The role of the interpreter in constructing asylum seeker’s credibility: A hearing at the Spanish Asylum and Refugee Office

Abstract

The paper’s objective is to establish the interpreter’s role in the construction of the asylum seeker’s credibility during the interaction at asylum hearings. To illustrate this, I perform a discourse analysis of the interaction at an asylum hearing with a Nigerian applicant and an English-Spanish interpreter, taking place at the Oficina de asilo y refugio in Madrid (Spain) in 2005. Firstly, I identify the functions adopted by the interpreter in the hearing, the interactional sequence generated by his working method and its impact on his translation activity. Secondly, I focus on the alterations in the interpreter’s rendition which may have an impact on the applicant’s credibility and I set out to elucidate the factors explaining these alterations.