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Silencing Language

Of Anthropologists and Interpreters

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway

While the use of interpreters in fieldwork is far from marginal in anthropological practice, it has received curiously little attention in anthropological texts. On the basis of a review of what little has been written, and in consideration of some of the particularities of working with interpreters, the article argues that overlooking this theme has had two unfortunate consequences: concrete steps that can reduce the problems associated with interpreter use have not been discussed; and fundamental issues related to language competence have remained largely unexamined. The article argues that the silence regarding interpreter use is linked to the anthropologist's need for establishing authority and to the position that fieldwork has within the discipline.

Key Words: language • translation • fieldwork • anthropological method • interpreter

Ethnography, Vol. 4, No. 1, 95-121 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1466138103004001005


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