National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 13611:2024. It supersedes BS ISO 13611:2014, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee TS/1, Terminology.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 29 February 2024.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 37, Language and terminology, Subcommittee SC 5, Translation, interpreting and related technology.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 13611:2014), which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

the document has been elevated to an International Standard;
the structure of the text has been modelled on ISO 18841:2018;
the content has been streamlined for clarity.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

This document was developed in response to a worldwide need to accommodate the growing linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity of people who interact via spoken and signed communication. Community interpreting, also called “public service interpreting”, is essential to enable people to access community services available to members of society, which they would be otherwise unable to access owing to a language barrier as a result of not understanding the language of service delivery.

Such community services can occur in several communicative settings and can include, amongst others, the following:

public institutions (local authorities, schools, universities, community centres, etc.);
social services (refugee boards, self-help centres, etc.);
business and industry services (housing, real estate, insurance, financial services, etc.);
faith-based organizations (rituals, ceremonies, etc.);
media organizations (television, internet broadcasters, etc.);
emergency services (natural disasters, pandemics, etc.).

Community interpreting can include services provided in legal settings (police stations, courts, prisons, etc.) to facilitate equal access to justice. Legal interpreting is addressed in ISO 20228. In a number of countries, legal interpreting, a broad field that includes court interpreting, is not considered part of community interpreting. Similarly, healthcare interpreting is addressed in ISO 21998. In a number of countries, healthcare interpreting is not considered part of community interpreting. However, in several countries, community interpreting includes services provided in legal and/or healthcare-related communicative events, with acknowledgement that these services require additional training.

Community interpreting has become established as a profession. There are various codes and standards for specific settings but there are currently no universally agreed requirements for community interpreters. It is important to stress that interpreting differs from translation as it deals with oral or signed communication occurring in real time.

1 Scope

This document specifies requirements and recommendations for the provision of community interpreting services. It establishes the foundational principles and practices necessary to ensure quality community interpreting services for all language communities (spoken and/or signed), for end users, as well as for clients, and for community interpreters.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

3.1 Terms related to interpreting activities

3.2 Terms related to communicative events with interpreting

3.3 Terms related to people or organizations involved in interpreting

3.4 Terms related to language, language content and language competences

3.5 Terms related to translation

4 Basic principles of community interpreting

4.1 Nature of community interpreting

4.2 Interpreting service providers (ISPs)

4.3 Code of ethics and guidelines for professional practice

4.4 Competences

5 Role and responsibilities of the community interpreter

5.1 Role

5.2 Responsibilities

6 Responsibilities of ISPs

6.1 General responsibilities of ISPs

6.2 Responsibilities of ISPs to community interpreters

7 Recommendations for clients and end users

Bibliography

BS ISO 13611:2024

Interpreting services. Community interpreting. Requirements and recommendations

Current

Published:

29 Feb 2024