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Part of
Interpreting in Legal and Healthcare Settings: Perspectives on research and training
Edited by Eva N.S. Ng and Ineke H.M. Crezee
[Benjamins Translation Library 151] 2020
► pp. 113–131

Chapter 5
Turn-taking management in interpreted legal aid lawyer-client interviews

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In interpreted encounters, it is important for the primary speakers to follow turn-taking rules. However, in real practice, overlapping speech and lengthy turns at talk happen from time to time, creating difficulty for the interpreter to perform adequately. Generating data from observations of authentic interpreted lawyer-client interviews in Australia, this study examines how lawyers and interpreters manage turns. Findings show that the two professionals work in a relationship featuring shifting alignment and confrontation. Most of the time, lawyers work collaboratively with the interpreters to manage turns to facilitate interpreting; at other times, they compete for turns to achieve their own goals. Better professionally qualified interpreters are more capable of managing discourse and meeting ethical requirements in cases of conflict with lawyers.

Keywords: lawyer-client interviews, interpreters, lawyers, turn-taking, professional qualifications
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Overlapping speech
    • 1.2Lengthy turns at talk
    • 1.3Gaps in previous research
  • 2.Interpreted lawyer-client interviews
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Interpreted lawyer-client interviews at Legal Aid NSW
    • 3.2Data collection and description
  • 4.The structure of the interpreted lawyer-client interviews at Legal Aid NSW
  • 5.Results and discussion
    • 5.1Lawyers’ management of turn-taking
      • 5.1.1Dealing with overlapping speech and lengthy turns
      • 5.1.2Interrupting the clients and the interpreters
    • 5.2Interpreters’ management of turns
      • 5.2.1Coping with interruptions
      • 5.2.2Managing lengthy turns
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 3 June 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.151.05xu
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Cited by 1 other publications

Xu, Han
2021. Interprofessional relations in interpreted lawyer-client interviews. An Australian case study. Perspectives 29:4 ► pp. 608 ff. DOI logo

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