A Study On The Role Perceptions Of Interpreters

As more people are trained to be interpreters nowadays,the role perceptions of interpreters remain a much-heated topic.Thus,it is highly relevant to study how trainee interpreters view their role perceptions.Some people argue that interpreters need to be neutral by remaining invisible in interpreting while others believe interpreters should assert a more proactive role by getting involved.This thesis will explore how trainee interpreters perceive their role in interpreting activities by designing a survey through distributing a questionnaire to students majoring in interpreting at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.Questions will be asked to know how trainee interpreters assess their performance,which interpreting criteria are important and how they view their role in interpreting activities.Moreover,a comparison of this thesis with P?chhacker's study that focused on exploring the role perceptions of experienced interpreters will reveal how much both trainee and experienced interpreters alike have in common in terms of how they perceive their role in interpreting.In spite of power imbalance that existed in interpreting,students surveyed argue that trainee interpreters need to stay visible in interpreting by serving as either facilitators of communication or communicators,rather than just machine translators.This thesis which examines how interpreters view their role will help raise public understanding for interpreting as a profession and improve interpreters' social status instead.