Students’ Consecutive Interpreting Strategies: A Case of Pregnancy Check-up Dialogue Interpreting
TL;DR
The prevalence of elaboration demonstrates interpreters’ effort to enhance clarity and ensure accurate comprehension of medical information, and aligns with Gutman’s (2025) argument that interpreters are key to health equity.
Abstract
Interpretation is crucial for overcoming language and cultural obstacles, particularly in medical contexts where accuracy and clarity directly affect patient care. Consecutive interpreting (CI), in which interpreters render messages after the speaker pauses, is commonly used in healthcare encounters such as pregnancy check-ups. While previous research has explored strategies in conference, legal, and educational interpreting, little attention has been given to medical dialogues. The study aims to analyze the strategies employed by a student interpreter in a simulated pregnancy check-up dialogue. Using a qualitative approach, the data were drawn from video transcripts of Indonesian–English dialogues and analyzed through Faerch and Kasper’s (1983) framework of interpreting strategies. The findings reveal that elaboration strategies dominate, accounting for 90% of instances, followed by skipping (6%) and filtering (4%). The prevalence of elaboration demonstrates interpreters’ effort to enhance clarity and ensure accurate comprehension of medical information. These results align with Gutman’s (2025) argument that interpreters are key to health equity, as their strategies not only transfer linguistic content but also reduce health disparities and build trust in clinical interactions. The study highlights the significance of support for interpreters in medical contexts to ensure patient safety and equitable healthcare access.