CHINESE TRANSLATION SPECIALISTS

News about a trial of Indonesian people smugglers being aborted due to questionable interpreting and costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of dollars hit the headlines yesterday.

Today the body responsible for accrediting translators and interpreters in Australia – the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) – has been forced to suspend its Chinese testing program due to its tests being found on social media!  But why? So-called “Translators and Interpreters” wanting to enter Australia simply have to complete a short test to become ‘accredited’ as “translators” and/or” interpreters”. In the past, this was a ticket to permanent residence – the government has recently changed the rules and it is no longer so.  But I wonder just how reliable a short test is to proving that an interpreter/translator is up to the job. And now to learn that tests have been available to candidates must beg the question, how many ‘bogus’ translators and interpreters are out there potentially causing grief. Have you fallen victim to a dodgy interpreter? You may not even be aware of gaffes that cost you a deal, or have left you open to litigation down the track.

NAATI accreditation should not be the sole criterion for selecting your interpreter or translator – you’d want to check out someone you are entrusting your important words to thoroughly. Test shortcomings are many: firstly, a candidate does not require any knowledge of Australia, its legal system, institutions, practices and ethics; secondly, without training, they have no knowledge of how to translate or interpret; thirdly, as some of these tests are one-directional (into the mother tongue), the underlying competence in English is dubious.

We see the results of poor interpreting and translation on a regular basis – court cases being held up, legal documents misunderstood and company promotional materials, business cards, etc laughable in translation!

Next time you need to select a translator or interpreter – seek references and referrals, check experience and talk to the person to judge their ability to handle your important words.