An insignificant epiphenomenon and derivative no more: Conceptualising the interpreting product as an invaluable corpus of socio-political and historical importance in its own right

In interpreting studies, there has traditionally been an over-emphasis on the ST, where the interpreting product (TT) is often considered as secondary and even insignificant. This is evidenced saliently, for instance, in studies focusing on interpreting quality and accuracy. Gradually, there has been an attitudinal shift, where interpreters are deemed as important co-constructors in the meaning-making process. This therefore highlights the role of interpreting and interpreters as instrumental in the communication process. To date, having looked at various linguistic categories (e.g. modality and personal pronouns) and focusing on “shifts” at different levels, a number of empirical (descriptive) studies have explored the agency and mediation role of interpreters through a systematic comparison of the source and target texts. Going one step further, this article fundamentally makes a case for the primacy of the interpreting product (e.g. in the unchallenged global lingua franca English) as a vital shaping force and invaluable source of historical, socio-political, and diplomatic knowledge worth looking at in its own right, whether it is a correct and accurate representation of the original or not. In other words, in our interconnected, globalized, and highly mediatized world, what is said by the interpreters on high-profile and high-stakes occasions often cannot be unsaid. As such, to some extent, what truly matters is the interpreting product, which arguably represents the only meaningful version that has broader international currency and far-reaching global relevance. Looking beyond individual linguistic features and categories, this chapter, conceptually, calls for more focused research efforts on the propositional content or ideational elements enacted in interpreting. This therefore highlights the need to look at the interpreting product as a corpus and legitimate source of empirical data for researchers from various areas and disciplines (e.g. social and political sciences, history, foreign affairs and diplomatic studies) to draw on for useful interdisciplinary insights. This points to an outward turn in IS, where the contributions of IS to other areas and disciplines constitute a major defining hallmark. To illustrate, this study explores China’s self-representational discourse and looks at the collocation “China is,” drawing on a corpus of China’s political interpreting data covering a fifth of a century.