Interpreters as Spin Doctors: The Interactional Role of Interpreters in China’s Political Press Conferences

IF 4.1 1区 社会学 Q1 COMMUNICATION International Journal of Press-Politics Pub Date : 2023-10-13 DOI:10.1177/19401612231204514
Ruey-Ying Liu
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Abstract

China’s political press conferences have received increasing academic attention as they provide a revealing window into the workings of the political communication system in the authoritarian context. However, the interactional role that interpreters play in these cross-linguistic press conferences remains underexamined. Taking a conversational analytic approach, this qualitative study empirically examines the interactional import of government interpreters’ practices at the Chinese Premier’s Press Conferences (CPPCs) from 2007 to 2023. The analysis reveals that interpreters consistently transform journalists’ questions with respect to (1) word choices, (2) contextual backgrounds, and (3) question forms. These transformative practices work to soften the critical messages that these questions would otherwise convey while also enabling politicians to more easily address these questions without having to deal with the negative consequences that might otherwise follow. I argue that government interpreters in CPPCs actively intervene in substantive ways consistent with a spin doctor role within press conference exchanges.
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口译员作为新闻发言人:口译员在中国政治新闻发布会上的互动作用
中国的政治新闻发布会越来越受到学术界的关注,因为它们提供了一个揭示专制背景下政治传播系统运作的窗口。然而,口译员在这些跨语言新闻发布会上所扮演的互动角色仍未得到充分研究。采用会话分析的方法,本定性研究对2007年至2023年中国总理新闻发布会上政府口译员的互动重要性进行了实证研究。分析表明,口译员在(1)选词、(2)语境背景、(3)问句形式等方面不断改变记者的提问。这些变革性的做法软化了这些问题本来会传达的关键信息,同时也使政治家们能够更容易地解决这些问题,而不必处理可能随之而来的负面后果。我认为,政协会议中的政府口译员以与新闻发布会交流中的新闻顾问角色一致的实质性方式积极干预。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
12.10
自引率
8.30%
发文量
61
期刊介绍: The International Journal of Press/Politics is an interdisciplinary journal for the analysis and discussion of the role of the press and politics in a globalized world. The Journal is interested in theoretical and empirical research on the linkages between the news media and political processes and actors. Special attention is given to the following subjects: the press and political institutions (e.g. the state, government, political parties, social movements, unions, interest groups, business), the politics of media coverage of social and cultural issues (e.g. race, language, health, environment, gender, nationhood, migration, labor), the dynamics and effects of political communication.
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