AAG 2014 CFP: Considering practical and critical issues in working with interpreters in geographical research

Co-organized by Christine Smith and Kelsey Hanrahan, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky

Geographical research is conducted in a wide array of contexts. Whether we travel vast distances or down the road, we frequently engage with people speaking languages other than our own. Similarly, even when the language doesn't present itself as a barrier, the cultural context may present a situation where communication incompatibilities emerge.The assistance of interpreters is often vital to the research process--including the collection, analysis and presentation of our data--yet interpreters’

involvement in the process is often obscured, hidden or taken for granted (Temple and Young 2004).

Considerations of the theoretical and methodological implications of work involving interpreters has become well-established within in the medical field (Putsch 1985, Squires 2010). However, geography and other closely-related social sciences have only sporadically contributed to the conversation. These include considerations of the quality of research produced (see Veeck 2001; Watson 2004) examinations of positionality and power relations between researcher and interpreter (see Crane et al. 2009; Twyman et al. 1999), and the difficulty of writing up research in a language different from the language in which research was conducted (see Smith 1996). Far less attention, however, has been paid to practical issues in the field such as training and post-fieldwork issues such as the impact of the interpreter’s presence on the quality of work or how to incorporate the presence of the interpreter. While geography has made strong contributions to debates surrounding issues of positionality, power, accuracy and representation in research, we propose that an equally intense level of scrutiny and debate be applied to research processes that involve interpretation.

In this session, we invite discussion on the experiences of geographers conducting cross-language research. This session is designed to further the discussion on interpreters by speaking directly to the challenges experienced in the course of research-- from project design to the processing and presentation of geographical research. In interrogating the space between theory and practice we hope to explore the practices of researchers throughout the research process and the ways in which challenges were addressed in accordance with the principles and goals of various research projects. This CFP invites researchers who have experienced difficulties, perceived failures or epiphanies in their work with interpreters to submit papers. Possible paper topics may include:

-Training of interpreters

-Moments of mis-communication or communication breakdown (linguistic and

cultural)

-The views of translators and interpreters on the staff they worked with

-Power in the relationship between researcher and interpreter

-Moments of vulnerability and perceived incompetence

-Unintended or problematic incidents between interpreter and research participants

-Disclosure of interpretation and translation in the write-up of research

-Critical engagement with role of interpreter as more than language translation

Please submit an abstract to Christine Smith ([log in to unmask])

by 5 November, 2013.

References:

Crane, LG, MB Lombard & EM Tenz. (2009) More than just translation:

challenges and opportunities in translingual research. Soc. Geog. 4:39-46.

Putsch, R. (1985) Cross-cultural Communication: The Special Case of Interpreters in Health Care. Journal of the American Medical Association

254 (23): 3344-3348.

Smith, F.M. (1996) Problematising Language: Limitations and Possibilities in ‘Foreign Language’ Research. Area 28(2):160-166.

Squires, A. (2010) Methodological challenges in cross-language qualitative

research: A research review. International Journal of Nursing Studies 46:

277-287.

Temple, B. & A. Young (2004) Qualitative Research and Translation Dilemmas. Qualitative Research 4(2):161-178.

Twyman, C., J. Morrison & D. Sporton. (1999) The final fifth:

autobiography, reflexivity and interpretation in cross-cultural research. Area 31(4):313-325.

Veeck, G. (2001) Talk is Cheap: Cultural and Linguistic Fluency During Field Research. Geographical Review 91(1/2):34-40.

Watson, Elizabeth E. (2004) 'What a dolt one is': Language learning and fieldwork in geography. Area 36(1):59-68
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