The Interpreter's Roles-A Report On The Interpretation For A Meeting Between BCM City Ltd. And Guangdong Real Estate Association

Interpretation is essentially a form of communication,where the interpreter serves as a bridge for the messages from two or more parties to get across.In addition to the interpreter's cultural knowledge and linguistic skills,such communication is made possible by his or her performance of proper roles.Historically,the interpreter's role has largely been associated with such descriptions as a Helper,a Conduit and a Cultural Mediator.In recent works,theorists and researchers of interpretation have pointed to the necessity as well as the capacity of interpreters to perform different roles to tackle various situations.The present report,which is based on the author's interpretation for a business meeting,highlights a number of situations that threatened the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication,and analyzes the ways in which they were handled.In summary,the author's interpretation reflects three major roles: a text reorganizer,a gatekeeper,and a turn manager.From the reported task,the author gained practical insights into the fluidity of the interpreter's role.In real practice,the interpreter is not a mechanical transmitter of information.Rather,he is a participant of the communication process who should consciously measure the dynamics and plays different roles accordingly.