Tech-empowered equity: advancing linguistic justice through digital scholarship

Abstract This proposal addresses a critical yet often overlooked aspect within human rights, linguistics, and translation and interpreting studies by advocating for the integration of digital scholarship into the pursuit of linguistic justice. Focusing on court interpreting for migrants in Australia, the study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative accuracy assessments with qualitative discourse analysis to evaluate and improve interpreter-mediated communication in legal settings. By leveraging digital humanities (DH) methodologies such as corpus linguistics, natural language processing, and machine learning (ML), the proposal outlines three interdisciplinary research directions: (1) corpus-based analysis of courtroom interpreting performance, (2) development of ML-driven interpreter feedback systems, and (3) evaluation of linguistic rights and language equity within legal contexts. This research aims to bridge the gap between applied research insights and real-world legal applications, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of interpreting services, especially in technology-enabled remote hearings. Additionally, the proposal emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in developing innovative solutions to systemic inequities in legal proceedings. By transforming specialized court interpreter training and practices through digital tools and data-driven approaches, this work seeks to ensure equitable access to justice for non-native speakers and promote a more inclusive legal system. Ultimately, this proposal demonstrates the potential of DH to not only advance academic understanding but also deliver tangible benefits in institutional settings, thereby reinforcing procedural justice and linguistic human rights in courtroom environments.