translation studies - Facultatea de Litere - Dunarea de Jos

Ramona Cioranu
Linguistic and Non-linguistic Aspects in Court Interpreting
Professional development is of great importance, they should further their
knowledge and skills through participation in workshops, professional meetings,
interaction with professional colleagues and reading current literature in the field.
e. Impartiality
Interpreters are expected to remain impartial, to render each communication
faithfully and accurately for all the parties present. The parties in the court are by definition
at conflict with each other, and they need to be sure the interpreter does not distort
language in a way that favors the other side. The interpreter represents the common
communicative link for the non-English clients, legal professionals, judicial officers and
government employees involved in a legal matter.
“There is a natural tendency for people who do not speak the official language of
the courts to view the interpreter as an ally, a lifeline, especially if they are in a desperate
situation. They may ask the interpreter for advice about what they should do or what is
going to happen to them. It is tempting to answer such questions by reassuring the person
or explaining how the system works. You may sympathize with him, or you may be
disdainful of him because he broke the law. Remember, though, that your real client is the
court and the justice system, not an individual. (…) This neutral attitude is often described
as “professional detachment.” (Colin and Morris, 1996, apud Mikkelson 2000: 46)
f. Confidentiality
Interpreters must respect confidentiality all the time and they mustn’t try to take
advantage of any information disclosed during their work. Any information obtained in the
course of interpreting assignments should be treated as strictly confidential. Breaching a
client’s confidentiality can have devastating consequences. Interpreters are generally
cautioned not to make any public comment about cases they are assigned to interpret. It is
important to resist the temptation to express opinion or even talk about how the trial is
going in general terms. On the other hand, interpreters do need to talk to their colleagues or
other experts about technical terms or other dilemmas, but they mustn’t reveal names or
other sensitive information that might compromise confidentiality.
5. Interpreting Techniques
As opposed to translating, which is the transfer of a written message from one
language to another and may take place years after the original message was written,
interpreting is the transfer of an oral message from one language to another in real time.
We usually speak of three types of interpreting: bilateral or liaison, consecutive
and simultaneous.
o Bilateral or Liaison Interpreting is widely recognized as the first type of
interpreting. In this situation the interpreter uses two languages to interpret for two
or more people. This type of interpreting is still used today in informal situations,
for business meetings and for community interpreting. Bilateral interpreters may
need to be assertive and exert control over how much interlocutors say and when.
They may need to ask clients to speak up. But what we usually come across in
courts is simultaneous and consecutive interpreting.
o Consecutive interpreting
In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter listens to the totality of the speaker’s
comments, or to a significant passage and then reconstitutes the speech using the
notes he has taken while listening. Because the interpreter must wait for the
speaker to finish before beginning the interpretation, consecutive interpreting
makes the proceeding longer. But this type of interpreting seems to be very helpful
for court interpreters; hedges, self-corrections and hesitations are omitted, making
the interpreter’s job easier, being free to concentrate on the speaker’s ideas without
being distracted by the paralinguistic elements of the message. A skilled court
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