Community Translation and Interpretation Services in Settlement Agencies: Perspectives from Translators and Interpreters in New Brunswick, Canada

Year 2024, Issue: 21, 1 - 12, 18.12.2024

Anne Beinchet

https://doi.org/10.26650/iujts.2024.1548077

Abstract

Smaller Canadian provinces have welcomed record numbers of newcomers in recent years, facing large-scale settlement support challenges. Language is often seen as a barrier as it slows down the integration process. One tool for facilitating communication and access to information is community translation and interpretation (CTI). To date, no data are available regarding CTI services procurement in the province of New Brunswick. In order to provide an overview of CTI services made available to newcomers in New Brunswick settlement agencies, I conducted mixed-method research com bining surveys sent to staff and to community translators and interpreters working in various agencies, as well as interviews with newcomers. This article examines the realities and perspectives expressed by the translators and interpreters. The research gives a clearer understanding of who they are and how they offer their services. As a matter of fact, community transla tors/interpreters are usually volunteers who have little to no training. While relying on non-professionals can cause different challenges, translators and interpreters express aneagernesstoreceivetraining.Theresearch,conducted in partnership with the New Brunswick Multicultural Council, is the first step in a broader research project that aims to depict the situation of CTI services in Atlantic Canada.

Keywords

community translation and interpretation services, community translators and interpreters, settlement agencies, New Brunswick, Canada

References

• Abraham, D., & Fiola, M. A. (2021). Making the case for community interpreting in health care: from needs assessment to risk management. Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series-Themes in Translation Studies, 5. https://doi.org/10.52034/lanstts.v5i.160 google scholar
• Abood, J., Woodward, K., Polonsky, M., Green, J., Tadjoeddin, Z. and Renzaho, A. (2021). Understanding immigrant settlement service literacy in the context of settlement service utilisation, settlement outcomes and wellbeing among new migrants: A mixed methods systematic review. Well-being, Space and Society, 2, 100057. doi:10.1016/j.wss.2021.100057 google scholar
• Beinchet, A. (2022). La traduction en milieu social: examen et proposition de modeles pour la formation au Canada. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://DalSpace.library.dal.ca//handle/10222/81536 google scholar
• Brunette, L., Bastin, G., Hemlin, I. and Clarke, H (eds.) (2003). The Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the community. Selected papers from the third international conference on interpreting in legal, health and social Services settings, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 22-26 May 2001. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. google scholar
• Canadian Multiculturalism Act, RSC 1985, c 24 (4th Supp), https://calii.ca/t/527pf, retrieved on 2024-07-19 google scholar
• Carr, S.E., Roda P., Roberts, R.P., Dufour, A. and Steyn, D. (1997). The Critical Link: Interpreters in the Community Papers from the 1st international conference on interpreting in legal, health and social service settings, Geneva Park, Canada, 1-4 June 1995. Benjamins google scholar
• Cisneros, O. & De Leon, A. (2020). The Newcomer’s Guide to Edmonton and Community Translation: Materially and Culturally Situated Practices. TTR, 33(2), 95-123. doi:10.7202/1077713ar google scholar
• Cordoba Serrano, M. S. (2022). Multilingualism Management in Canada through the Prism of Translation Policies. In M.C. Guzman & S. Tahir (Eds), Negotiating linguistic plurality: translation and multilingualism in Canada and beyond (pp. 129-160). McGill-Queen’s University Press. google scholar
• Cordoba Serrano, M. S. (2016). Translation Policies and Community Translation: The U. S., a Case Study. New Voices in Translation Studies, 14(1), 122-163. doi:10.14456/nvts.2016.8 google scholar
• Esses, V.M., Hamilton, L.K., Aslam, A., & Barros, P.R.P. (2023). Measuring welcoming communities: A toolkit for communities and those who support them. Pathways to Prosperity Partnership. http://p2pcanada.ca/library/measuring-welcoming-communities-a-toolkit-for-communities-and-those-who-support-them/ google scholar
• Fiola, M. A. (2004). Le « gain et le dommage » de l’interpretation en milieu social. TTR, 17(2), 115-130 doi:10.7202/013274ar google scholar
• Government of New Brunswick (2021). Stabilizing Health Care: An Urgent Call to Action. https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/h-s/pdf/Stabilizing-health-care.pdf google scholar
• Government of New Brunswick (n.d.). NB Critical Workers Pilot. https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/immigration/immigrating-to-nb/nb-critical-workers-pilot.html# google scholar
• Feng, H., Schimmele, C. & Stick, M. (2023). Changing demographics of racialized people in Canada. Statistics Canada doi:10.25318/36280001202300800001-eng google scholar
• Haan, M., Li, Y., & Finlay, L. (2023). Stay a While: the Retention of Immigrants in Rural Canada. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 25(1), DOI:10.1007/s12134-023-01099-5 google scholar
• Hamm, L. D., Bragdon, M., McLoughlin, J., Massfeller, H., & Hamm, L. A. (2021). Diversity, Growth, and Understanding: School Responses to Immigration in Rural New Brunswick. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 197, 2-27. doi:10.7202/1083330ar google scholar
• Hebert, L. (2016). A Postbilingual Zone? Language and Translation Policy in Toronto. Tusaaji: A Translation Review, 5(1). doi:10.25071/1925-5624.40331 google scholar
• Hunt, L.M., & de Voogd, K.B. (2007). Are Good Intentions Good Enough? Informed Consent Without Trained Interpreters. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22: 598-605. doi:10.1007/s11606-007-0136-1 google scholar
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2024). IRCC, Deputy Minister, Transition Binder, 2024-Client Service and Processing Times. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/transition-binders/deputy-minister-2024/client-service-processing-times.html google scholar
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. (2023). 2023 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration. google scholar
• https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/pdf/english/corporate/publications-manuals/annual-report-2023-en.pdf google scholar
• Kappelhof, J. (2017). Survey Research and the Quality of Survey Data Among Ethnic Minorities. In Total Survey Error in Practice (pp. 235-252). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:10.1002/9781119041702.ch11 google scholar
• Kelly, M., & Nguyen, M. (2023). Choosing to Stay: Understanding Immigrant Retention in Four Non-metropolitan Counties in Southern Ontario. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 24(6), 1055-1075. doi:10.1007/s12134-023-01034-8 google scholar
• Lai, M. & Gonzalez, E., 2023. The Multilingual Community Translation Classroom: Challenges and Strategies to Train Profession-Ready Graduates. In E. Gonzalez, K. Stachowiak-Szymczak, & D. Amanatido (Eds), Community Translation Research and Practice (pp. 212-229). London: Routledge. google scholar
• Lamboley, M. (2022). Les violences basees sur l’honneur a Moncton : les balbutiements neo-brunswickois. In A. Heine, E. Jimenez & C. Boussara-Dansereau (Eds), Violences genrees - Enjeux interculturels et feministes (pp. 97-126). Paris: Academia. google scholar
• Li, P. S. (1999). The Multiculturalism Debate. In P. S. Li (Ed.), Race and Ethnic Relations in Canada (p. 148-177). Oxford: Oxford University Press. google scholar
• Liu, J., & Guo, S. (2023). The making of ideal immigrant settlement workers: examining the technologies of ruling power in Canadian immigrant service organisations. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(9), 2229-2246. doi:10.1080/1369183X.2022.2158791 google scholar
• Mason, I. (1999). Dialogue Interpreting: A Selective Bibliography of Research. The Translator, 5(2), 381-385. doi:10.1080/13556509.1999.10799052 google scholar
• McDonald, T., & Miah, P. (2021). Immigrant retention in New Brunswick: An analysis using linked federal-provincial administrative data. Fred-ericton, NB: New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training. https://araisa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Immigrant-Retention-in-New-Brunswick.pdf google scholar
• Official Languages Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) google scholar
• Opportunities NB. (2022). Connect, Grow, Prosper, Strategic Plan 2022-27. ONB Canada. https://onbcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ONB_StratPlan_EN.pdf google scholar
• Ozolins, U. (2014). Descriptions of Interpreting and their Ethical Consequences. FITISPos International Journal, 1, 23-41. doi:10.37536/FITISPos-IJ.2014.1.0.9 google scholar
• Pandey, M., Maina, R. G., Amoyaw, J., Li, Y., Kamrul, R., Michaels, C. R., & Maroof, R. (2021). Impacts of English language proficiency on healthcare access, use, and outcomes among immigrants: a qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1), 741. doi:10.1186/s12913-021-06750-4 google scholar
• Presas, M. (2000). Bilingual competence and Translation Competence. In C. Schaffner, B. Adab (Eds.), Developing Translation Competence (pp. 19-31). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins. doi:10.1075/btl.38.04pre google scholar
• Public Policy Forum (2018). The People Imperative: Strategies to Grow Population and Prosperity in Atlantic Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://ppforum.ca/publications/the-people-imperative-strategies-to-grow-population-and-prosperity-in-atlantic-canada/ google scholar
• Purnell, L. (2018). Cross Cultural Communication: Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication, Interpretation and Translation. In: Douglas, M., Pacquiao, D., Purnell, L. (eds) Global Applications of Culturally Competent Health Care: Guidelines for Practice (pp. 131-142). Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69332-3_14 google scholar
• Pym, A. (2003). Redefining Translation Competence in an Electronic Age. In Defence of a Minimalist Approach. Meta, 48(4), 481-497. doi:10.7202/008533ar google scholar
• Rasi, S. (2020). Impact of language barriers on access to healthcare services by immigrant patients: A systematic review. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 15(1), 35-48. doi:10.3316/ielapa.057892660325679 google scholar
• Roberts, R.P., Carr, S.E., Abraham, D., & Dufour, A. (2000). The Critical Link 2: Interpreters in the Community. Selected papers from the Second International Conference on Interpreting in legal, health and social service settings, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 19-23 May 1998. doi:10.1075/btl.31 google scholar
• Salami, B., Mason, A., Salma, J., Yohani, S., Amin, M., Okeke-Ihejirika, P., & Ladha, T. (2020). Access to Healthcare for Immigrant Children in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(9), 3320. doi:10.3390/ijerph17093320 google scholar
• Seale, E., Reaume, M., Batista, R. (2022). Concordance linguistique patient-medecin et parametres de qualite et de securite des soins chez les beneficiaires de soins a domicile fragiles admis a l’höpital en Ontario, au Canada. Journal de l’association medicale canadienne. 194(36), E1256-E1266. doi:10.1503/cmaj.212155-f google scholar
• Simon, P., Lopatin, E., Oliveri, A. M., Gonzalez-Ferrer, A., & Fortunato, C. (2019). Surveying Ethnic Minorities and Migrants. A Legal Framework for Collecting Data and Other Methodological Issues. (Version 1). Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.384148 google scholar
• Statistics Canada (2024a). Canada’s population estimates: Strong population growth in 2023. The Daily, Wednesday, March 27, 2024 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/240327/dq240327c-eng.pdf?st=vYUXlFnu google scholar
• Statistics Canada (2024b). Provincial variation in the retention rates of immigrants, 2022 The Daily, Wednesday, February 14, 2024 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240214/dq240214a-eng.htm google scholar
• Statistics Canada (2022). Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/fogs-spg/Page.cfm?lang=E&topic=6&dguid=2021A000213 google scholar
• Taibi, M., & Ozolins, U. (2016). Community Translation. Bloomsbury Publishing. google scholar
• Teng, W. & Crezee, I. H. M. (2022). Translation Theories in the Context of the Chinese Language - How Applicable are they to Community Translation? New Voices in Translation Studies, 26, (pp.110-135). google scholar
• The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11, <https://canlii.ca/t/ldsx> google scholar
• Valero-Garces, C. (2019). University of Alcala Intercultural communication: public service interpreting and translation. In R. Valdeon & Â. Vidal (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Spanish translation studies (pp. 211-226). New York, Abington: Routledge google scholar