 21 translation cost awards of

less than $13,000, of which at least fourteen were less than $3,000).