Guide Interpretation: Communicating Cultures

Tourism is defined in a broad sense as a group of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment. People who make trips are called "tourists". And the term "tourism interpreter" or "guide interpreter" refers to the specialist translator in the tourism industry. Guide interpretation, as a branch of interpretation, is different from translation in terms of Information Input, Message Processing and Criteria of evaluation. By highlighting those differences we can understand the nature of guide interpretation, however, as a special form of interpretation, guide interpretation also possesses unique features. First, it is characterized by "untranslatability". Sometimes untranslatability is unavoidable because even bilingual dictionaries don't provide us with the word at all. "A foreignizing translation is highly desirable, insofar as it seeks to resist the dominant target-language cultural values and signify the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text" (Venuti 1995). A responsible guide interpreter surely should try his best to translate the untranslatable, but when the untranslatability goes beyond his ability, he should leave it as it is. As for solutions to the untranslatability, there are basically two ways: foreignization and domestication. Second, guide interpretation is affected by cultural constraints because itself is "intercultural communication". Third, guide interpretation is a combination of fun and seriousness. As guide interpretation is communicating cultures, Theories in the IC (Intercultural Communication) study can benefit the guide interpretation practice. Researches on IC can be categorized into the study of Models, namely (1) the study of the Behavioral Model of IC, (2) the study of the Cognitive Model of IC, and (3) the study of the Interpretive Model of IC. Each model has its own study structure and has had significant findings. In order to be fully aware of his job domain, a guide interpreter should be equipped with the knowledge on the ideological and religious constraints, historical constraints, custom constraints and diverse regional cultures.In one word, guide interpretation is demanding and challenging, particularly nowadays with the thriving of the tourism industry and the advancement of globalization. A guide interpreter has to be well-equipped with knowledge both in his own field and the IC study before he is referred to as a conscientious and qualified guide interpreter.