The Discourse of Court Interpreting: Discourse practices of the law, the witness and the interpreter: 52

The aim of the Benjamins Translation Library is to stimulate research and training in translation and interpreting studies. It is to be hoped that Hale’s book on discourse practices of the law, the witness and the interpreter will inspire other researchers worldwide to follow the laborious but fascinating path, where the systems allows, of identifying, gathering and analyzing material in this area. The findings and insights gained form such rewarding work in each country can be used to inform the design and content of vital training courses for legal interpreters hoping to work in the jurisdiction concerned, and also – hopefully – as valuable input in efforts to raise the awareness of the judicial participants in legal proceedings involving individuals who do not speak the language of those proceedings. — Ruth Morris, in Interpreting Vol. 8:1

This book is a must for all those who either work with court interpreters or who themselves practice the profession of interpreting. By generating an impressively rich collection of data, Sandra Hale provides linguists, interpreters and legal practitioners alike with invaluable insights into the multiple ways in which pragmatics has a crucial role to play in interpreted legal proceedings. Discourse analysts, in particular, would have much to gain from the important findings of Hale’s research. — Susan Berk-Seligson, University of Pittsburgh

The research reported in this book provides an important contribution to the study of court interpreting by investigating in detail the ways in which the interpreters’ renditions may alter the pragmatic force of questions and answers in the courtroom. — Philipp Sebastian Angermeyer, Department of Linguistics, New York University, on Linguist List, Vol.16.1381 (2005)

Sandra Hale’s contribution is certainly to be added to the few serious attempts to get to grips with the intricacies of community interpreting. — Basil Hatim, American University of Sharjah, UAE

The book has impressed me as a substantial study of courtroom interpreting practices by a knowledgeable specialist. — Vladimir Khairoulline, Ufa, Russia, in Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, Vol. 15:1 (2007)

Hale’s style is scholarly and readable, and her prose is richly illustrated with a total of 168 extracts from the courtroom data and 48 summary tables. DCI is a book which can be enjoyed by readers from a wide range of backgrounds, and I thoroughly recommend it to interpreters, interpreter trainers and students of Interpreting, legal professionals and law students, and linguistic scholars and students. — Diana Eades , University of New England, Australia