Key points
- Young language brokers bridge communication gaps in families, schools, and public services.
- They develop empathy, problem-solving, and cultural fluency through real-world interpretation.
- Support from families and schools can help them thrive without carrying adult burdens alone.
Across the world in a wide range of contexts, many children and adults serve as informal interpreters. Often unnoticed and unacknowledged, these young language brokers play a crucial role in allowing communication needs to be met. Young language brokers are adolescents and children with language proficiencies who mediate communication between individuals in everyday life. Whether translating in school offices, marketplaces, government offices, or medical appointments, these young interpreters navigate the complex linguistic landscape to offer insightful, context-specific translation to those they are aiding. Young language brokers are often children of immigrants who speak the official language of the country with better proficiency than their parents or adults in their communities who provide interpretation to navigate through communication needs.
Due to being in a space where they function as intermediaries among adults with a difference in language proficiency, they become the conduit through which such individuals are able to communicate in both languages. This phenomenon often occurs due to multilingual households, immigration, and certain settings where professional interpreters are not available for a variety of reasons. Language brokers are an outlier effect of multilingualism, especially in migrant communities or those with people with limited understanding of dominant languages. They are the unsung heroes of communication, offering communication that is context-based and meets the needs of the communicators.
Recognizing the Strengths and Contributions of Young Interpreters
The contributions of language brokers lie in their strengths. Often, young language brokers develop their linguistic competence and further develop intercultural understanding, empathy, and responsibility in order to make effective communication for the adults involved. Moreover, they often develop subtle problem-solving abilities that are crucial in avoiding miscommunication and conflict. Research also shows that these young interpreters gain more cognitive abilities due to exposure to more serious and complex issues at an early age, such as medical issues or matters related to migration.
They are also great providers of access to communication to the adults in their lives who need it. They bridge language gaps and enable access to information and essential services for their families and communities. Young language brokers are often supporting their communities in getting migrant and other government services, alongside other forms of essential services. They also serve as cultural brokers in such situations, explaining refined and cultural contexts that go beyond words. For example, a migrant child with an understanding of English and their native language can be an interpreter for their parents at a medical appointment with a doctor who does not speak their heritage language. The young language brokers ensure there are no communication barriers as a result of cultural differences. They do this by bringing cultural nuance in translation to focus.
In essence, these young language brokers are impressive communicators who have honed vital skills in communication beyond those previously mentioned. They have an untapped potential for much greater competencies and would benefit from proper support and recognition. Given the appropriate support, language brokers can be even greater assets in society within their different contexts.
Empowering Young Language Brokers: Towards Recognition and Support
By having an understanding of who young language brokers are and their invaluable addition to society, it is fundamental that they are viewed from a perspective that goes beyond “simple helpers.” Communities need to acknowledge their abilities as something crucial for the functioning of societies and provide support as needed.
Given their upper hand in grasping language within cultural contexts and communicating effectively across intergenerational and intercultural spaces, their families and communities have a responsibility to support them with both emotional and instrumental support. One of the ways this support can be offered is through viewing them with the same respect and recognition that is given to professional interpreters. Recognition of this kind, even without monetary compensation, can go a long way in building their confidence and motivating them to improve their communication skills.
Additionally, communities and families need to create environments that celebrate multilingualism. Such inclusivity can provide these young people with opportunities to be more proficient in the languages they speak. It could also reduce the burden they have in aiding adults in their communication. Embracing multilingualism is a step towards better communication that is not solely reliant on children’s ability to manage certain complex situations.
At the same time, promoting a culture of multilingualism would improve their cognitive abilities through inclusive learning environments that are contextually relatable. As a whole, supporting young language brokers benefits the community as a whole.
Beyond support from families and their communities, young language brokers may benefit from institutional support within education systems. Educational institutions need to acknowledge their abilities as superior strengths and make strides to support them and grow their linguistic skills in positive ways. Ranging from language clubs and societies to workshops on interpretation, assisting young language brokers opens up a world of opportunities for these gifted children and adolescents.
Conclusion
Young language brokers are not just multilingual children and adolescents, and they are not just passive members of their communities and families. They are skilled interpreters who have often gained these skills through necessity and can communicate well beyond their years of formal training. In a globalizing world, they play a crucial role as connectors, conflict mediators, translators of both language and culture, and preservers of cultural knowledge. Through translation of more than words, they carry an immense emotional and cognitive load. Oftentimes, reducing them to simple helpers negates the burden of the complexities of what they navigate at a very young age.