La intermediación lingüística por parte de menores (ILM) desde la perspectiva de los progenitores

Mireia Vargas-Urpí; Aran  Romero Moreno

doi:10.5565/rev/papers.3143

Child Language Brokering (CLB): A Parent’s Perspective

Authors

Mireia Vargas-Urpí Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6302-581X
Aran Romero Moreno Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8886-5372

PDF (ES)

Abstract

This paper explores Child Language Brokering (CLB), that is, the translation and interpreting tasks that children from migrated families carry out for adults with limited competency in local languages. It is based on the perspectives of parents who have relied on their children for communicating at public services. The authors analyse in-depth interviews conducted with Arabic, Amazigh, Pakistani and Chinese parents residing in Barcelona and identify the emotional intricacies and practical difficulties these kinds of situations entail. The main conclusion is that CLB is not the optimal solution to overcome linguistic barriers in the migratory context, despite being a common and spontaneous practice among the four communities covered in this study.

Keywords

Child Language Brokering, CLB, migration, linguistic barriers, minors, progenitors, intercultural communication

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Author Biographies

Mireia Vargas-Urpí, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Mireia Vargas-Urpí holds a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). She is an associate lecturer in the Department of Translation and Interpreting and East Asian Studies at the UAB, where she teaches Chinese language and translation. She is a member of the MIRAS and TXICC groups and has led the Young Natural Interpreters project: Child language mediation in education, social services and health care (RTI2018-098566-A-I00) (2019-2022).

Aran Romero Moreno, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Aran Romero-Moreno holds a PhD in Intercultural Studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), a Master's degree in Anthropology and Ethnography (University of Barcelona) and a Bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies (UAB). He specialises in the anthropological study of Chinese society and urbanity in China, although she has also worked extensively on the phenomenon of language mediation by minors (ILM). He has participated in the funded project Young Natural Interpreters: Child language mediation in education, social services and health care (RTI2018-098566-A-I00) of the MIRAS research group (UAB).