Interpreting between Japanese and English during international exchanges. The hybrid professional profile of the JICE coordinator/interpreter during the Japan's Friendship Ties MIRAI Program: a case study.

This thesis aims to explore the professional profile of the JICE coordinator/interpreter and the perception of their role during the international exchange Japan’s Friendship Ties MIRAI Program funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The present study was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Japan International Cooperation Center, which coordinates the organization of the program. Throughout the exchange, participants attend lectures and visits to institutions, companies, and touristic sites in Japan with the assistance of a JICE coordinator/interpreter. This professional plays a role that goes beyond the one of the linguistic facilitator. Given the distance between the Japanese culture and the cultures of participants, the presence of the JICE coordinator/interpreter becomes necessary during activities which are held in English as well. Therefore, this case study analyzes the roles taken up by this language professional both when interpreting and when acting as a cultural broker and program guide. The first chapter illustrates the history of the first contacts between Japan and the West and the exchange programs of the MOFA. The second chapter provides a literature overview on Interpreting and linguistic differences between Japanese and English. The third chapter introduces the JICE foundation and the structure of the MIRAI Program. The fourth chapter includes the interviews with two JICE coordinators/interpreters and the thematic analysis of participants’ responses to a questionnaire (conducted with the method of Braun & Clarke). Lastly, the fifth chapter reports the results of the analysis of one interpreted conference and of several interactions in English recorded by the researcher during the exchange. The analysis of data highlighted the major difficulties posed by mediating and interpreting between Japanese and English during the MIRAI Program, which required a linguistic and cultural adaptation by the JICE coordinator/interpreter.