Category Archives: PSIT

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Exploring the Intersectionality of Personal Identities in Interpreting Education and Training: Empowering Interpreters toward Social Justice and Equity

Michelle M Pinzl

Recent social movements like Black Lives Matter, current events related to immigration crises around the world, and politics that have racialized the global COVID-19 pandemic have brought to light historic racial and class disparities in the United States, while calling to action communities across the nation. The role of interpreters and translators as both cultural brokers and facilitators of language access, is intrinsically linked to action for racial and social equality in our society. Interpreters and translators themselves, often members of minority groups, are not only negatively affected by racial policies in their workplaces, they also bear witness to racial injustices of Limited English Proficient individuals within medical, social, judicial and community contexts. 

On the other hand, many interpreters in the US have the power to become instruments of cultural, ideological and political change because they are able to leverage their lived experience of marginalized identities as a direct contribution to linguistic justice. This presentation highlights the benefits of interpreters exploring their own intersecting identities in the interpreting classroom and other training spaces. Examining how privilege works to normalize some identities and cultural practices over others, may ultimately encourage community and empathy within interpreting and translation circles. Furthermore, it may help interpreters and translators identify instances where privilege manifests as racist behavior or has been established in racist policies, reproducing or perpetuating privileged and oppressive frameworks. Based on data collected from surveys and focus groups from T&I classrooms and workshops, this presentation outlines how identity building exercises, personal reflection and facilitated group discussion in T&I education may encourage interpreters to gain a deeper understanding of identity politics and privilege as they manifest. These techniques not only empower interpreters to continue advancing the profession, but also have the potential to mitigate the intersectional failures of language policy, while centering minoritized voices. 

Michelle Pinzl (she/her/ella) is the Coordinator of the Community Interpreting Certificate and Assistant Professor at Viterbo University where she teaches Spanish, French and Interpreting Studies. She earned her Master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Management from the Université de Limoges in France and is currently a PhD candidate at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, in Spain. She is a certified Spanish<>English Court Interpreter for the State of Wisconsin and a certified Medical Interpreter through the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI). Michelle has been interpreting for social service agencies, schools, businesses, as well as various sectors of the farming industry in Wisconsin since 2006.

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“Uno se siente mudo”: disponibilidad, accesibilidad y aceptabilidad del apoyo lingüístico para personas refugiadas en Nueva Zelanda

Alejandra González Campanella

Nueva Zelanda es un país multicultural por excelencia, con más de 160 grupos étnicos (Statistics NZ, 2020). Sin embargo, diversos autores han señalado la ausencia de una clara política lingüística, sumada a múltiples informes de problemas en los servicios de interpretación y traducción para poblaciones cultural y lingüísticamente diversas (CALD, por su sigla en inglés) (Enríquez Raído et ál., 2020, entre otros). Estas deficiencias se vuelven incluso más críticas cuando la barrera lingüística se produce entre proveedores de servicios públicos y personas refugiadas. En este caso, la falta de acceso a información y servicios esenciales puede tener consecuencias muy negativas para una población con una constatada prevalencia de experiencias traumáticas (Carswell et ál., 2011; Kotovicz et ál., 2018). Asimismo, la vulnerabilidad durante el proceso de (re)asentamiento (Marlowe, 2018) requiere una garantía por parte de las autoridades de que las personas refugiadas cuentan con apoyo lingüístico accesible y aceptable.

Esta presentación expone los resultados de una investigación doctoral sobre interpretación en contextos de asilo y refugio en Nueva Zelanda, basada en entrevistas con personas refugiadas, intérpretes y otras partes interesadas. El estudio de caso sugiere un impacto negativo para las personas refugiadas a raíz de las barreras lingüísticas y las experiencias negativas en el uso de intérpretes. Asimismo, se observaron problemas relacionados con la disponibilidad y la aceptabilidad de este servicio esencial para permitir la comunicación de personas vulnerables. Por lo tanto, se concluyó la necesidad de garantizar una comunicación culturalmente segura y con conocimiento de trauma a través de cambios en la formación de intérpretes y las prácticas institucionales vinculadas con el suministro de apoyo lingüístico para poblaciones vulnerables.

Referencias

Carswell, K., Blackburn, P., & Barker, C. (2011). The relationship between trauma, post-migration problems and the psychological well-being of refugees and asylum seekers. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 57(2), 107-119. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0020764008105699

Enríquez Raído, V., Crezee, I., Ridgeway, Q. (2020). Professional, ethical and policy dimensions of public service interpreting and translation in New Zealand. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 15(1), 15-35. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.20007.enr

Kotovicz, F., Getzin, A., & Vo, T. (2018). Challenges of Refugee Health Care: Perspectives of Medical Interpreters, Case Managers, and Pharmacists. Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews, 5(1), 28-35. https://doi.org/10.17294/2330-0698.1577

Marlowe, J. (2018). Belonging and transnational refugee settlement: Unsettling the everyday and the extraordinary. Taylor & Francis. Statistics NZ. (2020, September 3). Ethnic group summaries reveal New Zealand’s multicultural make-up. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/ethnic-group-summaries-reveal-new-zealands-multicultural-make-up

Palabras clave: apoyo lingüístico, interpretación, servicios públicos, personas refugiadas, Nueva Zelanda.

by monzo

El impacto de las políticas lingüísticas en la interpretación comunitaria en Austria

Vera Ahamer

El discurso político y mediático sobre la política austriaca de inmigración está dominado por la primacía del “alemán como clave de la integración”. En este contexto, surge un campo de tensión entre dos polos: Por un lado, la exigencia de que los inmigrantes adquieran cuanto antes conocimientos de la lengua alemana y de los “valores austriacos” en el marco de cursos de idiomas estandarizados y lo demuestren en los exámenes estatales para poder “integrarse con éxito”. Sin embargo, este conocimiento lingüístico y “orientado a los valores” es criticado por investigadores de la adquisición y la didáctica de lenguas ya que se trata más de un conocimiento orientado a los exámenes y subordinado a la “transmisión de valores” que de un apoyo a la consecución de objetivos comunicativos. Estos últimos ganan en importancia sobre todo en aquellos contextos que a su vez pueden subsumirse en los ámbitos de la interpretación comunitaria: las escuelas, los hospitales, en la burocracia cotidiana, etc.

El derecho a la interpretación se niega ahora en muchos de los ámbitos pertinentes con el argumento de que los inmigrantes deben aprender el idioma lo antes posible para no causar costes adicionales al Estado. Se les achaca los problemas derivados de la falta de conocimientos lingüísticos. En mi contribución, me gustaría examinar más de cerca la evolución actual de la política de traducción en el contexto austriaco con el trasfondo de las contradicciones señaladas: La adquisición del alemán, los exámenes de integración, la falta de profesionalización de la interpretación comunitaria, las escuelas con un habitus monolingüe: estas son las palabras clave en torno a las cuales se cerrará el círculo de mis observaciones.

Palabras clave: Austria, políticas lingüísticas, política de inmigración, derechos lingüísticos, interpretación comunitaria, adquisición de lenguas segundas.

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Interpreting for Children in Legal Settings: What research tells us

Eddie López-Pelén

Article 40, paragraph 2 (b) (vii) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that in the administration of juvenile justice children have the right to free assistance of an interpreter whenever they do not understand or speak the language used in the proceeding. In like manner, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) not only asserts that EU+ States guarantee that children have access to an interpreter throughout the international protection procedure, but also that interpreters should be trained on interpreting for children. Research on interpreting for children in legal settings shows that interpreters do not always approach children in a child-sensitive fashion (Mathias and Zaal 2002; Keselman et al. 2008; Keselman et al. 2010a; Keselman et al. 2010b; Linell and Keselman 2012) and stakeholders involved in legal proceedings such as legal practitioners, social workers, and interpreters themselves have recognized the need for training on how to work with children (Balogh and Salaets 2015). However, research has yet to find out the rationale behind the interpreters’ approach with children and the extent to which their approach with children is different from their approach with adults. This paper discusses factors behind the decision-making of interpreters when interpreting for children and significant aspects that influence their approach. This presentation draws on semi-structured interviews carried out with legal interpreters who have worked with children in legal proceedings in international protection, police, and court settings.

Keywords: legal interpreters, children, international protection, police stations, courts.

Balogh, Katalin and Heidi Salaets (2015) Children and Justice: Overcoming language barriers, Cambridge, Antwerp and Portland: Intersentia.

Keselman, Olga, Ann-Christin Cederborg, Michael E. Lamb and Örjan Dahlstrom (2008) ‘Mediated Communication with Minors in Asylum-seeking Hearings’, Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(1): 103-116.

Keselman, Olga, Ann-Christin Cederborg, Michael E. Lamb and Örjan Dahlstrom (2010a) ‘Asylum-seeking minors in interpreter-mediated interviews: What do they say and what happens to their responses?’, Child and Family Social Work, 15(3): 325-334.

Keselman, Olga, Ann-Christin Cederborg and Per Linell (2010b) ‘“That’s is not necessary for you to know!”: Negotiation of participation status of unaccompanied children in interpreter-mediated asylum hearings’, Interpreting, 12(1): 83-104.

Linell, Per and Olga Keselman (2012) ‘Trustworthiness at stake: Trust and distrust in investigative interviews with Russian adolescent asylum-seekers in Sweden’, in Ivana Marková and Alex Gillespie (eds) Trust and Conflict, Culture and Dialogue, London and New York: Routledge, 156-180.

Matthias, Carmel and Z. Zaal (2002) ‘Hearing Only a Faint Echo? Interpreters and children in court’, South African Journal on Human Rights, 18 (3): 350-371.

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Linguistic injustice despite language rights. Raising awareness on language barriers for vulnerable groups in legal settings in Belgium: minors as a case

Katalin Balogh and Heidi Salaets

The right to an interpreter is part and parcel of the roadmap for strengthening procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings. Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings has sought to lay down common minimal rules on this fair trial right. Arguably, the directive could be seen as a push towards the institutionalisation of interpreting and the professionalisation of interpreters in criminal proceedings.

Assuming that vulnerability means a suspect’s or accused’s difficulty in understanding or following the content or the meaning of the proceedings, the interpreter could be seen as the gateway to facilitate such understanding.

Moreover, the 2012/29/EU establishes minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, even more so if the victim is a child.

In our presentation, we wish to outline our research on foreign language  (FL) speaking minors. Next to FL-speaking minors involved in criminal proceedings (as victims or suspects), the cases presented will also consider FL-speaking (non-accompanied) minors involved in asylum procedures in Belgium.

We will critically reflect on the (lack of) underlying assumptions and definitions as to what that role of the interpreter is, in particular in light of the vulnerability of FL-speaking minors. We will elucidate and build our reflections on the basis of empirical research that sought to clarify the perspectives of the different actors involved in interpreter-mediated interaction in the legal sphere. What is new is that we will specifically consider the minors’ viewpoints: through interviews with vulnerable minors, we will illustrate their view on the interpreter’s role and competences. By listening to the minors’ voices, we definitely respond to their need to the right to participation, as described in article 12 of the CRC (Child Rights Convention) of the UN.

Keywords: criminal proceedings, legal interpreting, minors, vulnerability, code of ethics, role and competences, fair trial.

by monzo

Unfolding occupational boundary work: public service interpreting for structurally vulnerable migrants in Finland

Hanna Kara & Camilla Nordberg

This paper sets out to explore occupational boundaries in the context of public service interpreting with structurally vulnerable migrants. The paper is situated within the wider context of cultural and institutional transformations taking place in the Nordic welfare state which raise questions related to what kind of knowledge becomes valued and what kind of intersectional hierarchies are produced and maintained within a linguistically diversifying social service landscape. Drawing on conceptualisations of power and occupational (mis)recognition, we present the preliminary analysis of our ongoing research project. The data consist of written and oral diaries produced by interpreters in spring 2022. The research participants are of diverse professional and ethnic backgrounds and based in different urban and rural regions of Finland.

Keywords: public service interpreting, structural vulnerability, migrant service users, social work, Nordic welfare state.

by monzo

Speak my language! The important role of Community Translation in the promotion of health literacy

Prof. Dr. Ineke Crezee

Based on my background as a translator, interpreter, health professional and interpreting and translation researcher, I will explore the role of Community Translation in the promotion of health literacy. I will share some of my experiences as a Fulbright New Zealand Scholar (Public Health) at the Center for Diversity and Health Equity at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, WA. Next I will explore the concept of health literacy and the many factors which impact on this, focusing also on the refugee and migrant populations for whom we translate and touching on some of the many barriers to accessing health information. I will briefly outline different approaches to Translation Studies in general, involving a product or process approach, before moving to reception studies involving a participatory action research approach in the area of health translation. I will then move to my own preferred approach to community translation as part of health promotion efforts, providing glimpses into the different experiences that took me there. I will explain my belief that sometimes a little is better than too much and how this requires working with the commissioners of the translation, who may need persuading that densely printed pamphlets may not be the answer. I will finish by exploring what we might need to do to achieve ‘just right’ when engaged in CT for the purposes of health literacy and how this should involve the end-users of the translations – whatever form this might take.

Bionote

Ineke Crezee, PhD, is Aotearoa New Zealand’s first full Professor in Interpreting and Translation at Auckland University of Technology. In 2020 she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for services to interpreter and translator education.

Ineke completed a postgraduate degree in Translation Studies at the University of Amsterdam, with James Holmes as one of her lecturers. She also completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in English language and literature and trained as a registered nurse in a large general hospital in Amsterdam, interacting with many migrant patients. After arriving in New Zealand in 1989 she became involved in developing health interpreting courses on the heels of the large cervical cancer inquiry. She has published extensively on interpreter and translator education and continues to work as a translator, interpreter and educator. Among her publications are Introduction to Healthcare for Interpreters and Translators (John Benjamins, 2013) (a special iteration for Spanish-speaking interpreters and translators appeared in 2015),  Multicultural Health Translation, Interpreting and Communication (Routledge, 2019), and “Action research and its impact on the translation and interpreting classroom” (Routledge Handbook of Translation and Pragmatics) and Interpreting in Legal and Healthcare Settings: Perspectives on research and training (John Benjamins, 2020). 

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Exploring the application of ally theory in community interpreting in Aotearoa New Zealand from a Latin American service-user perspective

Agustina Marianacci

“Community interpreters hold a powerful position within any interpreted event due to their linguistic and multicultural knowledge (Mason & Ren, 2013). However, interpreters’ power is 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). Unlike restrictive conduit views of the interpreting role, the ally model of interpreting recognises interpreters’ power and contextualises decision-making within historic oppression and inequality (Baker-Shenk, 1991). This enables interpreters to act in ways that promote social justice, empower interpreting service users, and offer equality of access (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). Additionally, interpreting guidelines have remained mostly in the hands of the practitioners (Rudvin, 2007), as there is limited research from the service users’ point of view (Edwards et al., 2005).

This presentation will focus on a research project on allyship and social justice in spoken-language interpreting from a service-user perspective. The research was conducted with the Latin American community in Aotearoa New Zealand, employing a horizontal methodology developed by Latin American and European transdisciplinary researchers (Kaltmeier & Corona Berkin, 2012). The findings highlighted users’ appreciation for interpreters’ humane qualities, even over linguistic proficiency. Professional practice was seen to require empathy, flexibility, self-reflection, and a middle ground that avoids over-intrusions and unnecessarily rigid behaviour. 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).

Keywords: allyship, social justice, interpreting service users, community interpreting, interpreter power

by monzo

The right to an interpreter – a guarantee of legal security and equal access to public services? 

Kristina Gustafsson, Eva Norström & Linnéa Åberg

Since the 1970s, the Public Administration Act in Sweden has regulated the public service obligation to use interpreters in contact with persons who do not speak Swedish and persons with impaired hearing, sight, or speech (SSB 2017: 900 § 13). Hiring an interpreter is stated as a guarantee for transparency, participation, and legal security. Based on theories about legal security in welfare institutions, the use of public service interpreting as a right and guarantee of legal security and equal access to public services is formally fulfilled every time an interpreter is assigned. Our previous research shows that this does not necessarily guarantee or secure the quality of the interpreting service at hand.

Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss linguistic rights from an ethical and material perspective on legal security. The analysis is based on migrants’ narrations of interpreted encounters in Swedish welfare institutions. The empirical data consists of observations of lectures conducted by interpreters in dialogue with refugees and migrants who take Swedish language courses. In these dialogues, the interpreter describes the regulations and ethics of interpreting and their experiences of interpreting in various welfare settings. The participants react and comment on this information, sharing their own experiences of interpreting services. A significant amount of their testimonies describes shortcomings and feelings of being silenced even if there is an interpreter at hand.        

Hence the paper aims to take public service users’ perspective and analyse discrepancies that arise between the right to public service interpretation as specified in the legislation and the quality of the public service interpretation services offered. Leading questions are raised about the right to speak, understand, and be understood, and who deserves these rights in their contacts with public service authorities.