Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences organized a faculty seminar titled "Disaster Interpreting: Expert Interpreting or Volunteer Duty?". Speaking at the seminar, Prof. Ali Turgay Kurultay, a faculty member of the Department of English Translation and Interpreting, pointed out that translation plays a critical role in disaster areas. Stating that proper training and coordination are essential in volunteering, the Congress also underlined the need for comprehensive and sustainable training programs. Stating that translators and interpreters who voluntarily go to the disaster area may be exposed to traumatic events, Kurultay also expressed the necessity of being mentally prepared.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of English Translation and Interpreting faculty member Prof. Ali Turgay Kurultay attended the seminar as a speaker.
The seminar was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Feride Zeynep Güder, faculty member of the Department of English Translation and Interpreting at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Translation plays a critical role
At the seminar, Prof. Kurultay emphasized that it is not enough for translators working in disaster areas to have only language skills, but also to be psychologically and technically equipped. He stated that translators play a critical role in many different situations, from search and rescue activities to coordination in the debris field, from communication with foreign rescue teams to traumatic experiences such as encountering corpses.
Proper training and coordination is essential in volunteering!
Drawing attention to the fact that the understanding of "I know the language, I can help" can be risky in disaster environments, Kurultay stated that disaster interpreting requires expertise, legislative knowledge, mastery of disaster terminology and psychological resistance. He said volunteering is valuable, but proper training and coordination are essential for effective intervention.
Comprehensive and sustainable training programs are needed
It was conveyed to the participants that professional formation should not be limited to theoretical courses only, and that it is essential to support this formation with practical trainings that are repeated at frequent intervals. Stating that one-day or short-term trainings cannot meet the needs in the field, Kurultay emphasized the need for comprehensive and sustainable training programs to deal with technical terminology, organizational structures and risk factors in the field.
Stating that some non-governmental organizations started to provide translation support after the 1999 Marmara Earthquake, but the legal infrastructure and institutional functioning were not yet sufficiently established, Kurultay stated that despite the existence of institutions such as Disaster Management Plans and AFAD, standard procedures should be developed to guide translators effectively in the field.
They may be exposed to traumatic events
Stating that there is a need for translation in disaster environments not only in search and rescue but also in different areas such as humanitarian aid, psychological support and security, Kurultay stated that translators who voluntarily go to the disaster area may be exposed to traumatic events, so it is important for them to be mentally prepared and receive psychological support.
Regular drills can make a significant contribution to the process
Finally, Kurultay drew attention to the importance of establishing long-term and institutional training programs in the field of disaster interpreting and emphasized the necessity of a system in which the powers, identities and responsibilities of translators will be clearly defined with the clarification of the relevant legal regulations and institutional structures. He stated that within the scope of pre-disaster preparedness, the establishment of term banks, the preparation of disaster-specific translation guides and the realization of regular exercises will make significant contributions to the process.
Q&A was done
After the Q&A session, the seminar ended. The event made a valuable contribution in terms of bringing translation services to professional standards in disasters and raising awareness about the balance between volunteering and expertise.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)