Interpreting has probably existed ever since human beings from different groups first encountered each other and attempted to communicate. Long before the invention of writing it was human speech that needed to be interpreted so that groups from separate locations that had developed different languages could begin to communicate and engage with one another. One can only imagine that at a period when language itself was still in its infancy the first individuals to encounter and begin to relate to another group that spoke a different language might become familiar with some of their key words or expressions, and then act as mediators or “interpreters” when larger numbers of the different groups began to interact on a more established basis.
The activity of interpreting, diachronically summarised in Baigorri-Jalón (2015) is practically as old as speech itself and its fundamental difficulty has never diminished. Of all the languages that have existed no two have ever developed in precisely the same way or matched each other perfectly in terms of the units they use or the way in which they are structured to produce meaning. The essential problem of interpreting, and translation for that matter, always was and still is, how to transmit faithfully the meaning of something said in one language into another language.
In recent years, a growing body of reports, books and academic papers published throughout the world have researched and continue to explore and attempt to explain the bewilderingly complex and ultimately indefinable process of interpreting between two languages.
This volume is yet a further contribution, an update on the state of one particular branch of interpreting, Public Service Interpreting (PSI). It refers mainly to the UK but also provides some insight into the development of the profession in other parts of Europe. It aims to provide a reflection on the current state of PSI, together with the industry that surrounds it and the individuals involved in it.
Termed as liaison (Gentile et al., 1996), community (Hale, 2007) and public service (Corsellis, 2008), interpreting within social services contexts has been defined over the years in terms of how it differs from conference interpreting. Taking into account that remote interpreting and cross-border legislation means that some legal interpreting is now international, Corselli’s definition still applies: “communication between people of different languages and cultures within national borders and concerned with the events of people’s everyday lives” (2008:1) and it is every bit as important and relevant to the future of the interpreting profession as conference interpreting in international settings.
According to Gentile et al. (1996), authors agree that this type of interpreting, as opposed to conference interpreting, is the most frequently used in the world and is probably the oldest form of interpreting, but it is also less professionalised as it has been traditionally performed ad hoc basically by volunteers, friends or family members, including children.
PSI is the term most commonly used in the UK to refer to the, mostly, consecutive interpreting of spoken language to enable people who do not speak or are not fluent speakers of the official language(s) of a country to engage with a range of public services in that country, such as legal, health, education, employment, housing and other social services. The term community interperting is widely used as a synonym in the UK and in this book. It differs fundamentally from business or conference interpreting in that the interpreter is normally unaware of the precise content of the communication they will be interpreting, it is consecutive and immediate and the interpreter is normally the only person present that has command of both languages being used.
Although not as high profile politically as research on financial markets or climate change, PSI actually encompasses the same range of issues as those other major areas of political and social concern, namely, economics, politics, education and ethics. Furthermore, because these same issues are shared by every other country in the world, research on PSI can be said to have an international perspective as examples of practice in some countries can be extrapolated and used in order to provide alternative viewpoints and offer possible solutions to the problems being faced in others.
In the UK all national and local government social services (immigration, justice, health, housing, social services, employment and education) must, by law, be accessible to all members of the community irrespective of their native language. These public services (and many charities) therefore provide interpreting services either face-to-face or by telephone to enable immigrants, asylum seekers and other non-/limited English speakers to engage with their services. It is an extensive and nationwide industry with an estimated 10,000 interpreters involved in hundreds of thousands of assignments each year. It is also a fragmented industry as it is thought that around 95 % of interpreters are freelance and find work through signing on to agencies, Language Services Providers (LSPs) or the databases of individual governmental or local authority departments.
There is little or no national regulation of the industry and most interpreting service users set their own standards and criteria for the level of qualification and experience of the interpreters they use. Furthermore, there are very few specialised training opportunities for Public Service Interpreters, which means that many are practising without having had any training at all. Established interpreter training courses mainly focus on Conference Interpreting, whereas, as highlighted above, the vast majority of interpreting taking place in the UK is PSI (Graham, 2012:28).
Following the Comprehensive Spending Review in October 2010 all UK government departments plus many local authorities and health authorities reviewed their interpreting services and renegotiated their terms and conditions, causing significant changes to the marketplace. For many years the Chartered Institute of Linguists has been the main accrediting body for Public Service Interpreters (PSIs) through their Diploma in Public Service Interpreting. However, with the recent changes, other bodies and institutions have become involved in looking at how to develop PSIs as professionals in the most effective way that is relevant to PSI rather than Conference Interpreting. The sector is in desperate need of debate and clarity following its rapid development and recent turbulence. There are many stakeholders involved, often with contrasting objectives and priorities, but all increasingly reliant on an often not trained but flexible and willing workforce of freelance interpreters. There is a need for analysis of the current situation to try and gauge the extent to which the demand is met and the supply of appropriate interpreters is assured, and also to determine what new proposals regarding the type of training, development, qualifications and standards should be available to PSIs.
Between 2010 and 2012 the editors developed and launched a highly innovative range of online training courses for new and already-practising interpreters in the PSI industry. These courses, offered and accredited by Leeds Beckett University, were designed specifically to meet a particular need identified through a survey undertaken among interpreters, Public Services Providers and LSPs in 2010. In essence the survey findings showed that, whilst many linguists wanting to enter the profession had the required level of competence in two languages, accessing training on the role and function of the PSIs was often hampered by the cost and inflexibility of existing courses. In particular, respondents said that courses were offered at a very limited number of locations, required regular attendance and were quite expensive. A further issue was that most courses were language specific and therefore likely to be unviable from an economic point of view for all but the most common language combinations.
The interpreting courses devised by Leeds Beckett University staff directly addressed these issues by being delivered online and not being language specific. This meant they could be taken by speakers of any languages, as long as one was English, and that they should remain economically viable as they were not dependent on demand for specific language combinations and they could be followed in the students’ own home and own time, thus not conflicting with other work or family commitments. By being innovative and different to the traditional training courses that had become the industry standard the Leeds Beckett University courses were also considered controversial. They were, however, developed as a direct result of research undertaken among existing and “would-be” interpreters and in close cooperation with a range of service providers and academics involved in language and interpreting training. The courses challenged all past and current practice on interpreter training and through their development the editors have learned a great deal about the PSI industry and the major challenges it is facing. During the course of the project to develop the courses the editors delivered a series of seminars, based on their research and collaboration with other academics from several universities where PSI courses were also delivered. The editors were encouraged by the very supportive feedback they received to collate their research, experience research and observations into this book.
Thus, we set out to explore the key features of this large and fragmented industry and, in particular, we aim to identify its changing needs and how they can be met by the training and development of professional PSIs. The book analyses the current marketplace, the challenges created by recent changes and the resulting opportunities that have arisen for new courses, standards and frameworks to be developed to provide a more fitting regulation for such a growing industry. In particular it explores the tension that exists between clients (meaning the bodies that commission interpreting services, rather than the individuals that need the services of an interpreter) and interpreters. In essence, the increasing downward pressure on the fees paid to freelance interpreters and their conditions of employment mean that interpreters are unable or reluctant in many cases to invest in appropriate training to develop or enhance their skills. This, in turn, means that LSPs who win contracts based on the standards they claim to uphold and the quality of their interpreters are finding it increasingly difficult to achieve their stated quality on a consistent basis. We intend to offer a valuable insight into the roles of all stakeholders involved in the provision and delivery of PSI, primarily in the UK but also across the world.
Part one will explore issues dealing with the roles of the stakeholders such as the changing relationship between public sector bodies and the agencies or LSPs they contract to provide interpreting services; the insistence by some UK government departments that interpreters should be “graded” according to their experience and specialisms so that they comply with criteria over differentiated pay rates for different types of interpreting assignment; the impact of European legislation on PSI, and of the national and international existing standards on the industry. We also focus on training and qualification issues such as the rapid rise of telephone interpreting and other uses of IT; the changes in the variety of languages needed as the nationalities of immigrants and asylum seekers also change; the fact that there are currently no opportunities for interpreters of many lesser taught languages to gain formal accreditation (Kurdish, Farsi, Oromo, Tigrinya, Amharic, Somali, Tamil, etc.); how and if the available training courses and qualifications are fit for purpose within the ever-changing panorama of the PSI industry; and, finally, we look at how other countries are tackling similar or related problems.
In part two the focus will be on a contrastive analysis of theory and evidence-based practice. It looks at the increasing social and political sensitivity to the issue of immigration and the cost of providing interpreting services; the complex ethical issues surrounding immigration and asylum seeking and how interpreters need to remain objective; how and if interpreters cope with stress when dealing with emotional and controversial issues (explaining a person’s forced repatriation, withdrawing a child from a family, telling a patient they may die, interpreting harrowing evidence in asylum tribunals, etc.); and we also offer a reflection on the role of the interpreter and the particular ethical dilemmas which arise in Business Negotiation Interpreting.
The editors of this work, current or former academic staff at Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan University) led by Dr Théophile Munyangeyo, have extensive experience teaching the consecutive/liaison interpreting used by PSIs and of researching the needs of the industry and the training and development needs of interpreters. This experience is complemented by that of the contributors, who are all expert PSI practitioners, reputed academics and trainers. Together, we aim to provide a wide perspective on the key contemporary issues facing the PSI industry.
As well as being themselves stakeholders in the industry through their professional and academic interests, all the authors have also maintained very close association with all or some of the other key stakeholder groups. It is from an appreciation of this varied and comprehensive perspective that this book was conceived and constructed in the hope and expectation that it can serve to answer questions such as: What is the current state of PSI? What are the key challenges likely to face the industry and stakeholders from 2015 onwards? And what, if anything, can those stakeholders do to preserve (not to say enhance) the skills and reputation of those individuals who act as interpreters or are involved in those interpreters’ education, training and development?
References
Corsellis, A. (2008). Public Service Interpreting: The First Steps. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gentile, A. Ozolnis, U., & Vasilakakos, M. (1996). Liaison Interpreting: A Handbook. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Graham, A. M. (September 2012). Training provision for Public Service Interpreting and Translation in England. [Report] Arqueros Consulting Ltd.
Hale, S. B. (2007). Community Interpreting. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.