Sources for public service translators and interpreters: organising sources to make the most out of their potential

Abstract

Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT) is characterised by the variety of its fields, subject matter, modalities, and the language combinations in which they are required. In a context in which the need for research to achieve specialisation is striking, the classification of the available resources is essential. We believe that this classification should be based on the type of competence that it could help develop in the translator/interpreter and include a basic description of these resources. This would ultimately maximise their effectiveness and, in turn, they could be used to test their training potential in PSIT. This chapter has two objectives. On the one hand, we aim to propose a database based on the sources with research or training potential relevant to the health and legal-administrative fields of PSIT based on a selection of sources of the DIALOGOS project. On the other hand, we aim to describe those resources considering the main competence that could be developed and the type of information they offer, i.e, either terminological, textual and thematic, or strategic. Ultimately, the study shows the variety of resources available that can be used for research and training purposes to ensure the translator's own awareness of the importance of skill-oriented documentation, once the translation problem has been identified; the approach is particularly applicable to language combinations with very few bilingual sources.