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Conceptualizing the Interpreter in Field Interviews in Post-Conflict Settings: Reflections From Psychological Research in Bosnia and Herzegovina

2020; Springer International Publishing; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-030-44113-5_4

2197-5787

Inger Skjelsbæk,

Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography

Interviews with an interpreter in foreign language fieldwork settings are not adequately addressed in the methodical literature in peace psychology. The methodological literature within psychology does not provide needed insights on how to tackle the issue of interpreters. The following chapter is an attempt to untangle some of the methodological and theoretical concerns this situation entails. The starting point of the analysis is the qualitative research interview and discusses what the methodological challenges and theoretical opportunities data gathering through interviews with the help of interpreters might entail. My aim is to show how we can understand the role of the interpreter in this particular setting and make the assets and concerns with the use of interpreters visible. The reflections that follow are based on my own experiences with interpreters in many interview settings since 2001 up until today, and they include discussions about foreign words and contexts, translations of words and situations, as well as power dynamics.