Professional interpreters as a subgroup of highly proficient bilinguals: a Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) approach
type: CreativeWork
description: Professional interpreters are often described as “exceptional” bilinguals, however, there is very little information in the literature about the particulars of this kind of bilingual proficiency, or the conditions and life experiences resulting in its development (Valdes and Angelelli, 2003). Information about the bilingual proficiency of interpreters tends to be based on the guidelines and definitions of professional organisations, such as the AIIC A and B language classifications used in conference interpreting. However, with the exception of Thiery’s (1975) inquiry into “true bilingualism”, the implications of these classifications have not been investigated in terms of what they correspond to in practice with respect to interpreters’ bilingualism. Furthermore, the bilingualism of interpreters who specialise in other professional domains, such as the public services, has not yet been studied or described. At the same time, it is maintained that the contribution of studies looking to describe the bilingualism of interpreters and its development is not limited to the discipline of interpreting only, and may provide important insights into aspects of individual bilingualism more generally (Valdes and Angelelli, 2003). The present project contrasts three populations of professional interpreters, AIIC AA and AB conference interpreters, and public service interpreters (PSIs) on the UK National Register. The comparison takes into consideration biographical and perceptional factors pertaining to bilingualism, and the interrelationships between biographies and perceptions. The three populations of interpreters were considered as a group of highly proficient bilinguals characterised by a set of additional properties, such as strong language maintenance motivation and intensive use of both languages. Data on linguistic biographies, attitudes and perceptions were collected from the three groups by means of a large-scale questionnaire (N = 400). Applying the principles of Dyn…
abstract: Professional interpreters are often described as “exceptional” bilinguals, however, there is very little information in the literature about the particulars of this kind of bilingual proficiency, or the conditions and life experiences resulting in its development (Valdes and Angelelli, 2003). Information about the bilingual proficiency of interpreters tends to be based on the guidelines and definitions of professional organisations, such as the AIIC A and B language classifications used in conference interpreting. However, with the exception of Thiery’s (1975) inquiry into “true bilingualism”, the implications of these classifications have not been investigated in terms of what they correspond to in practice with respect to interpreters’ bilingualism. Furthermore, the bilingualism of interpreters who specialise in other professional domains, such as the public services, has not yet been studied or described. At the same time, it is maintained that the contribution of studies looking to describe the bilingualism of interpreters and its development is not limited to the discipline of interpreting only, and may provide important insights into aspects of individual bilingualism more generally (Valdes and Angelelli, 2003). The present project contrasts three populations of professional interpreters, AIIC AA and AB conference interpreters, and public service interpreters (PSIs) on the UK National Register. The comparison takes into consideration biographical and perceptional factors pertaining to bilingualism, and the interrelationships between biographies and perceptions. The three populations of interpreters were considered as a group of highly proficient bilinguals characterised by a set of additional properties, such as strong language maintenance motivation and intensive use of both languages. Data on linguistic biographies, attitudes and perceptions were collected from the three groups by means of a large-scale questionnaire (N = 400). Applying the principles of Dyn…
author: Barsukova, Anastasia
keywords: 410 Linguistics
date published: 2017-06
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:54:44Z
provider: London Metropolitan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: London Metropolitan University