Court interpreters lost in translation

08 June 2015 - 08:20 By POPPY LOUW
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Showboating to the gallery, inaccurate translations and drunkenness are putting South Africa's justice system in jeopardy.

A study in Eastern Cape has highlighted the problem of unprofessional court interpreters, who are often inadequately trained.

The research was conducted by an Eastern Cape advocate who looked at language policy and the use of court interpreters.

He found that a lack of understanding of regional dialects often resulted in the wrong translation of local Xhosa expressions.

In one example, reported in 2007, a convicted defendant claimed there were inaccuracies in the interpretation of his case.

A review of the full court transcript by the chief interpreter revealed numerous shocking errors by the interpreter and it was concluded that the interpreter's performance was "alarmingly poor" and resulted in the infringement of the administration of justice.

Advocate Matthew Mpahlwa, who carried out the research for his MA degree, said incidents in which court interpreters misinterpreted information were a regular occurrence in Eastern Cape courts.

This, he added, was seen in the number of cases that were often overruled or referred back to the trial court once they went under automatic review proceedings.

"These incidents hinder the carrying out of justice because they create loopholes and have an impact on the presentation of evidence in court," Mpahlwa said.

The courts analysed as part of the study included the high courts in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Bisho, East London and Mthatha, as well as lower courts in various parts of the province.

Examples of inaccurate interpretations in court cases the study cited were court interpreters who got distances and measurements wrong, which altered evidence.

The problem is not restricted to Eastern Cape.

Marion Boers, executive director of the SA Translators' Institute, raised concerns regarding unqualified interpreters in the courts, saying the use of non-official language and casual interpreters could lead to "great travesties" of justice.

"There are no rules related to who can be used as an interpreter and those making the decisions are generally not qualified to judge whether the person concerned is competent or not," said Boers.

Though it is not compulsory for interpreters and translators to belong to an association, Boers encouraged them to join an association as a sign of professionalism and to improve their service.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development currently recruits individuals with a matric, who are fluent in at least three languages relative to the court and its geographical area.

But Boers said this was not enough.

"Not every bilinguist is capable of transferring a message accurately and this is when misinterpretation happens," Boers said.

More than 2200 interpreters were trained through the Justice College between 2007 and July 2013. The department has 1942 permanent interpreters and more than 300 casual/part-time interpreters.

Centre for Constitutional Rights director advocate Johan Kruger said mistakes by court interpreters, whose services were predominant in lower courts, had dire implications.

"The use of interpreters or any additional services in the court system should at no stage infringe on individuals' constitutional right to a fair trial."

Mpahlwa found that although the accused can apply for a review or appeal of any irregularity arising from their hearing, it was only those who were financially better off who did so.

This left the majority of people who appeared in criminal courts and who were unfamiliar with the procedure or rules of the court at a great disadvantage.

Some mistakes went undetected because a large portion of presiding officers (magistrates and judges) and prosecutors did not know indigenous languages spoken in Eastern Cape.

Many of the temporary and permanent interpreters interviewed as part of the research indicated they did not often take an oath before they resumed any interpreting exercise.

This can result in "unscrupulous" court interpreters exploiting judicial loopholes and intentionally misinterpreting evidence to influence the outcome of proceedings.

The research further studies the level of professionalism among interpreters, some of whom are said to pitch up to work drunk or present a "devil may care" attitude.

Speaking about fellow interpreters' conduct, Nomsa Majeng, an interpreter at District Court 3 in East London, said some "liked attention".

"They like to add things and you find the gallery laughing, and in court we are not joking.

"For a person to be in court, it means [he] has done something serious. And they crack jokes, laughing at what is happening there," Majeng said.

Inadequate training, poor salaries, fatigue, interfering court administrative staff, the lack of counselling after traumatic cases, minimal monitoring and supervision from the Department of Justice are just some of the concerns raised by court interpreters.

The department did not respond to a request for comment.

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