Situated voices: Exploring micropolitical dynamics in Greece’s community interpreting field

Anastasios Ioannidis

doi:10.4312/stridon.5.2.53-77

Authors

Anastasios Ioannidis ioannidis? ionio gr Ionian University, Corfu, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/stridon.5.2.53-77

Keywords:

community interpreting, micropolitics, role ambiguity, power dynamics, emotional labour

Abstract

This paper investigates the micropolitical dimensions of community interpreting in Greece, drawing on qualitative data from 12 interviews with interpreters, NGO staff, and public servants. The study explores how interpreters navigate role ambiguity, institutional hierarchies, trust dynamics, and emotional labour within interpreter-mediated interactions in migration and public service contexts. The findings highlight the tension between formal expectations of neutrality and the lived relational and affective demands of real-world practice. By foregrounding interpreter agency within institutional and interpersonal constraints, the study contributes to a sociological understanding of interpreting as a power-laden and relational practice embedded in asymmetrical institutional ecologies.

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