Simultane tolkdienste aan Suid-Afrikaanse provinsiale wetgewers: 'n paar gevaartekens / Simultaneous interpreting services to South African provincial legislatures: a few danger signs

Abstract

The provision of successful interpreting services in multilingual societies and in this specific instance South Africa, is not only dependent on well trained and skilled interpreters and proper equipment, but also on the approach, attitude and support of the users of such services. In this paper general perceptions with regard to the provision of simultaneous interpretation services to government structures will be discussed and specific attention will be paid to the under-utilisation of simultaneous interpreting in the legislatures of the Northern Province and Gauteng Province. It will be argued that there is a relationship between under-utilisation and attitudes towards multilingualism, the status of English and ignorance regarding simultaneous interpreting. Finally, attention will be drawn to the need for user training and suggestions will be put forward on possible ways how this can be achieved.