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Language brokering, also known as child language brokering, refers to the informal act of translation by children and young people between a family member and a dominant language speaker, whereby children can influence both the message and its portrayal.[1] Because their inter-family language differs from the predominant language in society, these children are or must become bilingual.

Language brokering requires children to perform tasks that go beyond the typical expectations for bilingualism.[2] For example, these children also help adults navigate new and different cultures. Brokering must also be situated in context; the physical setting, relational factors, and cultural beliefs and norms of participants influence the brokering experience, such as the feelings and performance of brokers.[3]

Background

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Millions of children perform these language brokering roles daily and in many different environments, such as banks, post offices, medical offices, and schools.[4] Perhaps, this is somewhat surprising considering the legal rights of many minority language users across the globe, wherein they are assured access to information through their native language via professional interpreting services,[5][6] Often professional services are inaccessible[7] because children are so readily available that they become ad hoc interpreters frequent. Brokering is distinct from other forms of translation (e.g., interpreting) as brokering focuses on the cultural significance of such events within a family and within a society rather than the language event itself. Language brokering is not limited to spoken and written translations; it further encompasses the multiple ways in which children engage with communication across several different modes, such as singing, reading, writing, speaking, gesturing, body language, etc.[8] Typically, these language events occur as part of everyday life and involve the need for communication. This is why language brokering is an extremely complicated task; brokers must make use of multiple sources of knowledge spanning languages, modalities, and cultures.[5] Language brokering is most often reported in young children of migrant families.[9][10][11]

Although children have served as language brokers for centuries, relatively little empirical attention has been given to them. Research around language brokering practices in bilingual children began in the late 1970s, looking at the process of natural translation.[12] However, language brokering would only become the center of attention for researchers in the late 1990s.[6] During these early studies much work would be done to establish a generalized social and cognitive profile for language brokers. Here, the authors raced to either spotlight the benefits or harms of language brokering. One thing that is less debatable, however, is the need for sound, rigorous research on this understudied topic. More recent work has shifted to look at the practice of language brokering through a more holistic framework across multiple fields.

Immigration line at the IGIA. You can see the back of a person's head near the camera and further back you can see the line tethers which establish the line for immigration clearance in the airport
Immigration line at the IGIA.

One reason why children likely take on the role of language brokers in new environments is that children's brains are able to acquire new languages.[13][14][15] This has been attributed to how we learn new languages; children tend to learn languages circumstantially, in immersive ways and adults learn languages more often, like fast facts.[16] It is also important to note that not all children from families who do not speak the language of their community assume the role of language brokers. Consider families that live in cultural enclaves, communities with a lot of migrants with shared cultural backgrounds; these families will have less of a need for a language broker.[17] Additionally, expectations for brokering are not distributed evenly. It is more likely that women in the family will presume the role of language broker.[18] Also, older children are more likely to take on the role of language broker within the family.[19] With high levels of variation amongst brokers, one must consider the varying feelings they may have about their role within the family. So far, studies on the feelings children have about language brokering report mixed results.

Effects of language brokering

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For language brokers, their lived experience has lasting impacts on their emotional and cognitive development. Uniquely, brokers must integrate two very separate worlds: one in which they are a child growing up and engaging in play with other children following typical development patterns, and another, in which they must assume adult-like responsibilities such as intercultural mediation. Because the expectations of brokers are beyond that of most children, some researchers have suggested that language brokering acts as a stressor,[20] particularly at ages when children are most at-risk for developing poor behavioral patterns.[21] The effects of language brokering are not limited to feelings around brokering. Considering the literature on the cognitive advantages of bilingualism,[22][23][24] and the complexity of language brokering[25][26] researchers have begun to look at the effects that lifelong experience brokering languages have on the brain and how it impacts the brain's development.

Socio-Emotional Effects

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How children feel about their experiences of brokering affects their overall well-being, where positive effects are associated with healthy and sometimes drastically advanced development[27][28] and negative feelings are related to maladjustment.[29] Primary-aged children report more carefree and willing responses toward their roles as brokers within the family and convey more complex and negative emotions as they get older.[30] This is likely due to the fact that they are still developing complex thoughts and emotions. Another factor that led to the rise in negative feelings towards language brokering is the environments in which the children were asked to broker; in a more high-stress environment, they reported more negative feelings towards brokering.[31] For example, in the context of high discrimination, where the children receive more negative feedback, they might think they are not good at translating and feel less successful at performing language brokering tasks.[32] Negative feelings are usually associated with the fear of making mistakes when using either language(s), such as misunderstanding or mistranslating, or the fact that often they translate for people they love and having to situate themselves within sensitive issues (e.g., health-related, legal-related, etc.).[30] This is especially impactful when considering these conversations are ones from which children are usually shielded.[33]

Not all emotions reported by language brokers were negative; in fact, most children and adults who were raised as brokers report a complex mix of both positive and negative emotions that co-exist simultaneously.[34] Additionally, many brokers have reported positive feelings toward their experience with language brokering. For example, better parent-child relationships correlate with higher brokering frequency.[35] Adults might reflect on language brokering more positively because they better understand its potential benefits, such as better interpersonal skills or language usage.[36] Many of these positive feelings toward language brokering have also been tied to increased academic performance.

Cognitive Effects

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Children raised bilingually have been shown to perform differently on several measures of cognitive performance when compared to monolingual children.[37][38] Language brokers provide a unique insight into how different lived experiences shape our brains and, in turn, our learning, as they have been shown to apply skills from brokering to other cognitive measures.[39] Language brokering research has heavily focused on the impact of brokering on academic performance.[1][2][27][40] One example is that language brokers who participated in brokering more frequently had a better grasp of semantic convergence across languages, which aids in portraying conceptually accurate information in the target languages.[41] Additionally, language brokers, because of the adult-level themes of their translations, often have better language and text comprehension skills.[1] Because children will often engage in various conversational domains, they also have better cultural competence, in which they can better understand idioms and metaphors across cultures (compared to other bilinguals).[42] Language brokers are problem solvers and decision-makers. They must consider various options, words, and registers when translating for their parents and other adults.[43] Language brokering also affects academic self-concept,[44] which directly affects academic performance. Because parents of minority cultures, such as migrants, may be less aware of the inner workings of the education system in their new environment, they are less prepared and have fewer resources to support their children's academic endeavors,[45] which can result in less motivated and underprepared students.

Existing problems and future developments

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In black text the CODA film logo is shown on a white background.
CODA movie logo

Family members, educators, and mental health professionals need to become more aware of the consequences of language brokering duties, particularly for preadolescent children, who are most at risk for psychoemotional and cognitive divergence. One of the leading concerns in language brokering is stigmas perpetuating ideologies of over-dependence and lower intelligence for adults whose children broker for them. Consider, for example, the Oscar-winning film CODA. The main character, Ruby Rossi (played by Emilia Jones) is seen interpreting for her deaf parents at a medical appointment where they describe their intimate bedroom behaviors in grave detail, scarring the child while also portraying the parents as people who neither respect nor comprehend appropriate social boundaries.[46]

Additionally, there needs to be more consensus on the cognitive profile of language brokers, as there has been a lack of scientific (quantitative) research compared to cultural (qualitative) research on the topic. Establishing a more standardized cognitive and emotional profile for language brokers will allow educators, family members, and mental health professionals to adapt better approaches to dealing with the specific needs of brokers. There is also a need for a more critical evaluation of the real-world phenomenon of language brokering not as "good" or "bad," but rather "as it is (happening)."[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c McQuillan, Jeff; Tse, Lucy (January 1995). "Child language brokering in linguistic minority communities: Effects on cultural interaction, cognition, and literacy". Language and Education. 9 (3): 195–215. doi:10.1080/09500789509541413.
  2. ^ a b López, Belem G.; Lezama, Esteffania; Heredia, Dagoberto (November 2019). "Language Brokering Experience Affects Feelings Toward Bilingualism, Language Knowledge, Use, and Practices: A Qualitative Approach". Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 41 (4): 481–503. doi:10.1177/0739986319879641. S2CID 210448285.
  3. ^ Kam, Jennifer; Lazarevic, Vanja (2014). "Communicating for One's Family: An Interdisciplinary Review of Language and Cultural Brokering in Immigrant Families". Annals of the International Communication Association. 38 (1): 3–37. doi:10.1080/23808985.2014.11679157. S2CID 147965176.
  4. ^ Anguiano, Rebecca M. (1 January 2018). "Language Brokering among Latino Immigrant Families: Moderating Variables and Youth Outcomes". Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 47 (1): 222–242. doi:10.1007/s10964-017-0744-y. PMID 28929398. S2CID 31976025.
  5. ^ a b c Napier, Jemina (2021). Sign Language Brokering in Deaf-Hearing Families. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-67140-2. ISBN 978-3-030-67139-6. S2CID 234976424.
  6. ^ a b Morales, Alejandro; Hanson, William E. (2005). "Language Brokering: An Integrative Review of the Literature". Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 27 (4): 471–503. doi:10.1177/0739986305281333. S2CID 144703891.
  7. ^ Jones, David; Gill, Paramjit (16 May 1998). "Breaking down language barriers: The NHS needs to provide accessible interpreting services for all". BMJ. 316 (7143): 1476. doi:10.1136/bmj.316.7143.1476. PMC 1113154. PMID 9582130.
  8. ^ Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich (2009). Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language, and Culture. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4522-6. JSTOR j.ctt5hj1hn.[page needed]
  9. ^ Weisskirch, Robert S, ed. (2017). Language Brokering in Immigrant Families (PDF). doi:10.4324/9781315644714. ISBN 978-1-315-64471-4.
  10. ^ Zhang, Minyu; Kim, Su Yeong; Hou, Yang; Shen, Yishan (1 January 2020). "Parent–Adolescent Acculturation Profiles and Adolescent Language Brokering Experiences in Mexican Immigrant Families". Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 49 (1): 335–351. doi:10.1007/s10964-019-01064-5. PMC 7903809. PMID 31236755.
  11. ^ Bauer, Elaine (30 March 2015). "Practising kinship care: Children as language brokers in migrant families". Childhood. 23 (1): 22–36. doi:10.1177/0907568215574917. S2CID 145062577.
  12. ^ Harris, Brian (1977). The Importance of Natural Translation. Ottawa: University of Ottawa, School of Translators and Interpreters.
  13. ^ Smalle, Eleonore H.M.; Page, Mike P.A.; Duyck, Wouter; Edwards, Martin; Szmalec, Arnaud (2018). "Children retain implicitly learned phonological sequences better than adults: a longitudinal study". Developmental Science. 21 (5): e12634. doi:10.1111/desc.12634. hdl:2299/20648. PMID 29250874. S2CID 19560194.
  14. ^ Hartshorne, Joshua K.; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.; Pinker, Steven (2018-08-01). "A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 million English speakers". Cognition. 177: 263–277. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2018.04.007. PMC 6559801. PMID 29729947.
  15. ^ Jasinska, K. K.; Petitto, L. A. (2013-10-01). "How age of bilingual exposure can change the neural systems for language in the developing brain: A functional near infrared spectroscopy investigation of syntactic processing in monolingual and bilingual children". Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 6: 87–101. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2013.06.005. PMC 6987800. PMID 23974273.
  16. ^ McLaughlin, Barry (1977). "Second-language learning in children". Psychological Bulletin. 84 (3): 438–459. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.84.3.438.
  17. ^ Shannon, Sheila M. (1990). "English in the Barrio: The Quality of Contact among Immigrant Children". Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 12 (3): 256–276. doi:10.1177/07399863900123002. S2CID 145197211.
  18. ^ Villanueva, Christina M.; Buriel, Raymond (2010). "Speaking on Behalf of Others: A Qualitative Study of the Perceptions and Feelings of Adolescent Latina Language Brokers". Journal of Social Issues. 66 (1): 197–210. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2009.01640.x.
  19. ^ Akam, Jennifer; Lazarevic, Vanja (2014). "Communicating for One's Family: An Interdisciplinary Review of Language and Cultural Brokering in Immigrant Families". Annals of the International Communication Association. 38 (1): 3–37. doi:10.1080/23808985.2014.11679157. S2CID 147965176.
  20. ^ Shen, Yishan; Seo, Eunjin; Jiles, Alison I.; Zheng, Yao; Wang, Yijie (2022). "Language brokering and immigrant-origin youth's well-being: A meta-analytic review". American Psychologist. 77 (8): 921–939. doi:10.1037/amp0001035. PMID 36190758. S2CID 252682029.
  21. ^ Kam, Jennifer A. (2011). "The Effects of Language Brokering Frequency and Feelings on Mexican-Heritage Youth's Mental Health and Risky Behaviors". Journal of Communication. 61 (3): 455–475. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01552.x.
  22. ^ Grosjean, François (2013). The psycholinguistics of bilingualism. Ping Li, Ellen Bialystok, Raluca Barac, A. M. B. de Groot, Rosa Manchón, Virginia Yip. Hoboken. ISBN 978-1-4443-3278-0. OCLC 794973780.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[page needed]
  23. ^ Schroeder, Scott R. (2018-08-24). "Do Bilinguals Have an Advantage in Theory of Mind? A Meta-Analysis". Frontiers in Communication. 3: 36. doi:10.3389/fcomm.2018.00036.
  24. ^ Bialystok, Ellen; Craik, Fergus I.M.; Luk, Gigi (2012). "Bilingualism: consequences for mind and brain". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 16 (4): 240–250. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.001. PMC 3322418. PMID 22464592.
  25. ^ Reynolds, Jennifer F.; Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich (2009). "New Immigrant Youth Interpreting in White Public Space". American Anthropologist. 111 (2): 211–223. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1433.2009.01114.x.
  26. ^ Hall, Nigel; Sham, Sylvia (2007). "Language Brokering as Young People's Work: Evidence from Chinese Adolescents in England". Language and Education. 21 (1): 16–30. doi:10.2167/le645.0. S2CID 144315235.
  27. ^ a b Dorner, Lisa M.; Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich; Jiménez, Rosa (September 2008). "'It's One of Those Things That You Do to Help the Family': Language Brokering and the Development of Immigrant Adolescents". Journal of Adolescent Research. 23 (5): 515–543. doi:10.1177/0743558408317563. S2CID 145550754.
  28. ^ López, Belem G.; Vaid, Jyotsna (2018). "Divergence and overlap in bilingual conceptual representation: does prior language brokering experience matter?". Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 21 (1): 150–161. doi:10.1017/S1366728916001073. S2CID 152268831.
  29. ^ Kam, Jennifer; Lazarevic, Vanja (2014). "Communicating for One's Family: An Interdisciplinary Review of Language and Cultural Brokering in Immigrant Families". Annals of the International Communication Association. 38 (1): 3–37. doi:10.1080/23808985.2014.11679157. S2CID 147965176.
  30. ^ a b Antonini, Rachele (2016-10-02). "Caught in the middle: child language brokering as a form of unrecognised language service". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 37 (7): 710–725. doi:10.1080/01434632.2015.1127931. hdl:11585/593136. S2CID 148254390.
  31. ^ Austin PBS Science | Understanding Language Brokers | Season 2019 | PBS, retrieved 2022-11-01
  32. ^ Kim, Su Yeong; Hou, Yang; Song, Jiaxiu; Schwartz, Seth J.; Chen, Shanting; Zhang, Minyu; Perreira, Krista M.; Parra-Medina, Deborah (2018). "Profiles of Language Brokering Experiences and Contextual Stressors: Implications for Adolescent Outcomes in Mexican Immigrant Families". Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 47 (8): 1629–1648. doi:10.1007/s10964-018-0851-4. PMC 6045961. PMID 29603049.
  33. ^ Weisskirch, Robert S. (15 July 2006). "Emotional Aspects of Language Brokering among Mexican American Adults". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 27 (4): 332–343. doi:10.2167/jmmd421.1. S2CID 144274435.
  34. ^ Ceccoli, Federica (3 April 2021). "Reconstructing the experiences of child language brokering: a focus on the socio-emotional impact of the practice". The Translator. 27 (2): 216–232. doi:10.1080/13556509.2020.1864894. S2CID 234468755.
  35. ^ Morales, Alejandro; Wang, Kenneth T. (October 2018). "The Relationship Among Language Brokering, Parent–Child Bonding, and Mental Health Correlates Among Latinx College Students". Journal of Mental Health Counseling. 40 (4): 316–327. doi:10.17744/mehc.40.4.04. S2CID 149951386. ProQuest 2199222139.
  36. ^ Bauer, Elaine (2017). "Chapter 18. Language brokering". Non-professional Interpreting and Translation. Benjamins Translation Library. Vol. 129. pp. 359–380. doi:10.1075/btl.129.18bau. ISBN 978-90-272-5875-5.
  37. ^ Bialystok, Ellen (March 2017). "The bilingual adaptation: How minds accommodate experience". Psychological Bulletin. 143 (3): 233–262. doi:10.1037/bul0000099. PMC 5324728. PMID 28230411.
  38. ^ Kovelman, Ioulia; Baker, Stephanie A.; Petitto, Laura-Ann (July 2008). "Age of first bilingual language exposure as a new window into bilingual reading development". Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 11 (2): 203–223. doi:10.1017/S1366728908003386. PMC 2759761. PMID 19823598.
  39. ^ Malakoff, Marguerite; Hakuta, Kenji (1991). "Translation skill and metalinguistic awareness in bilinguals". Language Processing in Bilingual Children. pp. 141–166. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511620652.009. ISBN 978-0-521-37021-9.
  40. ^ Valdés, Guadalupe (2014). Expanding Definitions of Giftedness. doi:10.4324/9781410607249. ISBN 978-1-4106-0724-9.
  41. ^ López, Belem G.; Vaid, Jyotsna (January 2018). "Divergence and overlap in bilingual conceptual representation: does prior language brokering experience matter?". Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 21 (1): 150–161. doi:10.1017/S1366728916001073. S2CID 152268831.
  42. ^ López, Belem G.; Vaid, Jyotsna (March 2018). "Fácil or A piece of cake: Does variability in bilingual language brokering experience affect idiom comprehension?". Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 21 (2): 340–354. doi:10.1017/S1366728917000086. S2CID 151825300.
  43. ^ López, Belem G. (January 2020). "Incorporating language brokering experiences into bilingualism research: An examination of informal translation practices". Language and Linguistics Compass. 14 (1). doi:10.1111/lnc3.12361. S2CID 210985332.
  44. ^ Niehaus, Kate; Kumpiene, Gerda (20 March 2014). "Language Brokering and Self-Concept". Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 36 (2): 124–143. doi:10.1177/0739986314524166. S2CID 145500109.
  45. ^ Mier-Chairez, Judy; Arellano, Brenda; Tucker, Sarah E.; Marquez, Eileen; Hooper, Lisa M. (18 June 2019). "Theoretical, empirical, and practice literature on language brokering: Family, academic, and psychological outcomes". Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 29 (7): 840–860. doi:10.1080/10911359.2019.1621791. S2CID 197721362.
  46. ^ Sian Heder. (2021). CODA: English. Apple Original Films.
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