Interpreting for the Linguistic Majority: A Historical Review of Court Interpreting in Hong Kong

Abstract

Court interpreting between Chinese and English in Hong Kong has long been provided to cater to the needs of the Cantonese-speaking linguistic majority and was necessitated as a result of the British colonisation of Hong Kong in 1842. This study presents a historical review of the practice of court interpreting in Hong Kong from early colonial days to the present time. While court interpreters in early colonial times enjoyed monopolistic linguistic power in court, interpreters in present-day Hong Kong courts often find their performance under the scrutiny of other bilingual court participants, and of the digital recording system. This study illustrates with authentic court data the challenges presented to interpreters in modern-day Hong Kong courts and the limitations of the current system, with recommendations made for the way forward.