Concern at cost of court translation in Northern Ireland

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Holger Laux
Holger Laux  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:51
Member (2011)
English to German
+ ...
startling? Feb 5, 2011

What is startling about this? The rates quoted seem spot on. I would be happy with them, but some interpreters might even like to ask more.

The general problem is that translation and interpreting is often not seen as serious work.


Gupse
 
Laurent KRAULAND (X)
Laurent KRAULAND (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 09:51
French to German
+ ...
And agencies? Feb 5, 2011

Surprisingly enough, agencies providing global services such as hiring court interpreters for "an apple and a piece of bread" and making more than comfortable margins are never mentioned in such articles.

I wonder why?


 
mediamatrix (X)
mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 05:51
Spanish to English
+ ...
Startling, indeed... Feb 6, 2011

The full article (as distinct from the extract posted here) tells us that foreign-language interpreters get £25 per hour, and that British sign language deaf blind interpreters get £49 per hour (almost double).

This begs two questions:

1 – Since, in both cases, the requirement is to communicate the goings-on in court to someone who doesn’t / can’t understand, why is one interpreter paid twice what the other gets?

2 – What fee is paid to an interpreter w
... See more
The full article (as distinct from the extract posted here) tells us that foreign-language interpreters get £25 per hour, and that British sign language deaf blind interpreters get £49 per hour (almost double).

This begs two questions:

1 – Since, in both cases, the requirement is to communicate the goings-on in court to someone who doesn’t / can’t understand, why is one interpreter paid twice what the other gets?

2 – What fee is paid to an interpreter who, for example, interprets spoken English to Urdu sign language for a deaf blind person from Pakistan?

And the third of my two questions is: Is Lord Maurice Morrow (the peer who is apparently unhappy about these fees merely because he finds the professionals are 'well paid') bothered more specifically about the fees paid to deaf blind interpreters or those paid to foreign language interpreters?

MediaMatrix
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Michal Glowacki
Michal Glowacki  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 09:51
Member (2010)
English to Polish
+ ...
Demand and supply Feb 9, 2011

1 – Since, in both cases, the requirement is to communicate the goings-on in court to someone who doesn’t / can’t understand, why is one interpreter paid twice what the other gets?


It's called demand and supply. The supply of such interpreters is, most probably, much lower than e.g. Spanish interpreters.

Also, it is disturbing - I'm quite sure that he has never had the opportunity to meet an overworked interpreter who has to work twice as much to earn a decent living because the rates he/she is offered are so low that even the government is happy to pay them. A qualified interpreter has the same right for decent earnings as a banker or a finance specialist. And yet, we still fail to earn the same

[Edited at 2011-02-09 11:39 GMT]


 
Gupse
Gupse
Türkiye
Arabic to English
+ ...
startling? Feb 20, 2019

Holger Laux wrote:

What is startling about this? The rates quoted seem spot on. I would be happy with them, but some interpreters might even like to ask more.

The general problem is that translation and interpreting is often not seen as serious work.

Not until they need you.
"You are the single most important person in the room right now" makes me feel like gifting my services, whereas, "You don't need to come, I can manage by myself," after their initial bewilderment is gone makes me feel like overcharging the client for our trade's honour. For such people, money leaving them is their only teacher.


 
Eliza Hall
Eliza Hall
United States
Local time: 04:51
French to English
+ ...
I'm startled the rates are so low Feb 20, 2019

They're on the order of double that in the US.

As for the disparity between sign language and spoken language, I agree it's supply and demand. The same is true of spoken language: a Spanish interpreter isn't going to be able to demand as much per hour as an Arabic or Georgian or Nepali interpreter, because the Spanish interpreter has a lot more competition.


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:51
Spanish to English
+ ...
Spot on? Feb 21, 2019

I'd prefer to sit around here and have more time to do a written translation and get more for it. As for shocked peers of the realm, I remember we used to have an expression in Northern Ireland - What do you expect from a pig but a grunt?

[Edited at 2019-02-21 16:06 GMT]


 


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Concern at cost of court translation in Northern Ireland







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