Redefining the Role of the Community Interpreter: The Concept of Role-space

'Redefining the Role of the Community Interpreter' questions the traditional notion of 'role' that is so often taught on interpreter education and training courses and, more often than not, prescribed by the Codes of Ethics/Practice/Conduct published by institutional users and providers of interpreting services. By examining the nature of face-to-face interactions and drawing on the most recent research into community and public service interpreting, the authors propose and describe a wholly new approach to the role of the interpreter; one based on research and the experiences of the authors, both of whom have, for many years, taught postgraduate interpreting courses and, for even more years, interpreted in a wide variety of settings, from international conferences to social services departments, from presidential addresses to benefits offices, and from doctors' surgeries to Courts of Appeal. The 'role-space' model treats all interactions as unique and offers the interpreter a tool to prepare for and participate in those interactions. Excellent language skills are taken for granted, as is the integrity of the interpreter; what is new is the freedom of the interpreter to make appropriate professional decisions based on the reality of the interaction they are interpreting.


About the Author
Peter Llewellyn-Jones qualified as an interpreter in 1972 and has, for more than twenty five years, taught vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate courses for both signed and spoken language interpreters. He wrote the UK's first undergraduate programme in Sign Language Interpreting for the University of Wolverhampton in 1992 and, in 1997, the Postgraduate Diploma in Interpreting for the University of Central Lancashire, which he taught as joint Course-Leader until 2013. He developed the MA in BSL-English Interpreting for the University of Leeds Centre for Translation Studies in 2003 and was its Programme Director until 2012. In 2013, Peter was elected President of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters. He is a specialist advisor to the Executive Committee of the European Legal Interpreters and Translators Association (EULITA) and a founding member of the recently established (2014) European Network of Public Service Interpreters. Peter has authored several book chapters and papers for refereed academic journals and is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Interpreter Education. Robert G. Lee has been an American Sign Language/English Interpreter for over 25 years, specialising in medical and conference interpreting. He is Senior Lecturer in Deaf Studies and Course Leader for the Postgraduate Diploma and MA in BSL/English Interpreting at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England. He has served on the Boards of the Conference of Interpreter Trainers and the Association of Sign Language Interpreters (UK) as well as serving on the Professional Standards Committee and Publications Committee of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (USA). He is, currently, a member of the Committee of Experts of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (eflsi) as well as the Editorial Board of RID's Journal of Interpretation. Robert has authored or co-authored numerous articles on linguistics and interpreting and has presented at conferences in the US, Canada and Europe.