Ideology and Conference Interpreting

Book excerpt: Gao uses the case of conference interpreting at the Summer Davos Forum in China to systematically reveal the ways in which ideology and linguistic ‘re-engineering’ can lead to discourse reconstruction. Translation and interpreting can never be wholly neutral practices in ‘multi-voiced’ transnational communication. Gao employs an innovative methodological synthesis to examine in depth a range of elements surrounding interpreters’ ideological positioning. These include analysing the appraisal patterns of the source and target texts, identifying ‘us’-and-‘them’ discourse structures, investigating interpreters’ cognitions, and examining the crossmodal means by which interpreters render paralanguage. Collectively, they bridge the gap between socio-political and ideological concerns on the one hand, and practical questions of discourse reconstruction in cross-language/ cultural events on the other, offering a panoramic perspective. An invaluable read for scholars in translation and interpreting studies, particularly those with an interest in political discourse or the international relations context.