‘We Don’t Apologize’: Corpus-Based Insights Into the Consecutive Interpreting of Political Satire

Political satire presents challenges for consecutive interpreters due to its reliance on satire-related rhetorical cues. This study explores the consecutive interpreting of political satire through a corpus-based analysis of 50 Arabic interpretations of English satirical texts including political speeches, literary satire, and media satire. By combining qualitative and quantitative corpus analysis, the study examines recurrent reformulation patterns associated with the transfer of satirical meaning across linguistic and sociocultural contexts. The findings indicate recurring patterns of omission, literalism, euphemistic restructuring, tonal reformulations, and semantic flattening in the Arabic interpretations. The analysis further suggests that interpreters frequently negotiate rhetorical implicitness and cultural reference through reformulation and contextual adaptation. In addition to the linguistic dimension of satire transfer, the study also highlights the interpreters’ societal role in mediating politically sensitive discourse across cultures. The findings show how ideological stance, audience expectations, and sociocultural norms can shape the interpretation of political satire in intercultural communicative settings. The study contributes insights into the rhetorical and sociocultural complexities associated with consecutive interpreting of political satire.