Interpreters’ code of ethics
Professional language interpreters and translators, of course, have their own codes of
ethics. Different subsets within the profession have slightly different codes, but they
all share certain fundamental tenants:
1. Maintain confidentiality
2. Remain impartial
3. Avoid conflicts of interest
4. Interpret/translate accurately
5. Maintain a professional demeanor
6. Continuously improve through education and training
7. Speak up and/or recuse yourself if a matter is beyond your knowledge or
ability.
Maintain Confidentiality
As an interpreter or translator, you are likely to be handling sensitive or otherwise
confidential information. Even if it seems trivial, clients need to be sure they can trust
you not to share it with other people. Only share it with someone else with express
permission of your clients, or in a case where there is an urgent need to share it for
legal or safety-related reasons.
Be Accurate
Interpreters and translators are hired for their ability to correctly understand what one
client is saying and convey it accurately to the other. As the IMIA guideline puts it,
you should “select the language and mode of interpretation that most accurately
conveys the content and spirit of the messages” of your clients. This holds especially
true for interpreters, who are translating a real-time interaction. Much of human
communication is portrayed not through words, but facial expressions, tone of voice,
body language, etc. Interpreters should have clients speak to each other rather than to
them, and make eye contact, to help them pick up on these nonverbal cues. But even
so, they may not be understood correctly.
Be Sensitive to Cultural Misunderstandings
There are some situations where conveying information is not enough. As an expert
on the culture of both languages, you should be aware of any cultural differences that
may interfere with effective communication. As an interpreter, if a situation arises
where that seems to be happening, it is your duty to do what you can to help your
clients bridge the misunderstanding. As a translator, it’s important to anticipate any
misunderstandings that might arise from you translated text, and adapt it to most
effectively communicate the original meaning.
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Maintain Impartiality
You can only convey someone’s message accurately if you are not clouding it with
your own feelings and opinions. You are hired for your expertise in language and
cultural differences; even if you have knowledge and training in the subject at hand, it
is not your job to give your opinion on it. This is especially important for interpreters.
Clients may not be able to differentiate between your opinion and that of the other
party, and that can make injecting your opinions dishonest and harmful.
If a personal attachment to one or both clients may affect your ability to be impartial,
it is best to step aside and let another interpreter take on that assignment.
Be Professional
Only accept assignments that are appropriate for your training and expertise—both in
terms of subject or setting, and in terms of language fluency. Have the humility and
integrity to step aside if an assignment you are offered is outside your scope of
knowledge.
Stay Up-to-Date and Pursue Professional Development
Languages are constantly evolving, and new terminology comes to light in every field
all the time. You need to be aware of these changes to interpret and translate
effectively.
Enhance your knowledge and skills by engaging in continuing education and staying
in touch with other professionals and organizations in your field. This will help you
stay informed and become a more effective interpreter or translator.
Interpreters and translators serve as the only gateway between two people who speak
different languages.
Because they are usually hired to interpret in stressful or delicate situations, a Code of
Ethics for medical interpreters was developed by the International Medical
Interpreters Association
The IMIA was the first organization to author an ethical code of conduct specifically
for medical interpreters. Multiple codes of ethics have since followed. A code of
ethics is necessary for medical interpreters to maintain standards for the individuals
within that profession to adhere to. It brings about accountability, responsibility and
trust to the individuals that the profession serves.
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1. Interpreters will maintain confidentiality of all assignment-related information.
2. Interpreters will select the language and mode of interpretation that most
accurately conveys the content and spirit of the messages of their clients.
3. Interpreters will refrain from accepting assignments beyond their professional
skills, language fluency, or level of training.
4. Interpreters will refrain from accepting an assignment when family or close
personal relationships affect impartiality.
5. Interpreters will not interject personal opinions or counsel patients.
6. Interpreters will not engage in interpretations that relate to issues outside the
provision of health care services unless qualified to do so.
7. Interpreters will engage in patient advocacy and in the intercultural mediation role
of explaining cultural differences/practices to health care providers and patients only
when appropriate and necessary for communication purposes, using professional
judgment.
8. Interpreters will use skillful unobtrusive interventions so as not to interfere with
the flow of communication in a triadic medical setting.
9. Interpreters will keep abreast of their evolving languages and medical terminology.
10. Interpreters will participate in continuing education programs as available.
11. Interpreters will seek to maintain ties with relevant professional organizations in
order to be up-to-date with the latest professional standards and protocols.
12. Interpreters will refrain from using their position to gain favors from clients.
9 Ethical Canons of Legal Interpreting
Legal Interpreting is a demanding profession, not only because of the skills required
to convey a conversation between multiple parties and languages, but also due to the
fact that there is a specific code of ethics to which all professional interpreters should
comply. This is not only at the professional level, but also at the industry level and, in
the case of legal and court interpreters, at the state level. These ethical conducts tend
to overlap, and some major ones are outlined below.
Legal Interpreter’s Code of Ethics
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The nine points below are a sample of those outlined by the National Association of
Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, as well as the Committee for the
Administration of Interpreters for the Trial Court Administrative Office of the Trial
Court, Massachusetts.
1. Accuracy and Completeness – the dialogue should be conveyed in full to the target
language, without omission or distortion of the original message in any way.
2. Impartiality & Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest – court interpreters should
remain as impartial in proceedings as possible, and should limit unnecessary contact
with any of the parties involved while treating them all equally regardless of race,
sex, national origin, religion etc.
3. Confidentiality & Restriction of Public Comment – legal and court interpreters will
not disclose any confidential matter, nor shall they make any public comments
pertaining to the case.
4. Limitations of Practice – professional legal and court interpreters will not perform
any work outside the scope of translation or interpreting services; including giving
advice about the case.
5. Protocol and Demeanor – interpreters must keep to the professional standards of
the court and of interpreters, including speaking in the first person for the parties, and
notifying the court when the interpreter will be speaking for him/herself.
6. Maintenance and Improvement of Skills & Knowledge – continuous learning and
enhancement of interpreting and translation skills is expected.
7. Accurate Representation of Credentials – any and all certifications, training, prior
experience etc. should be properly represented.
8. Interpreting Protocols – the interpreter must comply with usage of a particular
mode of interpretation or translation (consecutive, simultaneous or sight translation)
based on specific situations outlined by the court.
9. Impediments to Compliance – any circumstance which will inhibit the court / legal
interpreter from complying with the aforementioned protocols should be brought to
the courts attention immediately.
Ethical Implications of Being a Legal / Court Interpreter
One of the biggest ethical challenges a legal interpreter will face from the start is that
of being impartial. As a professional interpreter, you are expected to repeat exactly
what is being said in a conversation, with no omissions – even if you do not agree
with what is being discussed. This must be done with no indication of your own
personal feelings towards the conversation, in order to ensure that the message is
accurately conveyed. In a legal setting, and especially in a court room, a professional
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interpreter may have to repeat dialogue that goes against his or her ideas, beliefs,
morals and so on. However, as a legal interpreter, you are bound by the
aforementioned code of ethics to repeat what you hear, without bias.
Ethical Inside and Out of the Courtroom
Legal interpreting doesn’t just take place in the courtroom. There are many instances
where a legal interpreter’s services will be required - from depositions to law
enforcement investigations. However, just because the interpreting isn’t taking place
within a courtroom, it does not mean that these ethical standards should not be
abided. Legal interpreter training and court interpreter certification courses can help
you learn the best practices for abiding by these ethics, while still staying true to your
professional and personal self.
What Should the Interpreter Do?
Scenario 1: The Close Community
A refugee family is part of a small, close-knit community. Mom and two children –
none of whom speak English – are in a major car accident. They’re being rushed to
the hospital. Injuries are critical. Time is of the essence. Dad needs to make some
quick – and difficult – decisions. The only professional, medical interpreter available
on-site also happens to be the family’s next-door neighbor and close family friend.
What should the interpreter do?
Scenario 2: The Dual Role
The interpreter has interpreted three times a week for several months for a deaf
inmate being held in a state institution. She becomes intimately familiar with the
details of the incident that resulted in the inmate’s arrest and confinement. She’s
heard the inmate’s “side of the story” many times and knows the goal of the treatment
is bring the inmate to a level of mental competency to allow him to stand trial. When
the competency hearing is scheduled, the prosecutor’s office hires the interpreter’s
agency to provide interpreting services. The agency assigns the interpreter to the job.
What should she do?
Scenario 3: The Jerk
The interpreter is interpreting for a couple signing up for voluntary accident and
short-term disability insurance offered through their employer. The couple hails from
a country where this type of insurance isn’t common, and they are pretty confused.
They’re asking a lot of questions and the broker is getting frustrated. The broker turns
to the interpreter and says, “Are these people really as dumb as they sound? For
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goodness sake! We’ve gone over this a dozen times already!” What should the
interpreter do?
Applying the Codes
As in most areas of ethics and professionalism, there aren’t necessarily a black-and-
white, “right” or “wrong” answers. Instead, interpreters must make decisions, in the
moment, based on the information they have available at the time. That being said,
Jessica and I suggest the following decisions to stay on the “right” side of the line.
Scenario 1: The Close Community
Typically, an interpreter with a close relationship like this would recuse himself due
to personal involvement. But in this instance, the interpreter should interpret, at least
until the emergency passes and other options can be explored. This is an emergency,
life-and-death, time-critical situation. He should certainly stress to his neighbor that
he’s there as a professional interpreter and will keep everything discussed 100%
confidential. Once the immediate emergency has passed, the hospital can explore
options like video remote interpreting or over-the-phone interpreting, which can call
upon a geographically-remote talent pool.
Scenario 2: The Dual Role
The interpreter should decline the assignment to interpret at the competency hearing.
When interpreting at the institution, the interpreter became part of diagnosis and
therapy process for the inmate. The inmate likely developed a sense of rapport and
trust with the interpreter. Taking on a role on the “opposite” side – for the
prosecution – creates a dual role that would, at least, raise conflict of interest
concerns.
Scenario 3: The Jerk
The interpreter should interpret exactly what the broker said. This one is a bit of a
trick question. At the outset of every interpreting session, the interpreter goes through
a pre-session. During the pre-session, the interpreter explains (in both languages) his
role and clearly states that he will interpret everything that is said. It is not the
interpreter’s job to “cover” for a jerk or to protect Limited English Proficient people
from rudeness. Rather, the interpreter is a conduit for language, allowing the
participants to interact as if there were no language barrier. Of course, that broker
will probably learn a valuable lesson and may well lose the sale.
