The Court interpreting, monolingual ideologies and legitimate language How translanguaging voices are silenced in court proceedings.

Abstract

In courts of law, as in many other professional fields (medical, etc.), language is regulated by claims of legitimacy. An essential part of this linguistic legitimacy is conforming to monolingual standards in situations where litigants are non-native English speakers, i.e. speaking in their own monolingual language through the services of a court interpreter. However, when called to testify, or respond to cross-examination, litigants are sometimes unable to express themselves fully in their ‘presumed’ monolingual language, engaging instead in ‘translanguaging’ practices.

Drawing on preliminary research, involving 6 professional court interpreters based in the UK, this article explores how interpreters often promote monolingual models in their interpreting practices, re-enforcing the non-legitimacy of translanguaging litigants, limiting and restricting their voices in processes that may well shape their future lives.