Interpreter-Mediated Witness Examination in a Murder Trial
These video clips are excerpted from the video of a murder trial produced as part of the TDG project – From the Classroom to the Courtroom: Recreating Authentic Criminal Trials for Hybrid Training.
The project is jointly held by Dr Eva Ng (Principal Investigator) of Translation Programme of the School of Chinese, and Ms Vandana Rajwana (Co-investigator) of the Department of Professional Legal Education, HKU.
The script of the video was adapted from the transcript of the authentic audio- recorded court proceedings of a murder trial. Permission to use the court data has been obtained and granted by the High Court Registrar of Hong Kong.
The primary aim of the project was to turn the audio recordings into video-recorded trials. Converting transcripts of the audio into video-recorded trials is extremely important for the training of both Translation/Interpreting students and Student Advocates in the PCLL programme, as facial clues, body language and non-verbal communication are all essential contributors to meaning in spoken legal discourse.
It is vital that Advocates are able to effectively assess and respond to a testifying witness with both their ears and their eyes. Similarly, being able to see speakers while interpreting their utterances will help an interpreter comprehend their meaning. This project is expected to benefit students of both the Translation Programme and the PCLL and promotes interdisciplinary learning between Translation and Law.
