Implications of translational shifts in interpreter-mediated texts

Claudia Monacelli

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the nature and extent of translational shifts in interpreter-mediated texts. 10 professional interpreters with 11-30 years experience participated in the study. A corpus of 10 source texts (full-length speeches) and 10 target texts (interpreter-mediated versions) recorded during international conferences is analyzed. Shifts in the following linguistic phenomena are assessed: Personal reference, agency, mood and modality, threats to face. Our findings reveal a significant trend of distancing, de-personalization and the mitigation of illocutionary force.

Keywords:
Quick links
A browser-friendly version of this article is not yet available. View PDF
Bayraktaroglu, A., and M. Sifianou
(eds.) (2001) Linguistic Politeness Across Boundaries: The case of Greek and Turkish. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Beaugrande, R. de
(1992) 'Consultations, conferences, and proceedings: Their role as discourse translation'. In R. de Beaugrande, A. Shunnaq and M. Helmy Heliel (eds.), Language, Discourse and Translation in the West and Middle East. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 221-246.Google Scholar
Brown, G
(1995) Speakers, listeners and communication: Explorations in discourse analysis. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Brown, P., and S.T. Levinson
(1987) Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chesterman, A.
(2001) Proposal for a Heironymic Oath. In A. Pym (guest ed.), The Translator, Special issue: New ethics for new forms of translation? Vol. 7/2: 139-154.Google Scholar
Darò, V., and F. Fabbro
(1994) Verbal memory during simultaneous interpretation: Effects of phonological interference. Applied Linguistics 15.4: 365-381. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Diriker, E
(2001) De-/Re-contextualising simultaneous interpreting: Interpreters in the ivory tower? Ph.D. dissertation. Bogaziçi University, Istanbul.
(2004) De-/Re-contextualising Simultaneous Interpreting: Interpreters in the Ivory Tower? Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dressler, W.U
(1994) The text pragmatics of participant roles in oral interpretation and written translation. In M.A. Lorgnet (ed.), Atti della Fiera Internazionale della Traduzione II. Bologna: Clueb, pp. 97-110.Google Scholar
Eelen, G
(2001) A Critique of Politeness Theories, Manchester: St. Jerome.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Gaiba, F
(1998) The Origins of Simultaneous Interpreting: The Nuremberg Trial. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.  TSBGoogle Scholar
Garzone, G
2002Quality and norms in interpretation. In G. Garzone and M. Viezzi (eds.), Interpreting in the 21st Century: Challenges and opportunities. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 107-119. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gerver, D
(1976) Empirical studies of simultaneous interpretation: A review and a model. In R.W. Brislin (ed.), Translation: Applications and Research. New York: Gardner Press, pp. 165-207.Google Scholar
Goffman, E
(1967) Interactional Ritual. New York: Pantheon Books.Google Scholar
(1981) Forms of Talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Harris, B.
(1990) Norms in interpretation. Target 2.1: 115-119. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hatim, B., and I. Mason
(1990) Discourse and the Translator. London and New York: Longman.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Lonsdale, D
(1996) Modelling SI: A cognitive approach. Interpreting: International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting 1.2: 235-60. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Massaro, D.W., and M. Shlesinger
(1997) Information processing and a computational approach to the study of simultaneous interpretation. Interpreting: International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting 2.1/2: 13-53. DOI logo  TSBGoogle Scholar
Monacelli, C
(2005) Surviving the role: A corpus-based study of self-regulation in simultaneous interpreting as perceived through participation framework and interactional politeness. Ph.D. dissertation, School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
forthcoming) Moves Interpreters Make: The nature of making sense in conference interpreting. Paris: Press Sorbonne.
Monacelli, C., and R. Punzo
(2001) Ethics in the fuzzy domain of interpreting: A ‘military perspective. In A. Pym (guest ed.), The Translator, Special issue: New ethics for new forms of translation? vol. 7/2: 265-282.Google Scholar
Moser-Mercer, B
(1997) Process models in simultaneous interpretation. In C. Hauenschild and S. Heizmann (eds.), Machine Translation and Translation Theory. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 3-17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nord, C
(1997) Translation as Purposeful Activity. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
Petite, C
(2005) Evidence of repair mechanisms in simultaneous interpreting: A corpus-based analysis? Interpreting 7.1: 27-49. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Scollon, R., and S.W. Scollon
(1995) Intercultural Communication. London: Blackwell.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Setton, R
(1999) Simultaneous Interpretation: A cognitive-pragmatic analysis. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logo  TSBGoogle Scholar
Spencer-Oatey, H
(ed.) (2000) Culturally Speaking: Managing rapport through talk across culture. London and New York: Continuum.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Wadensjö, C
(1998) Interpreting as Interaction. New York: Addison Wesley Longman.Google Scholar
Watts, R.J
(2003) Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar