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The government is underestimating

the value of good interpreters and


translators
Professional interpreters and translators play an important role in courts and police
investigations. However, justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus’s decision to downgrade
the professional requirements to ‘secondary school levels’, is not a good idea, says
certified translator and interpreter Roemer Leushuis.

International crime and the flow of refugees have led to a greater need for
professional interpreters and translators. The Dutch government claims it is unable
to meet that need. Is there really a lack of professionals, and if so, how is the
government going to solve the problem?

A court decision or the granting of a residence permit is not best served by letting
mistake-riddled Google Translate or Deepl take care of the translation. The human
eye is still indispensable, if only to weed out the errors. Interpretation is not yet in
any danger of being replaced by technology which so far has failed to master
spoken language recognition.

This means professional government organisations and courts have to consult the
register of certified interpreters and translators. ‘Certified’ guarantees quality and
reliability because the translator or interpreter chosen for the job has the
appropriate diplomas and no criminal record. But something is afoot which may
change things considerably.

On June 16 MPs rejected a final attempt to stop two draft proposals made by justice
minister Ferd Grapperhaus. One concerned the introduction of commercial
mediators for all government interpretation and translation work. The other focused
on reducing the language skill level for certified interpreters and translators. At the
same time, the current fixed hourly rate of €44 euros would become the minimum
hourly rate.

Peaks

According to the minister, the current system is not able to cope with peaks in
demand, for instance in the event of a mass influx of asylum seekers. But
interpreters are hard to find in other circumstances too. The justice ministry
expects that commercial companies will be better equipped than the government to
supply interpreters and translators of ‘rare’ languages.

Interpreters and translators are appalled at the plans. After years of hard study,
they are doing a job which comes loaded with responsibility and poor pay to boot.
Police investigations and court cases depend on good translations or justice will not
be served. It takes professionalism, legal knowledge and experience.
Politicians tend to look to their voters to gauge if there is any support for their point
of view. It may be that the general public think that an interpreter or translator is
hired to support criminals with a foreign background and asylum seekers, two
groups which are not exactly popular in this country.

Investigations

But interpreters and translators are not only there to help guarantee the basic
rights of certain groups. The government itself needs them to carry out its tasks.
They are working in the background, but play an essential role in the large-scale
police investigations which feature so prominently in the press. They also play a
role in counter terrorism activities because bugged phone conversations and legal
assistance requests to foreign authorities have to be translated.

When a suspect is detained abroad at the request of the Dutch authorities, a


translation of the extradition request will have to be provided with no time to lose.
Once the suspect arrives, the services of the interpreter are needed for the police
interrogation. During the trial the suspect is questioned again, this time by the
court and in the presence of a different interpreter.

Rates have not been raised for decades, uncorrected for inflation. A two hour
service, including preparation and travel time, currently pays around €100 before
taxes. In the new situation, interpreters and translators will be paid by the minute
and that might substantially lower their income. Commercial mediators will also try
to maximise their profit margin.

Well-trained

There are a number of factors which influence the limited availability of well-trained
interpreters and translators. There are few opportunities for training and cutbacks
have decimated language studies. The immigration services, moreover, are
increasingly faced with waves of refugees fleeing the political circumstances in their
country. And as government pay is poor, many will prefer to work for other clients.

Now the justice department has decided to deal with the relative scarcity by
lowering the professional standards. That is not a wise decision. The B2 language
level which would be required is about that of a secondary school pupil, and not
nearly enough to do the job properly. Contrary to many other professionals, such
as care workers and teachers, interpreters and translators are not primarily fighting
for better pay but for the survival of their craft.

There is a simple solution. The present system, not perfect but mostly adequate,
must be maintained and improved, including fairer rates. To do this the universities
and the government must reinstate good language courses.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2020/09/the-government-is-underestimating-
the-value-of-good-interpreters-and-translators/

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