Forms and functions of non-renditions in community interpreting: a corpus-based study

ABSTRACT

This paper explores flexible language strategies in interpreter-mediated interaction from a corpus-based, quantitative perspective, drawing on data from the Community Interpreting Database (ComInDat). Focusing in particular on utterances by interpreters that are classified as non-renditions, that is, which do not translate source talk by other participants, we compare interpreters across different settings, particularly medical and court interpreting with ad hoc lay interpreters and experienced professional interpreters, respectively. Non-renditions are found to be used at higher rates by ad hoc interpreters, yet, interpreters in all settings are more likely to produce them when speaking the language of the institution than when speaking a minority language. The comparison also permits the identification of exceptional cases in which the interpreter’s performance differs considerably from other cases. These cases are then investigated further, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, showing that comparatively high rates of non-renditions correlate with codeswitching by other participants. In other words, when flexible language strategies result in a convergence of language choice among the primary interlocutors (with minority language speakers switching to the institutional language), this temporary suspension of interpreting leads to interpreters participating in other ways.

KEYWORDS:

• community interpreting
• multilingual communication
• mixed methods
• non-renditions
• codeswitching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under grant number 849-2009-29.

Notes on contributors

Philipp Sebastian Angermeyer

Philipp Sebastian Angermeyer is Associate Professor in Linguistics at York University, Canada. His research interests center on multilingualism and language contact, from a sociolinguistic perspective, particularly as the relate to inequality and social justice.

Bernd Meyer

Bernd Meyer is Professor for Intercultural Communication at Mainz University. His research focuses on language barriers in public service institutions and linguistic approaches to community Interpreting.