The Discourse Role Of Dialogue Interpreter From The Perspective Of Goffman's Participation Framework—a Practice Report On Interpreting At "Plug & Play,China Tour"

Dialogue interpreting requires the interpreter to transfer intended meaning to at least two sides and play various roles to facilitate the dialogue so as to help the interlocutors overcome both language and cultural barriers,and finally to complete cross-cultural communication.During the process,the interpreter plays more than a passive role as“conduit” or “invisible man” regarded in traditional concepts.Current studies on the interpreter's roles have more often than not taken a more macro perspective and recognized the interpreter's roles as “coordinator”,“organizer”,“consultant”,“reporter”,etc.,with little attention paid to the positioning of the interpreter's multiple discourse roles played in the interpreting process.In this practice report,the author employs Goffman's participation framework theory to analyze the interpreter's discourse roles from the “reception format”and “production format”,and thus creates a clearer picture of the discourse roles the interpreter actually plays during interpreting: unaddressed recipient and addressed recipient under the “reception format”;and author,animator and principal under the “production format”.The constant shifts of these roles may influence the ways in which the interlocutors participate and also the direction and outcome of the communication.