Information Shifts In English-Chinese Simultaneous Interpreting In Medical Conferences

Scholars at home and abroad have studied different aspects of translation shift,from the controversies on translation shift to the impact of it on the target text.Little attention is paid to the phenomenon of information shift in the medical field.This research attempts to describe the categories,the ways,and the causes of information shift in English to Chinese simultaneous interpreting(hereinafter referred to as E-C SI)in remote medical conferences.To figure out the categories,ways,and causes of information shift in E-C SI in the medical field,this research studies SI of a remote medical conference.Based on the existing research involving information shift classification,the information shift in the material is classified.This research adopts a descriptive approach of translation studies,assisted by inter-textual comparison analysis and a stimulated retrospective interview.Based on the theoretical framework of Gile’s Effort Model of SI and major shaping forces of interpreting performance put forward by Wang Binhua,this research probes into the possible causes of information shift.The main results are as follows: 1)Omission,addition,substitution,and generalization are four major categories of information shifts found in E-C SI in medical conferences;2)Omission is mainly made by omitting given information;addition is mainly made through adding details,guide language;substitution mainly by replacing information with superordinate and/or demonstratives;and generalization mainly by combining similar information;3)Interpreters make information shifts to overcome the differences between English and Chinese,the limitations of cognitive conditions on-site and the imbalance of efforts allocation.Meanwhile,it can also help interpreters to provide effective interpretation for the audience.The results of this research help medical interpreting practitioners and novice medical interpreters to resort to information shifts to get better interpreting by learning the SI output of professional medical interpreters,and give suggestions to medical interpreter training schools.