ELF Pragmatics and Interpreting

A corpus-driven research in ELF intercultural communication: potential benefits of using corpora in interpreter training for quality assessment Clara Pignataro IULM Milan -Italy English as a lingua franca (ELF) has become a worldwide phenomenon (Kellet Bidoli 2012) posing challenges to interpreters (Kurz 2008) and interpreters trainers that have not been studied in depth (Albl-Mikasa 2010). With globalization and increased mobility most communication is taking place between second language users and the fact that English has become a worldwide lingua franca has major linguistic (Cogo and Dewey 2012) and pedagogic implications. Against this background, a corpus-driven research is being carried out on video recorded face-to-face interactions (Seidlhofer 2004, Cogo 2006, 2009) interpreted in consecutive mode, from English into Italian, by Italian conference interpreters during Literary Festivals. The investigation is supported by Transana, a software for qualitative analysis; both source and target texts are transcribed and analysed with a conversation analysis and an ethnographic approach (Hymes1972) to study ELF intercultural communication in interpreting scenarios. The final intention of my study is to apply the results of this corpus-driven investigation to interpreters training methodologies with a focus on intercultural pragmatic competence as a key parameter for quality assessment. Some preliminary results will be presented. Keywords: ELF, intercultural communication, quality. Albl-Mikasa, M. 2010. Global English and English as a lingua franca (ELF): implications for the interpreting profession. Trans-kom 3, 2, 126-148. Downloaded from http://www.trans-kom.eu on 10th December 2012. Cogo, A., Dewey, M. 2006. Efficiency in ELF communication: from pragmatic motives to lexicogrammatical innovation. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 5, 2, 59-94. Cogo, A. 2009. Accommodating difference in ELF conversations: a study of pragmatic strategies. In A. Mauranen and E. Ranta (eds.), English as a Lingua Franca: Studies and Findings, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholar Press, pp. 254-273. Cogo, A., Dewey, M. 2012. Analysing English as a Lingua Franca. A Corpus-Driven Investigation. London/New York: Continuum. Crystal, D. (2003). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hymes, D. (1972). Models of the interaction of language and social life. In J. J Gumperz and D. Hymes (eds.), Directions in Sociolinguistics: the Ethnography of Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, pp. 35-71. Jenkins, J. (2011). Accommodating (to) ELF in the international university. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(4), 926-936. Kellet Bidoli, C. 2012. Interpreting scenarios: changing modes, ELF and genres. Interpreting Across Genres: Multiple Research Perspectives. Trieste: EUT. Kurz, I. (2008). The impact of non-native English on students’ interpreting performance. In Hansen, G., Chesterman, A., Gerzymisch-Arbogast, H. (eds), Efforts and Models In Interpreting and Translation Research. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 179-192. Seidlhofer, B. (2004). Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209-239.