A narrative inquiry of the government-wide support system for non-English interpretation and translation and government interpreters.

This study aims to use narrative inquiry to draw attention to the issues South Korean government interpreters face while working with the government-wide support system for non-English interpretation and translation. I conducted semi-structured interviews with two interpreters from different levels of experience discussing topics such as their job titles, employment status, working conditions, treatment and perception, the distribution of their workload, and the anchoring of the system. The results demonstrate that the system improves the consistency of translation, the quality of interpretations, helps interpreters better understand the government’s policies and programs, and reasserts the authority of interpreters to request documents within the civil service. However, interpreters mentioned their job insecurity as a major issue limiting the system’s benefits. Interpreters were also shown to diverge on the views of the importance and fair distribution of administrative tasks in addition to their roles as interpreters and translators. This study on the government-wide support system for non-English interpretation and translation and government interpreters hopes to contribute to lay the foundation for the expansion of research on South Korean national or governmental agencies or systems dedicated to translation and interpretation.