Institutional perceptions of CLB in Emilia Romagna

Child Language Brokering (CLB) is a widespread although relatively unexplored practice. Most studies conducted so far are based on children's (and their families') reported experiences of CLB and do not take into account the third party involved in child-mediated communication, namely institutions. The present paper illustrates the preliminary findings of a research project called “In MedIO PUER(I)”, which looks at CLB as a non-professional form of community interpreting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and operators of local authorities and service providers located in the Forlì-Cesena area in North-East Italy. The aim of the interviews was to highlight institutional perceptions of language brokering in general (be it professional or ad-hoc), and of CLB in particular. Overall, respondents, while expressing their concerns for CLB-related ethical issues, “defended” it as a valuable resource to interface with adult migrants, and provided some interesting insights into its positive and negative impact on children and their families, as well as on its social and cultural implications.