The interpreter – on your side or not?

Strictly speaking, the interpreter is on no-one’s side – in fact one of the tenets of best practice interpreting is that of impartiality. The role that the interpreter plays is that of a neutral linguistic mediator, just passing the message as accurately as possible from one speaker to another. They’re interested in the communication process rather than the outcome of the conversation between the two parties. The outcome is up to you and your client – just as it would be if you both spoke the same language.

When impartiality is compromised, how can you tell? It can be tricky, but above anything else, hiring a trained professional is one way of being sure it’s not. If you’re relying on the family or friends of the non-English speaker, you’re far less likely to get neutral interpreting. That’s simply because there is a very human, emotional attachment involved, and it almost always gets in the way of impartiality. There are two main roles that friends and family members tend to play:

1. Advocate: the friend/family member is concerned to see that the client gets what they want or need. They become an advocate for the person, tidying up their responses or questions to make them sound better or more appropriate, or even offering unsolicited advice. The message you get might sound really good, but not be at all what your client actually said.

2. Gatekeeper: in this situation the client doesn’t get the unvarnished message you intended. Consider the impact of the power difference if the “interpreter” is the child of the client; or the husband of the client; or the employer or employee. It may be that in order to spare the client’s feelings, the family member/friend leaves out facts that they judge to be inappropriate, or they soften the message so that the client is not upset or fearful. Alternatively, they change the message so as not to lose face, or because it does not conform to their relative’s cultural practices.

If you’re not sure, keep asking questions to test what you’re hearing. Insist that the interpreter stick to interpreting – nothing more, nothing less. If you really think the interpreter is continuing to get in the way, stop using them. And, if the interpreter and non-English speaker seem to be having side conversations, ask them to translate what they were saying.

Choosing an interpreter from a Quality Interpreting provider will provide assurance of impartiality, but in any case, keep an eye on proceedings yourself: get the best outcome for you and your client by maintaining control.

Qi Blog post 11 October 2021