Analysing interactional phenomena in video remote interpreting in collaborative settings: implications for interpreter education
Elena Davitti, Sabine Braun
Abstract
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) is a modality of interpreting where the interpreter interacts with the other parties-at-talk through an audiovisual link without sharing the same physical interactional space. In dialogue settings, existing research on VRI has mostly drawn on the analysis of verbal behaviour to explore the dynamics of these ‘triadic’ exchanges. However, understanding the complexity of VRI requires a more holistic analysis of its dynamics in different contexts as a situated, embodied activity where resources other than talk (e.g. gaze, gestures, head and body movement) play a central role in the co-construction of the communicative event. This paper draws on extracts from a corpus of VRI encounters in collaborative contexts (e.g. nurse-patient interaction, customer services) to investigate how specific interactional phenomena already explored in traditional settings of dialogue interpreting (e.g. turn management, dyadic sequences, spatial management) unfold in VRI. The paper will identify the coping strategies implemented by interpreters to deal with various challenges. This fine-grained, microanalytical look at the data will complement the findings provided by research on VRI in legal/adversarial contexts and provide solid grounds to evaluate the impact of different moves. Its systematic integration into training will lead to a more holistic approach to VRI education.