Presentation by Sara Alcázar Silva at the Education and Migration: Language Foregrounded conference in Durham 21-23 October 2016, part of the AHRC funded Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State project.

1. Former Language Brokers
Reclaiming Power in
Interpreting Events
Sara Alcázar Silva, University of Arizona
Education and migration: Languages foregrounded
October 21, 2016

2. Introduction
• From 1990 to 2014, there was dramatic increase of
children with immigrant parents from 8,149,000 to
17,489,000 (MPI 2013)
• Orellana et al. (2003, p. 509) studied a sample of
236 Spanish-speaking youth and found that 55% had
been language brokers

3. Introduction
Defining Language Brokers
• Language brokering is the process in which youth
translate or interpret without specialized for adults.
(Tse, 1995, p. 181)
• To “translate from one language to another while
retaining the meaning of the message by analyzing
the degree of linguistic, pragmatic, semantic, and
procedural difficulties involved in the transmission of
utterances and identifying the alternatives available to
them” (Valdès, 2003, p. 13)

4. Introduction
• Studies have focused on two aspects of these
children’s lives:
• the influence of language brokering on academic performance
• the impact on the relationship with their parents
• This study focuses instead on the positionality shift of
former youth interpreters who are at the end of a
Translation and Interpretation university program

5. Previous Research
Positive
• Greater lexical range
(Halgunseth,
2003)
• Problem-solving abilities
(Walinchowski,
2001)
• Children taking advocacy
stances for their parents
(Valenzuela,
1999)
• Protect their parents from
humiliation
(Valdes et al.,
2003)
• Parents think it’s good
children were acquiring a
second language.
(Corona et. al,
2012)
• Familismo
(Corona et. Al 2012) ; Suárez-
Orozco and Suárez-Orozco,
Negative
• Parents becoming too
dependent on their children
(Umaña-Taylor, 2003)
• Children were forced to
grow up too fast
(Cohen, Moran-Ellis, and
Smaji, 1999)
• Might impede academic
achievement
(Dement and Buriel,1999)
• Stressful and high-risk
situations
(Corona et. Al, 2012)

6. Power and Positionality
• The role of power is complex in interpreting
events
• Sanchez and Orellana (2006) and Reynolds and Orellana
(2009)
• Speakers simultaneously embody several
borders, inhabiting two identities at a time
• childhood–adulthood, Mexican–American,
noncitizen–citizen, “Spanish”–“English,”
brown–white, and working class–middle class
• Urciuoli (1998) and Hill (1999)

7. Questions
• How does translation and interpretation
training, if at all, influence the perspectives
of former language brokers on their past and
present experiences, considering positionality
and language ideologies?
• How do former language brokers deal with
the complexities of power dynamics in
interpreting events since they began translation
and interpretation training?
• What aspect of translation and interpretation
training, if any, serve as sources of
empowerment for former language brokers?

8. Context
Arizona
• 896,310 immigrants (Immigration Policy, 2013)
• 66% of homes in Arizona, languages other than English are
spoken (Pew Research Center, 2012)
• Disparities in income and access to services (ibid)

9. Translation and Interpretation
Studies in the United States
Higher education
• 65 programs approved by the American Translator’s
Association
Primary and secondary education
• No opportunity to study translation and interpretation
• Preparación Online
• Professional Language Development Program

10. Translation and Interpretation at the
University of Arizona
“It is the only one that approaches both translation and
interpretation simultaneously and comprehensively, focusing on the
health care and legal fields.”
Translation and Interpretation:
Social Justice and Practice
Medical and Business
Translation
Legal and Business Translation
Beginning Simultaneous
Interpretation
Beginning Consecutive
Interpretation
Advanced Simultaneous
Interpretation
Advanced Consecutive
Interpretation

11. Positionality
• Grew up at the border of Agua
Prieta, Sonora, México and
Douglas, Arizona, United States,
moved to Tucson (60 miles from
the border)
• Language brokering
• Translation and Interpretation
Program Student
• Professional Language
Development Instructor and
Curriculum Developer
• Translation and Interpretation
Program Instructor
• Researcher, Second Language
Acquisition and Teaching PhD
Student

12. Participants
• 9 women
• Mexican origin
• Translation and
Interpretation as plan B
• Parents inculcan
multilingüismo
Adriana
Alejandra
Eva
Monserrat
Blanca
Lily
Sofia
Angelica
Sara

13. Methods
• Surveys
• Focus group/individual interviews
• Free to use whichever language they chose

14. Powerful Powerless Children
Powerful
• Language knowledge
• Adult experience
• Bridging the gap
Powerless
• Imposed power rather
than acquired
“Many children told us how they “had to” translate or were “put
to do so” by others because there was no one else who could.
In this sense, the power they achieve is one that they were
often powerless to refuse” (Reynolds and Orellana: 2009, p.
221)

15. Powerful
Powerless
Children

16. Specialized vs. Everyday Encounters
Specialized
• Legal
• (Adriana)
• Hospital
• (Angelica, Alejandra, Blanca,
Lily, Sofia, Sara)
Everyday
• Parent-teacher conferences
• (Monserrat, Sara)
• School
• (Monserrat, Sofia, Sara)
• Business and social events
• (Adriana, Alejandra, Eva,
Monserrat, Alejandra, Angelica,
Blanca, Lily,, Sara)
• Stressful and negative
experiences
• High-risk situation
• Advanced terminology
• Positive experiences
• Proud of performance
(Orellana, M. F., Dorner, L., &
Pulido, L., 2003)

17. Supported Specialized Encounters
Blanca
• Medical context
• Bilingual mother
prepared her
Lily
• Medical context
• Cardiologist she was
shadowing asked her to
be an interpreter
• He curated cases she
could handle
• Lily studied beforehand

18. Bilingual vs. Youth Interpreter
• Communication skills in both languages
(Sofia, Angelica)
• Leadership skills (Sofia, Angelica)
• Linguistic self-awareness (Angelica, Blanca,
Eva)

19. Bilingual vs. Youth Interpreter
Lily
Being a youth interpreter, you're applying what you learn as a bilingual.
Does that make sense? Like, as being bilingual, you're bicultural. You
know both sides. You kind of understand both cultures, but you're always
in the middle, and you're never really having to do it in a professional
setting, you’re not having to do both at the same time. You're not having
to do both at the same time. And being a youth interpreter, it's kinda like
you're having to apply your English and your Spanish, and it's not
just...it's just ummm...How would you say like. You're having to apply
these big concepts. It's not just "Oh let's talk about the novela. Let's talk
about about what our friends are doing" It's like you're talking about, if you
interpret like legal or business, you're talking about those concepts, like I
talked a lot about medical. And I just think it's a completely different
experience if you don't have those like encounters. I feel like it makes you
smarter too, like life smarter, not smarter like in the field, but just you're
more aware of the... I mean, I would say the blessing you have to be
bilingual or bicultural because it's like you have the best of both worlds
if you are looking at it on the bright side.

20. Should youth be acting as language
brokers?
Opinions Divided
• Never (Alejandra, Adriana)
• Depends on the context (Sofia, Angelica, Eva,
Monserrat)
• Always no matter what (Lily)
“Pueden estar expuestos pero no ser
responsables”
[They can be exposed but not be held
responsible]
-Eva

21. Should youth be acting as language
brokers?
Opinions Divided
• Never (Alejandra, Adriana)
• Depends on the context (Sofia, Angelica, Eva,
Monserrat)
• Always no matter what (Lily)
“Pueden estar expuestos pero no ser
responsables”
[They can be exposed but not be held
responsible]
-Eva

22. Claiming Power
• Terminology
• (Adriana, Alejandra, Angelica, Blanca, Eva, Sofia, Lily)
• Protocol
• (Adriana, Monserrat, Lily, Sara)
• Metalinguistic knowledge
• (Alejandra,Blanca, Eva)
• Linguistic confidence
• (Blanca, Eva, Monserrat)
• Translation & interpretation method and
techniques
• (Eva, Monserrat)
Tell me about a time when you had to translate
for your parents after you had translation and
interpretation training

23. Claiming Power
Terminology/Metalinguistic Knowledge
Sofia
Fui a España ha hacer study abroad este verano pasado y si me
fije mucho que empecé a usar más palabras de alto register
because ahí en la oficina donde trabajaba de contadora ahí en
España puro vocabulario ahí de negocios. Entonces yo también
me adapté a eso, y ya me estaba aprendiendo todos los términos
de negocios […]Y también como dijo Angelica, the legal studies is
what I prefer to learn about, and having that background prior to
going to Spain also helped because I used some of the
terminology from the legal course in the business setting over
there in Spain.
[I studied abroad in Spain last summer and I really noticed
that I was using high register words because in the office
where I worked as an accountant, they used a lot of business
vocabulary. And also like Angelica said, the legal studies is what
I prefer to learn about, and having that background prior to
going to Spain also helped because I used some of the
terminology from the legal course in the business setting over
there in Spain.]

24. Claiming Power
Protocol
Lily
Pues aparte de que tengo más vocabulario, ahora sé que debes
de hablar en primera persona que como el triad, que tienes que
estar atrás del doctor o enseguida del doctor o enseguida del
paciente. Y creo que ahora tengo como más, like self-assurance
que no debo de platicar así con el paciente porque que les tengo
que decir esto es una situación medica tenemos que
comunicarnos con el doctor. Ahora sé que tengo que decir esas
cosas y antes era como no quería ser maleducada o no
contestarles o no platicar con ellos
[Well, besides having more vocabulary, now I know that you need
to speak in first person, that like in the triad, that you need to
be behind the doctor, or next to the doctor, or next to the patient.
And I think I have more like self-assurance. I should not chat
with the patient because I must tell them that it’s a medical
situation and we need to communicate with the doctor. Now I
know I must say this things, and before, I didn’t want to
be impolite or not respond to them or not chat with them.]

25. Claiming Power
Linguistic Confidence
Eva
No se me hizo tan difícil. No me ponía nerviosa ya como
era algo más natural y veo que es más sencillo ahora.
Después de tener las clases, tengo mas confiaza en lo
que digo.
[It was not so hard for me. I didn’t get nervous and it
was something more natural and I see it’s easier now.
After taking the classes, I am more confident in what I
say. ]

26. Future Bilingual Selves
• Business
• Health
• Law
• Interpretation

27. Conclusion
• Positionality of youth interpreters is
complex
• Empowerment through Translation and
Interpretation Education
• Future research
• How do we integrate Translation and
Interpretation Curriculum in Heritage
Language Programs in Higher Education
and Primary School?

28. Gracias