Edited by Sandra Hale, Uldis Ozolins and Ludmila Stern
[Benjamins Translation Library 87] 2009
► pp. 135–148
Basque is one of the official languages of the Basque Country, a region in Northern Spain. Within the legal system, translators and interpreters are mandatory, in order to guarantee the linguistic rights of citizens in their dealings with that system. Because of the nature of the Basque language itself and because of the delicate political situation in the Basque Country, the interpreter’s job is extremely arduous. This chapter will report on the results of an analysis of court cases compiled over the last decade. The cases were classified according to the nature of the trials and hearings in which Basque was used. The strategies developed by Basque interpreters in order to meet the quality criteria which the profession requires are also part of the analysis.