Meaning: lost, found or 'made' in translation? A hermeneutical approach to cross-language interview research

Abstract

Qualitative research that includes interviews in languages foreign to the researcher(s) has become increasingly common. However, there is surprisingly little reflection on the methodological implications of such research practices. Furthermore, strategies on how to analyse cross- and multi-language interview material are lacking. The aim of this article is to present possible ways of handling these challenges, focusing mainly on analysis. I propose a hermeneutical approach to the issue. First, I will discuss the epistemological/methodological foundations of the approach before proposing some 'tools' to help practically tackle the 'problem' of analysis using the chosen methodological perspective. Rather than ignoring or trying to circumvent the question of foreign language and/or translation, in the proposed approach linguistic questions and questions of translation are the central focus.