Interpreters’ perceived characteristics and perception of quality in interpreting

Abstract

This study examined the link between listeners’ perceptions of the quality of interpretation and their beliefs about the interpreter. Two groups of Mandarin-speaking participants were shown a video of a speech by President Obama being interpreted into Mandarin Chinese by a non-native Mandarin-speaking interpreter. The participants in one group were shown a photo of a Chinese-looking man alongside the video and those in the other group were shown a photo of a non-Chinese-looking man. The quantitative results showed that those who believed they were listening to a non-Chinese interpreter judged the interpretation more positively than those who believed they were listening to a Chinese interpreter. The qualitative results showed that the participants in the non-Chinese condition attributed the non-native features of the interpretation to the interpreter’s being a foreigner, and that they naturally used the language competence of non-native speakers as the standard of comparison. In this case, the participants’ perceptions of quality could also be explained by the interpreter’s perceived association with a highly esteemed group in China, and his ability to interpret into Chinese generated a sense of national self-esteem among the participants. Overall, the findings show that factors other than the features identifiable in an interpretation can influence the perception of quality of interpretation.

Analysis of speech rhythm and heart rate as indicators of stress on student interpreters

“…Firstly, two raters were involved in this study, but no additional tests were performed on the perception of interpreting quality. Evidence suggests that language and prosodic features are not the only factors that can influence the perception of quality in interpreting (Cheung, 2020). Secondly, even if our sample size is not too small when compared to average samples in interpreting studies, it is not big enough to validate the reliability of the scales used with our sample, a procedure that would increase the consistency of our data (Mellinger & Hanson, 2016).…”

Estereotipos relativos a la edad y el sexo aplicados a la comunicación mediada por intérpretes de conferencias

“…Dado que los usuarios muestran cierta tendencia a valorar negativamente una IS con acento no nativo (Cheung, 2020)…”

Trilingual and Multicultural Experiences Mitigating Students’ Linguistic Stereotypes: Investigating the Perceptions of Undergraduates of Chinese Heritage Regarding Native/Non-Native English Teachers

“…Researchers have been including the native fallacy and sociolinguistic stereotyping under the discipline of "raciolinguistics", claiming that "white supremacy" is behind these phenomena [10,11]. Furthermore, the prejudice of students against their teachers may have negative effects on their academic performance and knowledge acquisition [12][13][14][15][16], while a positive teacher-student relationship promotes mental and physical health of students and is a key determinant of achieving positive communication outcomes [17].…”