Public Service Interpreting by Matilde Trucco

USA - the Federal Court Interpreters Act (1978)

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 14:54:09 UTC

...mandated the setting up of interpreter

services only in courts

1990 - the Institute of Linguists (UK) adopts "Public Service Interpreting"

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 14:56:47 UTC

as official nomenclature.

1984 - Publication of "The Right to be Understood"

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 14:58:35 UTC

by Jane Shackman

4 FACTORS in the provision of PSI (Ozolins 2010)

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 15:03:59 UTC

(Reliance on) government funding; changing ideologies regarding public sector finance
Increasing language diversity
Making this an institution-led (rather than a profession-led) field; e.g. identifying needs, establishing standards.
Need for "cross-sector" / "cross-portfolio" policy making (as opposed to sector-specific policy making), due to the nature of interpreting.

5 FACTORS that induce governments to take greater or lesser interest in LS provisions and infrastructure (Ozolins 2010)

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 15:17:02 UTC

Overall political/social attitudes to immigration
Federalism vs. unitarianism in government; relations to local and central authorities
Public policy models of government provision as opposed to other provisions (e.g. NGO,
charity, voluntary, or private provision of services).
Whether legal interpreting is privileged over other areas.
Attitudes towards the concept of ‘interpreting;’

1977 - National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters [NAATI] was established in Australia

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 15:42:16 UTC

A national

system of accreditation

1995 - the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts was created in the US

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 15:45:38 UTC

...by several pioneer states, e.g. New Jersey, Minnesota, and Oregon.

1998 - The National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare (NCIHC) was formally established in the US

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 15:52:32 UTC

1997 - Eldridge Decision by the Supreme Court of Canada

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 16:35:13 UTC

...stating that the failure to provide sign language interpretation where it is needed for effective communication in the delivery of health care services violates the rights of deaf people.

1996 South African Constitution

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 16:42:16 UTC

...the new post-Apartheid constitution changed the previous English/Afrikaans official language regime with the addition of nine African languages.

This has brought about manifold issues in the scramble to establish language services that cater for all languages (in a situation of lack of resources).

1984 - UK Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act Code C paragraph 13

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 16:46:03 UTC

Legislation on the important of the provision of a suitably qualified and independent interpreter for an individual who is deaf or who does not understand English.

2007 (revised) The National Agreement on the Arrangements for the use of Interpreters and Translators in the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales

matildetrucco1 — 2025-08-22 17:38:53 UTC

...is a unified link between training and certification to gain a place in the NRPSI, plus having significant public sector bodies commit to taking interpreters only from the National Register (National Agreement 2007).

USA (2012) Publication of the Executive Summary: "Improving Patient Safety Systems for Patients With Limited English Proficency"

matildetrucco1 — 2025-09-01 16:10:16 UTC

published by the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ)
highlighting the fact that adverse events that affect limited English proficient (LEP) patients are more frequently caused by communication problems and more likely to result in serious harm compared to English-speaking patients