Abstract
This paper discusses the Chinese–Russian interpreters’ views on the adoption of distance interpreting (DI) technology in the local Russian context. From the intergovernmental to the people-topeople level, the Sino-Russian relationship has been developing as a strategic partnership. Due to travel restrictions and other pandemic containment measures, the demand for virtual communication technology and remote interpreting has been on the rise, which highlighted a variety of implications for the interpreting profession. We present the results of a series of interviews with Chinese–Russian interpreters from Moscow and Chelyabinsk, Russia (n=6), accompanied by a small-scale online survey (n=26). The exploratory study focuses on the interpreters’ experience with technology, and on their perception of DI in general and video remote interpreting in particular. The results suggest that the common DI scenarios in the local Chinese– Russian interpreting market (Chelyabinsk region) include video-mediated and over-the-phone consecutive interpreting in business and education settings. The study also reveals an overall positive attitude to the DI technology among the surveyed interpreters, despite such reported challenges as psychological discomfort, connection problems and technical difficulties on the clients’ part, which often lead to new responsibilities of an interpreter.
Highlights
While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be fully comprehended, the ongoing changes in everyday practices caused by the containment measures have already become a topic of reflection in many academic and professional communities
The restrictions imposed by the nations in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic have facilitated the adoption of virtual communication technologies, including distance interpreting (DI) solutions
This paper discussed the results of a small-scale exploratory study aiming to grasp the Chinese-Russian interpreters’ perceptions and experiences of technologymediated interpreting
Summary
While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be fully comprehended, the ongoing changes in everyday practices caused by the containment measures have already become a topic of reflection in many academic and professional communities. In the unprecedented times of the global pandemic, the traditional forms of cooperation had to be put on hold, and maintaining humanitarian and economic ties in the times of travel restrictions meant resorting to online communication. Ambassador of China to Russia Zhang Hanhui notes that in these unprecedented times “China and Russia maintained mutual understanding, mutual assistance and support, which demonstrated the special and high-level nature of China-Russia relations of strategic cooperation and partnership in the new era” [2] (here and further translation from Russian is done by the authors). English has often been used as a lingua franca in Sino–Russian business cooperation, as political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries strengthen, more commercial and governmental initiatives require professional CR interpreting [6]. The common jobs performed by a professional CR interpreter in Russia are consecutive interpreting (including such settings as official engagements of government agencies; official business meetings, negotiations; official dinners and receptions; technical meetings and conferences; installation of equipment and staff training; videoconference and telephone interpreting; court interpreting), simultaneous conference interpreting; acting as an expert witness in court hearings; and interpreting or acting as a consulting specialist at the notary public office [9,10]
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