Viewing The Accuracy Of Court Interpreting From The Perspective Of Interpreting Approach And Mode

In view of the significance of the principle of accuracy in court interpreting, this thesis focuses on the following questions: What is real accuracy in the court setting? How to ensure accuracy to the largest extent? The thesis discusses the accuracy of court interpreting from two aspects: interpreting approach and interpreting mode. The first two chapters introduce the previous development and research state of court interpreting. Based on this background knowledge, the third chapter discusses the general regulation of accuracy in the court interpreting profession. And then through analyzing various factors affecting court interpreting, such as the complexity of legal language, social culture and legal culture, the thesis argues that court interpreting is a highly complicated activity which has its own characteristics. Verbatim requirement cannot always effectively ensure accuracy and is sometimes not even possible to be adhered to. So a dynamic understanding of accuracy is needed and discretion on the part of the court interpreter is indispensable in the pursuit of accuracy. On the basis of this, the fourth chapter elaborates on the attention given to the meaning-based approach by the legal interpreting circle, and makes theoretical analysis and practical demonstration over the applicability of this approach in court interpreting field. It is proved that the meaning-based approach is better in ensuring accuracy. Then, the fifth chapter examines accuracy from the perspective of interpreting mode. The quality difference between simultaneous interpreting and consecutive interpreting, which are the two most frequently used modes in American courts, are studied. Through theoretical analysis and presenting data from empirical studies, the thesis argues that CI is the better mode in court setting though right now simultaneous interpreting is the main mode in the courts of the United States. Finally, the thesis points out some practical reasons for Chinese courts to keep the present consecutive mode.