ITI Ethical Standards & Professional Conduct 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A translator is subcontracting part of a large project to a colleague. What professional obligation remains with the original translator?
- None — responsibility transfers fully to the subcontractor
- Responsibility for the overall quality and confidentiality of the entire deliverable (Correct answer)
- Only financial responsibility for paying the subcontractor
- Responsibility ends once the client approves the subcontract arrangement
Correct answer: Responsibility for the overall quality and confidentiality of the entire deliverable
The translator who contracts with the client remains professionally accountable for the full quality and confidentiality of the work, regardless of subcontracting.
Question 2: When a translation agency requests a translator's work samples for a test translation without any offer of payment, the ethical consideration involves:
- Always providing samples freely as an industry norm
- Assessing whether the request is a genuine quality check or an attempt to obtain unpaid work (Correct answer)
- Refusing all unpaid test translations on principle
- Reporting the agency to ITI immediately
Correct answer: Assessing whether the request is a genuine quality check or an attempt to obtain unpaid work
Professionals should evaluate whether unpaid tests are proportionate to legitimate vetting needs or constitute exploitation of translators' labor.
Question 3: A translator working in a sworn capacity makes an error that has already been used in legal proceedings. Their first ethical obligation is to:
- Remain silent and hope the error goes unnoticed
- Immediately inform the relevant party and/or their professional body and seek legal advice (Correct answer)
- Issue a corrected translation and backdate it
- Attribute the error to unclear source text
Correct answer: Immediately inform the relevant party and/or their professional body and seek legal advice
When an error in sworn work has legal consequences, disclosure and professional accountability are required even at personal cost.
Question 4: How should a translator respond when offered a gift or hospitality by a client that could influence their professional judgment?
- Accept it if below a personal threshold value
- Decline or disclose it to avoid any perception of compromised independence (Correct answer)
- Accept it and mention it in the project notes
- Only accept it after the project is fully delivered
Correct answer: Decline or disclose it to avoid any perception of compromised independence
Accepting gifts that could — or appear to — influence judgment undermines the independence that is central to professional integrity.
Question 5: Which statement best describes a translator's ethical obligations when working across cultures where ethical norms differ from those of the target country?
- Apply the target culture's norms since that is the audience
- Apply the source culture's norms since that is the origin
- Adhere to the professional ethical standards of their ITI membership regardless of cultural context (Correct answer)
- Ask the client which cultural norms should govern the project
Correct answer: Adhere to the professional ethical standards of their ITI membership regardless of cultural context
Membership in a professional body such as the ITI creates obligations that transcend cultural differences in business ethics.
Question 6: A translator discovers that a previous translation they produced for a client is now being used in a fraudulent scheme. Their ethical obligation includes:
- Taking no action since the fraud is the client's responsibility
- Considering whether to report the matter to authorities and seeking legal advice on their position (Correct answer)
- Requesting the client stop using the translation immediately
- Destroying any evidence linking them to the translation
Correct answer: Considering whether to report the matter to authorities and seeking legal advice on their position
When a translator's work is knowingly being used for fraud, professional and potentially legal obligations arise around disclosure and cooperation with authorities.
Question 7: The concept of 'professional solidarity' in ITI ethics primarily means:
- Agreeing on minimum rates with other translators
- Supporting the profession through fair dealing, mentoring, and upholding shared standards (Correct answer)
- Refusing to work for clients who hire non-ITI translators
- Sharing confidential client information with fellow members
Correct answer: Supporting the profession through fair dealing, mentoring, and upholding shared standards
Solidarity means contributing to the profession's reputation and capability through ethical conduct and support for colleagues, not through anti-competitive coordination.
ITI Ethical Standards & Professional Conduct 5
A translator is subcontracting part of a large project to a colleague.
What professional obligation remains with the original translator?