Translation and Interpretation: A Research Essay

Introduction 

Today, each profession has a professional code of ethics as a guide to showing what is acceptable and what is not. The field of translation is a well-established and well-known profession embedded in the cultural systems of human beings. As such, it also comes with a code of ethics. Translation as a process is also an ethical activity. Ethics is a significant driver in translation since translation has a primary role in shaping the globalized world. Translators across the globe have also begun showing deep concern with their ethical conduct after realizing that they are influential figures in the human rights movement (Choi, Kushner, Mill, & Lai, 2012). Most fundamentally, translators must remain keen to produce a text that matches the cultural setting of the individuals it targets. Therefore, many researchers have viewed translation ethics as a way of keeping the meaning of the source text unchanged. However, this narrow definition has been disputed with opponents claiming that translation can at times require distortion of documents to meet the demands of different audiences. Norms and ethics must guide the decisions made by a translator in a bid to live up to the societal expectations and live up to their traditions and values. 

Ethics Held By the Translators 

Ethics of a translator primarily looks at some of the factors that make the work of a translator excellent or moral in the eyes of their target audience. In their work, a translator must remain keen to show respect for all the parties and stakeholders involved in the translation assignment. Some of the primary parties that respect should be directed to include the self, the agency, and the clients that benefit from the services. Most fundamentally, an ethical translator must remain aware of all the laws guiding their practice and abide by them. One of these laws includes copyrights and intellectual property. It should be noted that all translated materials should remain the property of the client. Most fundamentally, these professionals, especially those dealing with multi-language translations should be cognizant of the national and international code of ethics. Researchers in translation ethics have opined that accountability is probably one of the most significant ethical considerations. “The translator is accountable for his/her work and must recognize and acknowledge translation mistakes and try to rectify them even when the translation has been completed, in order to avoid potential liability and risk issues” (Robinson, 2012). 

Just like any other profession, ethics not only deals with doing what is right. It also requires individuals to understand the limitations that come with their practice. For translators, this becomes an essential consideration given the nature of their work. First, the translator must remain aware of their linguistic limitations. As such, this calls on any moral professional to decline an assignment that goes beyond their scope of competence. Secondly, they should only accept and admit task that they believe they will not complete and deliver by the due date to the client. Competent professionals will take only jobs that they can translate. It would, therefore, be immoral and inappropriate for a translator to accept an assignment and later subcontract it to a different party. Competence is an essential factor for anybody willing to be a professional in this field. The translator must possess sound knowledge not only on the source but also the target language. Translators and translations firms have come under sharp criticism in the recent past for accepting materials that are outside their areas of experience and knowledge (Choi, Kushner, Mill, & Lai, 2012). It, therefore, means that ethically successful translators are those that remain within their areas of qualifications without seeking assignments in other fields that they have little knowledge about. 

Ethics of justice and fairness must at all times guide the field of translation. The translator must demonstrate a high level of impartiality and declare any incidences of conflict of interest. Impartiality means that the professional has removed all the significant prejudices that could significantly affect the course of their work. Professionalism begins by accumulating all the personal and ethical values that enhance justice and fairness in the translated work. Many at times, translators will have to work on assignments that contain subjects that they might not necessarily agree with, entirely or partly. Also, they can work on materials that do not conform to the beliefs, values, philosophies, and cultural affiliations. It is in such situations that the translator must remain cognizant of the need to show impartiality and declare a conflict of interest whenever necessary. Without the declaration of conflict of interest, then there is a high likelihood that the translator's work will possess some elements of bias. 

Piekkari et al., (2013) noted that in building their professional practice, the code of ethics asserts that “translators should endeavor to provide service of the highest quality in their professional practice.” Accuracy remains one of the primary ethical principles that translators must leverage. Accurate means a translation that “preserves meaning, style, and register of the source document” (Piekkari et al., 2013). Since translation deals with documents that might include important information for the client, it is the utmost duty and obligation of the professional to show a high degree of confidentiality. Under any circumstances, the translator must treat the client documents with the privacy and confidentiality they deserve unless others stipulated by the relevant law. Confidentiality in this context prohibits against the reproduction, disclosure, or divulgence of the content of in the text. More significantly, the translator must remain keen to prevent any incidences of third-party handling of the information. 

Cultural and Ideological Factors 

With regards to translation, culture is defined as “the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression” (Munday, 2013). Culture and language are two important aspects that are almost embedded. It, therefore, means that from a particular language, one can easily acquire certain characteristics of the culture. AS earlier mentioned, ethics in translation is about meeting cultural needs including their values and traditions. Translation primarily occurs within a cultural context and as such, "translators may be said to operate first and foremost in the interest of the culture into which they are translating" (Angelelli, 2012). It is in this regard that they must understand the various dynamics between source text (ST) and target text (TT). The ST must be translated into a suitable and acceptable cultural and linguistic form to match the needs of the target audience. Many scholars have agreed that this should form of the primary ethical responsibilities of the translator (Wagner & Chesterman, 2014). More importantly, they should remain keen to utilize expressions and words without distorting the intended meaning. However, the translator experiences challenge when they need to translate for various cultures that have a different set of beliefs and values. 

Other than culture, power and ideology are two critical factors in the ethical consideration of the ethics surrounding the job of a translator. Translation involves the act of mirroring an original text to suit the needs of a different cultural dispensation. "It is an act of rewriting an original to conform to certain purposes initiated by the receiving system" (Alwazna, 2014).With regards to power and ideology; three crucial factors might determine the translator to act ethically. The ideological component relates to the act of translation. The economic aspect comes into the picture because the translator must make a living out of their handling of assignments. Thirdly, the element of status can cause the translator to seek for reputation. Most importantly, ethical translators will ensure that their texts are culturally, and ideologically acceptable to the target audience. Ideological consideration means that the translator works to allow the target audience to anticipate a positive image of the original text and whoever authored it. Ultimately, this gives the audience an opportunity to appreciate the original text and its meaning as intended by the author. The translator must remain keen to establish their visibility as a way of acknowledging the original author of the work. 

Codes ofPractice: American Translators Association 

The first ethical consideration that translators in America must remain aware of is the need to convey meaning in a manner that inspires faith, accuracy, and impartiality. The translators are required to observe linguistic integrity as their prime rule. As they work in favor of their cultural considerations, they must ensure that they convey their messages in the way that speaker intended. Linguistic integrity does not necessarily mean a word-for-word interpretation but rather ensuring that no word is added or omitted. American translators are also required to hold all the materials and documents in high confidence. In this regard, the translators are also needed to show knowledge of various federal and state laws that govern the confidentiality of information such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) while translating medical information (Alwazna, 2014). The association holds confidentiality as an essential aspect when dealing with materials especially in the business arena. It would be detrimental for the clients whose business secrets leak to the competitors due to the disclosure of the translator. 

The American Translation Association encourages its members to enhance truthfulness in representing the competencies, qualifications, responsibilities, and capabilities. Translators and interpreters alike are required to show high-level honesty in their advertisement endeavors. They must also portray truth in their resumes and further depict realistic images of their abilities wherever they go. As such, they should always decline any offer for an assignment that falls outside their area of expertise. More importantly, the act of subcontracting a client's work is highly prohibited by the association (Gentzler, 2012). The body further provides that translators must continue enhancing their knowledge in language, professional practice, and improve on their different fields of studies. In an effort to improve their language and cultural sensitivity, they must continue traveling across various regions of the world, attend seminars, and take advantage of any learning opportunity. Translators are required to work collegially by sharing knowledge and expertise. Such a tenet can be achieved through online participation, volunteering, mentoring, and presentation in seminars and conferences. In case of any disputes, they should be solved internally and in good faith (American Translators Association Code of Ethics and Professional Practice). 

In conclusion, the decisions made by a translator must be guided by norms and ethics in a bid to live up to the societal expectations and live up to their traditions and values. The translator is an essential profession in the scholarly world. They have a significant role to change text and ensure that it meets the needs of a particular culture without changing the meaning. It is in this regard that they are required to show strong ethical knowledge when dealing with ST or TT. For the ST, confidentiality remains a significant consideration. The translator must depict competency and decline any work outside their professional scope. More importantly, they must remain impartial and declare any conflicts of interest. On the TT, the translator must demonstrate accuracy, cultural sensitivity, translator's visibility, and originality of the text. 

References 

Alwazna, R. Y. (2014). Ethical aspects of translation: striking a balance between following translation ethics and producing a TT for serving a specific purpose. English Linguistics Research, 3 (1), 51. 

American Translators Association Code of Ethics and Professional Practice https://www.atanet.org/governance/code_of_ethics_commentary.pdf 

Angelelli, C. V. (2012). The sociological turn in translation and interpreting studies. Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, 7(2), 125-128. 

Choi, J., Kushner, K. E., Mill, J., & Lai, D. W. (2012). Understanding the language, the culture, and the experience: translation in cross-cultural research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(5), 652-665. 

Gentzler, E. (2012). Translation and identity in the Americas: New directions in translation theory. Routledge. 

Munday, J. (2013). Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications. Routledge. 

Piekkari, R., Welch, D. E., Welch, L. S., Peltonen, J. P., & Vesa, T. (2013). Translation behaviour: An exploratory study within a service multinational. International Business Review, 22(5), 771-783. 

Robinson, D. (2012). Becoming a translator: An introduction to the theory and practice of translation. Routledge. 

Venuti, L. (2012). Translation changes everything: Theory and practice. Routledge. 

Wagner, E., & Chesterman, A. (2014). Can theory help translators?A dialogue between the ivory tower and the wordface . Routledge.