Medical Interpreting and Cross-cultural Communication

by Claudia V. Angelelli

• ISBN13: 9780521830263
• ISBN10: 0521830265
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-29
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

When healthcare providers and patients do not speak the same language, medical interpreters are called in to help. In this book - the first ever ethnographic study of a bilingual hospital - Claudia Angelelli explores the role of medical interpreters, drawing on data from over 300 medical encounters and interviewing the interpreters themselves about the people for whom they interpret, their challenges, and how they characterize their role. Traditionally the interpreter has been viewed as a language conduit, with little power over the medical encounter or the relationship between patient and provider. This book presents an alternative view, considering the interpreter's agency and contextualizing the practice within an institution that is part of a larger society. Bringing together literature from social theory, social psychology, and linguistic anthropology, this book will be welcomed by anyone who wants to discover the intricacies of medical interpreting first-hand; particularly researchers, communication specialists, policy makers, and practitioners.

Author Biography

Claudia V. Angelelli is Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics at San Diego State University, where she teaches applied linguistics courses such as Spanish discourse analysis, English-Spanish translation and interpretation theory, and methods of teaching Spanish.

Table of Contents

List of figures	ix
List of tables	x
Acknowledgments	xi
List of abbreviations	xiii
Prologue	1	(6)
Questioning invisibility	7	(8)
Previous studies on interpreting in a medical setting	12	(3)
Communication in the medical encounter	15	(11)
The essence of the doctor--patient relationship	15	(3)
Communication issues in a bilingual medical encounter	18	(3)
Navigating across languages and cultures: the need for interpreters	21	(5)
A different set of lenses	26	(18)
Looking at the interpreter's role through different lenses	26	(8)
The lens of society and the institution	27	(2)
The lens of the interaction	29	(4)
The lens of discourse	33	(1)
Monolingual and interpreted communicative events: differences and similarities	34	(10)
California Hope: a public hospital in changing times	44	(14)
Finding a study site	44	(1)
The pilot study	44	(1)
Obtaining consent	45	(1)
The in-depth study	46	(12)
The town	46	(1)
The hospital	46	(2)
The study site	48	(1)
The staff	48	(4)
The workplace	52	(1)
Working hours and interpreters' responsibilities	53	(2)
A typical day at Interpreting Services	55	(3)
Putting it all together	58	(15)
Data collection, coding, and analysis	59	(10)
Artifacts	59	(1)
Field notes	59	(2)
The interpreter interpersonal role inventory	61	(1)
Interviews	62	(1)
Audio recordings of ICEs	63	(6)
Categories and subcategories emerging from ICEs	69	(4)
Nature of the ICE	69	(1)
Intention of the ICE	70	(1)
Visibility of the interpreter	71	(2)
Finding visibility	73	(32)
The nature of the ICE at California Hope	73	(1)
The structure of the ICE at California Hope	74	(1)
Interpreter visibility: an overview	75	(1)
Manifestations of visibility in ICEs at California Hope	76	(1)
Becoming visible: linguistic and communicative strategies	77	(2)
Minor visibility: occasional involvement of interpreter as co-owner of text	79	(6)
Typical openings of an ICE	79	(3)
Typical closings of an ICE	82	(3)
Major visibility: interpreters as owners of text	85	(20)
Interpreters' voices	105	(24)
Roberto, the manager	105	(3)
Annette	108	(2)
Consuelo	110	(2)
Elda	112	(2)
Joaquin	114	(4)
Julio	118	(2)
Marcos	120	(1)
Mariana	121	(2)
Mauro	123	(1)
Rogelio	124	(1)
Vicente	125	(4)
Emerging metaphors and final words	129	(13)
Interpreters as detectives	129	(1)
Interpreters as multi-purpose bridges	130	(1)
Interpreters as diamond connoisseurs	131	(1)
Interpreters as miners	131	(1)
Pulling it all together	132	(8)
Theoretical implications	133	(2)
Practical implications	135	(5)
Concerns and curiosities revisited	140	(2)
References	142	(5)
Index	147