INTERPRETERS’ MEDIATION OF GOVERNMENT PRESS CONFERENCES IN CHINA: PARTICIPATION FRAMEWORK, FOOTING AND FACE-WORK A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2011 TINGTING SUN CENTRE FOR TRANSLATION AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES, LINGUISTICS AND CULTURES LIST OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................... 3 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................... 4 ABSTRACT............................................................................................................... 5 DECLARATION ...................................................................................................... 6 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT.................................................................................. 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... 7 NOTE ON ABBREVIATION AND TRANSCRIPTION ..................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 .............................................................................................................. 9 FOCUS OF THE STUDY: RATIONALE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS .... 9 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Rationale ........................................................................................................ 12 1.3 Data ................................................................................................................ 15 1.4 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 17 1.5 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 19 1.6 Organisation of the Thesis ............................................................................. 20 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................ 23 GOFFMAN’S SOCIAL COMMUNICATION THEORY: PARTICIPATION FRAMEWORK, FOOTING, FACE AND FACE-WORK ................................. 23 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 23 2.2 Participation Framework ............................................................................... 25 2.2.1 Production format and reception format ................................................ 25 2.2.2 Interpreter-mediated participation framework ...................................... 32 2.2.3 Social roles and the interpreter’s role as mediator, coordinator and gatekeeper ............................................................................................................. 35 2.3 Footing and Line ............................................................................................ 39 2.3.1 Signals of shifts in footing ...................................................................... 40 2.3.2 Footing shifts in different types of discourse.......................................... 44 2.3.3 Footing shifts in interpreter-mediated interaction ................................. 46 2.4 Face and Face-work ....................................................................................... 52 2.5 Assessment of Goffman‘s Model .................................................................. 58 2.5.1 Applications in sociological studies and beyond ................................... 59 2.5.2 Critical evaluation .................................................................................. 60 2.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................ 63 GOVERNMENT PRESS CONFERENCES IN CHINA: DATA, METHODOLOGY AND PARTICIPATION FRAMEWORK ......................... 63 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 63 3.2 Background, Organisation and Management of Chinese Government Press Conferences .............................................................................................................. 63 3.3 Milestone Event: SARS Outbreak ................................................................. 68 3.4 Data Description and Method ........................................................................ 70 2 3.5 Participation Framework and Social Roles in Government Press Conferences in China ..................................................................................................................... 82 3.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 91 CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................ 93 INTERPRETERS’ FOOTING IN GOVERNMENT PRESS CONFERENCES IN CHINA: NEGOTIATION OF (NATIONAL) IDENTITIES AND INSTITUTIONAL ALIGNMENT ........................................................................ 93 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 93 4.2 The Addition and Substitution of Personal Pronouns .................................... 94 4.3 Addition and Substitution of Intensifiers ..................................................... 108 4.4 Discussion .................................................................................................... 112 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 114 CHAPTER 5 .......................................................................................................... 115 INTERPRETERS’ MEDIATION OF FACE AND FACE-WORK IN CHINESE GOVERNMENT PRESS CONFERENCES ................................... 115 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 115 5.2 Terms of Address ......................................................................................... 117 5.2.1 Titles ......................................................................................................... 119 5.2.2 Use of honorific and solidarity markers .................................................. 125 5.2.3 Third party reference ............................................................................... 134 5.3 Hedging ........................................................................................................ 140 5.3.1 Hedges on illocutionary force .................................................................. 141 5.3.2 Hedges on quality and quantity ............................................................... 151 5.4 Discussion .................................................................................................... 156 5.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 157 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................... 159 6.1 Objectives Revisited .................................................................................... 159 6.2 Main Findings .............................................................................................. 160 6.2.1 Interpreters’ mediation of participation framework and footing ......... 160 6.2.2 Interpreters’ mediation of face and face-work ..................................... 160 6.2.3 Interpreters’ role and positioning in Chinese government press conferences.......................................................................................................... 163 6.3 Assessment of the Study .............................................................................. 167 6.3.1 Main contributions ............................................................................... 167 6.3.2 Limitations ............................................................................................ 170 6.4 Suggestions for Future Research ................................................................. 172 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 174 APPENDIX 1: TRANSCRIPT OF SARS 5 PRESS CONFERENCE ............. 188 APPENDIX 2: EXAMPLE SEQUENCES FROM SARS 2, 3 AND 4 PRESS CONFERENCES .................................................................................................. 237 APPENDIX 3: ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF ADDITION OF WE/OUR/US IN THE DATA ...................................................................................................... 242 (Final word count including footnotes: 70,266) 3 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1 Brief Information on the Six SARS-Related Press Conferences .................. 17 Table 2 A Snapshot of Participant Roles in Face-to-Face Interaction ....................... 29 Table 3 China SCIO Press Conference on SARS (1) ................................................ 72 Table 4 China SCIO Press Conference on SARS (2) ................................................ 74 Table 5 China SCIO Press Conference on SARS (3) ................................................ 76 Table 6 China SCIO Press Conference on SARS (4) ................................................ 78 Table 7 China SCIO Press Conference on SARS (5) ...............................................