Abstract (eng)
This Master’s thesis addresses the requirements and competences for language interpretation from the interpreters’ point of view based on the example of the medical institution AmberMed.
The theoretical part focuses on explaining and defining important terminology, such as interpreting, modes of interpretation and community interpreting. Subsequently, medical interpreting and court interpreting are compared and contrasted with a special focus on their relationship to community interpreting. The second chapter attends to the definition of the term competence in order to subsequently present Albl-Mikasa’s (2012) competence model and the competence areas by Gentile et al. (1996). The third chapter revolves around interpretations in healthcare, whereby the medical interpreters’ cultural and linguistic characteristics as well as their complex profiles are investigated. In the fourth chapter, the medical institution AmberMed is introduced.
Based on Albl-Mikasa’s competence model and the competence areas by Gentile et al. a semi-standardized interview guide was developed in order to elicit responses from six interpreters. The results of the interviews show that the interpreters at AmberMed function not only as language professionals, but also as helpers, contact person and medical assistants. Furthermore, the results indicate that interpreters need to have the following competences: linguistic competence, cultural competence, medical know-how and knowledge of technical vocabulary, specific preparation, developing a glossary, social competence, emotional and mental stability, dialectal language varieties, recipient-oriented interpretation, coordination of conversations, compensation of a lingua franca, memory, efficiency and promptness, updating of glossaries and quality control.