NAATI ethical questions
Thread poster: Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Australia
Apr 21, 2016

Hi all,

I have two questions which are perplexing my guess in second part of NAATI professional translation-which I have next two weeks:

Q1) A client ask s a NAATI-accredited translator to certify a translation the client has done himself, as he did this language
at high school. What should the translator do and why?

I reckon is involving competence, in which translator only work from source language into target language for which he/she is qualified
... See more
Hi all,

I have two questions which are perplexing my guess in second part of NAATI professional translation-which I have next two weeks:

Q1) A client ask s a NAATI-accredited translator to certify a translation the client has done himself, as he did this language
at high school. What should the translator do and why?

I reckon is involving competence, in which translator only work from source language into target language for which he/she is qualified. I would explain to client that I am not authorized for this purpose and even if he was professional translator, still I was not able to certify the translation unless the original translator approves.

Q2) Suppose you have just completed translating a business report for a company. During the job, you were provided various drafts of the report before translating the final version. You notices unusual differences between the drafts and later learn that your client has been arrested on charges of business fraud relating to the documents you translated. Would you provide evidence at the trial concerning the discrepancies you noted? Explain your answer and identify the ethical principles involved.

I would talk about professional conduct in detail and also related to some extent to confidentially with reference to disclosing information where is mandated by law.

Pardon me for writing such a lengthy thread. These questions been taken from official sample kit. Forum user's assistance is deeply appreciated.

Bests,
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Vanda Nissen
Vanda Nissen  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 04:59
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
Q1 Apr 21, 2016

Q1) A client ask s a NAATI-accredited translator to certify a translation the client has done himself, as he did this language at high school. What should the translator do and why?

Hi, NAATI-accredited translators can only certify their own translations, not other people's, and especially in this case because the translation's been done by somebody who is not even a translator.


 
Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Australia
TOPIC STARTER
That's right Apr 22, 2016

Vanda Nissen wrote:

Q1) A client ask s a NAATI-accredited translator to certify a translation the client has done himself, as he did this language at high school. What should the translator do and why?

Hi, NAATI-accredited translators can only certify their own translations, not other people's, and especially in this case because the translation's been done by somebody who is not even a translator.


Thanks for your viewpoint. Thus is it related to competence if I want o name the ethical principle involved? How about Q2 any suggestions?


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 19:59
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
NAATI ethics... Apr 22, 2016

Q82018 wrote:
I have two questions which are perplexing my guess in second part of NAATI professional translation-which I have next two weeks:


This sentence makes little sense to me, I'm afraid (but then: I'm not from Oz).

NAATI does not seem to have its own code of ethics, but apparently uses AUSIT's. And the AUSIT code of ethics does not say anything about dealing with dishonesty or illegality during translation. This I find odd, because most translator codes of ethics make mention of how translators may not accept work that they know is illegal or dishonest or against the public interest, and/or what they should do when they discover that the job entails something like that.

Does "provide evidence" mean that you provide them with copies of documents, or that you testify in court but do not actually provide them with anything tangible yourself?


 
Vanda Nissen
Vanda Nissen  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 04:59
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
Q2 Apr 22, 2016

In regards to the second question, it is important to remember that it is not up to you to decide whether this business report constitutes a case of a business fraud or not. It is up to the judge. What you need to do is to translate accurately (Accuracy as an ethical principle) what it states and be prepared to be called as a witness who can confirm that actually this business report in Language A contains the same information as its translation into the Language B and you have translated all th... See more
In regards to the second question, it is important to remember that it is not up to you to decide whether this business report constitutes a case of a business fraud or not. It is up to the judge. What you need to do is to translate accurately (Accuracy as an ethical principle) what it states and be prepared to be called as a witness who can confirm that actually this business report in Language A contains the same information as its translation into the Language B and you have translated all this information accurately and in full.Collapse


 
Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Australia
TOPIC STARTER
Q2 Apr 23, 2016

Vanda Nissen wrote:

In regards to the second question, it is important to remember that it is not up to you to decide whether this business report constitutes a case of a business fraud or not. It is up to the judge. What you need to do is to translate accurately (Accuracy as an ethical principle) what it states and be prepared to be called as a witness who can confirm that actually this business report in Language A contains the same information as its translation into the Language B and you have translated all this information accurately and in full.


Thanks again for your input. I will add some description with reference to disclosing information at court (Confidentiality as principal).


 
Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Australia
TOPIC STARTER
NAATI ethics Apr 23, 2016

Samuel Murray wrote:

Q82018 wrote:
I have two questions which are perplexing my guess in second part of NAATI professional translation-which I have next two weeks:


This sentence makes little sense to me, I'm afraid (but then: I'm not from Oz).

NAATI does not seem to have its own code of ethics, but apparently uses AUSIT's. And the AUSIT code of ethics does not say anything about dealing with dishonesty or illegality during translation. This I find odd, because most translator codes of ethics make mention of how translators may not accept work that they know is illegal or dishonest or against the public interest, and/or what they should do when they discover that the job entails something like that.

Does "provide evidence" mean that you provide them with copies of documents, or that you testify in court but do not actually provide them with anything tangible yourself?



I am not sure about that as translation is not my career, but I seen as subsection of 'Professional Conduct principle' briefly stated about dealing honestly in all works and other business fields.


 
Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Australia
TOPIC STARTER
NAATI exam May 5, 2016

I just had my NAATI exam.

Pretty easy and straightforward passages, unbelievable. For ethics, interestingly one of the questions was similar to what I posted(someone asks you to certify a translation done overseas) and another one was about highly technical terminology in an accepted assignment.

The exam environment was funny, one guy had electronic dictionary and they checked it at the ends of exam!! He finished everything like in an hour, don wanna blame but that was
... See more
I just had my NAATI exam.

Pretty easy and straightforward passages, unbelievable. For ethics, interestingly one of the questions was similar to what I posted(someone asks you to certify a translation done overseas) and another one was about highly technical terminology in an accepted assignment.

The exam environment was funny, one guy had electronic dictionary and they checked it at the ends of exam!! He finished everything like in an hour, don wanna blame but that was suspicious! No supervisor during exam, they left us on our own (total 5 people in one room) and you could do anything no camera no hidden supervision no nothing!

That was sort of college test for me, wonder if they mark the papers as easy as the real exam (fingers corssed):D
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BashirAhmad89
BashirAhmad89
Afghanistan
English to Dari
+ ...
Questions of the Code May 28, 2016

Hi,
Can you provide your Code of Ethics questions and the answers you provided?


 
Q82018 (X)
Q82018 (X)
Australia
TOPIC STARTER
AUSIT answers May 29, 2016

BashirAhmad89 wrote:

Hi,
Can you provide your Code of Ethics questions and the answers you provided?


The answers are same as I mentioned in previous comments, for second Q I talked more in detail about accuracy and competency. Most important part is what would be your final solution; ensure you write something like below at the end of each ethics questions:
I would do.......
Also do not write me than the word limits as they don't read any extra words (for mine I counted all words:D)

Good luck


 
BashirAhmad89
BashirAhmad89
Afghanistan
English to Dari
+ ...
Further Questions on Ethics Jun 12, 2016

Hi,

I have my NAATI test within one week. I have just found some cases of ethics I am not sure about. I would appreciate if you could provide your inputs. The cases are:

1. If your client is working with you for the first time, what instructions would you give in order to that you can work well together?

Is requesting for briefing and access to reference material and background information enough for this task? MAINTAINING PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
<
... See more
Hi,

I have my NAATI test within one week. I have just found some cases of ethics I am not sure about. I would appreciate if you could provide your inputs. The cases are:

1. If your client is working with you for the first time, what instructions would you give in order to that you can work well together?

Is requesting for briefing and access to reference material and background information enough for this task? MAINTAINING PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

2. As a professional, what preparations would make prior commencing an assignment?

I would ascertain the intended purpose of the translation and the form of delivery required, ask for information, terminology and reference materials. Is that enough?
MAINTAINING PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

3. What actions would you take if you were offered a bribe to suppress some information in a translation? What are the ethical considerations which come into play in this situation?

Is Accuracy the only code of ethics here?

4. You are a freelance translator and receive a call from colleague who also works freelance, asking you to do his/her work. What would you do?

The trend goes to Conduct Issues Specific to Translators (T8): Translators may subcontract work with other competent translators and the responsibility goes to the translator who subcontracted the work.

The thread is so long, I know, but I would appreciate to hear your inputs with regards to them.

Wishes,
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NAATI ethical questions






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