I know I know... one of the key principles of ethnography is that the ethnographer speaks the language of the people he is observing and does not use translators, ideally yes. However, when you do research across locations you need to ensure a) continuity and b) consistency on the method and approach, which more than not means that a researcher is present in all locations, even though he may not run all the sessions.
In my experience I was responsible for the research approach and results across multiple locations across countries and languages. Not being a polyglot, meant that I had to rely on local facilitators to extract knowledge. What is important here is that I worked with researchers not mere translators. My role was to ensure continuity and consistency and guide/help the local facilitator, not run the sessions.
Not knowing the language freed me to observe different things to the locall facilitator and regular time outs allowed us to compare notes and ensure we are on track. While not speaking the language I was still able to tell if the local facilitator was following the approach. For example, if the facilitator talks more than the participant, then you know that is something is not right.
Anyway, one of the side effects of being present in sessions that were conducted in a language other than English, was that some participants were keen to talk in English. here are tips on how to deal with this:
Participant not fluent in English
- Thank them
- Encourage them to speak in local language
- Local facilitator has language skills
- It is ok to ask a question in English and have the participant reply in local language
Participant fluent in English
- Do not force local language on them, it may insult them
- Ask them to use local terms where they need
- Do not pretend you understand everything they say
- Ask for clarification if necessary
- Local facilitator is there to help
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