GerichtsdolmetscherIn im gerichtlichen Strafverfahren: Schwaches Glied oder RichterIn ohne Talar?

Karolina Nartowska

The actions of an interpreter are of fundamental importance for the communication and understanding of participants in the context of bilingual court proceedings. The role of court interpreters, however, is still differently defined: Interpreters are considered an invisible person in the courtroom, communication mediators, language and culture experts or visible and active communication partners. This paper therefore examines what actual role do interpreters play in a given court interaction. For this purpose, two interpreter-mediated criminal proceedings, each at an Austrian and a Polish court, were audio-recorded and the transcriptions of the hearings were subjected to a Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis shows that the appointed interpreters are independently acting interaction partners that also play roles outside their profession and significantly influence the court proceedings. The interpreter's own identity with the role of a court interpreter is of vital importance for their interpretation activities.