Vicent V Briva Iglesias
Non-professional translation and interpreting has been traditionally absent in Translation Studies, despite it being a common practice. Only recently, have the three non-professional translation conferences held in Forlì (2012), Mainz (2014) and Winterthur (2016) given some attention to non-professional translation and interpreting. That consideration was long overdue, especially is we bear in mind that specific Translation and Interpreting training is a recent addition to University-based education.
This contribution takes non-professional translation and interpreting as its object of study. More specifically, it will focus on how specific systems approach the regulation of non-professionals’ practice. The Argentinian system will be taken as a case in point and compared to the Spanish system. This poster will examine how non-professional and yet suitable (‘idóneos’ in Spanish) translators are offered a place in the professional market.
Such initiatives are instrumental in providing a solution to the increasingly complex linguascape that poses increasing challenges to the judicial system, which must adjudicate in cases where migrants from different linguistic backgrounds require solutions from the legal system (applications for refugee status but also conflicts with the criminal system or with other citizens).
The possibilities of many speakers of minorized languages to receive training and to be adequately represented in legal settings are severely reduced when only certified and trained translators and interpreters are engaged in situations requiring some kind of language brokering. Non-professional bilinguals serve, therefore, a much needed role in satisfying an urgent need.
In this poster, a content analysis of the Argentinian and the Spanish regulations will be conducted in order to find differences and similarities and to identify the gaps that could be filled in the Spanish legal system as to non-professionals. It is our belief that the final aim of current legislative frameworks should be to guarantee an effective communication, also for migrants, in legal settings.