INTERPRETAÇÃO DE LIBRAS-PORTUGUÊS EM CONTEXTOS JURÍDICOS

ATIVIDADES FORMATIVAS E CAMINHOS PROFISSIONAIS

Abstract

This study analyzes training activities for Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS)–Portuguese interpreters in legal settings in Brazil, considering initiatives offered in recent years and their contribution to professional training. The study is grounded in Interpreting Studies, in connection with the literature on training, professionalization, interpreting in legal settings, and the development of professional profiles, in dialogue with Translation Policies and Linguistic Law. This is a qualitative documentary study that maps and categorizes training activities available on digital platforms into: (i) open classes; (ii) short courses; (iii) workshops and thematic panels; (iv) conversation circles and livestreamed events; and (v) free/open-enrollment courses. The results show that short-term initiatives form part of a training system for LIBRAS–Portuguese interpreters, comprising different modalities and workloads. These initiatives play complementary roles in disseminating and updating knowledge, providing technical introduction, and fostering professional practice, thereby helping to expand the theoretical-practical repertoire of interpreters who work, or wish to work, in legal settings. However, structural limitations are also evident, such as short duration, lack of standardization, curricular fragmentation, absence of training progression, predominance of online offerings, and regional concentration in Brazil’s South and Southeast. The study concludes that these initiatives respond only partially to the demands of the field, reinforcing the need for policies aimed at professional interpreter training in legal settings and at ensuring linguistic rights.