Interpreters near you

The two professions share languages and almost nothing else. A translator works on a text, can research a term and revise a sentence an hour later. An interpreter has one pass in real time, relying on memory, note-taking and prediction while still listening to the next sentence. The cognitive load is the reason long simultaneous assignments are staffed by interpreters working in pairs who relieve each other at intervals.

Expectations about completeness differ too. The Immigration and Refugee Board says the task of interpreters is to interpret all dialogue during the proceedings, using consecutive interpretation to convey meaning faithfully and accurately. Judicial and quasi-judicial settings generally expect everything to be interpreted, including questions, objections and asides, rather than a tidied summary. If what you actually want is someone to summarize a discussion afterwards, that is a different service and should be stated when booking.

Interpreting certification is granted by the provincial professional bodies, with CTTIC administering the certification exam process for its member societies. ATIO protects distinct reserved titles for each specialization, including Certified Conference Interpreter, Certified Court Interpreter, Certified Community Interpreter and Certified Medical Interpreter, which is a reminder that these are different skill sets rather than one credential. OTTIAQ certifies interpreters in Quebec as a professional order under the Professional Code, and STIBC certifies interpreters in British Columbia.

Courts apply their own standard on top of any credential. The Department of Justice's Charterpedia entry on section 14 sets out what proper interpretation requires: continuity, with breaks and interruptions not encouraged or allowed; precision, as close as can be word-for-word and idea-for-idea; impartiality, which excludes parties, relatives and others connected to the case; competence, which the judge is responsible for ensuring; and contemporaneousness.

Institutions often run their own testing and conduct rules as well. The Immigration and Refugee Board maintains a code of conduct for interpreters, an interpreter handbook and a complaints process. Before booking, ask which credential the interpreter holds for your specific setting, since a conference credential is not evidence of readiness for a courtroom or a hospital.

Interpreting is normally booked by time rather than by volume, in half-day or full-day blocks, because an interpreter who holds a date cannot take other work that day. The mode drives how many people are needed: consecutive work at a meeting may need one interpreter, while sustained simultaneous work generally needs two.

Around that sit the practical items: travel and time on the road for on-site assignments, equipment for simultaneous work, preparation time when there is dense material to absorb, and terms for overtime and cancellation. Rare language combinations, and any assignment needing a specific court or medical credential, draw on a much smaller pool of interpreters.

Certified interpreters work under their body's code of ethics, and confidentiality is central to it. Equally important is the boundary of the role: an interpreter conveys what is said and does not advise, advocate, explain or soften. Anything you say in the room is interpreted, so side comments to the interpreter are not private asides.

If you believe the interpreting is inadequate, raise it at the time rather than afterwards. In a proceeding that means telling the decision-maker immediately, since Charterpedia notes it is the judge's responsibility to ensure the interpreter possesses the necessary qualities. Institutions that engage interpreters directly, such as the Immigration and Refugee Board, maintain a complaints process for concerns about interpreter conduct.