Practical assistance and advice is available to any member of staff who needs to communicate with a member of the public or service user, who has difficulty with written or spoken English.
Remember even if a service user speaks some English, they may experience difficulty in understanding and communicating in stressful, emotional or complicated circumstances. Their understanding of you or your agency, its polices, procedures and terminology may also be limited.
For information about getting documents translated into Braille, audio or on DVD please see our information about alternative media.
The difference between interpreting and translation
Interpreters help when you are having a conversation, either face to face or over the telephone and relay the information verbally in the community language and English between the parties involved.
Translators convert written or printed materials into another language from English or into English from another community language.
British Sign Language Interpreters use British Sign Language to aid communications with a person who is deaf and uses sign language, either face to face or over a video link. If someone’s first language is British Sign Language this does not mean that they will find written English easy and may not write fluently in English. British Sign Language is its own distinct community language.
Things to consider when arranging an interpreter or translator
You need to use properly qualified interpreters or translators. It is not appropriate to use a family member especially a child.
The companies we use require qualifications from their interpreters and translators. Most interpreters and translators work for a number of companies and are effectively self-employed and paid for the work they do.
Using Google Translate and some other online translations software may not provide a translation which includes the sense and context of what you need to translate. They can be quite literal so the meaning of words or phrases can be misinterpreted. For these reasons you are not advised to use these types of translators instead of qualified translators.
Plan what you need to do before contacting a provider including possible dates and times for you and your customer, what is actually needed, whether this could be done online or in person, the date by which you need a document translated, the language spoken and understood by the customer, whether others need to attend, and so on.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get interpreters at short notice so allow plenty of time if you can. Check the advice from the providers about bookings and preparation. If your work is very sensitive or involves safeguarding matters, then ensure that the company you are seeking to book an interpreter or translator from understand this. They should also be informed if it might involve work at a court or some other formal hearing.