Comunicación en situación de crisis y diversidad lingüística en Noruega durante la pandemia de COVID-19: el caso de los servicios de interpretación y traducción

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected some inhabitants of Norway more than others. Even in the first wave, foreign-born immigrants had more confirmed infections and were hospitalized more frequently than other residents (Indseth et al., 2020). One factor seems to be a lack of information in languages other than Norwegian. Strategic communication of pandemic policies to those who do not speak Norwegian has not functioned on an operational or a grassroots level (NOU, 2021, p. 175). However, after some initial confusion, translations of government information become available on a multitude of platforms. Public service employees,  NGOs, and mediators were involved in targeted information campaigns. This article traces the state of translation and interpretation, including availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability, during the first year  and a half of the Covid-19 pandemic (March 2020 – September 2021) in Norway. Among other issues, the article highlights the importance of making translation and interpreting essential services in future contingency plans.La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado a los habitantes de Noruega de manera desigual.Durante la primera ola ya se había constatado que los inmigrantes nacidos en el extranjero representaban cifras más altas de contagios e ingresos en hospital que otros residentes (Indseth et al., 2020). La falta de información en otras lenguas, además del noruego, parece haber sido uno de los factores que impulsaron esta disparidad. La comunicación estratégica de medidas relacionadas con la pandemia relativas a los que no hablan noruego no ha funcionado de forma operativa ni estructural (NOU, 2021, p. 175). No obstante, tras la confusión inicial, la información transmitida por el gobierno empezó a traducirse y a difundirse en multitud de plataformas. Funcionarios de los servicios públicos, ONGs y mediadores participaron en campañas de información dirigidas a grupos lingüísticos concretos. En este artículo se analiza la situación de la traducción y la interpretación durante el primer año y medio de la pandemia de COVID-19 (marzo de 2020 a septiembre de 2021) en Noruega, en particular, en lo relativo a la disponibilidad, accesibilidad, aceptabilidad y adaptabilidad. Entre otras cuestiones, el artículo destaca la importancia de integrar a la traducción y la interpretación como servicios indispensables en futuros planes de contingencia

Means of Expressing and Implying Emotions and Impoliteness in Croatian and Montenegrin Public Discourse

This article addresses means of expressing and implying emotions (Langlotz, Locher 2012) in realizations of impoliteness in written discourse thematizing language and identity in Croatian and Montenegrin media in 2010 and 2011. Realizations of impoliteness often relate to communicating an emotional stance that can trigger emotional responses in readers. Our discourse sample can be described as “disputes about language and identity” (cf. Felberg, Šarić 2013), which is largely characterized by conflictual disagreements. Conflictual disagreements, as Jones (2001) or Langlotz and Locher (2012) put it, do not leave one cold in face-to-face interaction: they arouse feelings of annoyance, irritation, anger, or contempt directed to the communicative partner. These observations are relevant in our context, although we deal with written discourse. The main participants in our data include well-known intellectuals, journalists, and editors. They all defend or attaca a position in discussing, among other things, “how similar ‘our’ language (Croatian/Montenegrin) is to ‘their’ language” (Serbian), and “what makes this language (Croatian/Montenegrin) a distinctive and independent entity”. These participants clearly position themselves in relation to other participants. Their positioning of the self and the other person involves negative identity-ascribing practices. Taking into consideration parameters such as the role of participants in discourse and society, context, co-text, and activity types in which discourse participants engaged, we identified various highly context-dependent types and functions of impoliteness realizations (cf. Šarić, Felberg 2015). Contrary to our expectations, the participants in the media discourse in both countries frequently use impoliteness both strategically and systematically while defending their positions. The impoliteness realizations point to emotively significant places in discourse. Their use has several functions: a prominent one is coercion through legitimizing one’s own standpoints and delegitimizing those of one’s opponents.This article addresses means of expressing and implying emotions (Langlotz, Locher 2012) in realizations of impoliteness in written discourse thematizing language and identity in Croatian and Montenegrin media in 2010 and 2011. Realizations of impoliteness often relate to communicating an emotional stance that can trigger emotional responses in readers. Our discourse sample can be described as “disputes about language and identity” (cf. Felberg, Šarić 2013), which is largely characterized by conflictual disagreements. Conflictual disagreements, as Jones (2001) or Langlotz and Locher (2012) put it, do not leave one cold in face-to-face interaction: they arouse feelings of annoyance, irritation, anger, or contempt directed to the communicative partner. These observations are relevant in our context, although we deal with written discourse. The main participants in our data include well-known intellectuals, journalists, and editors. They all defend or attaca a position in discussing, among other things, “how similar ‘our’ language (Croatian/Montenegrin) is to ‘their’ language” (Serbian), and “what makes this language (Croatian/Montenegrin) a distinctive and independent entity”. These participants clearly position themselves in relation to other participants. Their positioning of the self and the other person involves negative identity-ascribing practices. Taking into consideration parameters such as the role of participants in discourse and society, context, co-text, and activity types in which discourse participants engaged, we identified various highly context-dependent types and functions of impoliteness realizations (cf. Šarić, Felberg 2015). Contrary to our expectations, the participants in the media discourse in both countries frequently use impoliteness both strategically and systematically while defending their positions. The impoliteness realizations point to emotively significant places in discourse. Their use has several functions: a prominent one is coercion through legitimizing one’s own standpoints and delegitimizing those of one’s opponents

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A blended approach to interpreter education

After a brief description of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Public Sector Inter-preting (PSI) at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, its overall structure and the rationale behind the choice of a blended approach model in interpreter education, this chapter examines the didactics of selected learning activities that illustrate the BA’s overall experiential-dialogical approach towards learning. The analysis of the didactic experiences is presented, and different factors that necessitate the chosen approach are discussed: some of them pertain to inher-ent didactic aspects (e.g., who are the students in terms of age, gender, previous education, and language background, and what do they need to learn?) or to broader societal perspectives, such as societal and systemic factors that are ad-vancing or inhibiting the development of interpreter education. Against this background, the main part of the chapter focuses on organised collaborative learning activities, specifically a) onsite role-play and b) online activities, both synchronous (chats) and asynchronous (discussions). Particular attention is given to how online and onsite activities fit together

Training Public Service Employees in How to Communicate Via Interpreter in Norway: Achievements and Challenges

Abstract: The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes interpreter accreditation, interpreter training, and the Norwegian National Register of Interpreters. In this article, we argue that training public service employees in how to communicate via interpreters should also be a crucial element to ensure quality interpreting and thus equal access to services for everyone. We analyze the training options in Norway, not as an isolated phenomenon, but in the context of the actors, relations, and systems that constitute interpreting in the public sector. The analysis consists of two main parts: 1) mapping the field of interpreting in the Norwegian public sector based on Ozolins’s (2000; 2010) model of governmental responses and the role of interpreter-user training and 2) examining the underlying dynamics of the current state, focusing on the role of the market and the connections between training interpreter-users and attitudes toward interpreting in the public sector.Resumen: La estrategia nacional noruega sobre interpretación en los servicios públicos abarca la acreditación y formación de intérpretes y el llamado Registro Nacional de Intérpretes. En este artículo defendemos la necesidad de formar también a los empleados públicos en la comunicación mediada por intérprete para garantizar la calidad de la interpretación y el acceso igualitario a estos servicios. Las opciones formativas en Noruega se analizan no como fenómenos aislados, sino en el contexto de los actores, relaciones y sistemas que conforman la interpretación social. Nuestro análisis tiene dos partes: 1) radiografía de la interpretación en los servicios públicos noruegos según el modelo de respuestas gubernamentales de Ozolins (2000; 2010) y papel de la formación de los usuarios de interpretación y 2) análisis de las dinámicas que hoy día subyacen a esta cuestión, especialmente el papel del mercado y la relación entre formación y actitud de los usuarios de interpretación en el sector público

Tandem teaching in the education of public service interpreters

This chapter addresses the question of how to perform tandem teaching within an experiential-dialogic approach to learning and focuses on how course co-ordinators assist in the facilitators’ preparation for their joint activities in the classroom. There are two types of facilitators in the model: facilitators of inter-preting strategies and facilitators of language strategies cooperating in the su-pervision of role-played exercises. The chapter first presents the training mod-el developed at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet). Then, it describes the basic ideas, aims, and organization applied in coaching the facilitators on how to cooperate in the classroom. The model’s foundation is on-the-job training that includes seminars, follow-up meetings both on-campus and online, and group and individual feedback and evaluations. After presenting the training model, we discuss some advantages and challenges associated with the ap-proach

Formación de los empleados de los servicios públicos sobre cómo comunicarse a través de los intérpretes en Noruega: logros y desafíos

The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes interpreter accreditation, interpreter training, and the Norwegian National Register of Interpreters. In this article, we argue that training public service employees in how to communicate via interpreters should also be a crucial element to ensure quality interpreting and thus equal access to services for everyone. We analyze the training options in Norway, not as an isolated phenomenon, but in the context of the actors, relations, and systems that constitute interpreting in the public sector. The analysis consists of two main parts: 1) mapping the field of interpreting in the Norwegian public sector based on Ozolins’s (2000; 2010) model of governmental responses and the role of interpreter-user training and 2) examining the underlying dynamics of the current state, focusing on the role of the market and the connections between training interpreter-users and attitudes toward interpreting in the public sector.La estrategia nacional noruega sobre interpretación en los servicios públicos abarca la acreditación y formación de intérpretes y el llamado Registro Nacional de Intérpretes. En este artículo defendemos la necesidad de formar también a los empleados públicos en la comunicación mediada por intérprete para garantizar la calidad de la interpretación y el acceso igualitario a estos servicios. Las opciones formativas en Noruega se analizan no como fenómenos aislados, sino en el contexto de los actores, relaciones y sistemas que conforman la interpretación social. Nuestro análisis tiene dos partes: 1) radiografía de la interpretación en los servicios públicos noruegos según el modelo de respuestas gubernamentales de Ozolins (2000; 2010) y papel de la formación de los usuarios de interpretación y 2) análisis de las dinámicas que hoy día subyacen a esta cuestión, especialmente el papel del mercado y la relación entre formación y actitud de los usuarios de interpretación en el sector público