Vanda Koniarová

Univerzita Mateja Bela, Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky, Banská Bystrica

vanda.koniarová@umb.sk

 0009-0005-6489-9785

 

Patrícia Kvokačka Hatiarová

Univerzita Mateja Bela, Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky, Banská Bystrica

patricia.hatiarová@umb.sk

 

Simona Malá

Univerzita Mateja Bela, Katedra slovanských jazykov, Banská Bystrica

[email protected] 

 

Abstract 

Neutralisation as an Interpreting Decision-Making Strategy in Informal Discussion 

This article adopts qualitative analysis to examine neutralisation as an interpreting strategy. Its primary objective is to explore how neutralisation functions as part of the interpreter’s decision-making process in authentic communicative situations, while simultaneously serving as an indicator of the broader interpreting process. The analysis is based on three recordings of simultaneous online interpreting of a public discussion entitled “Z lavíc do praxe” (From Desks to Practice), organised by the student civic association Sa zobuď! (Wake up!). The article further addresses situations in which interpreters mitigate expressive, ambiguous, or potentially problematic elements of spontaneous speech to preserve fluency and comprehensibility. The theoretical framework of the article draws on a cognitive understanding of interpreting, which conceptualises the interpreter as an active agent who works dynamically with meaning, context, and intent, rather than as a passive mediator of the language. Neutralisation can be used as a strategic intervention within this framework without breaching the principle of interpretative neutrality. Instead, it represents a functional and context-sensitive response to time pressure, source-text ambiguity, and the social conditions of public discourse. The findings of the qualitative analysis indicate that neutralisation may preserve core propositional meaning while reducing expressive, metaphorical or pragmatic markedness. However, the analysis also identifies cases in which neutralisation results in partial loss or modification of informational or pragmatic content. The findings therefore point to the context-dependent and variable effects of neutralisation in interpreting.

 

Keywords: qualitative analysis, neutralisation, indicator, interpreting

 

https://doi.org/10.24040/nfr.2026.18.1.122-141