Translation policies for courtroom interactions with ethnic minorities at a Chinese court: integrating ethnographic fieldwork and complexity theory

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing upon the tripartite model of translation policy, this study examines not only how China’s legal rules on court interpreting for ethnic minorities are interpreted and implemented by local actors, but also how court interpreting for ethnic minorities is valued. By integrating ethnographic fieldwork and complexity theory, this article illuminates why local actors (inter)act in certain ways and how their interactions contribute to specific translation policies. The concept of ‘constraints’ alerts us to the causal influence of both realised and unrealised possibilities on a translation policy. The study shows that official regulations, the observed translation practices, and participants’ views on the provision and use of translation constrain but do not determine each other. Meanwhile, unrealised possibilities in the social context have reinforced certain translation practices, such as the appointment of court interpreters for criminal trials and the tendency of interpreters to alter information. This study also reveals how the translation policies under scrutiny are related to individual actions. These findings shed light on why a translation policy exhibits uncertain behaviour and cannot be controlled by a certain individual or structure, while simultaneously showing specific patterns.