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Article published In: Translation, Cognition & Behavior
Vol. 2:2 (2019) ► pp.241–262

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Thematic section

Acting upon background of understanding rather than role

Shifting the focus from the interactional to the inferential dimension of (medical) dialogue interpreting

 | Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)
Published online: 6 September 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tcb.00028.alb
Abstract
Research into dialogue interpreting has thus far focused on its interactional dimension. Only recently have cognitive approaches been introduced. This article uses the situated cognition and functional pragmatics paradigms to explain how a broad and holistic understanding of the (healthcare) set-up in which dialogue interpreting assignments take place enables interpreters to develop an awareness of the purpose-orientation of medical professionals’ (inter)action plan. This understanding forms part of an inferential mental backdrop that allows interpreters to go from bottom-up drifting to gaining top-down control over their task. On the basis of a corpus of 19 interpreter-mediated doctor-patient encounters, the article suggests that it is acting upon an integral background of understanding as inferential basis (rather than role) that empowers dialogue interpreters to perform successfully.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Institutional dialogue interpreting as socially and cognitively situated practice
  • 3.FP-based application of inferential model of dialogue interpreting to medical interpreting
  • 4.Evidence from the KTI corpus data
  • 5.The inferential dimension dominating the interactional
  • Note
  • References
References (28)
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Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Albl-Mikasa, Michaela & Christiane Hohenstein
2023. Community Interpreting as a Socially and Cognitively Situated Activity: Speech Action Patterns and Underlying Knowledge Structures in Interpreter-Mediated Medical Interactions. In New Trends in Healthcare Interpreting Studies [New Frontiers in Translation Studies, ], ► pp. 11 ff. DOI logo
Lázaro Gutiérrez, Raquel & Cristina Álvaro Aranda
2023. Introduction to New Trends in Healthcare Interpreting Studies. In New Trends in Healthcare Interpreting Studies [New Frontiers in Translation Studies, ], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

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