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In:Non-professional Interpreting and Translation: State of the art and future of an emerging field of research
Edited by Rachele Antonini, Letizia Cirillo, Linda Rossato and Ira Torresi
[Benjamins Translation Library 129] 2017
► pp. 315–335

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Chapter 16
Through the children’s voice

An analysis of language brokering experiences

Published online: 19 June 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.129.16ant
Abstract
Because of the lack of provision of language services and for cultural reasons, immigrants very often choose to entrust their children with the task of translating for them. In this paper, we will discuss results from a wide-scale study carried out by the In MedIO PUER(I) research group of the University of Bologna aimed at assessing the main attitudes towards and opinions on child language brokering (CLB) held by the primary actors involved in this form of linguistic and cultural mediation: children of immigrant families attending primary and middle schools in the Forlì-Cesena province of the Emilia Romagna region. The analysis of the narratives they produced and submitted will provide a detailed description of the language brokering activities, in which children are involved, and will illustrate their feelings towards CLB, thus providing an insight into the impact that CLB has on their lives.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The In MedIO PUER(I) project
    • 2.1Research on/with children and the use of narratives
    • 2.2Narrative research
  • 3.The school competition: Traduttori in Erba (Budding Translators/Interpreters)
    • 3.1The when and what of CLB: The school setting
    • 3.2Children’s perception of their role as language mediators
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
References (45)
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Ceccoli, Federica
2021. Reconstructing the experiences of child language brokering: a focus on the socio-emotional impact of the practice. The Translator 27:2 ► pp. 216 ff. DOI logo
Gustafsson, Kristina
2021. Child language brokering in Swedish welfare institutions. In Translating Asymmetry - Rewriting Power [Benjamins Translation Library, 157], ► pp. 125 ff. DOI logo
Napier, Jemina
2021. ‘I Can’t Not Help Them…’: Brokering as Responsibility and Cooperation. In Sign Language Brokering in Deaf-Hearing Families, ► pp. 243 ff. DOI logo
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2021. Doing Research on Sign Language Brokering. In Sign Language Brokering in Deaf-Hearing Families, ► pp. 111 ff. DOI logo
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2020. New societies, new values, new demands. Translation and Interpreting Studies 15:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
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2018. Children as Interactional Brokers of Care. Annual Review of Anthropology 47:1 ► pp. 167 ff. DOI logo

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