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Non-professional Interpreting and Translation: State of the art and future of an emerging field of research
Edited by Rachele Antonini, Letizia Cirillo, Linda Rossato and Ira Torresi
[Benjamins Translation Library 129] 2017
► pp. 315–335

Chapter 16
Through the children’s voice

An analysis of language brokering experiences

Because of the lack of provision of language services and for cultural reasons, immigrants very often choose to entrust their children with the task of translating for them. In this paper, we will discuss results from a wide-scale study carried out by the In MedIO PUER(I) research group of the University of Bologna aimed at assessing the main attitudes towards and opinions on child language brokering (CLB) held by the primary actors involved in this form of linguistic and cultural mediation: children of immigrant families attending primary and middle schools in the Forlì-Cesena province of the Emilia Romagna region. The analysis of the narratives they produced and submitted will provide a detailed description of the language brokering activities, in which children are involved, and will illustrate their feelings towards CLB, thus providing an insight into the impact that CLB has on their lives.

Keywords: CLB, In MedIO PUER(I) project, narrative research, research with children, school competition, school setting
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The In MedIO PUER(I) project
    • 2.1Research on/with children and the use of narratives
    • 2.2Narrative research
  • 3.The school competition: Traduttori in Erba (Budding Translators/Interpreters)
    • 3.1The when and what of CLB: The school setting
    • 3.2Children’s perception of their role as language mediators
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 19 June 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.129.16ant
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