Publications

Publication details [#4500]

Hall, Nigel. 2004. The child in the middle: agency and diplomacy in language brokering events. In Hansen, Gyde, Kirsten Malmkjær and Daniel Gile, eds. Claims, changes and challenges in Translation Studies (Benjamins Translation Library 50). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 285–296.
Publication type
Article in jnl/bk
Publication language
English

Abstract

The term language brokering has been used in a number of papers exploring the interpreting experience of children. The term brokering focuses attention on the whole cultural meaning of such an event, in which any interpretation is simply a part. Being a child language broker is a complex experience; it challenges conventional power relations within families or schools, challenges chronological age expectations, and allows children to act strategically as experts. This paper considers the language brokering behaviour of a group of Asian- heritage children taking part in a complex simulation in which they mediated an interview between a school representative and a non-English speaking mother. Built into the interview were dilemmas for these children, and this paper explores the strategic nature of their responses, and the extent to which they were willing to expert their power as experts.
Source : Based on abstract in book