Professional, ethical, and policy dimensions of public service interpreting and translation in New
Zealand
This article reviews the practical, ethical, and policymaking dimensions of public service interpreting and
translation in New Zealand. It shows that the country has had a limited tradition in translation and interpreting and that
historically bilingual community members have been asked to perform T&I without specific training. Our review also reveals
that several factors may explain the ongoing use of non-professionals across public settings: the availability of bilingual staff
and community volunteers, the misrecognition of the T&I role, difficulties around procurement of highly skilled practitioners,
and cost concerns. Policymakers and other members of the community have identified that these factors can negatively impact
quality standards and professional ethics, as seen in the government’s recent initiative to regulate and professionalize the
sector. We report on this initiative and our advisory role concerning the endorsement of a teleological approach to professional
ethics.
Article outline
- Introduction
- The PSIT sector in New Zealand
- Government reviews of the PSIT sector
- The LAS Project
- Our role as academic advisers
- Teleological ethics in codes of practice and tertiary education in New Zealand
- Accuracy
- Impartiality
- Clarity of role boundaries
- Conclusions, discussion, and future directions
- Notes
-
References
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Cited by
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2021.
‘How did he say that?’ interpreting students’ written reflections on interprofessional education scenarios with speech language therapists.
The Interpreter and Translator Trainer ► pp. 1 ff.

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