The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study

This article investigates the interpreting needs of Spanish security personnel, their perceptions of their interactions with non-Spanish speakers, and considerations regarding the role of interpreters in their work for the various security forces in Spain. The contextual framework summarises the res...

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Main Authors: Heather Adams, Paula Alonso Rodríguez
Format: Article
Language:Aragonese
Published: Escola d'Administració Pública de Catalunya 2019-06-01
Series:Revista de Llengua i Dret - Journal of Language and Law
Subjects:
Online Access:http://revistes.eapc.gencat.cat/index.php/rld/article/view/3299
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author Heather Adams
Paula Alonso Rodríguez
author_facet Heather Adams
Paula Alonso Rodríguez
author_sort Heather Adams
collection DOAJ
description This article investigates the interpreting needs of Spanish security personnel, their perceptions of their interactions with non-Spanish speakers, and considerations regarding the role of interpreters in their work for the various security forces in Spain. The contextual framework summarises the responsibilities of the Spanish security forces, examines the area of law enforcement as a public service sector in which interpreting is required, and explores legal issues in this field. An indication of the number of potential users of interpreting services in the security forces in the specific region studied (the Canary Islands) is followed by a description of the methodology used. We then present the results of our study, which was conducted by means of a questionnaire, drawn up and administered by the authors, on how members of the Civil Guard and the Spanish National and local police forces perceive their language and interpreting needs, as well as their experiences in these fields. As part of this preliminary study, survey respondents were encouraged to share difficulties they had encountered in relation to language mediation, thereby enabling the authors to present an overview of the interlinguistic and intercultural communication difficulties that need to be overcome in these services, as well as service professionals’ impressions of the reality of working with interpreters.
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spelling doaj.art-0bb7b2e354034550aca4ef40450151b12022-12-22T00:11:51ZargEscola d'Administració Pública de CatalunyaRevista de Llengua i Dret - Journal of Language and Law0212-50562013-14532019-06-01071456110.2436/rld.i71.2019.32992865The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary studyHeather Adams0Paula Alonso Rodríguez1Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran CanariaULPGCThis article investigates the interpreting needs of Spanish security personnel, their perceptions of their interactions with non-Spanish speakers, and considerations regarding the role of interpreters in their work for the various security forces in Spain. The contextual framework summarises the responsibilities of the Spanish security forces, examines the area of law enforcement as a public service sector in which interpreting is required, and explores legal issues in this field. An indication of the number of potential users of interpreting services in the security forces in the specific region studied (the Canary Islands) is followed by a description of the methodology used. We then present the results of our study, which was conducted by means of a questionnaire, drawn up and administered by the authors, on how members of the Civil Guard and the Spanish National and local police forces perceive their language and interpreting needs, as well as their experiences in these fields. As part of this preliminary study, survey respondents were encouraged to share difficulties they had encountered in relation to language mediation, thereby enabling the authors to present an overview of the interlinguistic and intercultural communication difficulties that need to be overcome in these services, as well as service professionals’ impressions of the reality of working with interpreters.http://revistes.eapc.gencat.cat/index.php/rld/article/view/3299public service interpretingcommunity interpretinglegal interpretinginterpreting for law-enforcement agentsinterpreting for public security forcescommunication difficultiesperception studiessurvey
spellingShingle Heather Adams
Paula Alonso Rodríguez
The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study
Revista de Llengua i Dret - Journal of Language and Law
public service interpreting
community interpreting
legal interpreting
interpreting for law-enforcement agents
interpreting for public security forces
communication difficulties
perception studies
survey
title The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study
title_full The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study
title_fullStr The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study
title_full_unstemmed The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study
title_short The linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in Gran Canaria: a preliminary study
title_sort linguistic and interpreting needs of security forces in gran canaria a preliminary study
topic public service interpreting
community interpreting
legal interpreting
interpreting for law-enforcement agents
interpreting for public security forces
communication difficulties
perception studies
survey
url http://revistes.eapc.gencat.cat/index.php/rld/article/view/3299
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