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영어

This paper examines the process of how an art museum interpreter became familiarized with her duties and formed professional identity. For this study, Hyun-jung, an in-house interpreter for the director of a national art museum in Korea was selected as the research participant. Employing the method of narrative inquiry, her first 1.5 years at the art museum was carefully followed and observed. The data collected and analyzed includes in-depth interviews, log entries, participant’s work-related materials and self-portrait. A total of five core themes were identified as a result of the narrative analysis: Duties and Responsibilities; Context of the Art Museum; Mediation; Inner Conflicts and Identity Crisis; and Formation of Professional Identity. The research participant’s experience can be summarized as follows: Firstly, as an interpreter with no field experience, Hyun-jung was required to acquaint herself with the unfamiliar and abstruse subject called art. She was also exposed to whispering interpreting, a type of interpretation that she knew little of, resulting in a hard landing in her first job. Second, Hyun-jung found she needed to improve her flexibility and adaptability against the unpredictability in her work and meetings. This is because depending on the characteristics and the needs of the speakers, requirements for interpretation services changed, as well as the language direction, and the type of interpretation (whispering, consecutive, and sight interpretation) and her role as mediator and communication facilitator. Third, an art museum interpreter had to double as a secretary and an administrative assistant, which meant the traditional duties of an interpreter was comparatively reduced in Hyun-jung’s role. This resulted in much inner conflict and a thirst for professionality, and Hyun-jung found herself greatly discouraged and confused in terms of her professional identity. Fourth, through trial and error, Hyun-jung came to form her own strategies for interpretation, and eventually came to develop a sense of professional identity that fulfilled the expectations by the art museum: a mediator of cultures and catalyst for engaged communication.