ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of healthcare interpreters. It is a topic that has attracted much attention in healthcare interpreting. In healthcare settings, the role of the interpreter is dynamic and fluid. Like the practice of interpreting, it is contextually bound. In this chapter, readers will explore the role of the healthcare interpreter from different perspectives. The exploration is grounded in a growing body of research that looks at the role in all its dimensions and shows the metaphors used by interpreters themselves to refer to their practice. The chapter also discusses how the role is perceived by the interpreters themselves, by the other co-participants to the interpreted communicative event (patients, providers), by the professional associations and by the parties hiring the services of interpreters. The behaviors and consequences of the various roles medical interpreters can play are explored and institutional/personal expectations of the role are also discussed.
