On The Interpreter’s Role In Exhibition Interpreting

China’s exhibition industry is in rapid development, which results in large demand of interpreters. However, currently students are not trained specifically for exhibition interpreting. The author took part in the 2nd China (Changsha) Mineral & Gem Show in 2014 as an interpreter, providing interpreting service to Indian and Nepalese exhibitors. During this process, the author found that a role of neutral and invisible "language convertor" can not satisfy the needs of exhibition interpreting. Therefore, we should seek for new recognition and positioning of interpreter’s role in exhibition interpreting. This study can help exhibition interpreters build a clearer understanding of their role and function, as well as responsibility and its boundary, thus further their professionalism and quality of service. Meanwhile, green interpreters tend to be exhibition interpreters. Since their understanding of their own roles is still vague, it is necessary to clarify interpreter’s role in exhibition interpreting.Based on author’s experience in the Mineral & Gem Show, this paper analyzes interpreter’s role in exhibition interpreting by studying real cases, and acquires how green interpreters understand their roles via questionnaires.Exhibition interpreting refers to interpreting service offered in various international exhibitions and commercial exhibitions. Compared with conference interpreting, the key of exhibition interpreting is two-way communication, instead of one-way information conveyance, and exhibition interpreting is less formal than conference interpreting. Since exhibition industry is one of emerging industries, there have been few researches on exhibition interpreting several years ago. Only in recent years, the number of researches on the subject is increasing. However, most of their attention goes to interpreter training and practice reports. Very few of them focus on interpreter’s role. Interpreter’s role in liaison interpreting attracts much attention in latest years, but the focus of these theses is on court interpreting and medical interpreting, instead of exhibition interpreting.The interpreter’s role in conference interpreting has been known as neutral and invisible "language convertor", which influenced people’s understanding of it in exhibition interpreting. Truly, an interpreter is neutral and invisible exhibition interpreting sometimes, but an interpreter also should intervene in the communication to make sure it is going well.Created by Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson, Conversation Analysis is a method to study specific speech and act in specific context from a micro point of view. This paper adopts conversation analysis method to analyze real cases in exhibition interpreting, discovering an interpreter has effect on turn-taking. An interpreter can ignore, create, stop or hand over turns. So we can reach a conclusion that an interpreter also plays the role of turn controller. Therefore, an interpreter is not only neutral and invisible "language convertor"; he/she can and should have effect on turn-taking to ensure sound communication. Of course, this effect is limited and conditional.In order to acquire how green interpreters understand their roles, the author sent every other interpreter in the Mineral & Gem Show a questionnaire. The result shows that interpreters who answered the questionnaire generally have a vague understanding of their own role and what kind of effect they can have.In a word, an interpreter should realize and recognize his/her own role and act on his/her own initiative to facilitate communication.