Interpreting As A Profession In China:A Survey Of The Perceptions Of Interpreting Students

With the rise of a sociological turn in translations studies,scholars have paid much attention to interpreters and translators’ perceptions of their profession.But there are relatively few studies on perceptions of interpreting students and their commitment to the profession.This study aims at exploring interpreting students’ perceptions of the interpreting profession,market order,educational support,and their commitment to interpreting.A questionnaire were administered among 983 interpreting students in 35 universities in China.Descriptive statistics,independent samples t-tests,and chi-square tests were computed.The results show as follows.Students’ perceptions of interpreters’ social status are not high;interpreting in China is not a full-fledged profession.interpreting is not an attractive career choice as what it takes to do the job is mismatched with what is returned.Their perceptions of social status are related to gender,university reputation,level of learning,interpreting experience and accreditation status.professionals have no monopoly over the interpreting job in the market and interpreting education needs to provide more support.Students’ perceptions of the market order and educational support are affected by their university reputation,level of learning and interpreting experience.Students’ commitment to the interpreting profession is low.Among students who reject to be interpreters,external factors such as job characteristics,market order and training have great impact.Those who intend to join the field are mainly motivated by internal factors,namely interests and psychological reward.Their career choice is affected by their age,level of learning and accreditation status.