ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Culture and Communication
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1599069
This article is part of the Research TopicVoices across Borders: Navigating Linguistic and Cultural Landscapes for LGBTQ+ Migrants in Host CountriesView all 4 articles
Seeing it firsthand: Interpreters' insights from working with LGBTIQA+ Individuals Settling in Australia
Provisionally accepted
- RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This article uses the interpreter's perspective to explore communication challenges faced by LGBTIQA+ migrants arising from linguistic and cultural discordances when accessing public services in Australia. Drawing on qualitative data collected through interviews with 24 interpreters working across 12 languages, this research reveals multi-dimensional complexities of language mediation in encounters involving gender and sexual identity. Findings highlight three key challenges: linguistic barriers, including the absence of standardised LGBTIQA+ terminology and difficulties with the use of pronouns; cultural challenges, where interpreters need to strike a balance between linguistic accuracy and cultural sensitivity; and emotional burdens borne by interpreters due to exposure to sensitive, traumatic, or emotionally-charged narratives. To address these issues, the study recommends developing multilingual LGBTIQA+ glossaries, improving interpreters' access to briefings, and incorporating LGBTIQA+ topics into interpreter training and education. These measures aim to foster equitable, dignified communication for LGBTIQA+ migrants in Australia.
Keywords: Interpreter-mediated communication, Public service accessibility, Linguistic barriers, Cultural sensitivity, LGBTIQA+ migrants, queer
Received: 24 Mar 2025; Accepted: 31 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lai, Zhang and Gonzalez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miranda Lai, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.