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Article published In: Translation Spaces
Vol. 10:2 (2021) ► pp.306–328

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A multi-dimensional analysis of the representation of conference interpreters in the Chinese media

ORCiD logo with link | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | Yuanpei College of Shaoxing
ORCiD logo with link | University of Leeds
Published online: 11 August 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.18011.du
Abstract
Though interpreters’ professionalism has been discussed in interpreting studies, there have been few studies on how the general public see the image of interpreters. The present study is a multi-dimensional analysis of the image of conference interpreters as represented by the media, which is based on a corpus of 60 news reports about interpreting and interpreters in the Chinese media in the past 10 years. It explores the research question: How are conference interpreters represented in the Chinese media? Through thematic and rhetorical analysis of the headlines and body texts as well as multimodal analysis of the photos in the news reports, it is found that conference interpreters are represented by institutional conference and diplomatic interpreters, who are in turn represented as “stars” or public celebrities of the profession; they are frequently presented along with big events and big names, and portrayed as affiliating to power and as distant from the public. Images of female beauties among them are also selected and “consumed” as in popular culture. This implies a discrepancy between the self-perception of the interpreting profession and their representation by the media.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data collection
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Analysis and discussion
    • 4.1The image framed by the headlines
      • 4.1.1Thematic analysis of the headlines
      • 4.1.2Rhetorical features of the headlines
    • 4.2The image represented by the photos: A multimodal analysis
      • 4.2.1Narrative representation in the photos
      • 4.2.2Interaction between the photos and their viewers
        • 1.Distance
        • 2.Angle
        • 3.Gaze
      • 4.2.3Composition of the photos
    • 4.3The image represented by the body texts: A textual analysis
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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