The thesis deals with the comparison of interpreting at international criminal tribunals in the past and present. This is a comparison outlined by the Nuremberg Trials and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. First, the case study focuses on the characteristics of conference interpreting in the Nuremberg trials, followed by the characteristics of interpreting in the case of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The thesis provides a historical overview, characteristics of interpreting, defines the role and position of an interpreter in the past and now and focuses on possible changes in interpreting supported by the development of the society. Not only the existing documents and published sources are used, but a questionnaire survey is conducted with professional interpreters, who worked at the tribunal in The Hague.

In sign-language interpreting and conference interpreting it is common for interpreters to work in pairs and well-established norms exist for how that cooperation is carried out. Working in pairs is becoming more common in Swedish courts for spoken language interpreting. Yet how court interpreters collaborate in these situations is not well described. This study, based on 29 hours of audio-files, examines how interpreters working in English and Swedish cooperate during consecutive interpreting when defendants are questioned in Swedish courts. Using Goffman’s terms, the interpreters can be said to be either ratified or bystander at any given point. Five types of cooperation were identified. Two show prompted support - the ratified interpreter either explicitly asks for support or her communicative behaviour makes the bystander conclude that support is needed, two show how the bystander interpreter self-selects to provide support. The fifth covers situations when a bystander interpreter is using non-renditions to explicitly coordinate the interaction. The study can confirm that interpreters are more noticeable in the courtroom than the traditional view of a good interpreter allows. It also shows how a team of two interpreters together can solve communicative problems related to the interpreter’s parallel tasks of translating and coordinating. / Inom teckenspråkstolkning och konferenstolkning är det vanligt att två eller fler tolkar arbetar tillsammans. Det finns väletablerade normer för hur samarbetet ska genomföras. Svenska domstolar anlitar ibland två tolkar till uppdrag i talade språk, men det saknas forskning om hur domstolstolkar samarbetar. Föreliggande studie, baserad på 29 timmar inspelat material undersöker på vilket sätt tolkar med engelska som arbetsspråk samarbetar vid konsekutivtolkning av förhör med tilltalade i svenska domstolar. Med Goffmans terminologi kan tolkarna sägas vara antingen ratified eller bystander vid varje given tidpunkt. Studien identifierar fem typer av samarbeten. Två av dem innefattar efterfrågat stöd där tolken som är ratified antingen ber om stöd eller agerar kommunikativt på ett sätt som får tolken som är bystander att dra slutsatsen att stöd behövs. Två andra kategorier beskriver situationer där tolken som är bystander tar initiativ att erbjuda en rättelse eller ett tillägg. Den femte kategorin täcker situationer där en tolk som är bystander använder sig av icke-återgivningar för att explicit samordna interaktionen. Studien bekräftar att tolkar tar mer plats i en rättssal än vad den gängse uppfattningen är, men också att samarbetande tolkar för det mesta smidigt löser kommunikativa problem relaterade till tolkens två parallella praktiker, att översätta och samordna.

In Venda with English abstract / Hei thyisisi i vhambedza thandululo ya thaidzo dza mafhungo a ṱhalano khoroni dza musanda na khothe dza muvhuso. Saizwi Ndayotewa ya Riphabuḽiki ya Afrika Tshipembe, mulayo 108 wa 1996, i tshi ṋea muṅwe na muṅwe pfanelo dza u shumisa luambo lune a lu takalela, nyambo dzoṱhe dza tshiofisi dzi tea u shumiswa u lingana kha thandululo ya thaidzo dza ṱhalano khoroni na khothe. Hei thyisisi i sumbedza nyambo dza English na Afrikaans dzi dzone dzi re na mutsindo musi hu tshi itwa thandulululo ya thaidzo dza ṱhalano ngeno luambo lwa Tshivenḓa na lwa vhaholefhali vha u pfa lu sa pfali. Nga nnḓa ha u ḓiphina nga mbofholowo ya u shumisa Tshivenḓa sa luambo lwa tshiofisi kha u amba, lu shumiswa zwenezwo fhedzi huna muṱalutshedzi wa khothe. Ngauralo, hei thyisisi i khou ita khuwelelo ya uri tshifhinga tsho swika tsha uri muvhuso u ṋee luambo lwa Tshivenḓa vhuiimo vhu eḓanaho na nyambo dza English na Afrikaans na uri ulu luambo lu shumiswevho kha thandululo ya thaidzo dza mafhungo a ṱhalano khothe dza muvhuso. / This thesis compares the conflict resolution in divorce discourse between traditional and government courts. It argues that since the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act no 108 of 1996 has given everyone the right to use the language of his or her choice, all official languages must be used equitably in conflict resolutions in divorce discourse in both traditional and government courts. Most of the Vhavenḓa, especially the elderly, cannot speak more than one official language and this is relevant in conflict resolution. This thesis contends that conflict resolution in divorce discourse is mainly dominated by English and Afrikaans while Tshivenḓa as well as sign language is not used. Instead of enjoying the freedom of utilizing Tshivenḓa as a spoken official language as used by the court interpreter. Therefore, this thesis argues that time has come that government courts accord equal status to all official languages and that Tshivenḓa language should be utilized as English and Afrikaans in conflict resolution in divorce discourse. / African languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)