This book presents qualitative research into court interpreting in Poland. Conversation Analysis of bilateral communicative events where the Polish-English and Polish-Spanish language pairs are involved confirms that interpreters, obliged to satisfy the principles of professional ethics, are active participants in the interaction.
Interpreting in Interaction provides an account of interpreter-mediated communication, exploring the responsibilities of the interpreter and the expectations of both the interpreter and of other participants involved in the interaction. The book examines ways of understanding the distribution of responsibility of content and the progression of talk in interpreter-mediated institutional face-to-face encounters in the community interpreting context. Bringing attention to discursive and social practices prominent in modern society but largely unexplored in the existing literature, the book describes and explains real-life interpreter-mediated conversations as documented in various public institutions, such as hospitals and police stations. The data show that the interpreter's prescribed role as a non-participating, non-person does not -and cannot - always hold true. The book convincingly argues that this in one sense exceptional form of communication can be used as a magnifying glass in the grounded study of face-to-face institutional interaction more generally. Cecilia Wadensjö explains and applies a Bakhtinian dialogic theory of language and mind, and offers an alternative understanding of the interpreter's task, as one consisting of translating and co-ordinating, and of the interpreter as an engaged actor solving problems of translatability and problems of mutual understanding in situated social interactions. Teachers and students of translation and interpretation studies, including sign language interpreting, applied linguistics and sociolinguistics will welcome this text. Students and professionals within law, medicine and education will also find the study useful to help them understand the role of the interpreter within these frameworks.
Dialogue interpreting, which takes place in institutional settings such as legal proceedings, healthcare contexts, work meetings or media talk, has attracted increasing attention in translation, language and communication studies. Drawing on transcribed sequences of authentic talk, this volume raises questions about aspects of interpreting that have been taken for granted, challenging preconceived notions about differences between professional and non-professional interpreting and pointing in new directions for future research. Collecting contributions from major scholars in the field of dialogue interpreting and interaction studies, the volume offers new insights into the relationship between interpreting and mediating. It addresses a wide readership, including students and scholars in translation and interpreting studies, mediation and negotiation studies, linguistics, sociology, communication studies, conversation analysis, discourse analysis.
First published as a Special Issue of Interpreting (10:1, 2008) and complemented with two articles published in Interpreting (12:1, 2010), this volume provides a panoramic view of the complex and uniquely constrained practice of court interpreting. In an array of empirical papers, the nine authors explore the potential of court interpreters to make or break the proceedings, from the perspectives of the minority language speaker and of the other participants. The volume offers thoughtful overviews of the tensions and conflicts typically associated with the practice of court interpreting. It looks at the attitudes of judicial authorities towards interpreting, and of interpreters towards the concept of a code of ethics. With further themes such as the interplay of different groups of "linguists" at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the language rights of indigenous communities, it opens novel perspectives on the study of interpreting at the interface between the letter of the law and its implementation.
This book explores the intricacies of court interpreting through a thorough analysis of the authentic discourse of the English-speaking participants, the Spanish-speaking witnesses and the interpreters. Written by a practitioner, educator and researcher, the book presents the reader with real issues that most court interpreters face during their work and shows through the results of careful research studies that interpreter’s choices can have varying degrees of influence on the triadic exchange. It aims to raise the practitioners’ awareness of the significance of their choices and attempts to provide a theoretical basis for interpreters to make informed decisions rather than intuitive ones. It also suggests solutions for common problems. The book highlights the complexities of court interpreting and argues for thorough training for practicing interpreters to improve their performance as well as for better understanding of their task from the legal profession. Although the data is drawn from Spanish-English cases, the main results can be extended to any language combination. The book is written in a clear, accessible language and is aimed at practicing interpreters, students and educators of interpreting, linguists and legal professionals.
“An essential text” that examines how interpreters can influence a courtroom, updated and expanded to cover contemporary issues in our diversifying society (Criminal Justice). Susan Berk-Seligson’s groundbreaking book presents a systematic study of court interpreters that raises some alarming and vitally important concerns. Contrary to the assumption that interpreters do not affect the dynamics of court proceedings, Berk-Seligson shows that interpreters could potentially make the difference between a defendant being found guilty or not guilty. The Bilingual Courtroom draws on more than one hundred hours of audio recordings of Spanish/English court proceedings in federal, state, and municipal courts, along with a number of psycholinguistic experiments involving mock juror reactions to interpreted testimony. This second edition includes an updated review of relevant research and provides new insights into interpreting in quasi-judicial, informal, and specialized judicial settings, such as small claims court, jails, and prisons. It also explores remote interpreting (for example, by telephone), interpreter training and certification, international trials and tribunals, and other cross-cultural issues. With a new preface by Berk-Seligson, this second edition not only highlights the impact of the previous versions of The Bilingual Courtroom, but also draws attention to the continued need for critical study of interpreting in our ever diversifying society.
This book shows how participation of interpreters as mediators changes the dynamics of police interviews, particularly with regard to power struggles and competing versions of events. The analysis of interaction offers insights into language in the legal process.
An Introduction to Court Interpreting has been carefully designed to be comprehensive, accessible and globally applicable. Starting with the history of the profession and covering the key topics from the role of the interpreter in the judiciary setting to ethical principles and techniques of interpreting, this text has been thoroughly revised. The new material covers: remote interpreting and police interpreting; role-playing scenarios including the Postville case of 2008; updated and expanded resources. In addition, the extensive practical exercises and suggestions for further reading help to ensure this remains the essential introductory textbook for all courses on court interpreting
This book explores the intricacies of court interpreting through a thorough analysis of the authentic discourse of the English-speaking participants, the Spanish-speaking witnesses and the interpreters. Written by a practitioner, educator and researcher, the book presents the reader with real issues that most court interpreters face during their work and shows through the results of careful research studies that interpreter's choices can have varying degrees of influence on the triadic exchange. It aims to raise the practitioners' awareness of the significance of their choices and attempts to provide a theoretical basis for interpreters to make informed decisions rather than intuitive ones. It also suggests solutions for common problems. The book highlights the complexities of court interpreting and argues for thorough training for practicing interpreters to improve their performance as well as for better understanding of their task from the legal profession. Although the data is drawn from Spanish-English cases, the main results can be extended to any language combination. The book is written in a clear, accessible language and is aimed at practicing interpreters, students and educators of interpreting, linguists and legal professionals.
