Professionalization Of Interpreting

This thesis aims to analyze the professionalization of interpreting. With the development of interpreting studies, interpreting professionalization has caught more and more attention from scholars.Interpretation, as an important means of communication between peoples, is indispensable in cross-cultural communication in human history, and its origination can trace back to the ancient times. Like any other profession, interpreting is specialized, with its professional characteristics and requirements.Interpreting has reached a new height along with social development. It has to result from a huge amount of standard and strict training. With a view to boosting interpreting professionalization, the present thesis looks into its history, criteria and professional skills, as well as other elements. The present thesis also takes into consideration quality requirement for interpreters, points out the necessity of professional training, and explores how to design training curriculum. It also discusses interpreting accreditation program and special professional association, which are crucial to the legitimacy of this profession to a certain degree, and helpful in regulating the interpreting market.The present thesis starts with an introduction of its framework and main ideas, followed by five chapters of elaboration.Chapter One introduces the definition of interpreting and categorizes different types of interpreting work and analyzes existing misunderstanding for the interpreting profession. Chapter Two reviews the history and development of the interpreting professionalization in westerns countries and China, starting from the early stage to the present-day relatively developed market.Chapter Three studies the definition of interpreting professionalization based on the previous research of its relevant history and development. It focuses on several interwoven factors of interpreting professionalization: the quality of interpreting, working environment, professional associations, professional ethics, training and accreditation.Chapter Four elaborates on two key factors. It explains the definition and assessment of quality. Interpreting quality goes beyond the successful role played by interpreter in communication to linguistic knowledge, extra linguistic knowledge, interpreting skills, and professional norms. Quality assessment includes user expectation as interpreting is also a service. It also concentrates on professional training and accreditation, and puts forward training curriculum aiming at the improvement of quality.Chapter Five focuses on conference interpreting, which enjoys an important and relatively mature status in professional interpreting. It also discusses conference interpreter status and the market of conference interpreting.