The Positive Role of Interpreters in Interpreting

【Abstract】This paper aims at pointing out the positive effects of the interpreters in the interpretation process. During the interpreting process， the role of the interpreters is very important. The interpreter is a bridge between different language speakers. And only by the interpreters， they can communicate well.

【Key words】roles of interpreters； characteristics of interpreters； positive effects

I. The characteristics of interpretation

Interpreting has the characteristics of impromptu， accuracy， complexity and so on.

The characteristic of the impromptu is a common characteristic of interpreting. Interpreting is closely related to spoken language. The impromptu of spoken language determines the impromptu of interpreting. The impromptu of the interpretating requires the interpreters concentration， quick thinking， and careful observation during the interpreting process.

Accuracy is one of the most basic requirements for interpreting. The accuracy of the interpreter is also reflected in the oral expression of the interpreter. The expression must be accurate， clear and smooth. The interpreters working tools are spoken language， so their language expression directly affects the progress of the conversation， and if the word is inaccurate， it may cause ambiguity.

Excellent translators should have some good qualities. First of all， interpretation involves a wide range and coverage of knowledge. Second， in the process of interpreting， the interpreter may face a lot of proper nouns， especially many words with Chinese characteristics， which have no equivalent vocabulary in English. This complexity also poses a very high demand for interpreters. Therefore， interpretation is a complex mental work， requiring interpreters to have a good listening， strong understanding， and quick response.

II. Case Analysis

1. Speaker：Historically， this has happened for a country like Japan.

Interpreter：日本就是一個先例。

Analysis：The sentences literal translation would be “历史上， 这同样发生在一个国家， 日本”， which is obviously weird in Chinese. In fact， “something happened in the history” can be expressed by one word in Chinese-“先例”. Therefore， the author omitted some unnecessary words to make the version fluent and concise

2. Speaker：特别是“百里峡”景区， 这里拥有罕见的岩溶嶂谷地貌景观。

Interpreter：Especially Baili Canyon， which is one of famous attractions with unique landscape.

Analysis：In source text， the author knew nothing about“岩溶嶂谷”. According to the context， it is a terminology of geology， a kind of landscape. The author did not prepare enough on geology， so she could only interpret it as “unique landscape”. After the conference， the author searched it on the Internet and realized it should be interpreted as “collapse karst gorge”. A better version would be “Especially Baili Canyon， which is one of famous attractions with rare collapse karst gorge”.endprint

III. The positive role of interpreters is mainly comes from two aspects：one is importance， the other is initiative

1. Importance.

（1） Due to the particularity of oral communication， both sides of the communication have to exchange information through interpreters and the level of acceptance and performance of the interpreters will largely determine the effect of interpreting activities.

（2） During interpreting activities， interpreters have to provide interpretation services for both sides of the communication. They need to stand in the “party” position to understand the original words and core meaning into their own thought according to the speakers point of view， way of thinking， logical reasoning. Thus it can be seen that the responsibility and position of an interpreter is very important.

2. Initiative.

（1） Due to their own special identity， the interpreters are the first communicative language signal receiver， so that he has a unique advantage — know the register of communication language and then try to figure out the content of communication， category， probably language forms， features， etc. quickly to create conditions for receive， digest and transform information effectively.

（2） As translators has their own style， interpreters also has their own style features under the premise of maintaining the content of the original language. Generally， the factors that affect the interpreters style are always their personality， experience， the degree of proficiency， professional skill and so on. Besides， the longer an interpreter take part in interpreting activities， the style is more obviously， because it shows that they have their own “set of methods” in dealing with the original and driving the language. This is the initiative of the translator.

IV. Conclusion

Interpretation is a bridge and a link between China and the overseas exchanges. Interpreting professionals play a very important role in Chinas economic development and social progress. At the same time， the translator also plays an important role in cultural communication. Thus， interpreters plays an active role in interpreting activities.

作者簡介：白露露（1992.7-），女，汉族，河北沧州人，硕士研究生在读，现就读于河北大学外国语学院，英语口译专业。endprint