Cover not available

Article published In: Localization in Healthcare and Medical Settings in the Advent of COVID-19
Edited by Minako O'Hagan and Julie McDonough Dolmaya
[The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 8:2] 2021
► pp. 137–155

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

How COVID-19 changed telephone interpreting in Spain

ORCiD logo with link | Universidad de Alcalá
ORCiD logo with link | Universidad de Alcalá
Published online: 28 March 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.21005.gut
Abstract
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telephone interpreters in Spain were used to communicating administrative issues, medical instructions, and even humanitarian social assistance rendered by social workers and psychologists. However, since March 2020 these interactions have been heavily replaced by conversations mediated by telephone interpreters related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus infection. This contribution describes the provision of telephone interpreting during the COVID-19 pandemic using the information reported by the interpreters of the company Dualia Teletraducciones as a case study. It focuses on healthcare-related services and clients, offering data related to the frequency of use of telephone interpreting, the most common languages used, and the evolution of clients and services (Emergency Rooms, tracers, pandemic hotels, etc.). This article also describes the hiring, training and quality monitoring processes, including the main tools developed to facilitate remote interpreting during the pandemic.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Telephone interpreting in healthcare settings
  • 3.Telephone interpreting in Spanish healthcare settings
  • 4.Signs of a paradigm shift
  • 5.The tipping point of the State of Alarm
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Note
  • References
References (25)
References
Bischoff, Alexander, Perneger, Thomas V., Bovier, Patrick A., Loutan, Louis, & Stalder, Hans. 2003. Improving communication between physicians and patients who speak a foreign language. British Journal of General Practice 53(492): 541–546.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, Sabine. 2015. “Remote interpreting”. In The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting, edited by by Holly Mikkelson & Renée Jourdenais, 352–367. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2020. “Technology interpreting”. In The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Technology, edited by M. O’Hagan, 271–288. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bravo, Conceiçäo and Enríquez, Vanessa. 2006. “Localization and Translator Training”. In Translation Technology and its Teaching, edited by Anthony Pym, Alexander Perekrestenko and Bram Starink, 55–7. Tarragona: Universitat Rovira i Virgili.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cabrera Méndez, Gabriel. 2018. “Technological progress allowing for telephone interpreting”. In Approaches to telephone interpretation research, innovation, teaching and transference, edited by Ruiz Mezcua, Aurora, 21–32. Switzerland. Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Esselink, Bert. 2000. A Practical Guide to Localization, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Flanagan, John C. 1954. “The critical incident technique” Psychological Bulletin 51(4): 327–358. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hewitt, William E. 1995. “Court interpretation: Model guides for policy and practice in the state courts”. National Center for State Courts.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jaime Pérez, Adriana. 2015. “Remote interpreting in public services: developing a 3G phone interpreting application.” In Investigación emergente en traducción e interpretación, edited by Raquel Lázaro Gutiérrez, María del Mar Sánchez Ramos and Francisco Javier Vigier Moreno, 73–82. Granada: Comares.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serrano, Óscar Jiménez. 2020. “Foto fixa de la interpretació simultània remota a l’inici del 2020.” Revista Tradumàtica: tecnologies de la traducció 171: 59–80.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jones, David, and Paramjit Gill. 1998. “Breaking down language barriers: the NHS needs to provide accessible interpreting services for all.”, 14761. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kelly, Nataly. 2008. A Medical Interpreter’s Guide to Telephone Interpreting, Lexington: International Medical Interpreters Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ko, Leong. 2006. “The need for long-term empirical studies in remote interpreting research: A case study of telephone interpreting.” In Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series–Themes in Translation Studies 51: 325–338.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lázaro Gutiérrez, Raquel. 2017. “Research Into the Practice of Telephone Interpreting in Spain.” In Superando Límites en Traducción e Interpretación, edited by Carmen Valero Garcés Cristina Álvaro Aranda, and María Ginés Grao, 159–164. Genève: Editions Tradulex.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mintz, David. 1998. “Hold the phone: Telephone interpreting scrutinized.” Proteus 7(1): 1–5.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mulayim, Sedat. 2012. “A study of interpreting accreditation testing formats in Australia.” International Journal of Interpreter Education 4(2): 39–51.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peiró, José M., and A. Soler. 2020. “El impulso al teletrabajo durante el COVID-19 y los retos que plantea.” IvieLAB, 1–10.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Phelan, Mary. 2001. The Interpreter’s Resource. Manchester: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Phillips, Christine. 2013. “Remote telephone interpretation in medical consultations with refugees: meta-communications about care, survival and selfhood.” Journal of Refugee Studies 26(4): 505–523. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Quintana Rojas, Lyn Valentina, and Jennifer Paola Valverde Castro. 2021. El manejo de emociones de los intérpretes en la interpretación médica remota en el contexto de la pandemia de la COVID-19 en Lima, Perú. Peru: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias AplicadasGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rosenberg, Brett A. 2004. “A data driven analysis of telephone interpreting.” In The critical link 4: Professionalisation of interpreting in the community, edited by Cecilia Wadensjö, Birgitta Englund Dimitrova, and Anna-Lena Nilsson. 65–77. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ruiz Mezcua, Aurora. 2018. “General Overview of Telephone Interpretation (TI): A State of the Art.” In Approaches to Telephone Interpretation. Research, Innovation, Teaching and Transference, edited by Aurora Ruiz Mezcua, 7–17. Bern: Peter Lang. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Runcieman, Alan James. 2020. “Community interpreting and the Covid-19 crisis: Present relevancy and future directions.” Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies 2421: 1–21.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serrano Pozo, Francisco. 2020. El mayor en la actualidad. Perfil, características, recursos y apoyo desde el trabajo social, en Andalucía. Jaén: Universidad de Jaén.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wadensjö, Cecilia. 1999. “Telephone interpreting & the synchronization of talk in social interaction.” The Translator 5(2): 247–264. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

O’Hagan, Minako & Julie McDonough Dolmaya
2023. Introduction to Digital Translation: International Journal of Translation and Localization . Digital Translation 10:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue