One of my main areas of interest is in the ethical code of the professional bodies involved in sign language interpreting. Many such codes follow a deontological route and simply proscribe or recommend certain actions.
Deontology comes from the Greek word 'deon' and means duty or obligation. As such it reads like a list of responsibilities. In many cases these responsibilities are about not doing certain things. You could almost interpret it as 'do not ology'
This is not to be confused with 'donutology' which is ethics for policemen.
An alternative and diametrically opposed theory is that of teleology. This is focused toward the end result or outcome of any given situation. An example of this theory is consequentialism and the branch of consequentialist thought outlined by J S Mill, utilitarianism. Now, whilst 'the end justifies the means' can lead to hu
ge problems, to discount it as a basis for ethics is a slippery slope argument.If we look at teleological ethics as a possible alternative to the established deontological codes sign language interpreters currently have we can see that it has resonance with interpreting theory.
When discussing translational action, Reiss and Vermeer (1984) state that it is the skopos which determines this and that ‘the end justifies the means’ (p101). This is clearly a teleological approach to translation.
The question remains though, that if we give interpreters the power to decide what to do in any given situation to give the best result we open ourselves to many differing interpretations of what the 'best' result is.
We could say that 'best' is a successful interpretation and use the formula for successful interpretation: SI = CMI+DC+ACE+FI(+PI)+PB+ATL
where;
SI = successful interpretation
CMI= core meaning and intent
DC= discourse cohesion
ACE= appropriate cultural equivalence
FI= framing information
PI= personal information(optional)
PB= professional integrity and behaviour
ATL= acceptable target language
As a body of professionals, sign language interpreters are skilled and intelligent workers who charge a premium for their services. They should be given the authority to make decisions on ethics and outcome on their own recognisance.
Reiss, K and Vermeer, H. (1984), ‘Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie’, Tübingen, Niemeyer.
