The implementation of community translation by newcomer serving organizations in the city of Edmonton
Abstract
The City of Edmonton is a diverse and constantly evolving city. As more newcomers move to the city, the need for specific language resources changes and organizations must adapt to these changes. Edmonton has many organizations that specifically assist newcomers with integrating into society. These organizations include Edmonton Immigrant Services Association (EISA), Islamic Family and Social Services Association (IFSSA), Action for Healthy Communities, Catholic Social Services and the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN), among others. Other organizations provide services to specific cultural groups, such as language and culture schools, which also assist newcomers. This thesis will discuss the research project “Mapping Spaces of Translation and Interpretation in Edmonton,” which mapped and
documented organizations that make use of translation and interpretation to provide services for newcomers, immigrants, and refugees, within Edmonton and surrounding areas. The project sought to research the following two questions: 1) How do organizations within the city of Edmonton that provide services to newcomers utilize translation (text-to-text) or interpretation (spoken/verbal) to facilitate their services? 2) What challenges do these organizations face in using translation and interpretation while providing their services?
Notes
Key findings:
1) 10/38 of the included organizations provided translation and interpretation services.
2) Overall, 46 languages have translation and interpretation services in Edmonton.
3) The most commonly translated documents were legal, licenses, medical and education.
4) Although organizations would like to require higher certifications and provide further training for interpreters and translators, multiple barriers exist (e.g. funding, professional interpreters vs. multilingual staff, which languages are in demand when).
Key recommendations: n/a
Location: Edmonton, AB
Community organizations: n/a
Future research / gaps identified: Assess the implementation of Edmonton’s translation and interpretation services specifically in medical contexts.
Integration timeline: not defined
Key populations: newcomer serving organizations in Edmonton that provide translation and/or interpretation services
Open access: Yes