口譯員在中國政府記者會之中介協調： 「介入」與「分級」轉換之語料庫分析

Abstract

本研究透過口譯轉換（interpreting shifts）之分析，探討中國口譯員在 2009年至 2023 年中華人民共和國總理和外交部長中外記者會中的中介協調（mediation）角色。本研究採用系統功能語言學（SFL）的語言學模型「評價理論」（Appraisal Theory），辨認「介入」（engagement）和「分級」（graduation）之口譯轉換，並將轉換分為「省略」、「增添」、「代換」和「句子省略」四類。分析素材為歷年記者會之原語和口譯譯語逐字稿，由此建立兩大語料庫：官員語料庫（包含總理與外交部長）和記者語料庫；記者語料庫又另分為中國記者和外國記者兩個子語料庫。 「介入」是評價理論的子系統之一，探討字詞顯示講者對其所提及的論點，以及對提及該論點所招致的回應有何立場。若講者認知到有不同論點但欲挑戰、限制或反對與其不同之觀點，會使用「限縮性的介入字詞」。相對地，「擴展性的介入字詞」則包容不同觀點。本研究資料顯示，中國官員的原語較具限縮性，而口譯譯語的限縮更為明顯。中國記者的原語較限縮，口譯譯語也限縮，但相較原語擴展。外國記者的原語較具擴展性，但口譯譯語卻較為限縮。這表示官員和外國記者的口譯譯語相較原語都更為限縮，亦即口譯譯語降低此兩類講者對不同觀點的開放程度。而中國記者的口譯譯語則變得更具擴展性，塑造出講者對於不同觀點更為包容的形象。 「分級」為評價理論的另一子系統，攸關事物的程度。「升級型」字詞增強程度，反映出講者對於所提及的論點有較高程度的強度和投入。本研究資料顯示，相較原語，官員和中國記者口譯譯語中「升級型」用詞皆增加，但外國記者卻減少。這代表官員和中國記者的口譯譯語加強了此兩類講者對論點的強度和投入，但外國記者的口譯譯語則弱化了講者對論點的強度和投入。 本研究發現口譯員為中國記者翻譯時，「轉換」出現的頻率最高，其次是官員和外國記者。若以不同講者區分，在官員語料庫中，「增添」是最常見的轉換類型，其次是「省略」、「代換」和「句子省略」。在中外記者語料庫中，「省略」最為常見，其次是「增添」、「代換」和「句子省略」。由於相較「省略」此種最常見的轉換，「增添」需要更多的氣力，因此口譯員可能花了較多氣力調整官員的發言，多於中國或外國記者的發言。而若以不同轉換類型區分，「增添」和「代換」的頻率在官員的口譯譯語中最高。「省略」和「句子省略」在中國記者的口譯譯語中的頻率最高，而「句子省略」在官員譯語中的頻率卻遠低於中外記者的譯語。這表示口譯員可能花了更多氣力微調官員的發言，不過同時盡量避免「句子省略」，為官員口譯保持較高準確性。 評價轉換模式可分為語料庫特有及共同兩層面來探討。若以語料庫特有的評價轉換模式來看，在官員語料中，四種類型的轉換模式具有不同的溝通效果：限縮官員對不同觀點的開放程度、強調觀點、強化日本和美國的義務以及減少話語的面子威脅（face-threatening）。在中國記者的語料中，「增添」擴大了中國記者對不同觀點的開放程度，而「句子省略」則未能再現記者對中國的好感。在外國記者的語料中，「省略」將觀點轉化為事實，而「句子省略」則將話語轉為中立，為中國及其友邦挽回顏面。在語料庫共同的轉換模式方面，可以看到三大趨勢：一、在中國、外國記者語料庫中，口譯員的「省略」似乎降低了記者與官員之間的同盟程度（solidarity），二、在官員及中外記者語料庫中，口譯員的「增添」顯化了原語的邏輯轉折，三、在官員語料庫和外國記者語料庫中，口譯員的「代換」（比如把「我認為」變成 「我相信」），似乎加強了原講者的投入程度。 綜觀來看，就文本層面而言，中國口譯員的「轉換」顯示中國口譯員與政府口徑一致（alignment），其因素可能包含口譯員的公務員身分、中國共產黨黨員身份或意識形態，這些因素皆鼓勵口譯員與政府保持一致。不過，中國口譯員的「轉換」也可能基於其他因素，包括口譯規範、制度規範以及口譯員調和人際關係的功能。因此，各種社會因素之間的相互作用決定了中國政府口譯員在中外記者會中主動卻也多面向的角色。

This study examined the role of interpreters in the press conferences of the People’s Republic of China hosted by the premiers and foreign ministers from 2009 to 2023, focusing on their mediation through analyzing interpreting shifts. Using Appraisal theory, a linguistic model from Systematic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the study identified engagement and graduation shifts, categorized into omissions, additions, substitutions, and sentence omissions. Source texts (STs) and target texts (TTs) from these press conferences were transcribed to build two primary corpora: one for the officials (premiers and foreign ministers) and the other for the journalists; the latter was further divided into local and foreign journalists. Engagement, a subsystem of Appraisal theory, explores how locutions position speakers in relation to the points they reference and the potential responses to the points. When speakers acknowledge differing viewpoints but seek to challenge, restrict, or fend off these alternatives, they use contractive engagement locutions. In contrast, expansive engagement locutions allow for alternative perspectives. The data of this study revealed that the STs of the Chinese officials were more contractive than expansive, which was more so in their TTs. The STs of Chinese journalists were more contractive than expansive. Their TTs were also contractive but less so than their STs. The STs of foreign journalists were more expansive than contractive, but their TTs were more contractive than expansive. This means that the interpretations of the officials and foreign journalists were more contractive than their own STs, presenting a less open stance toward differing viewpoints. Conversely, interpretations of Chinese journalists were more expansive, portraying a more open image. Graduation, another subsystem of Appraisal theory, denotes the degree of things. Up-scaling graduation resources intensify degrees, reflecting a higher level of speaker’s intensity or investment in the point they mention. The data showed an increase in the use of up-scaling resources in both the TTs of the officials and Chinese journalists, compared with their own STs. However, foreign journalists exhibited a decrease of such expressions in their TTs. This suggests that the interpretations of the officials and Chinese journalists heightened their intensity or investment in the points they referenced, whereas foreign journalists’ interpretations lessened the speakers’ intensity or investment. This study found that interpreting shifts were most frequent among Chinese journalists, followed by officials and foreign journalists. In terms of different speakers, in the corpus of officials, additions were the most common type of shift, followed by omissions, substitutions, and sentence omissions. In the corpus of Chinese and foreign journalists, omissions were the most common, followed by additions, substitutions, and sentence omissions. Given that additions require more cognitive effort than omissions, which are usually the most frequent shift type, interpreters may have been exerting more effort in adjusting the officials' remarks than those of the journalists, whether local or foreign. Regarding different shift types, additions and substitutions, the two types of shifts that demand more cognitive effort, occurred most often in the officials' TTs. Omissions and sentence omissions occurred most often in Chinese journalists' TTs. However, sentence omissions happened far less often in the officials’ TT than in those of Chinese and foreign journalists. This suggests that the interpreters could have spent additional effort in fine-tuning the officials’ remarks while avoiding sentence omissions, thereby maintaining a higher level of accuracy in their interpretations for the officials. Qualitative analysis identified distinctive and common appraisal shift patterns in the corpora. In the officials' corpus, four shift patterns of all four types of shifts had different communicative effects: limiting the officials’ openness to different viewpoints, emphasizing points, reinforcing obligations of Japan and the U.S. and making discourse less face-threatening. In the Chinese journalists’ corpus, additions expanded Chinese journalists’ openness to different viewpoints, while sentence omissions failed to recreate their favorable attitudes towards China. In the foreign journalists’ corpus, omissions turned opinions into facts, and sentence omissions neutralized discourse and saved face for China and its allies. Common shift patterns included the omissions observed in both Chinese and foreign journalists’ corpora, which seems to reduce solidarity between journalists and officials. Another pattern was explicitating logical transitions through additions, which was shared by officials and both groups of journalists. Additionally, a substitution pattern of turning “I think” into “I believe” was observed in the officials’ and foreign journalists’ corpora, which seems to strengthen speakers’ investment. Many shift patterns identified in this study reveal the Chinese interpreters’ alignment with the government at the textual level. These patterns are likely related to factors encouraging their alignment with the government, such as their identities as civil servants or members of the CCP, or their ideologies. However, some of the patterns may imply other factors, including interpreting norms, institutional norms, and the interpreters’ function of negotiating interpersonal relations. This interplay between various social factors defines an active yet multifaceted role for the government interpreters in the Chinese international press conferences.