Translating and

Interpreting Section

Ethical Issues
for Translators
Students Workbook
Acknowledgement

The following questions have been drawn from the compilers personal experience, and
from a variety of sources, including: NAATI, AUSIT, and anecdotal experiences of various
practitioners, who are all gratefully acknowledged.

Compiled by Luciano Ginori

Project Manager: Toula Markos

Edited by: Graeme Ford

First Published 2011

TAFE NSW

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be
reproduced by any process without written permission.

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Guidelines for the use of this Workbook

1) Please remember that the NAATI Translators Test includes a segment

on ethics.
Three questions on ethical issues will be asked, two of which are to
be answered by candidates. Answers should be clear and concise,
averaging no more than 150 words.
Answers may be written either in English or the other language, no
matter which direction the candidate sits. [Source: NAATI]

2) The purpose of this workbook is to provide the student with an

opportunity of practicing how to answer satisfactorily typical ethical
issue question for translators.

3) When attempting to answer these questions, it is worth keeping in

mind the following suggestions:

a) imagine being a translator actually on the job, faced by the

situation presented by the question;

b) demonstrate that you have understood the question, by re-

stating in your own words what issue/problem/dilemma
presented by the question;

c) identify the principle(s) of ethics that are relevant to the issue in

question;

d) provide an appropriate solution, which is in line with the

relevant principle(s) you have identified;

e) you may also, if appropriate, discuss eventual consequences of

the translators actions , which may not be in line with the
ethical principles identified.

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 Question for Translation Ethics Workbook

1. Name and explain three important ethical principles for the profession of translating

2. Why is confidentiality important for translators?

3. Explain the meaning of conflict of interest and name the relevant principle that
may be affected by it.

4. Why is it important for professional translators to know their limitations?

5. Should you translate statements that you know to be untrue?

6. How would you react to the criticism of your translation made by another translator
acting as a checker?

7. What would you do if you were offered a translation assignment with which you
disagreed on moral grounds?

8. As you are about to translate a document given to you by Centrelink, about a person
applying for a NEWSTART allowance, you realise that the applicant is a friend of a
friend but is using a different name. What would you do?

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9. After having accepted a translation assignment you realise that you will not be able to
meet the clients deadline. However, you know some translators with whom you work
who specialise in the field, and could help you. What issues do you need to consider?
What would you do?

10. In the course of a translation assignment it becomes apparent to you that expertise
beyond your competence is required. What do the ethics of a translator require you to
do?

11. A Government department has sent you a document to translate, but it belongs to
someone you know. What do you do?

12. A Commercial in Confidence document you are translating contains information

that could be of advantage to you if you used it. What would you do?

13. After translating someones medical history you still have the draft of your translation
and a copy of the source document. What will you do with these pages?

14. When checking a translation done by another translator you find that the translation
is not up to standard. What should you do?

15. A relative asks you to translate a document for official use. Should you accept the
assignment?

16. As you are translating a Health Departments leaflet on HIV/AIDS you realise that
some of the wording of the document would be culturally unacceptable to your target
community. What will you do?

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17. What would you do if a person asked you to translate a letter to a solicitor and you
found that the letter revealed information that would damage the clients case?

18. After having checked another translators work, your client asks you if you could
have done the job better or cheaper. How would you respond to such a request?

19. A large fishing company has asked you to translate some documents that make it
clear that the company intends to exceed the quota of the amount of tuna it catches.
What do you do?

20. In the process of translating a highly technical insurance policy you realise that there
is a less sophisticated insurance system in the other culture. In your translation would
you simplify, paraphrase or explain in order to make the translated document easier to
understand?

21. When checking a document translated by another translator you find that the
translation was not up to standard. What should you do?

22. As a translator, what preparations should you make prior to assignment?

23. Confidentiality has always been emphasised by associations for interpreters and
translators. Explain why.

24. In what circumstances can and should a professional translator refuse to perform the
service that is asked of him/her?

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25. Under what circumstances should a translator make comments on another
translators performance?

26. In Your opinion, should a translator censor vulgar language (expletives)? Explain
why.

27. In the event that a client offered you gifts or money in connection with an official
translation assignment, what would you do?

28. In the course of a translating assignment, should a translator translate statements

that he or she knows are untrue?

29. You were offered a bribe to suppress some information during a translating
assignment. What action would you take?

30. A solicitor asks you to translate a record of interview between the police and an
accused. You noticed that the record shows that the police have not cautioned the
accused about his right to remain silent before the interview took place. What should
you do?

31. You are asked to translate some documents to be presented in support of an

application for Centrelink benefits. You realise the applicant is an illegal immigrant
and has assumed a false identity, as you have had occasions to deal with him at
Immigration. Would you advise Centrelink accordingly?

32. "If in doubt, leave it out. Which principle of the AUSIT code of ethics does this go
against?

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33. An Australian Company is setting up a joint venture in [your country]. You have been
asked to translate the agreement, which contains a clause in that stipulates that a
working day means 7 hours and that any work done after the 7 hours be paid at
overtime penalty rates. You know that a normal working day in [your country] is 8
hours. Should you advise your Australian client that, by changing the normal working
day to 8 hours, the Company could save a lot of money? Why?

34. You are approached to assist with a very urgent, important translation. However, the
client can only afford to pay half the normal going rate for a similar job (say $15 cash
for each 100 words, instead of $30). Would you accept the assignment, and why?

35. Your client (maybe someone you know well) gives you a duplicate of a legal document
(e.g. divorce/marriage certificate, etc.) to be translated. Having done the translation,
you certify it to be a true and correct translation of the original document.

36. You have been given and accepted to do a lengthy and complex translation from
[your language] into English (say 50-60 pages). The translation is to be completed to
an urgent deadline that you have agreed to when you accepted the job. However, as you
are approaching the deadline, you realise that because of its complexity and the need
more time for research you will not be able to meet the deadline. What should/could
you do?

37. In February a man found me through the NAATI or AUSIT websites and asked me to
translate his marriage certificate and provide an affidavit as he was applying to the
Family Court for a divorce. Yesterday an agency I work for posted me a copy of the
same marriage certificate together with an affidavit prepared by the law firm acting
on behalf of the wife. It said: Proceedings: property. Therefore it seems likely to me
that the divorce may have taken place and now the property settlement is about to
happen. What are the options here? Should I inform the agency?

38. You operate as both a JP and translator. What do you usually do when you have a
client who brings an original document, a photocopy of it and requests a JP
certification and then a translation of the same document?

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 39. A NESB lawyer has interviewed an English speaking person serving a jail sentence in
Thailand. The content of this interview is relevant to a case involving a NESB person
somewhere else. During the interview, which has been tape-recorded, the lawyer
asked questions that were interpreted to the prisoner in English, with his replies
translated back into LOTE for the lawyer. Back in the other country, all the questions
and answers in LOTE were written down.
They've sent me this transcript and asked for an English translation, but did not
provide the tape, which they clamed to have been lost. After I have completed the
translation, the client brings along the original tape-recording of the interview. So I
listen to the tape and there are many differences between the LOTE on the tape and
the LOTE text in the first document I received.
What is the ethical problem here? What document can I certify?

40. You are translating a text, which deals with various government and private
organizations, indicated by their acronyms in the source language. Some of those
acronyms are unknown to you and you cannot find them in your dictionaries or other
reference material. What should you do? Explain your answer.

41. An immigration agency (with considerable experience in business migration) sends

you a document to translate in support of their clients application as a business
migrant. The document is addressed to a member association of an overseas company,
and is needed as evidence that he is a director and shareholder, and gives the value of
his shareholdings. The document is very long and large parts of it relate to other
matters such as the running of annual meetings, etc. To save the client unnecessary
expense, therefore, the agency asks you to translate only a few selected clauses that
identify the company and deal with the clients directorship and shareholdings.
However, when you see the document you form the opinion that a translation of those
clauses alone would be out of context and meaningless and that several other clauses
should be also translated to provide more context. What options are available to you to
deal with this situation, and what principle(s) might apply?

42. A translation agency asks you to translate an official letter, to be signed by the
Australian Minister for the Environment, inviting overseas minister to attend the VI
International Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on International
Wetlands. The letter is rather easy, but you are unsure how to translate the name of the
Convention. You are convinced that the name must have an official translation, given
that it is an international organization based in Switzerland. The agency refuses to help
you. What do you do?

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43. A client sends you a police report from an overseas country, which his solicitor
needs to have translated to assist the clients case in a legal dispute. At one point, the
report mentions the police having been summoned to the clients hotel room, and goes
on to say that on arrival at the clients room the police spoke to them. Your client
objects when he sees your translation, believing that since he was the only person
present, the police officer who made the report must have made a careless error, and it
should read spoke to him. (The context of the rest of the report certainly supports this
as the more logical reading, but the word used cannot be translated as him.) He asks
you to amend the translation to read him, as he feels that the error could harm his
legal case. What principle(s) might apply here, and how should you respond to his
request?

In this case, I would not accept the assignment for a number of reasons. Under the
general principle of accuracy, which states that accuracy is the most important principle
in the code of ethics must be adhered at all time. Therefore, I would not make any
alterations, omit and changes any information contain in original documents.According
to the code of ethics under the principle of professional conduct, which clearly states
that a

44. You are translating a number of documents and references for a client who is
applying for a job. When you contact the client to verify the spelling of her name, she
tells you that one or two of the references actually refer to her cousin who has the same
name. You have the distinct impression that the client will use all the documents for her
own job application. What do you say to her?

45. A member of an extremist political group asks you to translate a pamphlet about the
group. The groups views are quit different from your own. Should you accept this
assignment?

46. Apart from linguistic skills, what other essential qualities should translators possess?

47. Which is the most important principle a translator should remember in a translation
assignment where there is evidence of a conflict of interest?

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48. What is the difference between an offer of a present made to a translator before a
translation assignment and a gift given after the job has been completed? Should a
translator accept either (or both) offers? Why?

49. If you were an accredited translator, what advantages and/or disadvantages would
you see in joining a professional association for translators?

50. What should you do if in the course of translating a Local Government document you
find that there are plans to build a shopping complex next to a block of land that you
own?

51. What should you do if you are asked to translate a document into/from a language for
which you are not formally accredited?

52. Does the principle of Confidentiality apply equally to interpreters and translators?
What are the differences in your opinion?

53. You are a NAATI accredited translator and you are also conducting a business as a
migration agent. Is it appropriate/acceptable for you to translate documents on behalf
of your clients?

54 An agency for which you work regularly asks you to translate documents needed in
connection with a bitterly fought custody proceedings in the Family Court. One of the
documents is clearly defamatory of one of the parties who happens to be a relative of
yours. What should you do?
I would not accept the assignment for a number of reason. Under the general principle of
Impartiality, which states that a translator shall frankly disclose all possible conflicts of
interest, including relatives and friends. However, if he insists I would make a foot-note at the
bottom of the page and explain my relationship with the client. According to the code of
ethics, a translator would all time conduct the client in a courteous manner, dignified and
politely inform the clients his inability to accept the assignment. In accordance to the
principle of employment, a translator would be responsible for the quality of work he done.
In addition, I would maintain my integrity and independence at all times.

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55 What would you do if a client asked you to translate a birth certificate which clearly
shows that one letter of the surname has been erased and another letter has been
typed in its place/

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