Abstract
This chapter considers a range of ethical dilemmas that occur during Public Service Interpreting scenarios and suggests how interpreter training might offer strategies to deal with them. It is based on research undertaken by an experienced linguist and interpreter trainer.
As an outsourced sector, Public Service Interpreting (PSI) has suffered from the shortage of qualified interpreters. Many interpreting courses in PSI have taken the form of fast-track schemes, through short courses that lack adequate reflective practices. Relying on freelance interpreters and on those hired by profit-driven Language Service Providers (LSPs), PSI has not fostered a continuous personal development culture by its nature and scope. In this context, interpreting competence has too often been measured against a set of benchmarks of bilingualism based on the level of communication, linguistic and interpreting skills. While the code of conduct and ethics have generally been considered in the form of a box-ticking exercise, the lack of reflective practice has not allowed public services interpreters to learn from experiences where they face dynamic ethical dilemmas.
The study that forms the basis of this chapter is a narrative inquiry investigating ways in which the expectations for interpreting competence and the interpreter’s behaviour can lead to conflicting perspectives that somePSI settings display for some language pairs. A narrative analysis of self-reported experiences lived by interpreters enables us to examine and to understand how and why some of the ethical dilemmas that PSI settings present can be addressed, by the development of interpreter training which is informed by clear and meaningful self-directed learning frameworks.
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Munyangeyo, T. (2016). Insight into Ethical Dilemmas in Public Service Interpreting and Interpreters’ Training Needs. In: Munyangeyo, T., Webb, G., Rabadán-Gómez, M. (eds) Challenges and Opportunities in Public Service Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-45000-5_7
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