Interpreting Discourse Markers

The importance of discourse markers as a tool to aid audience comprehension has long been recognized.They are procedural expressions that contribute to discourse structure and coherence,which can guide listeners in interpreting the speaker’s intention,help them acquire information,and maintain focus.However,previous studies have shown that discourse markers are often omitted in interpreting scenarios and little research has focused on their use and renditions in simultaneous interpreting.This paper aims to study interpreters’translation strategies of discourse markers during the simultaneous interpreting of Apple’s 2019-2021 product launches and the potential reasons for their choices.This study employs established frameworks,Crible’s taxonomy for discourse marker functions and Li’s classification of interpreting strategies,to systematically analyze the interpretation of discourse markers in simultaneous interpreting.Results indicate that,contrary to previous research,interpreters generally retain discourse markers,selecting strategies guided by the marker’s function.Markers signaling logical relations,particularly logical shifts,are retained more frequently than those indicating discourse connection or continuation.Additionally,this study finds that interpreters tend to adhere to the principle of formal equivalence when translating English discourse markers into Chinese,but will occasionally resort to paraphrasing when a more concise collocation exists in Chinese or when the formal equivalence goes against Chinese language conventions.This observation highlights the complexities in rendering discourse markers across languages,which provides a reference for Chinese interpreters to apply discourse marker and recognize its function and a resource for discourse marker function study in Chinese.