Some would know Steven Pepper for his skills on the soccer pitch.
As a youngster the talented midfielder took his game all the way to Europe, and he remains involved as a high-level coach with Adelaide City.
But the proud Kaurna man with family links to the Ngarrindjeri and Narungga people is now kicking goals in a new career - Program Leader at the Aboriginal Language and Interpreting Service (ALIS).
The ALIS is a South Australian Government service which links Aboriginal interpreters with people in situations where the language being used might be different to typical conversational speech, such as the health system and dealing with police or courts
For Mr Pepper, who is finishing off a Bachelor of Commerce specialising in International Business, the job came from “poking and prodding different roles”, but now that he’s onboard, he said he was thoroughly enjoying working with a small team – which includes former SANFL player Eugene Warrior – that helps bring two worlds together in the spirit of understanding.
“ALIS works as a middleman,” Mr Pepper said.
“It might be for the courts or the hospital or something else, and we’ll find an interpreter for that particular language.”
Mr Pepper said translating Anangu languages of Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara – spoken in the far north of South Australia and over the border into the NT and WA – was the main focus of ALIS.
He said working between English and these ancient languages presented unique challenges.
“As you can imagine there are a lot of words that just don’t translate into Pitjantjatjara,” Mr Pepper said.
“So it’s different to translating English into Spanish, for example.”
He said ALIS met regularly with court officials and lawyers to workshop ways to ensure accurate and efficient translation.
“We’ll go to the courts or sit down with lawyers to give them information to help them use the translator,” Mr Pepper said.
“Things like not using too much legal jargon, trying to use plain English, can make a big difference.
“On the medical front too, they do a lot of work trying to upskill all the interpreters on things like the latest medical procedures so that they can explain them properly.”
He said that TAFE training was provided to interpreters, and that these sessions were often used to work on glossaries which could be used to aid future interpreters.
“I sat in one session where they were going through English words that might not have a direct translation in Language,” he said.
“A word like ‘custody’ for example, there’s no direct translation for that, so you have to work out a way to explain that, then translate that explanation into Pitjantjatjara.”
Mr Pepper said the role of ALIS was to improve communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, but in doing so he felt they were playing a small part in keeping the languages alive.
“We want to see these languages survive, and hopefully some of our interpreters can pass on their skills and it all helps to make sure that happens,” he said.
“And we’d just like people to know that we’re out there and that we’re always looking for interpreters. So, if there’s anyone out there that knows Language, get in touch.”
For more information, visit the Aboriginal Language Interpreting Service.
