Language Discordant Social Work in a Multilingual World

A fascinating study of an understudied field, this book demonstrates the profound relevance of language and communication studies in research and practice in linguistically diverse contexts. As Hilde Fiva Buzungu shows, it is not just researchers of cultural complexity who tend to underestimate the effects of linguistic barriers and misunderstandings, but this blind spot is also widespread in policy and practice. Many, both academics and practitioners, would benefit from reading this highly original and lucid book. Thomas Hylland Eriksen Professor of Social Anthropology University of Oslo Cross-cultural social work, including international social work, is grounded in communication between people from different language and cultural backgrounds. In such interactions it is vital that ways are found to overcome the barriers that such differences create. In such contexts, therefore, interpretation is the key to effective work. Yet, the role of interpreters and how to work effectively with them is not widely understood by social workers. Hilde Fiva Buzungu’s careful, critical study opens up insights that will enable social workers not only to consider how to work through interpretation more effectively, but also how to understand and address the many problems that communication through a third person can create. This study will be essential material not only for social workers in service provision roles, but also for managers and policy makers, educators and researchers alike. Richard Hugman, PhD FACSW Emeritus Professor of Social Work University of New South Wales The power imbued in communicative talk within any given language is complex. In Language Discordant Social Work in a Multilingual World, Hilde Buzungu boldly addresses the accentuation of these complexities in talk across languages. Through powerful descriptions of micro-level interactions between social workers and service users, Buzungu discusses how language discordance influences constructions and representations of the Other, the tendency towards essentializing discourses, the culturalization of social concerns, and the silencing of minority voices. In a neoliberal world characterized by decreased funding, including funding cuts for language translation for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, where social workers struggle against organizational constraints, Buzungu’s findings on the impacts of skilled versus untrained translators have policy implications and implications for social work’s ethical commitments. A source that can be used in advocacy initiatives! Vishanthie Sewpaul, PhD Emeritus Prof, UKZN South Africa