Professional interpreters’ note taking in consecutive interpreting

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS’ NOTE-TAKIN

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS’ NOTE-TAKING

IN CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING

Year of enrolment: QH.2009.F1.E24

Hanoi, May 2013

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA TIẾNG ANH SƯ PHẠM

KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

TỐC KÝ CỦA PHIÊN DỊCH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGHIỆP

TRONG DỊCH KẾ TIẾP

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Thạc sĩ Nguyễn Ninh Bắc

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2013

I hereby state that I: Duong Thi Thu Huong from group 09E24, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarians for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Duong Thi Thu Huong

Hanoi, 4th May 2013

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

In the completion of this paper, I owe my appreciation to many people My first and foremost thank goes to my supervisor and dedicated teacher for the last two years, Mr Nguyen Ninh Bac, for his enthusiastic support, valuable guidance and research advice Besides, I would like to send my gratitude to our teachers at Translation Division – FELTE, ULIS for building up in me thorough background

knowledge in interpreting and inspiring me to carrying out this research

My sincere thanks are saved for Mr Lam Quang Dong and Mr Lam Minh Chau for providing me their notes and audio – useful material for my research I would like to express my deepest thankfulness to Ms Nguyen Thi Cam Linh and Ms Ngo

Ha Thu for providing me with priceless suggestions and advice in interpreting and note-taking skills through the interview I am also grateful to the friendly librarians

of ULIS for providing me interesting reference material

After all, my special thanks are for my family - my parents, brothers and sisters – who have always encouraged me I do want to say thanks to my classmates, my friends for being by my side during the whole process of conducting this study Without them, never could I win this challenge

ABSTRACT

Note-taking has proved itself to be important in consecutive interpreting training However, this skill presents serious challenges for interpreting students which explained clearly in empirical researches Therefore, to offer suggestions for students to solve their problems, the study sought to investigate strategies of professional interpreting through analyzing their notes and audio in consecutive interpreting Analysis of data, previously collected and classified, indicated that each interpreter used different note-taking strategies which depended on his background knowledge, his memory capacity and interpreting conditions Based on practical interpreting experience, note-taking was regarded as a supporting technique to help consecutive interpreters retrieve part of information of the source text and relieve strains on the memory To fulfill this function, notes of interpreters should be as clear and brief as possible It was important to emphasize that note-taking was not governed by any single rules It was highly personal Moreover, interviews with professional interpreters provided valuable advice for students to improve their note-taking skills The study was expected to support individuals who were interested in this topic and interpreting student at the University of Languages and International Studies in their interpreting training For further study, it would

be better if note-taking is examined together with other related skills and techniques

in a larger scale of subjects

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the research 1

1.2 Research aims and research questions 2

1.3 Significance of the research 3

Chapter 2: LITERRATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Interpreting 4

2.1.1 Definition 4

2.1.2 Types of interpreting 5

2.2 Note-taking in consecutive interpreting 8

2.2.1 Note-taking and memory 8

2.2.2 Form of notes 9

2.2.3 Language of notes 17

2.2.4 Contents of notes 18

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Selection of subjects 22

3.2 Data collection instruments 22

3.3 Data collection procedures 23

Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25

4.1 Interpreters‟ choice of forms for their notes (language vs symbols) 25

4.2 Language to note 30

4.3 Contents of notes 32

4.4 Implications for note-taking in training interpreting students 34

4.4.1 Relation of note-taking, active listening and short-term memory capacity 34

4.4.2 Individuality in the choice of note-taking form and contents 35

4.4.3 Time to note 37

4.4.4 Language to note 37

4.4.5 Preparation skills 38

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 39

5.1 Summary of key findings 39

5.2 Limitations 40

5.3 Suggestions for further studies 41

REFERENCES 42

APPENDIXES 44

Appendix 1: TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERPRETER 1 44

Appendix 2: TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERPRETER 2 55

Appendix 3: TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERPRETER 3 58

Appendix 4: TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW WITH INTERPRETER 1 60

Appendix 5: TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW WITH INTERPRETER 2 65

Appendix 6: NOTES OF PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS 70

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: List of Commonly Used Abbreviations 11

Table 2: List of Names of Vietnamese Agencies and Offices in Acronyms 12

Table 3: List of Names of Countries in Abbreviations and Acronyms 14

Table 4: List of Commonly Used Symbols 15

Table 5: Symbols or abbreviations for the links 20

Table 6: Distribution of interpreters‟ notes over the categories of note forms 25

Table 7: List of Abbreviations used by interpreters 28

Table 8: List of Acronyms used by interpreters 29

Table 9: Distribution of interpreters‟ notes over contents of notes 33

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The distribution of interpreters‟ notes over language 31

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the research

Interpreting, as a factor promoting trade and travel between countries and regions, has become a vital service in communications Thanks to interpreters, participants at international conferences and meetings could express their ideas and get opinions of other people without difficulties due to the language gap The matter of training competent interpreters gains the concern of many countries in the world through studies, interpreting courses and training programs However, it seems to be a novel concept in Vietnam and draws little attention of its experts and scholars

To be qualified enough for this demanding and challenging job, professional interpreters have to master quite a few skills and techniques Among a variety of skills, note-taking plays an important role in the successful performance of interpreters Note-taking, closely related to interpreting training, has been considered as an essential skill for consecutive interpreting Note-taking supports memory efficiency and facilitates interpreting process Developing an accurate and workable system of note-taking is essential to become skilled consecutive interpreters Although there were some graduation papers of previous researchers studying the topic of note-taking, they only gave the general knowledge about note-taking, the significant role of this skill in student‟s performance and their note-taking problems

All the above mentioned conditions give the researcher a chance and motivation

to carry out the study on “Professional interpreters‟ note-taking in consecutive interpreting” The concentration of this study is expected to provide practical guides and strategies for students to improve their note-taking skill through examining the notes of professional interpreters

1.2 Research aims and research questions

The study aims at providing a theoretical background on note-taking in consecutive interpreting in order to give students of the Translation and Interpreting Division, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University deeper understanding about this theme and raise their awareness of this crucial component Moreover, it analyzes note-taking skills and techniques of professional interpreters who have practical experience in consecutive interpreting

to help students improve their note-taking skill The study is to address the following questions:

Question 1: What is interpreters’ choice of form for their notes (language vs symbols)?

Question 2: Which language do interpreters use for their notes?

Question 3: What are the contents of interpreters’ notes?

Question 4: What are implications for note-taking in training interpreting students?

1.3 Significance of the research

Although the study is carried out on a small scale, the researcher has a wish that

it will be helpful for interpreting students and people who are interested in interpreting and translating in general, and note-taking skill in particular More importantly, with the comprehensive analysis of professional interpreter‟s notes, students could have better understanding about note-taking skill and know how to utilize it effectively

Chapter 2: LITERRATURE REVIEW

2.1 Interpreting

2.1.1 Definition

ccording to armen ill n and Francesca artrina (2013), interpreting is a service which is provided to meet the requirement of the participants in communication settings Therefore, interpreting occurs during cross-cultural communication when people do not share the same set of language and cultural experiences or expectations By bridging the gap between languages, the interpreter fulfills the function of conveying semantic elements, intentions and feelings of the message that the source-language speaker is directing to target-language recipients Interpreting is “a form of translation in which a first and final rendition in another language is produced on the basis of a one-time presentation of an utterance in a source language” (Pöchhacker, 2004, p 133) The main distinguishing feature is its immediacy 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” (Pöchhacker, 2004, p 10) In this respect, the interpreter often takes three crucial steps of the interpreting process: “comprehension, conversion and delivery” (Hale, 2007, p 14) First, he listens to the source-language text to understand the message in the source language In the second step, the interpreter has to “make strategic mental choices

to decide what is the most appropriate and most accurate rendition in the target

language”, (Hale, 2007, p 21) Finally, he delivers “the verbal output after the previous two phases has been completed” (Hale, 2007, p 24)

Interpreting and translating are two closely linguistic disciplines and share the common goal of transferring message from one language to another However, the mode of expression creates the difference between interpreting and translating Translating is the transference of meaning from the source-language text to the target-language text (written or recorded), whereas interpreting denotes the facilitating of communication from one language form into its equivalent, or approximate equivalent, in another language form

2.1.2 Types of interpreting

There are several ways to categorize interpreting basing on different criteria such as working modes, setting modes and subject matters In practice, there are two common modes of interpreting: consecutive and simultaneous where the former refers to the interpreting of the speech after few sentences without notes but relying solely on the memory whereas the latter relates to the carrying on the interpreting throughout the speech and finished almost at the same time as the original (Jones, 2002 , p 5) In spite of obvious differences between these two interpreting modes, they “are just means to an end – ways to meet the specific needs that characterize any given situation.” ( armen ill n, Francesca artrina (Eds.), 2013, p 379)

2.1.2.1 Simultaneous interpreting

In simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter renders the message in the language as quickly as he can formulate it from the source language, while the source-language speaker keeps talking “Simultaneous interpreting does not aim to form linguistic equivalence between two languages, but to communicate the meaning of an utterance being listened.” (Lambert, Sylvie, Barbara Moser-Mercer (Eds.), 1994, p 101) Lambert, Sylvie and Moser-Mercer (1994) states that “it is a phenomenon of both cognitive and linguistic interest: cognitive, because of the information processing the task involves as well as the interpreter‟s ability to juggle several concurrent operations, and linguistic, because of the type of information processing being done – the recoding of a message heard in one language into speech in another language” It means that the interpreter must analyze and comprehend a continuous flow of information, at the same time convey the message as he perceives it into the target language It is a challenging task because

target-it requires the interpreter to montarget-itor his own speech to ensure that the translation is properly paced, easily understood by listeners The second difficulty for the interpreter is expressing the original meaning of the source-language text without the possibility of asking for repetition or clarification of any idea when he is in doubt However, simultaneous interpreting, as a particularly impressive form of rapid and instant translation, has offered an efficient service which allows participants at international meetings to speak and follow proceedings in their own languages and become the standard of medium of multilingual communication in international organizations

2.1.2.2 Consecutive interpreting

Gile (2001) proves that “in consecutive mode, interpreters have possibility of listening to and assimilating the linguistically completed expression of ideas or sequences of ideas before starting to produce their own speech” It means that consecutive interpreting is a mode in which the interpreter begins to render a portion of the message or the entire message in the target language after the source

language speaker pauses or finishes speaking Wei HeZhong, in the article Memory

Training in Interpreting, views consecutive interpreting as a process consisting of

two separable phases

Phase One: Listening Phase

CI = L (listening) + M (short-term memory) + N (note-taking)

In this phase, the interpreter sits or stands beside the speaker, listens attentively, selectively and actively to the original speech, and takes notes as the speaker progresses through the message It is easy to recognize that note-taking is an undivided part of the first phase

Phase Two: Reformulation Phase

CI = R (remember) + R (read the notes) + P (produce the speech in the target language)

In the second phase, the interpreter reproduces a target-language speech from memory as well as from notes

Despite the fact that consecutive interpreting is more time-consuming than simultaneous interpreting, it offers greater precision and is therefore often the preferred method in highly sensitive meetings where a slip of the tongue could lead

to disaster Consecutive interpreting is typically used for press conferences, dinner speeches and similar occasions

after-2.2 Note-taking in consecutive interpreting

2.2.1 Note-taking and memory

Taking notes in consecutive interpreting refers to “the notes taken down in the form of the original remarks by the speakers used at once and for one-time, involve the shift between meaning and two languages which record the intention, feeling of the speaker” (Meifang, 2012) Note-taking is one of the most effective ways for a message to be retained and interpreted in consecutive mode, which aims at helping interpreters remember the contents of the speech First, notes help the interpreter relieve the burden on his working memory Despite understanding the message of the speaker completely, the interpreter cannot remember every point in the speech because people‟s internal memory capacity has limits on the short-term memory level which will lose after a limited amount of time By writing some non-contextualized features such as proper names, numbers, figures, etc., notes can release the interpreter from bearing the whole thing in mind Second, good note-taking facilitates retrieval from the long-term memory of the interpreter In the retrieval process, the notes viewed as “clues” serve for the purpose of precisely recalling the information With notes, the main ideas, the secondary elements and

the links among them become clearer and easier for the interpreter to visualize However, if the processing capacity mainly focuses on the note-taking components, there will be less attention to other efforts Consequently, the quality of the note can

be impaired In other words, a great quantity of notes may lead to a poor performance of the interpreter A basic principle for successful consecutive interpreting is that memory comes first and notes function to supplement it The principles and precepts of note-taking are set out, with advice and examples, in Herbert (1952) and Rozan (1956) Rozan‟s book in particular is devoted entirely to note-taking and gives both an extensive account of its processes and practical exercises with comments

2.2.2 Form of notes

It is undeniable that if notes are clearly separated and logically organized, the interpreter will avoid confusion when reading the notes and retrieve information without difficulties Using abbreviations and symbols in notes is a common and effective method for the interpreters to store information They have a long history

in note-taking and note-taking training They have been used to signify expressions Both these strategies are an efficient and time-saving way of taking notes concerning different concepts However, each interpreter has his own note-taking style depending on his interest in terms of using abbreviations and symbols, the layout and language of notes

so, the interpreter can avoid the ambiguity when reading the abbreviations For

example, „Con‟, when read again several minutes later, can stand for anything from

„concept‟ to „confirmation‟, or „concur‟, or „contribution‟ bbreviation is then

only a partial solution: con cpt may be better rendered as „idea‟, „concur‟ becomes

„OK‟ (to express approval); conf mn and contr bn are probably clear enough

Similarly, Insti could be read as “Institute” or “Institution”; therefore, it is more meaningful and understandable to note Ins te and Ins on With too long expressions, Rozan (2002, pp 17) suggests abbreviating them “by using a word which conveys the same meaning but is shorter” As an illustration of this point, the phrase “which

as worth looking at” can be noted int g

(interesting) Similarly, “In order to arrive at

some conclusions” can be noted to end; or “Taking into account the situation at the present time” can be noted as sit ion now (as situation now) (Rozan, 2002, p 18)

Some commonly used abbreviations are listed below:

Table 1: List of Commonly Used Abbreviations

Using acronyms is also considered as a way of abbreviating, which is formed from the first letters of other words and pronounced as they are spelled, not as

separate letters Many of acronyms are widely accepted in the official name of organizations, agencies, etc because of its convenience.1

MOLISA Ministry of Labour, War invalids and Social Affairs

Table 2: List of Names of Vietnamese Agencies and Offices in Acronyms

It goes without saying that the country abbreviations and acronyms are useful in many spheres of life, especially when the interpreter is at a wide range of

1 Retrieved from http://www.vnu.edu.vn/ttsk/?C2095/N10239/Huong-dan-dich on February 10th 2013

conferences with representative from all over the world The following table consists of names of some common countries according to ISO 3166-1 alpha-

“country”, a plus sign to represent “add”, “contribute” Symbols can be particularly helpful as they are not “language-specific” and eliminate source language interference Gillies (2007, p 125) indicates that it is good to use symbols as “they may be written faster and easier than words, they are easier to read than words, they represent notions, not exact words.” A particularly striking example of this process can be found in the use of the up and down arrows, as illustrated by Rozan (p 29):

↑ country‟s = a country‟s development

↑ duties = an increase in duties

↑ science = science progress

↑ living stanrd

= an improvement in the standard of living

↓ prices = a drop in prices

↓ purchasing power = a reduction on purchasing power

↓ civilization = the fall of a civilization

The lexical items have been reduced to their major common component, with a notation of the distinguishing features For this reason, the symbol can render a huge range of synonyms and contextual variants of a given semantic cluster (increase, development, progress, expansion) whose meaning in the target language can be determined by contextual factors However, it is not recommended to take too many symbols because the interpreter “will end up with a page full of signs that have to be deciphered” (Rozan, 2002, p 25) The most versatile is the arrows and math symbols which are listed in the following table

→ lead to, produce, cause, make

← receive from; import; return; derive from, come from, is the result

of, etc

↑ increase, rise, progress, improvement, etc

↓ decline, fall, decrease, reduction, slow-down

+ plus, in addition, and, also

> greater than, more than

< less than, smaller than

? question, problem, issue

“ Express, declare, state, maintain, say, announce

: Think, consider, feel, evaluate

Table 4: List of Commonly Used Symbols

Like abbreviations, there are no common rules for forming symbols The interpreter can create his own system of symbols to ensure its consistency and meaningfulness

2.2.2.3 The layout of notes

The layout of notes could facilitate the retrieval of information since the position of signs, symbols and abbreviations on the page is able to represent some additional meaning such as parallelism, subordination, cause-effect relations Rozan (2002) discusses two principles to achieve such an effective layout of notes: vertical lists and the diagonal layout which serve as “the backbone of the note-taking system” (Rozan, 2002, p 20) Vertical lists can be used with elements having the same value such as subject, verb or object position and thus being given

in the same place in notes to group ideas logically and to clarify the text Moreover, verticality allows the quick search of previous notes, which facilitating the use of other note-taking techniques Besides, it is easy to write vertically For example:

“Since the French, US and UK delegations have suggested …”

re-1954, prices rose, although not to the same extent as income, thus the population‟s net income increased” is noted as follows

(1) 54, prices

Word for word on the first line: Over the course of 1954, prices rose,

Word for word on the second line: although not to the same extent as,

Word for word on the third line: thus the population‟s net income increased

As information is organized l ogically and clearly, diagonal layout and vertical lists can help to accelerate the rendition of information

2.2.3 Language of notes

Choosing language to note is a decisive factor which affects the quality of interpreting product There are two stances adopted by the researchers in this matter Some interpreters recommend using the target language because “this option forces the interpreter away from the surface form of the source speech and therefore make better processing of the text; and that it facilitates production of the target language speech.” (Dam, 2004, p 256) On the other hand, other interpreters prefer writing notes in the source language to avoid performing many functions during the listening phase Rozan (2002, p 16) appears to prefer taking notes in the target language, but does not stress this stance very strongly – “preferably in the target language, although this is not essential.” lthough Gile (1995) takes the

opposite option, there is no strong statement about which language is definitely better He claims that using the target language may be an unwise choice basically for two reasons: for one thing, “thinking of target-language „equivalents‟ in the source language while listening takes up extra processing capacity”; for another, it

“increases risks of saturation” (Gile, 1995, p 179) However, he also adds that

“until empirical evidence is available, it is difficult to say which of the positions, equally valid in theory, is more of practical value” (Gile, 1995, p 179) As a result,

it is not important to choose the target language or the source language to note Each interpreter can use different language in each situation, provided that he finds

it suitable and efficient

2.2.4 Contents of notes

In order to note effectively, the most important thing the interpreters must decide is what they will take in their notes because they do not have enough time to write everything they want A successful interpreter can provide necessary cues to remember the information in the speech from his notes He can free himself to concentrate on the meaning of incoming message by ignoring lexical items like words and structures Consequently, it is essential to understand the main ideas of the speech before notes are taken The second element should be noted is the link between ideas to understand their relation Moreover, proper names, numbers and list of things are difficult information to remember by short-term memory; in this case, note can prove its effectiveness

2.2.4.1 Main ideas

Main ideas are considered as the backbone of the speech because they represent essential points that the speaker tries to convey “Whenever taking notes the interpreter must concentrate on the major idea and how this can be noted clearly and simply.” (Rozan, 2002, p 13) It is crucial for the interpreter to have the ability

to identify, select and retain important ideas of the original speech in accordance with the subject-verb-object structure and omit any irrelevant details This can provide him with “a skeleton outline” of the speech, and allow him to reproduce one by one idea of the original speech Moreover, the interpreter also easily draws back the organization of the speech later by linking important ideas According to Rozan, the interpreter should strive to free himself from all the restraints imposed

on him by the words of a specific language

2.2.4.2 The links

According to Jean Herbert, link words are often vital to comprehension because they connect ideas in a logical sequence Link words present (i) the contrast which establishes an opposition between ideas; (ii) the sequence and causation which express an order for ideas, or show how an idea follows from another; (iii) the

conclusion which goes with the words in summary, to sum up, in the end, without a

doubt, in conclusion Using these links helps the gap between ideas to be bridged

smoothly The following table shows some symbols or abbreviations for the links based on the Rozan‟s book (2002)

abbreviations

1 Because/ the main reason for/ on account of/ due Coz

to/ thanks to

2 Therefore/ consequently/ as a result/ that‟s why/

for that reason/ hence/ thus

So/ →

3 So as to/ in order to/ with the aim of/ with the

intention of/ with the purpose

To

4 However/ nevertheless/ on the other hand/

although/ despite/ notwithstanding/ on the contrary

of things

Though condensed in size, good notes consist of main information contained in the source-language speech including main ideas, numbers and dates, proper nouns, and key words that indicate the logic relations.

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Selection of subjects

Due to the limited time and capacity, the study is conducted with three Vietnamese professional interpreters who have at least five year experience in consecutive interpreting The subjects are chosen for the following reasons: (i) they have had hands-on experience in interpreting consecutively; (ii) they acquire a wide range of remarkable skills Therefore, their responses will give students precious references to improve their knowledge and skills

3.2 Data collection instruments

In this study, the research uses two main instruments namely document data analysis and semi-interview

The first instrument falls into qualitative methodology A qualitative approach focuses on collecting information and analyzing it The reason for the researcher to choose this method is that “it is less concerned with numbers and accurate measurement and more concerned with the depth of data It will typically involve the collection of data via interviews, focus groups, participant observation, oral history and so on.” (Neil Murray, Geraldine Hudghes, 2008, p 150) The data is collected by using observational techniques As Manson (1996) notes, observation usually refers to “methods of generating data which involved the researcher immersing in a research setting, and systematically observing dimensions of that

setting, interactions, relationships, actions, events and so on.” (Manson, 1996, p 60) Then, the date is analyzed to discuss the findings in chapter 4

Open-ended question in semi-structured interviews can offer further information and helpful instructions In this study, the researcher worked with two experienced teachers also professional interpreters to discover their opinions to get their suggestions for note-taking improvement for interpreting students All interviews were in English to assure the authenticity and validity of the collected data

3.3 Data collection procedures

The procedure of data collection consists of three main phases

In phase 1, the researcher collected notes and recording tapes of professional interpreters in consecutive interpreting and prepared interview questions for professional interpreters As schedule, this phase lasted in two months from 5th of February to 30th of March However, the research could not collect required number

of notes For this reason, the data collection time was expanded until 20th of April

The second phase was analyzing data collected in the first one based on criteria

of form of notes (language vs symbols), language of notes (source language or target language), and contents of notes (main ideas, the links, non-contextualized information) Data were taken in Vietnamese or English For collected audio, the researcher listened to and wrote transcripts in order to support for analytical process Data were counted and calculated through some mathematical treatment, and then put in form of a report of quantitative data analyses In addition,

information from notes of interpreters was decoded, and analyzed Thanks to these activities, the researcher could find out note-taking techniques of professional interpreters and offer a profound understanding of discussed matters

In the third phase, the researcher analyzed information obtained from interviews with professional interpreters This is an effective way to gain deeper understanding about their note-taking skills and support the training process of interpreting students

semi-Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In the chapter 3, the methodology of the research has been clarified with descriptions of the collection of subjects, the data collection instruments and the process of data collection This chapter gives a presentation of research findings in details from content analysis of three professional interpreters’ notes and inferences from interviews with two other professional interpreters

4.1 Interpreters’ choice of forms for their notes (language vs symbols)

Following Dam (2004), the forms of notes were analyzed in terms of full words, abbreviations and acronyms, and symbols Table 6 shows the distribution of the analyzed notes over the three categories of note forms:

Full words (%) Abbreviations and

words were the second preference (36.2%), while the subjects as a group tended to use symbols to a small extent in their notes (26%)

Nevertheless, this overall pattern was not consistently reflected in notes of the individual subjects who had their own ways of performing their notes On one hand, research results received from the first two subjects were quite similar They expressed a preference in regard to the use of abbreviations and acronyms (47.1% and 43.4% respectively) over the use of full words and symbols However, the performance of these subjects differed to the extent that: whereas the subject 1 tended to use more full words than symbols (30.9% vs 22%), symbols were preferable to full words in the notes of subject 2 (30% vs 26.6%) On the contrary, subject 3 expressed that his (her) first choice of note forms was using full words (51.1%) The proportion of abbreviations and acronyms and symbols was 20% and 28.9% in turn

In conclusion, results received from three subjects were somewhat similar in that they had approximately the same proportion of symbols Besides, some of them showed the preference for abbreviations and symbols, while others had great favor on full words These differences in interpreters‟ choice of note-taking form partly resulted from differences in the personality and characteristics and habit of interpreters For axample, if an interpreter loves math or cryptography, he tends to use abbreviations, especially symbols in his notes

It was undeniable that no clear conclusion could be drawn from this study, but it would be worth examining their note-taking techniques Obviously, not every word could be represented by symbols or signs In addition, it took much time to write

long words or phrases fully Therefore, abbreviating was an effective way to note down key words in the shortest period of time For example, the phrase “Technical assistance” in English was shortened as “HTKT” in Vietnamese or “T ” in English “KTKT” and “T ” can be meaningless abbreviations to most of people or can stand for a variety of words and phrases without putting a certain context However, for the interpreter, (s)he completely understood their meaning because these abbreviations were the shortened form of words to which were assigned meanings by the interpreter In Vietnamese, phrases consisting of more than two words were shortened by writing the initial letter perhaps as well as the last letter of the first words and writing the full form of the last words To illustrate this point, the table 7 expresses the abbreviations used by professional interpreters

Abbreviations Words or phrases Meaning in English

Table 7: List of Abbreviations used by interpreters

Besides, subjects also applied the rule of using the initial letters of other letters

to form acronyms both in English and Vietnamese This way of abbreviating was often used for noun phrases The following table contained some common acronyms used by subjects in their notes:

Acronyms Meaning in Vietnamese Meaning in English

NTP hương trình ục tiêu Quốc gia National Target Program

Investment

Table 8: List of Acronyms used by interpreters

Abbreviations and acronyms have been used increasingly not only in interpreting but also in daily life, especially on the social media They are now considered as an integral part of modern language due to their convenience and efficiency

Another effective way to express things or a group of synonymous concepts was employing symbols as they were quicker and easier than words According to

Matyssek (1989) in the book Interpreting, a language-free notation system can help

the interpreter overcome the constraints imposed by language structures and words because symbols represent ideas not words The most commonly used symbols in this study were arrows Right arrow represented the consequence or result; up

arrow indicated the increase or raise In addition, the symbol “ ” was a illustration of “change”; “≠” was of “other” or “various” or “different”; “%” was of

“percentage; “>” was of “more than” Although symbols were used regardless of topics or themes, Rozan (2002) recommends limiting the use of symbols because it can hinder the interpreter from the process of information retrieval when striving for expressing ideas of notes from the notation system

Although full words were not encouraged to use in notes, it was the second note form preference of the subjects as a group, even the most favorable form of notes

It would be interesting to examine the reasons for using them First, as words having more than four letters should be abbreviated (Rozan, 2002, p 16), key words with less than three letters can be noted down completely to avoid misunderstanding when using only abbreviations and symbols Second, technical terms such as “hành thu” and “ngẫu nhiên hóa học” and proper nouns like names of companies, organizations or people should be also written exactly as they may be strange to the interpreter and difficult to retrieve from abbreviations or symbols Therefore, full words would help to ensure the quality of translation

4.2 Language to note

The aim of this research question is to explore what is the interpreters‟ choice of language for their notes Only full words, abbreviations or acronyms were taken into account because the nature of symbols is language-free The categories used for discussion on choices are those of the source language or the target language In

this study, the source language and the target language are both English and Vietnamese

Figure 1: The distribution of interpreters’ notes over language

As can be seen from Figure 1, the results obtained from three subjects in terms

of language reflected a constant trend There is a strong preference in regard to taking notes in the target language which accounts more for more than a half of total language used in the interpreters‟ notes The results observed from interpreter

2 and 3 exhibited a significant similarity Although the target language was used more than the source language (58.3% vs 41.7% and 56.2% vs 43.8% respectively), they kept a balance in using both languages The preference for using the target language was shown clearly in the notes of the interpreter 1 From the statistic above, (s)he represented 72.5% of all his (her) notes in the target language and 27.5% in the source language The reason the interpreters were in favour of