Language mediation as a window into language ideological beliefs: an examination of interpreter selection practices in municipal sham relationship investigations in Belgium (Flanders)

Sham relationship investigations in Flanders (Belgium) are multi-phased institutional procedures comprising (i) a municipal phase at the civil registry office and (ii) a judicial phase at the police office. While language rights are supposedly guaranteed for applicants on the police level, where certified sworn interpreters are provided by the State, in the municipal phase, any type of interpreter, professional or non-professional, may be used. This freedom of choice has led to disparate local practices in municipal interpreter selection procedures. We have interviewed civil servants across three different municipalities, as well as surveyed 56 municipalities on their interpreter selection practices. Of the 26 municipalities that organize interviews as part of their preliminary sham relationship investigations, 21 work with interpreters (12 ad hoc, 6 sworn, and 3 community), while 5 do not. We discuss the motivations behind these decisions and the insight they implicitly offer into the language ideological beliefs of the municipality and the civil servants implementing the policy. We have observed three main rationales: (i) judicial fencing and streamlining, (ii) institutional accommodation and (iii) institutional omission.