Xiaohui Yuan

I am a researcher in interpreting and translation studies. I have also undertaken professional interpreting with international organisations and government bodies such as the UN agencies in Geneva, the World Health Organisation, the International Telecommunication Union and so on. I endeavour to combine theoretical sophistication and practical application in my research. I had a short spell of working as a financial analyst for one of the Big Fours in London prior to my academic career.

Interpreter’s identity and identity management:

In my recent work (Yuan 2022), I have proposed a Symbolic Interactionist Model of Interpreter’s Identity Management (SIMIIM) to conceptualise the macro social influence, the meso-communicative factors, and the micro individual similarities/differences and changes in interpreters’ role behaviour. The model is useful to help interpreting trainers, trainees and professionals, to reflect on how our sense of self impacts on our role-choice behaviour in interpreting and how to better evaluate existing interpreting ethics, informed by an enhanced understanding of the relationship between society, identity and role, and the psychological process and impact of identity (non)verification.

Representing interpersonal features in translation and interpreting

 In this broad area, I have undertaken research to explore how interpersonal features embodied in the concept of face/face management are represented in audio-visual translation with audience response, in literary translation and in political interpreting.

Language use in social contexts (impact focused)

• Dispute resolution and negotiation: facilitative linguistic features vis-à-vis evaluative linguistic features in dispute resolution, use of interpreting in dispute resolution and negotiation
• Politeness in cross/intercultural interactions, the concept of face in the East and the West