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Gardenia C. Hung,
Communications Consultant and Notary Public, answers the following
frequently asked questions about interpretation.
Please see
Credits
and Resources for Interpreting FAQs for
additional information.
Top
What are the skills
necessary to be an interpreter?
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Anticipation
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Listening Skills
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Understanding of a message (units of meaning)
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Detachment from words
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Split attention (multi-tasking abilities)
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Memory
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Flexibility
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Quickness
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Sensitivity to Languages Registers (Levels)
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High Register
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Middle Register
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Low Register
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Sensitivity to Dialects (Regional Variations of
Language)
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Problem-Solving Strategies
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Paraphrasing
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Accuracy in Expression
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What are the steps in
the Interpreting Process ...
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| Anticipate what is going
to come to activate
vocabulary/terminology
base |
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| Active
listening |
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| Process units of
meaning |
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| Monitored delivery under
pressure (listening to one's self
rendering
interpretation) |
What are the modes for
interpreting ... ?
What is sight
translation ... ?
It is an oral translation of a written text. The
interpreter has to process a thought in the source language and generate
that target language version of that thought while simultaneously
processing the next source language thought, and so on. Some interpreters
find sight translation more difficult than the other modes of interpreting
because they have more trouble focusing on meaning rather than words—the
essence of proper interpretation—when the message is written in print
mode.
Reading comprehension is an important element of sight
translation, and the need to improve and maintain reading comprehension is
one reason why medical interpreters (and prospective medical interpreters)
should read as much and as widely as possible. Pacing is another aspect of
sight translation which should be emphasized. Often, in the medical
setting, time is of the essence. The interpreter must translate the
document quickly, but nothing should be omitted.
It is the process of oral interpretation in which the
interpreter waits until a complete statement has been spoken and then
begins interpreting (so only one person is speaking at a time). Requires a
very high standard of accuracy. Not only must the interpreter convey the
content of the source-language message, but also the structural elements
of the message that are not contained in the words: pauses, tone of voice,
stress, etc.
Many interpreters regard consecutive interpretation as one
of the most difficult modes of interpreting because it is hard to retain
all of the aspects of the source-language message, particularly when a
question or answer is very lengthy or is not entirely coherent (an
unfortunate fact of life in all types of interpreting).
It is oral interpretation done at a speed greater than
written translation. The interpreter follows the speaker almost
immediately, the speaker does not have to stop; the interpretation
proceeds almost at the same time the speaker is talking, thus its name,
simultaneous interpretation. This is the sort of interpretation you hear
at the United Nations and international conferences. In courtrooms, the
defendant can hear every word that the judge, the attorneys, and witnesses
are saying, to follow the case and aid in his/her own
defense.
Every defendant at trial needs to have the entire case
interpreted simultaneously.
When the defendant is on the witness stand, questions to
the defendant and the defendant's testimony may be rendered in
consecutive. The testimony of other English-speaking witnesses will be
done simultaneously by the interpreters. Should the testimony from the
stand be in the language of the defendant, the defendant may hear what the
interpreter on the stand is saying through the floor microphone, or
through other audio-visual equipment, such as a video camera.
It is consecutive interpretation of speech from one
language to another in a medical setting. Requires medical information and
background in the health care profession. Medical professionals are
finding that there are ever-growing numbers of non-English speakers in
their patients loads, and they realize that they need the services of
highly skilled interpreters in the medical field, to make sure that health
care providers are communicating adequately with their
patients.
Medical interpreters work in a variety of health care
facilities: hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, mental health and
psychiatric facilities, and quasi-legal proceedings, such as medical-legal
evaluations for workers' compensation claims, arbitration hearings or
personal injury lawsuits and hearings to determine employment or mental
competence, disability or eligibility of benefits. Medical interpreting
requires training in sight translation, consecutive and simultaneous
interpretation.
It is consecutive interpretation of speech from one
language to another in a legal setting which sometimes requires the
ability to do simultaneous interpreting. Requires legal information and
background in the legal profession. It is a more demanding form of
interpreting because the interpreter must be able to go to and from two
languages in consecutive and into at least one language in simultaneous,
usually the language that is not English. In addition, the interpreter
cannot fix or modify any words, because any modification to the original
statement would taint the legal case.
Because these are adversary proceedings, parties can
become very angry if they sense any deviation from the formalities. The
court interpreter is not isolated in a booth and must depend solely on
hearing and visual cues to find out what is happening. Substantial court
work allows the interpreter to become familiar with court terminology and
to feel comfortable in the court room.
It is the simultaneous interpretation of speech at
national and international conferences. Requires the development of skills
to become an interpreter with an extensive knowledge of subjects.
Conference interpreters usually do simultaneous interpreting into their
active (native) language, from two or three more passive languages. The
conference interpreter who does simultaneous work usually needs only to
produce correct speech in one language. This interpreter is usually
isolated from ambient noise by a booth equipped with sophisticated sound
equipment provided by the conference or institution, and that sound
equipment brings the sound to the interpreter's headset whose incoming
volume can be controlled.
The purpose of the conference interpreter is to
communicate, sometimes in an elegant fashion, so the interpreter may
perhaps embellish, smooth out, and fix awkward turns of phrases given by
speakers.
It is consecutive or simultaneous interpretation of one
language to another in a community setting.
It is consecutive interpretation of speech from one
language to another done for small, informal groups.
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| Parroting:
repeating everything that is heard;
simultaneous listening/speaking; hearing and
delivering |
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| Pendulum:
paying
attention to the source and to one's self in the process of
interpreting |
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| Shadowing:
keeping the same unit of meaning, but paraphrasing
by expressing meaning in a different way |
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| Public speaking:
delivery of interpretation |
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| Reading
comprehension |
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| Sensitivity to
register |
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| Reading
ahead |
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| Use of
synonyms |
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| Paraphrasing |
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| Quickness |
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| Memory |
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| Association of
ideas |
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| Accuracy in main
idea/meaning |
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| Text
organization |
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| Problem-solving
strategies |
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| Detachment from written
words |
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| Public
speaking
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| Delivery |
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| Eye
contact |
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| Pronunciation |
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| Rhythm |
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| Flexibility |
| Translation (Written) |
Interpretation (Oral) |
Sight
Translation (Oral/Written) |
| Documents |
Simultaneous |
Interpretation |
| Manuals |
Consecutive |
Translation |
| Exercises |
Community |
Hybrid |
Gardenia C. Hung, Communications Consultant and Notary
Public, gathered all the information from personal experience in court
interpreting, medical interpreting, participation in interpreting
workshops, conferences, and reading sources.
She also wishes to acknowledge the following
resources:
"An Interactive Interpretation Workshop," presented by
Professor Claudia Angelelli at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese,
and Law School at Stanford University, and Professor Christian
Degueldre, Program Head of the French Department at the Graduate School
of Translation and Interpretation at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies. The Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters
Association (CHICATA) sponsored this workshop at Lake Forest College,
Illinois on October 2 - 3, 1999.
TIP - Lab Workshop for Spanish Translators at the
Translators and Interpreters' Practice Lab sponsored by Alicia Marshall
and Yrma Villareal Fax: (847) 864-8303. Mail to: TIP-Lab 1550 Asbury
Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201
In addition to the following reading
resources:
Edwards, Alicia B. The Practice of Court Interpreting.
John Benjamins
Publishing Company. Amsterdam/Philadelphia,
1995.
Mikkelson, Holly. The Interpreter's Rx. A Training
Program for
Spanish/English Medical Interpreting. ACEBO.
Spreckels, CA, 1994.
Mikkelson, Holly. The Interpreter's Edge.
Practical Exercises in Court
Interpreting. 2nd Edition. ACEBO.
Spreckels, CA, 1992.
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