Chinese MTI Students’ Multiple Identities Construction: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This article aims at unraveling Chinese MTI (Master of Translation and Interpreting) students’ multiple identities. The cultural shift of translation studies gives impetus to carry out research on identity and translation. However, the identity research of translators remains a nascent field, with insufficient attention given to the aspects of dynamicity and multiplicity. Regarding MTI students as translators, L2 users, and graduate students, this article delves into the interrelationship of their multiple identities. These three identities are gradually constructed and might interact with each other during MTI students’ graduate learning and translation practice, further affecting their self-cognition, professional emotions, and behaviors in translation practice. Finally, the article investigates the factors contributing to the construction of MTI students’ multiple identities. Considering the emergence of the field of MTI, it is necessary to systematically evaluate the external and internal factors that affect the development of MTI students’ multi-identities, so as to better adjust the construction of MTI major.