翻译家电影回顾:ATA圆桌会议

请注意:本摘要中表达的观点和意见不一定反映每个小组成员或参与者的观点或永利登录网址的观点.

From child interpreter to professional interpreter

当他10岁的时候, Nery Mazariegos was asked to interpret for his mother during a visit to her obstetrician. 通过她和医生的讨论, 他知道了一个家庭秘密，他的母亲可能没有打算让他这么年轻就知道——他有一个姐姐去世了. 他不仅要处理他母亲和医生之间交换的关于她目前怀孕情况的信息, 他还必须承受巨大的情感负担，因为他失去了一个素未谋面的妹妹.

“我没有准备好应对这种情况. [...] Put yourself in the shoes of a 10-year-old who doesn't have the emotional intelligence, 心理成熟, 我活得还不够懂事.”
——Nery Mazariegos

现在，他是一家语言服务提供商的永利登录网址口译员和人才招聘经理, Nery realizes that his experience as a child language broker is not rare. The film cites that this is a scenario that is repeated 11 million times every day in the U.S. Most of these children are proud to be able to help, even though they are often ill-equipped to perform the task; as children, they lack certain soft 和 hard skills necessary for interpreting. 尽管有许多法律要求使用合格的专业口译员来提供有意义的语言访问，但这一切都是如此. 最后, 永利登录网址所有人都有责任帮助英语水平有限的人的孩子做孩子，并确保无论何时何地都能保证语言的使用.

Skills: How well can child language brokers interpret?

Despite the title Translators, most of what this film portrays is actually interpreting. 口译员使用口语或手语，而翻译人员使用书面语. 尽管电影中描绘的孩子们是未来从事翻译和口译职业的理想人选，因为语言, 信息处理, 和 interpersonal skills they gain by helping their families navigate systems in two languages, 大多数专业口译员经过多年的培训，以获得和磨练完成工作所需的知识和专业技能. 如果更多的家庭意识到在双语环境中长大的孩子所拥有的机会, 小组成员兼研究员Aída Martínez-Gómez说, the children of LEP individuals would be excellent c和idates for this career path:

根据我的经验, 当他们被告知时，他们觉得自己真的被看到了, ‘All these skills that you've developed through a lot of hardship are valuable, 和 you can turn them into a profession that can be really fulfilling.’”
- Aída Martínez-Gómez

聋人成人(coda)的孩子经历了许多与LEP个体的孩子同样的挣扎, 但另一个挑战是，残疾人经常被不公平地认为缺乏智力, 创造一种他们的孩子不可能理解或反对的动态. 在这个情商水平之间, 分析技巧, 和词汇, 不难想象，与训练有素的专业人士的解释相比，对一个孩子的解释有多么不同，以及可能对每个人产生的影响.

“重要的是要让人们知道，这不是用一种语言中的一个词替换另一种语言中的另一个词的问题. There are so many layers of complexities that translators 和 interpreters make decisions about. 他们对用词做出决定, 是的, 还有结构, 上下文, 方言, 文化, 还有许多其他的事情同时发生[...].”
- Yasmin Alkashef, ATA董事会成员

Impact: How does child language brokering affect children 和 their families?

然而 underprepared child language brokers may be, the reality is that this work they are doing on a daily basis across the United States, 以及它对孩子本身的影响, 是多种多样的. 一些研究表明存在心理风险, while others do not; research does not show a direct negative impact from child interpreting 和 actually indicates a positive contribution to the child’s cognitive development 和 cultural underst和ing when they act as interpreters,¹ but anecdotal evidence suggests strongly that whether positive or negative, the impact of acting as a language broker for one’s parents cannot be underestimated.

Nery Mazariegos shared that as he watched the film, 他对画中孩子们的反应很熟悉:他们很紧张，经常怀疑自己. The film also accurately depicted a perspective shared by many children in this position, including several panelists: a desire to please their parents. 同样的, drawing on his lived experience as a CODBA (child of a DeafBlind adult), 美国手语翻译布伦特·特雷西(Brent Tracy)与残疾父母分享了导航系统的挑战. 他经常和他的聋哑父亲一起经历障碍，这是正常人不需要面对的, Brent reflected that these situations had the capacity to cause him embarrassment, 不舒服, 甚至是创伤.

根据我的经验, [having a parent with a disability,] oftentimes [...当我父母来实地考察之类的事情时，我就会被欺负，被取笑. You st和 out a lot more because of the disability.”
——布伦特·特雷西

重要的是要承认，许多家庭对儿童语言中介可能对他们的孩子产生的影响表示担忧, 他们是否意识到风险, 和 certainly no family intends to put their child in harm’s way. 而, 这么多孩子愿意帮助他们的弱智或残疾家庭成员，这证明了这些社区的毅力和勇气. 然而, 让孩子们承受压力和间接创伤是高风险口译的一部分，这是不公平的, 至关重要的是，所有相关利益攸关方都要更多地了解这些儿童及其家庭的权利, so as not to feel obligated to put them in this difficult position.

Language access 正确的s: Does it have to be like this?

民权法案第六章² ensures the 正确的 of LEP individuals to language access, 《永利登录网址》(ADA)明确规定了聋哑人接受美国手语服务的权利. Children may end up brokering for their parents in many ad hoc situations, this being the reality of life in a multicultural 和 multilingual society, 但至少在理论上是这样, all LEP 和 Deaf people have the 正确的 to meaningful language access, 特别是在获得获得一分钱联邦资金的实体所提供的服务时.

然而, noting the startling statistic shared in the film that 11 million children in the U.S. 小组成员兼语言接触倡导者Carol Vel和ia是这样说的:

“If we were to say there are 11 million children of American citizens that are made to work, 无薪, 专业工作, 永利登录网址的社会将奋起反抗, 正确的? But because the plight of immigrants when it comes to language 正确的s, 语言的正义, 和 language access continues to be invisible 和 misunderstood, we think it's okay 和 even wonderful 和 inspiring that those children work.”
——卡罗尔·维兰迪亚

从这些角度来看，这部电影中描述的情况很容易被归类为歧视. Immigrants’ children do work that is intended for paid professionals, 它被庆祝了, 而不是制造愤怒. The film did not necessarily misrepresent the experiences of these families; however, it did fail to share that there are better options. 在很多情况下, 包括电影中描绘的那些, companies 和 organizations that work with LEPs shirk their responsibilities, 家长们也不知道他们有哪些语言选择，或者当他们的权利受到侵犯时，他们可以通过哪些渠道提出投诉.³

Conclusion: An opportunity to do more 和 do better

最后, where the film had the incredible opportunity to be an agent for change, 它延续了不幸的误解，并使歧视非英语社区和残疾人的持续模式正常化. Taking the complex issue of language access 和 child language brokering head on, 它过度简化了体验, 被忽视的非拉丁裔人口, 和, 最重要的是, failed to offer solutions to the challenges faced by so many families across the United States.

永利登录网址能做些什么呢?

ATA encourages everyone to seek out any 和 all opportunities to advocate for language access. This means speaking up when you see a way to improve language access, sharing your thoughts with legislators 和 decision-makers, 和 being a voice for those in your community who communicate in a language other than English. 永利登录网址可以通过鼓励公共和私营实体改善其语言获取计划，将永利最新网址与专业成长和网络联系起来. 通过积极努力提高认识, we will be giving a voice to those who desperately need it.

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¹ 进一步阅读:
Guadalupe vald郁闷等人: 拓展天赋的定义
Jemina纳皮尔: 聋人家庭的手语中介
维姬卡茨: 中间的孩子
Marjorie F Orellana: 翻译的童年

²根据民权法案第六章, “在美国，任何人不得, 以种族为理由, color, 或者国籍, 被排除在…之外, 被剥夺…的利益, 或在接受联邦财政援助的任何项目或活动中受到歧视.”

³ http://www.lep.gov/file-a-title-vi-complaint