Intercultural mediation

Following increasing migration fluxes and their impact on public service communication in Western countries, research on language and social interaction has drawn its attention to so-called “intercultural mediation”, that is, communication in bi- or plurilingual settings where mutual understanding is achieved via language interpreting work. It was noted (Wadensjö 1998; Davidson 2000) that communication mediated by a participating interpreter involves complex forms of interaction, allowing participants to mitigate language and cultural barriers. While highlighting that expression and treatment of emotions is a crucial achievement in interpreter-mediated interaction, studies on intercultural mediation, with very few exceptions, have addressed the idea of emotions only indirectly. More precisely, the focus has been on forms of gatekeeping which may block or modify laypersons’ emotional expression. As a consequence, gatekeeping has been observed in its function of facilitating institutional achievements and protecting them at the expense of laypeople’s voice (including their emotions). Our contribution has a double aim: (a) to discuss those studies which have underlined the relevance of the expression of emotions in interpreter-mediated interactions, in different institutional settings; (b) to highlight the function of mediation in eliciting expressions of emotion and reducing gatekeeping.