Abstract:

Until relatively recently, interpreters, usually viewed as the “mouthpiece” or “conduit”, were required to remain faithful to the speakers and maintain a neutral stance while interpreting. For interpreting in adversarial scenarios, however, there is no appreciable time-lag between the act of interpreting and the moment of reception. As such, interpreters are often caught in a dilemma, and may give expression, voluntarily or involuntarily, to their own world-view, rendering themselves as the “embodied agent”. This paper traces the different Chinese translations of “embodiment” in cognitive science and philosophy, cites several examples to demonstrate how interpreters behave in adversarial scenarios and expose their inner conflicts, and then proposes an appropriate translation of the term “embodied agent”.

Key words: embodied agent, interpreters, Chinese translation