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Discourse Interpreter

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Many learning experiences involve monologic or solo performances. Classroom lectures, conference presentations, and YouTube tutorials are just a few examples of these monologic performances. Despite this label, discourse is always interactive. As Winston notes in “Introduction to Discourse Analysis for Interpreters,” there is always an audience, whether seen or unseen, for whom the message is intended (Winston, 2017a, p. 2) . Across an interpreter’s career, there will likely be numerous opportunities for interpreting these monologic perform-ances, and often the interpreter is called upon to interpret these performances simultaneously. Sometimes an interpreter will have an outline or notes prior to an assignment in order to prepare; however, …show more content…

This interpreter uses several features that were very easy for me to identify. For example, I noticed that the presenter raises his eyebrows, rests his non-dominant hand, and closes his lips each time he begins a new topic. First, each time that the signer begins a new topic, he raises his eyebrows. For example, from 01:43.840 - 01:44.930, the viewer can see the signer’s forehead lifts as his eyebrows raise. The next discourse feature that co-occurs is hand movement. In five out of the six topic/subtopic introductions, the signer clasps his hands together in front of his body. An example of this occurs from 01:56.430 - 01:57.220. After the singer makes this motion, he begins a new topic. The final discourse feature involves the mouth. In each of the topic/ subtopic introductions that I identified, the signer purses his lips together as if he is thinking about the next topic. A good example of this occurs from 02:04.040 - 02:05.330. This interpreter utilizes his eyebrows, rests his hands, and purses his lips together in a repetitive pattern that the audience can use to anticipate a new topic. His discourse features seem so predictable that it is almost like watching a baseball pitcher. The batter knows that the pitcher is about to throw the ball because the pitcher takes the ball out of the glove, winds up, and takes a step forward as he releases the ball, following through to his target. The batter can anticipate the pitcher’s next move based on the pattern. So, too, the audience can anticipate that this signer is about to begin a new topic based on his pattern of discourse

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