Role Of Liaison Interpreters In Cultural Experience Events

Cultural experience events,as an effective way of promoting Chinese culture,are gaining popularity and are scheduled in exchange programs at all levels these days.However,liaison interpreting in this setting is a complex task and liaison interpreters need to actively take on more roles than a mechanical transmitter of information to ensure the success of the event.This report is based on the author's interpreting practice for a cultural experience event during 2019 Seminar on Engineering Project Management for Developing Countries.Aiming to explore what roles a qualified liaison interpreter should play in a cultural experience setting,the author reviewed the whole task and analyzed several cases in the recording.After a close inspection of these cases,the author came up with the conclusion that liaison interpreters need to actively take,up the,role of a conflict mediator who can regulate the evolution of understanding,a co-participant who can gatekeep the information so as to ensure the efficiency of interpreting,and a co-interlocutor who works to facilitate the cultural experience event.The study is expected to raise liaison interpreters' awareness of their roles in this specific setting and enrich the study of liaison interpreters' roles.