Translation and Interpretation Work in Multilingual Business Communities: Roles, Perspectives, Agency

多语言商业社区中的笔译和口译工作：角色、视角、代理

• 批准号: AH/P007228/1
• 负责人: Susanne Tietze
• 金额: $ 4.18万
• 依托单位: Keele University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2017 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FP007228%2F1
• 关键词: Translation; Interpretation; Work; Multilingual; Business

The rapid growth of English as a global language masks an equally rapid growth in the extent to which modern business settings have become increasingly multilingual. This has long been the case in multinational companies (MNCs), but large scale migration over the last decade means that many domestic businesses employ a significant number of workers whose first language is not English. Because of the assumption that 'everyone speaks English' many firms do not resort to using professional translators/interpreters, addressing their translation needs through existing staff who happen to be bilingual (or multilingual) or possess language skills. These non-professional translators and interpreters (NPTIs) find themselves called upon to translate or interpret, often by their employers, but also by their colleagues. The particular contribution of NPTIs has only recently been acknowledged by academic and practitioner communities. This is because they are 'normal' employees, workers or service providers, whose central community-building role goes unnoticed. Their roles as mediating agents and cultural bridge builders makes them central to knowledge transfer between different business and knowledge communities and entails much more than the mechanical replacement of words from one language with those of another. In acting as link persons 'betwixt and between' different linguistic, cultural and historical-political life worlds, their roles are complex and conflicted as they endeavour to align the sometimes different expectations, values and perspectives of the communities they aim to link. Within multilingual business contexts their role has been highlighted as important to knowledge transfer, yet there is no understanding of how and why they enact their roles in particular ways or what enables them to 'build bridges' and create mutual intelligibility between different constituencies (e.g. between seasonal workers who often do not speak English and their employing organisations; between MNC Headquarters and their subsidiaries and the local constituencies they represent or serve; or key supply chain constituencies, who frequently do not speak English at advanced levels). The Research Network explores the work of NPTIs in multilingual business and entrepreneurial communities, drawing on the perspectives of different groups including non-English speaking seasonal workforces, the suppliers of translation/interpretation services, their entrepreneur and business users, as well as the voices of the non-professional translators and interpreters themselves. The proposed Network will be built upon four events, of which the last will be a dramatised performance of the collected stories, voices and perspectives, developed in collaboration with a community theatre and presented to the communities involved. The Network brings together established and early career academics from two currently separate disciplinary fields: Translation Studies and International Business/Management Studies. Scholars in both disciplines have taken a recent interest in NPTIs as linguistic, cultural and political agents; yet there is no exchange between these fields and their approaches. The Network is the first initiative to unite these disciplines: methods from arts and humanities and social sciences will be brought to bear on the events associated with the Network. Speakers and contributors include not only academics, but also NPTIs themselves, service providers of language/translation services and involving the active and on-going contribution of a community theatre (New Vic Borderlines), which has developed expertise in academic, pedagogic and artistic approaches with a view to developing collaboratively articulated research agendas, where multiple stakeholders ask questions relevant to the communities and constituencies they represent and serve. The main aim of the Network is to articulate such an agenda, focusing on the work of NPTIs.

英语作为一门全球语言的快速发展掩盖了现代商业环境越来越多语言化的快速发展。跨国公司（MNCs）长期以来一直是这种情况，但过去十年的大规模移民意味着许多国内企业雇用了大量母语不是英语的工人。由于假设“每个人都说英语”，许多公司不求助于使用专业的翻译/口译员，而是通过现有的双语（或多语言）或拥有语言技能的员工来解决他们的翻译需求。这些非专业笔译和口译员（npti）发现自己经常被雇主要求翻译或口译，但也被同事要求翻译或口译。npti的特殊贡献直到最近才被学术界和实践界所承认。这是因为他们是“正常的”雇员、工人或服务提供者，他们的核心社区建设角色被忽视了。他们作为中介和文化桥梁建设者的角色，使他们成为不同企业和知识社区之间知识转移的核心，而不仅仅是机械地用一种语言的单词替换另一种语言的单词。作为不同语言、文化和历史政治生活世界之间的纽带，他们的角色是复杂和冲突的，因为他们努力协调他们所要联系的社区有时不同的期望、价值观和观点。在多语言的商业环境中，他们的作用被强调为知识转移的重要因素，然而，人们并不了解他们如何以及为什么以特定的方式扮演他们的角色，或者是什么使他们能够“建立桥梁”，并在不同的选区之间创造相互理解(例如，通常不会说英语的季节性工人与他们的雇主组织之间；跨国公司总部及其子公司与他们所代表或服务的当地选区之间；或关键的供应链选区，他们的英语水平通常不高)。研究网络利用不同群体的观点，包括不讲英语的季节性劳动力、翻译/口译服务供应商、他们的企业家和商业用户，以及非专业翻译和口译人员本身的声音，探讨了npti在多语言商业和创业社区中的工作。拟议的网络将以四项活动为基础，其中最后一项活动将是与一家社区剧院合作，将所收集的故事、声音和观点进行戏剧化表演，并向有关社区展示。该网络汇集了来自翻译研究和国际商业/管理研究两个目前独立学科领域的成熟和早期职业学者。这两个学科的学者最近都对npti作为语言、文化和政治代理人产生了兴趣；然而，这些领域及其方法之间并没有交流。该网络是联合这些学科的第一个倡议：艺术、人文和社会科学的方法将用于与该网络有关的活动。演讲者和贡献者不仅包括学者，还包括npti本身，语言/翻译服务的服务提供者，并涉及社区剧院（New Vic Borderlines）的积极和持续贡献，该剧院在学术，教学和艺术方法方面发展了专业知识，以期制定协作明确的研究议程，其中多个利益相关者提出与他们所代表和服务的社区和选区相关的问题。该网络的主要目的是阐明这样一项议程，重点放在国家行动机构的工作上。