The collaborative construction of the stand-by mode of interpreting in police interviews with suspects

Abstract

Interpreting is primarily conceptualized as a form of linguistic assistance between two monolingual speakers even though many of those requiring interpreting services in public service settings have some knowledge of the language of the institution (Angermeyer 2015). A limited knowledge of the host language may be considered sufficient to communicate without assistance, insufficient and/or inadequate, or otherwise acknowledged and be combined with the on-and-off assistance of an interpreter. This is the so-called ‘stand-by mode’ of interpreting (Angermeyer 2008, p.390). The case study presented in this thesis explores interactional dynamics and participation patterns in two authentic video-recorded police interviews conducted in English with two Spanish speaking suspects and a professional interpreter, in which the stand-by mode of interpreting was used. Drawing on Conversation Analysis, Interactional Sociolinguistics and on a multimodal approach to the analysis, this thesis looks at the unique footprint of the stand-by mode of interpreting as enacted in the way the interaction is organized, the patterns of use, nonuse and initiation of interpreter-mediated sequences, the contextual conditions surrounding interpreted sequences, and the functions and demands of interpreting in the stand-by mode as a regime that is used selectively and locally. This thesis contributes to conceptualizing a new interpreting mode within the Dialogue Interpreting paradigm which is likely to become more and more relevant in today’s multilingual societies, problematizes its risks in police interviews, and highlights its potential.