CT Professional Code of Conduct 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A colleague asks a transliterator to review and sign off on their work as a favor. The transliterator spots several significant errors but the colleague insists they are stylistic choices. What should the transliterator do?
- Sign off to preserve the professional relationship and note the disagreement privately
- Refuse to certify the work unless the errors are corrected or clearly documented (Correct answer)
- Sign off since the colleague's autonomy over their own work supersedes quality concerns
- Report the colleague to the professional association before taking any other action
Correct answer: Refuse to certify the work unless the errors are corrected or clearly documented
Lending one's professional endorsement to inaccurate work harms end users and the profession; errors must be corrected or the sign-off must be withheld.
Question 2: Which best describes the principle of impartiality as it applies to a CT credential holder?
- Treating all clients equally regardless of project size or payment rate
- Applying consistent transliteration standards without allowing personal biases to distort the rendering (Correct answer)
- Refusing to work for clients whose political views differ from one's own
- Charging the same fee to all clients regardless of project complexity
Correct answer: Applying consistent transliteration standards without allowing personal biases to distort the rendering
Impartiality requires that the professional apply technical standards objectively, not letting personal, political, or cultural biases influence the accuracy of the transliteration.
Question 3: A transliterator realizes after delivering a project that they made a systematic error affecting the entire document. Professional ethics require them to:
- Wait to see if the client notices before taking action
- Proactively notify the client and offer to correct the work (Correct answer)
- Provide a partial refund without disclosing the specific nature of the error
- Correct future work but not retroactively address already-delivered projects
Correct answer: Proactively notify the client and offer to correct the work
Integrity demands prompt disclosure of errors and an offer to remedy them, regardless of whether the client has detected the problem.
Question 4: When working on a sensitive government document, a transliterator should treat the content as confidential:
- Only if the client explicitly includes a non-disclosure clause in the contract
- Unless the document is already publicly available in the source language
- By default, regardless of whether a formal NDA has been signed (Correct answer)
- Only for the duration of the project, after which normal disclosure rules apply
Correct answer: By default, regardless of whether a formal NDA has been signed
Confidentiality of client materials is a default professional obligation, not contingent on a signed NDA.
Question 5: A transliterator is hired to work on a legal name transliteration for immigration documents. The client asks the transliterator to use an unofficial spelling that differs from the standard convention. The professional should:
- Use the client's preferred spelling without comment since the client has personal authority over their own name
- Refuse entirely, as only standardized forms are permissible under professional ethics
- Inform the client of the standard form, document the client's preference, and apply it with a note if appropriate (Correct answer)
- Contact the immigration authority directly to determine the correct form without consulting the client further
Correct answer: Inform the client of the standard form, document the client's preference, and apply it with a note if appropriate
Professionals must inform clients of standard conventions and document deviations, ensuring informed consent while respecting personal autonomy over one's own name.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of a conflict of interest that a transliterator must disclose?
- Having transliterated similar scripts for other clients in the past
- Having a financial stake in a company that is a competitor of the client (Correct answer)
- Preferring one transliteration system over another based on professional experience
- Charging a higher rate for rush projects than standard projects
Correct answer: Having a financial stake in a company that is a competitor of the client
A financial interest in a competitor creates a conflict of interest that must be disclosed so the client can assess whether to continue the engagement.
Question 7: Under professional codes, how should a transliterator handle receiving unsolicited work samples from a client that appear to contain trade secrets?
- Use the samples freely since the client voluntarily shared them
- Return or destroy the materials and inform the client that trade secrets cannot be received without a proper agreement (Correct answer)
- Keep the materials for reference but never directly quote from them in deliverables
- Archive the materials and disclose receipt to the professional association
Correct answer: Return or destroy the materials and inform the client that trade secrets cannot be received without a proper agreement
Receiving trade secret materials without a proper confidentiality framework exposes both parties to risk; the professional should return or destroy them and establish a proper agreement.
CT Professional Code of Conduct 3
A colleague asks a transliterator to review and sign off on their work as a favor.
The transliterator spots several significant errors but the colleague insists they are stylistic choices.
What should the transliterator do?