Misuse Of Cohesive Devices In C-E Consecutive Interpreting Of Impromptu Speech

Cohesive devices have been regarded as one of the indispensable approaches to achieve textual cohesion, a key criteria for interpreting quality assessment. Previous studies have shown that trainee interpreters have difficulties in achieving identical coherence relations with the source text by effective use of cohesive devices, especially in impromptu speeches featured by high degree of orality. However, little research efforts have been made to explore this phenomenon and provide corresponding suggestions. Therefore, the present study is designed to investigate the oral factors in the source text featured by orality that may affect trainee interpreters’ effective use of cohesive devices in the target text, and in the meanwhile summarize the existing misuses of cohesive devices by trainee interpreters in dealing with impromptu speeches in Chinese-English consecutive interpreting. Suggestions for quality improvement in cohesion are proposed based on the underlying causes of the misused cohesive devices and the reference to the production of professional interpreters.Cohesive devices are narrowed down to conjunctions in the current study. By the means of examining the use of cohesive devices against the coherence relations in the source text and the target text, intra-textually and inter-textually, the research questions have been addressed. It is found that there are cohesion deficiencies in the source text, including misused and fuzzy of cohesive devices. Trainee interpreters tend to retain those deficiencies without distinction in their target texts. Other cohesion misuses have also been discussed, including shifts of cohesive devices in logical-semantic relations and structures, and the nonstandard use of cohesive devices. It is hoped that the current study can be pedagogically useful by raising the awareness of both trainers and trainee interpreters towards cohesion in interpreting training and practice.