Broken English

The interpreter is there, you’re ready to start your meeting, and then the client starts speaking in English – halting, but English nonetheless. What should you do – send the interpreter home? Insist the client speaks his/her own language?

The advice Quality Interpreting providers give their interpreters in these cases is: whatever the situation, respect the rights of both parties. Those rights are:

• The right to choose which language to express themselves in;

• The right to decide whether to use an interpreter or not.

The interpreter’s role is to respect those rights, to guard against interfering, and to let both speakers take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions. It would be wise to note, however, that if you are having difficulty understanding the client, the best course of action might be to request the client to use their own language and make full use of the interpreter.

Some things the interpreter might do are:

• Give a briefing: make it clear what the interpreter’s role is, and what they will (and will not) do.

• Seek guidance from the English speaker on whether to interpret everything into the LOTE (Language Other Than English) and vice versa, or to just stand by in case they’re needed.

• Interpret into English those parts of the conversation spoken in the LOTE. This is tricky, but an interpreter might attempt it.

• Interpret the whole message if it is in mixed English and the LOTE, so that it comes through in its entirety. It is quite possible that the interpreter may have difficulty in understanding the client fully in this situation. So if there is any risk that accuracy could be compromised, they should stop and ask for the whole message to be voiced in the LOTE.

In any conversation, including when an interpreter is present, it is up to both of the parties to decide what they want to say and how they want to say it. They may even decide to use a language they don’t know well. However, if you’re in a situation like this, remember that the conversation is yours to manage – keep the control in your hands. Step in yourself and ask the client to speak in the LOTE if you’re not getting what they’re trying to say in broken English.