AUSIT Webinar | 20220512 ETHICS FOR TRANSLATORS – Translation of official documents: presentations and discussions on ethical issues

Translators engaged in translating personal documents (such as ‘identity’ documents) for clients may encounter ethical issues for several reasons, which may range from clients’ inappropriate expectations through to the occasional dishonest, unethical or unreasonable client.

This workshop, in the form of a ‘blended’ webinar incorporating face-to-face sessions in selected locations and breakout rooms online, will explore these aspects in two short presentations, each followed by discussion in small groups and a recap by the presenter.

Part 1 will briefly explore reasons – particularly cultural reasons – why clients might have inappropriate expectations about the translation process, and how these might be at odds with the translator’s ethical obligations; the group discussion will allow participants to share any experiences of client ‘mis-expectations’.

Part 2 will focus in greater detail on more general issues relating to translation of personal documents and will include situations where a translator might suspect that the source document may be fraudulent or falsified. There will again be various scenarios for group discussion.