Masters of Translation and Interpreting

The Danish Authorised Translators and Interpreters association (Danske Translatører, DT) is an active organisation of translators and interpreters who have received a masters’ degree in translation and interpreting, from an accredited Danish business school, both in Danish and one or more other languages.

The above-mentioned degree includes a specialisation in LSP (Language for Special Purposes). This means that the skills acquired by these professionals as students are matched to what is required by the business sector and the public sector. “Graduates who apply for this status are officially licensed by the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency (‘state-authorised’)”.

This translators association has defined a set of skills that a “state-authorised translator” must have. This type of professionals translate all kinds of “documents and texts for private individuals, businesses, organisations and public authorities, including the police and the courts”. It is their educational background that provides them with detailed knowledge of “legal, technical, medical and business language” as well as of the social and cultural differences in countries that speak the languages they have chosen. This provides them with the ability to adjust terminology, level of formality, style and cultural references according to the target group of a translation.

There is a speciality that only state-authorises translators can provide. That is certified translations that are immediately valid as legal documents. If further proof of legal validity is necessary, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs can make a certified translation legal, by authenticating the signature of the state-authorised translator. The translation association stresses that “when a state-authorised translator certifies a translation with his or her official stamp and signature, he or she is verifying that it is a complete and correct translation”.

In Denmark, the rule is that police and courts will require that all translations are to be made and certified by state-authorises professionals. The country signed the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention concerning the legalisation of public documents. This meant that documents certified by a state-authorised translator could from then on be sent directly to the Foreign Ministry for endorsement with an Apostille. In case the document is meant to be used in a non-signatory country, that country’s embassy in Denmark must legalise it.

Members of this translators association have an official stamp with their name on and the expression “Interpres Regia Jurata”. Alternatively, they may use a red sticker. In any of these cases, they must also sign the document.

Other than translating, many members of the Danish translation association also offer interpreting services. If you search through the list of DT members, their names are marked with a headphones’ sign.

State-authorised translators serve as interpreters for the business community, as well as trade unions, NGO’s, international organisations and private individuals, courts and other public authorities. It can take different forms, such as whispered interpreting, consecutive interpreting or simultaneous interpreting. The chosen option depends on the circumstances and on what the customer wishes to make of it. DT says: “any of the interpreters in our list of members will be able to advise you on what would be best in a given situation”.

Members of the Danish translators association are also able to offer services in language revision, as well as proofreading services, in order to ensure that the text is not only linguistically correct, but also suitable for the intended purposes.

DT is proud to say that its members “work together and help each other, both within the different languages (quality control of each others' translations) and across language groups”. Because the Danish organisation has a close network, “it will usually be possible for any one member on the list to help you with any type of translation, interpreting or language revision job”.

Other than the actual work in translation and interpreting, DT also takes care of its members’ interests. It represents its members when dealing with Danish authorities and EU authorities. DT is a member of the International Federation of Translators (FIT).

The profession of state-authorised translators is under the law of the State-authorised Translators Act. This means, among other things, that members of the translators association are obliged to keep what they learn in connection with their work absolutely confidential. The title of state-authorised translator is a protected designation, which only those persons who have received official certification may use. The Danish Central Business Register (CVR) has a list of every state-authorised translator in alphabetical order. Other than this, you may use DT’s own database, searching either by language or location (Danish post code).

Keep in mind that Danish, a North Germanic language, is spoken by around six million people, mostly in the kingdom of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and 25,000 Danes in Norway where it holds minority language status.

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