Negotiating linguistic and cultural identities in interpreter-mediated communication for public health services
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Mette Rudvin
Abstract
This paper explores ways in which identities are negotiated (linguistically, culturally, institutionally, ethnically) in interpreter-mediated communication for public services with particular emphasis on medical interpreting. Given that cultural/ethnic identity is made manifest in language, cross-cultural interpretermediated communication is consequently also – perhaps essentially – about negotiating identities (albeit fluid rather than static ones), and thus negotiating perceived and in-built perceptions of Self and Other. Not only must the interpreter in a cross-cultural encounter negotiate a position and a role for him/ herself (professional as well as personal) with both interlocutors, but s/he must enable that position-taking and role-negotiation between two interlocutors who may be – conceptually and textually – worlds apart. Based on the premise that each actor brings to the encounter their own socially and historically constructed identities, the paper illustrates some of the ways in which identities and the process of identity-construction/negotiation are manifested verbally.
Abstract
This paper explores ways in which identities are negotiated (linguistically, culturally, institutionally, ethnically) in interpreter-mediated communication for public services with particular emphasis on medical interpreting. Given that cultural/ethnic identity is made manifest in language, cross-cultural interpretermediated communication is consequently also – perhaps essentially – about negotiating identities (albeit fluid rather than static ones), and thus negotiating perceived and in-built perceptions of Self and Other. Not only must the interpreter in a cross-cultural encounter negotiate a position and a role for him/ herself (professional as well as personal) with both interlocutors, but s/he must enable that position-taking and role-negotiation between two interlocutors who may be – conceptually and textually – worlds apart. Based on the premise that each actor brings to the encounter their own socially and historically constructed identities, the paper illustrates some of the ways in which identities and the process of identity-construction/negotiation are manifested verbally.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction: On the social and cultural in translation studies 1
-
Agents behind translation
- Trends in the translation of a minority language 27
- “Of course Germans have a certain interest in Finland, but…” 41
- Translation from the point of view of the East German censorship files 53
-
Social histories
- Choosing not to translate 65
- From Robinson Crusoe to Robinson in Wallachia 73
-
Perceived roles and values
- Translating from across the channel in nineteenth-century France 83
- English translation in Gujarat 93
-
Interaction of inner and outer contexts
- Between Translation and Traduction 101
- Bilingual translation/writing as intercultural communication 117
-
Power relations disclosed
- The female state of the art 129
- Translation as discursive import 143
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Power distribution and cooperation
- “Translation culture” in interpreted asylum hearings 151
- Interpreting at an immigration detention center in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 163
- Negotiating linguistic and cultural identities in interpreter-mediated communication for public health services 173
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Constructing systems
- Babel rebuilt 191
- From 10-minute wedding ceremonies to three-week spa treatment programs 201
-
The view from Interpreting Studies
- “Going social?” On pathways and paradigms in interpreting studies 215
- Notes on contributors 233
- References 237
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction: On the social and cultural in translation studies 1
-
Agents behind translation
- Trends in the translation of a minority language 27
- “Of course Germans have a certain interest in Finland, but…” 41
- Translation from the point of view of the East German censorship files 53
-
Social histories
- Choosing not to translate 65
- From Robinson Crusoe to Robinson in Wallachia 73
-
Perceived roles and values
- Translating from across the channel in nineteenth-century France 83
- English translation in Gujarat 93
-
Interaction of inner and outer contexts
- Between Translation and Traduction 101
- Bilingual translation/writing as intercultural communication 117
-
Power relations disclosed
- The female state of the art 129
- Translation as discursive import 143
-
Power distribution and cooperation
- “Translation culture” in interpreted asylum hearings 151
- Interpreting at an immigration detention center in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 163
- Negotiating linguistic and cultural identities in interpreter-mediated communication for public health services 173
-
Constructing systems
- Babel rebuilt 191
- From 10-minute wedding ceremonies to three-week spa treatment programs 201
-
The view from Interpreting Studies
- “Going social?” On pathways and paradigms in interpreting studies 215
- Notes on contributors 233
- References 237
- Index 253
