Interpreters: Insights on Ethical Issues in Community Based Interpreting

By Terry Chesher, a Fellow and foundation member of AUSIT. In her presentation, Terry gives a brief report on an international survey conducted by the FIT committee on Community Based Interpreting in 1998 and 1999. The interpreters’ perspective was sought through an internationally distributed questionnaire, in which practitioners voiced their opinions on the particular characteristics and requirements of their work. Survey data highlighted the importance of ethics in defining the interpreters’ role and in providing the guiding principles for their practice. The way ethical principles are interpreted and applied in practice is the subject of ongoing debate in the profession. Over 90 survey respondents from 7 countries (many from Australia) illuminate ethical considerations in interpreting in the community. Interpreters need to attempt to reconcile the tensions between formal definitions of ethical principles and interpreting in practice in community settings.