Interpreter As Co-Interlocutor—A Glimpse At Reported Speech In Liaison Interpreting Practice Through Conversation Analysis

In the field ofinterpreting studies,reported speech remainsa topic rarely touched upon.Even lessfound is the research on the use of reported speech in the process of liaison interpreting which is always overshadowed by conference interpreting in historical development.This report,featuringthe author’s personal practicebut essentially research-oriented,differs somewhatfrom the practice report in general and attempts at conducting an analysis on the conversational features of liaison interpreting that undergoes in the relatively informal and relaxing atmosphereon a basis of theoretical research.Indirect speech,unlike direct speech which emphasizes reporting the speaker’s discourse without rectification,encourages the rephrasing of the speaker’s discourse from the interpreter’s perspective.This means that the interpreter,instead of interpreting the discourse of speakers verbatim,turns into a co-interlocutor who not only interprets but also contributes his discourse and manifests his subjectivity consciousness in the process of liaison interpreting.