Administrazioa eta euskara: itzultzaileak eta arduradunak
Abstract
The intention of this article is to give a panoramic view of the history, activity and present situation, and prospects of the people who, normally known as translators, have been contracted by the various institutions of the Basque Public Administration; Town Councils, Delegations, Government, and Parliament for varied work to do with the promotion of the Basque language within this Administration.
The work status of this member of staff is diverse; there are contracts for work done on a hourly basis, temporary contracts and also members of staff who have been taken on as civil servants.
The work they do is also varied —from translating purely and simply and as translators and consultants in offices open to the public to being directors of language advisory departments.
The writer also analyses the organizing structure, —which is poor— on which the work of these 'translators' leans: dictionaries, short courses etc.
He also suggests that it is time to rethink the part played by the translator during the past few years. In order to do this it must be made clear that the reason for contracting these translators was not merely for the translation of juridical and administrative texts, but for the promotion of the Basque language in Administration. Translation and the contracting of translators was then, only one of the first steps toward this.
The writer goes on to propose various measures which should be taken urgently: an Institute for the Promotion of Basque and Literacy courses for Civil Servants, an appraisal of knowledge of Basque on entering the Autonomous Civil Service and for promotion within it, and the creation of language advisory departments which should be adapted to the needs of each institution.
