Court Interpreter Training at the Crossroads: Challenges and Future Prospects for Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe’s National Language Policy (1998) and The Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe (Amendment No. 20 of 2013) safeguard linguistic human rights and are both very clear on the need for the provision of court interpreters where the accused/complainant is not familiar with the language of the courts of law, namely English. Although significant strides have been made towards fulfilling this constitutional requirement by ensuring that all courts provide interpreters as and when required, the effort has not been supported by either the availability of a properly designed curriculum to ensure the availability of qualified interpreters or by the existence of a professional association, which could ensure that there is a professional code of ethics to which members must adhere or face sanction. This situation does not augur well for the practical intentions of court interpreting, particularly those aspects to do with the quality of court interpreting in Zimbabwe. It is against this background that court interpreting remains a contested area, with interpreters on several occasions being accused of misrepresentations and misinterpretations. This paper therefore explores the challenges Zimbabwe is facing in interpreter training and the prospects that lie ahead for the future. The paper argues that instead of procrastinating, Zimbabwe should consider trends and developments in court interpreting in different parts of the world, tailor-make them according to her needs and resources and move forward. This will be a giant step towards making sure that the rights of the linguistically handicapped with regard to the use of the language of the courts, namely English, are handled cautiously.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2p106