IndexTheoretical framework on how to prepare for an interpreting assignmentFamiliarize yourself with the speakerFamiliarize yourself with the topicBackground information and glossariesIt is important to become familiar with the topic to be discussed in an upcoming assignment. It is also said that regardless of the type of work being done, being prepared in advance is of great importance; especially for interpreters, the more prepared you are, the better interpretation you will produce. According to Gillies (2013), the reason why interpreters are expected to prepare the topic is that by doing so they can know what they are talking about and are not surprised when interpreting with terms related to that field, and the preparation also serves to broaden your general knowledge. It can be observed that if interpreters carry out thorough preparation before interpreting, they can minimize the risk of possible barriers related to background knowledge, so that they can concentrate on using interpretation techniques to provide high-quality interpretation. quality rather than paying too much attention to understanding what the speaker is talking about. Therefore, having a thorough understanding of the topic of interpreting assignments can help interpreters carry out their tasks successfully and smoothly. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayTheoretical Framework on How to Prepare for an Interpreting AssignmentPreparing for an interpreting assignment is actually a kind of research, and research is seeking knowledge that you didn't know before in a comprehensive and organized way (Hale and Napier, 2013 ). During the preparation/research phase, interpreters need to know why they are doing the research, what they want to find out, the goals of their assignments, and what problems their interpreting assignments will solve (Hale and Napier, 2013). Just as Zou (2014) argued, fully trained interpreters are expected to prepare for interpretation tasks from two aspects, namely the linguistic aspect and the non-linguistic aspect. The first includes the speaker and the glossary, the second includes the topic of the speech and basic information. Zou (2014) also pointed out that glossary preparation requires interpreters to consider equivalent Chinese/English terminological expressions when reading related English/Chinese materials and then collect them; Knowing the speaker refers to understanding his or her speech style, such as speaking speed and diction, and the speaker's accent should also be taken into account. Regarding the subject matter and background information, Zou (2014) suggested that interpreters should pay close attention to the latest news and read documents related to the upcoming interpreting assignment to gain as much background knowledge as possible in so that interpreters can be more sensitive in entering information, understanding and storing information accurately. If possible, interpreters can also contact the organizers or the speaker to see if they can provide conference materials, such as a transcript of the speech or the speaker's presentation. These are the essential aspects that should be taken into consideration by interpreters. Familiarizing yourself with the speaker As Pochhacker (2004) indicates, in spoken language interpretation, the aspect of message delivery that relates most closely to perception is the speaker's pronunciation and the resulting phonetic quality of the input in the spoken language. departure. Similarly, according to the AIIC (2002), in a survey among interpreters, the unfamiliar accent is mentionedby the majority of interviewees as a frequent and serious problem that causes stress at work. Pochhacker (2004) also indicates that in simultaneous interpretation, the high speed of delivery of the speaker has been considered a factor causing high processing loads, which can affect the interpreters' ability to interpret quality. Therefore, it is of great importance to know and get used to the speaker's speed and accent in advance, so that interpreters do not panic and do not get surprised and miss a lot of information if the speaker has a high speaking speed. delivery or an unfamiliar accent. In my scenario, I play for Chinese President Xi Jinping. To familiarize myself with President Xi's speed, accent and diction, I watched some of his previous speeches on political issues, such as the speech he gave at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in May 2017 and the speech he gave at APEC CEO Summit in 2014. The reason why I choose political speeches as references is that they share a same characteristic with the speech I will interpret: they are delivered on formal occasions and focus on political issues, so President Xi can speak in the same tone and style and this can help me become better acquainted with the speaker. After listening to his speeches, what I found was that President Xi spoke at a regular speed in each of his speeches, and there were appropriate pauses between sense groups and sentences, so I could imagine that President Xi be an interpreter-friendly speaker and I didn't have to be as nervous and stressful on the spot as when I interpreted for those speakers with a high speed of delivery. As for the accent, President Xi spoke Standard Mandarin, so I had to spare no concentration in decoding what he was saying. Therefore, speed of pronunciation and accent were not a challenge for me in this interpreting assignment. Aside from these two aspects, I also noticed that most of the sentences in his speeches were relatively simple and short, without complicated grammars and structures, which made it easier to divide into chunks. provided that the interpreter has sufficient basic knowledge and good anticipatory skills. Another feature worth mentioning in President Xi's speech style is that he likes to use ancient poems and literary quotations to support his points. This is quite a challenging problem because ancient Chinese poems always have a deep meaning that the interpreter must understand. Familiarize yourself with the theme Interpreters should familiarize themselves with the theme of the speech when preparing for a conference, and it is the key part of the preparation, because just as AIIC (2013) points out, to successfully carry out the task, interpreters must have complete knowledge of the topic and the context in which they work. In general, to learn more about the topic, interpreters prepare for an interpreting assignment by reading related background materials, browsing related websites, or contacting the speaker directly to gather information about the upcoming meeting. In my scenario it was impossible to contact the speaker, so I only referred to related materials available online such as YouTube videos and press articles. The sites I visited were some official sites such as the official government site, because only in this way I could guarantee that the information received was correct and faithful. Since President Xi Jinping has not commented on this type of celebratory activity before, I could not find Xi's previous speeches on the same topic, but I referred to the speeches given by the formerChinese President Jiang Zemin on the handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997, on the first anniversary of the return of Hong Kong and the fifth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland. I also studied speeches given by another former Chinese president Hu Jintao on the 10th and 15th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Former State Council Premier Li Peng's speech at the reception celebrating Hong Kong's return in 1997 was also my reference. . Even though the above-mentioned leaders were not my speakers, it was still worth studying their speeches because they shared the same topic with the one I would be speaking at.interpret, so that I could understand what would be talked about in the event on the return of Hong Kong and make a more accurate preview of what aspects President Xi would refer to. For example, it was expected that President Xi would talk about the achievements of implementing the “one country, two systems” policy, because this was something mentioned in every speech about the return of Hong Kong. Another feature that those speeches and the next one had in common was that they were all official comments that followed the same style - using high register and political terminology, so I could find that the state leaders spoke formally. In addition to referring to previous speeches, I also watched documentaries documenting Hong Kong's comeback and reviewed news on the same topic to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the topic. These measures allowed me to be more familiar with the topic and to be more prepared. Background information and glossaries Zhang (2003) emphasized that it is necessary for interpreters to collect and select terminology and proper names that could be used in the next interpreting assignment, find their semantic equivalence in another working language and then memorize them. In this way, interpreters' pressure and nervousness before or during the interpretation can be relieved, so that they can provide an accurate and smooth interpretation with confidence. Therefore, the glossary is considered an important, if not indispensable, component in the professional practice of interpreting (Jiang, 2013). For most interpreters, whenever they receive a new assignment, building a glossary based on the topic is a must. My glossaries mainly come from two types of resources, previous speeches on Hong Kong's return given by the former national leaders mentioned above and context information. Basic information refers to the information I get when I try to do research to see if any major events occur in the HKSAR and mainland China just before the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong. Speeches can provide me with political terminologies that are often used when talking about return, and through basic information research, I can keep up with the main things related to relations between Hong Kong and the motherland and absorb the most buzzwords recent ones that can be referred to in the speech. I gather basic information by reading news on websites, such as http://www.cnr.cn and http://www.ce.cn. During the basic information gathering phase, I noticed that there are several events that I should pay attention to. For example, the first one is the launch of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in December 2016. The reason why I think this event is important in preparing for the interpretation task is that the speaker can mention it in his speech, because it is a important move that benefits both the HKSAR and mainland China. For example, it helps to deepen financial cooperation between the two.