Showboating to the gallery, inaccurate translations and drunkenness are putting South Africa’s justice system in jeopardy.

A study in Eastern Cape has highlighted the problem of unprofessional court interpreters, who are often inadequately trained.

The research was conducted by an Eastern Cape advocate who looked at language policy and the use of court interpreters.

He found that a lack of understanding of regional dialects often resulted in the wrong translation of local Xhosa expressions.

In one example, reported in 2007, a convicted defendant claimed there were inaccuracies in the interpretation of his case.

A review of the full court transcript by the chief interpreter revealed numerous shocking errors by the interpreter and it was concluded that the interpreter’s performance was “alarmingly poor” and resulted in the infringement of the administration of justice.

Advocate Matthew Mpahlwa, who carried out the research for his MA degree, said incidents in which court interpreters misinterpreted information were a regular occurrence in Eastern Cape courts. More.

See: Times LIVE

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