Center for Survivors of Torture

Caregiver's Corner                 July 2008

Interpretation

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When Aziz went to a mental health support office for the first time in the United States, he brought his 20-year-old son with him to interpret. Aziz and his son came to the United States at the same time, but his son had studied English in college for a year. With his son interpreting between Aziz and the staff, each question and answer took five minutes.

Although his son knew some English and had a clear cultural understanding of his home country and his father’s situation, he had also endured the same types of human rights abuses as Aziz. Consequently, several things went wrong.

Competency in both languages and culture, training in interpretation, and closeness to the situation are three factors that agencies, providers, and clients alike must take into consideration when participating in interpretation. Not only can a correct, consistent interpretation of one’s account affect his or her health and well-being in the United States, but an accurate interpretation of the survivor’s testimony in court can be a matter of life and death.

Interpretation is the explanation of a statement, made in one language, in another. Translation, on the other hand, is the change of a statement in one language, usually written, into another language, written as well. Many times, when a “translator” is present in court or another official situation, that person is actually an interpreter.

Sound practices in interpretation can make or break a case. “Interpreters need to be trained and competent, though not necessarily formally certified,” said Esther Diaz, an interpreter trainer contracted by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. “The use of friends and family members, particularly minors, as interpreters, is discouraged. This is because unqualified and untrained interpreters may add, omit, or change the meaning of communications between clients and providers, thus impairing the therapeutic relationship between the client and provider and possibly limiting the rights of the client.

“Mental health issues make it particularly difficult to understand and accurately convey information from a client to a provider, even for the best interpreters,” she said.

“Interpreters also should faithfully render the message in its entirety, not adding, omitting, or changing any part of the transmission,” said Fabio Torres, program coordinator for Catholic Charities of Fort Worth’s Translation and Interpreter Network. “If the client raises his voice, the interpreter should do that. The interpreter should be impartial, allowing the client to make his or her own decisions.”

Sarah Harris is a CST intern and a former volunteer who has acted as an interpreter for CST clients. “You have a responsibility to the truth,” she said, “to the wording, and to the way in which the client speaks. You have to convey, as fully as possible, the meaning in everything they say.”

Personal mental health care is an important practice when interpreting for a client. Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is a common concern when conveying another person’s story. Even though the interpreter may have never gone through a traumatic experience like the one the client is describing, the act of saying “I went through this” or “This happened to me” can have powerful and detrimental impact on the interpreter’s mental and physical health.

Speaking about human rights abuses in the first person causes the interpreter to take the actions, and the results, upon themselves, resulting in secondary traumatic stress. Learning how to handle STS, and remembering that it is the client’s story, and not the interpreter’s, is the key to wellness for interpreters and caregivers.

“You’re only one piece of the healing process -- an important piece, but not responsible for everything,” said Sharmin DeMoss, MDiv, Associate Director of CST.

Dr. Manuel Balbona, Executive Director of the CST Network, has pointed out critcal themes of translating and interpreting. “It is important to try to work consistently with the translator so you get to understand him and he gets to understand you, with concepts like anxiety and depression,” he said. “Cultural understanding as well as linguistic abilities, directly translating in short sentences, maintaining relaxed professionalism, and practicing techniques for reducing secondary traumatic stress” are all crucial to the interpretation process.

Mr. Torres offered one last piece of advice. “What doesn’t work is interpreters who don’t understand the system of this country well. Every country in the world is different from the United States. A good interpreter is one who understands the mechanics of this country.”

Interpreters act as a bridge between new immigrants and the American culture, until the immigrants become accustomed to American life.