Perspectives on the quality of interpreting and the role of interpreters working in asylum seeking contexts in Spain

Abstract

The professionalisation of interpreters in legal settings is currently gaining momentum in Spain due to the EU Directives on procedural rights. To this one may add the longstanding humanitarian crisis, which has raised awareness on interpreting quality amongst a number of NGOs and other agencies that deal with asylum seekers. At present, interpreters are hired by private service providers on the basis of the languages needed or those that are available, and there is no requirement as to their training. In this paper I analyse the perception of the quality of interpreting services and of the role of the interpreter from a number of perspectives, including those of NGO’s agents (legal advisors, social workers, psychologists) and of lawyers involved in such processes following descriptive research methods. I then discuss existing perceptions about interpreters by different professionals intervening in the asylum procedure, in an attempt to obtain a valid, data driven picture of interpreting in the asylum seeking context in Spain. Such information will hopefully serve to fill the void in the professional development of interpreters as an essential part of asylum processes and, most importantly, as a guarantee of human rights. It will also contribute to raising awareness amongst the professionals whose work is done with the assistance of interpreters.