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Article published In:
Translation and the Genealogy of Conflict
Edited by Luis Pérez-González
[Journal of Language and Politics 11:2] 2012
► pp. 207–228

Conflict recognition, prevention and resolution in mental health interpreting

Exploring Kim’s cross-cultural adaptation model

| Dublin City University

This article investigates the application of Kim’s (2001) theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation to identifying and resolving areas of conflict in mental health interpreting in Ireland and, by extension, in the wider field of community interpreting. In the context of Kim’s theoretical framework, the interpreter is the ‘stranger,’ a newcomer who undergoes a cross-cultural adaptation process in an unfamiliar environment, i.e. the host community. Potential areas of conflict in community interpreting in general and mental health interpreting in particular are examined in connection with the interrelated factors that underpin Kim’s structure and process models. It is argued that these factors also provide a framework for the mapping of conflict prevention and resolution in community interpreting. Kim’s theory is further extended to examine the complexity of potential conflict between all participants in interpreter-mediated encounters as well as possible prevention and resolution strategies.

Keywords: mental health interpreting, community interpreting, Ireland, cross-cultural adaptation, communication, Young Yun Kim
Published online: 8 June 2012
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.11.2.03zim
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