A Practice Report On Roles Of Liaison Interpreters In Business Settings

With China’s accession to the WTO and the accelerating globalization,international trade and business exchange develop rapidly. Against this backdrop,there is a growing demand for liaison interpreters in business settings. Thoseinterpreters are of great importance in facilitating cross-cultural businesscommunication. The roles they play in this process have attracted growing interestaccordingly.This report, based on the practice conducted by the researcher in serving as theliaison interpreter for two British clients to attend the8thGuangzhou InternationalLED Fair, visit suppliers’ factories, and conduct business negotiations, aims to explorefive roles of interpreters in business settings, including information deliverer,conversation participant, conflict mediator, cultural coordinator, and activity organizer.In this report the researcher will describe the interpreting task and process with afocus on analyzing the above mentioned five roles of interpreters through cases.The purpose of this report is to provide reference for future liaison interpreters,enabling them to enhance interpreting skills so as to better serve the parties involvedin business activities and to make business exchange a success.