Interpreting in International Business Negotiation (IIBN)

Chapter I International Business Negotiation (IBN)

 

1. The Definition of Negotiation

Negotiation is nothing new to us; however it is no easy to define it exactly becauseits coverage is so wide that people can not give an accurate and full definition by usingone or two sentences. Just as G. I. Nierenberg, the president of American NegotiationAcademy as well as the chief negotiator consultant of Bill Clinton, points out in his bookThe New Art of Negotiating that the real world is a huge negotiating arena, no matter youwant to participate or not. All things are a process of negotiation, from making a dealwith clients, persuading your boss to increase the salary, to bargain with a peddler oreven get your child to do his homework, in other words, it is everywhere and at any time(2012: 5). Therefore, we try to portray the basic concept of negotiation from the form,content and features as follows:​

Firstly, the goal of negotiation is always to meet certain interests based on people’sneeds, which is also the reason why people negotiate. When people want to exchangeideas, change relationship or seek agreement, they start to negotiate (Nierenberg, 2012:2). Secondly, there must involve at least two parties in the communicative activities andone party’s needs are possible to be met by the actions of the other party. This is theprerequisite of the occurrence of negotiation. Thirdly, negotiation is seeking to establishor improve social relations for all people’s activities are based on certain social relations.Taking commodity exchange as an example, in form, it is exchange of goods, butessentially it is interpersonal relationship, the relationship between goods holders andcurrency holders. It is the establishment of new relations or consolidation of existingrelations that enables the possibility of purchase and sale. Fourthly, negotiation is aprocess of coordinating behaviors. Since the involved parties are different in interests,way of thinking and act, there a certain extent of conflicts, so the process of negotiationis a process to seek common ground. At last, any negotiation is taken place at the timeand place which the participators believe is suitable. The choice of occasion has alreadybecome an important part of negotiation, which exert a direct influence on its conductand outcome. Although in some general negotiations it is not that harsh on this issue, at​ least it is true with negotiations among enterprises, organizations and countries. To sumup, negotiation is a kind of process in which people try to discuss or exchange views onissues of common interest in order to seek out settlement approaches and reach anagreement.

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2. The Explanation of Business Negotiation

Negotiation can be classified into many kinds, mainly including diplomaticnegotiation, political negotiation, military negotiation, economic negotiation and so on.Business negotiation is one kind of economic negotiation. With the rapid development ofmodern economic life, business negotiation becomes more and more important forenterprises to conduct business. For a company, there are mainly three ways to increaseprofits: increase turnover, cut cost and negotiation. Obviously, negotiation is the mostefficient and fast way to boost profits because every cent gained through negotiation isnet profit. Here’s a case in point: Mr. Lopez, a former purchase manager of GeneralMotor US, once one of the biggest car companies in the world, increased net profit of $2billion within half a year after taking office. How did he make it? As we know, a car hasa lot of parts and the only thing he did is to negotiate with all its automotive partssuppliers to persuade them to reduce prices, otherwise he would replace them with others.Thus, after negotiations he managed to save $2 billion. No wonder, Roger Dawson, onceserved as chief negotiating consultant of President Bill Clinton said, “The fastest way tomake money is negotiating.” (http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4ca71e680100ail5.html).​

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Chapter II Interpreting in International Business Negotiation(IIBN)

 

1. Necessity and Significance of IIBN

With the rapid development of science and technology, and the irreversible trend ofeconomic globalization, international business contact becomes increasingly frequent,complex, and indispensable. People wish to go across the boundaries of differentcountries to establish direct connections with their counterparts in various fields, such astrades, politics, foreign affairs, cultures, etc. All these communication and cooperationwould be impossible without interpretation or translation. In business world, usinginterpreters to overcome the language barrier is a necessity. Even if the negotiators areproficient in foreign languages, interpreters are still preferred in offering the followingadvantages:

​1）“Interpreters are trained professionals in specific languages, meaning they canensure communication between two sides as clearly as possible” and “help minimizepossible costly misunderstandings” (牟筠, 2007: 1).

2）It will be surely be stressful to put the negotiators in an adverse position byexpressing ideas in a foreign language, thus “having an interpreter allows you to speak inyour native language, ensuring you express yourself succinctly” (牟筠, 2007: 1).

3）The interpreter can serve as a buffer. The negotiators can use the time when theinterpreter is doing interpretation to organize the next speech, understand the truemeaning of counterparts, and thus make timely and proper response.

4）Interpreters assist in overcoming cross-cultural differences and can act as guidesin cross culture matters (牟筠, 2007: 2).

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2. Features of IIBN

Above all, the author would like to introduce the general characteristics ofinterpretation. According to Professor Mei Deming, a famous interpreter in China, thereare five characteristics of interpretation: extemporaneousness, stressfulness,independence, comprehensiveness and miscellaneousness (梅德明, 2000: 2-3).​

Firstly, extemporaneousness. This is decided by the extemporaneousness of spokenlanguage: “relative quickness in speed” and “temporality” (鲍刚, 1998: 25). Interpretersdo not have enough time to think. “They have to perform ‘live’ in front of audiences.”(牟筠, 2007: 17)

​Secondly, stressfulness. The atmosphere of interpretation site is usually very solemnand serious, such as international conference and diplomatic negotiation, which willcause anxiety and exert great mental pressure on the interpreter.

​Thirdly, independence. In interpretation, the interpreter is single-handed and hemust face up to every problem encountered. On the spot he can not resort to anyreference books, data, or frequently ask the speaker to repeat or explain difficult points.

​Fourthly, comprehensiveness. An interpreter needs use all his knowledge and skillsin sight, listening, speaking, writing, reading comprehensively.

​Fifthly, miscellaneousness. For professional interpreters, there is no limit to thescope of interpretation, because the content of information exchange is all-inclusive.

As one kind of interpreting activities, IIBN shares many similarities with otherkinds of interpretation. However, as a new occupation developed along with that of theinternational trade and globalization, it obvious has its own features which distinguish itfrom others:​

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Chapter III Tactics for Interpreting in International Business Negotiation.......... 21

1. Full Preparation .................. 21

2. Technical Terms .................. 21

3. Dealing with Fuzzy Message..................... 22

 

Chapter III Tactics for Interpreting in International BusinessNegotiation

 

1. Full Preparation

Interpretation is a highly professionalized career. A bilingual may be able to dosome basic or informal interpretations, but he can not undertake formal interpretationtasks. To be an excellent business interpreter, one should not only have substantiallinguistic knowledge, be familiar with cultures, but also possess general knowledge inbusiness. When the interpreter is given an assignment, he should collect as muchreference information as possible, such as books, newspaper articles, documents, and getto know the subject being discussed, relevant glossaries, and the stance of both sides. Ifpossible, the interpreter should also consult expert or experienced colleague who isfamiliar with this subject, including the basic concept of this subject, the focus of the talk,and attitude of negotiators. It is highly recommended that the interpreter talk directlywith negotiators beforehand, which can help him/her to know the way of they tend tospeak. Ample preparation can give the interpreter a strong hand, relief the anxiety,increase confidence and achieve success.

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​Conclusion

International business negotiation (IBN) plays an indispensable role in internationalbusiness which is a main drive to economic development of each nation. It is a process inwhich related parties, usually governments, enterprises or individuals from both homeand abroad, come to discuss or bargain on various transaction terms for mutual benefits.All these communications and cooperation would be impossible without the involvementof interpretation and translation. In business world, using interpreters to overcome thelanguage barrier is a necessity. Interpreting in IBN shares many similarities with otherkinds of interpretation, but also has its own features. It is a highly demanding job. Apartfrom the basic requirements of profound linguistic competence, interpreting skills, andworld knowledge for any interpreter, adequate business-related knowledge, strongcross-culture awareness, reliable professional ethic, and negotiating tactics are alsoindispensable for IBN interpreters. However, at present, most interpreters working in thisfield are not qualified enough, either are part-time interpreters without enoughindustry-specific knowledge or bilingual employee of the company without professionalinterpreting training. The big gap between high demand and low supply makes it anurgent task to cultivate qualified IBN interpreters and promote the normalization andprofessionalization of this emerging branch of interpretation. The dissertation provides acomprehensive and detailed introduction and discussion on interpreting strategies ininternational business negotiation. A large number of examples are employed aiming tooffer a guideline for those who want to serve this industry.​

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