1. The document discusses various ethical issues in translation and interpretation, including trustworthiness, credibility, cultural understanding, and transparency. 2. A key issue is whether the translator has adequately researched and understood the content and context of the original document to produce an accurate translation. 3. Producing translations requires balancing tasks like language translation with cultural translation to honestly communicate the message to audiences from different cultures. Ensuring transparency in translation processes is important for building trust.

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RMIT International University Vietnam
Assignment Cover Page
Subject Code: LANG1303
Subject Name:
Ethics & Professional Issues in Translating
and Interpreting
Location & Campus (SGS or HN) where
you study:
RMIT SGS
Title of Assignment Assignment 3 – Essay paper
Student name: Vu Phan Lam Anh
Student Number: s3818473
Teachers Name: Dinh Tung Anh
Assignment due date: 11 Jan 2022
Date of Submission: 11 Jan 2022
Number of pages including this one: 5
Word Count: 1076 (content only)

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Translation has many issues associated with it that not only concern the author of the
document (user), but also the users of the translators' works (interpreters). The word 'translation'
means 'to make into different languages' and 'interpretation' means ' to make into the same language
as the original' from a linguistic point of view. A particular ethic issue of Translation is concerned
with trustworthiness and compliance of the individuals and institutions involved in the production
and dissemination of a given document. A well written paper should address this aspect and
demonstrate how the various key issues and their significance to professional and business life in
translation and interpretation are relevant to the given topic.
Translators are trusted partners and intermediaries who present the content of documents
from one language to another and often for various parties who possess different languages and
cultures. The discussion of this topic will enable you to explore the roles played by translators in
bringing the document (message) into existence (Drugan 2021).
A professional translator needs to know and understand the various issues and their role in
the communication of the message. It is of vital importance to find out, whether the interpreter has
a basic grasp of the content that is in the document as well as its relevant background (Park 2016).
It is necessary to be conscious of the importance of adequate research and to ensure that the
translation is credible. In the new world of technological communication, it has become a fact that
many documents are reproduced electronically. However, it is also necessary to ensure that all
electronic versions of the document have been fact checked and verified. It is necessary for the
translators to make all necessary arrangements for ensuring that they are not only fact checked but
that they are also provided with other related information. It is important that the translator knows
and takes care of his/her client's rights and legal protection. There should be strict authentication
procedures and this process should be clearly indicated in the translation (Elmenfi 2014).
It is essential to consider whether the translator, in the given situation and depending on
the content of the document, is actually performing translation or interpreting a role as if a cultural
specialist who can communicate a particular culture to a user who doesn't have the same culture.
The translator's task involves a combination of different tasks like language translation, cultural
context translation, linguistic interpretation and cultural translation (explanation, communication,
and synthesis) (Wang 2021). The transcribing of data should also be considered in the process of
translation as there can be difficulty in performing this role if the particular transcription is

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influenced by the text content. Moreover, if the chosen topic has a direct or indirect relevance to
the job of a translator and/or the operation of the interpretation service, it is necessary to also
determine its relevance to the context, the context of language and culture.
It has to be clearly understood that translation is not all about translating what was written
but delivering information honestly through the translation process (Woang 2021). This means that
the translator, in this case, must be able to consider from the user’s perspectives in order to translate
the message into the new language (interpreter). It is essential that the translator is not only
cognizant of the content and context of the message but also what the user's world is like and where
the audience comes from. Moreover, when translating or interpreting, it is important to check for
errors and inconsistencies. A good translator should be flexible, responsive, patient, adaptable,
knowledgeable, organized and objective (Wade 2021). The job of a translator is very challenging
and demanding. It can be highly stressful if a translator is not well-prepared and is required to
work within tight deadlines. On the other hand, it can also be rewarding if a translator gets to work
on quality content that matters to the organization. In order to be a successful translator, it is
necessary to learn and be aware of the different aspects of this task.
The problem of inadequate transparency of information and communication which leads
to unfairness in the decision-making process of the agencies/companies that employ translators, is
well-documented in literature (Zu 2021). The situation is exacerbated when an external agency is
hired to carry out the work of an agency, which itself has no transparency regarding its background,
policies, financials, personnel, and other relevant information. The decision-making process,
involving the agency personnel, consists of at least a single individual, a translator, who may be
ignorant of the facts regarding the issues at stake. The relationship between the translator and the
external agency/company is under the responsibility of a single individual who can be biased and
may be incapable of considering all relevant issues. The idea that the decision-making process
should be delegated to a committee, is an attempt to raise the transparency of the situation, in order
to provide a level of accountability to the external agencies and their employees, while maintaining
control by the agency (Wren-Owens 2020). This is not achieved because in a committee, too many
individuals have equal decision-making powers.
Trustworthiness as an ethic in translation and interpretation activities has been discussed
in numerous academic articles. However, the topic of trustworthiness and compliance in

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translation and interpretation becomes extremely relevant in the context of availability of digital
documentation (Lee & Lee 2017). To deliver a credible translation product, there is a need for
transparent and consistent translation practice to develop trust in the supplier of the content
(Whyatt 2019). As the use of digital media expands, trust will be a crucial element in the
production of a translation (TÜRKMEN- 2020). In order to address this issue, it is important to
gain knowledge and skills in assessing the credibility and reliability of a source material, as well
as to develop professional knowledge and skills related to digital documentation.
Inconclusion, trustworthiness in the context of translation and interpretation requires that
one's good faith and intentions towards another person's material be clearly conveyed by the
author's final product. Thus, the text of a translation or interpretation has the potential to
communicate only those things which have been honestly translated or interpreted. A more
trustworthy and therefore credible result is obtained by ensuring that translation and interpretation
use a reliable system for input, enhancement, processing, editing, deletion, and/or author alteration.
A system which respects the source's language, culture, heritage, cultural values, historical
tradition, and/or identity.
Reference list
Drugan, J 2021, ‘Translation ethics wikified: How far do professional codes of ethics and
practice apply to non-professionally produced translation?’, Linguistica Antverpiensia, New
Series – Themes in Translation Studies, vol. 10.
Elmenfi, F 2014, ‘Contextual Aspects of Style and Translation: With Particular Reference to
English-Arabic Translation’, English Language and Literature Studies, vol. 4, no. 1.
Lee, S & Lee, S-B 2017, ‘Advertisements for cosmetics, ethical values and translation’,
Interpretation and Translation, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 45–66.
Park, M 2016, ‘Translation ethics from non-representative perspective of literature translation’,
Interpretation and Translation, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 1–23.

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TÜRKMEN-, B 2020, ‘DIGITAL MEDIA COMPETENCE AND TRANSLATION
TECHNOLOGIES IN TRANSLATION EDUCATION’, International Journal of Language
Academy, vol. 33, no. 33, pp. 402–424.
Wade, ML 2021, ‘How Parallel Should Parallel Passages Be?’, The Bible Translator, vol. 72, no.
1, pp. 5–18.
Wang, X 2021, ‘Advances in discourse analysis of translation and interpreting: linking linguistic
approaches with socio-cultural interpretation’, Journal of Communication.
Whyatt, B 2019, ‘In search of directionality effects in the translation process and in the end
product’, Translation, Cognition & Behavior, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 79–100.
Woang, JP 2021, ‘Translation activities on oral translation and written translation’, Applied
Translation.
Wren-Owens, L 2020, ‘Translating Pessoa: agency, creativity, refraction’, The Translator, vol.
26, no. 4, pp. 380–393.
Zu, Z 2021, ‘The right contextual information determining the success of communication on
translation’, Applied Translation.