In the last few decades, Europe has witnessed a number of significant social changes, which have affected both healthcare institutions and the services which they offer to the population, due to the substantial immigration flows, which have mainly come from African and Eastern-European countries. Linguistic assistance provided by interpreters and cultural mediators has proved to be of fundamental importance in helping patients, from these countries, communicate effectively with medical staff in order to ensure the quickest possible solution to their diagnosed health problems, and to carry out successful check-ups and follow-ups. The need to increase interpreting assistance in the medical field has merged with the necessity of creating a cultural bridge between institutions and immigrants, who often speak languages which interpreters did not learn during their training courses (Baraldi & Gavioli, 2012). The essential goal of this study is to analyze two different types of oral dialogical translation, which are being used increasingly more frequently within the healthcare field: cultural mediation (Gavioli, 2009) and ad hoc interpreting (Bührig & Meyer, 2004). In this respect, six interactions were selected and transcribed, three of which are with an ad hoc interpreter, and three with a cultural mediator. The interactions developed during pre-natal gynaecological check-ups. The obstetrical-gynaecological field setting was chosen in order to create a reference context with a common baseline. All conversations were recorded in a hospital in Northern Italy and the protagonists were a doctor (obstetrician or gynaecologist), occasionally assisted by another healthcare professional, a patient (at different pregnancy stages), and the patient’s husband (in the case of the ad hoc interpreting), or a cultural mediator. The languages used were Italian and English. All the patients, as well as their husbands, in the case of the ad hoc interactions, came from Western African countries, whereas the cultural mediators are bilingual, who also have an immigrant background. The results of the research highlight that, despite the communicative limits of ad hoc interpreting (Cambridge, 1999; Pöchhacker & Kadric, 1999; Wulf & Schmiedbach, 2010), when the interpreter is not only untrained, but also a relative of the patient, the interaction constructed by the different participants display certain features, such as intimacy, familiarity and empathy, which favor the communication process, even though the patient rarely takes part in the conversation. On the other hand, the cultural mediator asks questions which facilitate the most detailed answers possible from the patient, while showing understanding towards the patient’s condition. However, the mediator’s actions do appear to serve the institution’s needs. In conclusion, ad hoc interpreting could be used in those situations where a disease affects not only the patient, but also his/her family members, or in situations in which making the patient feel welcome is the primary concern. Conversely, cultural mediation seems to be more suitable in situations where the interaction is centred on the patient’s illness and the necessary steps which are needed to cure them.
Negli ultimi decenni, a causa dei consistenti flussi migratori provenienti soprattutto da paesi africani e dall’est europeo, si è assistito in Europa a una serie di considerevoli cambiamenti sociali, che hanno interessato anche le strutture sanitarie e i servizi offerti ai cittadini. Tra questi, l’assistenza linguistica fornita da interpreti e mediatori culturali si è rivelata di fondamentale importanza per aiutare i pazienti a comunicare efficacemente con il personale medico, al fine di ottenere una risoluzione più rapida possibile del quesito diagnostico, oppure di portare a termine con successo terapeutico una semplice visita di controllo o di follow-up. La necessità di aumentare il ventaglio dei servizi di interpretariato in ambito medico-sanitario per le ragioni sopra elencate, è emersa di pari passo con l’esigenza di creare un contatto culturale tra le istituzioni e gli immigrati, che spesso parlano delle lingue che gli interpreti professionisti non conoscono, poiché non sono oggetto di studio nei corsi da loro frequentati (Baraldi & Gavioli, 2012). Il presente studio si pone come obiettivo fondamentale l’analisi di due tipologie diverse di traduzione orale dialogica che vengono impiegate sempre più frequentemente in ambito sanitario: la mediazione culturale (Gavioli, 2009) e l’interpretariato ad hoc (Bührig & Meyer, 2004). A questo proposito sono state selezionate e trascritte sei interazioni, di cui tre con interprete ad hoc, e tre con mediatore culturale, sviluppatesi durante controlli ginecologici pre-parto. Si è scelto l’ambito ostetrico-ginecologico in modo da creare un contesto comune di riferimento. Tutte le conversazioni sono state registrate in un ospedale del Nord Italia e vedono come protagonisti un medico (ostetrico/a o ginecologo/a), occasionalmente assistito da un altro professionista sanitario, una paziente in diversi stadi della gravidanza, e il marito della paziente (nei casi dell’interpretariato ad hoc), oppure di un mediatore culturale (nel caso del servizio di mediazione). Le lingue utilizzate sono l’italiano e l’inglese. Tutte le pazienti, così come i loro mariti, nel caso delle interazioni ad hoc, provengono da paesi dell’Africa Occidentale, mentre i mediatori culturali sono persone bilingue che hanno anch’essi una storia di immigrazione. I risultati della ricerca rilevano che, nonostante i limiti comunicativi imposti dalla forma di interpretariato ad hoc (Cambridge, 1999; Pöchhacker & Kadric, 1999; Wulf & Schmiedbach, 2010), nel caso in cui l’interprete ad hoc sia anche parente o conoscente del paziente e non semplicemente un interprete senza alcuna qualifica professionale, l’interazione che viene costruita dai partecipanti presenta alcune caratteristiche, quali la confidenza, la familiarità e l’immedesimazione, che favoriscono la comunicazione, anche se la paziente interviene raramente nella conversazione. D’altro canto, il mediatore formula le domande in modo tale da favorire delle risposte il più dettagliate possibile da parte della paziente, mostrando, al contempo, comprensione verso le condizioni della stessa. Tuttavia, le azioni del mediatore sembrano essere chiaramente volte al raggiungimento degli obiettivi istituzionali stabiliti dal medico, quali l’ottenimento di informazioni utili alla diagnosi. In conclusione, l’interpretariato ad hoc potrebbe essere più utile in situazioni in cui la patologia coinvolge non solo il paziente, ma anche alcuni membri della sua famiglia, oppure in casi di prima accoglienza. Parallelamente, la mediazione culturale sembra essere più adatta a situazioni in cui l’interazione è focalizzata sulla malattia del paziente e i passi necessari per curarla.
Quando il paziente non parla la stessa lingua del medico: un'analisi di interazioni in ambito sanitario con interpreti occasionali a confronto con mediatori culturali
SOPRANZI, MICHELA
2020
Abstract
In the last few decades, Europe has witnessed a number of significant social changes, which have affected both healthcare institutions and the services which they offer to the population, due to the substantial immigration flows, which have mainly come from African and Eastern-European countries. Linguistic assistance provided by interpreters and cultural mediators has proved to be of fundamental importance in helping patients, from these countries, communicate effectively with medical staff in order to ensure the quickest possible solution to their diagnosed health problems, and to carry out successful check-ups and follow-ups. The need to increase interpreting assistance in the medical field has merged with the necessity of creating a cultural bridge between institutions and immigrants, who often speak languages which interpreters did not learn during their training courses (Baraldi & Gavioli, 2012). The essential goal of this study is to analyze two different types of oral dialogical translation, which are being used increasingly more frequently within the healthcare field: cultural mediation (Gavioli, 2009) and ad hoc interpreting (Bührig & Meyer, 2004). In this respect, six interactions were selected and transcribed, three of which are with an ad hoc interpreter, and three with a cultural mediator. The interactions developed during pre-natal gynaecological check-ups. The obstetrical-gynaecological field setting was chosen in order to create a reference context with a common baseline. All conversations were recorded in a hospital in Northern Italy and the protagonists were a doctor (obstetrician or gynaecologist), occasionally assisted by another healthcare professional, a patient (at different pregnancy stages), and the patient’s husband (in the case of the ad hoc interpreting), or a cultural mediator. The languages used were Italian and English. All the patients, as well as their husbands, in the case of the ad hoc interactions, came from Western African countries, whereas the cultural mediators are bilingual, who also have an immigrant background. The results of the research highlight that, despite the communicative limits of ad hoc interpreting (Cambridge, 1999; Pöchhacker & Kadric, 1999; Wulf & Schmiedbach, 2010), when the interpreter is not only untrained, but also a relative of the patient, the interaction constructed by the different participants display certain features, such as intimacy, familiarity and empathy, which favor the communication process, even though the patient rarely takes part in the conversation. On the other hand, the cultural mediator asks questions which facilitate the most detailed answers possible from the patient, while showing understanding towards the patient’s condition. However, the mediator’s actions do appear to serve the institution’s needs. In conclusion, ad hoc interpreting could be used in those situations where a disease affects not only the patient, but also his/her family members, or in situations in which making the patient feel welcome is the primary concern. Conversely, cultural mediation seems to be more suitable in situations where the interaction is centred on the patient’s illness and the necessary steps which are needed to cure them.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14242/78867
URN:NBN:IT:UNIMORE-78867