Blog
Welcome to the PSI Mapping community. Our members are jointly putting together the jigsaw puzzle of the Public Service Interpreting playing field in the European Union and beyond.
Why is this necessary and what is in it for me? Stakeholder consultation carried out by DG Interpretation has made clear that the professionalization of PSI services varies strongly between and within Member States. Mapping the various PSI contexts will more easily allow for an exchange of good practices, thus increasing the overall quality level of PSI in the European Union. Moreover, bringing this knowledge together on the KCI platform will make it more readily usable for policy makers.
Maturity of the community. Our community has been around since April 2019. We strongly believe that an online community thrives best if members also meet regularly in real life. Therefore, we have so far had several real-life/hybrid editathons, where PSI professionals from across the globe came together to discuss the way forward and jointly propose content.
Our objectives:
- Increase the geographical coverage of our members by reaching out to new members, especially in countries not yet represented in the community.
- Gather ideas on how to best represent PSI on the static pages of the KCI. The current version is not cast in stone.
- Behind the scenes: Improve the functionalities of the KCI, such as presentation of the blog posts and general user friendliness.
Table of contents
REGULATION AND POLICY
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This section aims at providing an overview of existing regulations (including company protocols, codes of conduct, guidelines, etc.) and policies for PSI in the face-to-face and remote interpreting modes, in different settings, and at different levels (supranational, national, local). Furthermore, the section tries to collect best practice examples and point out ways forward in formulating policies and regulations. |
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Webinar - Quality, Access, Trust (part 1)
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Quality, Access, Trust – Standardization in Public Service Interpreting (Part 1) In this first session, Remco Ruiter introduces the ongoing ISO work on standards for Public Service Interpreting, explaining how they aim to strengthen quality, accessibility, and public trust across Europe. The presentation was part of a joint ENPSIT–KCTI webinar bringing together practitioners and standardization experts to discuss the evolving landscape of PSI. |
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Webinar - Quality, Access, Trust (part 2)
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Quality, Access, Trust – Standardization in Public Service Interpreting (Part 2) In this second session, Leonardo Doria de Souza explores how quality assurance and access principles translate into practice across Europe’s public service interpreting landscape. Drawing on his dual role in ENPSIT and the European Commission’s KCTI, he highlights the links between policy, training, and the implementation of standards that foster trust and consistency in PSI. |
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Translation and Migration
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Translation und Migration. Dolmetschen als gesellschaftspolitische Aufgabe (Translation and migration. Interpreting as a sociopolitical task). This volume, edited by Nadja Grbic and Michaela Wolf, includes contributions (all written in German) on a variety of PSI-related topics and areas such as (volunteer) interpreting for refugees, discourses on flight, migration and community interpreting, as well as interpreting in judicial, police or asylum settings. All contributions were written by graduates of the Department of Translation Studies, University of Graz (Austria). |
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
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This section seeks to compile information and evidence-based research on: • Competence models of PSI matched with education levels across countries • Competence development in PSI • Training methods in PSI and their effect (role play, interprofessional training, virtual worlds,…) • Innovative initiatives in PSI training and their effect • Online training modules • Training of stakeholders to work with PSI providers |
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PSI featured on the BBC
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PSI is also present in the media. Here are two interesting resources that you can enjoy on the BBC: 1. A BBC programme that features a PSI at work. It highlights a number of issues such as support and emotional impact of interpreting on the interpreter. 2. An older BBC sound that portrays interpreters in PSI but also in football. Here you can find great information about the national register for PSI and the union for PSIT (NUPIT). You will have to create an account to listen to it. |
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Austria: New platform for Dialogue Interpreting
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The Platform for Dialogue Interpreting (Plattform Dialogdolmetschen) is a network of the three Austrian university institutions offering translation and interpreting programmes (University of Graz, University of Innsbruck, University of Vienna) as well as non-university institutions in Austria that deal with various topics of dialogue interpreting in research, teaching and professional practice. Among other things, the website contains an overview of the training and further education courses offered in Austria in the past and at present. . |
COMPETENCES
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This section provides information about community interpreting competence Generally spoken, competence can be defined as a set of skills needed for high performance in a certain field (Sternberg, 2005). Previously, models for mapping interpreter competence in interpreting studies were predominantly focused on conference interpreting. Since the widespread emergence of community interpreting (CI) in practice and research, attention has shifted to mapping competence that responds to the specific needs of CI. The identification of CI skills or competencies is of major importance to the education, standardization and certification of community interpreters. Sternberg, R. J. (2005). Intelligence, competence, and expertise. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.) Handbook of Competence and Motivation (pp. 15–30). Guilford Press. |
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Training for public service officers
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An example of local good practice in Belgium. |
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The impact of context in Community Interpreting
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Please check out the latest volume of Linguistica Antverpiensia - New Series in Translation studies: “The impact of context on community interpreting research, practice & training”. This open-access collection of papers discusses the impact of various contexts on community interpreting and highlights under-researched areas, such as interpreting for refugees and other vulnerable groups, sensitive contexts and other possible socially and emotionally challenging settings. Many of its contributions result from papers presented at the 2019 In Dialog 3 conference (hosted by the University of Antwerp, KU Leuven Antwerp & ENPSIT). |
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Competences - a Chinese perspective
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Interpreter training has developed in different ways within Europe (and around the world). However, there is no standardised framework for measuring interpreting competence. This article presents a research project based in China conducted to design, develop, and validate the interpreting competence, based on the China Standards of English (CSE), which are the Chinese counterpart to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Descriptors were proposed on aspects like (a) interpreting training syllabuses, curricular frameworks, rating scales, and professional codes of conduct; (b) previous literature on interpreting performance assessment, competence development, and interpreter training and education; and (c) exemplar-generation data on assessing interpreting competence and typical interpreting activities. Read PDF. |
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Interpreting competence models - a review
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reviews the content of 47 translation and 35 interpreting competence models to describe their similarities and differences. It suggests that different curricula are designed to meet different market standards. Oraki, A & Tajvidi, G 2020, ‘Training Translators and Interpreters: The Need for a Competence-based Approach in Designing University Curricula (Research Paper)’, Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, no. 2, pp. 42-56. |
PROFESSION AND PRACTICE
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The goal of this section is to cover the most practical aspects of Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT). It includes information about the professions, such as standards of practice, codes of ethics, organizations that provide PSIT services, and professional associations. |
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Your voice counts!
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As interpreter's our voice matters, in more than one way. The International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) and the International Federation of Translators (FIT) launched the 'Open Letters' Project in 2012 to help protect interpreters and translators all over the world. How? By using your voice to advocate on behalf of embattled linguists. You can do so by sending letters of appeal to relevant authorities, speaking up on behalf of unjustly persecuted, prosecuted, and imprisoned translators and interpreters all around the world. Growing voices The initiative garnered strength as the International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI) joined in 2013, followed by Critical Link International (CLI) and the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) in 2015, and more recently, the Conférence Internationale Permanente d’Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes (CIUTI). European Network for Public Service Interpreting and Translation (ENPSIT) is also a permanent signatory organization in support of the initiative. Will you raise your voice? Red T, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of translators and interpreters in high-risk settings, invites you to join the growing voices by raising your own. You can do so by writing a letter of your own. In need of inspiration? More information and examples of open letters can be found here |
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RESEARCH
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The aim of this chapter on public service interpreting and translation (PSIT) is to provide researchers and other stakeholders with relevant information about research-related topics in this field. Information concerns key publications, research projects, research groups, funding opportunities and conferences. |
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MHEALTH4ALL
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In 2022 the European project MHEALTH4ALL will start: Development and implementation of a digital platform for the promotion of access to mental healthcare for low language proficient third-country nationals in Europe, funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, DG HOME, European Commission (AMIF-2020-AG-CALL-02) and led by the University of Amsterdam (Dr. Barbara Schouten). Here you can find the summary of the project. |
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Multilingualism project in mental healthcare
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In 2022 the Multilingualism in mental healthcare project will start. The overall aim of this interdisciplinary research project, funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung, is to improve the quality of healthcare systems by mitigating language barriers in diverse mental healthcare contexts. Specific goals of the project are 1) to gain more insight into policy and practice regarding multilingualism in mental healthcare, 2) to investigate how healthcare providers and patients perceive language barriers and what organizational support is needed to mitigate these barriers, 3) to explore how professional and community solutions, e.g. professional and community interpreting services, can promote access to care, and 4) to support local migrant communities, including existing self-advocacy initiatives, regarding accessing mental healthcare services. The research consortium, which is led by the University Medical Center Hamburg (Germany), consists of partners from Stellenbosch University (South Africa), Babeş-Bolyai University (Romania), University of Macau (China), Utrecht University (the Netherlands) and the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).. |
