Simultaneous Church Interpreting as Service

Abstract

Although volunteer interpreting in church settings is common throughout the world, there is scant research on this topic in translation and interpreting studies. This article provides a starting point for discussion of this issue through an examination of non-professional, volunteer simultaneous interpreting in a Pentecostal church in Tampere, Finland. The approach to church interpreting at the Pentecostal church is mapped onto Pöchhacker’s (2004) scheme of the dimensions and domains of interpreting theory in order to compare its features to those identified by Pöchhacker. The paper also discusses the volunteer simultaneous interpreting organized at this church in relation to two distinct notions: service and volunteer work. A detailed examination of these two concepts is undertaken in relation to interpreting activity in this specific context. The paper concludes that interpreting is understood within Pentecostalism as service not only to its members but also to God, and that this has important consequences for the type of interpreter training and practice required by church interpreters and valued by the Tampere Pentecostal Church.

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