The School of Chinese has the pleasure of inviting you to attend the launch of Dr Eva Ng’s latest monograph:

Title: Common Law in an Uncommon Courtroom: Judicial Interpreting in Hong Kong
Date: Wednesday, 8 May 2019
Time: 5 – 6 pm
Venue: Room 436, 4/F Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong

All are welcome.
Refreshments will be served.

Book description

This book explores a unique courtroom in the common-law jurisdiction. This uniqueness is particularly characterised by the use of English as the trial language in a predominantly Cantonese-speaking society and the presence of court actors who are proficient in both languages. This scenario poses specific challenges to the interpreters who work within it, and at times renders the interpretation service superfluous. This study, inter alia, problematises judges’ intervention in court proceedings, Chinese witnesses testifying in English, as well as English-language trials heard by Chinese jurors. It demonstrates how the use of chuchotage can be inadequate and inappropriate in the Hong Kong courtroom, where interpreting in an English-language trial is catering to the needs of the linguistic majority. This book is valuable for interpreters, language educators, legal professionals, forensic linguists and policy makers alike.

Dr Eva Ng is Assistant Professor of the Translation Programme in the School of Chinese, HKU. She previously served in the Judiciary of Hong Kong as a court interpreter, and has researched extensively in courtroom interpreting and forensic linguistics. Her works have appeared in the International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, Language and Law, International Journal of Interpreter Education and other leading journals.

Click here for more details about the book.