Fields

There are many different fields of interpreting. This refers to the location where the interpreter’s work takes place, in other words, their work environment.  For example, some locations include conferences, courtrooms, social situations, etc.  On this website we shall focus on the field of Public Services Interpreting (PSI).

Public Services Interpreting is done between a service provider in a public institution (medical, educational, legal, etc.) and a person who requires access to this service, but does not sufficiently know or understand the official language and, consequently, finds himself or herself in a vulnerable situation.

Situations which require the presence of an interpreter in the area of public services have increased in frequency and number, due to multilingualism and multiculturalism that characterize many contemporary societies, globalization and the increase in immigration. However, and despite its importance, in the majority of the countries that are open to immigration, PSI is either not recognized as a profession, or not granted the recognition and value that it deserves. Therefore this website focuses on providing resources and information for this specific mode, as explained on the introduction page. Within public service interpreting, we have focussed on four specific fields: community interpreting, medical interpreting, legal interpreting and police interpreting. Under the corresponding menu headings, useful information and materials are included for each of the following fields: origins, definition, legal context, support and reference material, practical resources and many more. It is hoped that this website will continue to expand from hereon, so that it may contain more fields that are common in PSI and include other contexts in which liaison interpreting can be applied.