Teaching and Learning Conference Interpreting for Humanitarian Purposes: Breaking the Codes at Social Forums

Abstract

The United Nations have recently issued various documents calling for the protection of language diversity and the preservation of indigenous languages (UNESCO, 2008). The volunteers of Babels, the network of volunteer interpreters for Social Forums, have started to develop a free software environment that will facilitate the teaching and learning of volunteer interpreting in specific humanitarian contexts. One of Babels' founding principles is the possibility for everyone at Social Forums to express themselves in the language of their choice (Babels’ Charter, 2004). Such a principle implies that interpretation should be good enough to be understood, ideally in any language chosen, hence the need to address the issue of quality and ad-hoc training and of finding viable solutions to improve training tools. This paper aims to provide the background for the development of DidactiBels, a portmanteau word for “Didactic Issues in Babels”, for the training of ad-hoc volunteer interpreters of minorised languages and peoples in the months preceding a Social Forum.