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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 64:4 (2018) ► pp.528–547

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Effects of the interpreter’s political awareness on pronoun shifts in political interviews

A perspective of interpersonal meaning

 | Kunming University of Science and Technology
Published online: 8 January 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00053.guo
Abstract
This paper investigates the critical role of the interpreter’s political awareness in interpreting high-level political interviews in China, and its effects on pronoun shifts. Using former Chinese Premier Zhu’s debut press conference in 1998 as a case study, the study examines in detail the pronoun shifts of a China’s Foreign Ministry senior interpreter prompted by her political awareness. It identifies four types of pronoun shifts: (1) from first-person singular pronoun (“I”) to first-person plural pronoun (“we”); (2) from active voice with first-person plural pronoun as subject to passive voice; (3) from pronoun to a third-party noun; and (4) replacement of a noun with an interactant pronoun. The paper considers implications of these findings in relation to relevant studies and to the macro-social institutional context in which the political interpreting is conducted. The paper argues that this type of political awareness is a form of socio-institutional cognition inculcated and developed through the interpreter’s diplomatic identity, their understanding of socio-institutional requirements, strict training and a large quantity of supervised practice.
Résumé
Cet article examine le rôle crucial joué par la conscience politique d’un interprète lorsqu’il interprète pendant des entretiens politiques de haut niveau en Chine et son impact sur les changements de pronoms. En utilisant comme étude de cas la première conférence de presse de l’ancien Premier ministre chinois Zhu en 1998, l’étude examine en détail les changements de pronoms, motivés par la conscience politique d’une interprète chevronnée, active auprès du ministre chinois des Affaires étrangères. L’étude identifie quatre types de changements de pronoms : (1) de la première personne du singulier (I) à la première personne du pluriel (we) ; (2) de la voix active, avec un pronom à la première personne du pluriel comme sujet, à la voix passive ; (3) d’un pronom à un nom d’une tierce partie ; et (4) le remplacement d’un nom par un pronom d’interaction. L’article examine les implications de ces résultats par rapport à des études pertinentes et au contexte institutionnel macrosocial, dans lequel l’interprétation politique intervient. Il soutient que ce type de conscience politique est une forme de connaissance socio-institutionnelle inculquée et développée au travers de l’identité diplomatique de l’interprète, sa compréhension des exigences socio-institutionnelles, une formation stricte et une pratique fortement supervisée.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Former Chinese Premier Zhu’s press conference in 1998 as a study case
  • 4.Pronoun shifts manipulated by the interpreters’ political awareness
    • 4.1From first-person singular pronoun (I) to first-person plural pronoun (we)
    • 4.2From active voice with first-person plural pronoun as subject to passive voice
    • 4.3From pronouns to a third-party noun
    • 4.4Replacement of a noun with an interactant pronoun
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1The interpreter’s identity as a diplomat
    • 5.2Socio-institutional requirements
    • 5.3Institutionalized specialized interpreter training and preparation before starting practice
    • 5.4Supervised interpreting practice
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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