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Article published In: Übersetzen und Dolmetschen im juristischen Bereich / Traduction et interprétation juridiques / Legal Translation and Interpreting: Technologie – Outsourcing – Veränderungen / Technologie – externalisation – transformations / Technology – Outsourcing – Shifts
Edited by Frans De Laet, Reiner Heard and Miodrag Vukčević
[Babel 66:2] 2020
► pp. 326–345

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Video-mediated remote interpreting in healthcare

Analysis of an Austrian pilot project

 | University of Vienna
Published online: 6 April 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00156.hav
Abstract
Interpreters face distinct challenges when deployed remotely via video link, due to their virtual presence but physical absence in the conversation. Depending on the interpreting service, interpreters can also be exposed to greater spontaneity and hence increased pressure if video-mediated interpreting is offered as an instant service. The examples discussed in this paper draw on an interpreting studies-based analysis of the Austrian pilot project “Video-mediated interpreting in healthcare.” In this study data were generated by means of an observational protocol, five recordings of authentic video-mediated interpreted communicative events, five retrospective interviews with the interpreters from the recorded video-mediated interpreted communicative events, and eight expert interviews with all interpreters from the pilot project. The scope of this article is to present some of the main findings and draw attention to a crucial strategy used in remote interpreting, namely a reliance on relevant sensory awareness.
Résumé
Le fait d’être déployés à distance par liaison vidéo pose un défi particulier aux interprètes en raison de leur présence virtuelle, mais de leur absence physique dans la conversation. En fonction du service d’interprétation, les interprètes peuvent aussi être exposés à une plus grande spontanéité et donc à plus de pression si l’interprétation par vidéo est proposée en tant que service instantané. Les exemples présentés dans cet article s’inspirent d’une analyse basée sur des études d’interprétation du projet pilote autrichien « Interprétation par vidéo dans les soins de santé ». Dans cette étude, les données ont été générées au moyen d’un protocole d’observation, de cinq enregistrements d’authentiques événements de communication interprétés par vidéo, de cinq entretiens rétrospectifs avec les interprètes des événements de communication interprétés par vidéo et enregistrés et de huit entretiens d’experts avec l’ensemble des interprètes du projet pilote. Le champ d’application de cet article est de présenter quelques-unes des principales conclusions et d’attirer l’attention sur une stratégie cruciale utilisée dans l’interprétation à distance, à savoir le recours à une conscience sensorielle pertinente.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Ethnographical data
  • 3.Methodological basis
  • 4.The role of perception in (remote) interpreting
    • 4.1On-demand availability and its implications for interpreters
    • 4.2Standby interpreting as a special challenge
    • 4.3“Can you hear me?”: Auditory perception in VMRI
      • 4.3.1Case 1: Pluricentric languages
      • 4.3.2Case 2: Privacy screen mode
    • 4.4Situative perception of interpreting assignment
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Summary
  • References
References (31)
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