An analysis of register variances between China and the US in international communications

Abstract

Translation of international communications plays an important role in facilitating the spread of a country’s voice and shaping its national image. This study employs multidimensional analysis to analyze China’s interpretation of international communications and compares it with the speeches from the White House press conferences to uncover the register variances between the two. The findings reveal that China and the U.S. differ in 4 dimensions and 46 individual linguistic features. The former is more informational with explicit written features and can be categorized into the register of learned exposition; the latter is more interactive and persuasive with prominent features of colloquialism, belonging to the register of involved persuasion. Through comparison with the source language, we find that the differences between the two are influenced by multiple factors such as source language, interpreting process, and political considerations. In conclusion, the interpretation of China’s international communications is a “third language code” with distinctive features from the language used by the U.S. in the political scenario, reflecting a meticulous, responsible but less interactive national image. These findings could shed light on the interpreting strategies adopted by government interpreters and further improve the effectiveness of international communications.