UK Police Interview and Court interpreting procedure Thread poster: Jane Smith
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Hi Everyone,
I'm a fiction writer working on a book featuring a character who is an interpreter for the Met Police and the Courts in the UK.
I'd be enormously appreciative if anyone with experience of working in these settings would have a moment to help me with the following.
- If interpreting in court for a factual witness for the defence, would this be done via whisper or consecutive method? I'm wondering whether the witness would give their answers (in their language... See more Hi Everyone,
I'm a fiction writer working on a book featuring a character who is an interpreter for the Met Police and the Courts in the UK.
I'd be enormously appreciative if anyone with experience of working in these settings would have a moment to help me with the following.
- If interpreting in court for a factual witness for the defence, would this be done via whisper or consecutive method? I'm wondering whether the witness would give their answers (in their language) into a microphone in court for all to hear, or would they speak quietly so that only the interpreter sitting next to them can hear their answers? Would be any opportunity for a bilingual speaker in the courtroom to object to something in the translation? Or would a person sitting back in the public gallery be unable to hear the witness's answers in their language, and only hear the english interpretation?
- Hypothetically, how might it be possible, in a court situation, for an interpreter to deliberately mistranslate something a witness or defendant said and for this to not be picked-up by someone else present in the courtroom?
thank you so much for any help
Jane ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jan Rausch 
Germany
Local time: 16:10
German to English
+ ...
| Depends on the direction | Jan 8, 2021 |
Usually, anything said in court by the judge, lawyers etc. would be whispered from English into the other language for the witness/defendant (although I am not sure how this works at the moment with Covid). So no one else can hear it.
When the witness/defendant speaks, that would be interpreted consecutively into English, so someone with knowledge of both languages would be able to pick up on what they consider to be inaccuarte renditions.
| | | | Sadek_A
Local time: 18:10
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Consider this: | Jan 8, 2021 |
It's the stenographer's task to capture everything said during hearings, the way it was pronounced, whether in English or otherwise.
Statements and translations must be delivered out loud, in order for them to be recorded.
The court's stenographer isn't supposed/required to judge the quality of the foreign language or its translation. This is where one of the parties can always ask the court to permit audio-only or audio-video recording of the hearings, for future reference.
If... See more It's the stenographer's task to capture everything said during hearings, the way it was pronounced, whether in English or otherwise.
Statements and translations must be delivered out loud, in order for them to be recorded.
The court's stenographer isn't supposed/required to judge the quality of the foreign language or its translation. This is where one of the parties can always ask the court to permit audio-only or audio-video recording of the hearings, for future reference.
If anyone suspects a mistranslation, whether deliberate or not, they can always refer to the party being wronged, the court, the police, or whatever authority that can quickly rectify. But, they can expect to be held accountable for their report if it's malicious, uneducated, etc., in the same manner the interpreter can expect to be held if their interpretation was of the same traits. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Consecutive! | May 24, 2021 |
Dear Jane
It will be very interesting book.
In the UK courts, the interpreter and witness would stand in the witness box, and interpretation is always consecutive ( as he or she is being cross-examined by the barristers). In one occasion, I was in the box with witness who was a corpulent and inconsiderate man, after a few minutes, the judge asked me to step out of the box before I got crushed. Everyone laughed.
If the interpreter makes mistakes: let sa... See more Dear Jane
It will be very interesting book.
In the UK courts, the interpreter and witness would stand in the witness box, and interpretation is always consecutive ( as he or she is being cross-examined by the barristers). In one occasion, I was in the box with witness who was a corpulent and inconsiderate man, after a few minutes, the judge asked me to step out of the box before I got crushed. Everyone laughed.
If the interpreter makes mistakes: let say, what the witness states is way different from what the involving parties would expect, the issue will be investigate in a friendly manner with the same or with an another interpreter, to confirm whether it comes from the interpretation or not.
There is also a system in placed that randomly checks on interpreters' performance. This takes place by an independent body without the interpreter's knowledge. ▲ Collapse
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