Quality in Interpreting

Call for Papers for an edited volume on quality in interpreting (EN / DT)

Quality is one of the most extensively investigated topics in interpreting studies and particularly so in research on conference interpreting since the mid-1980s. This research has shed light onto the issue from the perspective of professionals and users, with the latter dominating in empirical research. For a long time, empirical research into quality was mainly questionnaire - driven and to a large extent inspired by the seminal study of Bühler (1986). In recent years, this conventional methodology has been extended by a web-based approach (Chiaro/Nocella 2004).

Recent studies have not only brought about a consequent application of the web-based approach (Zwischenberger 2013) but also a shift in terms of the theoretical approaches or frameworks on which research into quality is based. The issue of quality has recently been analysed from a sociological perspective that challenges quality as an objectively determinable variable and views it as a social construction (Grbić 2008). Within this sociological framework, the inextricable bond between the concepts of quality and the interpreter’s social role(s) was examined in depth (Zwischenberger 2013). Furthermore, quality has been investigated from the standpoint of communication studies and socio-psychology (Behr 2013).

It is primarily these new and innovative lines of research that the present volume wants to track and present. Thus, we particularly welcome research from scholars who are about to complete or have only recently completed their PhD research as well as scholarly research papers on quality in fields other than conference interpreting where the issue has not reached the same level of prominence and popularity. It is, however, particularly in the field of community interpreting that sociological and socio-psychological aspects have been playing a central role in research for quite some time already. Thus, contributions from this area might be particularly fruitful for research in general.

Important information and dates:
1. Submission of abstract and bios: 15th December 2013
1.1. Length of abstract: 500-700 words providing full description of the research, data, methodology and
findings (where applicable) and including a basic bibliography
1.2. Bios should be approximately 100-200 words long
2. Languages of publication: German and English
3. Notification of acceptance of abstract: 15th January 2014
4. Full paper submission: 15th April 2014
5. Notification of paper acceptance: 15th June 2014
6. Final Submission: 15th July 2014
7. Publication: beginning of 2015

Please submit your abstract proposal to both Cornelia Zwischenberger and Martina Behr:
cornelia.zwischenberger@univie.ac.at
behrmart@uni-mainz.de