Language, Power and the Liminal: A Korean Translator/Interpreter's Role in Shaping Identities in the London (UK) Business Community

Abstract

The impact of translators and interpreters on transnational business is not often considered, and yet, they have the ability to ensure the success or failure of communication during transnational business ventures, and to shape and define the identities of organisations. As part of a wider ethnographic study of the Korean community in London (UK), I focus on the case of “Mrs Park,” a professional Korean interpreter and translator, and the ways in which she mediates between Korean and non-Korean organisations. We conclude that to understand the roles language and identity play in transnational business, the position of the translator/interpreter as a cultural intermediary must be taken into account.