Translation and Interpreting in the Indigenous Languages of Peru

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of translation and interpreting between Spanish and the estimated 48 indigenous languages spoken in 21st-century Peru. After contextualizing the Peruvian case in a framework that outlines contemporary translation policies for indigenous languages in Latin America, it discusses the state-sponsored training for self-identified indigenous people in Peru as well as the regulated language service provision in the public sector, including justice, health, and prior consultation processes. In addition, it acknowledges the agency of untrained, mostly female, indigenous people who routinely facilitate exchanges between members of their communities, on the one hand, and monolingual Spanish civil servants and other members of society, on the other.