Interpreting in political and diplomatic settings

The interpreting profession has expanded greatly in Australia over recent decades, but mainly in the legal, healthcare and community fields. Few practitioners have had a chance to try their hand at diplomatic interpreting, a unique and highly specialised field that requires technical, cultural, ethical and diplomatic knowledge as well as interpreting skills. For the last 12 years, Korean–English interpreter Sophia Ra has been working with a local government in Sydney which has a sister city relationship with a city district in South Korea. She reflects here on what this complex role entails.