A Study Of Client Expectations For Interpreting In Business Negotiations

Business activities in China have witnessed unprecedented growth since China became the world’s second largest economy. The growth has led to a growing demand for interpreters capable of doing business negotiations between Chinese and foreign clients. However, interpreting for business negotiations, owing to its distinctive features, has unique expectations for interpreters.Therefore, this paper is intended to explore the distinctive features of interpreting for business negotiations and find out the expectations that clients have for interpreting in this regard which can help summarize some strategies that interpreters can use for tasks in this field. This paper uses qualitative research method such as case study, interview and questionnaire. The author of this paper is able to conduct a survey in this respect due to many interpreting experiences for business negotiations, which helps her collect first hand materials, invite clients to take part in interviews and do the questionnaires about their expectations. The author first analyzes some interpreting materials from the perspective of Functionalism; then the author designs questionnaire and interview questions based on the hypothesis of important criteria clients look for; then the author invite clients to participate in the survey; last the author would analyze data collected and come up with some conclusions.This thesis is one of the few studies of client expectations for interpreting specifically in business negotiations with the goal of helping interpreters get some insights about the important criteria that clients in business negotiations care about most.