An equal footing On the role of community interpreters In multilingual societies

Transcription

1 An equal footing On the role of community interpreters In multilingual societies Miriam Shlesinger, Bar Ilan University Joensuu, November 2011

2 2

3 THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (1948) Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. Article 21: (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. Article 25: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health [ ] and medical care and necessary social services. 3

4 DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIETICIAN S INSTRUCTIONS? No Small portion Majority 45 Immigrants from Ethiopia Control group 4

5 DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE PHARMACIST S INSTRUCTIONS? No Small portion Majority 18 Immigrant from Ethiopia Control group 5

6 DEFINITIONS HISTORY Community interpreting serves to enable individuals or groups in society who do not speak the official or dominant language to access basic services and communicate with service providers. 6

7 NAMES AND BOUNDARIES Confusing terminology ad hoc interpreting Liaison interpreting Dialogue interpreting public service interpreting bilateral interpreting community-based interpreting. Is legal/court interpreting included? 7

8 HISTORY When did it begin? 1965 RID (US) 1973 TIS (Australia) 1977 NAATI (Australia) 1978 Federal Court Interpreters Law (US) 1995 Critical Link conferences Also reflecting the mounting impact of civil rights movements, human rights awareness, anti-discriminatory legislation 8

9 CANONICAL FEATURES Still largely ad hoc and non-professional Dialogical, triadic Bi-directional, consecutive Institutional, asymmetrical Spontaneous discourse, short turns Often dramatic, emotional Much role negotiation, monitoring of conversation, allocating turns, explaining, culture-brokering Providers are often oblivious to the constraints of interpreting and to the quandary of the client; content to make do with makeshift solutions 9

10 PERCEPTIONS OF ROLE [ ] So these patients are totally dependent on you, Mrs. Das said. She spoke slowly, as if she were thinking aloud. In a way, more dependent on you than on the doctor. How do you mean? How could it be? Well, for example, you could tell the doctor that the pain felt like a burning, not straw. The patient would never know what you had told the doctor, and the doctor wouldn t know that you had told the wrong thing. It s a big responsibility. Mr. Kapasi had never thought of his job in such complimentary terms. To him it was a thankless occupation. He found nothing noble in interpreting people s maladies, assiduously translating the symptoms Jhumpa Lahiri. Interpreter of Maladies 10

11 IS PROFESSION PART OF THE DEFINITION? Community interpreting refers to any interpretation provided by non-professional interpreters. (Gonzalez et al. 1991: 29) Father to interpreter: Digli ché e un imbecille! Child-interpreter to 3 rd party: My father won t accept your offer. Father (angrily) in Italian: Why didn t you tell him what I told you? (Harris & Sherwood 1978) 11

12 TYPICAL CHALLENGES CITED BY VALERO-GARCES (2008:176-77) Many people spoke to me at the same time: a man on the phone and all the social workers too. It was difficult to choose what to say, who to answer first [ ] I had some difficulties with the word convulsion I had to use a paraphrase and explain its meaning. 12

13 THE ELUSIVE DEFINITION OF ROLE There is one burning issue that reappears constantly. It is that of the interpreter s role. And it is logical that this should be the case if we think of the ingredients : Wide cultural gaps Power imbalance Urgent communication needs Shortage of resources Lack of professional profile Face-to-face interaction, often dramatic situations Conflicting demands, conflicting perceptions 13

14 DISCURSIVE NORMS THE CANONICAL STRUCTURE DR. Does he suffer from any illnesses, diabetes, hypertension? INTERP Ah В, скажите, пожалуйста, у вас болезни такие, как давление повышенное, сахарный диабет? V, please tell us, do you have any illnesses, such as high blood pressure, diabetes? PATIENT Нет No. INTERP No, I don t have those kinds of illnesses. 14

15 PROBLEMATIZING THE ISSUE Patient: I can t decide if I should have amniocentesis. Doctor: I can t decide for you. Patient goes home confused. Her lack of self-advocacy skills is problematic. Interpreter: I know I mustn t initiate informationseeking or information-giving, but I would have liked to. This is all wrong. Elaine Hsieh Conflicts in how interpreters manage their roles in provider-patient interactions. Social Science & Medicine

16 PAULO FREIRE'S PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (PAR) Washing one s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Hope 16 16

17 GATE-KEEPING IN A TRIADIC SPEECH EVENT In a triadic speech event, it is highly interesting to study the way the discourse ecology and the discursive norms are negotiated by the three parties. The professional is in a powerful position the embodiment of institutional norms the client is typically powerless and perhaps even unaware of the particular discursive norms of an interpreted interaction the interpreter takes up a gatekeeper role, and may also empower the client. Van de Mieroop et al

18 DISCURSIVE NORMS The discursive norms to which an interpreter orients in reality are interactionally negotiated, rather than prediscursively determined. (Van De Mieroop et al. 2012) The discourse ecology: Institutional interaction is subject to considerations of efficiency, economy, time pressure and background knowledge over which neither the institutional representative nor the client have any control. (Agar 1985: 156) 18

19 INTERPRETER S AGENCY AS A CAUSE OF POWER SHIFTS 1. Interpreter introduces or positions herself as coparticipant or co-constructionist, a party to the Interpreted Communication Event (ICE) 2. Interpreter sets communication rules (e.g. turn-taking) and controls the traffic of information 3. Interpreter paraphrases or explains terms or concepts 4. Interpreter slides the message up or down the register scale 5. Interpreter filters information 6. Interpreter aligns with one of the parties 7. Interpreter replaces on of the parties to the ICE Angelelli 2011:

20 TRIADIC INTERACTION [ ] his position in the middle has the advantage of power inherent in all positions which control scarce resources [ ] The interpreter's role is always partially undefined that is, the role prescriptions are objectively inadequate Anderson 1976/

21 THE ELUSIVE DEFINITION OF ROLE It needs to be established during the education of interpreters that grey goes with the territory. [ ] Being able to act competently within the grey zone is an integral part of their professionalism. Tate and Turner

22 RATIONALIZING AN EXPANDED ROLE M. English NGO [ ] There was this Filipino worker who hadn t received her maternity allowance from National Insurance Institute, and they were giving her the run-around. I went with her and it turned out that they d sent the money to the wrong account. She d never have managed to get that information without my help. My problem was that the clerk was very condescending towards my client and it made me very angry, so finally I told her off. I know I wasn t supposed to do that, but I couldn t stand the way she was talking. 22

23 RATIONALIZING AN EXPANDED ROLE N. English Well-baby clinic [ ] The nurse asked the mother to be tested for HIV, and the mother started crying. The nurse asked me to explain to her that it was a standard procedure, and that she shouldn t be worried or offended, so I took her aside, and explained it until she calmed down. Maybe this isn t something I should be doing, but I felt it was the right way, especially since nobody else could have done it. 23

24 FRUSTRATION GOES WITH THE TERRITORY M. Russian Social services A lot of times, people need to come back because they didn t understand what they were supposed to bring. People get upset at me and they don t understand that I m just there to help them and to interpret. 24

25 FRUSTRATION GOES WITH THE TERRITORY M. Arabic Municipal hospital [ ] I knew that if the doctors followed their usual pattern for making the rounds, going from room 1 to room 9 in sequence, two of my patients would wind up without an interpreter, because I had to leave soon, and my two patients were in rooms 7 and 9. I debated for a long time, and finally I asked the head nurse if the doctors would consider changing the sequence, and starting with rooms 7 and 9, so that my patients would have interpreting. The nurse told me not to interfere with their routine. 25

26 WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? B. Amharic Social services In our community it s really important not to interrupt someone. It s a matter of showing respect. But we don t have so much time and if I interrupt them they probably think I m disrespectful and that I don t want to help them. 26

27 WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? M. Arabic Pediatric hospital The nurse told the doctor that the mother had given her daughter a double dose of insulin by mistake. The doctor looked at me, and asked me why I hadn t said anything. The mother had told me about it in the waiting room, but she hadn t said anything about it to the doctor, so I didn t say anything either. 27

28 WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? T. Arabic well-baby clinic [ ] Then he turned to me and said: If they don t understand, because they re from a different culture, you at least should understand! You should tell my wife to obey her husband. That s when I had to speak up and say I was there as an interpreter and my job was just to transmit information, not to introduce my personal opinion. I don t know if I did the right thing, but I think that s what we learned. (Background: husband was being advised that another pregnancy would endanger his wife.) 28

29 WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? M. Russian Ministry of Interior A woman needed to fill out some forms to get a visa. She looked at me and said "You know what I should write to improve my chances. Just fill it out the way you think it will do me the most good." Of course I explained to her that this wasn't the way it worked. In truth, I translated correctly, but I did not tell the clerk about these special requests. 29

30 AGENTS OF CHANGE? B. Amharic Social services Sometimes there s a long line, and the social worker doesn t have time to see them all, [ ] She expects me to give them a short answer outside her office and send them away. She says it makes her workload more manageable. 30

31 AGENTS OF CHANGE? B. Amharic Social services There was this woman who came to ask for something from the social worker and didn t get what she wanted. The woman started getting mad at me because it s easier for her to show her emotions to me than to the social worker. Actually I was caught in the middle. 31

32 GRATIFICATION L. French Well-baby clinic [ ] The doctor said he hadn t been able to get any information from them on their previous visit, because they spoke nothing but French. Their baby was losing weight and he didn t know why. When I arrived, they were very happy. They explained that the baby was allergic to milk and wasn t able to digest it. The doctor hadn t known this. Once it became clear, he was able to tell me what to tell them to do [ ] 32

33 CODE OF ETHICS FOR COMMUNITY INTERPRETERS, FINLAND I s maintain professional confidentiality I s do not misuse any information received in connection with the interpreting assignment I s do not accept assignments for which they do not meet the competence requirements or about which they are biased I s do not accept assignments that can be disadvantageous for the profession or reduce respect for it I s show solidarity to the fellow professionals 33

34 THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR COMMUNITY INTERPRETERS, FINLAND I s ensure that the working conditions are suitable I s draft written contracts I s prepare for the assignments carefully, in time I s do not leave anything out or add anything irrelevant I s are impartial, remain outsides to the situation and do not let their personal attitudes or opinion affect their work I s do not function as assistants or representatives They are not obligated to take care of other tasks I s show consideration for the nature of the situation I s continually improve their professional skills. 34

35 DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES ( Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak) offers high quality, innovative degree programmes of education and training in [ ] sign language interpretation, community interpreting, social services and youth work. Diak emphasises a close relationship to practise and working life. It has four units and seven campuses located in different regions of Finland. The degree program in community interpreting started in August 2011 in Helsinki and Turku. It teaches interpreters for Arabic, Somali, Kurdish, Persian and Vietnamese. The other working language is always Finnish. The programme will concentrate on interpreting services for immigrants in the fields of education and teaching, social services, health care, immigration and the police and judiciary. 35

36 MOBILE AND VIDEO INTERPRETING IN FINNISH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING 36

37 MOBILE AND VIDEO INTERPRETING IN FINNISH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING Remote Interpreting 37

38 BUT THINGS DO CHANGE 38

39 köszí dziękuję Takk どうも תודה grazie 感謝你 Danke Merci Gracias Kiitos ধ ন ন ব দ ཐ གས ར ཆ Çok tesekkür ederim Getachew Assefa شكرا kia ora спасибо obrigado Thank you ευχαριστώ