Hegemony and resistance as shown in critical discourse analysis of trainee interpreters from the P.R.C. and Taiwan in Mandarin-English simultaneous interpreting

Abstract

Translation/interpreting has long been one of the media for spreading and (re)shaping ideology in the battlefield of ‘power’. The inextricable relationships between power and translation/interpreting also contribute to hegemony and resistance demonstrated through translation and interpreting or by translators and interpreters. While the link between ideology and translation in unequal power relations has almost been fully disclosed in translation studies, the same issue in interpreting remains much less explored. To address ideology issue in interpreting, this study chooses to put such research in the setting of the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, with China and Taiwan on either side. China, as an overwhelming hegemony in terms of politics, economy and culture, has always reiterated its One China policy on international occasions, insisting that Taiwan, an island off southeast China, has long been part of it. Yet, it is undeniable that Taiwan and China, in both of which Mandarin is used as the official language and Chinese culture is practiced and developed, are two separate political and economic entities at present. In light of the power inequality and linguistic resemblance between the two entities, this study uses ‘hegemony’ and ‘resistance to hegemony’ as two analytical dimensions in examining whether signs of hegemony or resistance to hegemony are embodied in simultaneous interpreting renditions of the student interpreters from China and from Taiwan through critical discourse analysis (CDA). By uncovering the embodiment of political ideologies in simultaneous renditions of Mandarin-speaking student interpreters and how national identities are discursively constructed through SI, this study hopes to raise awareness of interpreting as a site for different ideologies and identities to compete against one another in relations between hegemony and resistance and provide some constructive thoughts of investigating the relationship between ideology and interpreting in a scientific and systematic manner.