Speak English or What?
Codeswitching and Interpreter Use in New York City Courts
Series: Oxford Studies in Language and Law;
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP USA
- Date of Publication 16 April 2015
- ISBN 9780199337569
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages260 pages
- Size 160x236x25 mm
- Weight 658 g
- Language English 0
Categories
Short description:
This book presents a study of interpreter-mediated interaction in New York City small claims courts, drawing on audio-recorded arbitration hearings and ethnographic fieldwork.
MoreLong description:
This book presents a study of interpreter-mediated interaction in New York City small claims courts, drawing on audio-recorded arbitration hearings and ethnographic fieldwork. Focusing on the language use of speakers of Haitian Creole, Polish, Russian, or Spanish, the study explores how these litigants make use of their limited proficiency in English, in addition to communicating with the help of professional court interpreters. Drawing on research on courtroom interaction, legal interpreting, and conversational codeswitching, the study explores how the ability of immigrant litigants to participate in these hearings is impacted by institutional language practices and underlying language ideologies, as well as by the approaches of individual arbitrators and interpreters who vary in their willingness to accommodate to litigants and share the burden of communication with them. Litigants are shown to codeswitch between the languages in interactionally meaningful ways that facilitate communication, but such bilingual practices are found to be in conflict with court policies that habitually discourage the use of English and require litigants to act as monolinguals, using only one language throughout the entire proceedings. Moreover, the standard distribution of interpreting modes in the courtroom is shown to disadvantage litigants who rely on the interpreter, as consecutive interpreting causes their narrative testimony to be less coherent and more prone to interruptions, while simultaneous interpreting often leads to incomplete translation of legal arguments or of their opponent's testimony. Consequently, the study raises questions about the relationship between linguistic diversity and inequality, arguing that the legal system inherently privileges speakers of English.
This richly stimulating work is the product of ethnographic observations, interviews and extensive analysis of recorded interactions in several small claims courts in New York City. Although a good proportion is devoted to the analysis of code-switching and code-mixing in interpreter-mediated court interactions, the significance of the work extends beyond the micro level as it provides a comprehensive picture into organising and delivering interpreting services in a superdiverse social setting.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. Indexicalities of language choice in small claims court
Chapter 2. Challenging claims: Immigrants in small claims court
Chapter 3. "I've heard your story:" How arbitrators decide
Chapter 4. Only translating? The role of the interpreter
Chapter 5. Testifying in another language: What's lost in translation
Chapter 6. Codeswitching in the courtroom
Chapter 7. Language ideology and legal outcomes
Appendix
References
