On terms, definitions and roles, Or

ἀρχὴ σοφίας ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐπίσκεψις*

Fotini Apostolou
School of English
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

*The origin of wisdom lies in visiting names (Antisthenes)

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Contents
On terms and definitions
Inter/Cultural Inter/Mediator
Paradigms in Greece
The EU
Different paradigms
ON TERMS AND
DEFINITIONS
 Community Interpreting defined
Interpreting carried out in face-to-face encounters between
officials and laypeople, meeting for a particular purpose at a
public institution is (in English-speaking countries) often
termed community interpreting […]. Community interpreting
is typically bi-directional, that is, the same interpreter works
in the two languages in question. As a rule, it is carried out
consecutively upon the original speakers’ talk, sequence by
sequence. The concept covers both interpreting in face-to-
face situations and interpreting provided over the telephone.
Health care, mental health, educational, social service and
legal interpreting are frequently given as sub-categories, and
community interpreting as a more general concept.
(Wadensjö Interpreting as Interaction 1998: 49)
Community interpreting as a profession
[…] if interpreting is to be acknowledged as a
profession also when it occurs outside of
international conferences […] and if those of us who
work as interpreters in legal, health, social service
and other institutional face-to-face encounters are to
gain the confidence and respect of the public, we
need to have well-founded and shared ideas about
what interpreting in these settings is all about, what
interpreters are good for, and about preferred
standards to apply in various situations. (Wadensjö
Interpreting as Interaction, 1998: 4)
Terms
intermediary, actor, mediator, gatekeeper,
non-person, interpreter, middleman, pure
messenger, broker, patron, spokesman, big
man, go-between, public service mediators,
in-betweens, messengers, interveners,
inter/cultural mediator, linguistic-cultural
mediator, cultural mediator, advocate,
Interlingual Intercultural Mediator, care
interpreter, culture broker
What’s in a name
There is a total lack of recognition of interpreting as a
complex cognitive activity with a distinct professional
profile and the need for specific training. This view is
presumably also held by some of the untrained volunteers
acting as interpreters as well as by public service providers
and policy planners. In countries like Spain, this has even
led to reluctance to call interpreters by their name and
recognize the skills involved in such an activity. In a
situation in which public policy is shaped by people who
hold such views […] it is logical that distortions will result
and professionalization will be hampered, to say the least.
(Martin & Valero-Garcés, Introduction Crossing Borders
in Community Interpreting 2008: 3)
INTER/CULTURAL
INTER/MEDIATION
Attempt at a definition
Intercultural mediation (IM) is a form of translatorial
intervention which takes account of the impact of cultural
distance when translating or interpreting. The aim is to
improve access, and involves “re-writing” […] “recreating” or
“transcreating”. There are two principal ways of considering
IM. First, as intervention to ensure successful communication
across cultures, whereby the translator/interpreter (T/I)
accounts for possible cultural misunderstanding (loss or
distortion of meaning); and second, as intervention to support
vulnerable cultural groups, to ensure that their voice is heard
and that their differences and rights are respected. (David
Katan “Intercultural Mediation”, Handbook of Translation
Studies Vol. 4, 2013: 84)
Co-constructors of meaning
The mediator’s translation can take various forms
(Amato/Gavioli 2007: 294) and make an active
contribution to the conversational interaction: the
mediator decides when to translate and when not
to, when to expand the text in order to reassure a
participant [...], co-constructing meanings
(Davidson, 2002), and promoting the
participation of the speakers within the
interaction. (Clara Pignataro “Interlinguistic and
intercultural mediation in healthcare settings”,
2012: 73-74)
Interpreters in a creative role
The IIM (Interlinguistic Intercultural Mediator) also plays a
creative role: during the process of listening and re-phrasing
the content, the use of specific medical terminology could
compromise comprehension or lead to misunderstandings. The
original text is dissected and the ambiguities are removed, to
provide emotional reassurance to the patient; the result is a
text that is completely different from the original, one that has
its own identity […], within which lies a possible encounter
with the Other. The IIM produces a text that takes into
consideration the interests of the patient for whom s/he is
working and with whom s/he probably shares a similar
immigration experience. (Clara Pignataro, “Interlinguistic and
intercultural mediation in healthcare settings”, 2012: 74)
 Multiplicity of roles
Intercultural mediators at Belgian hospitals:
 interpret;
 function as culture brokers [...]. We want to stress that we do not expect or consider them
to have ethnographic knowledge such as cultural anthropologists may have. Still, we are
convinced that their relative familiarity with the world of the physician and that of
members of their own community may be extremely useful to increase the cultural
competence of the health care team;
 provide practical help to patients as well as emotional support. However, they do not act
as amateur psychotherapists;
 may be involved in conflict mediation when linguistic or cultural misunderstandings are
the cause of the conflict;
 may act as advocates for ethnic minority patients when they are being confronted with
racism or discrimination or when the patient’s well-being or dignity is at risk;
 visit ethnic minority patients in their room to check whether they need help (which will
then be provided in collaboration with health providers);
 point out problems experienced by ethnic minority patients to health care providers and
the hospital administration;
 provide health education to patients.
(Verrept, “Intercultural mediation: An answer to healthcare disparities”, 2008: 188-189)
The “knowing subject”
A ‘knowing subject’ is an individual
conceived of as a sovereign, rational and
unified consciousness, in control of
language and meaning. It is the ‘I’ that
thinks and speaks and is the apparent author
of meaning. This is the theory of the subject
that is usually assumed in commonsense
discourses. (Chris Weedon, Identity and
Culture: Narratives of Difference and
Belonging 2004: 5)
PARADIGMS IN GREECE
 Beginnings
The specialisation of Cultural Intermediation is a major innovation not only in the Region
of Western Greece, but in many of the regions of the European Union (it has emerged as a
universally good practice out of pilot social projects, and is now transferred to our region!).
The Cultural Intermediator:
Functions as a communication link between (public/private) services and the community
of immigrants
Facilitates access to services by providing information
Provides support and encouragement so that foreign nationals can promote their needs
and interests
Produces material that can be used both by public services and by the minority/migrant
community for the promotion of intercultural awareness
Cultural Intermediators, from now on, will have an active participation in the region’s
activities. […] they will staff offices for the reception and support of foreign nationals,
providing advice on employment and legalising issues to their compatriots, they will
participate in organising cultural events, as well as a plethora of other interventions against
racism and xenophobia in the labour market. They will also initiate similar professional
and voluntary activities, using their knowledge and empowerment through their training.
2006, Establishing Standards for the Development of Interculturalism
 The Intercultural Mediator in Greece

“Being an intercultural mediator: A transformative journey and reflective practice in lived social spaces” Eugenia
Arvanitis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMA3nlGuImY)
 Is a rose still a rose when otherwise
named?
We’d rather the term “interpreter”, which actually refers to an
extremely difficult profession that demands specialised
knowledge and requires high linguistic, cognitive and technical
skills, were not used for the role of the linguistic mediator with
lower qualifications (which we understand is evidently
necessary, because of the variety and rarity of certain
languages), as is evident by the terms of the call; otherwise the
practice [of interpreting] would be degraded to the eyes of the
broader public, thus indirectly affecting the fees of practitioners
in the free market. Therefore, we would like to ask you to use
the term “linguistic mediators”.
(Intervention by PEEMPIP in the public consultation for the
open international call of the Greek Asylum Service for
interpreting and translation services 08/07/2014)
 Answer
The use of the term “linguistic intermediator” is deliberately
avoided by the Asylum Service, as it may refer to the voluntary or
involuntary expression of meaning on the part of the mediator,
while the sole requirement of the Service is the accurate transfer
of the utterances of the asylum seeker and the Service employee
from one language to another, without any intermediation.

Η χρήση του όρου «γλωσσικός διαμεσολαβητής» αποφεύγεται επί

τούτοις από την Υπηρεσία, καθώς ενδέχεται να αναφέρεται στην
εκούσια ή ακούσια έκφραση νοήματος από μέρους του
διαμεσολαβητή, ενώ αποκλειστική απαίτηση της Υπηρεσίας είναι η
ακριβής μεταφορά των λεχθέντων του εξυπηρετούμενου και του
υπαλλήλου της Υπηρεσίας Ασύλου από τη μια γλώσσα στην άλλη,
χωρίς την οιαδήποτε διαμεσολάβηση.
THE EU
 EU Funded Projects in Greece
Year Project Funding
2007 Training for Intercultural Mediators 11,000
2008 Training for Intercultural Mediators 70,000
2009 Intercultural Mediation in Hospitals 468,000
2010 Intercultural Mediation in Hospitals 400,000
2010 Intercultural Mediation in housing and other social services 100,000
2011 Intercultural Mediators Platform 110,000
2012 Intercultural Mediation in Hospitals 400,000
2012-13 Training of Intercultural Mediators utilizing new Social 381,500
Networking Software
2013 Interpretation and intercultural mediation in one-stop shops for 230,000
residence permits and decentralized bodies in the country
2013 Inter. Mediation in Social Services & Rehabilitation Centres 333,500
2014 Intercultural Mediation in Hospitals 400,000
Total 2,904,000
DIFFERENT PARADIGMS
 Canada
In Ontario, the role of the oral language interpreter has evolved and become
more refined over time. Historically interpreters were identified as “cultural
interpreters” with a role to bridge “cultural misunderstandings” between service
providers and non/limited English speakers. Determining how and when an
interpreter should intervene created conflicts for all parties for a variety of
reasons. Although cultural differences can exist between individuals who do not
share a common language, cultural differences can also exist between
individuals who do share a common language. Given the complexity of factors
that impact and influence an individual’s culture, acting as a “cultural
broker/bridge” goes beyond the scope of an interpreter’s duty […]. Expecting an
interpreter to perform that function, in and of itself, contravenes the ethical
principle and standard of practice to remain impartial, and furthermore begs the
question of the demonstrated competence of the interpreter to perform that
function. Therefore, it should be noted that the LITP Curriculum Development
Team recommends that the role of the interpreter focus on the delivery of
messages between individuals who do not share a common language rather than
“cultural differences/nuance” of the speakers. (National Standard Guide for
Community Interpreting Services, Canada 2007)
UK
FORCED MARRIAGE
The scenario: A school suspects a female pupil, who is about to
take a long holiday, could be forced to marry against her will.
They refer the case to children’s services.
The professional challenge: The family say this practice is part of
their culture and their religion. They do not speak English and the
social workers use an interpreter from the family’s community.
Techniques for social workers: Be wary of using an interpreter
from the community. It is unlikely that they will be trained in child
protection and they could collude with the family. (“Avoiding
racial and cultural traps in child protection”, Community Care,
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2011/02/24/avoiding-cultural-
and-racial-traps-in-child-protection)
THANK YOU