Language Rights and Court Interpreting in South Africa: A Case Study from a Magistrates' Court in Gauteng

Thanks to its progressive Constitution recognising twelve official languages and mandating their equitable treatment, South Africa stands as a global model for language diversity and promotion of multilingualism – at least on paper. In practice, however, there are still many aspects where constitutional ideals and reality diverge, court interpreting being one of them: despite every accused person having the right to have the proceedings interpreted should they not understand the language used in court, research has highlighted a gap between theory and practice, with a number of issues and shortcomings revolving around the provision of court interpreters and the quality of their services. These undermine the right to linguistic mediation and, consequently, the full enjoyment of the right to a fair trial. Through semi-structured interviews conducted in a Magistrates’ Court in the province of Gauteng, this study purports to shed light on the main challenges of court interpreting in South Africa and the measures that are being taken to address them and to ensure the delivery of positive results and quality service, against the backdrop of the current language policies as well as the present context whereby the legacy of apartheid continues to exert a strong influence. This research forms part of a broader framework of studies on interpreting in South Africa, and its findings aim at providing new insights and food for thought with regard to the challenges that South African court interpreters are confronted with, to how they cope with them, and to any advancements in the professionalisation of their job, in the provision of their training, in their working conditions and, ultimately, in the efforts by the State to comply with the linguistic rights enshrined in the Constitution.