Interpreting as a tool for science and research: The role of language mediation in an Austrian research in sociology
Abstract
The paper examines the interpreting-related aspects of the sociological research project “DeMiCo: Investigating the social construction of deskilling among ‘new’ EU migrants in Vienna”, which was carried out by the University of Vienna between 2021 and 2024 to investigate the social construction of the labour market situation of Czech, Romanian and Hungarian migrants. The multilingual interpreting events conducted during the in-depth interviews are analysed within the conceptual framework of community interpreting, highlighting the multifaceted role of language mediators. The interpreters not only provided language mediation services during the research project, but as (self-)reflective language specialists, they also actively participated in the data collection and interpretation process, as well. The so-called “stand-by interpreting”, i.e. interpreting only upon the request of the interviewee, was given special attention across the different processes, as it proved to be an effective way of partial language mediation. The paper emphasises the role of interpreting in research and the decision-making role of interpreters in scientific processes.
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Internetes hivatkozások
DeMiCo: Investigating the social construction of deskilling among 'new' EU migrants in Vienna. Project
website. https://demico.univie.ac.at/
