Abstract
The use of English as a Lingua Franca is a promising solution to the overcoming of language barriers in a wide variety of contexts and, despite being formally governed by the principle of multilingualism, the European institutions are no exception. This paper aims at shedding light on the perception on the use of ELF within the European Commission, by presenting the results of a questionnaire carried out within the framework of a broader PhD project. The target population is that of interpreters working for the European Commission. The analysis focuses on two specific questions, which address interpreters in their role as communication experts, inviting them to momentarily set aside their opinion on the relationship between ELF and interpretation and rather assess ELF in terms of “communicative effectiveness,” considered as an essential component to a successful communication. Results confirm previous ITELF (Interpreting, Translation and English as a Lingua Franca) studies, in that interpreters believe that ELF tends to decrease the level of communicative effectiveness and that, based on their direct experience, less than half of the speakers in these meetings succeed at expressing themselves effectively when using ELF. Most importantly, they elaborate on what this loss of effectiveness entails in terms of communication quality, interlocutors’ participation rights and multilingualism.
Abstract
L’utilizzo di ELF rappresenta una soluzione promettente per il superamento delle barriere linguistiche in una grande varietà di contesti e le istituzioni europee, benché formalmente votate al principio del multilinguismo, non sono certo un’eccezione. Il presente contributo è volto a studiare la percezione degli interpreti dell’utilizzo di ELF in seno alla Commissione europea, presentando i risultati di un questionario condotto nell’ambito di un progetto di dottorato. Il questionario è rivolto agli interpreti che lavorano presso la Commissione. L’analisi verte su due domande specifiche, che invitano gli interpreti a vestire i panni di esperti della comunicazione, tralasciare momentaneamente la loro opinione sul binomio ELF-interpretazione e valutare ELF in termini di ‘efficacia comunicativa’. I risultati confermano quanto emerso da studi precedenti, ovvero che gli interpreti ritengono che ELF riduca l’efficacia comunicativa; inoltre, secondo la loro esperienza, solo meno della metà degli oratori che partecipano alle riunioni oggetto di analisi riuscirebbe ad esprimersi efficacemente utilizzando ELF. Gli interpreti condividono inoltre le loro riflessioni sulle conseguenze dirette che tale perdita di efficacia comunicativa può sortire in termini di qualità della comunicazione, diritti di partecipazione e multilinguismo.
About the author
Cristina Scardulla is a freelance interpreter, working as Conference Interpreting Agent (ACI) for the European institutions since 2010. She works in the Italian unit, interpreting from English, German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese into Italian. She has recently carried out a PhD in Interpreting Studies with a research project on ELF and interpreting within the European Commission at the University of Udine/University of Trieste.
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