Interpreter mediation at political press conferences

Abstract

Political press conferences, while playing a significant role in international communication by heads of state and government, are still largely underexplored in interpreting studies. More scholarly attention is needed, particularly to examine the interpreter’s mediating role in these uniquely constrained communicative settings. Drawing on narrative theory and Wadensjö’s model of renditions, this paper investigates the interpreter’s mediating role at a 2011 joint press conference with the American and Chinese Presidents, at that time Barack Obama and Hu Jintao respectively. Specifically, the study examines how the interpretation comprises reduced, expanded and summarized renditions of the speakers’ narratives, and how the resulting mediation can affect not only their image, but also the outcome of the diplomatic communication between their respective countries. Here, the interpreter’s performance is subject not only to his language competence, but also to a number of other factors. On the one hand, his mediation can be facilitated rather than restricted by the constraints of the setting where the interpreting occurs, such as technical problems and time limitations. On the other hand, the mediation can also reflect the interpreter’s institutional role and the public narratives within the socio-cultural context.

Is there such a thing as summary interpreting? “Cross-linguistic formulation”, facilitation and mediation in French asylum proceedings

“…Summary interpreting refers to a communication practice in which the interpreter provides a condensed version of the source text in the target language, for many different reasons, ranging from a technical problem, a cognitive overload for the interpreter, time constraints on the target speech delivery, an institutional demand by the commissioner, to a socio-political strategy adopted by the interpreter. A combination of some of these factors has been found in the only available study on "summarized renditions", in the context of heads of state's interpreter-mediated political press conferences, from a narrative perspective (Liao and Pan, 2018). Beyond this study, summary interpreting has been largely overlooked, which is hardly surprising given its discredit in both professional and scholarly interpreting circles.…”

News production and intercultural communication at the crossroads of disciplines

“…And yet, her attempt to decipher the hidden intentions and implications of translated texts in a 'shrinking' world (Bielsa, 2005, p. 131) has been greatly influential to conduct research into news translation practices, notably from English into other languages. For example, Baker herself (2010) discussed the institutional forces behind news reporting of terrorism with particular emphasis on Islamic terrorism; Harding (2011) has studied the Russian and English coverage of the hostage-crisis that took place in Beslan, Russia, in 2004;Liao and Pan (2018) have analyzed the interpreter's mediating role at a 2011 joint press conference with Barack Obama and Hu Jintao, US and Chinese presidents respectively, and have stressed the importance of the interpreter's institutional role within a specific socio-cultural context.…”

Journalistic translation research goes global: theoretical and methodological considerations five years on

“…Narrative theory has been used to examine the rendition of press conferences by US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. Liao and Pan (2018) combined Wadensjö's approach to the study of interpreting processes and narrative theory in order to examine differences between the original and translated versions of the premiers' speeches. Liao and Pan posited that the interpreter's institutional role can affect the resulting product and, consequently, the image of the relationship between the two countries as presented by global media.…”