An Analysis Of Student Interpreters' Role Intentions Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior

With the rapid advancement of the interpreting profession,the roles of interpreters have become one of the most critical focus in interpreting studies.Both domestic and international researchers have undertaken various cross-disciplinary studies on the roles of interpreters.Previous studies have centralized more on the impacts of objective factors,such as particular interpreting settings or professional code of ethics,on interpreters' roles,but few existing studies have investigated interpreters' interpreting intention to perform certain roles as a result of their decision-making process.The Theory of Planned Behavior(TPB)is wildly applied to forecast an individual's intention resulting in the performance of a certain behavior in a specific situation.It prompts the author to conduct this research.TPB postulates that Attitude,Subjective Norms and Perceived Behavioral Control can predicate accurately the intention and a particular behavior of individuals.It is,therefore,argued that these variables can be a good predictor of student interpreters' willingness and readiness to take on certain roles.Based on Niska's typology of interpreters' roles,namely Conduit,Clarifier,Cultural Broker and Advocate,this study mainly aims to discuss and answer the following four questions:(1)Does student interpreters' attitude have a positive influence on their interpreting intention to perform certain roles while interpreting?(2)Does student interpreters'subjective norm have a positive influence on their interpreting intention to perform certain roles while interpreting?(3)Does student interpreters' perceived behavioral control have a positive influence on their interpreting intention to perform certain roles while interpreting?(4)Does student interpreters' attitude,subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have different influences on their interpreting intention to assume certain roles while interpreting?If yes,how significant are the differences?Quantitative analysis is adopted by the use of a 7-point-Likert survey questionnaire.The results of this research indicate that:(1)all the three variables have an impact on student interpreters' interpreting intention to take on specific roles while interpreting.(2)Perceived Behavioral Control is the most influential factor followed by Attitude and Subjective Norms in deciding student interpreters' intention to perform certain roles as an interpreter.This research delivers a better understanding of the influential factors which affect student interpreters' interpreting intention towards different professional roles and their interpreting behaviors.The findings can be used by researchers and teachers to improve their interpreting training programs by incorporating codes of conduct and professional ethics into the curriculum.The findings of this research provide some theoretical inspiration to understand interpreters' intention and particular behavior in ethical dilemma cases and therefore provide a fresh perspective on the studies of the roles of interpreters.