海峽兩岸自由中英會議口譯員訂價考量因素比較研究

Abstract

會議主題難度較高，口譯員是否要提高報價？會議只有一個小時，口譯員要收取半天的費用嗎？客戶預算不足，口譯員要不要接受較低的費用？這些都是自由口譯員在訂定服務費用時，經常遇到的難題。本研究旨在探討臺灣與中國大陸的中英自由會議口譯員對這些議題的看法。

本研究參考服務定價策略文獻，並以此為基礎調查臺灣與中國大陸中英自由會議口譯員的口譯服務費用如何受到各項內外部因素影響。研究者列出十九項口譯訂價的做法，並提出三個研究問題：一、口譯員認為哪些做法應該實行，哪些做法不應該實行（觀點）？二、口譯員實際上實行哪些做法，沒有實行哪些做法（實際作為）？三、臺灣與中國大陸的受訪者在觀點與實際作為上有何差異？

以問卷調查四十六名臺灣與三十六名中國大陸的中英自由會議口譯員後，統計結果顯示，十九項敘述中，臺灣口譯員在七項敘述上呈現觀點與做法間的落差，中國大陸口譯員則有十項呈現落差。訪談顯示，落差的原因多在於口譯員雖然認為遇到某種情況時理想上應該要提高報價或拒絕接受低價，但實際上卻時常由於客戶不接受而無法提高報價，或因為生活所需而被迫接受低價。

兩岸比較統計顯示，臺灣與中國大陸的受訪口譯員在觀點上只有三項有顯著差異，在實際作為上卻有九項顯著差異。中國大陸口譯員無論是在提高費用的做法還是在降低費用的做法上，多有作為頻率高於臺灣的情形。Should interpreters raise their rates for conferences with more difficult topics? Should interpreters charge half day rate for conferences that run only for an hour? Should interpreters accept lower rates because the client is running on a tight budget? These are tough decisions to make for freelance conference interpreters. This study aims to explore how freelance Chinese-English conference interpreters in Taiwan and Mainland China address these issues.

Informed by literature on service pricing, this study investigates how the pricing of interpreting service by freelance Chinese-English conference interpreters in Taiwan and Mainland China is affected by various internal and external factors. A total of 19 practices are listed and three research questions are proposed: 1) Which practices do interpreters consider appropriate and which not? 2) Which practices do interpreters engage in and which not? 3) How do the perspectives and practices differ between interpreters in Taiwan and in Mainland China?

A total of 46 respondents from Taiwan and 36 respondents from Mainland China were entered in analysis, and results show that of the 19 practices, respondents from Taiwan show significant discrepancy between what they believe and how they actually behave on seven practices, while respondents from Mainland China show significant discrepancy on ten practices. Interviews show that whether interpreters can actually realize their desires to raise rates under certain circumstances is contingent on the clients’ approval, and that interpreters’ refusal of lower rates can at times be qualified by financial want.

Comparative analysis between Taiwan and Mainland China shows that the two samples disagree on three practices and showed different behavioral patterns on nine practices. Specifically, Mainland Chinese respondents tend to engage more frequently than their Taiwanese counterparts in both practices that raise rates and those that lower rates.