ERIC Number: EJ839636
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-6001
EISSN: N/A
Interpreting Inexplicit Language during Courtroom Examination
Lee, Jieun
Applied Linguistics, v30 n1 p93-114 Mar 2009
Court interpreters are required to provide accurate renditions of witnesses' utterances during courtroom examinations, but the accuracy of interpreting may be compromised for a number of reasons, among which is the effect on interpretation of the limited contextual information available to court interpreters. Based on the analysis of the discourse of Korean-English interpreting in Australian courtrooms, this article examines how inexplicit language used by Korean-speaking witnesses affects the accuracy of court interpreting. Such use of inexplicit language is a consequence of differences between the lexico-grammatical system of the witnesses' language (Korean) and that of the court (English), as well as being due to the witnesses' lack of familiarity with the courtroom discourse. This study demonstrates that the way the court interpreters cope with inexplicit language may result in inaccurate rendition of the evidence, and thus have legal implications for court proceedings.
Descriptors: Familiarity, Court Litigation, Applied Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Foreign Countries, Korean, Grammar, English, Discourse Modes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A