Quality in interpreting is a frequently discussed yet little explored concept.
As services are increasingly evaluated the way products are, with ISO 9000 and
TQM having became the hallmarks of production in post-industrial societies,
translation and interpreting cannot claim special status as "works of art", to be
evaluated much the same way as gymnastics, dance or figure skating
competitions. This is not to say that translating or interpreting lack artistic
value or creativity, but current practice puts them squarely into the category of
services; as such they become subject to performance evaluations similar to
those carried out on products and other types of services. Especially interpreting,
which in the eyes of the consumer carries a hefty price tag, is becoming the
object of such evaluations. There is no point in lamenting the apparent loss of
special status. As professional skills ha ve evolved since antiquity, and
particularly since the Nuremberg trials - seen by most as a historical turning
point with the introduction of simultaneous interpreting - the public is coming
to expect more and more of interpreters, while at the same time judging their
performance often too harshly. This is frequently done without bearing in mind
the multitude of factors that can affect the quality of interpreting.
