Translation and interpreting

Translation and interpreting services are crucial for clients who do not speak or understand English or French. These services:

Help clients access the health care system.
Support the provision of better care.
Reduce misunderstandings between clients and health service providers.

For both translation and interpreting, it is important to convey the meaning of the message as it is expressed. Verbatim, or word-for-word rendering, is a strategy employed only in specific circumstances, which will be explained later in this course.

The difference between “translating” and “interpreting”

The translator's responsibility is to translate a written text from the source language into the target language. Most often, immigrants and refugees need this service for official/original documents from their home countries. Translation is a regulated profession in Canada. When translating a document, it is important to hire certified translators or use the services of agencies employing certified translators in order to ensure the quality of the translated documents.

The interpreter's role is to convey spoken messages from one language to another during an in-person appointment, over the phone or via videoconferencing. There are two categories of individuals who perform this task: professional interpreters, who have received formal training and have passed recognized testing in the field, and ad hoc interpreters, who are called upon to interpret but have no specific training or testing (e.g., bilingual employees, volunteers who speak a second language or family members).

In health care settings, as studies support, the use of trained interpreters is the most effective approach because it entails a lower risk to client health and fewer ethical issues (Flores et al., 2012; Nápoles et al., 2015). There is evidence that use of interpreters in health care can improve access to care, the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment outcomes (Brisset et al., 2014). Hiring a trained interpreter ensures a quality of interpreting as well as an ethical positioning that adhere to a standard of practice for neutrality, confidentiality and impartiality in particular situations (Healthcare Interpretation Network, 2007).