Challenges and Solutions in Community Interpreting Settings

This article discusses the potential challenges faced by community interpreters in linguistic, social, and cultural contexts. It provides solutions to overcome these challenges and presents a completed brochure for new candidates for the course.

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Unit 1 Understanding Community Interpreting L2
TASK 2B
Learning Outcome: (2) Understand the ethical context for community interpreting.
Assessment Criteria:
2.2 Give a range of potential challenges (e.g. linguistic, social or cultural) in a
community interpreting setting.
2.3 Describe ways of overcoming a chosen challenge.
Assessment – Present a completed Brochure (ICT use is advisable but not necessary if
unavailable.)
What you need to do –
Finish off the information left below and create a brochure and meet all the criteria, making
sure that you describe each solution adequately. You can add images and format the
document the way you like. Here is the first draft left by our publishing manager
Scenario –
Our marketing manager is on holiday at the moment and he left on his desk an unfinished
brochure for new candidates for this course. We also found his notes on his desk which
specified what the brochure needs to include.
On the next page is the information he left which you need to complete and present
in a brochure format

AC 2.2 Give a range of potential challenges (e.g. linguistic, social or cultural) in a
community interpreting setting.
Are you thinking of becoming a Community Interpreter? Before you enrol on our courses,
you need to know about potential challenges in community interpreting settings, and how
to overcome them.
Challenges Solutions
Linguistic:
1. Difficulty in hearing the speaker is
considered as one of the most biggest
challenge that can be faced within the
community interpreting setting, in
respect to this the situation can have
two origins in which one is related to
malfunctioning of audio tool and
another could be related to issue with
individual speaker. This is specifically
true when conducting consecutive,
face-to-face or simultaneous
interpreting. In relation to such kind of
challenge, there could be a bad
interpreting equipment, ineffective
sound system, ineptitude of technician
or the worst location of interpreters'
booth.
2. Another linguistic challenge within
community interpreting setting is
related to deal with hasty speech. This
kind of challenge is faced when the
speaker is speaking very fast that does
not provide sufficient time for
interpreter to review and interpret the
sentences into another languages.
Conference speakers who are not well
versed in public speaking could also
provide interpreters a challenging time
on job.
3. The knowledge of local culture can also
be a challenge within the community
interpreting setting as being an
interpreter is now in more demanding.
Beyond from a great level of efficiency
as well as proficiency within the
sources and the target languages, the
1. In order to overcome the first challenge of
difficulty in hearing the speaker, the
community interpreting setting is required to
be aware of the relationships between its
source and the interpreter. It should pay
close attention to the body language
between the source and the interpreter for
having an idea if the source feels
uncomfortable or in case if tension is arising.
The interpreter can also make use of the
strong and effective sound system while
interpreting within the community
interpreting setting as it will help better in
hearing the speaker with more attention and
clearly.
2. To overcome the challenge of dealing
with the hasty speech, the community
interpreting setting is required to speak
slowly instead of speaking in a fast manner
as it will be more understandable to other
people who are listening. Speak at an even
pace in relatively short segments can be an
effective solution. Taking a pause so the
interpreter can interpret is also a good
solution for overcoming such kind of
challenge.
3. The challenge related to the knowledge of
local culture can be solved out through
gaining the understanding as well as
learning about the different cultures.
Working towards accommodating the
cultural difference can also be a solution to
the respective challenge. The community
interpreting setting can also employ diversity
training for overcoming such type of
challenge.

challenge that could be faced by
interpreter is that they must be intense
knowledgeable of the culture of the
distinct nations.
Social:
1. The social challenge that can be faced
by the community interpreting setting can
be related to the tone and style of the
interpreter. The interpretation that is done
in dull and clinical language is not clearly
understandable by other community
people within the setting and can be a
challenge.
2. Mastery in the language can be another
kind of social challenge that can be faced
by an interpreter within the community
interpreting setting. This creates a barrier
in understanding the interpretation
immediately by the people of community
as interpreter has ineffective interpretation
skills.
3. Rudeness within interpreter at time of
interpreting within community interpreting
setting can also be a challenge as it can
hurt the feelings of the other people and
can personally impact an individual.
1. In order to overcome the challenge of
clinical language, the interpreter must
consider the taste of other community
people and use that type of language only
which can be understood by them easily.
2. The another challenge can be solved
through developing an established
connection with the people of the community
so that they can understand the content and
message of interpreter.
3. In order to overcome the last challenge,
the community interpreting setting must be
aware of the relationships between the
people and the interpreter. It should have
double check translation and interpret it
politely.
Cultural:
1. Understanding cultural sensitivities is a
major cultural challenge that can be faced
by community interpreting setting as there
are diverse system of social, political as
well as spiritual behaviours and beliefs
which create a barrier.
2. Multiple meaning words can also be a
challenge as they are tricky and creates a
barrier for community people in translating
into other languages.
3. Lack of knowledge of translation
techniques as well as translation strategies
can also a cultural challenge that can be
1. For overcoming the challenge of
understanding cultural sensitivities,
community interpreting setting must focus
on cultural competency as awareness and
education can hep it in stepping outside of
its own culture and understand differences
of others.
2. The community interpreting setting must
use context clues for overcoming second
challenge as it will help in providing a hint to
people.
3. The community interpreting setting must
have a genuine grasp of grammatical

faced by community interpreting setting. differences of both languages to overcome
such challenge.
2.3 Describe ways of overcoming a chosen challenge.
Now, choose just one of the above challenges and think of at least 3 solutions
which you should describe in as much detail as you can. (Use the template below
to help you plan and write your answer.)
Choose one challenge from your brochure (linguistic, cultural or social) to focus on.
Summarise your challenge in 1 or 2 short sentences:
The interpreter is facing challenge in interpreting in different languages and is lacking in
understanding different cultures.
Why and how might this particular challenge present a problem for (a) the
interpreter? (b) the client? What could go wrong as a result? What would be the
worst case scenario? (Try to include real life or imaginary examples where possible
to illustrate your points.)
For interpreter, this might be a challenge in interpreting the content or message in different
languages as people come from diverse nations having different languages.
For a client, this might be a problem in understanding different language that is used by
interpreter in interpreting content or message or it can understand wrong meaning of such
interpretation.
For instance, the English language is considered an SVO language--when sentences
contain a subject, verb, and an object.s
Now describe 3 different ways of overcoming this particular challenge.
(As the community interpreter in this situation, what would or could you do in order
to overcome this challenge?)
Solution 1:
As a community interpreter, I would use plain language in order to overcome the challenge
that is associated with the language. I would avoid technical terms, clinical terms while
interpreting and will use plain language that can be understood by people within
community. This is the first way to overcome such kind of challenge.
Solution 2:
The another way that can be used to overcome such language challenge, as a community
interpreter, I would look for a reliable translation service that will meet the needs of the
people of community. I would use primary language and will be careful at time of finding
such type of service.
Solution 3:

As a community interpreter, I would make use of the visual methods of the communication
as words often can fail an interpreter and when they do, therefore expressing through
videos, pictures or diagrams can be a more effective approach for explaining complicated
concepts.