The Interpreter's Role As Coordinator In Business Dialogue Interpreting

This thesis explores the role of interpreters in business dialogue interpreting based on an empirical research.Some people still hold the traditional view that interpreters should perform as an invisible translating machine.However,in real cases,the requirements towards interpreters in different tasks vary.Specially,in business dialogue interpreting,which features high interactivity,flexibility and pressure,interpreters cannot remain completely invisible.This thesis looks at dialogue interpreting in the business setting.Based on the analysis on authentic recordings of business dialogue interpreting,this thesis is going to describe the performance of interpreters in interpreted communication.Via the theoretical lens of interactional sociolinguistics,the present thesis approaches the turn-taking strategies taken by the interpreters.Quantitative analysis reveals the active role of interpreters in managing the turn-taking flow in business dialogues.Qualitative analysis is conducted to elaborate on the specific strategies interpreters take to coordinate the communication.Phenomena of regular turns,turns with silence,overlapping turns,and interpreter turns will be explained in a detailing way.And based on interactional sociolinguistics,the interplay between dialogues and their contexts,and the participants' interaction will be analyzed to explain the interpreters' performance.The thesis demonstrates that business dialogue interpreters play the role as communication coordinator.And the ultimate objective for this research is to provide a better understanding of the role of interpreters so as to improve the quality of business dialogue interpreting.