La mediación interlingüística e intercultural en los SS. PP. de intervención y asistencia en emergencias de protección civil. El caso del teléfono de emergencias «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana»

Garantizar un acceso igualitario a los servicios públicos esenciales conforma, sin duda, una gran preocupación en la compleja disciplina de la traducción y la interpretación en los servicios públicos (TISP). Este estudio etnográfico se desarrolla en el contexto de un creciente interés por comprender cómo se avala la accesibilidad al teléfono público de emergencias 1·1·2 en lenguas no oficiales, en la Comunidad Valenciana, una de las regiones españolas que más turismo recibe y que cuenta con una significativa población extranjera residente.A través del caso específico del «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana», se abordan las lagunas de conocimiento existentes en la literatura científica sobre lo que en esta tesis se ha definido como mediación interlingüística e intercultural a través de la interpretación telefónica en emergencias (MILICITE). De este modo, el objetivo principal fue examinar los procesos de atención de las llamadas en idiomas extranjeros y evaluar cómo se gestionan los flujos de información entre los Servicios Públicos de Intervención y Asistencia en Emergencias de Protección Civil (SPIAEPC) y la población migrante. Las preguntas que acompañaron esta investigación fueron, a su vez, diseñadas para delimitar el rol, funciones y responsabilidades de estos mediadores e intérpretes de modo que fuera posible su adecuada denominación y contribuir, así, al necesario reconocimiento de la profesión. Asimismo, para comprender lo que verdaderamente entraña su labor, se empleó un diseño exploratorio y descriptivo, en el que se recopilaron datos cualitativos y cuantitativos mediante diferentes herramientas como la observación directa, la transcripción y grabación de llamadas simuladas, grupos de discusión y entrevistas. Los resultados, derivados de la triangulación sistemática de estos métodos, revelaron que el acceso de este sector de la población a los servicios públicos de emergencia en esta región está garantizado por partida doble. Por un lado, a través de la legislación autonómica, nacional y europea vigente y, por otro, por la instintiva activación de complejos mecanismos de mediación interlingüística e intercultural (MILIC) por parte de los gestores de atención de llamadas. No obstante, el análisis exhaustivo de las instrucciones técnicas existentes ha permitido confirmar que, en materia de idiomas extranjeros, estas todavía se encuentran en una fase inicial de desarrollo a pesar de que el servicio se inició en 1999. Para contribuir a su avance, se han enmarcado estos procesos dentro de la TISP, de la MILIC y de la interpretación bilateral telefónica (IBT), y sugerido mejoras para la formación y práctica profesional en el Centro de Coordinación de Emergencias de la Generalitat Valenciana. Finalmente, este trabajo doctoral ha evidenciado la latente preocupación por parte de las autoridades de la emergencia por ofrecer un óptimo servicio en la gestión de las peticiones de auxilio multilingües. Sin embargo, los mediadores e intérpretes del «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana», no siempre cuentan con el apoyo, la formación y los recursos adecuados para llevar a cabo una tarea tan exigente. Por ello, concluimos que existe una urgente necesidad de concienciación política y administrativa sobre la MILICITE y de su correcto desarrollo profesional. Únicamente de este modo, se podrá garantizar el éxito de las comunicaciones entre la Administración y todos ciudadanos cuando sus vidas están en peligro.

Ensuring equitable access to vital public services is a significant concern in the complex area of Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT). This ethnographic study unfolds against the backdrop of a growing interest in understanding how accessibility to the public emergency telephone number 1·1·2 is guaranteed in non-official languages, in the Valencian Region, one of the Spanish regions that receives the most tourism and has a large foreign resident population.

By scrutinizing the specific case of the «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana», this thesis seeks to address the knowledge gap about what this study has coined as Interlinguistic and Intercultural Mediation through Emergency Telephone Interpreting (MILICITE by its Spanish acronym). The main objective of this research was to analyze the multilingual call handling processes and to assess how data is managed between the Public Services of Intervention and Assistance in Civil Protection Emergencies (known by its Spanish acronym, SPIAEPC) and the migrant population.

The research questions guiding this inquiry were also designed to delineate the role, functions and responsibilities of these mediators and interpreters so that it would be possible to define them appropriately and thus, contribute to the necessary professional recognition. Likewise, in order to understand what their work really entails, an exploratory and descriptive design was employed, in which qualitative and quantitative data was collected using different tools such as direct observation, transcriptions and recordings of simulated calls, focus groups and interviews.

This doctoral thesis has been structured around a total of nine chapters preceded by an introductory passage. It is composed of four initial sections with a theoretical-descriptive nature, four successive analytical chapters, and a closing unit that summarises the results and provides the concluding remarks. The first chapter set the context for essential public services, focusing on the trajectory and legal framework of the SPIAEPCs, highlighting the «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana» as one of them. Chapter two focused on public service interpreting, defining its terminology, features and evolution towards modalities such as remote interpreting, especially over the phone. Chapter three dealt with interlinguistic and intercultural mediation as a mode of communication, and the techniques and skills required for its practice. Chapter four then addressed the European public emergency telephone number 1·1·2 and its consolidation in Spain and, more specifically, in the Region of Valencia. This section also provided a snapshot of its organisational structure, paying special attention to the Call Reception and Management Centre (above mentioned as ECRMC) and its operating procedures. Once the theoretical foundations were consolidated, a more analytical stage followed. Chapter five focalised on the workspace and resources for mediation and interpretation in emergencies over the phone. At the same time, a major enquiry into the interactions and their communicative purpose, possible theme areas and contexts was conducted. It then detailed the phases detected in the process of emergency management according to the mediating and interpreting modalities applied, to conclude with a practical diagnosis of the current standard operating procedures.The sixth chapter included two case studies through the transcription and recording of simulated emergency calls. On the one hand, the communicative context and information management using a call report was analysed and, on the other hand, the MILICITE performance was assessed with the ad hoc rubrics taking into consideration essential features such as call handling, communication, information and incident management and mediation and telephone bilateral interpreting techniques. This section also explored the strategies for overcoming challenges and difficulties when mediating over-the-phone communication in emergencies. The first conclusions of this doctoral work were drawn from these examples. This particular approach where interlinguistic and intercultural mediation and liaison telephone interpreting converge, appeared as a new branch of PSIT. A new modality which embraces different contexts of specialization such as medical, social, judicial and police needed a new term that encapsulates its intrinsic nature: Interlinguistic and Intercultural Mediation Through Emergency Telephone Interpreting: MILICITE.Chapter seven delved into the role of the interlinguistic and intercultural mediator through 1·1·2 emergency telephone interpreting, analysing the access requirements, training and necessary competences. It also underlined a proposal for ethical principles, protocols and guidance on the role and intervention of the MILICITE in the «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana». These guidelines could also contribute to the professionalisation of the sector and the protection of the staff who develop their career in the 1·1·2 mediation and interpreting sphere.Unquestionably, all this theoretical framework would be meaningless without the views of the workers themselves. Chapter eight landed on the reality of the profession. From one perspective, the MILICITEs expressed their opinions through a survey and subsequent focus group. From another perspective, we interviewed the highest institutional authority on which the service depends.The findings, derived from the systematic triangulation of these methods, revealed that access to public emergency services by this segment of the population in this region is doubly secured. On the one hand, through current territorial, national and European policies and, on the other, through the instinctive activation of complex mechanisms of Interlinguistic and Intercultural Mediation (IIM) by call handlers. Notwithstanding, a thorough analysis of existing multilingual call-handling protocols has made it possible to confirm that, even though the service was firstly implemented in 1999, they are still at an early stage of development. With a view to contributing to their progress, these processes have been framed within the field of PSIT, IIM and Bilateral Telephone Interpreting (BTI), and improvements have been suggested for training and professional practice in the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) of the Valencian Government.

Finally, this doctoral work has signaled that offering an optimal service in the management of multilingual requests for assistance is an underlying concern to the emergency authorities. However, the «1·1·2 Comunitat Valenciana» mediators-interpreters, do not always seem to have adequate support, training and resources to carry out such a demanding task. Hence, we conclude that there is an urgent need to raise political and administrative awareness of MILICITE as well as promoting its satisfactory professional development. Only in this way will it be possible to guarantee successful communications between the Administration and all citizens when their lives are at stake.