Tatjana Felberg | OsloMet—Oslo Metropolitan University (original) (raw)

Papers by Tatjana Felberg

FITISpos International Journal, 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected some inhabitants of Norway more than others. Even in the first... more The Covid-19 pandemic has affected some inhabitants of Norway more than others. Even in the first wave, foreign-born immigrants had more confirmed infections and were hospitalized more frequently than other residents (Indseth et al., 2020). One factor seems to be a lack of information in languages other than Norwegian. Strategic communication of pandemic policies to those who do not speak Norwegian has not functioned on an operational or a grassroots level (NOU, 2021, p. 175). However, after some initial confusion, translations of government information become available on a multitude of platforms. Public service employees, NGOs, and mediators were involved in targeted information campaigns. This article traces the state of translation and interpretation, including availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability, during the first year and a half of the Covid-19 pandemic (March 2020 – September 2021) in Norway. Among other issues, the article highlights the importance of making translation and interpreting essential services in future contingency plans.

The Routledge Handbook of Public Service Interpreting, 2023

Oversetterleksikon, 2024

Skriftlig oversettelse i offentlig sektor i Norge dekker et bredt spekter av tekster og sjangre, ... more Skriftlig oversettelse i offentlig sektor i Norge dekker et bredt spekter av tekster og sjangre, fra informasjonsmateriell av allmenn interesse som publiseres på offentlige nettsider, til dokumenter knyttet til kommunale eller statlige organers møter med enkeltmennesker, en form for kommunikasjon som stort sett er unntatt offentlighet. Likevel vet vi lite om skriftlig oversettelse i offentlig sektor – langt mindre enn om den muntlige varianten tolking. Mens muntlig tolking er godt regulert gjennom tolkeloven, er skriftlig oversettelse knapt kartlagt og i mye mindre grad regulert. Koronapandemien avdekket at det var utfordringer knyttet til myndighetenes evne til å nå ut til minoritetsbefolkningen med informasjon og ble en øyeåpner hva angår forholdene rundt oversettelse i offentlig sektor. Flere evalueringsrapporter i kjølvannet av pandemien har avdekket mangler ved oversettelser. Å fylle kunnskapshullet rundt oversettelse i offentlig sektor vil kreve flere studier. Denne studien søker å begynne å kartlegge feltet med tanke på både hvem aktørene er, hva slags tekster som oversettes, og hvordan oversatte tekster og rutinene omkring oversettelsesprosesser kvalitetssikres. Den tar for seg oversettelse i offentlig sektor fra ulike innfallsvinkler: en litteraturgjennomgang, en konseptuell avklaring, oversetteres profesjonalisering, oversettelse i kommunale tolketjenester og en empirisk studie knyttet til Folkehelseinstituttets (FHI) arbeid under koronapandemien.

PEC Innovation, 2024

Objective In Norway, cardiac rehabilitation with patient education is usually accessible only to ... more Objective
In Norway, cardiac rehabilitation with patient education is usually accessible only to patients who understand Norwegian. The Cardiac Care Class (CCC) in focus in this article is a unique healthcare service in that, via interpreting services, it provides patient education to patients with limited Norwegian proficiency (LNP). This article examines the adaptations carried out to make cardiac rehabilitation accessible to LNP patients.
Methods
The data stem from a qualitative study with participant observation during interpreter-mediated CCCs and from interviews with healthcare professionals, patients, and interpreters conducted by an interdisciplinary team. The collaborative data analysis focused on identifying various forms of adaptations.
Results
Providing interpreting in CCCs required organizational, logistical, and pedagogical adaptations, including having fewer class participants, engaging qualified interpreters, conducting pre-class meetings with the interpreters, and adjusting the course content and language. Communication was found to be satisfactory, although some critical issues (e.g., interpreters' working conditions) were raised.
Conclusion
This study showed that interpreter-mediated CCCs can reach multilingual groups provided that the necessary adaptations are made.
Innovation
This research is the first to show how a cardiac rehabilitation class in Norway is made accessible to multilingual patient groups by providing interpreting.

FLEKS: Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice, Nov 22, 2017

Discourse approaches to politics, society and culture, Mar 7, 2019

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice

Interpreters in the public sector in Norway interpret in a variety of institutional encounters, a... more Interpreters in the public sector in Norway interpret in a variety of institutional encounters, and the interpreters evaluate the majority of these encounters as polite. However, some encounters are evaluated as impolite, and they pose challenges when it comes to interpreting impoliteness. This issue raises the question of whether interpreters should take a stance on their own evaluation of impoliteness and whether they should interfere in communication. In order to find out more about how interpreters cope with this challenge, in 2014 a survey was sent to all interpreters registered in the Norwegian Register of Interpreters. The survey data were analyzed within the theoretical framework of impoliteness theory using the notion of moral order as an explanatory tool in a close reading of interpreters’ answers. The analysis shows that interpreters reported using a variety of strategies for interpreting impoliteness, including omissions and downtoning. However, the interpreters also gav...

Benjamins Current Topics, Apr 15, 2019

Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne, 2015

This article addresses means of expressing and implying emotions (Langlotz, Locher 2012) in reali... more This article addresses means of expressing and implying emotions (Langlotz, Locher 2012) in realizations of impoliteness in written discourse thematizing language and identity in Croatian and Montenegrin media in 2010 and 2011. Realizations of impoliteness often relate to communicating an emotional stance that can trigger emotional responses in readers. Our discourse sample can be described as "disputes about language and identity" (cf. Felberg, Šarić 2013), which is largely characterized by conflictual disagreements. Conflictual disagreements, as Jones (2001) or Langlotz and Locher (2012) put it, do not leave one cold in face-to-face interaction: they arouse feelings of annoyance, irritation, anger, or contempt directed to the communicative partner. These observations are relevant in our context, although we deal with written discourse. The main participants in our data include well-known intellectuals, journalists, and editors. They all defend or attack a position in discussing, among other things, "how similar 'our' language (Croatian/Montenegrin) is to 'their' language" (Serbian), and "what makes this language (Croatian/Montenegrin) a distinctive and independent entity". These participants clearly position themselves in relation to other participants. Their positioning of the self and the other person involves negative identity-ascribing practices. Taking into consideration parameters such as the role of participants in discourse and society, context, co-text, and activity types in which discourse participants engaged, we identified various highly context-dependent types and functions of impoliteness realizations (cf. Šarić, Felberg 2015). Contrary to our expectations, the participants in the media discourse in both countries frequently use impoliteness both strategically and systematically while defending their positions. The impoliteness realizations point to emotively significant places in discourse. Their use has several functions: a prominent one is coercion through legitimizing one's own standpoints and delegitimizing those of one's opponents.

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice, 2017

In this article, we present a pilot study with data from exploratory video-recorded experiments o... more In this article, we present a pilot study with data from exploratory video-recorded experiments of sight translation, and subsequent focus group interviews. Our theoretical perspective is interactionist, with the encounter as a whole taken into consideration. The question we aim to answer is: what kinds of semiotic resources do interpreters use while interpreting from a written text? Thus, we supplement the interactionist perspective (Wadensjö 1998) with perspectives from multimodality and socio-semiotics. We demonstrate how these perspectives may offer a new way of studying the interpreter’s dual function as a translator and as a coordinator of the dialogue. The results from our pilot study show variations in how interpreters exploit semiotic resources such as handling of the written text, body posture, and gaze. Therefore, we argue that it is necessary to draw attention to the semiotic resources available for sight translation. There is also a need to rethink assessments and educa...

Migration and Media, 2019

Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 2017

This article investigates the representation of migration and migrants in Croatian and Serbian pu... more This article investigates the representation of migration and migrants in Croatian and Serbian public broadcasters’ online portals during the “migrant crisis” in 2015/2016. The study shows that there are similarities in representations in the two portals at both the macro- and micro-linguistic levels. The migrants are generally represented in positive terms congruent with the official policies of Croatia and Serbia. However, this positive representation was frequently used for positive self-evaluation in contrast to negative evaluation of others – in this case, neighboring countries.

Challenges and Opportunities in Public Service Interpreting, 2016

Based on real-life examples from the Norwegian public sector, this chapter will underline the imp... more Based on real-life examples from the Norwegian public sector, this chapter will underline the importance of delineating clearer boundaries between the interpreter’s and the interpreter user’s areas of responsibility/expertise in order to facilitate communication in interpreter-mediated institutional dialogues.

FITISPos International Journal

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice

In this article the phrase “extreme speech” is used to encompass both hate speech and impolitenes... more In this article the phrase “extreme speech” is used to encompass both hate speech and impoliteness. Legislation against hate speech has been passed in many countries, while work on defining phenomena related to hate speech is still ongoing. As a rule, there is no legislation prohibiting impoliteness, and thus impoliteness is often perceived as a less serious verbal offence. There is, however, a grey zone between the two phenomena, which depends on contextual factors that must be constantly explored. In this article, we explore the gray zone between hate speech and impoliteness by looking at user-generated posts commenting on seemingly uncontroversial topics such as giving chocolate to children. The context we explore is the political relationship between Croatia and Serbia, two neighboring countries in the southwest Balkans with a history of recent military conflicts that ended in 1995. The relationship between these two countries can still be described as periodically troubled. The...

Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series – Themes in Translation Studies

In Norway, perceived communication problems in medical encounters with minority patients are ofte... more In Norway, perceived communication problems in medical encounters with minority patients are often ascribed to ‘culture’ by the professional in charge of the institutional dialogue. Even in literature on medical encounters involving language barriers and interpreting, culture is used as an explanatory tool for observed complications, and an expansion of the interpreter role is suggested as the remedy. Comparing statements about the concept ‘culture’ made by medical professionals against a backdrop of Norwegian legislative texts on the role of the medical professional and interpreter, this article deconstructs culture as an explanatory tool. It is suggested that the source of the perceived problems of communication may lie at general levels of human interaction, e.g. concentration or language proficiency, rather than culture. We argue that the use of the concept of culture may lead to ‘othering’ of minority patients, may conceal rather than reveal communication problems, and may conf...

FITISpos International Journal, 2022

The Routledge Handbook of Public Service Interpreting, 2023

Oversetterleksikon, 2024

PEC Innovation, 2024

FLEKS: Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice, Nov 22, 2017

Discourse approaches to politics, society and culture, Mar 7, 2019

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice

Benjamins Current Topics, Apr 15, 2019

Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne, 2015

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice, 2017

Migration and Media, 2019

Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 2017

Challenges and Opportunities in Public Service Interpreting, 2016

FITISPos International Journal

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice

Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series – Themes in Translation Studies

This article addresses means of expressing and implying emotions (Langlotz and Locher 2012) in ... more This article addresses means of expressing and implying emotions (Langlotz and Locher 2012) in realizations of impoliteness in written discourse thematizing language and identity in Croatian and Montenegrin media in 2010 and 2011. Realizations of impoliteness often relate to communicating an emotional stance that can trigger emotional responses in readers. Our discourse sample can be described as „„disputes about language and identity” (see Felberg and Šarić 2013), which is largely characterized by conflictual disagreements. Conflictual disagreements, as Jones (2001) or Langlotz and Locher (2012) put it, do not leave one cold in face-to-face interaction: they arouse feelings of annoyance, irritation, anger, or contempt directed to the communicative partner. These observations are relevant in our context, although we deal with written discourse. The main participants in our data include well-known intellectuals, journalists, and editors. They all defend or attack a position in discussing, among other things, „how similar «our» language (Croatian/Montenegrin) is to «their» language” (Serbian), and „what makes this language (Croatian/Montenegrin) a distinctive and independent entity.” These participants clearly position themselves in relation to other participants. Their positioning of the self and the other person involves negative identity-ascribing practices. Taking into consideration parameters such as the role of participants in discourse and society, the context, co-text, and activity types in which discourse participants engaged, we identified various highly context-dependent types and functions of impoliteness realizations (see Šarić and Felberg, forthcoming). Contrary to our expectations, the participants in the media discourse in both countries frequently use impoliteness both strategically and systematically while defending their positions. The impoliteness realizations point to emotively significant places in discourse. Their use has several functions: a prominent one is coercion through legitimizing one’s own standpoints and delegitimizing those of one’s opponents.

Keywords: Croatia; Montenegro; identity discourse; emotions; impoliteness

When interpreter users in the public sector, such as doctors, judges, lawyers, teachers and child... more When interpreter users in the public sector, such as doctors, judges, lawyers, teachers and child welfare officers lack a common language with users of their services, they need the help of an interpreter in order to carry out their duties. Such institutional dialogues are often fraught with communication difficulties. It seems that the mere presence of an immigrant moves the attention unduly away from general communication problems to cultural differences or poor interpretation, often overshadowing the public service employee's role. The Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi), responsible for interpreting in the public sector in Norway, conducted five surveys on how public servants in Norway communicate via interpreters. One of the main findings from the surveys, that public servants need to learn more about how to communicate via interpreters, led to an allocation of funds to a development project called 'Communication via interpreter for public service employees' (2011-2012). The aim was to develop an introductory course for all public servants in Norway on how to communicate via an interpreter. In this article I briefly described the background and content of this development project paying particular attention to the contributions by the course participants who actively participated in developing the course. I also started a discussion about the phases identified in the participants' self-awareness process: 1. Understanding the imbalance of power in institutional dialogues 2. Understanding the intersection between interpreters' and public servants' areas of expertise and 3. Taking back the responsibility for communication in institutional dialogues. Based on real-life examples from the Norwegian public sector, this article showed the importance of delineating clearer boundaries between the interpreter's and the interpreter user's areas of responsibility/expertise in order to facilitate communication in institutional dialogues.