Cover not available
Article published In:
Tangible translation: Migration and materiality
Edited by Andrea Ciribuco and Anne O’Connor
[Translation and Interpreting Studies 17:1] 2022
► pp. 42–65

Plurilingualism, multimodality and machine translation in medical consultations

A case study

ORCID logo | ICAR Lab (ENS de Lyon)
This contribution deals with the use of Google Translate as one among many resources that participants mobilize to overcome the language barrier in plurilingual medical consultations. It is grounded on a two-hour interaction involving a family of Albanian asylum seekers newly arrived in France and a French general practitioner. To reach mutual comprehension, participants rely on the mediation of a lay interpreter (one of the family’s children) who translates for the doctor and the other family members. In this interaction, English is used as a lingua franca, while machine translation is conducted between French and Albanian. The analysis will focus on the interactional work that participants accomplish in order to: (1) propose or solicit the use of Google Translate and make the computer accessible to all participants; (2) detect and repair misunderstandings caused by an unsuitable translation.
Keywords: healthcare interactions, machine translation, multimodality, plurilingualism, English lingua franca
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Doctor-patient interactions and digital tools
    • 2.1Research on translation devices in medical settings
  • 3.Methodology and context of the study
    • 3.1The case study
  • 4.Select excerpts
    • 4.1Rearranging the space
    • 4.2Trying to reach mutual comprehension
  • 5.Final discussion and perspectives
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 11 February 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.21012.pic
References (50)
References
Antonini, Rachele. 2010. “The study of child language brokering: past, current and emerging research.” mediAzioni 101: 1974–4382.Google Scholar
Antonini, Rachele, Letizia Cirillo, Linda Rossato, and Ira Torresi (eds). 2017. Non-professional Interpreting and Translation: The State of the Art and Future of an Emerging Field of Research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baraldi, Claudio, and Laura Gavioli (eds). 2012. Coordinating Participation in Dialogue Interpreting. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Béal, Arnaud, and Nicolas Chambon. 2015. “Le recours à l’interprète en santé mentale : enjeux et problèmes.” Rhizome 55(1): 9–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bot, Hanneke. 2005. Dialogue Interpreting in Mental Health. Amsterdam: Rodopi. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bowker, Lynne, and Jairo B. Ciro. 2019. Machine Translation and Global Research: Towards Improved Machine Translation Literacy in the Scholarly Community. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brisset, Camilla, Yvan Leanza, and Karine Laforest. 2012. “Working with interpreters in health care: A systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative studies.” Patient Education and Counseling 91(2): 131–140. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chang, Dwayne, Isaac Thyer, Dickon Hayne, and Darren. 2014. “Using mobile technology to overcome language barriers in medicine.” Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 96(6): 23–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ciribuco, Andrea. 2020. “Translating the village. Translation as part of the everyday lives of asylum seekers in Italy.” Translation Spaces 9(2): 179–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cox, Antoon and Katrijn Maryns. 2021. “Multilingual consultations in urgent medical care”, The Translator 27(1): 75–93. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cosnier, Jacques, Grosjean, Michèle, and Michèle Lacoste (Eds). 1993. Soins et communication. Lyon, PUL/ARCI.Google Scholar
Diminescu, Dana. 2008. “The connected migrant: An epistemological manifesto.” Social Science Information 47(4): 565–579. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dekker, Rianne, and Godfried Engbersen. 2014. “How social media transform migrant networks and facilitate migration.” Global Networks 14(4): 401–418. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Moissac, Danielle, and Sarah Bowen. 2019. “Impact of language barriers on quality of care and patient safety for official language minority Francophones in Canada.” Journal of Patient Experience 6(1): 24–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Drew, Paul, and Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen. 2014. “Requesting – from speech act to recruitment.” In Requesting in Social Interaction, ed. by Paul Drew, and Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, Charles, and Marjorie Goodwin. 1986. “Gesture and coparticipation in the activity of searching for a word.” Semiotica 62(1–2): 51–75. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Haith-Cooper, Melanie. 2014. “Mobile translators for non-English-speaking women accessing maternity services.” British Journal of Midwifery 22(11). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heritage, John. 1984. “A change-of-state token and aspects of its sequential placement.” In Structures of Social action, ed. by J. Maxwell Atkinson, and John Heritage, 299–345. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heritage, John, and Douglas W. Maynard. 2006. “Introduction: Analyzing interaction between doctors and patients in primary care encounters.” In Communication in Medical Care: Interaction between Primary Care Physicians and Patients, ed. by John Heritage and Douglas W. Maynard, 1–21. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Frers, Lars. 2009. “Space, materiality and the contingency of action: A sequential analysis of the patient’s file in doctor-patient interactions.” Discourse Studies 11(3): 285–303. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leite, Fernando, et al. 2016. “Using Google Translate© in the hospital: A case report.” Technology and Health Care 24(6): 965–968. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, Jennifer, Will Baker, and Martin Dewey. 2017. The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jouin, Emilie, and Anna Claudia Ticca. In press. “Le dilemme de la chercheure : composer avec les questions déontologiques et éthiques dans l’enquête de terrains multilingues en santé.” Bulletin de l’AFAS Sonorités.
Katz, Vikki. 2014. “Children as brokers of their immigrant families’ health-care connections.” Social Problems 61(2): 194–215. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Komito, Lee. 2011. “Social media and migration: Virtual community 2.0.” Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology 62 (6): 1075–1086. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mahroug, Naoual, and Yasmine Bouagga. 2020. “Demander l’asile dans sa langue.” Plein Droit 124(1): 15–18. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Maynard, Douglas W., and John Heritage. 2005. “Conversation analysis, doctor–patient interaction and medical communication.” Medical Education 39(4): 428–435. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Miller, Joseph, et al. 2018. “Simple patient care instructions translate best: safety guidelines for physician use of Google Translate.” Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management, 25(1).Google Scholar
Mondada, Lorenza. 2014. “The local constitution of multimodal resources for social interaction.” Journal of Pragmatics 651: 137–156. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, Søren Beck. 2014. “I’ll just see what you had before”: Making computer use relevant while patients present their problems.” In Interacting with Objects: Language, Materiality, and Social Activity, ed. by Maurice Nevile, Pentti Haddington, Trine Heinemann, and Mirka Rauniomaa, 79–98. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2016. “How doctors manage consulting computer records while interacting with patients.” Research on Language and Social Interaction 49(1): 58–74. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich. 2009. Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language, and Culture. London: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Panayiotou, Anita, et al. 2019. “Language translation apps in health care settings: Expert opinion.” JMIR mHealth and uHealth 7(4): e11316. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Patil, Sumant, and Patrick Davies. 2014. “Use of Google Translate in medical communication: Evaluation of accuracy.” British Medical Journal 3491: g7392. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pennycook, Alastair. 2017. “Translanguaging and semiotic assemblages.” International Journal of Multilingualism 141: 269–282. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pennycook, Alastair, and Emi Otsuji. 2014. “Metrolingual multitasking and spatial repertoires: ‘Pizza Mo two minutes coming’.” Journal of Sociolinguistics 18 (2): 161–184. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Phelan, Mary. 2012. “Medical Interpreting and the Law in the European Union.” European Journal of Health Law 19 (4): 333–353. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Piccoli, Vanessa, Anna Claudia Ticca, and Véronique Traverso. 2019. “Go Internet it’s here” : démarches administratives de personnes précaires ou en demande d’asile.” Langage et société 2(2): 81–110. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pilnick, Alison, and Robert Dingwall. 2011. “On the remarkable persistence of asymmetry in doctor/patient interaction: A critical review.” Social Science and Medicine 72(8): 1374–1382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Robinson, Jeffrey David. 1998. “Getting down to business: Talk, gaze and body orientation during openings of doctor-patient consultations.” Human Communication Research 25(1): 98–124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Robinson, Jeffrey David, and Tanya Stivers. 2001. “Achieving activity transitions in physician-patient encounters: From history taking to physical examination.” Human Communication Research 27(2): 253–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sidnell, Jack, and Tanya Stivers (eds). 2013. Handbook of Conversation Analysis. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar
Starlander, Marianne. 2016. Méta-évaluation de la traduction automatique de la parole (TAP) dans le domaine médical. PhD Dissertation: University of Geneva.
Ten Have, Paul. 2006. “On the interactive constitution of medical encounters.” Revue française de linguistique appliquée XI1: 85–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ticca, Anna Claudia, and Véronique Traverso. 2015. “Territoires corporels, ressenti et paroles d’action : des moments délicats de la consultation médicale avec interprète.” Langage et société 153(3): 45–74. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Traverso, Véronique. 2017. “Formulations, reformulations et traductions dans l’interaction : le cas de consultations médicales avec des migrants.” Revue Française de Linguistique Appliquée 2 (22): 147–164. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vertovec, Steven. 2007. “Super-diversity and its implications.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 301: 1024–1054. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vollmer, Stefan. 2017. “Syrian newcomers and their digital literacy practices.” Language Issues 28(2): 66–72.Google Scholar
Wadensjö, Cecilia. 1998. Interpreting as Interaction. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Zavratnik, Simona, and Sanja Cukut Krilić. 2018. “Digital routes, ‘digital migrants’: From empowerment to control over refugees’ digital footprints.” Družboslovne Razprave 34(89): 143–163.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Jodairi Pineh, Aiyoub
2024. Review of Meredith, Giles & Stommel (2022): Analysing Digital Interaction. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics 37:2 ► pp. 769 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.