This paper studies interpreting norms held by Japanese-Chinese interpreters, focusing
specifically on their “professional norms” to see if their actual practices adhere to their
norms or deviate from them. The research method employed for this purpose is oral
history of Japanese-Chinese conference interpreters, and the notion of norms presented
by Chesterman (1997) is used as a theoretical framework. The data collected by
conducting life-story interviews are analyzed to illustrate the interpreters’ values and
beliefs, presumably fostered by their cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
The findings obtained from the study are twofold. First, interpreters tend to uphold two
kinds of norms, namely “faithfulness” and “neutrality,” as their guiding principles.
Depending on the situation, however, the “internalized norms” such as communication
adjustment take over and influence their practices. Second, such internalized norms seem
to derive from interpreters’ linguistic and social backgrounds, as well as values and
beliefs formed by empirical interpretation practices.
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