ABSTRACT
This concluding chapter addresses the two key questions of the book: why does intercultural communication often break down, and how do individuals manage intercultural communication issues? Drawing on the findings from the previous chapters, the chapter identifies inequitable power structures as a central contributing factor underlying intercultural communication failure in interpreter-mediated communication settings. Power hierarchies in interpreting are not only relational but also social and global, in that they represent stratificational forces that exist and operate at different levels. The focus on the nature of interpreting as a power-ridden social space enables us to understand how and why power is inseparable from intercultural communication and often causes interactional misunderstanding. The deterministic nature of power can, however, be moderated and even neutralised by individual agency, which is often awakened and invoked by the existing power structures rather than necessarily being constrained by these structures. While interpreters creatively exercise their cultural and linguistic resources to anticipate and address communication problems, it is crucial to recognise that interpreters should not be the sole players when it comes to dealing with intercultural communication problems. All stakeholders, particularly those in powerful positions, should work together with interpreters in order to achieve communication success. The chapter concludes by highlighting the importance of building and disseminating stories relating to intercultural communicative conflicts with a view to enhancing awareness among people outside the field of interpreting to achieve the goal of constructive interparty collaboration.
