Part of
The Critical Link 4: Professionalisation of interpreting in the communityEdited by Cecilia Wadensjö, Birgitta Englund Dimitrova and Anna-Lena Nilsson
[Benjamins Translation Library 70] 2007
► pp. 121–131
Edited by Cecilia Wadensjö, Birgitta Englund Dimitrova and Anna-Lena Nilsson
[Benjamins Translation Library 70] 2007
► pp. 121–131
The interpreter’s ‘third client’
Interpreters, professionalism and interpreting agencies
Interpreting agencies are crucial in determining outcomes in community interpreting, but have been little studied. We analyze the role of agencies in the context of changing employment practices in the field, where more interpreters now work as freelancers. We identify problematic issues for both parties in agencies’ relations with interpreters: agencies vary in their expectations of interpreters, their own work practices, and engagement in professional issues; interpreters vary in their own required business practices and professionalism, and the ability to see the agency as their client. Agencies also crucially set expectations of end-user clients who purchase language services. The growing prominence of agencies may lead to greater emphasis by public policy bodies in demanding codes of industry practice and ultimately accrediting agencies.
Cited by
Cited by 4 other publications
Dong, Jiqing
2023. “Can you work for us as an interpreter?” an ethnography of navigating tensions and emotions within an interpreting agency. The Translator 29:2 ► pp. 175 ff. 
Dong, Jiqing & Graham H. Turner
2016. The ergonomic impact of agencies in the dynamic system of interpreting provision. Translation Spaces 5:1 ► pp. 97 ff.
Giustini, Deborah
2022. Haken conference interpreters in Japan: Exploring status through the sociology of work and of professions. Interpreting and Society 2:1 ► pp. 3 ff.
René de Cotret, François, Andrée-Anne Beaudoin-Julien & Yvan Leanza
2021. Implementing and managing remote public service interpreting in response to COVID-19 and other challenges of globalization. Meta 65:3 ► pp. 618 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 november 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.