1

What is All this About?

In the past, the primary focus of studies of interpreting has been on

communication between groups of people with different languages and
cultures at an international level. The present and the future are as
much about communication between people of different languages and
cultures within national borders and concerned with the events of peo-
ple’s everyday lives.

The social and professional context

Globalisation and modern modes of transport have resulted in the

increasing movement of people between countries for shorter or longer
periods of time. People travel to other countries for work, education and
pleasure. They also do so to escape natural and man-made disasters. As a
consequence, most countries have multilingual, multicultural popula-
tions. In London, for example, 30 per cent of schoolchildren speak at
home one of the estimated 300 languages spoken in the capital (Baker &
Copyright © 2008. Palgrave Macmillan UK. All rights reserved.

Eversley 2000).
How that situation is handled in each country has significance for the
overall national social infrastructure and cohesion. Influxes of groups of
people with differing views, attitudes, perceptions and needs, who may
also be in a state of anxiety and insecurity, can lead to wider repercus-
sions. In Australia, Canada and Sweden in particular there are well-
established examples of how such transitions have been skilfully dealt
with, optimising the use of their multilingual resource.
This book is not about whether or not migration is a good thing or how
it should be managed. It deals with one dimension of the situation found
in most countries and suggests practical solutions. The dimension under
discussion is how individuals and groups who do not speak the language
1

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 2 Public Service Interpreting

of the country can communicate with such essential services as health

care, housing, education and social services and the legal process. If, to
use the London example, one third of the children in the UK capital had
limited or no access to essential services, the consequences would be dis-
advantageous both to them and to the country. It benefits no one if a
proportion of the population suffers increased infant mortality rates, mis-
carriages of justice, substandard housing, education and social care. It is
possible to remove barriers caused by lack of language and related skills
so that nurses, doctors, lawyers and so on can provide appropriate stan-
dards of expertise to individuals with whom they do not share a lan-
guage, thus enabling the individuals concerned to regain control of their
own affairs and become functionally self-sufficient within a new country.
There are many who may, and do, say that people should learn the
language of the country in which they live. However, they often over-
look the time it takes to learn a second language and the factors that
affect second language acquisition (Schellekens 2001), as well as the fact
that the language of medicine, the legal system and social services is
often highly specialised. The ability to communicate accurately and
reliably in such contexts as the police station and the doctor’s consult-
ing room requires a native speaker fluency that would be measured at
postgraduate level in academic terms. Communication of that sort also
demands a background understanding of the associated systems and
conventions to make sense of the contexts.
The migration process is never static. In the ten to twenty years it
might take for one group of other-language speakers to attain native
speaker fluency in the language of their new country and understanding
of its public service systems, other groups would have moved between
countries, speaking another set of languages. The Gujarati speakers who
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arrived in Britain from East Africa some 30 years ago, and their children,
now usually speak fluent English. They are generally economically stable
and many are successful doctors, lawyers and business people. But since
then there have been ongoing waves of migration from all over the world
arising from such causes as the wars and natural disasters of the Balkans,
Asia and Africa. The right to freedom of movement within the European
Union also enables individuals to seek work and education in any mem-
ber state. According to BBC survey in 2006 (www.bbc.co.uk/bornabroad),
between 1991 and 2001, the total number of people resident in the
British Isles who were born abroad, rose by 36.4 per cent, against an over-
all population increase of 4.03 per cent.
The reality is that nearly all countries will have to continue to deal
with new arrivals, speaking perhaps yet another language and adding to

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 What is All this About? 3

their multilingual populations. Practicalities have overtaken prepared-

ness. Uldis Ozolins from the Centre for Research and Development
in Interpreting and Translating at Deakin University in Melbourne,
described the international spectrum of response in his paper given at
the second Critical Link international conference on interpreters in the
community. He noted that Australia and Sweden were alone in having
at the outset an integrated language policy. The rest were gradually
attempting to bring together coherent systems to meet the need (Ozolins
2000).
Linguists, and in particular translators, have a tradition of acting as
catalysts for social change. The historical role of translators in spreading
‘a scientific terminology, especially in medicine’ (Kelly 1979:138) is a
good example of how knowledge can be transferred through transla-
tion, as also the spread of ideas from Ancient Greece through Arabic,
Latin and the European vernaculars in the medieval and Renaissance
periods (Delisle & Woodsworth 1995:124; 102–3). Indeed, vernacular
translations of the bible were often considered to have revolutionary
potential (see, for instance, Bobrick 2001). Throughout history transla-
tors and interpreters have contributed their expertise where people
who did not share a language had a need to communicate. This book is
therefore written for today’s undergraduate and graduate students of
languages and related disciplines, as well as for the interested general
readers who wish to learn about developments in interpreting and
translation in the context of public services or to consider whether they
have a contribution to make to this important aspect of contemporary
social change. It is a practical introduction to different dimensions of
the field and is intended to provide a foundation for further detailed
study and experience. The focus is on interpreting for various public
Copyright © 2008. Palgrave Macmillan UK. All rights reserved.

services, but translation is also included where professionally relevant.

Sign language

Interpreting is not only a service which enables communication between

interlocutors who do not share a common spoken language; communi-
cation between a user of a particular sign language such as BSL (British
Sign Language) and a language which can be spoken (e.g. English) may
also prove impossible without a sign language interpreter who has com-
mand of both the particular sign language and the other language. Sign
languages are generally recognised as languages in their own right, with
national and regional differences such as American Sign Language and
British Sign Language. Sign language interpreting is required for those

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 4 Public Service Interpreting

who are deaf and need access to public services. Not all those who are
deaf are users of a sign language, however; those who are deafened later
in life may be more likely to communicate through trained lipspeakers
or speech to text reporters1.
Both people who were born deaf or lost their hearing as infants, and
those who have been deafened later in life, find similar obstacles in
gaining access to and effectively using the public services as those who
do not speak the language of the country. They have common problems
in such matters as acquiring adequate information about the services,
how to contact them – for neither can telephone a doctor in the usual
way – and how to communicate when they do get an appointment.
While the principles may be the same, the specifics may have to be han-
dled differently. For example, handcuffing deaf people who are under
arrest behind their backs instead of in front deprives them of their
means of communication and unnecessarily increases their distress.
Interesting observations about deaf people in the legal system can be
found in, for example, Brennan and Brown (1997).
Deaf communities, as very often the oldest other-language group
within a dominant language community, may take the lead in new
developments. As well as needing structures and mechanisms which
enable them to take responsibility for control of their own lives and
affairs with privacy and competence, they also need to take on their
share of responsibilities to society. While these have traditionally been
mainly, but not solely, concerned with their own language communi-
ties, there are considered moves towards contributions towards the
wider community. For example, there is interesting work being done in
Australia on the feasibility of having blind or deaf jurors2, while in
England the principle of having a thirteenth person (in the form of an
Copyright © 2008. Palgrave Macmillan UK. All rights reserved.

interpreter) in the jury room, as opposed to twelve, is not yet explored

in depth. Given the recognition of sign languages as languages in their
own right and the many common principles which apply to communi-
cating with both deaf people and other-language speakers, this book
will mainly consider both together.

What public service interpreters and translators do

Public service interpreting and translation are, as the name implies,

interpreting and translation carried out the in the context of the public
services, where service users do not speak the majority language of the
country. The term ‘public service’ refers mainly to those services that are
provided for the public by central or local government. They include

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 What is All this About? 5

legal, health and the range of social services such as housing, education,
welfare and environmental health.
The most frequently used technique in most public service interac-
tions may be described as ‘two way consecutive’, whereby each speaker
is interpreted for after two or three sentences or short unit of informa-
tion, into and out of each language by conversational turn. Whispered
interpreting (chuchotage) is used where occasion demands it; it is a kind
of simultaneous interpreting but without the booth, with the inter-
preter sitting close to the listener and interpreting in a low voice as the
source-language utterances are made. The most usual examples of this
technique are particular stages during court hearings when the other-
language speaker is not part of the exchange or where a long utterance
should not be interrupted, for example, when strong emotions are
being expressed. The interpreter has to know which technique would be
best to use and when (see general good practice guidelines in Chapter
3). A useful glossary of terms can be found on the website of the UK-
based National Centre for Languages (CILT, www.cilt.org.uk/).
One essential principle of interpreting and translation – the need
for accuracy – remains the same as for any other field of operation.
Whether that level of competence is always yet available in the public
service sector is another matter. The difference lies in the context.
In commerce and in international relations, where interpreting and
translation are well established, the other preconditions necessary to
conduct activities across languages and cultures are normally in place.
In the public services, they are all too often not. While the business-
man will conduct prior market research, the public services may not
even know how many people speak which languages within their con-
stituency. While experienced international conference delegates will
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know how to work effectively with interpreters and translators, the

average doctor or judge will not. While the exporter, providing serv-
ices across language and culture overseas, will keep a shrewd eye on
advertising his product, after-sales services and quality assurance, the
public services may not know how to carry out those tasks in relation
to delivering their service across languages and cultures in their own
region.
The first public service interpreters and translators (PSITs) therefore
found themselves in the unenviable position of having to work without
a functioning professional context; they were also aware that, although
they might be doing their jobs properly, the public service was often not
being delivered effectively. The interpreters had no support or protec-
tion and no one to turn to.

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 6 Public Service Interpreting

What this book is about

The delivery of a public service, such as health care or legal process, across
languages and cultures is primarily the responsibility of that service.
However, public service interpreters are playing an increasingly impor-
tant part in the multidisciplinary efforts being made to provide overall
solutions. While retaining their impartial role during work assignments,
their insights into two languages and cultures and the relationships
between them provide an invaluable resource in the creation of strategies
to enable the delivery of an equitable and effective public service, irre-
spective of the language and culture of the recipient. This book therefore
looks not only at the training, assessment and practice of public service
interpreters, translators and bilingual practitioners but also at the wider
development picture.
In Chapter 2, an account is presented of the development of PSIT in
the UK, as a case study, showing how opportunities are seized on an ad
hoc basis. Chapter 3 looks at the role and expertise of the public service
interpreter, where these might differ from interpreting in other contexts
and how those differences might be addressed responsibly. PSITs usually
work alone. Their codes and guides to good practice have to be so thor-
oughly understood that they will withstand the challenges of working
at speed and in such circumstances as road traffic accidents, labour
wards and neighbourhood disputes. The code of conduct includes ele-
ments held in common with all interpreters such as confidentiality and
impartiality. It also includes other items, such as a requirement that all
rewards other than agreed payments should be graciously declined. For,
while the literary translator may accept an author’s or publisher’s offer
of dinner to discuss a text, a public service interpreter or translator
Copyright © 2008. Palgrave Macmillan UK. All rights reserved.

would be most unwise to accept such an offer especially, for example,

from anyone involved in a legal case.
The role of the public service interpreter is still under debate in some
countries and contexts. Some say that public service interpreters (PSIs)
should restrict their role to transferring the meaning of messages, while
others would have them also give advice and opinion and take on addi-
tional tasks. Some say that PSIs should remain impartial, while others
say that they should be on the side of the other-language speaker and
act as advocates of their cause. This chapter explores the options and
justifies the conclusions which are drawn.
Inevitably, where there are new developments there are also some dif-
ferences in professional designations or ‘title’ between countries. Public
service interpreting is called ‘community interpreting and translation’ in

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 What is All this About? 7

some countries such as Australia where there is a long and distin-

guished tradition in this field, including established qualifications and
good practice standards. In the UK and some other countries, that title
became confused with the European Community and its languages, such
as French and German. Community interpreting also became associated
in some of those countries with a role for the ‘interpreter’ that was not
impartial, included a host of additional tasks and could involve training
and qualifications below the minimum level required by language pro-
fessional bodies. So the title was changed to ‘public service interpreter’
in those countries to denote someone who was impartial and qualified.
Chapter 4 looks at the selection, training and assessment of public
service interpreters and translators. The traditional routes of postgradu-
ate conference interpreter training are rarely available for public service
interpreters. Trainers are faced with the challenge of training profes-
sionals who are fit to practise, within limited resources and time. The
range of languages required extends beyond those for which traditional
academic courses are offered locally. Hence, it may be difficult to source
suitably qualified individuals to be professionally trained: qualifications
in Albanian are not common in countries such as the UK, for example.
In addition, public service interpreters rarely have time to prepare for
an assignment. The man detained in the police station, the child who
has drunk an unidentified liquid and the woman in labour are not in a
position to wait until an interpreter researches the relevant terminology
and procedures. Public service interpreters have to be able to function
effectively with little warning. So knowledge of the relevant domain is
included in the training, as well as a wider knowledge of the formal and
informal terminology likely to be used. Public service interpreters also
have to respond to their work surroundings. They have to know the
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geography of their localities and of hospitals and courts so that they can
reach assignments quickly, safely and on time.
Chapter 5 discusses the establishment of a professional framework. In
the public services, members of the core disciplines, such as doctors and
lawyers, belong to regulated professions. They may also have protection
of title, so that no one can call themselves a doctor or a lawyer unless
he or she has met specific requirements. Such professions arise where
trust has to be engendered because the recipient of the service is not in
a position to judge its quality at the point of delivery. That also applies
to professional linguists but only they can take the lead in establishing
their own professional structures.
A formal independent profession develops the strategies for the
implementation and protection of standards and of the code of ethics

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 8 Public Service Interpreting

or conduct. As yet, interpreters and translators have no protection of

title but they are beginning to create professional frameworks. Without
a professional body to support them, public service interpreters, for
example, are vulnerable to pressure from public services to abandon
their impartial status and from other-language speakers or from the
media to break confidences. They would also have no protection if
unsubstantiated allegations were made against them. What is more, the
profession itself could become vulnerable if there were no means of
bringing to book incompetent public service interpreters.
Professional structures also include the connections between the indi-
vidual public service interpreters and those for whom they work. A variety
of arrangements are possible and Chapter 5 concludes with a discussion of
the main factors of employment.
Chapter 6 looks at bilingual practitioners, i.e. those who have a dual
set of skills: language skills and the professional or vocational skills that
enable them to provide their expertise in two languages without the
assistance of an interpreter. Their ‘other’ profession, such as medicine,
law or nursery nursing may not appreciate the significance and sophis-
tication of their language skills and they need the support and encour-
agement of professional linguists.
Chapter 7 describes the all important training of colleagues in the pub-
lic services on how to work with PSIs and across cultures so that they
understand, for instance, the importance of appropriate briefings. While
this training is primarily the responsibility of the discipline or service
concerned, public service linguists may participate in it, and it is gradu-
ally becoming a part of mainstream in-service training. As well as partic-
ipating in formal training sessions, public service interpreters inevitably
find themselves tactfully performing an educational role where they
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find, for example, someone who has never commissioned an interpreter

or translator before, by suggesting points that need to be covered in that
process. It is very much in the public service ethos to promote its inter-
disciplinary nature and make it work.
Chapter 8 provides ideas on the policy and management skills
needed to provide an organisational framework. Policy comes first: a
national commitment to providing what is needed. Rightly, admiration
is expressed for the South African language policy which is designed
to accommodate their eleven official languages, most of them indige-
nous African languages not given official status during the period of
apartheid. Most recognise that this policy is challenging to implement,
but that does not in any way diminish its importance. Management of
change requires a clear analysis of an existing situation, identification

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 What is All this About? 9

of targets and the development of practical incremental steps to cover the

gap within agreed timescales. This sounds self-evident but it demands
a high level of management skills to implement in an everchanging
situation including some sort of organisational framework to support
development.
A co-ordinated national approach is advisable because a piecemeal
approach has associated risks. In the legal system, for example, to have
excellent interpreting and translation facilities in courts alone, without
similar standards in the police, probation and prison services, means
that the courts risk trying cases on unreliable evidence gathered during
the police investigation and having their sentencing options unfairly
diminished. Equally, in health care services, if there is only reliable
interpreting and translation in hospitals, patients may be at risk if it is
not also available at other locations where health care is provided, such
as the surgeries of local doctors and antenatal clinics.
In addition, in practice people’s lives are not compartmentalised, so
that the family which has been involved in a road traffic accident may
need access to both health and legal services. The parents of a disabled
child may need access to health care, education, housing and social
services. There is a requirement for consistency of standards of commu-
nication across the public service sectors to produce an integrated and
functional whole.
Such a national consistency presents challenges in countries where
local areas have traditional autonomous administrative structures, such
as in states that have a federal structure. It is something of a conceptual
leap, therefore, from that to the notion of the international consisten-
cies required to deal with the increasing movement of people between
countries and the consequent requirement to deal efficiently with inter-
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national co-operation and communication between legal, health and

social services in different countries over individual cases and on wider
matters, such as the prevention of terrorism and of trafficking in drugs
and humans.
It would be unfair to face a well-meaning manager, tasked with the
creation of an interpreting service for their local hospital or court, with
this Pandora’s Box of variables and possibilities. So this last chapter con-
tains suggestions as to how they might go about it in a structured way.

Conclusion

The possible solutions described in this book to linguistic and cultural

challenges in communication in relation to access to core public services

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 10 Public Service Interpreting

are based on work in progress. Improvements and new ideas should

evolve over time in what is surely one of the most interesting and excit-
ing fields of professional work for interpreters, and to a lesser extent
translators, and for their colleagues in other public service disciplines.
There are suggestions at the end of each chapter about further reading
or activities.
Copyright © 2008. Palgrave Macmillan UK. All rights reserved.

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