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Article published In:
Language Problems and Language Planning
Vol. 46:3 (2022) ► pp.291–317

Translation policy in health care settings in Ontario

Problems, challenges and language ideologies

ORCID logo | Jilin University

In a world of increasing globalisation, governments, including Canada, face ongoing challenges in their efforts to integrate immigrant languages and to communicate with their users in public service settings. By exploring the translation policy in health care settings in Ontario, Canada, this research investigates how immigrant language barriers in health care access are addressed there, and probes into ideologies around the issue of immigrant language integration. Ontarian translation policy in health care settings is pragmatic yet cautious and laissez-faire. It indicates inclusiveness to accommodate immigrants; but it also reveals considerable tensions and hesitations. The belief that translation is a necessary measure to secure immigrants’ equal health care rights has been largely overridden at the regional and institutional level in Ontario, hindering further planning and more effective provision. The inadequate value designated to translation in terms of immigrant integration by government authorities, the ambiguous and ambivalent stances of Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network and some hospitals on translation provision against budgetary concern and the expectation for linguistic homogeneity all play roles in determining the flexibility and fluctuation of translation policy in health care settings in Ontario.

Keywords: translation policy, language ideologies, public service translation and interpreting, immigrant languages
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Language policy and translation policy
  • Methodology
  • Translation policy in the health care settings of Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network: Hesitating and sporadic efforts
    • Federal legislation that presupposes translation in health care settings
    • Translation is a tool to secure equality and non-discrimination
    • Translation as a measure to enable integration
  • Problems, challenges and underlying ideologies
    • Lack of planning efforts
    • Slack management
    • Translation is a budgetary burden
    • Translation is for newcomers
    • Translation as accommodation versus linguistic acculturation
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 19 July 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.21049.wan
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