Conference interpreters and their self-representation: A worldwide webbased survey

Zwischenberger, Cornelia

doi:10.1075/bct.32.08zwi

Cited by 9 publications

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“…The notions of subservience also became apparent in a study on conference interpreters' perceptions of their role (Zwischenberger 2011). In her worldwide survey with 704 responses Zwischenberger aimed to analyse the extent to which conference interpreters' responses propagated by the international conference interpreters' association AIIC "form an integral part of the professional identity of individual practitioners" (2011: 123).…”

Section: An Overview Of the Feminisation Of The Professions And Its Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interpreting and translation are predominantly female occupations: several studies (Angelelli 2004;Zwischenberger 2011;Pym et al 2013;Dam/Zethsen 2013;Gentile 2013) indicate that female translators and interpreters considerably outnumber their male colleagues. With regard to conference interpreting, there are also indications that the profession has undergone feminisation, which means that it has become predominantly female after being originally male-dominated (Pöchhacker 2016: 174).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Through Women’s Eyes. Conference Interpreters’ Self-Perceived Status in a Gendered Perspective

Gentile

2018

HJLCB

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This paper aims to analyse the differences between female and male conference interpreters’ self-perceived status. Several studies (Angelelli 2004; Katan 2011; Zwischenberger 2011) indicate that women make up most of the professionals working in the translational professions, but little academic attention has been devoted to the question as to whether female and male interpreters have different attitudes towards their profession and their self-perceived status. Sociological studies on feminised professions suggest that women are generally underestimated in the workplace, which leads to them to perceive their status as lower compared to their male colleagues (Cortina/San Román 2006). To test whether this phenomenon was experienced by conference interpreters as well, the responses of a world survey (n = 805) were analysed, with a special focus on interpreters’ self-perception of the status, prestige and social value of their profession. The results showed that, when asked to evaluate their self-perceived status, there were hardly any differences between the scores obtained by female and male interpreters. However, major differences emerged when men and women expressed their opinions on the way they think their work is seen by laypeople, showing that female interpreters perceive their status as far lower than their male counterparts do.

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Section: An Overview Of the Feminisation Of The Professions And Its Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Through Women’s Eyes. Conference Interpreters’ Self-Perceived Status in a Gendered Perspective

Gentile

2018

HJLCB

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“…The average period of affiliation to AIIC was 15 years, with a minimum of one and a maximum of 55 years. These figures tell us that there was at least one founding member or at least a member from the founding year 1953 among the survey participants (Zwischenberger 2011).…”

Section: Aiic Interpreters and Their Socio-demographic And -Professiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous Conference Interpreting and a Supernorm That Governs It All

Zwischenberger¹

2015

meta

Self Cite

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The integration of the concept of “social norm” into research on conference interpreting dates back to the late 1980s (Shlesinger 1989). This paper will show that conference interpreting is governed by role-related normative expectations which ultimately can all be traced back to the metaphoric concept of interpreters as conduits. This metaphoric concept that can be found in so many of the extratextual (re)sources on conference interpreting (Toury 1995) is extremely binding for conference interpreters and can therefore be regarded as an omnipotent norm – a supernorm that governs it all. Not only professional bodies such as the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC), probably the most influential and powerful norm-setting authority in the field, but also individual authoritative personalities play a key role in promoting this supernorm. It is only in recent years that this supernorm, which demands that interpreters passively channel a message from one side or party to the other and thus tries to prevent an interpreter’s agency, has been challenged by empirical research (Angelelli 2004; Diriker 2004; Zwischenberger 2013). The discussion on norms in simultaneous conference interpreting will be enhanced by some selected findings of a web-based survey which was conducted among AIIC members. The survey’s main objective was to find out whether and to what degree professional conference interpreters adhere to the supernorm so strongly advocated by their professional body.L’intégration du concept de « norme sociale » dans la recherche sur l’interprétation de conférence date de la fin des années 1980 (Shlesinger 1989). Cet article montrera que l’interprétation de conférence est régie par des attentes normatives de stéréotypes qui remontent, en fait, au concept métaphorique de l’interprète comme simple « conduit ». Ce concept métaphorique, si fréquent dans les (res)sources extratextuelles en matière d’interprétation de conférence (Toury 1995), est un impératif pour les interprètes de conférence et peut donc être considéré comme une norme omnipotente – comme une supernorme qui gouverne tout. Les associations professionnelles telles que l’Association internationale des interprètes de conférence (AIIC), probablement l’autorité exerçant l’influence la plus grande sur les normes dans ce domaine, mais aussi des personnalités jouissant d’une certaine autorité, jouent un rôle clé dans la promotion de cette supernorme. Or, ces dernières années, cette supernorme qui demande aux interprètes de transmettre « passivement » un message et qui tente d’empêcher l’interprète de s’impliquer activement est contestée par la recherche empirique (Angelelli 2004 ; Diriker 2004 ; Zwischenberger 2013). La discussion sur les normes dans le domaine de l’interprétation de conférence simultanée sera enrichie par quelques résultats sélectionnés d’un sondage en ligne, réalisé parmi des membres de l’AIIC. L’objectif principal de ce sondage a été de découvrir si et dans quelle mesure les interprètes de conférence professionnels s’en tie...

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“…'Sense consistency with original message' and 'logical cohesion of utterance' were ranked as top priorities by most of the interpreters, while 'native accent' and 'pleasant voice' are at the bottom of the list. In the same vein, Zwischenberger (2009) examines interpreters' self-representation by questioning them about their role and their importance for successful communication. She finds that more than 20% of interpreters consider themselves as facilitators/enablers of communication, and that the overwhelming majority believe that their work is crucial for successful communication, with female interpreters rating their work as slightly more important than their male colleagues do.…”

Section: Norms In Interpretingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Norms and gender in simultaneous interpreting: a study of connective markers

Magnifico

Defrancq

2020

Trans-Int

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This paper focuses on a possible gender-based approach towards norms in simultaneous interpreting by analysing the use of connective markers by male and female interpreters to reveal patterns of interpreters' handling of translational norms. Drawing on the 2008 subcorpus of EPICG with French source texts and their English and Dutch interpretations, the present study checks whether male and female interpreters translate, omit or add connective markers in the same way. The results are then tested against other parameters which might have an influence such as language, speech delivery rate or the gender of the speaker. It appears that the interpreter's gender does not affect the use of connective markers. As for the other parameters under study, it seems that only speech delivery rate significantly impacts the interpreters' performances, especially when it comes to the omission of connective markers.

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Conference interpreters and their self-representation: A worldwide webbased survey

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Through Women’s Eyes. Conference Interpreters’ Self-Perceived Status in a Gendered Perspective

Through Women’s Eyes. Conference Interpreters’ Self-Perceived Status in a Gendered Perspective

Simultaneous Conference Interpreting and a Supernorm That Governs It All

Norms and gender in simultaneous interpreting: a study of connective markers

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