L'ethnologue comme médiateur linguistique et culturel

International audienceIn this article, an ethnologist and a linguist revisit some elements of the former's research on the male/female relationships of two generations from an Andalusian village, carried out through the medium of Spanish. We adopt Humbley's view of mediation as a polysemic concept, promoting interdisciplinary discussion, we focus both on Vygotsky's theory of linguistic and cultural mediation as semiotic tools allowing socialisation and interaction with the world and the CEFRL, where linguistic mediation is posited as a communicative act, including translation, reformulation, clarification and interpretation. Firstly,we will explain how even renowned ethnologists, such as Rivers, have not always relied on direct contact with the language, but have had recourse to other forms of semiotic mediation, such as interpreters or direct experience and observation. We then show, through examples drawn from the ethnologist's proficient use of the Spanish language and of privileged informants particularly sensitive to language issues, that first-hand knowledge of the language is one of the many essential elements for in-depth understanding of the culture under study. The outsider's double vision will both allow insights hidden from insiders and access to linguistic and cultural mediation by informants, but may also lead to over-interpretation. Finally, we argue that, although knowledge of the language is necessary to understand a society, this must be completed by reflexivity on the stance and cultural background of the ethnologist her/himself