INTERPRETING PRACTICE FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION students of english language

Lesson 1 INTRODUCTION TO INTERPRETATION THE ROLE OF MESSAGE ANALYSIS IN INTERPRETATION General Introduction Translation and interpretation are the ultimate jobs for people who love langu

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUẢNG BÌNH

KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ

  

INTERPRETING PRACTICE FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION Students of English language Tran Thi Phuong Tu

Quảng Bình, 2015

INTRODUCTION

This interpreting course is designed to meet students’ needs of English in their training course at the Department of Foreign Languages, Quang Binh University The purpose of this course is to help students in understanding of techniques and methods of English language interpretation Those are definitely important notions

in using a interpreting tool.

It is hoped that learners will find the course useful and practical The material presented here borrows heavily from different materials of both international and Vietnam authors.

Quang Binh, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Lesson 1 3

INTRODUCTION TO INTERPRETATION 3

Lesson 2 0

CODE OF ETHICS FOR INTERPRETERS- 0

Lesson 3: MEMORIZING SKILL 3

Lesson 4 8

NOTE-TAKING SKILL IN INTERPRETATION 8

Lesson 5 17

OTHER HELPFUL SKILLS ATTRIBUTED FOR INTERPRETING 17

Lesson 6- PRESENTATION SKILLS 21

Lesson 7: PRESENTATION SKILLS - LIAISONS AND SPEECHES……24

REFERENCES 24

Lesson 1

INTRODUCTION TO INTERPRETATION THE ROLE OF MESSAGE ANALYSIS IN INTERPRETATION

General Introduction

Translation and interpretation are the ultimate jobs for people who love language However, there are a lot of misunderstandings about these two fields, including the difference between them and what kind of skills and education they require This is an introduction to the fields of translation and interpretation

Both translation and interpretation (sometimes abbreviated as T + I) require

superior language ability in at least two languages That may seem like a given, but in fact

there are many working translators whose language skills are not up to the task You can usually recognize these unqualified translators by extremely low rates, and also by wild claims about being able to translate any language and subject

Translation and interpretation also require the ability to accurately express

information in the target language Word for word translation is neither accurate nor

desirable, and a good translator/interpreter knows how to express the source text or speech

so that it sounds natural in the target language The best translation is one that you don't realize is a translation, because it sounds just like it would if it had been written in that language to begin with Translators and interpreters nearly always work into their native language, because it's too easy for a non-native speaker to write or speak in a way that just doesn't sound quite right to native speakers Using unqualified translators will leave you with poor-quality translations with mistakes ranging from poor grammar and awkward phrasing to nonsensical or inaccurate information

And finally, translators and interpreters need to understand the cultures of both the

source and target languages, in order to be able to adapt the language to the appropriate

culture

In short, the simple fact of speaking two or more languages does not necessarily make a good translator or interpreter - there's a lot more to it It is in your best interest to find someone who is qualified and certified A certified translator or interpreter will cost more, but if your business needs a good product, it is well worth the expense

What is Interpreting?

Interpreting happens whenever two people or two groups of people do not share a common language but need to or want to communicate with each other in order to conduct a business or share information and ideas When people who are deaf (and who use sign

language) and people who are not deaf (and who use spoken language) want or need to talk

to one another, that is when the interpreter do their work

Interpreters must understand the meanings and intentions expressed in one language (the source language) and then express those meanings and intentions in the other language (the target language) In order to do this, interpreters have to have a high level of fluency in each language Most of the time interpreters work simultaneously, which means expressing what someone just said while at the same time focusing on what someone is saying right now Sometimes interpreters work consecutively, which means listening until someone has completed an idea and then interpreting that idea Interpreters also have to follow a professional Code of Conduct; one of its most important tenets is to maintain confidentiality This means keeping private whatever happens in the interactions that are interpreted

Interpreting is a very challenging and rewarding career especially for those who enjoy the way languages work, enjoy the way that people use language to get things done and enjoy playing an important role in helping people interact with each other

Interpreting is essentially a verbal form of translation It entails taking ideas and words spoken in one language and rendering them in another language It may sound simple enough but more often than not this is a complex task It requires extensive understanding of source and target language, and of the culture of both Otto Kade, a groundbreaking researcher on interpretation said that Interpreting is a form of Translation

in which a first and final rendition in another language is produced on the basis of a time presentation of an utterance in a source language (Pöchhacker p.11)

one-Interpreting is not only a verbal translation but also an immediate one The immediacy may vary to a degree in the different settings but it is always a factor The interpreter must re-render the utterance in the target language without interrupting the flow

of the event he takes part in This aspect separates most distinctively between interpreters and translators and often a person’s ease in such circumstances determines which profession people choose It is arguably a different skill to be able to delve into a text and spend great time and effort on finding the exact equivalent meaning and feeling of a text that can hold up to the original on print, than it takes to form an utterance quickly and accurately without dwelling on detail

Kade (1968) defined interpreting as a form of Translation in which:

* The source-language text is presented only once and thus cannot be reviewed or replayed, and

* The target-language text is produced under time pressure, with little chance for correction and revision

Modes of Interpreting

The two major modes of interpreting are Simultaneous and Consecutive.

Simultaneous Interpreting

Typically, while performing Simultaneous Interpreting, the interpreter sits in a

booth wearing a pair of headphones and speaks into a microphone Strictly speaking,

"simultaneous" is a misnomer: the interpreter cannot start interpreting until he or she understands the general meaning of the sentence Depending for example, on how far apart

in the sentence to be interpreted the subject and the verb are located, the interpreter may not be able to utter even a single word until he or she has heard the entire sentence!

This fact should make it evident how difficult the task of the interpreter really is: she must transfer the sentence into the target language while simultaneously listening to and comprehending the next sentence You can experience the difficulty of the task even if you only speak one language: try paraphrasing someone's speech with a half-sentence delay while making sure you understand the next sentence and paraphrasing the previous one

One of the key skills of the simultaneous interpreter is decisiveness: there is simply no time to weigh the merits of variant translations, or to recall just the right idiom in the target language Any delay and a few words (and possibly a complete thought) that the speaker uttered could be lost, and since the speaker may be far away, or even in a different room than the interpreter, the loss may be permanent

The interpreter listens to a speech and simultaneously interprets it, using headphones and a microphone This is commonly used when there are numerous languages needed, such as in the United Nations Each target language has an assigned channel, so Spanish speakers might turn to channel one for the Spanish interpretation, French speakers to channel two, etc Simultaneous interpretation should only be done into one's A language

Consecutive Interpreting

During Consecutive Interpreting the speaker stops every 1–5 minutes (usually at

the end of every "paragraph" or complete thought) and the interpreter then steps in to render what was said into the target language A key skill involved in consecutive interpreting is note-taking, since few people can memorize a full paragraph in one hearing without loss of detail Interpreter's notes are very different from those of, say, a stenographer, because writing down words in the source language makes the interpreter's job harder when he has to translate the speech into the target language

Many professional interpreters develop their own "ideogramic" symbology, which allows them to take down not the words, but the thoughts of the speaker in a sort of language-independent form Then the interpreter's output is more idiomatic and less source-language bound

The interpreter takes notes while listening to a speech, then does his or her interpretation during pauses This is commonly used when there are just two languages at work; for example, if the American and French presidents were having a discussion The consecutive interpreter would interpret in both directions, French to English and English to French Unlike translation and simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation is commonly done into the interpreter's A and B languages.

* Some others types of interpretation:

Whispered: The interpreter sits or stands next to a small target-language audience

and whispers a simultaneous interpretation This method is generally used only when a few audience members do not speak the source language

Relay: A source-language interpreter expresses the message to a group of

interpreters who have a language in common and each speaks another language as well In turn, these interpreters convey the message to their respective target audiences For example, a German speech is first interpreted in English to a group of interpreters, and is then interpreted by each into French, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian

Liaison interpretation, also known as ad hoc and relay: this is a type of two-way

interpreting, where the interpreter translates every few sentences while the speaker pauses This is common in telephone interpreting as well as in legal and health situations The interpreter supports people who are not fluent in the language being used to ensure their understanding

Sign language interpretation: interpreters convert spoken statements into sign

language and vice versa

Message Analysis in Interpretation

Message Analysis is an attempt not only to make theory usable, but also to some extent, to de-mystify interpreting skill Comprehending another's message is of great importance to the interpreters They do it without thinking

Six "faces" of the crystal are important to the interpreter’s task: content, function, register, affect, contextual force, and metanotative qualities These six parameters are generally useful in analyzing language for a number of purposes Although there are others, these six are most directly related to the interpreter's task

Content

"Content" refers to the facts, ideas, information and other objective material

expressed in an utterance In the sentence, "Tom has a brown four door," the content

relates information about a specific car, its color, and who owns it

Propositions

A proposition is an idea, thought, or any objectively expressed concept within the discourse A sentence may include several propositions Returning for a moment to the first example used in this section, the difference between a sentence and a proposition can

be clarified "Tom has a brown four door," is one sentence, made up of six words and four

propositions:

1 there is a car

2 the car is brown

3 the car has four doors

4 the car is owned by somebody named Tom

Note that the first proposition is not overtly stated, but is implied by the other three

Van Dijk (1972) separates the two by saying that propositions represent facts, and sentences express propositions

Function

Every time we say something, there is a general purpose behind our words We intend to accomplish something Whether it is to entertain, to inform, or to persuade, we communicate because we have a desired result These purposes, the very reasons we speak

at all, are called the functions of the message

The function of the message greatly influences how something is expressed If the aim is to convince another that our opinion is correct, certain features are likely to appear

in our speech and gesture We might raise our voices to a higher volume than is necessary for our listener to hear us, or we might stress certain key words, and various hand movements might be incorporated to add emphasis to our conviction

It is for this reason that Cokely (1983) stresses the importance of understanding

"communicative functions" for students of interpreting Indeed, any interpreter who works

at understanding the function behind the words of the speaker has a great advantage When interpreters can make their purpose the same as the speaker's, then the choices in delivery will be naturally shaped by that common goal

Register

There are an infinite number of ways to express an idea in any language In fact, it

is impossible to say the same thing exactly the same way twice We can vary the way an idea is expressed through vocabulary choice, syntax, intonation, facial expression, gesture and the like

Each of these ways of varying expression can be analyzed for the relative effect it may have on the communication For our purpose as interpreters, however, we are more concerned with the effects which result from variations of several of these components simultaneously These variations in the surface structure have been called "linguistic style levels" (Joos, 1967; Cokery, 1983b), and are also commonly referred to as "registers."

One speaks differently when addressing a parent, a close friend, or a teacher These differences reflect our relationship to the person we are addressing, and the situation we find ourselves in Cokery describes this phenomena as "social distance”

Affect

Affect is the emotion and tone conveyed in the text Affect is perceived by listeners through volume, stress patterns, vocabulary choices and other linguistic and paralinguistic clues given by the speaker

Affect is nothing new to the field of interpreting Most of us have received feedback regarding our attempts to relate the affect of the speaker All too often, however, volume and pitch are the only tools employed to show emotion

As interpreters, we need not only to be aware that it is our responsibility to convey affect, but to be consciously aware of how this is accomplished in any of the languages we are working with Knowing how elation is expressed in the source language does not: guarantee that these same stratagems can be used in the target language Finding equivalence in affect does not necessarily mean imitating the delivery of the speaker

Contextual force

Contextual force is the relative impact (low to high) a message has on its receiver Hirsch (cited by Morton, 1979) calls it "significance" and contrasts it with "meaning." He points out that, depending on the listener, particular proposition has a relative impact or charge to it It is either an emotional topic or it is not; it causes interest or it does not; it stimulates memories of past experiences or it does not

Aside from these parameters, there is another aspect - called "context" - which is necessary to understanding any message Context is not included in the list above, for one must apply the notion of context to each of the parameter One might say that the context is the pair of glasses one needs to see any part of a message

Understanding another's message when it is not intended for us is not an easy task This is because we lack the background information a typical listener would possess We operate at a disadvantage Although the kinds of situations where interpreting occurs are those where the speaker and the listener do not know each other intimately, we still are left with a lot of guesswork about our consumers and their relationship to each other Context

is the tool we use to fill in the gaps

As interpreters, we must listen consciously/or these clues we use so automatically everyday This information provides enormous insight into each speaker's message, and is necessary for analyzing the other parameters Not only must we listen for situational context to provide us with clues about the message, we must then use the message to help fill out our understanding of the situation A cycle is formed Understanding a little of how these people see the world and each other helps us to understand their discourse The more

we understand their discourse, the more we can understand their relationship and the way they view the world

3 THE PROCESS OF INTERPRETATION

Interpreting is both a professional task and one of trust The interpreter undertakes the task of extemporaneously conveying messages between languages and cultures while also keeping the professional content According to a Hungarian saying, words slip away This, however, is not true anymore for the words used in interpreting The interpretation has to stand the test of time.

The Process of Interpreting

The order is received by our Project Managers, who assess the order (date, place, duration,

languages, profession, etc.) and clarify any arising questions It is especially important to determine the professional field of the interpreting job and the types and amount of reference materials the customer can provide for the job that helps the interpreter prepare and thus provide good quality services On the basis of this information, the Project Manager defines the personal and technical (interpreting equipment) requirements of the job

Interpreting Equipment

If the customer so wishes, our company can provide interpreting equipment for conference

interpreting The equipment can be installed anywhere in the country, and we will also provide the necessary technical personnel.

Administration of the Interpreting Process

MULTI-LINGUA, Inc has at its disposal an integrated software system that records and tracks the whole interpreting process and the related accounting and financial tasks Our Project Managers record the following in the database of the system:

orders and all related data

the details of the subcontracting agreement concluded with the interpreter

the scheduling of partial deliveries and final deliveries

the professional and financial completion of the process: proof of completion, sending of the invoice, archiving, etc.

The necessary information:

a clear and definite description of the professional field of the interpretation job

the schedule of the interpreting, times and titles of the presentations or talks, and the name of the lecturers

the written material of the presentations

any other information or glossaries regarding the topic.

For the following statements, do you:

Strongly agree, Agree, Not sure, Disagree, Strongly disagree

1 _ Communication is facilitated when friends and relatives serve as interpreters because of their close relationship with any one of the clients

2 _ Knowledge of technical vocabulary in both working languages and advance preparation are vital for interpreters

3 _ Interpreters should give a word-for-word rendition to ensure accuracy & completeness

4. _Interpreters should not interject their opinions in the exchange between the clients

5 _ Most individuals who speak two languages have the skills to become good interpreters

6 Hiring an interpreter is necessary and often required by law when individuals who use different languages try to communicate and/or do business

7 _ Be careful what you say, interpreters are obligated to interpret everything that is spoken or signed

be on a two-way basis.

 Interpreters facilitate effective communication between clients in the following settings:

 large conferences and formal meetings;

 business functions such as smaller meetings, exhibitions and product launches;

 criminal justice proceedings, known as public service interpreting (PSI), including police and probation service interviews, court hearings, solicitor interviews, arbitration hearings and immigration tribunals;

 community-based events and assignments within the education, health and social services sectors

 Interpreting can be carried out in various ways:

 in person, whether in the same room or from a nearby conference booth;

 by telephone, when the interpreter is in a different location from the speakers;

 via video conferencing and internet-based technologies

Listener/ Audience

 Successful interpretation depends on the integration of two different verbal and verbal communication sets

non- An interpreter/translator should have high oral and written proficiency in two languages

to convey the meaning intended by the speaker and to adapt to a variety of communication styles, including speech differences caused by a disability

 Important qualities to complete a successful interpretation or translation include neutrality, confidentiality, and honesty

Although the codes of ethics mentioned above may differ in some parts, they are generally concerned with similar underlying ethical principles

The general principles contained in the different codes of ethics require translators and interpreters to:

 respect their clients’ right to privacy and confidentiality

 disclose any real or perceived conflicts of interest

 decline to undertake work beyond their competence or accreditation levels

 relay information accurately and impartially between parties

 maintain professional detachment and refrain from inappropriate self-promotion

 guard against misuse of inside information for personal gain

Lesson 3: Memorizing Skill

Introduction

Everyone knows that interpreting denotes facilitating communication from one language

into another language The interpreter translates the message orally, which is quite different from written translation In order to perform the task professionally an interpreter has to master the foreign language/s he/she is working upon, and to undergo special training as the job requires not only to perform this task correctly, but also to perform it in real time, which means fast

Whether it is about a simultaneous or a consecutive interpretation, the person performing

it has to do the translation quickly and not to leave blank spaces in what he/she is about to say

This may prove sometimes difficult, especially if the interlocutor speaks too fast or uses too long sentences and no pause In the case of simultaneous interpretation, things are even more complicated as the translator is isolated in a sound-proof booth and speaks in the microphone

while the speaker does not stop Consecutive interpretation is divided in two; short CI and long

CI Short CI uses fragments that the interpreter has to memorize and render orally, while in the

other case, the interpreter takes notes

It is shown that retaining the information that needs to be conveyed into the target language is crucial If you do not have a memory trained to remember that, the target language proficiency proves insufficient Apart from the vocabulary or linguistic structures of a language, together with the subject matter knowledge, the interpreter should be at ease with the general framework of the conference, which will help him/her understand the information and place it into context Memory can be split in two types; short and long-term memory Short-term memory is important for the interpreter to retain what he/she has just heard, while a good long-term memory helps genuine understanding and an accurate conveying of the message

1 Short-term vs long-term memory (SLM vs LTM)

Phsychological studies of human memory make a distinction between STM and LTM The idea of STM simply means that you are retaining information for a short period of time without creating the neural mechanisms for later recall LTM occurs when you have created the neural pathways for storing ideas and information with can then be recalled weeks, months or even years later To create these pathway, you must make a deliberate attempt to encode the information in the way you intend to recall it later Long-term memory is a learning process And it is essentially an important partof the interpreter’s acquisition of knowledge, because information stored in LTM may last for minutes to weeks, months or even an entire life Long-term memory is referred to as secondary memory

The duration of STM is very short It is up to 30 seconds Memory in interpreting only lasts for a short time Once the interpreting assignment is over, the interpreter moves to another one, often with different context, subject and speakers Therefore, the memory skills which need

to be imparted to trainee interpreters are STM skills

Majors Characteristics of STM:

The relationship between short- and long-term memory is difficult to determine Information can be passed back and forth between the two types of memory Howerver, short-term memory is often referred to as the working memory and active memory because it holds information that is meant for immediate use

 Temporary

Short-term memory is used temporarily unless the thought resurfaces Then it is stored in long-term memory An example of short-term memory is when you look a phone number up in the phone book and dial it immediately after seeing it, then you forget it However, a phone number of a person that you call frequently will be stored in long-term memory because you are thinking of the number more than once The ability to store the number depends on your aptitude

 Decay

You lose thoughts in your short-term memory because of decay Rehearsal is needed for you to

be able to store information in your short term memory for up to 20 seconds

 Immediate Recall

After a list of words is read aloud, the average person's short-term memory will allow him to recall the words immediately However, when time has passed, he will be slower at recalling the words until he eventually can't recall them The words that are spoken at the beginning and end of the list are recalled more easily than those said in the middle of the list because the middle words can get lost among the others The information will decay if you don't rehearse the material

Other Characteristics

o Information that enters the short-term memory often passes through long-term memory

o The short-term memory has a much more limited capacity than long-term memory

o Rehearsing information in your short-term memory will help you transfer it to the long term Your ability to retain information in short-term memory depends on how much you value the information Information in short-term memory hasn't stopped being processed

by your brain It can either be forgotten or stored in long-term memory

• It is essential to rewrite a material in your own style by making sure that:

- You use your own words and,

- You use proper grammatical structures.

 When changing grammar, you can;

- divide the longer sentences into shorter ones,

- join shorter ones with sentence connectors,

- or make other grammatical changes

• Original ideas remain unchanged in a paraphrase, that is, keeping the original meaning is

the core of paraphrasing

• You replace the language of the original text by using different vocabulary, grammar, and writing style

A Model Paraphrase

• Original:

When Maracaña soccer stadium [in Rio de Janerio, Brazil] was opened to the public in 1950, and Brazil lost the World Cup to the Uruguayan team, the Brazilians were so disheartened that one had the impression that the country itself had died And people did die of sadness Mere threats of defeat in a championship match can cause heart attacks and the despair of the public is so great that many beat their heads against the cement posts Such is the Brazilian’s passion for soccer

• Outline:

A Brazil lost the World Cup in 1950

1 Entire country was sad

2 Some people died

B Possible defeat causes strong reaction

1 Some experience heart attacks

2 Some beat their heads

C Brazilians are very emotional about soccer

• Outline:

A Brazil lost the World Cup in 1950.

1 Entire country was sad

2 Some people died

B Possible defeat causes strong reaction.

1 Some experience heart attacks

2 Some beat their heads

C Brazilians are very emotional about soccer.

• Paraphrase:

In 1950, Brazil lost the World Cup in soccer to Uruguay in Rio de Janerio The entire country was overcome by sadness; some people even died from it Brazilians react very strongly to potential defeat in championship soccer games Some people have heart attacks, and others beat their heads against cement posts Brazilians are very emotional about soccer

3 Sentence Chunking

Chunking is a method of presenting information which splits concepts into small pieces or

"chunks" of information to make reading and understanding faster and easier Chunking is especially useful for material presented on the web because readers tend to scan for specific information on a web page rather than read the page sequentially

 Chunking helps to develop:

 Reading fluency;

 Knowledge that groups of words forms chunks of thoughts;

 Comprehension by relating words to thoughts;

Sample of Chunking

To demonstrate the limits of STM, look at the letters printed below for about 10 to 30 seconds and try to write them

down without looking at the screen

If you chunk the 14 letters into 6 chunks as shown above, it is easy to keep all the letters

in STM Having the 6 chunks in your first level of chunking, you can move further and map some patterns

You will notice that X is the first and last letter IBM-SAT-MTV-PHD are the 12 letters between the two Xs

The pattern "X -X" and "IBM-SAT" + "MTV-PHD" complete the 14 letters

If you can translate the middle chunks to sentences, like "I used IBM on SAT" and "he watched MTV to get his PHD" It is alright to have meaningful or meaningless sentences so long

as it help you in your recall