An in-context overview of legal translator competences, qualifications and other professional requirements set in the
ISO 20771:2020
Legal translation – Requirements standard
This article provides an overview of legal translator competences, qualifications and other professional
requirements set in the
ISO 20771:2020 standard. References to existing frameworks,
such as European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and some research, complementary ISO standards (notably
ISO 17100:2015) and current industry best-practice offer relevant context and background information, and
identify the gap that has been filled by this important standard.
The author demonstrates that
ISO 20771:2020 is a good example of a
requirements standard developed for the translation industry that is up-to-date, reflects actual industry best-practice, and
addresses a need for standardization of legal translator requirements for the purpose of certification. It is posited here that
ISO 20771:2020 is a valuable resource for all stakeholders as it not only provides
accurate information about standard market requirements for legal translation (and translation in general) but also contributes to
translators’ professionalization by setting objective professional benchmarks. Additionally, ISO requirements standards are, by
definition, pragmatic and operational, and therefore easier to validate through conformity assessment and certification than any
other resources, and hence both the industry and academia can only benefit from increased ISO standards uptake.
The overview of legal translator competences, qualifications and other professional requirements set in the
ISO 20771:2020 standard reflects the ISO approach to setting translator requirements, and
outlines some of the practical implications of translation industry standardization and certification in the hope that it might
become the starting point for more discussions on this subject in the future.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.ISO and translation standards – some background information
- 3.ISO translation standards and the EQF
- 4.Translator requirements – some relevant research, ISO 17100 and ISO 20771
- 5.Legal translator competence – relevant research
- 6.ISO 20771 overview
- 7.Other relevant ISO 20771 requirements
- 8.Conclusions
- 9.Future perspectives
-
References