Relay interpreting: Complexities of real-time indirect translation

• Published in: Target : international journal of translation studies 2022-10, Vol.34 (3), p.489-511
• Main Author: Pöchhacker, Franz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Deafness; Interpreting; Multimodality; Speech recognition; Translation
• ISSN: 0924-1884; 1569-9986
• DOI: 10.1075/target.00009.poc

The unique features of interpreting as a situated process and performance to enable communication in real time make relay interpreting a particularly complex manifestation of indirect translation and a rich area of investigation. Even so, the great potential of relay interpreting as an object of inquiry in Translation and Interpreting Studies has remained largely untapped. This article seeks to map out the conceptual territory of relay interpreting as indirect translation with reference to relevant factors and features. The analysis highlights the great diversity of scenarios that can be subsumed under the heading of relay interpreting with reference to such key parameters as mode, modality, policy, linguality, multimodality, and technology. The – regrettably modest – state of the art is reviewed with regard to types of research, topics, and methods; and some areas of special interest, such as Deaf relay interpreting and speech-to-text interpreting relying on speech recognition technology, are discussed for their potential to extend the scope of indirect translation to include intralingual and intermodal as well as technology-based manifestations.