There is More to Bullying: Essential Elements of a Bullying Glossary

If you work in the educational setting, whether as an interpreter, an educator, or an administrator, you need be thinking about expanding reference material on the subject of bullying. Here are some tips to get started.

• Learn about bullying, as there is more to it than you might think. I was surprised to learn that bullying is a relationship issue and that not only the victims but also the bullies suffer from depression later in life because of involvement in childhood bullying. 
• While there might be good materials about bullying at your school, http://www.stopbullying.gov/ has useful resources for building the glossary.
•  Be aware of culturally bound terms and concepts, and properly identify and explain them in your glossary. For example, the term ‘depression’ is commonly used in relation to bullying. However, it might not have a direct equivalent in other languages or might be misunderstood in relation to children in other cultures.

When you begin building the glossary, it is best to organize the terms under separate categories for quick reference. Here are some essential elements of a bullying glossary:

Treat your glossary as a living, breathing document. Review and update it as new information becomes available or on a regular basis.  

1. The definition of bullying
2. Types of bullying
3. Characteristics of students who bully and who are bullied
4. Types of bullying behaviors
5. Causes of bullying
6. Consequences of bullying
7. School intervention initiatives and solutions
8. School policies and rules about bullying
9. Tips for parents to respond and prevent bullying

As bullying leads to serious health and mental health issues, and the terms in these areas are often challenging across language and culture (such as ‘depression’ in my example above), it is important to give special attention to them in your glossary.

An effective communication between parents and teachers is critical in efforts to create a safer and more respectful environment for all children. Building a useful glossary can help support that effort.

-Mitchel

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 200 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.