ABSTRACT
The mere presence of non-professional interpreting creates tensions, given the evolution of interpreting from occupation to profession, particularly in public services. The traditional realm of non-professional interpreting has been community interpreting settings. Non-professional interpreters often also work alongside their trained counterparts in more regulated sectors, such as the media, business and even conference interpreting. Non-professional interpreting–particularly child language brokering–permeates contexts that involve any non-official language group or linguistic minority, although it is notably prevalent within migrant communities. Non-professional interpreting is thought to destabilize emerging market structures and hold back professionalization efforts, while perpetuating inconsistencies in interpreting standards. Non-professional interpreters are often criticized for their rudimentary competence in their working languages, particularly in relation to specialized terminology. Primary participants have reported feelings of insecurity and mistrust triggered by non-professional addition and filtering of information, and have been found to avoid certain taboo topics in their presence.
