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Être accompagné par un interprète : entre besoin de reconnaissance et stratégies de résistance
... Alfredo mentioned that this may have been a consequence of their own trauma, resulting from the war in Colombia and living their life in a constant state of alert. This is consistent with research that shows that some migrants are reluctant to use an interpreter because of their lack of trust and the resentment caused by a feeling of dependence (Le Goff & Carbonel, 2020;Pym, 2021). This is especially common in the case of individuals who "have had a traumatic experience linked to their exile or their migratory journey" (Le Goff & Carbonel, 2020, p. VI). ...
... However, in the case of Gabriela, the limited rapport did not produce any negative reactions, maybe because at that stage she was proficient enough to communicate without the interpreter. This might have lessened the feeling of dependence that often results in resentment and mistrust towards the interpreter (Le Goff & Carbonel, 2020 (Greener, 2003, p. 81). In interpreted events, service users may extend this type of trust based on shared identity, language and nationality, or because of their trust in institutions . ...
Community interpreters hold a powerful position within any interpreted event due to their linguistic and multicultural knowledge, as well as their agency to make decisions that affect the outcomes of the interaction (Davidson, 2000; Mason & Ren, 2013). Interpreters’ power interacts with other sources of power at the individual and social levels, creating a network of power differentials intrinsic to community interpreting, where power is constantly being negotiated interpersonally through discourse and within institutions that reflect the covert hierarchies imposed by the state (Mason & Ren, 2013; Rudvin, 2005). However, these power differences are often unacknowledged as a result of non-engagement and invisibility ideals in professional interpreting, as well as cultural and linguistic hegemonies which hide systemic injustices (Coyne & Hill, 2016).
In opposition to restrictive conduit views of the interpreting role, the ally model of interpreting recognises interpreters’ power and contextualises decision-making within historic oppression and inequality, enabling interpreters to act in ways that promote social justice, empower interpreting service users, and offer equality of access (Baker-Shenk, 1991; Witter-Merithew, 1999). However, the ally model has mostly been studied from within the field of signed languages, in relation to the deaf community (Baker-Shenk, 1986; Hsieh et al., 2013). In addition, there is limited research into users’ experiences of interpreters from their own point of view (R. Edwards et al., 2005), with interpreting guidelines remaining mostly in the hands of the practitioners (Rudvin, 2007).
The purpose of this research is to explore allyship and social justice in spoken-language interpreting from a service-user perspective. The research was conducted with the Latin American community in Aotearoa, employing a horizontal methodology developed by Latin American and European transdisciplinary researchers who see research as a political commitment to improve life in public spaces (Kaltmeier & Corona Berkin, 2012). Knowledge was created collaboratively with Aotearoa-based interlocutors through four one-on-one dialogues with service users and one group dialogue involving two service users, three professional English-Spanish interpreters, and one Latin American community representative.
The results of the dialogues show a disparity between users’ expectations and the deontological ethical principles guiding interpreter behaviour. Users were found to value interpreters’ humane qualities over linguistic proficiency, which was not considered enough to meet users’ needs. Instead, professional practice was seen to require empathy, flexibility, self-reflection, and a middle ground that avoids over-intrusions and unnecessarily rigid behaviour. From this research, this approach to practice was seen to promote an understanding of situated needs and challenges and, consequently, to enable a consideration for social justice and critical perspectives. While the findings suggest that there is room for the incorporation of the ally model in spoken-language interpreting, they also reinforce the need to complement discussions about role models with the development of professional responsibility and a focus on the consequences of interpreters’ actions, similar to other caring and practice professions (Dean & Pollard, 2018; Drugan & Tipton, 2017). Therefore, this research supports recent calls to reinforce a teleological, consequence-based approach to ethics (Enríquez Raído et al., 2020) and encourages a revision of the Euro-centric bias and universality ideals in the current code and training programmes to align them with Aotearoa’s multicultural identity.
... This can take the form of seminars in which field interpreters share with novices their repertoires of experience (for example, their experiences of migration, their contact with public services in the host country through an interpreter, the hardships they have overcome in a process of personal empowerment) and the way in which they use this mêtis - this cunning experience - in their interpreting profession to act in the interests of primary parties (cf. Demailly, 2020;Le Goff & Carbonel, 2020). This implies greater participation by field interpreters in the teaching team. ...
In French-speaking Belgium, public service (PS) interpreting in languages of larger diffusion is taught in daytime university courses. For training in languages of lesser diffusion, the main challenges are to gain access to the target audience, to design a curriculum that closely meets the needs of the stakeholders in the field, to give access to higher education to would-be interpreters, and to develop interpreting skills in multilingual classrooms. The solutions have given rise to a four-level modular and out-of-school-hour university-level training and education programme, elaborated in close links with PS interpreting providers. This article details the challenges, solutions, educational content, certification system, assessment grid and main learning methods of this programme and outlines future developments. The region has stepped up its efforts since the 2000s and now has a pool of trained PS interpreters, who can further their professional development by taking part in a tailor-made process of continuing education at university level.
... The lack of familiarity with the new context and institutions combined with language limitations can result in complex feelings of isolation and powerlessness (Le Goff & Carbonel, 2020). Throughout her one-on-one dialogue, for example, Juana mentioned getting "really frustrated" ["me frustré un montón"] on several occasions. ...
Defined as the practice of gaining awareness and acting upon the oppression of marginalized groups, allyship can account for the power interpreters hold in systems of oppression and can contribute to social justice. This article reports on a study designed to explore allyship in spoken-language interpreting from the perspective of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) users of interpreting services. Involving CALD individuals – foreign-born people in English-speaking countries who do not speak English at home – from the Latin American community living in Aotearoa New Zealand, the study explored users’ perspectives on the role of interpreters, their perceptions of allyship and social justice, and the way these concepts inform interpreting practice. The study employed a culturally affirming horizontal methodology that relied on four one-on-one dialogues with users of Spanish-speaking interpreting services about their experiences in various community settings. This was followed by one group dialogue involving users, English–Spanish interpreters and a community representative. The findings suggest that users prefer humane and caring interpreters with a flexible understanding of their role. Aware that social marginalization is intrinsic to community interpreting, they highlighted the reality that mere message transfer and language proficiency are insufficient for CALD individuals to secure access to statutory services and that inadequate assistance can be (re-)traumatizing. The users’ perspective therefore conflicts with the prevailing rules-based approach to ethics in interpreting and its focus on accuracy in interpreting over social and relational skills. To overcome the disparity between users’ expectations and entrenched concepts of neutrality and non-intervention, allyship stands as a potential lens through which to develop a nuanced and flexible understanding of the community interpreter’s role, as well as culturally grounded redefinitions of ethicality and professionalism in the field.
... The lack of familiarity with the new context and institutions combined with language limitations can result in complex feelings of isolation and powerlessness (Le Goff & Carbonel, 2020). Throughout her one-on-one dialogue, for example, Juana mentioned getting "really frustrated" ["me frustré un montón"] on several occasions. ...
Defined as the practice of gaining awareness and acting upon the oppression of marginalized groups, allyship can account for the power interpreters hold in systems of oppression and can contribute to social justice. This article reports on a study designed to explore allyship in spoken-language interpreting from the perspective of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) users of interpreting services. Involving CALD individuals-foreign-born people in English-speaking countries who do not speak English at home-from the Latin American community living in Aotearoa New Zealand, the study explored users' perspectives on the role of interpreters, their perceptions of allyship and social justice, and the way these concepts inform interpreting practice. The study employed a culturally affirming horizontal methodology that relied on four one-on-one dialogues with users of Spanish-speaking interpreting services about their experiences in various community settings. This was followed by one group dialogue involving users, English-Spanish interpreters and a community representative. The findings suggest that users prefer humane and caring interpreters with a flexible understanding of their role. Aware that social marginalization is intrinsic to community interpreting, they highlighted the reality that mere message transfer and language proficiency are insufficient for CALD individuals to secure access to statutory services and that inadequate assistance can be (re-)traumatizing. The users' perspective therefore conflicts with the prevailing rules-based approach to ethics in interpreting and its focus on accuracy in interpreting over social and relational skills. To overcome the disparity between users' expectations and entrenched concepts of neutrality and non-intervention, allyship stands as a potential lens through which to develop a nuanced and flexible understanding of the community interpreter's role, as well as culturally grounded redefinitions of ethicality and professionalism in the field.
Speech, voice and body
Convergence between the interpreter and the care taker in consultations with immigrants
This article is about an ongoing research project on healthcare interactions with migrants in which interpreters are present. It specifically concerns an interaction with the psychologist. Our study is based on interactional linguistics and focuses on the detail of practices and resources (talk, pauses and silences, posture, gesture, gaze) used by participants to carry out their exchanges and to construct mutual comprehension. It relies on audiovisual data recorded in several healthcare centres in France.
We focus in particular on verbal and non verbal phenomena of ‘convergence’, that is, the alignement observed between the healthcare professional and the interpreter. Such convergence gives the consultation as a whole a high level of interactional fluidity.
Cet article rend compte de la dynamique de l’Orspere-Samdarra sur l’interprétariat en santé. L’absence d’interprète pouvant entraver le soin du public migrant, le souci du recours à l’interprétariat est un souci majeur partagé par de nombreux acteurs. Mais, par-delà le manque de moyens dans certaines structures, le bouleversement de la configuration du soin peut aussi être un frein au recours aux interprètes. D’une part, cet article détaille les épreuves auxquelles sont confrontés chacun des participants, que ce soit le professionnel en santé, l’interprète, ou encore le migrant. D’autre part, les auteurs questionnent les enjeux liés à la professionnalisation de l’activité d’interprétariat ; dans un contexte où la puissance publique reconnait de plus en plus cette activité comme participant à l’efficience du soin. Si la formation est déjà une manière d’agir contre l’isolement des interprètes et de dispenser des connaissances qui pourraient leur faire défaut, il y a aussi un intérêt à proposer des espaces d’échange entre soignants et interprètes, non seulement pour partager la question de la place et du rôle de chacun des participants, mais surtout pour discuter les réponses pratiques que cette question amène.
“Help us to understand your Chinese !”
Conditions for the possible legitimation of sociologists in a psychiatric setting
Originally defined as an “interpreter” in an intercultural care relationship between French health care providers and Chinese families, over the course of her fieldwork the author, an ethnographer, ended up crossing blurred boundaries between literal translation, intercultural mediation, sociological mediation, and sociological interview. Through analysis of linguistic formulations used in encounters between the psychiatric and sociological categories, this article highlights a research relationship of reciprocal domination distinguished by interdependence between psychiatrist and sociologist. Provided that the researcher’s positions are objectivized, it is possible to free culture from culturalism and confirm sociology’s epistemological ability to contribute to the study of a medical setting.
À partir de situations pratiques rapportées par des interprètes intervenant dans le champ social et psychiatrique, les auteurs interrogent la position de tiers de ces professionnels et montrent la façon dont leur subjectivité est engagée en permanence, parfois au risque de leur propre équilibre psychique. Ils proposent que ces intervenants puissent profiter systématiquement d’espaces d’analyse de la pratique.
Dans les travaux sur les associations de solidarité à l’égard des demandeurs d’asile et plus largement des étrangers, il est des acteurs dont on parle peu, alors que leur rôle est fondamental : il s’agit des interprètes bénévoles qui, souvent, ont eux‑mêmes une expérience de l’exil. En s’intéressant à la manière dont ces interprètes bénévoles s’approprient un rôle très peu formalisé, l’article éclaire la diversité de leurs logiques d’engagement, marquées par une dialectique de proximité et de distance tant vis‑à‑vis des associations concernées, des usagers que de leur propre parcours. À travers ces logiques d’engagement, n’entrent pas seulement en jeu des logiques identitaires, mais aussi et surtout un rapport aux institutions étatiques prenant place et prenant sens au sein d’une expérience migratoire singulière.
The role of asylum seekers’ activities in resisting attribution processes
The present paper is a proposal to study the role of social activities in order to reflect on the disengagement and resistance in a particular context : the multidimensional environment of the process of asylum seeking which is characterised by institutional care that assigns a place and an identity designated to persons subject to this procedure.
In this context the concept of resistance is understood as a method of action and reaction in a situation of social and identity attribution and even of objectification by the institutional treatment.
The activities are an essential element of the process of resistance. The confrontation with the environment through activity constitutes an arena of experimentation and a space for negotiation and for resistance to the adversity of the asylum seekers’ situation.
Two methods have been adopted to identify this process of disengagement ; first the direct observation of asylum seekers’ activities, and secondly the witnessing through clinical interviews.
Through the activity, the subject takes a place in society. However for asylum seekers, this place remains fragile and must constantly be renegotiated.
The activities of asylum seekers are located midway between the « do with » their situation and attempts to discharge themselves of the identity assigned.