Emotional factors in linguistic–cultural mediation have attracted the attention of prior literature for a number of decades, both regarding the cognitive processes involved in language interpreting and the impact of stress and emotion on the performance of interpreters. However, research has not yet been replicated in the Arabic–Spanish pair, despite it being one of the combinations most requested by public services in Spain and Europe. Methodology: An exploratory study conducted by an anonymous online 17-item survey was carried out in order to discover the perception of Arabic–Spanish interpreters in asylum and refugee settings about the emotional impact of their job. Out of 30 contacted, 23 active interpreters completed the survey. Results: The answers showed that all of the interpreters had been exposed to situations that had emotionally impacted them. Triggering situations and a list of negative emotions were collected. Discussion: Direct and indirect implications of the referred emotional episodes and their consequences on the performance of the interpreters were analysed and discussed. Conclusions: Linguistic–cultural mediation in these settings exposes interpreters to harsh stories that trigger mostly negative emotions. These professionals lack psychological support; thus, they are forced to deal individually with each situation, without taking into account the possible consequences on their work and their physical and mental health.

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Resumen: En la interpretación de lenguas existe un debate acerca de si su ejercicio consiste en un proceso cognitivo inalterable e independiente del par de lenguas en el que se trabaja, o si las peculiaridades de determinadas combinaciones lingüísticas podrían alterar ese proceso, lo que variaría de estrategias cognitivas empleadas y recomendaría el abordaje de aspectos formales de las lenguas en la formación de intérpretes. La interpretación simultánea árabe-español (IS AR-ES), en tanto que implica dos lenguas asimétricas lingüística y socioculturalmente, debe abordar este debate y aportar conclusiones empíricas para guiar la docencia y la práctica profesional. Método: Estudio basado en encuesta acerca de la práctica de la IS AR-ES, sus especificidades y la posible incidencia de la asimetría en este par lenguas. Se suministró un cuestionario de 45 preguntas a 12 intérpretes de conferencias AR-ES, casi la totalidad de profesionales que ejercen en España. Resultados: Revelan una notable incidencia de peculiaridades del árabe en la práctica de la IS AR-ES (diglosia, alternancia de código, variación diatópica y diastrática, etc.). Conclusiones: La asimetría en la combinación AR-ES abarca los planos lingüístico y cultural, que se entremezclan, y es más acusada que en las combinaciones español-inglés y español-francés ejercidas por estos intérpretes.

Many reasons have boosted the demand for Arabic-Spanish Simultaneous Interpreting (SI), among others the political and economic interdependence and the social and cultural relations between the Arab and the Spanish-speaking world, as well as the growing interest in the contemporary Arabic world for strategic and geopolitical reasons. Meetings and multilateral conferences have proliferated from the second half of the twentieth century. In addition, Arabic and Spanish are official languages at international organizations like the United Nations or the African Union, and they are present in the private international market of SI. However, research on the quality of Spanish-Arabic interpreting (AR-SP) remains limited, raising numerous questions on the evaluation and quality control of a profession that enables communication in an increasingly globalized world. This article, which is part of a wider study analyzing how users of interpreting services evaluate AR-SP SI, focuses on the analysis of two parameters: correct transmission and complete transmission of the Original Speech (OS). For this purpose, we have carried out an empirical study using a questionnaire to survey 25 users of interpreting services, asking them to observe and evaluate AR-SP SI over the course of a 30 minute conference. The data obtained reveals that the users are aware of the concept of quality regards interpreting and, despite not having access to the OS, form an opinion on interpreters and their work. Ultimately, in this article we investigate the elements that influence how users of interpreting services evaluate AR-SP interpreting and the consequences these elements have on the work of the interpreter.

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