Media Interpreting

Abstract

Media interpreting is a field of socially situated practice which is as complex as the contemporary media landscape itself. Media interpreting practices are still presented as largely happening on TV and usually investigated within the conference interpreting paradigm, or at most in sheer contrast to it. Yet, there is a growing number of studies that have challenged the hegemony of simultaneous live interpreting on TV, which pave the way for this chapter. The chapter starts out with a comprehensive picture of media interpreting which covers the complexity of practices in terms of interpreting modalities, broadcasting formats, working conditions and quality assurance/assessment, as well as methodologies and theories required to comprehend this complexity, namely, the communicative ethos of broadcasting, theories of authenticity, and critical discourse analysis. Special attention is paid to how the contemporary fragmented and diverse globalized media landscape affects media interpreting, with the concept of ‘transmedia interpreting’ being introduced as one of the most common and challenging practices in the field. Last but not least, the status and recognition of interpreters or persons who provide interpreting in media productions is discussed.