Abstract
For a long time in its history, interpreting studies has focused on the cognitive process in interpreting, which is typical of “decontextualized” experimental methods and small-scale of research data. The emergence of Corpus-based Interpreting Studies (CIS) in recent years has helped to strengthen the ecological validity and significance of interpreting studies. The inception of CIS in China in 2009 (Hu and Tao 2009; Zhang 2009; Wang and Ye 2009) occurred as a natural result of the fast-growing fields of corpus linguistics and corpus-based translation studies in the region (Hu and Tao 2012). In spite of the special difficulty in data collection, transcription and annotation, CIS, ‘as an alternative and complement to intuition, surveys or laboratory experiments’ (Setton 2012), has shown great potential in describing the features of the interpreting product and in revealing complexities of the interpreting process with large-scale authentic data. This chapter reviews the development of CIS in China based on the statistics of interpreting corpora developed in the region and journal articles and published books (or book chapters) published in the region. It summarises the techniques used in corpus construction in several representative corpora such as the CECIC (Hu and Tao 2009; Hu 2010, 2012, 2013) and CEIPPC (Wang 2009, 2012, 2013). It presents an overview of the research topics explored including features of ‘interpretese’, strategies and norms of interpreting, cognitive processing in the interpreting process and utilisation of interpreting corpora in interpreting training. It also discusses the issues to be addressed further in CIS, including: (1) How can the analytic tools of corpus linguistics and corpus-based translation studies be better adapted to the peculiarities and complexities of interpreting studies? (2) How can CIS go beyond the description of data and provide explanation about phenomena in interpreting? (3) How can CIS contribute to the conceptualisation of theories?
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Baker later revisited this term and ‘wondered if the term was felicitous after all’ (Baker 2001), though some researchers still talk about ‘translation universals’ without acknowledging that she later retracted this term and opted for a label in plain language. There have been alternative terms for this phenomenon, such as ‘universal tendencies’, ‘regularity’, ‘tendency’, ‘laws or norms of translation’.
- 2.
Concerning lexical patterns, Laviosa (1998) identifies four features with lexical patterns in the translated texts of her (English Comparable Corpus (ECC), including: (i) ‘translated texts have a relatively lower percentage of content words versus grammatical words’; (ii) ‘the proportion of high frequency words versus low frequency words is relatively higher in translated texts’; (iii) ‘the list head of a corpus of translated texts accounts for a larger area of the corpus’; (iv) ‘the list head of translated texts contains fewer lemmas’ (Laviosa 1998).
References
Baker, M. (1996). Corpus-Based Translation Studies: The Challenges That Lie Ahead. In H. Somers (Ed.), Terminology, LSP and Translation (pp. 175–186). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Baker, M. (2001, August 30–September 1). Patterns of Idiomaticity in Translated vs. Original English. Paper Given at the Third European Society for Translation Studies Congress Translation Studies: Claims, Changes and Challenges, Copenhagen.
Biber, D. (1988). Variation Across Speech and Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dai, Z. (2011). 中国大学生汉英口译非流利现象研究 [A Study on Disfluency in Chinese to English Interpretations of Chinese EFL Learners]. 上海翻译 [Shanghai Journal of Translators], 1, 38–43.
Gile, D. (2011). Errors, Omissions and Infelicities in Broadcast Interpreting. Preliminary Findings from a Case Study. In C. Alvstad, A. Hild, & E. Tiselius (Eds.), Methods and Strategies of Process Research: Integrative Approaches in Translation Studies (pp. 201–218). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamin.
Hu, K. (2014, April 15). 批评翻译学研究: 内容与方法 [Critical Translation Studies: Content and Method]. Lecture at Sichuan International Studies University.
Hu, K., & Tao, Q. (2009). 汉英会议口译中语篇意义显化及其动因研究 –一项基于平行语料库的研究 [Explicitation in the Chinese–English Conference Interpreting and Its Motivation: A Study Based on Parallel Corpus]. 解放军外国语学院学报 [Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages], 32(4), 67–73.
Hu, K., & Tao, Q. (2010). 汉英会议口译语料库的创建与应用研究 [The Compilation and Application of Chinese–English Conference Interpreting Corpus]. 中国翻译 [Chinese Translators Journal], 5, 49–56.
Hu, K., & Tao, Q. (2012). 记者招待会汉英口译句法操作规范研究 [Syntactic Operational Norms of Press Conference Interpreting (Chinese–English)]. 外语教学与研究 [Foreign Language Teaching and Research], 44(5), 738–750.
Hu, K., & Tao, Q. (2013). The Chinese-English Conference Interpreting Corpus: Uses and Limitations. Meta, 58(3), 626–642.
Hu, K., & Xie, L. (2014). 记者招待会汉英口译中英语关系从句的应用研究 [The Use of English Relative Clauses in Chinese–English Conference Interpreting]. 山东外语教学 [Shangdong Foreign Language Teaching Journal], 161(4), 8–16.
Hyland, K. (1996a). Talking to the Academy: Forms of Hedging in Science Research Articles. Written Communication, 13(2), 251–281.
Hyland, K. (1996b). Writing Without Conviction? Hedging in Science Research Articles. Applied Linguistics, 17(4), 433–454.
Laviosa, S. (1998). Core Patterns of Lexical Use in a Comparable Corpus of English Narrative Prose. Meta, 43(4), 557–570.
Li, D., & Wang, K. (2012). 汉英同传中词汇模式的语料库考察 [A Corpus-Based Study on Lexical Patterns in Simultaneous Interpreting from Chinese into English]. 现代外语 [Modern Foreign Languages], 35(4), 409–415.
Li, X. (2011). 基于语料库的汉英会议口译中被动式的应用及其动因研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of the Use of Passive Construction and Its Motivation in Chinese–English Conference Interpretation]. 当代外语研究 [Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies], 1, 18–23.
Li, X., & Hu, K. (2013). 基于语料库的记者招待会汉英口译中情态动词的应用研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of Modal Verbs in Chinese–English Government Press Conference Interpretation]. 外语电化教学 [Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Education], 5, 26–32.
Liu, J. (2012, March). 基于语料库的汉英会议口译中虚化动词的应用研究——以 ‘Make’为个案 [A Corpus-Based Study on Delexicalized Verbs Used in CECIC—‘Make’ as an Example]. In Proceedings of the 2nd National Symposium on Corpus-Based Translation Studies (pp. 84–94). Qufu, China.
Munday, J. (2012). Evaluation in Translation: Critical Points of Translator Decision-Making. London and New York: Routledge.
Pan, F. (2014a). 基于语料库的汉英会议口译中模糊限制语的应用研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of the Application of Hedges in Chinese–English Conference Interpreting]. 山东外语教学 [Shangdong Foreign Language Teaching Journal], 4, 24–29.
Pan, F. (2014b). 基于语料库的汉英会议口译中’使’字句的翻译研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of shi-Structures in Chinese–English Conference Interpreting]. 华中师范大学学报 [Journal of Huazhong Normal University], 4, 147–150.
Pan, F. (2014c). 基于语料库的汉英会议口译中范化现象研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of Normalization in Chinese–English Conference Interpreting]. 外国语文 [Foreign Language and Literature], 30(6), 144–150.
Pan, F., & Hu, K. (2013). 基于语料库的汉英会议口译中 Some 的应用研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of the Application of ‘Some’ in Chinese–English Conference Interpreting]. 解放军外国语学院学报 [Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages], 36(2), 95–100.
Setton, R. (2011). Corpus-Based Interpreting Studies: Overview and Prospects. In A. Kruger, K. Wallmach, & J. Munday (Eds.), Corpus-Based Translation Studies: Research and Applications (pp. 33–75). London: Continuum.
Shlesinger, M. (2008). Towards a Definition of Interpretese: An Intermodal, Corpus-Based Study. In G. Hansen, A. Chesterman, & H. Gerzymisch-Arbogast (Eds.), Efforts and Models in Interpreting and Translation Research: A Tribute to Daniel Gile (pp. 237–254). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Su, Q. (2013). 基于语料库的学习者汉语四字格口译质量研究 [A Corpus-Based Study of the Renditions of Chinese Idioms in Interpreting]. 黑龙江史志 [Heilongjiang Shizhi], 321–323.
Tang, A. (2011). 英语专业学生汉英口译考试失误的语言因素及对策研究——一项基于语料库的研究 [A Study on the Linguistic Factors and Solutions of Errors Made by English Majors in Chinese-English Interpreting Exam: A Corpus-Based Investigation]. 科技信息 [Science and Technology Information], 3, 434–435.
Varttala, T. (2001). Hedging in Scientifically Oriented Discourse: Exploring Variation According to Discipline and Intended Audience (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of Tampere, Tampere.
Wang, B. (2009). Description of Norms in Interpreting and Its Application: A Study Based on the Corpus of Consecutive Interpreting in Chinese Premier Press Conferences (PhD dissertation). Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
Wang, B. (2012a). A Descriptive Study of Norms in Interpreting: Based on the Chinese-English Consecutive Interpreting Corpus of Chinese Premier Press Conferences. Meta, 57(1), 198–212.
Wang, B. (2012b). 语料库口译研究:口译产品研究方法的突破 [Corpus-Based Interpreting Studies: Towards a Breakthrough in Interpreting Studies]. 中国外语 [Foreign Languages in China], 47(3), 94–100.
Wang, B. (2013). 口译规范的描写研究——基于现场口译较大规模语料的分析 [A Descriptive Study of Interpreting Norms: Based on the Analysis of CEIPPC]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Wang, M. (2014a). 大学生汉英口译人称代词主语显化现象研究 [Research on Subject Explicitation of Personal Pronouns in Chinese–English Interpretation by College Students]. 安徽工业大学学报 [Journal of Anhui University of Technology], 31(1), 63–65.
Wang, M. (2014b). 中国英语专业大学生汉英口译逻辑显化研究——基于 PACCEL 语料库分析 [Study on Logic Explicitation in C-E Interpreting by Chinese English Majors: An Analysis Based on PACCEL Corpus]. 长春工程学院学报 [Journal of Changchun Institution of Technology], 15(1), 49–52.
Wang, B. (2015a). 外传播话语翻译抉择的’关键之处’:批评翻译学的实证路径探索 [Exploring the ‘Critical Points’ in the Translations of Discourse for International Communication: An Empirical Approach to Critical Translation Studies]. 中国外语 [Foreign Languages in China], 2015(2), 101–106.
Wang, B. (2015b). Bridging the Gap Between Interpreting Classrooms and Real-Life Interpreting: Towards an Experiential Learning Model of Interpreter Training. International Journal of Interpreter Education, 7(1), 65–73.
Wang, B., & Feng, W. (2014, May 23–25). ‘When Chinese Leaders Speak English Through the Interpreter’: A Corpus-Based Study of Interpreted Political Discourse from China. Plenary keynote speech at the 1st International Conference on Empirical Translation Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and SOAS London University.
Wang, B., & Gu, Y. (2014). 英汉同声传译的相关变量考察——基于三位职业译员对同一场电视直播现场同传的观察研究 [Exploring Variables in English–Chinese Simultaneous Interpreting: Based on Three Professional Interpreters’ SI Products of the Same Speech Show Live on TV]. 中国翻译 [Chinese Translators Journal], 2014(6), 19–23.
Wang, Q., & Lin, Q. (2014). 口语输出中言语错误的自我意识研究——基于PACCEL 语料库 [English Majors’ Self-Consciousness of Errors in Oral Output: Based on PACCEL]. 宁波工程学院学报 [Journal of Ningbo University of Technology], 26(2), 85–90.
Wang, B., & Ye, L. (2009). 面向教学的口译语料库建设——理论与实践 [Developing Interpreting Corpora for Interpreter Training: From Theory to Practice]. 外语界 [Foreign Language World], 131(2), 23–32.
Wang, B., & Zou, B. (2017). Exploring Language Specificity as a Variable in Chinese-English Interpreting. A Corpus-Based Investigation. In M. Russo, C. Bendazzoli, & B. Defrancq (Eds.) Making Way in Corpus-based Interpreting Studies (pp. 65–82). Springer.
Wen, Q., & Wang, J. (2008). 中国大学生英汉汉英口笔译语料库 [Parallel Corpus of Chinese EFL Learners]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Zhang, L., & Hu, D. (2012). 测试环境下基于语料库的翻译显化现象研究——以连接词和人称代词主语为例 [A Corpus-Based Study of Explicitations of Logical Relationship Conjunctions and Personal Pronoun Subjects in a Testing Situation]. 西安外国语大学学报 [Journal of Xi’an International Studies University], 20(2), 114–117.
Zhang, W. (2009). 口译语料库的开发与建设:理论与实践的若干问题 [Interpreting Corpus: Some Theoretical and Practical Issues]. 中国翻译 [Chinese Translators Journal], 2009(3), 54–59.
Zhang, W. (2013). 线性时间对齐转写:口译语料库建设与研究中的应用分析 [Linear Temporal Synchronized Transcription: Its Application in Interpreting Corpus Construction and Research]. 外国语 [Journal of Foreign Languages], 36(2), 76–84.
Zou, B., & Wang, B. (2014a). 口译语料库中副语言信息的转写及标注:现状、问题与方法 [Transcription and Annotation of Paralinguistic Information in Interpreting Corpora: The Status Quo, Problems and Solutions]. 山东外语教学 [Shangdong Foreign Language Teaching Journal], 161(4), 17–23.
Zou, B., & Wang, B. (2014b, October 18). 口译语体的多维度多特征分析 [A Multi-dimensional Analysis of Interpreted Discourses]. Presentation at the 10th China National Conference and International Forum on Interpreting, Xiamen University.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks go to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions on an earlier version of this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wang, B., Tang, F. (2020). Corpus-based Interpreting Studies in China: Overview and Prospects. In: Hu, K., Kim, K. (eds) Corpus-based Translation and Interpreting Studies in Chinese Contexts. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21440-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21440-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21439-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21440-1
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)