Interpretation Research in Japan

Masaomi Kondo and Akira Mizuno
Interpreting Research Association of Japan
Abstract

The following is a personal account of how a small number of conference interpreters and others interested in the conference interpreting profession in Japan launched the Interpreting Research Assocation of Japan. The paper also reviews some of the pertinent writings, mainly in Japanese, which discuss various aspects of conference interpreting. It is hoped that this article will help shed some light on a number of issues we face in promoting interpretation research, as well as on the profession itself, in Japan.

Table of contents

Research on interpreting in Japan is in its infancy. This paper aims to introduce to readers outside Japan the development in interpreting research inside Japan. It begins by considering the circumstances that have inspired interest in this area among some members of the interpreting profession in Japan, and then considers the range of Japanese literature on this topic. This paper covers the period up to September 1993 unless otherwise noted. Let us first look closely at how a group was formed to promote interpreting research.

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