Reason Analysis On Self-repairs In English-to-Chinese Consecutive Interpretation

Self-repair is a common phenomenon in communication,whereas it is a type of disfluency in interpretation.In the mock conference with the theme of the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on refugee camps,44 self-repairs occurred in the English to Chinese consecutive interpretation.According to the audience,self-repairs in the interpretation greatly lower the reliability of the interpreter.Therefore,this paper focuses on self-repairs in the mock conference,analyzes taxonomy,causes and solutions to self-repairs through literature review and transcript analysis.Self-repairs in the mock conference can be categorized into three types,i.e.content repairs,expression repairs and repetitive repairs.Content repairs are conducted for the purpose of adding,removing,or changing information conveyed by interpretation if it is different from that of the original text.Expression repairs are based on interpretation itself with the purpose of improving expression or correcting errors in the expression.Repetitive expression refers to the repetition of word,phrases and sentences,through which interpreters have more time to think before speaking.The causes and solutions of self-repairs are discussed under a two-phase structure including the appearance of reparandum and repairing.The causes and solutions to the appearance of reparandum differ from each other based on types of reparandum.The reparandum of content repairs appears owing to the lack of efficacy of notes.Therefore,interpreters should improve notes system and adopt new note signs.The reparandum of expression repair results from the lack of language ability.Interpreters should get familiar with language use in multiple registers and correct bad expression habits.The reparandum of repetitive repairs appears because of language and notes problems.Language ability and noting should be improved in order to prevent repetitive repairs.In the second phase,interpreters decide to make reparation based on two factors including reparation willingness and reparation capabilities.In the mock conference,native Chinese interpreter interpreted from English to Chinese so she has strong reparation willingness.It shows that interpreters should control the reparation willingness and adjust it depending on the circumstances and types of repairs.The interpreter also thought her reparation ability is high so she tended to repair more.It shows that interpreters should have a clear understanding on the reparation ability so as to avoid too many self-repairs and failed repairs.