Article,
Rights to be Heard and the Rights to be Interpreted
Babel: Revue internationale de la traduction/International Journal of Translation, (2003)
Abstract
The principle that during police interviews people who do not speak English should have access to interpreters has long been established in legal practice in the UK. However, very little is known about the extent to which or how this principle is actually applied. The aim of this study was to provide a close look at current legal interpreting practices in different types of legal encounter in the UK. What was actually going on in these events; what were the specific problems associated with interpreting in legal settings; and what were the problems associated with interpreting between Cantonese and English? What can the close study of interpreters as they interpret tell us about the process of interpretation in legal settings? An ethnographic approach was adopted to collect and analyze the data. I observed and audio-recorded four interpreting events which involved Chinese interpreters.
