A Report On The Roles Of Interpreter In The Confucius Institute Program From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

It is necessary to research on and define the roles of interpreter in the Confucius Institute program since the Confucius Institute has been playing a more and more significant role in bridging China and the rest of the world.This report analyzes the interpreting tasks that the author undertook when working as a Confucius Institute volunteer in Australia from the perspective of Skopos Theory and summarizes four different roles the volunteers should undertake when doing interpreting tasks and corresponding tactics of interpretation.When playing the role of an examiner of political expressions,the interpreter should replace the improper expressions in the source text in order to maintain the national image and take a firm political stand.As a Chinese culture disseminator,the interpreter can add relevant background knowledge and lead both sides to further discuss on the topic,so as to intrigue the listeners’ interest in the Chinese language and culture.When playing the role of a cross-cultural facilitator,the interpreter should take the initiative to explain cultural differences in time in order to avoid potential misunderstandings or frictions,thus facilitating a harmonious communication.As a misconception corrector,the interpreter should point out the wrong information about Chinese language and culture and at the same time spread Mandarin as well as mainstream Chinese culture so as to correct misconceptions about China.Base on the above,it is clear that the target text should vary with different purposes of interpreting tasks and distinct expectations of the clients.Identifying the roles of interpreter can help to choose proper tactics of interpretation,thus enabling the interpreter to better fulfill the interpreting tasks.