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Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 64:1 (2018) ► pp.1–32

Between invisibility and over-visibility

Self-perception and user expectations of liaison interpreters in business settings

| Durham University
| Ningbo University

Recent research on liaison interpreting shows that the interpreters’ role in communicative events includes language facilitator and intercultural mediator. Being empowered with more coordinating functions rather than regarded as invisible conduits, however, how do interpreters with different professional experiences perceive their own role in business settings? And what are the actual expectations on them from their clients? This paper tries to answer the questions through a questionnaire-based survey of three groups of respondents: professional interpreters, student interpreters and clients, with each group including 30 respondents. Chesterman’s (2001) four models of ethics, together with the hypothetical no ethics model, were designed as answers to the questionnaire (17 closed questions) and translation versions to two interpreting samples. The frequencies of responses to the questions and the evaluation scores of the translation versions are collected and analyzed, revealing the following findings: All three groups acknowledge the constraints translation ethics place on the freedom of action; and all three groups agree that interpreters simultaneously shoulder the tasks of translating and coordinating, with the “ethics of communication” being the most widely acknowledged one. However, there are discrepancies between and within the groups, and even attitudinal inconsistencies and contradictions in individual participants. These findings, by re-describing the interpreter’s power in interlingual and intercultural interactions, will help improve professional standards and interpreting training.

Keywords: liaison interpreting, self-perception, user expectations, translation/interpreting ethics, business settings
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
  • 3.Code of ethics for interpreting and translation
  • 4.Research design
    • 4.1Questionnaire
    • 4.2Respondents
  • 5.Data collection and analysis
    • 5.1The responses to the closed-ended questions
      • 5.1.1Overall and classified results of the answers to the closed-ended questions
      • 5.1.2Within- and between-group comparisons
    • 5.2The interpreting sample evaluation
  • 6.Conclusion
    • 6.1The consensus reached by all respondents
    • 6.2The differences between the three groups
    • 6.3Pedagogical applications and future research
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 9 July 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00023.zhe
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