The Rise of Conference Interpreting in China

In this landmark project, Professor Zhang and Professor Moratto piece together the history of how conference interpreting developed as a profession in China after the reform and opening up of the late 1970s. Based on interviews with the alumni of the early efforts to develop conference interpreting capabilities between Chinese and English (and French), the authors illuminate the international programs and relationships which were instrumental in bringing this about. While paying tribute to the earliest interpreters who interpreted for the first-generation CPC leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping, they track key cooperative projects between Chinese ministries and both the United Nations and European Union, as well as China's domestic efforts, which developed into today's formal programs at major universities. An essential resource for scholars and students of conference interpreting in China, alongside its sister volume Conference Interpreting in China: Practice, Training and Research.

Irene A. Zhang is Professor of Translation and Interpreting Studies and Dean of the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation (GIIT), Shanghai International Studies University (SISU). Riccardo Moratto is Professor of Translation and Interpreting Studies at the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation (GIIT), Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).

Foreword Introduction 1. Born or Made? Becoming an Interpreter 2. Evolving Professional Roles and Status of Conference Interpreters 3. Tale of Three Cities, and the Centre of Excellence in Training Conference Interpreters 4. Shaping China's Conference Interpreter Training at the UN - The Career Path of a Trailblazer 5. From China's Foreign Ministry to the UN Headquarters: Interpreter and Witness of History 6. Developing Competence for the Conference Interpreting Profession: A Case Study of a Veteran UN Interpreter 7. Risk Management of Diplomatic Interpreters in Political Settings 8. Lacunae, Anecdotes and Legends about Pioneer Interpreters: A Case Study to Explore French-Chinese Interpreting Training in China and Beyond 9. From Language Learner to Conference Interpreter: Individual Professionalization of a Francophone UN Conference Interpreter 10. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Interpretation (DG SCIC) and Its Cooperation with China 11. The EU-China Interpreter Training Project (EUCITP) in China