Confessions of a Public Service Interpreter, Part 1

If you work in any of the public sectors, a PSI will be a familiar figure. Armed with clipboards and notebooks, with ID lanyards on our necks, dressed in suits, clad casually or in salwar kameez and hijabs, we’re an unassuming but vital presence at your workplace.  

Our encounters in courts, council offices or people’s homes may be brief, but we are more alike than not. We are professionals working together.

Since our goals are aligned - we want to achieve a successful conversation, our relations are closer and more impactful than you may imagine, even if we only meet once and never see each other again.

At the end of the day, we really want you to succeed. To achieve the best outcomes for your service user.

Please remember that as linguists, we have all the respect for you and the following advice is not intended as criticism.

We do understand that not everyone knows how to work with interpreters and if you’ve been assisted by a colleague who is perhaps less experienced or requires more training, you might deem the incorrect procedures to be the correct ones.

By sharing my advice, I want to empower you to recognise good practice and to have the confidence to demand it from your interpreters.

So, without further ado, here are some things most of us are dying to tell you.

1.     Briefing is gold. Time is always of the essence when you need to use an interpreter but even a 2-minute conversation before the assignment will do wonders for us. We would love to know:

*      The names and roles of all the parties – it’s sometimes exceptionally difficult to hear a person’s name clearly on a Zoom call.

*      The purpose of the meeting – chances are we were only given the time and date. Is it a befriending visit? An assessment? An interview?

*      Mode – should we interpret simultaneously or consecutively?

*      Any expected difficulties – service user being in pain or having personal difficulties.

*      Last but not least – will there be any graphic or upsetting topics mentioned during the assignment?

2.     Who’s she/he? – It might sound completely anti-intuitive to address directly someone who doesn’t speak English and speak to the interpreter themselves instead, but please remember that:

*      Eye contact and body language are universal – facing someone and looking at them makes you more present and engaged.

*      The conversation is between you and the service user, not between you and me – if you speak only to me, the limited-English speaker can rightfully feel excluded. 

*      The limited-English speaker understands more than you think – English is everywhere and even someone with no formal ESOL education understands some aspects of what you say to them. Having it then repeated in their native language reinforces the messages and helps put them at ease. 

*      Clarity is key – when interviewing a non-English speaker or taking down a statement, using ‘he’ and ‘she’ when addressing the person you’re talking to can cause a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. Case in point – I once interpreted during a phone call where a person who was being interviewed – a male, who was a victim of criminal damage. The offender was male. The victim’s friend, who foiled the attempted theft of the car – a man. The PC tried to ask questions such as: ‘Can you ask him if he was the one trying to get him to get away from the car?’ You do the math…

*      Trust and relationships – 10% of public service and community interpreting is about transferring words from one language to another and 90% is about rapport and making the non-English speaking person feel reassured and building trust.

3.     If you’re tired, we’re probably exhausted…’Madame interpreter, please ask for breaks, you’re the hardest working person in the room’.

These words, uttered by a Crown Court judge in Preston are something I live by. Listening and interpreting or listening, making notes and interpreting is a lot, lot harder than it looks.

Often, when gazing at an interpreter tucked in the dock next to the defendant, poised and professional, it’s hard to appreciate just how intense the process is. There is never any downtime for interpreters. During meetings with multiple participants, there is ample opportunity to ‘switch off’. Not for us. A good rule is a break every hour, although it depends on a colleague. One thing is true in all circumstances – the longer we have to interpret for, the bigger the risk of making a mistake due to fatigue.

That’s all for this month! Be sure to check out the next part of my ‘Confessions…’ on the 4th of April.