1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Translation Spaces
  4. Volume 6, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 6, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2211-3711
  • E-ISSN: 2211-372X
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

The figure of the interpreter in conflict is as interesting as it is elusive to the rest of the profession and academia. One of the regions that has caught the attention and the interest of scholars is the Middle East. The literature tends to focus on one specific category – locally recruited interpreters – and the application of different theoretical concepts to their role and consideration by the parties involved, and does not delve too deeply into the intricacies of the specific role of other categories of interpreter in this context. Also, the existing narratives do not always frame this role through the typology of the conflict in which it is developed. This paper identifies narratives included in the literature that represent interpreters working in armed conflicts in the Middle East in order to examine the different existing categories. The paper then draws on the results of a qualitative study carried out with staff interpreters at an international organisation with the aim of completing this categorisation. Our focus will be on the characteristics of the different categories of interpreter in terms of their involvement in the different stages of the conflict, their positionality, working conditions, status and recognition by the parties involved in the conflict.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ts.6.2.01rui
2017-12-04
2025-01-22

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/ts.6.2.01rui
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Agamben, Giorgio
    1998 Homo Sacer. Sovereign Power and Bare Life, translated by Daniel Heller-Roazen . Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Allen, Katharine
    2012 National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators. AccessedOctober 27, 2016. najit.org/blog/?p=229
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Alves, Israel
    2015 “The Use of Language Assistant in UN Peace Missions. Benefits and Risks. Brazilian Peace Operations Joint Training Centre.” AccessedNovember 2, 2016. www.ccopab.eb.mil.br/images/stories/artigos_op_paz/traducao-e-interpretacao/THE%20USE%20OF%20THE%20LANGUAGE%20ASSISTANT%20IN%20UN%20PEACE%20MISSIONS-EN.pdf
  4. Askew, Louise , and Myriam Salama-Carr
    2011 “Interview: Interpreters in Conflict – The View from Within.” Translation Studies4 (1): 103–108. doi: 10.1080/14781700.2011.528685
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2011.528685 [Google Scholar]
  5. Baigorri, Jesús
    2003 “Guerras, extremos, intérpretes.” Paper presented at the I Congreso Internacional de la Asociación Ibérica de Estudios de Traducción e Interpretación , Granada, February 12–14.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. 2011 “Wars, Languages and the Role(s) of Interpreters.” inLes liaisons dangereuses: langues, traduction, interprétation, edited by Henri Awaiss , and Jarjoura Hardane , 173–204. Beirut: Sources-Cibles. Université Saint-Joseph.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Baker, Catherine
    2010a “The Care and Feeding of Linguists: The Working Environment of Interpreters, Translators, and Linguists during Peacekeeping in Bosnia-Herzegovina.” War & Society29(2): 154–175. doi: 10.1179/204243410X12674422128993
     https://doi.org/10.1179/204243410X12674422128993 [Google Scholar]
  8. 2010b “It’s not their Job to Soldier: Distinguishing Civilian and Military in Soldiers’ and Interpreters’ Accounts of Peacekeeping in 1990s Bosnia-Herzegovina.” Journal of War and Culture Studies3: 137–150. doi: 10.1386/jwcs.3.1.137_1
     https://doi.org/10.1386/jwcs.3.1.137_1 [Google Scholar]
  9. Baker, Mona
    2006 “Contextualisation in Translator- and Interpreter-Mediated Events.” Journal of Pragmatics38: 321–337. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2005.04.010
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.04.010 [Google Scholar]
  10. 2010 “Interpreters and Translators in the War Zone.” The Translator16(2): 197–222. doi: 10.1080/13556509.2010.10799469
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2010.10799469 [Google Scholar]
  11. Baker, Mona , and Carol Maier
    2011 “Ethics in Interpreter and Translator Training.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer5(1): 1–14. doi: 10.1080/13556509.2011.10798809
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2011.10798809 [Google Scholar]
  12. Bassford, Christopher
    2016 “Clausewitz’s Categories of War.” InQuaderno Sism 2016. Future Wars. Storia della distopia militare, edited by Virgilio Ilari , 577–590. Milan: Società Italiana di Storia Militare.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Beebee, Thomas O.
    2010 “Shoot the Transtraitor!” The Translator16(2): 295–313. doi: 10.1080/13556509.2010.10799473
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2010.10799473 [Google Scholar]
  14. Bos, Geesje , and Joseph Soeters
    2006 “Interpreters at Work: Experiences from Dutch and Belgian Peace Operations.” International Peacekeeping13(2): 261–268. doi: 10.1080/13533310500437662
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13533310500437662 [Google Scholar]
  15. Brahm, Eric
    2003 Conflict Stages. WebsiteBeyond Intractability. www.beyondintractability.org/essay/conflict-stages.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Clausewitz, Carl von
    1989 On War. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Collier, Craig A.
    2010 “Now that We’re Leaving Iraq, What did We Learn?” Military Review, Sep.-Oct.Issue: 88–93. usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20101031_art001.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Dragovic-Drouet, Mila
    2007 “The Practice of Translation and Interpreting During the Conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia (1991–1999).” inTranslating and Interpreting Conflict, edited by Myriam Salama-Carr , 29–40. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Edwards, V.
    2002 The role of communication in peace and relief mission negotiations. The Translation Journal, 6(2) [Online]. Retrieved fromwww.translationjournal.net/journal/20interpr.htm
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Footitt, Hillary
    2010 “Languages at War: Cultural Preparations for the Liberation of Western Europe.” Journal of War & Culture Studies3(1): 109–121. doi: 10.1386/jwcs.3.1.109_1
     https://doi.org/10.1386/jwcs.3.1.109_1 [Google Scholar]
  21. Footitt, Hillary , and Michael Kelly
    eds. 2012 Languages and the Military Alliances, Occupation and Peace Building. London: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137033086_1
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137033086_1 [Google Scholar]
  22. Gleditsch, Nils P. , Peter Wallensteen , Mikael Eriksson , Margareta Sollenberg , and Havard Strand
    2002 “Armed Conflict 1946–2001: A New Dataset.” Journal of Peace Research39(5): 615–637. doi: 10.1177/0022343302039005007
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343302039005007 [Google Scholar]
  23. Guo, Ting
    2015 “Interpreting for the Enemy: Chinese Interpreters in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931–1945).” Translation Studies8(1): 1–15. doi: 10.1080/14781700.2014.881302
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2014.881302 [Google Scholar]
  24. Heimburger, Franziska
    2012 “Fighting Together Language Issues in the Military Coordination of First World War Allied Coalition Warfare.” inLanguages and the Military. Alliances, Occupation and Peace Building, edited by Hillary Footitt , and Michael Kelly , 47–57. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Hsieh, Hsiu-Fang , and Sarah E. Shannon
    2005 “Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis.” Qualitative Health Research15(9): 1277–1288. doi: 10.1177/1049732305276687
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687 [Google Scholar]
  26. Inghilleri, Moira
    2003 “Habitus, Field and Discourse. Interpreting as a Socially Situated Activity.” Target15(2): 243–268. doi: 10.1075/target.15.2.03ing
     https://doi.org/10.1075/target.15.2.03ing [Google Scholar]
  27. 2008 “The Ethical Task of the Translator in the Geo-Political Arena: from Iraq to Guantánamo Bay.” Translation Studies1(2): 212–223. doi: 10.1080/14781700802113556
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700802113556 [Google Scholar]
  28. 2009 “Translators in War Zones: Ethics under Fire in Iraq.” inGlobalisation, Political Violence and Translation, edited by Esperanza Bielsa , and Christopher Hughes , 207–221. London: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230235410_11
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230235410_11 [Google Scholar]
  29. 2010 “You don’t Make War without Knowing Why. The Decision to Interpret in Iraq.” The Translator16(2): 175–196. doi: 10.1080/13556509.2010.10799468
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2010.10799468 [Google Scholar]
  30. Inghilleri, Moira , and Sue-Ann Harding
    2010 “Translating Violent Conflict”. The Translator16(2): 165–173. doi: 10.1080/13556509.2010.10799467
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2010.10799467 [Google Scholar]
  31. Jacquemet, Marco
    2005 “The Registration Interview: Restricting Refugees’ Narrative Performance.” inDislocations/Relocations: Narratives of Displacement, edited by Mike Baynham , and Anna de Fina , 197–220. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Juvinall, Ben
    2013 “Heaven or Hell? The Plight of Former Wartime Interpreters of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts Living in the U.S.” Michigan State Journal of international Law21: 205–227.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Kelly, Michael , and Catherine Baker
    2013 Interpreting the Peace: Peace Operations, Conflict and Language in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137029843
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137029843 [Google Scholar]
  34. Kriesberg, Louis , and Bruce W. Dayton
    2017 Constructive conflicts. From escalation to resolution, 4th edition. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Moser-Mercer, Barbara , and Grégoire Bali
    2008 Interpreting in Zones of Crisis and War: AIIC. AccessedJune 2, 2016. aiic.net/page/2979/interpreting-in-zones-of-crisis-and-war/lang/1
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Ozawa, Tomoko
    2008 “Nisei Interpreters/Translators of the US Military.” JICA: Journal of the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum3: 37–50.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Packer, George
    2007 “Betrayed: The Iraqis Who Trusted America the Most.” The New Yorker, 26March. AccessedNovember 24, 2016. www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/26/betrayed-2
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Palmer, Jerry
    2007 “Interpreting and Translation for Western Media in Iraq.” inTranslating and Interpreting Conflict, edited by Myriam Salama-Carr , 13–28. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Persaud, Clementina
    2016 “Interpreting at War: A Case Study on EUFOR BiH ALTHEA.” PhD dissertation, University Pablo de Olavide.
  40. Rafael, Vincente
    2007 Translation in Wartime. Public Culture19(2), 239–246. doi: 10.1215/08992363‑2006‑034
     https://doi.org/10.1215/08992363-2006-034 [Google Scholar]
  41. Sharma, Vivek Swaroop
    2015 “A Social Theory of War: Clausewitz and War Reconsidered.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs28, 327–347. doi: 10.1080/09557571.2013.872600
     https://doi.org/10.1080/09557 571.2013.872600 [Google Scholar]
  42. Samall, Melvin , & Joel David Singer
    1982 Resort to Arms. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Somers, Margaret R. , and Gloria D. Gibson
    1994 “Reclaiming the Epistemological ‘Other’: Narrative and the Social Constitution of Identity” inSocial Theory and the Politics of Identity, edited by Craig Calhoun , 37–99. Oxford UK & Cambridge USA: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Stahuljak, Zrinka
    2009 “War, Translation, Transnationalism: Interpreters in and of the War (Croatia, 1991–1992).” Translation StudiesIII: 345–374.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Taft, Ronald
    1981 “The Role and Personality of the Mediator.” inThe Mediating Person: Bridges between Cultures, edited by Stephen Bochner , 53–88. Boston: Hall.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Takeda, Kayoko
    2009 “Wars and Interpreters.” Across Languages and Cultures10(1): 49–62. doi: 10.1556/Acr.10.2009.1.3
     https://doi.org/10.1556/Acr.10.2009.1.3 [Google Scholar]
  47. 2012 “Interpreters in Conflict Resolution.” Reflections2(2). AccessedNovember 24, 2016. sites.miis.edu/reflections/2014/11/25/interpreters-in-conflict-resolution/
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ts.6.2.01rui
Loading
Towards a typology of interpreters in war-related scenarios in the Middle East
Translation Spaces 6, 182 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.6.2.01rui
/content/journals/10.1075/ts.6.2.01rui
/content/journals/10.1075/ts.6.2.01rui
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): armed conflict; interpreters; interpreting; Middle East; narrative

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error