Sociopolitical aspects of interpreting at the international military tribunal for the far east (1946-1948)

Identifier:  TDX:548

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX548

Authors:  Takeda, Kayoko

Abstract:
This study is based on the premise that interpreting is a social activity, which therefore needs to be described and explained with reference to the social, political and cultural context of the setting in which the interpreter operates. Sociopolitical aspects of interpreting at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE, 1946-1948) are studied through historical and archival research of the interpreting arrangements and a case study on the behavior of linguists (language specialists) who worked in the interpreting process during the testimonies of Hideki Tojo and other Japanese witnesses. Three sets of concepts are applied to analyze three salient features of interpreting at the IMTFE. Based on the notions of 'trust, power and control', the historical and political context of the IMTFE and the social and cultural backgrounds of each linguist group are examined to explore why the tribunal devised the interpreting arrangements in which three ethnically and socially different groups of linguists engaged in three different functions: interpreter, monitor and language arbiter. The concept of 'negotiated norms' is applied to discuss the interactional aspect of how the interpreting procedures developed over the initial stage of the trial, with the interpreters' cognitive constraints as a factor in that process. Cronin's notion (2002) of 'autonomous and heteronomous interpreters' is drawn on to discuss the complex position of the Japanese American linguists who worked as monitors. The nature of interjections by the monitors and interpreters and the interactions between the court and each linguist group during the interpreted testimonies of Japanese witnesses are examined. Findings of this analysis support the hypothesis which links interpreters' choices, strategies and behavior to their awareness of where they stand in the power constellation of the interpreted event.