Reflecting on past language brokering experiences: how they affected children’s and teenagers’ emotions and relationships

Abstract

AbstractIn many immigrant families, children often learn the language and culture of the host society quicker than adult immigrants. Consequently, children serve as language brokers, translating and interpreting face-to-face communication. The aim of this paper is to present a study based on 19 qualitative in depth interviews with young adults reporting on how they felt and managed their emotions when acting as language brokers in their childhood and adolescence. The study shows the key role that emotions play in the Child Language Brokering experience and how the relationships that the broker establishes with their immediate context (family, teachers, and the community) is intrinsically related to how they assess the experience. It also shows that emotions had an impact on how brokers modulate the message they rendered, especially when they had to deal with sensitive topics. This research proves the importance of the first-person retrospective narratives of the protagonists, which allows to give a voice to a highly invisible group.