Translation Skills
Translation
is an art, and, like all other arts, it is difficult to master, for it seeks to
convey the exact meaning of what is expressed in one language into another. Its
very nature, therefore, requires an intimate knowledge of both the languages
concerned – a requisition not easily to be met with. Knowledge is here intended
to imply capacity to comprehend and express. We must first be able to
understand exactly what is intended to be conveyed, and then to express the
very same thought in the other language.
So the
whole art of translation lies in expressing exactly and precisely without
either omitting thought from the original passage or adding any unnecessary or
superfluous idea to it, the sense and meaning of the Vernacular passage in
simple, idiomatic English.
Some Important Hints:
Study carefully the following hints:
(1) First
read the vernacular passage carefully, marking all such words or phrases as you
do not clearly understand. Remember that words do not have a fixed meaning. They
have more than one meaning, and you have to find out exactly the meaning
intended by the writer. Then and then only will you be able to translate
exactly into English the main thought of the writer given in the vernacular
passage.
(2) Now
you are in a position to translate the vernacular passage into English. In
translating try to express as a whole the sense of the vernacular passage into
English, employing exact English equivalents for vernacular words, phrases and
idioms.
(3) But
avoid literal translation. You are never required to give a word-for-word
translation. If you do so, you will not be able to convey exactly the meaning
and intention of the writer. We do not think or speak in words: we think and
speak in sentences. Translate a sentence as a whole; do not translate words.
(4) But
if too literal and translation is to be avoided, at the same time you should
guard yourself against too free a translation An excessively free translation
sometimes lacks the essential thought without which the whole translation looks
absurd.
(5) Do
not use either unfamiliar or archaic words. Choose only such words as you know
well. The use of bombastic, high-sounding words, and of foreign words and terms
does not in any way add to the beauty of translation.
(6) Try
to avoid the use of many words when a single word, rightly chosen, will do. The
whole art of translation lies in the careful choice of exact words.
(7) If a
sentence is inconveniently long or bears an involved construction, break it up
in your mind in three or four shorter sentences, and then translate them into
English but see that in doing so you have not sacrificed or mutilated the sense
of the original.
(8)
Lastly, see that your English translation reads like a continuous piece of
prose, written in simple, idiomatic English. It should give exactly the same
impression as the vernacular passage.
Test of a Good Translation
What are the tests of a good translation? Your translation is a
success if:
1.
It is a faithful
translation of the original into English.
2.
It conveys exactly
the sense and meaning of the original.
3.
It reproduces all
the details, omitting nothing.
4.
It is a translation
as a whole.
5.
It is a continuous
piece of good English.
6.
Its total
impression is the same as that of the original.
Interpreting
and translation are two closely related linguistic disciplines. Yet they are
rarely performed by the same people. The difference in skills, training,
aptitude, and even language knowledge are so substantial that few people can do
both successfully on a professional level.
On the
surface, the difference between interpreting and translation is only the
difference in the medium: the interpreter translates orally, while a translator
interprets written text. Both interpreting and translation presuppose a certain
love of language and deep knowledge of more than one tongue.
The Skill
Profile of Technical Translators
However,
the differences in skills are arguably greater than similarities. The key
skills of the translator are the ability to understand the source language and
the culture of the country where the text originated, and, using a good library
of dictionaries and reference materials, render that material clearly and
accurately into the target language. In other words, while the linguistic and
cultural skills are still critical, the most important mark of a good
translator is the ability to write well in the target language.
An
interpreter, on the other hand, has to be able to translate in both directions
on the spot, without using dictionaries or other supplemental reference
materials. Interpreters must have extraordinary listening abilities, especially
for simultaneous interpreting. Simultaneous interpreters need to process and
memorize the words that the source-language speaker is saying now, while
simultaneously outputting in the target language the translation of words the
speaker said 5-10 seconds ago. In addition, interpreters have to posess
excellent public speaking skills, and the intellectual capacity to instantly
transform idioms, colloquialisms and other culturally-specific references into
analogous statements the target audience will understand.
INTERNATIONAL'S INTERPRETERS
POSSESS THE FOLLOWING SKILLS:
·
Thorough knowledge
of the general subject of the speeches to be interpreted
·
Intimate familiarity
with both cultures;
·
Extensive vocabulary
in both languages;
·
Ability to express
thoughts clearly and concisely in both languages;
·
Excellent
note-taking techniques for consecutive interpreting;
·
At least 2-3 years
of booth experience for simultaneous interpreting.
Principles in training interpreters
One of
the first deficiencies which notices is a lack of experienced interpreters
working as experienced instructors (Pearl 1995: 162, 181). There are some basic
reasons for that: like good athletes, even very good interpreters are
themselves quite non-analytical and oblivious in their modus operandi, which
means that not all good interpreters (or athletes) can work successfully as
good instructors. Secondly, the practice of simultaneous interpreting is
significantly more financially rewarding than the teaching of it. (Pearl 1995:
181)
The first principle is:
Before
starting to work with any new training exercise, explain its potential value or
psycholinguistic and professional reasons and explain how it can be used or
adapted by interpreters later in other circumstances.
Example: a
self-training exercise to improve or achieve full attention and concentration
and to make both hemispheres work synchronically. It can be used in any
environment with moving or parked cars.
The most
simple exercise is to go along any street, trying to repeat all the digits and
letters of all the car number plates (going either in the same or the opposite
direction).
Next
level of difficulty: do the same and simultaneously translate or convert the
same number plates from language 1 (L1) into language 2 (L2).
Next
level of difficulty: do the same, simultaneously translating the plates into L2
and counting the number of cars in each colour in either L1 or L2 (e.g. 5 reds,
7 whites, 4 cherry, etc.)
Final
level of difficulty: do the same simultaneously translating the plates into L2
and counting the number of cars in each colour in both languages (e.g. five
reds, siete blancos <"7 whites" in Spanish>, 4 cherry, ocho
negros <"8 blacks" in Spanish>, etc.)
The second principle is:
Increase
the self-confidence of my students particularly where their memory is
concerned. This is definitely necessary because almost all of them complain
about not being able to memorise new information or retain certain pieces of
important data in their short- and long-term memory (STM and LTM).
Example: an
exercise with interesting or funny data which is used in order to demonstrate
to my students that they can easily remember quite complicated data so long as
it is important or interesting to
them. Here I explain how our memory works and how it deals with important and
non-important information which we intend to memorise.
The exercise is called “Very Interesting” or “Muy Interesante” and it is a dictation of short texts
containing interesting figures, dates or plusmarks, etc. For example: “The American fast-food chain
Macdonald's, appeared for the first time in 1955, but it had no tables or chairs until 1966.” The dictation may be in either
language or may swap between the two languages once self-confidence is gained
and the exercise is being used purely to train STM and LTM.
The third principle is:
Work hard
on the students' concentration and level of attention from the very beginning.
Example: An
exercise with distractions, like extra sounds, excessive gesticulation, etc.
This kind of “distractive modelled environment" I call “training in
obstacled conditions”. Any instructor can create his or her own list of
distractions, depending on the level of the group or the specific aim. For more
information about my approach to training in difficult conditions, see my
article in Rusistica magazine.
The 4th principle is:
A new exercise has to be very clear and straightforward
in order to be understood and worked through the first time (with a short
debriefing afterwards). Next time, the training exercise has to be difficult
(an authentic or nearly real-life level of difficulty). A “real-life level of difficulty” refers mainly to the speed of
presentation or the sentence complexity, or a lot of specific vocabulary.
The 5th principle is:
It is not my task to teach vocabulary.
Firstly, this is because the trainee interpreters
studying the MA in Interpreting de facto have
to have a “sufficient” level of proficiency in L2 and L3. It is the primary
criterion for admission to such MA courses. The aim is clear: we do not teach
languages, we teach “interpreting”.
Secondly,
in any case I think that it is a waste of time to teach new vocabulary on a
word-to-word level on MA courses. It is the student's responsibility to do it
all the time if they want to be professional interpreters. At the same time the
“ideal course” may include some specific hours of training dedicated purely to
word-to-word drills (not teaching) from L1 into L2, altering both languages all
the time.
Intuition is
considered by some Russian psychologists (see Granovskaya Rada, et al,
1991) as a simultaneous interaction between the right and left
hemispheres in our brain. When “intuition” is activated, a kind of
"bridge" is established in order to secure an interchange of
information stored in the two different “storage rooms”, or hemispheres. Each
"room" contains unique material. The “bridge” is necessary in order
to be able to make them work simultaneously. A very similar mechanism is
required for interpreting, where a person has to be able to “switch” between
the different “language storage rooms” where L1, L2 and L3 are focused. The
exact location of each one does not matter; what counts is the ability to build
a successful “bridge” between them as quickly as possible.
People can be divided into three groups of differing
sizes: the majority are right-handed, a smaller group are left-handed and
finally an even smaller group is made up of ambidextrous individuals (equal
dexterity in both hands). Why is this information relevant to interpreting?
Each hemisphere responds to certain specific "duties" of human
activity: analysis, synthesis, speech, co-ordination, emotions, etc. Therefore,
in general terms, according to whether we are right or left handed we can be
divided into "analysts" and "creators" or, in other words,
into "mathematicians" and "poets" or "executives"
and "artists". For the purely practical purpose of interpreter
training it is not so important to know the exact location of the speech zones
in our hemispheres, i.e. right or left. What is of
great significance is the ability to make both hemispheres co-ordinate their
active functions almost at the same time, by building a kind of
"bridge". It is in fact more important for Simultaneous Interpreting
than for Consecutive Interpreting because of the time factor.
It is no
less significant as one of the factors that we can observe and measure when
testing the ability of future interpreters to perform their future professional
duties on a purely cerebral level without any language interference. Therefore
some NON-verbal tests were adopted for that purpose.
I would
like to focus on the NON-verbal character of the tests because it demonstrates
a person's ability to perform a certain type of brain activity, which, in
general terms, is similar to the cognitive process that takes place in our head
while interpreting (mainly simultaneously).
The first test measures the velocity of cognitive (or
creative) processes while solving NEW non-verbal problems. It is based on a
test developed by the famous Russian pedagogue Boris Nikitin, who formulated
the universal law of“Irreversible Extinction of the Possibility
for Effective Development of Abilities: IEPEDA”. He worked a lot with “normal” children
and adults, observing their creativity level "growing" while using
the so-called “developmental games”. There is a clear correlation between the
speed of exchange between hemispheres and the velocity of creative
problem-solving. The greater the speed, the better the creative performance of
the tested person and the higher the chance of them becoming a good
simultaneous or consecutive interpreter. I consider that near-native fluency in
two or more languages (source and target) is a necessary requirement but by no
means the only or the most important element to be developed by the future
interpreter. As far as I know, language skills can be developed and improved,
but the capacity for fast and effective hemisphere exchange is more of an
innate capability, so it is essential to know from the very beginning what we
are dealing with. As Boris Nikitin states, it is never too late to learn, and a
training exercise which includes “developmental non-verbal games” can help
improve the professional interpreter's performance considerably. Different
types of puzzle games like Rubik cubes can help the future interpreter increase
the hemispheres' interaction.
The
second test determines the group to which the tested student belongs: left- or
right-handed. This knowledge may be important if the instructor is to offer
different “tasks” to his or her students according to their left or right hand
preference. Nobody questions the difference between “Western” and “Oriental”
models of learning, but there is a gap in research into mechanisms that make a
difference to our learning processes depending on our hand dominance.
Attention
As
research has shown, it is impossible to divide someone's attention between two
independent actions when both require the maximum level of concentration. Even
long and persistent training cannot help overcome such a problem (See
Granovskaya, 1997: 52).
Concentration
Concentration vs Dispersed Attention
Dispersed attention can be compared with light, which passes through a matte
crystal and illuminates a large square. If we use lenses instead of a matte
crystal, the illuminated spot with light focused on it would be considerably
smaller but brighter. The concentration of attention focuses our perception on one item,
while other - peripheral - objects disappear from it. Research on the cerebral
activity in a state of deep concentration reveals that there is no asymmetrical
activity at that specific moment and that both hemispheres work together simultaneously(See
Granovskaya, 1997: 60).
Interconnectability between activities
Interconnectability is
defined by the speed of transition from one type of activity to another. The
dispersed attention allows us to maintain several different objects within our
field of attention. The more "passive" or "relaxed" the
condition of a person, the better the result of our "dispersed"
attention activity. The instructor's role is to explain this and create the
necessary conditions while teaching. Self-confidence can help considerably to
create a "relaxed" condition during the process of SI (See
Granovskaya, 1997: 62, 63).
Ear preference/hemisphere dominance
There is
a clear dependence on the dominant hemisphere and the dominant eye. Is there
any similar dependence between the dominant hemisphere and the dominant or
“comfortable” ear for interpreters?
There is
still no official final result on a right/left ear preference for professional
interpreters, but some practising interpreters claim that removing one
headphone slightly off one ear they manage to focus better on the incoming
message with one ear next to the headphone and monitor their own delivery in L2
with the other, partially released ear.
It is
still unclear whether it is the same ear as their so called “telephone ear” or
whether right-handed and left-handed interpreters always release the same ear
when interpreting from L1 into L2 and from L2 into L1, but one thing already is
clear: each one of the trainees has to try to find his/her “comfortable ear”
for each of the language combinations. In my practical classes I just inform my
PG students, trainees in Simultaneous Interpreting, about such a possibility
and ask them to try each ear with each language combination. Some of them
realize immediately during the class training that one of the ears is “more
comfortable” for them, others need more time and more self-observation.
So what should we teach future interpreters? My answer
is: techniques of interpreting. What does this mean?
What kind of skills do we need to teach them?
Those
skills are:
1. to listen in L1;
2. to understand in L1;
3. to memorise the information in L1;
4. to mentally translate, compress and "edit" the message from L1 into L2;
5. a) for consecutive interpreting:
2. to understand in L1;
3. to memorise the information in L1;
4. to mentally translate, compress and "edit" the message from L1 into L2;
5. a) for consecutive interpreting:
and finally to verbalise the
message in L2;
5. b) for simultaneous interpreting:
and finally to verbalise the
message in L2 while listening to the new portion in L1.
Separate
training for each skill may include:
1.- listening A
This
mainly requires a lot of attention and concentration, which is why it is
necessary:
·
to introduce some
"distracting" or “annoying” elements such as sounds (background
noises), flashing lights, excessive gesticulation, etc. in order to make it
more difficult/impede aural recognition;
·
to work
simultaneously with two different texts both in L1;
·
to work
simultaneously with two different texts both in L2;
·
to work
simultaneously with two different texts: one in L1 and the other in L2;
·
to use
"shadowing", i.e. reading the text aloud while the trainer reads the
same text simultaneously, introducing some new elements (changing figures,
names, tenses, verbs, adjectives, etc.) with the comparison of the two texts at
the end;
·
to introduce phonemic shadowing which involves repeating
each sound exactly as it was heard without waiting for a complete meaning unit.
This specific skill helps to develop the mechanical aspect of simultaneous
interpreting, in other words the ability to listen and speak simultaneously.
1.- listening B: Selective Listening combined with phrase
shadowing/paraphrasing
·
While practising the
so-called “selective listening” , the trainee is exposed to two different
verbal messages. Each incoming message is presented to one ear through
headphones. In such a case, the trainee is receiving two different incoming
messages simultaneously. The task consists in “switching off” one of the ears
through which comes the “irrelevant” message and focusing all the attention on
the “relevant” verbal text. This specific training concludes either with phrase
shadowing of the “relevant” incoming message or with later paraphrasing it.
2.- understanding
requires
mainly language guessing and predicting skills.
·
Speed of
presentation in L1 is very important: train interpreters for the highest speed
possible.
·
Dialects and
individual particularities of articulation (including defective ones) is
another area for training. It is especially important for European languages
such as English, Spanish or French.
·
The capability for
good linguistic guessing, predicting and anticipating elements in sequence can
be trained by introducing unfinished sentences in both languages (L1 and L2).
This training is also especially important to develop the interpreter's ability
to "edit" unfinished or cut phrases produced by some people in their
spontaneous speech.
3.- memorise the information in L1
This
requires skills such as instant, short, medium and long term active memory. It
is necessary to work on:
·
the capacity to
encode and decode texts using any symbol system (for consecutive interpreting);
·
a good ear for any
foreign names and toponyms;
·
a good ear for figures
and measures;
Special
training is required for all of these skills. Very useful exercises include:
·
memorising poems,
prose, radio news;
·
regular dictation on
figures, names and measures first in L1, then in L2 and finally mixing both
languages in one dictation.
4.- translation A (mentally)
requires important skills such as the ability to compose
edited texts based on certain key-words (or symbols for consecutive
interpreting) or good "editing" and text compression. Such skills
need special training using the key-words methodology.
The main options might be as follows:
·
No previous
presentation of any text, key-words are given in L1 and the task is to make an
"edited" sensible text in L1.
·
No previous
presentation of any text, key-words are given in L2 and the task is to make an
"edited" sensible text in L2.
·
No previous
presentation of any text, key-words are given in L1 and the task is to make an
"edited" sensible text in L2.
·
No previous
presentation of any text, key-words are given in L2 and the task is to make an
"edited" sensible text in L1.
·
No previous
presentation of any text, key-words are given in both L1 and L2 and the task is
to make an "edited" sensible text in L1.
·
No previous
presentation of any text, key-words are given in both L1 and L2 and the task is
to make an "edited" sensible text in L2.
4.- translation B (sight)
·
sight translation;
·
sight interpreting.
5.- verbalisation
This
requires the following skills to be developed:
for simultaneous interpreting:
·
to speak while
listening;
·
the simultaneous
"editing" of texts (working with macro-blocks on a syntagmatic level
and "finishing unfinished sentences");
for consecutive interpreting:
·
immediate
"editing" in L2 of large pieces of texts using encoded or encrypted
key-words.
Verbalisation
and "editing" imply the "re-telling" or paraphrasing
ability training which starts in L1 using key-words and some common symbols and
then continues in L2.
Conclusions.
The
training of future interpreters should necessarily include some
psycholinguistic training, taking into account the fact that a major part of
the work depends on the self-training of the students. The instructor's role,
to aid self-preparation, is to provide some useful guidelines and exercises
that can be used outside the language laboratory, without an instructor and
without any sophisticated equipment. The aim of this article is to offer some
general ideas concerning the self-training of future interpreters and the role
of the instructor. Some basic differences and similarities in the training of simultaneous
and consecutive interpreters are analysed.
·
Qualities of an Simultaneous
Interpreter
·
keep in mind what
their qualities are, and value their hard work:
o
Knowledge: They master both the source and the active (also called
target) language and they’re 100 per cent capable of communicating in such
languages in verbal and written forms
o
Resourcefulness: They get the message across instantly, using not only
their language skills but also their knowledge of the subject matter of the
conference or meeting
o
Intuition: In order to perform better in their everyday activities,
they develop abilities to improvise and to construe facts in fast manner
o
Education: Simultaneous interpreters and translators are
college-educated professionals
o
Good Manners: Their voice is pleasant, and their manners are
appropriate for interaction with one or dozens of people
o
Cultured: Their knowledge of the world allows them to act with tact
and to sort many unexpected situations
Abstract: This
paper discusses memory training in interpreting. According Gile's Effort Model (a Processing Capacity Account),
short-term memory is an essential part in the process of interpreting. This
paper analyzes the major characteristics of Short-term Memory (STM) and their
implications for interpreters' memory training. The author believes that
interpreting is an STM-centered activity, which includes encoding of information from
the Source Language, storing of information, retrieval of information, and
decoding of information into the target language. The training of STM skills is the
first step in training a professional interpreter. Tactics for memory training
for interpreters like retelling, categorization, generalization, comparison,
shadowing exercises, mnemonics, etc. are presented in this paper.
Key Words: Interpreter
Training, Memory Training, Short-Term Memory, Effort Model
1. Why Memory Training?
Interpreting
is defined as "oral translation of a written text" (Shuttleworth
& Cowie: 1997:83). Mahmoodzadeh gives a more detailed definition of interpreting:
Interpreting
consists of presenting in the target language, the exact meaning of what is
uttered in the source language either simultaneously or consecutively,
preserving the tone of the speaker (1992:231).
Whether
novice or experienced, all interpreters find this profession demanding and
challenging. Phelan says that "when an interpreter is working, he or she
cannot afford to have a bad day. One bad interpreter can ruin a
conference" (2001:4). In discussing the qualifications required for an
interpreter, Phelan mentions that:
"The
interpreter needs a good short-term memory to retain what he or she has just
heard and a good long-term memory to put the information into context. Ability
to concentrate is a factor as is the ability to analyze and process what is
heard" (2001:4-5).
Mahmoodzadeh also emphasizes that a skillful interpreter
is expected to "have a powerful memory." (1992:233). Daniel Gile
(1992,1995) emphasizes the difficulties and efforts involved in interpreting
tasks and strategies needed to overcome them, observing that many failures
occur in the absence of any visible difficulty. He then proposes hisEffort Models for
interpreting. He says that "The Effort Models are designed to help them
[interpreters] understand these difficulties [of interpreting] and select
appropriate strategies and tactics. They are based on the concept of Processing
Capacity and on the fact that some mental operations in interpreting require
much Processing Capacity."(1992:191) According to Gile, Consecutive Interpreting
consists of two phases: a listening and reformulation phrase and a
reconstruction phase (1992:191, 1995b:179):
Phase One: I=L+M+N
I=Interpreting,
L=listening and analyzing the source language speech, M=short-term memory
required between the time information is heard and the time it is written down
in the notes, and N=note-taking.
Phase Two: I= Rem+Read+P
In this
Phase Two of Consecutive Interpreting, interpreters retrieve messages from
their short-term memory and reconstruct the speech (Rem), read the notes (N),
and produce the Target Language Speech (P). Gile's Effort Model for
Simultaneous Interpreting is:
SI=L+M+P
SI=Simultaneous Interpreting.
L=Listening and Analysis,
which includes "all the mental operations between perception of a
discourse by auditory mechanisms and the moment at which the interpreter either
assigns, or decides not to assign, a meaning (or several potential meanings) to
the segment which he has heard."
M=Short-term Memory, which
includes "all the mental operations related to storage in memory of heard
segments of discourse until either their restitution in the target language,
their loss if they vanish from memory, or a decision by the interpreter not to
interpret them."
P=Production, which
includes "all the mental operations between the moment at which the
interpreter decides to convey a datum or an idea and the moment at which he
articulates (overtly produces) the form he has prepared to articulate"
(1995a:93).
Gile
emphasizes that the memory effort is assumed to stem form the need to store the
words of a proposition until the hearer receives the end of that proposition.
The storage of information is claimed to be particularly demanding in SI, since
both the volume of information and the pace of storage and retrieval are
imposed by the speaker (1995a:97-98).
In both
models, Gile emphasizes the significance of Short-term Memory. It is actually
one of the specific skills which should be imparted to trainees in the first
stage of training. Among all the skills and techniques which are required for a
good interpreter, memory skill is the first one which should be introduced to
trainee interpreters.
2. Memory in Interpreting
2.1 Short Term vs. Long Term Memory
Psychological
studies of human memory make a distinction between Short-Term Memory (STM) and
Long-Term Memory (LTM). The idea of short-term memory simply means that you are
retaining information for a short period of time without creating the neural
mechanisms for later recall. Long-Term Memory occurs when you have created
neural pathways for storing ideas and information which can then be recalled
weeks, months, or even years later. To create these pathways, 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 part of the interpreter's acquisition of knowledge, because
information stored in LTM may last for minutes to weeks, months, or even an
entire life. The duration of STM is very short. It is up to 30 seconds.
Peterson (1959) found it to be 6 - 12 seconds, while Atkinson and Shiffrin
(1968) and Hebb (1949) state it is 30 seconds. Memory in interpreting only
lasts for a short time. Once the interpreting assignment is over, the
interpreter moves on 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.
2.2 Major Characteristics of STM
Input of information:
It is generally held that information enters the STM as a result of applying attention to the stimulus, which is about a
quarter of a second according to the findings of both Sperling(1960) and
Crowden(1982). However, McKay's (1973, in Radford and Govier, 1991: 382)
findings do not fully support this, asserting that unattended information may
enter the STM.
Capacity: As mentioned
in the previous section, the capacity of STM is limited and small. Atkinson and
Shiffrin (1968) propose that it is seven items of information (give or take
two). Miller (1956) says it is seven "chunks." Another possibility
may be that the limiing factor is not the STM's storage capacity, but its
processing capacity (Gross:1990:55).
Modality: To store
information in STM, it must be encoded, and there is a variety of possibilities
as to how this operates. There are three main possibilities in STM: (1) Acoustic (Phonemic) coding is rehearsing through sub-vocal sounds (Conrad, 1964 and Baddeley:1966). (2) Visual coding is, as implied, storing information as
pictures rather than sounds. This applies especially to nonverbal items,
particularly if they are difficult to describe using words. In very rare cases
some people may have a "photographic memory," but for the vast
majority, the visual code is much less effective than this (Posner and Keele:
1967). (3) Semantic coding is
applying meaning to information, relating it to something abstract
(Baddeley:1990, Goodhead:1999)
Information Loss: There are three main theories as to why we forget from
our STM: (1) Displacement—existing information is replaced by
newly received information when the storage capacity is full (Waugh and
Norman:1965) (2) Decay—information decays over time (Baddeley,
Thompson and Buchanan, 1975). (3) Interference—other information present in the
storage at the same time distorts the original information (Keppel and
Underwood:1962).
Retrieval: There are
modes of retrieval of information from STM: (1) Serial search—items
in STM are examined one at a time until the desired information is retrieved
(Sternberg:1966). (2) Activation—dependence
on activation of the particular item reaching a critical point (Monsell:1979,
Goodhead:1999).
3. Memory Training
The
purpose of memory (STM) training in interpreting is to achieve a better
understanding of the source language, which will lead to adequate interpreting.
As Lin Yuru et al. put it, "Memory in consecutive interpreting consists of
nothing more than understanding the meaning, which is conveyed by the
words" (Lin et al., 1999:9). Understanding is the first step in successful
interpreting; therefore, memory training is to be provided in the early stage
of interpreter training. Memory functions differently in consecutive and
simultaneous interpreting, because the duration of memory is longer in CI than
in SI. There are different methods of training STM for CI and SI respectively.
Interpreting starts with the encoding of the information from the original
speaker. According to Gile's Effort Model, interpreting is an STM-centered
activity; the process of interpreting could be re-postulated into:
Encoding of information from the Source Language + Storing
Information + Retrieval of Information + Decoding Information into the Target
language.
In Consecutive Interpreting, there is probably up to 15
minutes (depending on the speaker's segments) for the interpreter to encode and
then store the information. This is the first phase of Gile's Effort Model for CI. In the second phase of Gile's
Model, the interpreter starts to retrieve information and decode it into the
target language. In SI, encoding and decoding of information happen almost at
the same time. The duration for storing the information is very limited.
Therefore, in the first step of interpreting, encoding (understanding)
information uttered in the SL is the key to memory training.
According
to the previous description, there are three main possibilities of storing
information in STM: (1) Acoustic Coding; (2) Visual Coding and (3) Semantic
Coding. Visual coding may be used by interpreters in conference situations with
multimedia. Notes in interpreting are to assist in such visual coding of
information. But in most interpreting contexts, interpreters will depend on
acoustic and semantic coding. Therefore, exercises should be designed for this
purpose. The following methods are recommended:
Retelling in the Source Language: The instructor either reads or plays a recording of a
text of about 200 words for the trainees to retell in the same language. The
trainees should not be allowed to take any notes. In the first instance,
trainees should be encouraged to retell the text in the same words of the
original to the largest possible extent. The following tactics should be used
by the trainees after a certain time of training on retelling: Categorization:
Grouping items of the same properties; Generalization: Drawing general conclusions from
particular examples or message from the provided text; Comparison:
Noticing the differences and similarities between different things, facts and
events; Description: Describing a scene, a shape, or size of
an object, etc. Trainees are encouraged to describe, summarize, and abstract
the original to a large extent in their own words in exercises (2) to (5). Shadowing Exercise:
Which is defined as "a paced, auditory tracking task which involves the
immediate vocalization of auditorily presented stimuli, i.e., word-for-word
repetition in the same language, parrot-style, of a message presented through a
headphone"(Lambert 1899:381). This kind of exercise is recommended for
training of Simultaneous Interpreting, especially the splitting of attention
skills and the short-term memory in SI.
There is another tool which is effective in memory
training: Mnemonic to Memory. Mnemonic is a device, such as a
formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering. Mnemonics are methods for
remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. A very
simple example of a mnemonic is the '30 days hath September' rhyme. The basic
principle of Mnemonics is to use as many of the best functions of the human
brain as possible to encode information.
The human
brain has evolved to encode and interpret complex stimuli—images, color,
structure, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, spatial awareness, emotion, and
language—using them to make sophisticated interpretations of the environment. Human
memory is made up of all these features.
Typically,
however, information presented to be remembered is from one source—normally
words on a page. While reading words on a page reflects one of the most
important aspects of human evolution, it is only one of the many skills and
resources available to the human mind. Mnemonics seek to use all of these
resources. By encoding language and numbers in sophisticated, striking images
which flow into other strong images, we can accurately and reliably encode both
information and the structure of information to be easily recalled later
(Manktelow:2003).
It is also
advisable that Exercises with Interference (e.g. noises) be provided in order
to prevent information loss in the Short-Term Memory, since the environment and
other information present in the storage may reduce the information encoded.
Recording speeches with specially 'inserted' noises as a background is a
recommended classroom practice, since this is a very effective method to enable
the students to concentrate and thus strengthen their STM duration.
4. Conclusion
Short-Term
Memory is an essential part of interpreting, but memory training has long been
ignored by professional trainers. From the above analysis, we can conclude that
memory skills in interpreting could be acquired by effectively designed
exercises. With a well-'trained' short-term memory, interpreters are actually
equipped with an effective tool for the encoding and decoding information. It
is, therefore, advised that institutions of interpreter training include
"memory training" in the design of their courses.
Notes:
1.
Training of professional interpreters has a three-part structure: the first
stage is introduction to skills specific to interpreting, for example through
memory training and note-taking exercises. This is followed by intensive
classroom practice. The third stage involves work experience and observation
where the main focus is on task achievement.
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Baddeley, AD., 1986. Working memory. Oxford :
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K, 1992, "Consecutive Interpreting: its principles and techniques",
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Memory", in Science, 153, 652-654.
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Recall", in T. Dixon and D. Horton (eds), Verbal Behaviour and General
Behaviour Theory. Englewood
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Principles and Training", in China
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Contents and Methodology", in China
Coping
Tactics in Interpretation
1. Introduction
In spite of interpreters' preparation strategies, problems
do arise in interpreting situations (see Gile 1989) because of processing
capacity limitations (as explained in chapter 7), errors in processing capacity
management, and gaps in the interpreters' Knowledge Base. Many of these
problems can be said to be unavoidable, as shown by the fact that they are
encountered regularly even by interpreters with a solid reputation and long
professional experience. Interpretation has been referred to by some
professionals as "crisis management," and in the light of
interpreters' daily experience, these are apt words to describe an aspect of
interpreting which is virtually unknown to the public at large.
Difficulties
affect both comprehension and production, often through failure sequences as
explained in chapter 7. When interpreters are aware of such problems, they tend
to use a rather small set of tactics to limit their impact.
Coping
tactics are a very fundamental practical skill in interpreting. Basically, they
are taught within the framework of practical exercises. In most training
programs, this is done by trial and correction, with trial on the student's
part and corrections from the instructor. Such corrections are generally
normative; instructors sometimes refer to the communication impact of the
tactics in order to explain their preferences, but are not necessarily aware of
other factors which influence them.
This
chapter attempts to provide instructors with a list of basic coping tactics for
a general view of the issue. It also presents a conceptual framework which
spells out the advantages and drawbacks of each tactic, and discusses a few
rules which may help explain what makes interpreters prefer one tactic over the
other beyond their individual merits.
2. Tactics in simultaneous interpretation
2.1 Comprehension tactics
The
following are the main tactics used when comprehension problems arise, and when
they threaten to arise under time-related or processing capacity related
pressure.
a. Delaying the response
When a
comprehension difficulty arises, interpreters may respond immediately with one
of the other tactics presented below. However, they may also delay their
response for a while (a fraction of a second to a few seconds), so as to have
some time for thought while they receive more information from the
source-language speech. After a while, they may have solved the problem
entirely, or else they may decide to resort to another tactic.
Because of
its very nature, the Delay tactic involves an accumulation of information in
short-term memory, and is associated with the risk of losing speech segments in
a failure sequence as outlined in chapter 7.
b. Reconstructing the segment with the help of the context
When
interpreters have not properly heard or understood a technical term, name,
number, or other type of speech segment, they can try to reconstruct it in
their mind using their knowledge of the language, the subject, and, the
situation (their extra-linguistic knowledge).
The
reconstruction process is an integral part of speech comprehension in everyday
situations as well. It is defined as a tactic in the present context when it
becomes a conscious endeavor, as opposed to an ordinary, subconscious process.
If
successful, reconstruction can result in full recovery of the information.
However, it may entail some waiting until more information is available and
require considerable time and processing capacity. Like the Delay tactic
presented above, it is associated with a high risk of saturation and individual
deficits. Reconstruction from the context can therefore not be considered a
high-priority tactic.
c. Using the booth mate’s help
In
simultaneous interpretation, there are theoretically at least two interpreters
in the booth at all times. One is active (producing a target-language speech),
while the other is passive (listening, but not speaking). The passive
colleague, who can devote full attention to listening, has a better chance of
understanding difficult speech segments than the active interpreter, whose
processing capacity is being shared by the three Efforts. Moreover, on the
production side, the passive interpreter can consult a glossary or another
document, which takes up much time and processing capacity, and then give the
information to the active colleague, generally in writing. The presence of a
passive interpreter in the booth is therefore a major asset to the active
interpreter.
The active
interpreter can ask for the passive colleague's help with a glance or a
movement of the head. In teams that work well, the passive interpreter will
sense a hesitation in the active colleague's speech and understand there is a
problem. He or she can also anticipate problems and write down names, numbers,
technical terms, etc., without even being asked for help. When the problem is
terminological, the booth mate will generally indicate to the active
interpreter the target-language term if possible, so that it can be used for
reformulation. When the problem lies with a single word, name, or number, the passive
booth mate can also write it down in the source language for the benefit of the
active interpreter who did not hear it correctly. It is much more difficult,
however, to explain an idea efficiently, because the active interpreter does
not have time to read a long explanation.
This
tactic is a very good one because it does not cost much in time and processing
capacity, and pooling the knowledge and intelligence of two persons, one of
whom does not have to divide attention between listening and other tasks,
provides a better chance of finding the information than using the resources of
only one person.
However,
in order for the tactic to work, the passive interpreter must be not only
physically present in the booth, but also available and willing to make the
effort and help the active colleague. This situation does not always occur:
• Because of the intense effort involved in interpreting,
interpreters strongly feel the need for rest. In teams composed of two
members per target language, when conditions are difficult, interpreters tend
to leave the booth as soon as they have finished their active duty and only
return when they are on again, or else they may stay in the booth but shut
themselves out and rest.
• In conferences in which papers are to be read, documents are often
given to the interpreters at the very last moment, and presentations are
allocated individually to each member of the team. In such a case, all
interpreters are busy reading their paper or interpreting, and no help is
available to the active interpreter from other team members.
• For psychological and sociological reasons, including the awareness of
one's weaknesses and some associated frustration, interpreters may feel
vulnerable and not want other colleagues to sit with them and listen while
they are working.
It is important for teachers to point out the practical value of
cooperation between interpreters, as well as its importance in the framework
of professional ethics aiming at offering clients better service. The
practical aspects of such cooperation, involving in particular large and
legible handwriting, should also be stressed.
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d. Consulting documents in the booth When there is no passive colleague in the booth,
interpreters can look for solutions in documents they have before them.
The
efficiency of this tactic varies greatly: looking for a term in a commercial
dictionary may require much time and processing capacity, but finding an
important word in a document that was read and marked before the conference can
be very fast. This is why it is important to pay attention to both the
preparation of documents and their management in the booth. Instructors should
show students how to make important names and terms stand out for quick
reference, using highlighters or other means. Writing important technical terms
and names on a sheet of paper in front of the interpreter (beside the glossary
prepared for the conference) is another way of making them readily available.
In particular, documents should be laid out in the booth, sorted, and marked in
such a way as to minimize the time needed to access them and to recognize their
identification numbers or titles, possibly with different stacks for each
language, sorted by numerical sequence, type of document, etc.
2.2 Preventive tactics
The following
tactics are used when time or processing capacity pressure is such that the
interpreter believes a problem may arise or is about to occur. The idea is to
limit the risks of failure.
a. Taking notes When the
speech contains figures and names that interpreters feel they may forget and
that they cannot reformulate right away for syntactic reasons, they may take
them down in notes. While affording greater security as regards the items which
are taken down, this tactic entails a high cost in time and processing
capacity, which increases the risk of losing other items of information that
come before or after those written down (this is an interference phenomenon, as
explained in section 3). The risk is reduced significantly when it is the
passive colleague who writes the information for the active colleague.
It is
interesting to note that when translating in simultaneous from and into
Japanese, some Japanese interpreters take down not only numbers and names, but
also other information which Westerners generally do not write (in this case,
it is often the passive interpreter who takes down the information for the
active colleague). The reason given by them is that syntactic structures differ
greatly between Japanese and other (mostly Western) languages, which leads to
much waiting before the reformulation of any specific part of a sentence, hence
a possible overload of short-term memory and an increased risk of losing
information (see chapter 9).
b. Changing the Ear-Voice Span
By
changing the Ear-Voice Span (EVS), that is the time lag between comprehension
and reformulation, interpreters can control to a certain extent the processing
capacity requirements for individual Efforts. By shortening the lag, they
decrease short-term memory requirements, but deprive themselves of anticipation
potential and run the risk of misunderstanding a sentence and driving
themselves into target-language sentences which will be difficult to complete.
By lagging further behind, interpreters increase comprehension potential, but
may overload short-term memory.
Teachers
sometimes advise students to try to lengthen or shorten their EVS in specific
cases, but there does not exist a clear-cut, consistent theory or set of
operational rules on the subject. It seems that EVS regulation is learned with
experience; I believe that this is the single largest benefit derived from
practice in simultaneous interpretation during initial training.
c. Segmentation
When faced
with potential overload of memory, as with a source language and a target
language that are syntactically very different, with embedded structures in the
source language, or with unclear sentence structures, interpreters may choose
to reformulate speech segments earlier than they would normally do, sometimes
before they have a full picture of what the speaker wants to say. In such
cases, they may resort to neutral sentence beginnings or segments in the target
language that do not commit them one way or another. For instance, in a
source-language sentence expressing a causal relationship such as:
Because of the complex character of equation
(2) as shown above, compounded by the difficulty of finding a unique solution
to equations (3) and (4) which correspond to a steady state system ...
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the
interpreter can say in the target-language something like:
Equation (2) as shown above is complex.
Equations (3) and (4) describe a steady system. It is difficult to find a
unique solution to them.
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While
interpreting these segments, he or she will keep in mind the causal nature of
the relationship, which will eventually be expressed by "Therefore
...." Segmentation can save short-term memory capacity requirements by
unloading information from memory faster. On the other hand, the very
formulation of several grammatically complete short sentences instead of one
may involve higher processing capacity requirements in the Production Effort.
Recommendations should be given on a case-by-case basis.
d. Changing the order of elements in an enumeration
Enumerations
are high-density speech segments that impose a high load on short-term memory.
One tactic often observed consists of reformulating the last elements first so
as to free memory from the information, and then to move on to other elements.
To my knowledge, no analysis has yet been performed as to why this should
reduce Memory Effort load. One possible explanation is that by reformulating
the last elements first, it is possible to pick them up before they have been
processed in depth and integrated fully into the semantic network, thus saving
processing capacity. This tactic may work best with names, which can be
reproduced from echoic memory (memory of the sound), or with terms which are
easily transcoded; it may not be very effective if such elements cannot be
transcoded or reproduced phonetically and require more processing capacity
anyway.
2.3 Reformulation tactics
The
following are tactics used in reformulation in order to eliminate the potential
consequences of production problems or short-term memory problems. The first
three are the same as presented in section 2.1 on comprehension tactics.
a. Delaying the response
This is
the same tactic as used in comprehension; the idea being that the waiting
period is used for a subconscious (or conscious) search for the missing term or
sentence structure. As with the case of comprehension, the waiting entails a
risk of short-term memory overload, as well as a possible increase in
processing capacity requirements in the Production Effort when the information
is eventually reformulated-because of the backlog that has accumulated in the
meantime.
b. Using the boothmate's help
As can be
inferred from the descriptions in section 2.1, the boothmate's help is more
often given in the form of indications for reformulation than as explanations
of what was said, which is reasonable in view of the strict time constraints
involved.
c. Consulting documents in the booth
Whenever
possible, documents are used in the booth for reformulation, in particular
where glossaries and dictionaries are concerned.
d. Replacing a segment with a superordinate term or a more general
speech segment
When
interpreters find themselves incapable of understanding a speech segment or
reformulating it in the target language, one possible solution is to
reformulate the message in a less accurate manner by using a superordinate in
the case of a single word, or by constructing a more general segment in the
case of a whole clause or sentence: "la streptokinase" may be
reformulated as "the enzyme," "Monsieur Stephen Wedgeworth"
as "the speaker," "deux cent trente trois millions" as
"about two hundred and thirty million," "DEC, IBM, Hewlett
Packard et Texas Instruments" as "a number of computer vendors,"
etc.
This
tactic, which requires little time, implies loss of information in the
target-language speech. This, however, does not necessarily mean that the
information is lost for the delegates; it may be repeated in another sentence
in the speech, or be already known to the delegates.
e. Explaining or paraphrasing
Interpreters
may understand a term but not know the appropriate equivalent in the target
language, in which case they can explain it. For instance, in one conference,
the data processing term "tableur" (spreadsheet) was interpreted as
"the program which defines rows and columns and allows calculations to be
made."
This
tactic can be efficiently informational but has two drawbacks: one is the large
amount of time and processing capacity it requires, and the other is the fact
that it may draw the delegates' attention to the fact that the interpreter does
not know the proper term in the target language, possibly lowering his or her
credibility and reducing the impact of the speech accordingly.
f. Reproducing the sound heard in the source-language speech
When
encountering a name or technical term which is not known or recognized, the
interpreter may try to reproduce the sound as heard. This is not an
"intelligent" tactic insofar as it does not call for complex
cognitive operations, but it can be efficient: if they know the name or term,
delegates may hear it as it should have been pronounced, without even noticing
that the interpreter has a problem. On the other hand, the approximation may
also be heard and perceived as a distortion of the information, which may not
only generate loss of information, but also discredit the interpreter.
g. Instant naturalization
When
interpreters do not know the appropriate term in the target language, they may
naturalize the source-language term, adapting it to the morphological or
phonological rules of the target language. For instance, in a conference, the
term "télédétection" (remote sensing) was rendered in English as
"teledetection." Similarly, the English computer term
"driver," as applied to a software program that helps operate a
device such as a printer from a computer, or as applied to the physical unit
that runs floppy diskettes, was translated into French as "driver"
(pronounced "dreevair"), and into Japanese as "doraibâ."
This
tactic may prove very effective in three cases:
1. When the source-language and target-language lexicons
are morphologically similar, as for example is the case in English and French
medical terminology.
2. When there is much borrowing of terms in the particular field from
the source language to the target language. This is the case in particular of
data processing, where English is a loan language for most other languages.
In these first two cases, the tactic often results in terms that
actually exist in the target language, as such naturalization may have been
conducted previously by experts who needed the terms for their daily activity
(as in the case of the naturalized French version of "driver" cited
above), and may have produced the same target-language creation.
3. When delegates read much material in the source language. In such a
case, they often recognize the naturalized terms, which are likely to sound
similar to the way they pronounce the words in the source language when
reading.
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h. Transcoding
Transcoding
consists of translating a source-language term or speech segment into the
target language word for word. For example, in the field of accounting, the
English term "maturity date," the equivalent of which is "date
d'échéance ", was interpreted as "date de maturité".
This
tactic can be very efficient in the same cases as naturalization. Like
naturalization, it can also lead to existing target-language terms; in various
fields, many terms have been created by such transcoding by experts, just as
many terms have been created by phonetic naturalization. Even when transcoding
does not lead to an existing target-language term, it may facilitate
comprehension for the delegates because of the semantic indications the newly
created term carries. For instance, in the field of dentistry, the English term
"mandibular block" (a type of anesthesia) was interpreted as
"bloc mandibulaire", whereas the appropriate term was
"tronculaire". Delegates said afterward they had no trouble
understanding "bloc mandibulaire", even though it bore no similarity
at all with the appropriate French term.
i. Informing delegates of an interpretation problem
When
interpreters believe they have missed an important piece of information, they
may decide to inform the delegates of the loss by stepping out of their role as
the speaker's alter ego and saying for instance "... and an author whose
name the interpreter did not catch," or "... the interpreter is
sorry, he missed the last number." When this happens, delegates may fail
to react, but they can also ask the speaker to repeat the information, either
during the session itself or during a break.
This
tactic is not used very often. One of the problems is that it takes up much
time and processing capacity, and may therefore jeopardize the reformulation of
other speech segments. Moreover, it draws the delegates' attention to the interpreter's
problems. This has two drawbacks: first, delegates are interested in the
speech, not the interpreters and their problems; second, by drawing the
delegates' attention to his or her problems, the interpreter may lose
credibility, and therefore also indirectly weaken the impact of the speaker's
message.
To sum up,
if important information is missed, interpreters consider it their ethical duty
to inform delegates rather than gloss over it, but if the information is
insignificant, or if informing the delegates may do more harm than good, they
choose another tactic.
j. Referring delegates to another information source
In
specialized conferences, much of the information is given not only by the
speaker, but also in written handouts and on screen, via slides and overhead
transparencies. When encountering comprehension or reformulation difficulties,
the interpreter can refer delegates to "the figures/names/equation etc. on
the screen/in your handout," etc.
k. Omitting the information
Interpreters
may miss information without even noticing it because they did not have enough
processing capacity available for the Listening and Analysis Effort when the
speech segment carrying it was being uttered. They may also omit it because it
disappears from short-term memory. The omission tactic refers to the case where
an interpreter deliberately decides not to reformulate a piece of information
in the target-language speech.
Again, not
all the information which was omitted in the target-language speech is
necessarily lost as far as the delegates are concerned, since it may appear
elsewhere or be known to the delegates anyway.
l. Parallel reformulation
When
working conditions are particularly bad, and when interpreters feel it is
imperative to continue speaking despite inability to listen, understand, and
reformulate properly, they may invent a speech segment compatible with the rest
of the source-language speech but not a faithful reflection of the problematic
source-language speech.
This
tactic is obviously an extreme one, to be used exceptionally and with the
uttermost caution. I believe it should not be taught at the same time as other
tactics. It is probably best left to the very end of training, when it is
introduced
very
carefully, with explicit examples and strong emphasis on ethical
considerations.
m. Switching off the microphone
This is another extreme tactic. Some purists advocate its use
when working conditions are poor and interpreters feel they cannot do a decent
job. In actual practice, this is a very rare attitude. For all intents and
purposes, it can be said that this tactic is only implemented when working
conditions are so bad that interpreters believe they can do no useful work at
all, meaning that interpretation would be worse than non-interpretation.
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