Across the world in a wide range of contexts, many children and adults serve as informal interpreters. Often unnoticed and unacknowledged, these young language brokers play a crucial role in allowing communication needs to be met. Young language brokers are adolescents and children with language proficiencies who mediate communication between individuals in everyday life. Whether translating in school offices, marketplaces, government offices, or medical appointments, these young interpreters navigate the complex linguistic landscape to offer insightful, context-specific translation to those they are aiding. Young language brokers are often children of immigrants who speak the official language of the country with better proficiency than their parents or adults in their communities who provide interpretation to navigate through communication needs.

Due to being in a space where they function as intermediaries among adults with a difference in language proficiency, they become the conduit through which such individuals are able to communicate in both languages. This phenomenon often occurs due to multilingual households, immigration, and certain settings where professional interpreters are not available for a variety of reasons. Language brokers are an outlier effect of multilingualism, especially in migrant communities or those with people with limited understanding of dominant languages. They are the unsung heroes of communication, offering communication that is context-based and meets the needs of the communicators.

The contributions of language brokers lie in their strengths. Often, young language brokers develop their linguistic competence and further develop intercultural understanding, empathy, and responsibility in order to make effective communication for the adults involved. Moreover, they often develop subtle problem-solving abilities that are crucial in avoiding........

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