10. Challenges in interpreters’ coordination of the construction of pain
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Claudia V. Angelelli
Abstract
The tasks performed by the healthcare interpreter are complex, as they involve bridging together beliefs and values from different speech communities. This complexity increases when conceptualizations of illnesses and worldviews are not shared. Pain is perceived and communicated differently by members of different cultural communities. Conversations about pain include discussions about intensity of pain based on pain-rating scales as well as discussions of pain management. Healthcare interpreters face challenges in constructing and co-constructing pain while facilitating cross-linguistic communication. In this chapter I analyze interactions of healthcare provider-and-patient interviews which are part of a larger study dealing with the issues faced by Spanish-speaking patients, English-speaking providers and Spanish-English interpreters who engage in measuring and describing pain with the use of a pain-rating scale. The implications of this work for professionals such as policy makers, educators, healthcare providers and interpreters are discussed.
Abstract
The tasks performed by the healthcare interpreter are complex, as they involve bridging together beliefs and values from different speech communities. This complexity increases when conceptualizations of illnesses and worldviews are not shared. Pain is perceived and communicated differently by members of different cultural communities. Conversations about pain include discussions about intensity of pain based on pain-rating scales as well as discussions of pain management. Healthcare interpreters face challenges in constructing and co-constructing pain while facilitating cross-linguistic communication. In this chapter I analyze interactions of healthcare provider-and-patient interviews which are part of a larger study dealing with the issues faced by Spanish-speaking patients, English-speaking providers and Spanish-English interpreters who engage in measuring and describing pain with the use of a pain-rating scale. The implications of this work for professionals such as policy makers, educators, healthcare providers and interpreters are discussed.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments ix
- Foreword xi
- Introduction: Understanding coordination in interpreter-mediated interaction 1
- 1. Interpreting or interfering? 23
- 2. Interpreting participation 45
- 3. “You are not too funny” 71
- 4. Ad hoc interpreting for partially language-proficient patients 99
- 5. Code-switching and coordination in interpreter-mediated interaction 115
- 6. Ad hoc -interpreting in multilingual work meetings 149
- 7. Gaze, positioning and identity in interpreter-mediated dialogues 177
- 8. Minimal responses in interpreter-mediated medical talk 201
- 9. Mediating assessments in healthcare settings 229
- 10. Challenges in interpreters’ coordination of the construction of pain 251
- 11. Cultural brokerage and overcoming communication barriers 269
- 12. Interpreting as dialogic mediation 297
- Authors’ bio sketches 327
- Index 331
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments ix
- Foreword xi
- Introduction: Understanding coordination in interpreter-mediated interaction 1
- 1. Interpreting or interfering? 23
- 2. Interpreting participation 45
- 3. “You are not too funny” 71
- 4. Ad hoc interpreting for partially language-proficient patients 99
- 5. Code-switching and coordination in interpreter-mediated interaction 115
- 6. Ad hoc -interpreting in multilingual work meetings 149
- 7. Gaze, positioning and identity in interpreter-mediated dialogues 177
- 8. Minimal responses in interpreter-mediated medical talk 201
- 9. Mediating assessments in healthcare settings 229
- 10. Challenges in interpreters’ coordination of the construction of pain 251
- 11. Cultural brokerage and overcoming communication barriers 269
- 12. Interpreting as dialogic mediation 297
- Authors’ bio sketches 327
- Index 331
