Gernot Hebenstreit, University of Graz
This paper will discuss ethical dimensions of interpreting in asylum hearings where the language of the system has a dominant position vis-à-vis the languages of the applicants. Based on value theory and virtue ethics, this paper will look at professional morals relevant to the interpreters in this field. This framework will be used to analyse a selection of working principles contained in a handbook used in workshops for training lay interpreters in Austria. These principles will be mapped to moral values and virtues in order to determine to what extent justice – as a central ethical value – plays a role in this context.
Keywords: interpreting; moral values; virtue ethics; asylum hearings; justice