Court interpreting : practical experience and implications for training interpreters

In the course of the 20th century, Switzerland became far more than quadrilingual due to migration. On account of this linguistic change, the need for interpreting rose considerably and has continued to rise. Most of the languages that need to be interpreted for Swiss authorities and institutions are languages for which no accredited interpreter training exists in Switzerland. Many interpreters thus lack professional skills in or even basic knowledge of interpreting and notation techniques and lack awareness of the interpreters' code of ethics and of their professional role. Moreover, many interpreters have insufficient competence in one of the languages of the interpreting pair and/or in the complex syntactic structures and specialized terminology required. Many also lack the special background knowledge assumed in various areas, be it medical, educational or legal. In these cases, the quality of interpreting is unlikely to be satisfactory and communication is hampered or even fails completely. These communication problems are shared by Switzerland and many other countries; it is precisely here that institutes of translation and interpreting can suggest new solutions. The paper outlines initial steps towards heightened expertise and professionalism in public interpreting services: since 2003 a basic educational program for court interpreters has been offered in the Canton of Zurich