This edited volume sets out to explore interdisciplinarity issues and strategies in Public Service Interpreting (PSI), focusing on theoretical issues, global practices, and education and training. Unlike other types of interpreting, PSI touches on the most private spheres of human life, making it all the more imperative for the service to move towards professionalization and for ad hoc training methods to be developed within higher institutions of education. PSI is a fast-developing area which will assume an increasingly important role in the spectrum of the language professions in the future. An international, dynamic and interdisciplinary exploration of matters related to PSI in various cultural contexts and different language combinations will provide valuable insights for anyone who wishes to have a better understanding when working as communities of practice. For this purpose, the Editors have collected contributions focusing on training, ethical issues, professional deontology, the role and responsibilities of interpreters, management and policy, as well as problems and strategies in different countries and regions. This collection will be a valuable reference for any student or academic working in interpreting, particularly those focusing on Public Service Interpreting anywhere in the world.

Translation, interpreting and other forms of communication support within public sector settings constitute a field which deals, quite literally, with matters of life and death. Overshadowed for many years by interpreting and translating in other domains, public sector interpreting and translating has received growing attention in recent years, with increasingly mobile populations and human rights, diversity and equality legislation shining the spotlight on the need for quality provision across an increasing range and volume of activities. Interpreting and Translating in Public Service Settings offers a collection of analytically-grounded essays that provide new insights into the reality of the interaction in public sector settings and into the roles and positioning of the participants by challenging existing models and paradigms. Issues of local need, but with global resonance, are addressed, and current reality is set against plans for the future. The triad of participants (interpreter/translator, public sector professional and client) is investigated, as are aspects of pedagogy, policy and practice. Empirical data supports the study of topics related to written, spoken and signed activities in a variety of professional settings. Bringing together academics and practitioners from different countries in order to explore the multidisciplinary dimension of the subject, this collection should serve as a valuable reference tool, not only for academics and students of public sector interpreting and translating, but also for practising linguists, providers of language services and policy makers.

The Routledge Handbook of Public Service Interpreting provides a comprehensive overview of research in public service, or community interpreting. It offers reflections and suggestions for improving public service communication in plurilingual settings and provides tools for dealing with public service communication in a global society. Written by leading and emerging scholars from across the world, this volume provides an editorial introduction setting the work of public service interpreting (PSI) in context and further reading suggestions. Divided into three parts, the first is dedicated to the main theoretical issues and debates which have shaped research on public service interpreting; the second discusses the characteristics of interpreting in the settings which have been most in need of public service interpreting services; the third provides reflections and suggestions on interpreter as well as provider training, with an aim to improve public service interpreting services. This Handbook is the essential guide for all students, researchers and practitioners of PSI within interpreting and translation studies, medicine and health studies, law, social services, multilingualism and multimodality.

Interpreting studies have exponentially grown over the years propelled by the realities of multicultural societies which, among other factors, include constant waves of immigration and the subsequent allocation of newly arrived citizens in their host countries—a process entailing public service access and provision. Communicative interactions between users who do not speak the same language as public service providers have been largely studied in different settings belonging to the field Public Service Translation and Interpreting (PSIT), ranging from police, asylum, legal, educational or, focus of this book, healthcare contexts. This edited book offers a unique and updated insight into the research advances and the state of the art in healthcare interpreting. Contributions cover methodological innovations, together with hot topics, such as changing roles, gender, specialized contexts, training programs, and ethical codes, to name but a few.

Routledge Interpreting Guides cover the key settings or domains of interpreting and equip trainee interpreters and students of interpreting with the skills needed in each area of the field. Concise, accessible and written by leading authorities, they include examples from existing interpreting practice, activities, further reading suggestions and a glossary of key terms. Drawing on recent peer-reviewed research in interpreting studies and related disciplines, Dialogue Interpreting helps practising interpreters, students and instructors of interpreting to navigate their way through what is fast becoming the very expansive field of dialogue interpreting in more traditional domains, such as legal and medical, and in areas where new needs of language brokerage are only beginning to be identified, such as asylum, education, social care and faith. Innovative in its approach, this guide places emphasis on collaborative dimensions in the wider institutional and organizational setting in each of the domains covered, and on understanding services in the context of local communities. The authors propose solutions to real-life problems based on knowledge of domain-specific practices and protocols, as well as inviting discussion on existing standards of practice for interpreters. Key features include: contextualized examples and case studies reinforced by voices from the field, such as the views of managers of language services and the publications of professional associations. These allow readers to evaluate appropriate responses in relation to their particular geo-national contexts of practice and personal experience activities to support the structured development of research skills, interpreter performance and team-work. These can be used either in-class or as self-guided or collaborative learning and are supplemented by materials on the Translation Studies Portal a glossary of key terms and pointers to resources for further development. Dialogue Interpreting is an essential guide for practising interpreters and for all students of interpreting within advanced undergraduate and postgraduate/graduate programmes in Translation and Interpreting Studies, Modern Languages, Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Communication.

Public Service Interpreting is a hugely complex activity, encompassing human, ethical, commercial and political dimensions. It is unseen and unrecognized by most of the population but vital to those who depend on it for their security or wellbeing. The quality of PSI provision is seen by the authors as a clear indicator of how a society views and responds to the realities of a multi-ethnic and multilingual global community. Following recent significant changes in the power balance between them this book explores the increasing tensions among multiple stakeholders who together deliver such a fundamental service in a modern open society. Chapters focus on how all stakeholders need to appreciate the wider context of political and economic realities whilst collaborating more responsibly to deliver the conditions, training and support needed for expert linguists to be attracted to and retained in this vital profession.

This book brings together an ensemble of leading voices from the fields of economics, language policy, law, political philosophy, and translation studies. They come together to provide theoretical perspectives and practical case studies regarding a shared concern: translation policy. Their timely perspectives and case studies allow for the problematizing and exploration of translation policy, an area that is beginning to come to the attention of scholars. This book offers the first truly interdisciplinary approach to an area of study that is still in its infancy. It thus makes a timely and necessary contribution. As the 21st century marches on, authorities are more and more confronted with the reality of multilingual societies, and the monolingual state polices of yesteryear seem unable to satisfy increasing demands for more just societies. Precisely because of that, language policies of necessity must include choices about the use or non-use of translation at different levels. Thus, translation policy plays a prominent yet often unseen role in multilingual societies. This role is shaped by tensions and compromises that bear on the distribution of resources, choices about language, legal imperatives, and notions of justice. This book aims to inform scholars and policy makers alike regarding these issues.