On the Subjectivity of Liaison Interpreters in Business Sector

张菁 姚青 向凤雅

【Abstract】Nowadays，commercial interactions，exchanges，and corporation occur more and more frequently in almost every business sector between China and other countries.As a result，business interpreting carries an increasing significance day after day，especially between English and Chinese.When it comes to the role of liaison interpreters，specifically in business sector，the importance of their subjectivity hasnt been widely realized.So it is quite meaningful to propose and implement the active role of liaison interpreters and to apply their subjectivity to real commercial situations.

【Key words】liaison interpreter； business； subjectivity； person application

Research Background and Recent Studies

Originally，the interpreting was not clearly classified，therefore the role of interpreters was not considered respectively or distinctively，either.Not until the end of last century did the special role of liaison interpreters（in alternating interpreting）receive wide concern.In 1970s，a culture turn of translation study brought a brand-new way of viewing translation.Like Daniel Gile，in his “Effort Models”（Gile 1995，1997），integrated the following three major aspects involved in interpreting：L - the Listening and analysis Effort，P - the Production Effort，and M - the short-term Memory Effort.Particularly，by entering the 21st century，many scholars and interpreters began to figure out the real standing for liaison interpreters，which shifted researchers eyes from the language transformation of linguistic level to the contextual delivery of meaning and other practical achievements.In 2003，Zha Mingjian and Tian Yu argued the subjectivity as the translators subjective initiative that manifested in the translation activity.Two years later，Lv Binghua stated that if we regarded interpretation as a kind of practical activity with objectivity，we must acknowledge that interpreters have subjectivity（2003：22）.Yet in terms of dealing methods of practical business situations for liaison interpreters，few studies about person choice or its proper application have been considered and fulfilled.

Subjectivity of Liaison Interpreters

As for liaison interpreters，apart from basic skills or standards applied by all interpreters，they must be particularly aware of their subjectivity.After all，a qualified liaison interpreter is far more than a mere processor of language or an invisible bridge between two speakers.In fact，he or she is an active participator，a visible third party，and a favorable coordinator under various business circumstances.In this way，liaison interpreters might have a completely different system of person choices from other interpreters，involving much more application of third person.For one thing，taking a business negotiation interpreting as an instance，in that situation a liaison interpreter is supposed to facilitate the negotiation，for what matters most is the agreement reached or contract signed at last for businesss sake.Although whether a deal can be made is not the interpreters responsibility，he or she still plays an irreplaceable role.Hence，the loss for a real bargain due to poor performance without subjective flexibility of an interpreter is unacceptable.For another，in trade and business sector，a liaison interpreter would always confront escorting interpreting tasks.In numerous cases，if an interpreter always applies the first person during his or her interpreting，the concerned parties would more likely to get confused since they often have no idea of “invisible bridge role of interpreter”.Not to mention if an interpreter always uses first person and second person in the process，two parties in the activities would misunderstand each other rather more frequently.Therefore，its sensible for liaison interpreters to realize their active role in the process and accomplish the task better by applying the third person and the second person in their speeches.All in all，the subjectivity is exceptionally essential to liaison interpreters no matter owing to their active involvement in business or due to the treatment from their targets people.

Conclusion

From all being discussed above，the following conclusion may be safely drawn：a liaison interpreter in business sector should always put his or her subjectivity to priority and apply relevant methods to adjust himself or herself to certain circumstances，like shift of person application from the first person to the third person when one partys discourse is being delivered to the other party.

References：

[1]Berman，A.2009.Towards a Translation Criticism： John·Donne[M].Kent：Kent State University Press.

[2]Daniel Gile.Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training[M].Amsterdam.Philadelphia：John Benjamins Publishing Company.1995：107-112.

[3]查明建.田雨.2003.论译者主体性[J].中国翻译.（1）：19-24.

作者简介：张菁，女，（1990.3），甘肃兰州人，硕士研究生在读，研究方向：英语口译。姚青，女，（1990.6月）湖南邵阳人，硕士研究生在读，研究方向：英语笔译。向凤雅，女，（1988.6月）四川内江人，硕士研究生在读，研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。