Information Transmission in Bilingual, Bicultural Contexts

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the discoveries made in a field study which explored the nature of translators' work in community health settings. Informed by the grounded theory method, I did participant observation and had multiple conversations of varying length with translators, clients, health-care providers, and other ancillary staff. The findings suggest that the seemingly simple work of translating is, instead, quite complex. Translators are, more accurately, interpreters who appraise tasks, clients, providers, and/or information, and they hold considerable power. This article includes a consideration of the study's relevance for community health nursing practice and implications for further research.