Parliament this week passed a new law to regulate language practitioners in South Africa which could help set standards for interpreters and repair the tarnished reputation of the country’s interpreter and translation industry.

While the twittersphere was still going full tilt on the subject of the poor translation skills of the interpreter for witness Michelle Burger in the Oscar Pistorius trial, and the embarrassing incident of the bizarre sign language interpretation at The FNB stadium memorial for Nelson Mandela was still fresh in the minds of the public, the South African Language Practitioners’ Council Bill made its way through parliament on Tuesday, 4 March. It is currently awaiting the President’s signature.

Apart from regulating the language practitioner industry, the law will also provide for the establishment of the South African Language Practitioners’ Council, which will act as an advisory body to the Minister of Arts and Culture on issues affecting the language profession. More.

See: Times LIVE

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