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Interpreting in Legal and Healthcare Settings: Perspectives on research and training
Edited by Eva N.S. Ng and Ineke H.M. Crezee
[Benjamins Translation Library 151] 2020
► pp. 83–111

Chapter 4
Australian court interpreters’ preparation practices

A synthesis of findings from quantitative and qualitative survey data

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In a pioneering national survey of court interpreting in Australia, 84% of the surveyed interpreters responded that they did not receive any preparation materials prior to their court interpreting assignments. As part of a larger PhD project investigating the role of preparation using case-related materials in court interpreting, I conducted a national survey of Australian court interpreters’ preparation practices in 2016. This article highlights the survey results and presents a synthesis of findings from the quantitative and qualitative data collected in the survey.

Keywords: court interpreting, preparation, access to case-related materials, survey, quantitative, qualitative
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Survey of court interpreters’ preparation practices
  • 3.Online survey distribution and survey respondents
    • 3.1Basic demographics
      • 3.1.1Gender
      • 3.1.2Age group
      • 3.1.3State/Territory
      • 3.1.4Working languages
    • 3.2Interpreting qualification
      • 3.2.1NAATI interpreting accreditation/recognition
      • 3.2.2Interpreting training
      • 3.2.3Specialised training in court interpreting
    • 3.3Court interpreting experience
      • 3.3.1Length of court interpreting experience and frequency of court work
      • 3.3.2Courts in which the respondents had worked
      • 3.3.3Types of legal cases interpreted
  • 4.Court interpreters’ preparation practices
    • 4.1Frequency of advance preparation
    • 4.2Preparation for assignments to interpret in proceedings like trials or hearings
    • 4.3Preparation time for assignments to interpret in shorter proceedings such as mentions
  • 5.Synthesis of findings: Court interpreters’ preparation practices
    • 5.1Possible reasons for the overall preparation pattern
    • 5.2The notion of ‘preparation’
  • 6.Verbal information and written materials
    • 6.1Verbal information
    • 6.2Types of verbal information received
      • 6.2.1Logistical information about the court interpreting assignment
      • 6.2.2Basic information about the legal case
    • 6.3Requesting verbal information
    • 6.4Written materials
    • 6.5Types of written materials received
    • 6.6Requesting written materials
  • 7.Synthesis of findings: Verbal information and written materials
  • 8.Attitudes towards preparation
    • 8.1Statements about attitudes towards preparation
    • 8.2Level of agreement
      • 8.2.1Statement (1): Adequate preparation for court interpreting assignments in advance is necessary
      • 8.2.2Statement 2: Without access to information/ material about the legal case, I would not be able to prepare adequately
      • 8.2.3Statement (3): Without access to information/material about the legal case for preparation, I would not be able to perform to my optimal capacity as a professional court interpreter
      • 8.2.4Statement (4): Advance preparation using information/ materials about the legal case would reduce the stress of court interpreting
    • 8.3Statistical testing
      • 8.3.1Statement (2): Without access to information/ material about the legal case, I would not be able to prepare adequately
      • 8.3.2Statement (3): Without access to information/ material about the legal case for preparation, I would not be able to perform to my optimal capacity as a professional court interpreter
  • 9.Synthesis of findings: Attitudes towards preparation
  • 10.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 3 June 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.151.04won
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Doherty, Stephen, Natalie Martschuk, Jane Goodman-Delahunty & Sandra Hale
2022. An Eye-Movement Analysis of Overt Visual Attention During Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting Modes in a Remotely Interpreted Investigative Interview. Frontiers in Psychology 13 DOI logo
Jutorán, Mariana Orozco
2023. Dealing with legal terminology in court interpreting. In Handbook of Terminology [Handbook of Terminology, 3], ► pp. 570 ff. DOI logo

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