Exploring expectations of Iranian audiences in terms of consecutive interpreting: A reception study

Abstract

Media interpreting is becoming increasingly important due to the rise of international relations, with sport media interviews interpreted consecutively gaining more attention. As these interviews are aimed at ordinary audiences, it is crucial to understand the audience’s needs and expectations of optimal consecutive interpreting (CI). However, there has been limited research on interpreting recipients in Iran. The present study aimed to investigate the reception of English-Persian sport media interpreting in consecutive mode among ordinary audiences and trainee interpreters as professional viewers. It focused on three main questions: the first and second ones investigated the expectancy norms of optimal consecutive sport interpreting among ordinary audiences and trainee interpreters, and the third question compared these norms between the two groups. To this aim, a mixed-methods approach and triangulated research design that favored a participant-oriented study was employed. A researcher-made questionnaire and three focus group meetings were held in order to gather the required data. Drawing upon both the descriptive statistics of the gathered data and insights from existing literature, six distinct components have been identified. The results in both groups, demonstrated high scores on expectations related to the ‘fluency of delivery’; however, the dimensions of ‘pleasant voice’ and ‘sense consistency with the original message’ obtained the lowest scores, respectively. Considering the dimension ‘required skills’, there was a significant difference between the two groups. The findings shed light on the audiences’ expectations and needs of CI in the context of Iran.