Role playing “Pumpkin”
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Uldis Ozolins
Abstract
In September 2007 a three-year old Asian girl is found lost at city railway station in Melbourne, Australia. As police and child protection workers struggle to communicate with the child, they call an interpreter, guessing the girl – nicknamed “Pumpkin” – could be Chinese. Later, we find that the mother has been murdered by the father, who abandoned the girl; the father is eventually convicted. None of this is known at the time. In the Advanced Diploma of Translating and Interpreting at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, students engage in a role play with social work students on this scenario. It seems unpromising – interpreting for a three-year old? Yet of all the role plays that the students engage in, this raises perhaps the most intense debate and the most extensive investigation of role and responsibility. Using material from the students’ journals and reports, this paper looks at how issues of ethics and role are illuminated by such a situation, which seems to challenge standard codes of ethics.
Abstract
In September 2007 a three-year old Asian girl is found lost at city railway station in Melbourne, Australia. As police and child protection workers struggle to communicate with the child, they call an interpreter, guessing the girl – nicknamed “Pumpkin” – could be Chinese. Later, we find that the mother has been murdered by the father, who abandoned the girl; the father is eventually convicted. None of this is known at the time. In the Advanced Diploma of Translating and Interpreting at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, students engage in a role play with social work students on this scenario. It seems unpromising – interpreting for a three-year old? Yet of all the role plays that the students engage in, this raises perhaps the most intense debate and the most extensive investigation of role and responsibility. Using material from the students’ journals and reports, this paper looks at how issues of ethics and role are illuminated by such a situation, which seems to challenge standard codes of ethics.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Interpreting in a changing landscape 1
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Part I. Political and economic changes
- Court interpreter ethics and the role of professional organizations 15
- Role playing “Pumpkin” 31
- A description of interpreting in prisons 45
- From chaos to cultural competence 61
- The UNCRPD and “professional” sign language interpreter provision 83
- From invisible machines to visible experts 101
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Part II. Interpreting vs. mediating/culture brokering
- Role issues in the Low Countries 117
- One job too many? 133
- Exploring institutional perceptions of child language brokering 149
- Natural interpreters’ performance in the medical setting 165
- The interpreter – a cultural broker? 187
- The role of the interpreter in educational settings 203
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Part III. Interpreting strategies in different interactional contexts
- Business as usual? 225
- Who is speaking? 249
- Changing perspectives 267
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Part IV. A changing landscape
- Training interpreters in rare and emerging languages 287
- From role-playing to role-taking 305
- Public service interpreter education 321
- Index 339
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Interpreting in a changing landscape 1
-
Part I. Political and economic changes
- Court interpreter ethics and the role of professional organizations 15
- Role playing “Pumpkin” 31
- A description of interpreting in prisons 45
- From chaos to cultural competence 61
- The UNCRPD and “professional” sign language interpreter provision 83
- From invisible machines to visible experts 101
-
Part II. Interpreting vs. mediating/culture brokering
- Role issues in the Low Countries 117
- One job too many? 133
- Exploring institutional perceptions of child language brokering 149
- Natural interpreters’ performance in the medical setting 165
- The interpreter – a cultural broker? 187
- The role of the interpreter in educational settings 203
-
Part III. Interpreting strategies in different interactional contexts
- Business as usual? 225
- Who is speaking? 249
- Changing perspectives 267
-
Part IV. A changing landscape
- Training interpreters in rare and emerging languages 287
- From role-playing to role-taking 305
- Public service interpreter education 321
- Index 339
