Abstract
Emotional factors in linguistic–cultural mediation have attracted the attention of prior literature for a number of decades, both regarding the cognitive processes involved in language interpreting and the impact of stress and emotion on the performance of interpreters. However, research has not yet been replicated in the Arabic–Spanish pair, despite it being one of the combinations most requested by public services in Spain and Europe. Methodology: An exploratory study conducted by an anonymous online 17-item survey was carried out in order to discover the perception of Arabic–Spanish interpreters in asylum and refugee settings about the emotional impact of their job. Out of 30 contacted, 23 active interpreters completed the survey. Results: The answers showed that all of the interpreters had been exposed to situations that had emotionally impacted them. Triggering situations and a list of negative emotions were collected. Discussion: Direct and indirect implications of the referred emotional episodes and their consequences on the performance of the interpreters were analysed and discussed. Conclusions: Linguistic–cultural mediation in these settings exposes interpreters to harsh stories that trigger mostly negative emotions. These professionals lack psychological support; thus, they are forced to deal individually with each situation, without taking into account the possible consequences on their work and their physical and mental health.
Highlights
The existence of emotions has been accepted by psychology from the times of Darwin [1,2] up to the more contemporary eras of Tomkins [3,4], Ekman and Friesen [5] andIzard [6]
Within the framework of the study of language interpreting or language and cultural mediation, the impact of emotions on the cognitive process required by this interlinguistic and intercultural task has attracted the attention of research for a number of decades
This paper aims to analyse the perception of interpreters in asylum and refugee contexts (Arabic–Spanish working languages) of the potential emotional impact of their performance in these contexts and the strategies they apply to mitigate this impact, if any, in line with Moscoso [37], Vinogradov and Yalom [38], among others
Summary
The existence of emotions has been accepted by psychology from the times of Darwin [1,2] up to the more contemporary eras of Tomkins [3,4], Ekman and Friesen [5] andIzard [6]. As the protagonist of the novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray once said: “I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. The focus of interest was initially on neurology in order to gain an understanding of the cognitive and physiological mechanisms that intervene when the words of a speaker are simultaneously interpreted from one language to another in milliseconds over an extended period of time. Authors such as Gerver [7], Seleskovitch [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
