Invisible, visible or everywhere in between? Perceptions and actual behaviors of non-professional interpreters and interpreting users

Abstract

The notion of the invisible interpreter, once – and for long – an uncontested principle, has recently started to be deconstructed in favour of the image of the interpreter as an active third party in the interaction. This study aims to contribute to this process through an analysis of interpreter visibility in a prison setting using a corpus of 19 interpreted interviews and pre-interview surveys. It describes the self-perceptions of non-professional interpreters and the expectations of interpreting users about the interpreter role, and contrasts these with actual behaviours during the interpreted event. Results indicate that these interpreters tend to perceive themselves as less visible than they in fact are and that interpreters’ visibility in actual interaction is negotiated by all parties through conversational acceptance and rejection mechanisms.