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Five Steps to Transparent Intervention

5. Return to basic interpreting

1. Interpret the last thing that was said

2. Identify yourself as the interpreter to the interviewer

3. Talk to the interviewer briefly about the problem

4. Interpret what you just said to the interviewer back to the other party

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Barriers to Communication in Interpreting: Appropriate interventions

• Sometimes things get in the way of good interpreting. Interpreters can intervene to fix problems related to:

• Language• Culture• Environment

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Non-equivalence between languages

• Family terms

• Technical terms or jargon • Different date systems, such as the Islamic

or Nepalese calendars

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Strategic Intervention

•Pitfalls to mediation

• Overstepping your role• Side conversations• Loss of transparency

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Strategic Intervention

•Keep it short•Ask yourself:

• What is the problem?• What, if anything, can I do about it?• Why? (what will I achieve?)

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Strategic Intervention

Tips for successful interventions

1. Plan your interventions. There are some that happen over and over again. Develop a script for these.

2. Keep your interventions very short and to the point.

3. Avoid answering questions from either party-just interpret.

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Takeaway: Cultural and Linguistic Barriers to Communication

• Role of the interpreter when cultural barriers arise: Indicate only

• Role of the interpreter when linguistic barriers arise: Indicate, recommend solutions