Initiating effective coordination in community interpreting

In community-based settings, interpreters need to initiate effective coordination in order to achieve accuracy. This may include asking for repetition and clarification, managing turn-taking, or explaining their professional role to speakers when there is a need. Coordination differs from interference, an act indicating interpreters may step beyond their ethical roles boundaries. This presentation introduces the difference between coordination and interference, outlines the occasions when interpreters need to initiate coordination and discusses its ethical implications.

Han Xu is a professional interpreter and translator (Chinese-English), holding certification/accreditation from NAATI and CATTI (China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters). She received systematic interpreting and translation training in an MA program at Sichuan University in China between 2011 and 2014. Since then, she has been practising as a conference interpreter, specialising in interpreting in business, diplomatic and educational settings. Han completed her PhD study at the University of New South Wales in early 2019. Her PhD research project looks into how interpreting services are used in legal interviews with a focus on lawyer-interpreter working relations and their impact on the effectiveness of interpreted legal interviews. Soon after Han finished her PhD study, she had worked as an assistant lecturer at Monash University teaching interpreting. Han is interested in conducting interdisciplinary studies to empirically investigate different aspects of interpreting activity, such as issues related to interpreter role, ethics, training and professionalism. Han is actively promoting professional development of interpreters and translators in Australia. She is an active member in AUSIT and serves as National Treasurer.