Community interpreting
43
translating, and agency and resistance are key
themes in this discussion (see descriptive
versus committed approaches). There
is considerable scope for future research on
commercial translation to consider critically, not
just what this activity entails and how students
might be trained to undertake it, but also how
and why it is done, its impact on society, and
what roles the translator and his or her transla-
tions play in shaping economic, cultural, societal
and political developments.
See also:
advertising; functionalist approaches;
globalization; localization; scientific
and technical translation.
Further reading
Sager 1994; Séguinot 1995; Sager 1998; Katan
1999/2004; Snell-Hornby 1999; Charteris-Black
and Ennis 2001; Böttger and Bührig 2003;
Cronin 2003; Navarro Errasti et al. 2004.
maeve olohan
Community
interpreting
The term ‘community interpreting’ refers to inter-
preting which takes place in the public service
sphere to facilitate communication between
officials and lay people: at police departments,
immigration departments, social welfare centres,
medical and mental health offices, schools and
other institutions. Community interpreting is
typically carried out consecutively, but can also
involve instances of interpreting performed
simultaneously (in the form of whispering). The
term covers both interpreting in face-to-face
situations and interpreting provided over the
telephone (see dialogue interpreting).
Growth of interest in interpreting from the
1990s onwards, including interpreting performed
in community settings, has led to a proliferation
of terms referring to this type of activity. The
variety of terms can be explained by the diversity
of conceptualizations of the activities and actors
involved. For instance, in most countries inter-
preting between spoken and signed languages in
TF17062.indb 43
the same settings detailed above is traditionally
termed signed language interpreting rather
than community interpreting. This area has its
own established organizations and journals but
is increasingly included in collected volumes on
community interpreting (e.g. Hertog and van
der Ver 2006; Hale 2007). Dialogue interpreting
(Wadensjö 1992; Mason 1999), liaison inter-
preting (Gentile et al. 1996; Erasmus et al. 2003)
and public service interpreting (Corsellis et al.
2000) are other terms used more or less synony-
mously with community interpreting, though
each term tends to emphasize a specific charac-
teristic of the same activity – the communicative
format (involving face-to-face, bi-directional
interpreting) in the first two cases, and the
social setting in the third. Some authors tend to
avoid the term ‘community interpreting’ since
it has been associated in some contexts with
amateurism and ad hoc solutions, and with
interpreting performed by people with little or
no professional training.
At one time performed only by volunteers,
untrained bilinguals, friends and relatives,
sometimes including children – what Hall (2004)
refers to as ‘language brokering’ – interpreting
in community settings has developed into a
profession over the past decades, in response
to international migration and the consequent
linguistic heterogeneity of most nations (see
mobility). Increasingly, community inter-
preting seems to be further developing into
a number of distinct areas of professional
expertise, such as ‘healthcare interpreting’,
‘mental health interpreting’, ‘educational inter-
preting’ and ‘legal interpreting’ (the latter
including court interpreting, interpreting
at police stations and in immigration and
asylum hearings). Nevertheless, community
interpreting continues to be performed by
untrained individuals, what Harris (1990) calls
‘natural translators’. This partly has to do with
the fact that the need for community inter-
preting fluctuates, sometimes very quickly, with
global streams of migration. National and inter-
national organizations regularly attempt to set
standards and promote a professional attitude
to community interpreting among those who
undertake it as well as their clients. However,
the wide variety of languages involved and the
fluctuating demand for interpreter services
for each language tend constantly to frustrate
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 44 Community interpreting
these efforts. Community interpreters who can
only secure few assignments are also likely to
enjoy limited opportunities for developing their
professional skills. Generally speaking, the level
of funding available for appointing professionals
and for professional training programmes tends
to fluctuate in response to the current political
climate.
Community interpreting vs. other
types of interpreting
The role of the community interpreter is as
vital to successful communication as that of
any other type of interpreter. In addition,
involvement in face-to-face interaction empha-
sizes the community interpreter’s role as both a
language and social mediator. While the textual
material for conference interpreting largely
consists of prepared (often written) monologues
in the source language, community interpreters
have to handle real-time dialogue – more or
less spontaneous and unpredictable exchanges
of talk between individuals speaking different
languages – and they also have to interpret
in both directions. This is often the case also
in face-to-face interpreting undertaken in
business, media and diplomatic settings.
However, professional community interpreting
differs from most other types of dialogue
interpreting in that it is often understood
and/or required to involve a high level of
neutrality and detachment; the community
interpreter is generally expected not to side
with either party. The principle of neutrality
and detachment, which is taken for granted in
court interpreting, has been a major issue
of debate among professional community inter-
preters and those who train them. Attempts to
define the appropriate level of involvement vs.
detachment on the part of the community inter-
preter are fraught with difficulties. In practice,
a community interpreter often has to suffer the
dilemma of being simultaneously seen as the
immigrants’ advocate and the official’s ‘tool’ and
helping hand. This also means that community
interpreters can be regarded, from two opposing
points of view, as potential renegades. Their
dilemma as mediators is further exacerbated
by the prevalence of social antagonism, ethnic
tensions and racial prejudice in most countries.
TF17062.indb 44
Many community interpreters are themselves
members of minority groups in the host
country, but compared to other members of
these groups they are relatively assimilated into
the host society and familiar with its institu-
tions. Compared to conference, business and
diplomatic interpreting, community inter-
preting remains a low-status profession which
does not attract high levels of remuneration.
This is indirectly reflected in the level of training
made available: where courses are specifically
designed for community interpreters, they
tend to be run by colleges rather than univer-
sities. However, since the 1990s courses in
community interpreting (especially legal inter-
preting) have increasingly been taught as part
of undergraduate and master’s programmes in
interpreting at university level. For a discussion
of the role of the interpreter in various settings,
see Angelelli (2004).
Content and aims of training
programmes
Training programmes for community inter-
preters vary in both scope and aims. A general
goal is to achieve a high level of accuracy
by improving students’ command of their
working languages. In addition to knowledge of
linguistic structures, this covers training in the
use of specialized terminology and familiarizing
students with the subject areas and adminis-
trative procedures of the particular domains
in which they wish to specialize, for example
health services, local government, social
services and legal services. Most programmes
are also designed to develop awareness of
potential cultural differences between partici-
pants involved in the interpreting event. It is not
uncommon for community interpreters to feel
the urge to intervene to smooth cultural differ-
ences by, for instance, explaining or adjusting
conventions concerning the degree of formality
in addressing the other party. Differences in
conventions concerning when and where it is
appropriate to bring up what to one or both
parties might be taboo topics – such as money,
sex and religion – may also require deliberate
interventions on the part of the interpreter to
avoid communicative breakdown. Such inter-
vention by the community interpreter could
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 Community interpreting 45
mean preventing the parties concerned from
acquiring familiarity with each other’s conven-
tions of politeness and correctness. Opinions
therefore vary among trainers concerning the
role of the community interpreter and the
notion of efficiency in the interpreting context.
Ultimately, efficiency can only be measured
against a particular goal, and goals of course
differ, coincide and are generally negotiated in
face-to-face interaction.
Some scholars consider it the community
interpreter’s professional duty to inform each
(or one) of the parties about what is considered
appropriate, normal, rational and acceptable
by another party. Shackman says of the (UK)
community interpreter that ‘she is responsible
for enabling the professional and client, with
very different backgrounds and perceptions
and in an unequal relationship of power and
knowledge, to communicate to their mutual
satisfaction’ (1984: 18). Empirical research has
also shown that in practice interpreters are
inclined to prevent possible threats to a smooth
exchange from surfacing in interaction (Jansen
1995; Wadensjö 1998; Davidson 2002). As a
result, the interacting parties may experience
‘mutual satisfaction’ at one level, but at the cost
of an illusory mutual understanding. Research
has also demonstrated that interpreters tend
to give higher priority to their role as co-
ordinators, rather than translators (of spoken
discourse), in the sense that they devote much
effort to sustaining interaction, sometimes at
the cost of accuracy in rendering interlocutors’
utterances (Wadensjö 1992, 1998, 2004). This
situation does have its dangers: in assuming
the position of the ‘expert’ on language and
culture, and hence taking control of the inter-
action, the community interpreter runs the
risk of depriving the monolingual parties of
power (and responsibility), following a patron-
izing model, more or less deciding for them
what they optimally want to achieve in and by
their encounter. This becomes evident when
we consider that the monolingual parties in
institutional settings may occasionally lack the
interest and motivation to actually talk to one
another. For instance, a suspect meeting a police
officer or a child meeting a doctor may prefer
to remain silent. Professional training can be
designed to raise awareness of these and other
issues specific to the community interpreter’s
TF17062.indb 45
work. As a rule, most training aims to ensure
the interpreter’s commitment to a professional
code of ethics and guide to good practice that
involves supporting existing standards on how
the monolingual parties’ needs and expectations
should be met.
Most programmes provide training in
consecutive and simultaneous interpreting.
They pay varying degrees of attention to note-
taking techniques and to developing relevant
skills for sight translation, as well as for written
translation. They generally also include a
component on interpreting theory, in addition
to practical exercises and linguistic and termi-
nology training in the languages in question.
Practical exercises involve role-play, language
laboratory work and analysis of audio and video
recordings of interpreting practices.
Guidelines instructing public service officials
and others on how to communicate through
community interpreters are provided by various
institutions, such as NAATI (the National
Accreditation Authority for Translators and
Interpreters) in Australia and the Institute of
Linguists in the UK. These guidelines include,
for instance, advising officials to speak directly
to the other party rather than saying to the
community interpreter ‘tell him to . . . ’, etc.
Such guidelines are both influenced by and
reflected in existing training programmes,
where community interpreters are instructed to
speak in the first person. Users of community
interpreting services are also advised to pause
frequently so as not to tax the interpreter’s
memory, to plan ahead for interviews in which
the assistance of an interpreter is required, to
avoid discussing issues directly with the inter-
preter in order not to exclude the other party,
and to hire accredited community interpreters
wherever possible.
Accreditation of community
interpreters
In many countries, a number of university
programmes that specialize in interpreter
training offer a degree or a certificate upon
completion of a given course. These degrees
are seldom designed specifically for community
interpreting. Some types of community inter-
preting, such as legal interpreting, are relatively
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