Interpreting - Volume 12, Issue 2, 2010

This paper is based on a study of the records of prisoners in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp with the aim of uncovering as much information as possible about camp interpreters, their work and their attempts to ease the hardships of other prisoners, often risking their own lives in the process. As will be demonstrated, the generally accepted deontological norms for interpreting in community settings were not applicable to concentration camps, and different norms were adopted which were clearly justified, under the circumstances. The paper in particular investigates why interpreters were needed in the concentration camps, who they were, how they were recruited for the job, what their language combinations were, what their duties were, when the interpreters were required, and how they performed their duties as well what their roles were.

The objective of this paper is to examine how the findings of psychological research concerning creativity can be explored within the framework of interpreting studies. I will begin by reviewing the literature on the psychology of creativity, followed by the presentation and analysis of an empirical survey. Finally, I will suggest that creativity in interpreting can be examined on three levels, depending on the aspect we are focusing on: (1) the products; (2) mental processes; or (3) the behaviour of the interpreter. In the first case, the primary object is the product, while in the second and third, it is the process. What makes interpreting a special area of study in terms of creativity is not only the creative nature of the mental processes involved, but also, and perhaps even primarily, the creativity required of interpreters in terms of their professional behaviour in a communicational situation, where they are present but in which they are not natural participants.

There has been little empirical research into the practice of interpreter mediation of biblical discourse by natural (untrained) interpreters. As a contribution to this under-researched field, this paper first describes the sociolinguistic setting, the attitudes of participants, and the modes in use — short-segment consecutive and sight interpreting — in a group of Gambian churches where biblical discourse is rendered from English into Manjaku, the language of an immigrant community. Little is understood of the processes by which untrained bilinguals gain recognition in their communities as gifted interpreters. To address this issue, the paper investigates the interpreters’ performances for evidence of audience design, with particular attention to the output of two experienced and respected interpreters in the group. The findings indicate that they interpret biblical discourse in a highly communicative and persuasive manner, accommodating to audience expectations; and that they show a strong sense of responsibility to convey source text meanings faithfully, which is also expected of them by their audiences, though this is not always achieved with the same degree of success. Some suggestions are made for training at the level of fidelity.

Shifting from one language of interpretation to another (i.e. from language a and language x to language a and language y) is not an unknown phenomenon in mediated interactions between bi- or multi-lingual clients and multilingual interpreters. Typically, this occurs when clients wish to shift to their dominant language and interpreters also have proficiency (and accreditation) in this language. Twenty Australian-based interpreters (out of a sample of sixty) reported engaging in shifting in the course of interpreting. Language combinations and circumstances motivating clients to shift are presented and systematised to show that the two largest groups of potential shifters are clients who wish to revert to their (chronologically) first acquired language and those who shift from a ‘national’ or ‘majority-group’ language to a ‘minority’ or ‘regional’ one spoken in their country of origin. Responses to hypothetical shifts in the language of interpretation are discussed in which interpreter informants provide acceptability judgements of courses of action and justifications for accepting — or refusing to accept — a shift in the language of interpretation.

The article describes the aims, methods, conclusions and recommendations of a large-scale experimental study designed to evaluate the feasibility and implications of the use of remote interpreting (RI) in the European Parliament and other large multilingual settings, where the introduction of a growing number of languages requires the extension of existing arrangements. While the study reveals a relatively small impact on either the quality of the interpreting or interpreters’ health and objective measures of stress, it nevertheless points to considerable psychological effects, including an increase in feelings of isolation and alienation. The study recommends greater use of technological support through the possible introduction of individually computerized workstations and a user-friendly working environment.