Book Review of Medical Interpreting and Cross–Cultural Communication by Claudia Angelelli. (original) (raw)
Intercultural-Communication-Challenge_-The-Interpreter's-Role-in-Health-Care-Interpreting.pdf
Redefining the Role of Translation and Interpreting in Cultural Evolution, 2018
A leader in community interpreting, Australia provides professional interpreting services within its public health system. Healthcare interpreters face various challenges for a variety of reasons, including cultural differences. Existing research on healthcare interpreting focuses on differences between a mainstream culture of healthcare professionals and ethnically diverse cultures of migrant patients. Interpreters are widely regarded as bicultural professionals able to provide cultural information on behalf of patients as necessary or whenever healthcare professionals ask for it. However, research on healthcare interpreting in a globalized era should consider the changing nature of culture. The question of whether the interpreter should be a cultural broker remains controversial. Based on an ethnographic study of healthcare interpreters at a public hospital in Australia, this chapter aims to survey how multiple perspectives on cultural evolution affect healthcare interpreting.
Cross-cultural communication with patients who use American Sign Language
Family medicine, 2002
Although American Sign Language (ASL) is the third most commonly used primary language in the United States, physicians are often not adequately prepared for the challenges of conducting an interview with a deafpatient who signs. A search of MEDLINE and PsychINFO databases for research on physician-patient communication and deaf people who use ASL was performed. Expert opinion helped guide discussion and recommendations. Few articles examined physician-patient communication involving ASL. Deaf people and their physicians report difficulties with physician-patient communication. Deaf people also report fear that their health care is substandard because of these difficulties. Preparing residents and medical students for working with patients and families who communicate in ASL presents many opportunities for teaching about physician-patient communication. ASL is quite different from English, and users of ASL often have sociocultural norms that differ from those of the majority culture...
Barriers to Interpreter Use in the Medical Clinical Encounter
2009
BARRIERS TO INTERPRETER USE IN THE MEDICAL CLINICAL ENCOUNTER. Luz Evelyn Jimenez (Sponsored by William Sledge, M.D.). Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) population in the United States requires interpreters in order to receive appropriate medical care. However, interpreters are not used consistently in clinical encounters. This study aims to identify the barriers that interfere with providing this service, as well as to propose some possible ways of overcoming these barriers. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using Medline, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsycINFO. Twenty articles that presented barriers to interpreter use were identified. These barriers referred to either professional interpreters or ad hoc interpreters, or were general barriers. The barriers to professional interpreter use most frequently identified related to cost. Most of ...
Bimodal bilingual interpreting in the U.S. healthcare system
Legislation guarantees communication access in the United States healthcare system for deaf citizens and this access is o en made possible by bimodal bilingual interpreters, individuals uent in spoken and signed languages. Yet there is a conspicuous lack of research on interpreted discourse in this setting. With the exception of research on mental health interpreting, not a single article investigating the practice of bimodal interpreting in the U.S. healthcare system has been published in a refereed journal, although interpreters work in healthcare with increasing frequency. is article examines this de cit in research, beginning with a review of the diagnostic bene ts of language access in healthcare settings. Next, the demand for bimodal interpreting is examined in light of historical factors, legislative mandates, and linguistic research on American Sign Language. e lack of scholarship in bimodal interpreting and the potential impact of developing a specialization in healthcare interpreting are discussed. Finally, with the view of interpreting as an applied linguistic activity, critical research questions about interpretation between deaf and non-signing interlocutors in the healthcare setting are provided.
Investigations of Healthcare Interpreting, 2014
In the U.S. healthcare system, signed language interpreters frequently facilitate communication between deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL) and their non-signing physicians. A small but growing number of deaf individuals are pursuing medical training and becoming physicians, creating an opportunity for some deaf patients to communicate directly with their doctors in ASL. In addition to providing direct access for deaf patients, this also creates a situation in which it is possible to examine the linguistic features used by deaf bilingual physicians. We analyzed 18 ASL translations of three common medical interview questions as produced by both deaf physicians (N = 3) and experienced ASL-English interpreters (N = 3). Results indicate that the physicians and the interpreters consistently utilized contextualization, contrasting, and specification in their translations, but showed variability in the production of these discourse features. We provide an overview of the current state of ASL-English healthcare interpreting, examine challenges in creating ASL translations of common medical interview questions, provide descriptions and samples of the ASL translations, and discuss patterns in the data. Our aim in this investigation is to better describe and understand how typical medical questions are translated into ASL as a step toward the ultimate goal of improving healthcare communication for deaf patients.
The communicative perspective of medical interpreting
Studies in English Language and Literature, 2003
This paper used medical interpreting as an example to examine the recent attention to the communicative nature of translation and interpretation. In presenting the historical development of community interpreting, I examined the reasons why the communicative aspect of translation and interpretation has been ignored in the traditional translation studies. The recent research on community interpreting highlighted the fact that the neutrality envisioned in traditional ideology (i.e., translators as conduits) is not practiced even among professionals. I provided a brief overview of efforts from various disciplines (Le., anthropology, sociology, applied linguistics, psychology, and communication) to resolve such discrepancies, which led to the recent attention to the communicative perspective of translation and interpretation. I argued that interpreters' choice of interpreting strategies is not solely dependent on their linguistic ability or interpreting competence. Various factors (e.g., communicative goals, social identities, institutional contexts, contextual factors) may influence interpreters' performances. Communication as a discipline provides well-grounded theories on how these factors may influence interpersonal interactions. Using the constructs and concepts developed in communication research, I presented a theory of medical interpreting that incorporates an interdisciplinary understanding of the communicative perspective of interpreting.
In the healthcare system of the United States, signed language interpreters frequently facilitate communication between deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL) and their nonsigning physicians. A small but growing number of deaf individuals are pursuing medical training and becoming physicians, creating an opportunity for some deaf patients to communicate directly with their doctors in ASL. In addition to providing direct access for deaf patients, this also creates a situation in which it is possible to examine the linguistic features used by deaf bilingual physicians. We analyzed 18 ASL translations of three common medical interview questions as produced by both deaf physicians (n = 3) and experienced ASL-English interpreters (n = 3). Results indicate that the physicians and the interpreters consistently utilized contextualization, contrasting, and specifi cation in their translations but showed variability in the production of these discourse features. We provide an overview of the current state of ASL-English healthcare interpreting, examine challenges in creating ASL translations of common medical interview questions, provide descriptions and samples of the ASL translations, and discuss patterns in the data. Our aim in this investigation is to better describe and understand how typical medical questions are translated into ASL as a step toward the ultimate goal of improving healthcare communication for deaf patients.
In this study we examine linguistic features produced by interpreters and deaf bilingual physicians when translating medication instructions from English into American Sign Language (ASL). In the U.S. healthcare system, signed language interpreters are frequently called upon to facilitate communication between deaf individuals who use ASL and their non-signing physicians. A small but growing number of deaf individuals are now pursuing medical training, creating a situation in which deaf patients can communicate in ASL with their healthcare providers. Numerous practical and perceptual barriers affect patients' medication intake behaviors, including comprehension, memory of instructions, and language differences between physicians and patients. Research indicates that language concordance increases patients' compliance to prescription treatment. It follows that direct communication in ASL between deaf patients and deaf physicians will positively impact treatment compliance of patients and may result in better recall of medical instructions. We examined the linguistic features used in English to ASL translations of two medication directions as produced by experienced ASL-English interpreters (n=3) and deaf bilingual physicians (n=3). Results showed the absence of a standard approach for translating medication directions into ASL; however, both groups incorporated the same linguistic devices to promote emphasis within the translation, including repetition, emphatic lexical signs, and prosodic markers, presumably to promote recall of key concepts by deaf patients. Lexical variability in the translations is discussed, as well as information gaps between the ASL and English versions of the medication instructions. The results hold implications for healthcare professionals, interpreters, and interpreter educators for building effective communication for deaf patients.
Medical Interpreter Challenges During In-person Interpretation Session: A Systematic Review
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 2021
In a world where geographic boundaries have become blurred lines, & medical treatments can be obtained in all parts of the world, the role of medical interpreters has become increasingly essential roles to attract foreign patients in the medical tourism industry. The medical interpreter acts as a mediator in bridging the gaps between medical teams and patients. However, a medical interpreter's level of ability and skills is often a restriction on an excellent interpretation session to be made. This study aims to analyse medical interpreter challenges during in-person interpretation sessions. A literature review guided by Reporting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) is conducted using three databases: Scopus, Dimensions, and Google Scholar. Twenty-five articles are being reviewed after undergoing the identification, screening, and eligibility process of a systematic review. These data have achieved appraisal quality as they have been reviewed by the Critical Appraisal Skill Programme (2018), CASP Qualitative Studies Checklist. Further review of these articles resulted in four main themes: language proficiency skills, communication skills, interaction with medical teams, and interaction with patients. Specific training for overcoming these barriers is suggested to encourage the development of interpreters' role in communication service. This study recommends a quantitative approach in the future to obtain precise results statically.