Child Language Brokering Among Migrant/Refugee Communities in Türkiye
Özge Bayraktar ÖzerChildren who most quickly assimilate the language and social and cultural norms of the host country in a family carry out interpreting tasks for their families in different contexts shortly after migration. In this regard, child interpreters, also referred to as child language brokers, play a role in facilitating communication at the language level and in fostering interaction between migrant/refugee and host communities. Child language brokering (CLB), a phenomenon usually studied in the context of immigrant/refugee communities, can be defined as a form of non-professional community interpreting. However, it has yet to be addressed as a research area within the field of translation studies in Türkiye. Although it has been examined from the perspectives of educational science and developmental psychology for many years in international literature, child language brokering is fundamentally an interpreting activity that awaits the attention of translation studies. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the phenomenon of child language brokering, which has been addressed by various disciplines for years in countries with high levels of migration, in the context of migrant/refugee communities in Türkiye. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants aged 18-21 who migrated to Türkiye from different countries and engaged in language brokering activities for their families during their childhood. The interview findings, analysed through thematic analysis, shed light on the brokering settings in Türkiye where child language brokering is most needed, the concept of primary language brokering, contributions of language brokering, child language brokers’ feelings regarding their activities, and the responsibilities they undertake.
Türkiye’de Göçmen/Mülteci Topluluklarında Çocuk Dil Aracılığı
Özge Bayraktar ÖzerYerleşilen ülkenin dilini ve sosyokültürel normlarını en hızlı özümseyen aile üyeleri olarak çocuklar, göçten sonra kısa sürede aileleri için farklı ortamlarda sözlü çeviri faaliyetlerini yürütmektedir. Bu açıdan, daha geniş bir ifadeyle çocuk dil aracıları olarak tanımlanan çocuk çevirmenler hem dilsel iletişimin sağlanmasında hem de göçmen/mülteci toplulukları ile ev sahibi toplum arasında etkileşim sağlanmasında rol oynarlar. Genellikle göçmen/mülteci topluluklar bağlamında incelenen bir olgu olarak çocuk dil aracılığı (ÇDA) profesyonel olmayan bir toplum çevirmenliği pratiği olarak tanımlanabilir. Buna rağmen, Türkiye’de çeviribilim alanında bir araştırma konusu olarak henüz ele alınmamıştır. Her ne kadar uluslararası alanyazında eğitimbilim ve gelişimsel psikoloji perspektiflerinden uzun yıllardır incelenmiş olsa da, çocuk dil aracılığı her şeyden önce bir çeviri faaliyetidir ve çeviribilimcilerin yaklaşımlarını beklemektedir. Temelde bu eksikliği gidermeyi hedefleyen bu çalışmanın amacı yoğun göç alan ülkelerde uzun yıllardır farklı disiplinler tarafından ele alınan çocuk dil aracılığı olgusunu Türkiye’de göçmen/mülteci topluluklar bağlamında incelemektedir. Bu doğrultuda, Türkiye’ye farklı ülkelerden göç etmiş, aileleri için çocukluğunda dil aracılığı faaliyetinde bulunmuş, 18-21 yaş aralığındaki altı katılımcı ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Tematik analiz yöntemiyle incelenen görüşme verileri, Türkiye’de çocuk dil aracılığına en çok ihtiyaç duyulan çeviri ortamları, asıl dil aracılığı kavramı, dil aracılığının katkıları, çocuk dil aracılarının aracılık faaliyetine ilişkin duyguları ve üstlendikleri sorumluluk konularına ışık tutmaktadır.
Children of migrant families are often the quickest family members who learn the language and the social and cultural norms of the host country. Thus, they often perform interpreting tasks for their families in different contexts shortly after migration. Children undertake the interpreting task for both interacting with local people and completing official procedures as soon as they acquire the language of the host country. In this regard, child language brokers play a role in facilitating communication at the language level and in fostering interaction between minority and host cultures.
Child language brokering, a phenomenon usually studied in the context of immigrant/refugee communities, can be defined as a form of non-professional community interpreting. However, it has yet to be addressed as an independent research area within the field of translation studies in Türkiye. Although it has been examined from the perspectives of educational science and developmental psychology for many years, child language brokering is fundamentally an interpreting activity that awaits the attention of translation studies. Besides, the current literature hosting a copious body of research represents only limited geography, ethnic groups, and languages. Considering that the social context is the most important factor in determining the findings related to child language brokering, further research is needed from more countries, migrant groups, and language pairs.
To the best knowledge of the researcher, child language brokering has not been studied within the scope of Türkiye, despite the ever-increasing refugee population in the country recently. This study aims to explore the phenomenon of child language brokering, which has been addressed by various disciplines for years in countries with high levels of migration, within the context of migrant/refugee communities in Türkiye.
This study seeks answers to the following research questions: 1) In which settings and why do migrant/refugee communities need child language brokering in Türkiye? 2) What are the impacts of language brokering on former child language brokers from migrant/refugee communities?
As this research aims to analyse a current phenomenon in depth, a case study design was implemented among the qualitative research methods. Retrospective semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants aged 18-21 who migrated to Türkiye from different countries and engaged in language brokering activities for their families during their childhood. To ensure the competency of the participants in the Turkish language, which is set to be the interview language, and the cognitive ability of self-expression and of comprehending abstract concepts such as minority language, migrant rights, and identity, the study’s participation criteria included completion of high school education in Türkiye. Additionally, to ensure socioeconomic homogeneity among the participants, graduates of a selected state high school in the Mamak district of Ankara province were invited to participate in the study. The interview included 24 open-ended questions.
The interviews were held online through the Zoom platform, and the average duration of the interviews was 35 min. The data were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis using MaxQda 2024 software. Accordingly, a total of 480 codes were obtained and these codes are discussed and presented under five main themes, namely primary language brokering, brokering settings, interpreter role, ethics and responsibility, contributions of brokering, and feelings. The findings are expected to shed light on the brokering settings in Türkiye where child language brokering is most needed, the concept of primary language broker, and the feelings and contributions perceived by child language brokers regarding their brokering activities and the responsibilities they undertake.
The main limitation of this study is its reliance on the self-reported data of the participants. Further studies are needed to follow the same participants for a certain period and/or observe child language brokers during their brokering activities.
