Kulttuurin representaatiot asioimistulkkauksen tutkimuskirjallisuudessa

Abstract

Culture is generally considered to be an inevitable part of any interpreter-mediated encounter and a particularly crucial element in public service interpreting. However, it is seldom specified what is meant by “culture” in this context. The aim of this article is to analyze the representations of culture in relation to public service interpreting. A selection of research literature in the field of public service interpreting published in Finnish and English is discussed with the view of analyzing definitions of culture. A qualitative meta-analysis is used to identify the occurrences of the word “culture” in the material discussed and to analyze the main themes connected to the notion of culture. The analysis shows that even though culture is represented as a source of contradictions, it is generally not defined explicitly. It is argued that the word “culture” is often used to represent things that are otherwise difficult to describe. Indeed, the complexity of the participants’ aims and positions in an interpreter-mediated encounter is likely to be more decisive than “culture” as such.