Chapter 5
Turn-taking management in interpreted legal aid lawyer-client
interviews
In interpreted encounters, it is important for
the primary speakers to follow turn-taking rules. However, in real
practice, overlapping speech and lengthy turns at talk happen from
time to time, creating difficulty for the interpreter to perform
adequately. Generating data from observations of authentic
interpreted lawyer-client interviews in Australia, this study
examines how lawyers and interpreters manage turns. Findings show
that the two professionals work in a relationship featuring shifting
alignment and confrontation. Most of the time, lawyers work
collaboratively with the interpreters to manage turns to facilitate
interpreting; at other times, they compete for turns to achieve
their own goals. Better professionally qualified interpreters are
more capable of managing discourse and meeting ethical requirements
in cases of conflict with lawyers.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Overlapping speech
- 1.2Lengthy turns at talk
- 1.3Gaps in previous research
- 2.Interpreted lawyer-client interviews
- 3.The study
- 3.1Interpreted lawyer-client interviews at Legal Aid NSW
- 3.2Data collection and description
- 4.The structure of the interpreted lawyer-client interviews at
Legal Aid NSW
- 5.Results and discussion
- 5.1Lawyers’ management of turn-taking
- 5.1.1Dealing with overlapping speech and lengthy turns
- 5.1.2Interrupting the clients and the interpreters
- 5.2Interpreters’ management of turns
- 5.2.1Coping with interruptions
- 5.2.2Managing lengthy turns
- 6.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgments
-
Notes
-
References
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