This article is about translator and interpreter training in South Africa. Translation and interpreting has historically suffered from an extremely poor image in South Africa. Translation into and out of local African languages, for example, has often been done on an ad hoc basis, with institutions such as hospitals, the police force and the courts not infrequently making use of someone who was simply able to speak the two or more languages required. Since the declaration of eleven languages as official, with others recognised, the consequences of such a policy, or lack of policy, have become more apparent. To solve this problem, more and more attention is being paid to translator and interpreter training.