Letter to the Editor of the Providence Journal

The Importance of Interpreters

The Governor’s question, “Why are we, at taxpayer’s expense, providing interpreters for people who want benefits from us?” should be answered by taking three elements into consideration, the quasi-legal setting, the linguistic complexities of sight translations, and the role/responsibility of a professional interpreter

Whether it be the legal setting of a courtroom, or the quasi-judicial settings of myriad RI regulatory agencies, people seeking government assistance are required to fill out applications that require a signature affixed to each legal document attesting to the truth and accuracy of the information contained therein. Administrators make final determinations under the auspices that the content is accurate, consequently the signature applied to the form reflects legal decisions that serve as a contract and has implications for both the applicant and the administrator. Administrators defer to the application in the event of an appeal, consequently it is critical that family members, friends, and staff members with good intentions, resist taking on the liability and role of a communications expert who ensures that the determinative information is reliable, accurate, and impartial. Privacy rights of linguistic minorities also need to be taken into consideration when filling out applications, as forms contain sensitive information such as, income and debt. Keep in mind; there are harsh penalties if statements contain errors.

The legal language found on RI’s quasi-legal forms is replete with linguistic complexities such as, misplaced phrases, lengthy sentences, nominalizations, and technical terminology that make it impossible for non-English speaking persons to understand. Because a growing percentage of RI taxpayers need interpreting services in order to be linguistically present, it is the onus of the agencies interviewing applicants to be able to make themselves understood to those expected to comply with the legalities behind the assistance being offered and awarded.

Should family members be coerced to interpret lexical, syntactical, and discourse utterances that waive specific rights, or that imply complicity with a legal agreement? The answer is ‘no’. Professional interpreters are trained to identify terms that imply the sociological force of the law, and make those paralinguistic features explicit in the interpretation. Many family members are not native users of English, and though they may be able to speak two languages, they are not qualified to interpret accurately, effectively, or impartially (DO-IT Center, 1996).

Compelling a non-English speaking person to fill out an application form that requires professional sight translation places citizens in deleterious predicaments when not accompanied by a professional interpreter. Making a statement that, ”Immigrants ought to rely more on family members to help with translation” is reckless, and compromises equitable treatment towards all.