The cross-lingual shaping of narrative landscapes: involvement in interpreted story telling

Abstract

Although consecutive interpreting of longer stretches of speech inevitably involves repetition and delays, it can also be regarded as a resource for engagement in storytelling. In an open, interpreted conversation on stage about a recently published piece of literature, the participants had to manage several tasks at once: an interview with questions of public interest, a literary reading session with captivating excerpts of adequate length, and the handling of alternating languages on the floor, all within a certain time frame. In the case explored, conversational interactions on different levels, such as repetition, gesture and gaze are analysed, to see both how cross-lingual narration is achieved and what the specific nature of an interpreter-mediated public literary conversation requires from the author, the moderator and the interpreter performing on stage. The study also touches on the role and function of the book as a talking object in the conversation.