Recent studies of interpreter-mediated doctor-patient interactions have shown that participants to talk problematize their understanding and, in line with other forms of interaction, collaborate in the co-construction of meaning, even when talk is bilingual and translation is involved. Thus translation is not mere repetition of speakers’ utterances in another language, but also contributes to achieve communicative tasks and goals. In their talk activity, participants, including the interpreter-mediator, orient to both interactional and institutional tasks. This study analyses a particular type of institutional interpreter-mediated talk, that taking place in reproductive health of both female and male patients. The settings are interesting because they involve two voices and territories of knowledge on often delicate reproductive issues which, in my data, need to be negotiated not only between doctors and patients, but also with interpreter-mediators. Building on corpora of audio-recorded, transcribed authentic interactions collected in both gynecological and andrological settings, my analysis looks at what is said (and translated) and especially what remains unsaid (or non-translated) in data from both settings. Preliminary results show that “not saying” may actually hinder the possibility of sharing understanding, both when doctors and patients “do not say” and, even worse, when interpreter-mediators “do not translate” into the other language, or do so by using vague expressions. The paper suggests that interpreter-mediated talk in these settings may be particularly demanding in terms of communication achievements and that the establishment of a common ground may be enhanced by participants' – and especially interpreter-mediators’ – transparency with respect to what is said and what remains (temporarily or permanently) unsaid.

Studi recenti sulle interazioni medico-paziente hanno mostrato come i partecipanti vi collaborino alla co-costruzione del significato, anche quando l’interazione è bilingue e mediata da interprete. La traduzione non è una semplice ripetizione degli enunciati dei parlanti primari in un’altra lingua, ma un’azione che contribuisce anche a raggiungere obiettivi comunicativi e nel parlato, tutti i partecipanti – interprete-mediatore compreso – si orientano sia verso compiti interazionali che istituzionali. Questo studio analizza un tipo particolare di conversazione istituzionale mediata dall’interprete-mediatore (IM), che si svolge nell’ambito della salute riproduttiva di pazienti donne e uomini. L’interesse di questi contesti deriva dal fatto che coinvolgono due voci e territori di conoscenza su questioni riproduttive spesso delicate che, nei nostri dati, devono essere negoziate non solo tra medici e pazienti, ma anche con gli IM. Basandoci su corpora di interazioni autentiche audio-registrate (e trascritte) in ambito ginecologico e andrologico, la nostra analisi si concentra su ciò che viene detto (e tradotto), ma soprattutto su ciò che rimane non detto (o non tradotto) nei dati raccolti in entrambi i contesti. I risultati preliminari mostrano che il "non dire" può effettivamente ostacolare la possibilità di condividere la comprensione, sia quando medici e pazienti "non dicono" sia, ancor peggio, quando gli IM "non traducono" nell’altra lingua, o lo fanno usando espressioni vaghe. L’articolo conclude che raggiungere i risultati comunicativi delle conversazioni mediate in questi due contesti può essere particolarmente impegnativo e che la creazione di un terreno comune può essere migliorata dalla trasparenza dei partecipanti – e soprattutto degli interpreti-mediatori – rispetto a ciò che viene detto e ciò che rimane (temporaneamente o permanentemente) non detto.

La voix des patient.e.s en santé reproductive: pour une interprétation des (non)-dits

Natacha Niemants
2019

Abstract

Recent studies of interpreter-mediated doctor-patient interactions have shown that participants to talk problematize their understanding and, in line with other forms of interaction, collaborate in the co-construction of meaning, even when talk is bilingual and translation is involved. Thus translation is not mere repetition of speakers’ utterances in another language, but also contributes to achieve communicative tasks and goals. In their talk activity, participants, including the interpreter-mediator, orient to both interactional and institutional tasks. This study analyses a particular type of institutional interpreter-mediated talk, that taking place in reproductive health of both female and male patients. The settings are interesting because they involve two voices and territories of knowledge on often delicate reproductive issues which, in my data, need to be negotiated not only between doctors and patients, but also with interpreter-mediators. Building on corpora of audio-recorded, transcribed authentic interactions collected in both gynecological and andrological settings, my analysis looks at what is said (and translated) and especially what remains unsaid (or non-translated) in data from both settings. Preliminary results show that “not saying” may actually hinder the possibility of sharing understanding, both when doctors and patients “do not say” and, even worse, when interpreter-mediators “do not translate” into the other language, or do so by using vague expressions. The paper suggests that interpreter-mediated talk in these settings may be particularly demanding in terms of communication achievements and that the establishment of a common ground may be enhanced by participants' – and especially interpreter-mediators’ – transparency with respect to what is said and what remains (temporarily or permanently) unsaid.
2019
Natacha Niemants
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/735339
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