Positive Language Transfer In Simultaneous Interpreting

In this thesis, the phenomenon of positive language transfer in Chinese-English (C-E) simultaneous interpreting (SI) is investigated. First, this author provides an overview of previous studies of language transfer. It is argued that teachers who teach English to Chinese learners tend to overemphasize negative language transfer and pay much less attention to positive transfer mainly because of their own experiences of previous successes or disappointments, as well as their understanding of the abilities of their students. By conducting analyses of videos of100high-quality C-E simultaneous interpretations of speeches made by Chinese leaders in intercultural contexts and texts transcribed by the author, this author finds that positive language transfer is frequently used in C-E SI and is beneficial to simultaneous interpreters. It is argued that positive language transfer deserves more attention from SI trainers and practitioners. The objective of this study is to find out how much positive language transfer exists in C-E SI in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics and justify the argument that making good use of positive language transfer can enhance the quality of SI.This thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter1is the "Introduction", which discusses the background of this research and the significance of this study. An overview of studies of second language (L2) learning and SI suggests that researchers in these two fields believe that high-quality simultaneous interpreting results largely from overcoming negative language transfer. In Chapter2, the author reviews major findings in research on language transfer, discusses the definitions and development of language transfer and argues that language transfer has both positive and negative effects. A summary is provided to show the results from previous studies of L2learning, revealing that positive language transfer is less discussed or even ignored compared with negative language transfer. In Chapter3, the methodology for this study is explained. The author offers explanations of her reasons for choosing C-E SI of speeches by Chinese leaders in intercultural contexts as data for this study and provides brief introductions to the speeches that have been chosen. Besides, steps such as editing original videos, transcribing both the speeches and their interpretations, and choosing specific software as an aid to quantitative analyses are described to provide readers with a clear idea of how this study is conducted. In Chapter4, data are analyzed and discussed, which point to the fact that positive language transfer exists in phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics in C-E SI. By conducting quantitative analyses, a number of tables and figures are generated to demonstrate the frequency of positive language transfer in C-E SI. Examples from the data are analyzed in detail throughout this chapter to argue for the assertion that positive language transfer should be taken advantage of in C-E SI. Chapter5contains discussions of the major findings and pedagogical implications of this study for SI trainings. The author proposes that positive language transfer should be studied not only for the teaching of pronunciation but also for the teaching of lexicon, syntax and semantics. One of the benefits from taking such an approach is the possibility of improving the efficiency of English learning and increasing the speed of C-E SI. The author makes some suggestions for using positive language transfer in SI trainings. The last chapter of this thesis is the "Conclusion," in which the major findings of this study are recapitulated with the conclusions that positive language transfer exists heavily in C-E SI in such aspects as phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, and that if SI trainees and SI practitioners make good use of positive language transfer, the quality of SI can be greatly improved. This chapter ends with a few suggestions for enhancing the quality of SI.