Quality interpreting service : the parliament of SA as a case study
Date
2012-03
Authors
Ntuli, Thomas Phaswana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the interpreting services in the Parliament
of South Africa (POSA). The impetus to embark on such an investigation arose after
Members of Parliament claimed that the interpreting service in the Parliament of
South Africa (POSA) is poor. In seeking to determine why Members of Parliament
made such claims, I therefore investigated the interpreting service rendered by staff of
Parliament’s Interpreting Unit. Consequently, an investigation to whether the
simultaneous interpreters currently employed by Parliament of South Africa possess
the amalgam of skills attributes and qualifications necessary for them to render an
interpreting service of good quality. Questionnaires were distributed to Members of
Parliament and to interpreters, interviews were conducted with Control Language
Practitioners (CLPs), observation of recruitment panels for interpreters also followed,
and interpreters were recorded during the sitting of Parliament House in an attempt to
check whether interpreters do deliver an interpreting service that is up to standard.
The results of this study show that Members of Parliament have a valid claim as 65%
of the sample of interpreters had joined Parliament without interpreting skills and had,
to date, never been sent for interpreting training and most interpreters are demoralised
by the working conditions of the Language Services Section at the Parliament of
South Africa.
Description
Thesis (MPhil) -- Stellenbosch University, 2012.
Keywords
Translating and interpreting, Court interpreting and translating, Law -- Translating, Dissertations -- Afrikaans and Dutch, Theses -- Afrikaans and Dutch, Dissertations -- Afrikaans language, Theses -- Afrikaans language