Doctoral Dissertation Research: Codeswitching and the Interpreter - Multilingualism in New York Small Claims Court

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Under the direction of Dr. John Singler, Mr. Philipp Angermeyer will conduct linguistic research on how immigrants alternate between English and their native languages for his doctoral dissertation. He will collect data on arbitration hearings in Small Claims Court in New York City that involve the participation of litigants who speak a language other than English and who are assisted by a court interpreter. He will investigate how immigrant litigants from a variety of linguistic backgrounds alternate between languages (code-switch) as they make use of their limited knowledge of English to communicate directly with the arbitrator and other litigants. For example, they may repeat English words and phrases just used by other participants in an attempt to make their own statements connect better to the statements of others. Mr. Angermeyer will also study how code-switching is treated by interpreters, and how it affects their role. For example, interpreters may refrain from their usual practice of translating in the first person if the litigant already has an English voice of his own.The results of this project may influence the development of training materials for court interpreters, and they may be used in informational material available to litigants preparing to appear in court. This research also contributes to the understanding of bilingual speech. By comparing the speech of litigants from various linguistic backgrounds, the project will establish whether the nature of courtroom interaction leads speakers of different languages to code-switch in the same way, or whether there are culture-specific differences. The findings will be made available to the cooperating courts.