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The quality of interpreting services isn't questioned anywhere else
Interpreters join language debate JEANELLE GREYLING
T
he interpreting service on the NWU-Potchefstroom campus have been a recurring topic in debates about the future of the NWU, yet no-one has ever approached them to voice their opinions. Wapad met with 12 out of the 80 interpreters on the NWU Potchefstroom campus last week to discuss the interpreting services.
Quality assurance procedures The interpreting service consists of very strict selection-, quality control- and mentorship processes. Willem Botha said they were evaluated externally by influential people like the chairperson of PanSALB (Pan South African Language Board), prof Mbulungeni Madiba. “He gave us a very favourable evaluation,” Botha said. The average percentages of the clients’ satisfaction is very high. “It was between 80% and 90%” during the individual evaluations last year,” Botha said. Every interpreter also received individual assessments for every module they interpreted last year. Users gave them ratings similar to the ratings they give lecturers after a module. Leia-Ann van der Merwe said they also transcribe the classes and compare the Afrikaans and English “sentence by sentence”. “The percentage of equivalence is over 90%.”
Worldwide prestige “We were at an international congress in 2009 and we gave a number of presentations. The other universities were really impressed,” Ananda van der Walt said. “The fact that we interpret on such a large scale makes us leaders in our field. Although there are student interpreters, most of the interpreters are “professional people,” Van der Walt said. Most of the interpreters that spoke to Wapad have been interpreting for 10 years.
Terminology The interpreting services use interpreters who know the terminology for the specific modules. The profession does, however, require that an interpreter reads up on new terminology and pre-
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This graph shows the average quality scores of the all the interpreters last year. The interpreting services received 3 256 questionnares that rated 66 interpreters. GRAPHICS: NWU interpreting services pare for a class before he interprets it. Hanlie Steyn used herself as an example when she said that many interpreters interpret a course that they have already obtained a degree in. Steyn has her masters in BPharm. Zannelize Strauss, also an interpreter, is busy with her masters in Law and interprets these classes.
Background politics Van der Merwe said simultaneous interpreting is utilized worldwide. “The quality of interpreting services to convey the same message simultaneously isn’t questioned anywhere except for here.” Melissa Hocking said there is “a lot of background politics going on. It’s a very polarised, very political issue. “We’re the scapegoats.” Hocking said she does not have a political agenda and she does not take sides. “I’m a third party who is passionate about a multilingual environment. “The issue is not our quality, the background politics is the underlying issue here that we need to distance ourselves from.” Marilize van Deventer said events like the mass meetings create an opportunity for riotous people to voice their opinions, “and if we do research afterwards about why they are unhappy, we realize they are not even users or they aren’t even unhappy with the interpreting services.” Hocking said “one student starts making a ruption that has a ripple effect”. “People that never had a problem with the interpreting services are stirred up by external
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Wynand Steyn. PHOTO: Heinz Schoeman-Struwig
factors and agendas.” Strauss heard there were problems with her interpreting earlier this year. “When we spoke to the student and the lecturer spoke to the student, nothing was wrong. Everyone in the whole group was fully satisfied.”
Language policy Van der Walt said language is linked to culture and interpreting is linked to language. “There is a language issue, so what is the easiest thing to do? Link it to the interpreting services.” Van der Walt originally comes from a campus where they only provide classes in parallel medium. “The campus is absolutely segregated. The culture groups are apart.” She first saw the integration of cultures when she came here. “The people on campus don’t have an issue. The people who think there is an issue are the people from outside. Furthermore, the interpreting services on this campus allows everyone to cooperate because everyone receives the same information. Van der Walt, who was a lecturer herself, said the questions
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that arise in one class lead the discussion into a certain direction. When lecturers give class in parallel medium, some classes automatically receive more information than others. Van der Merwe said the NWUPuk is “a functional multilingual university. There are classes in English, in parallel medium and some classes are being interpreted into Setswana. We also translate classes into Afrikaans.” Steyn said they are mediators that adapt to the demand. Thus, “There is a need for interpreting Afrikaans classes to English or to Setswana. There are also classes where the most of the students and the lecturers feel the class should be given in English. In that situation we interpret from English to Afrikaans,” Steyn said. “If the need changes, we’ll change with the need. Interpreting is a way to include everyone, regardless of the direction it takes place in.” Some Afrikaans students also use the interpreting services. Danie Rossouw once interpreted a class where a visiting British lecturer gave class. “I had more Afrikaans users than English users.”
Interpreting as a bridging tool Van der Walt said that interpreting is a bridging tool. Afrikaans students use the interpreting services in their English classes until they get used to the language. This has happened with the English students as well. Strauss has many Afrikaans students that study in English. “They utilize the interpreting services because it helps them
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with their subject terminology and they listen to the English product. They prefer to use the interpreting service even though they understand Afrikaans.”
Comment at mass meeting During the mass meeting that prof Dan Kgwadi attended, one student said the headpieces make him think of Apartheid. Van der Walt said she would have been concerned if 500 students backed him up, “but the students stood up and walked away”. “The majority of our clients are more than satisfied with the service. We build strong relationships with them,” Botha said. Yet the interpreting service welcomes criticism. “I want to invite any unhappy student to come and talk to us and to say what part of the interpreting process reminds him of Apartheid,” Botha said. Rossouw said: “We are a solution, not the problem.”
Agents for integration Van der Merwe said they are not just language mediators, “we are cultural mediators as well”. Strauss said she can see the difference she makes in her users. Van Deventer interprets nursing sciences. “I can’t tell you how good it feels when students invite you to their lamp ceremonies. * Many of the students who utilized the interpreting ser vices are currently lecturers at the NWU through the 'Grow your own timber project'. This project was established to solve the problem of the shortage of black lecturers.