|
Book Review Conference
Interpreting Explained
his has also been the case for
many practitioners, who by chance or design have practised both forms of mediated
communication with varying degrees of success and skills. In some languages
such as Arabic, the distinction between interpreting and translation is even
further confused by a stubborn unwillingness to use distinct terms to refer to
translation and interpreting as separate tracks and treat them as distinct
professions or specializations within the same profession. The reasons are
several, but one distinct possibility is the developmental path both
translation and interpreting follow in different countries to respond to different
communication needs. The debate at the inaugural
meeting of the British Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) in 1986
brought the message home regarding the use of “translating versus translation”
and interpreting versus interpretation” in the Institute’s appellation, and
underscored the importance of the distinction between the two tracks. Tremendous work has been done
since those early days. In CONFERENCE INTERPRETING
EXPLAINED Conference Interpreting
Explained, by Roderick Jones, sheds the light on one mode of interpreting,
namely conference interpreting. Long confused with, or rather restricted to
simultaneous interpreting, conference interpreting has not been given adequate
attention in the literature on translation studies. There is only a handful of
major publications on interpreting compared to translation. In this second
edition of the book (the first was published in 1998), the author presents a
practical guide to conference interpreting.
As Jones explains in the foreword, the book is aimed at four groups of
people: interpreting students, teachers, colleagues and the public at large. INFORMATION ORGANIZATION The book consists of five well-written, easy to read
chapters covering the following topics: conference interpreting, consecutive
interpreting note-taking, and simultaneous interpreting, with a postscript on The
Pleasure of Interpreting. In chapter one Introduction,
the author addresses the question of what is an interpreter, looking at the
role of the interpreter as an explainer who is “called in to explain
[emphasis in original] what each of the participants wishes to say in turn”
(4). The interpreter is seen as a
teacher whose task is to make sure that the message is genuinely assimilated by
the audience. “The interpreter should have something of a
pedagogical streak”, Jones confirms. This analogy between the interpreter and
teacher turns the interpreter into an active conveyer of messages facing a
minefield of surprises. In chapter two, The Basic
Principles of Consecutive Interpreting, the author addresses himself to the key
competencies of consecutive interpreting, presenting a three-stage model
consisting of understanding, analysis and re-expression. "To express ideas
clearly and effectively, you must first have them clear in your mind",
declares Jones in the opening paragraph of this chapter. “It follows that if
you wish to re-express someone else’s ideas without having the possibility of
repeating them word for word—which is the case for the interpreter—then you
must make a clear, structured analysis of them. And to make that analysis you
have to understand the individual ideas that are the basic building blocks of a
speaker’s line of reasoning,” he adds.
Each stage in the model is supported by examples. Analyzing speech types
is crucial to thought and sentence pattern recognition; the author dedicates a
good section to discussing this aspect. The interpreter must pay particular
attention to the logical connections between ideas. Chapter three is dedicated to
note-taking in consecutive interpreting. Note-taking is a real nightmare for
interpreting students and a frustrating skill to teach for most interpreting
teachers. Transitioning the students from the form of note-taking they have
used for lectures and presentations at school and university to note-taking for
interpreting is not an easy task, and many a good interpreting student, with
great potential for consecutive and other modes of interpreting, finds it
extremely difficult to come to grips with this form of note-taking. The reason
for this probably lies in the emphasis given by interpreting teachers to
note-taking and the perceived silver-bullet effect that note-taking seems to
have acquired among students desperately trying to become “true interpreters”. To this end, Jones cautions
that if the essential part of a consecutive interpreter’s work, which consists
of understanding, analysis and re-expression, is not done correctly, "the
best notes in the world will not make you a good interpreter" (39). He
cautions interpreters who invest too much in their notes that they run the
double risk of turning their notes into a form of shorthand, that may influence
the interpreter’s rendition, and of losing concentration on understanding and
analyzing the speaker’s utterances.
After giving hits and tips on what to note, Jones presents a set of
techniques based on Rozan’s method of note-taking for interpreting (1956),
which has been widely adopted by interpreters and interpreting trainers across
the profession. A good section in this chapter deals with the language in which
to take notes. The practical, sound advice and flexible approach offered are
commendable. At least one handicap with Rozan’s method is its euro-centricity.
While it is sound in principle, it does not lend itself readily to non-Latin
based languages such as Arabic, Japanese and Chinese, especially if the
interpreter chooses to take notes in these languages. I am mindful of the fact
that the book is about explaining rather than critiquing consecutive
interpreting, but an explanation of the limitations of this method would have
been in keeping with the enlightening approach observed in this book. In chapter four Simultaneous
Interpreting, the author draws a comparison between consecutive interpreting
and simultaneous interpreting and stresses the unchanged essential nature
between the two modes of delivery, advising against falling into the trap of
becoming cut off from the meeting in simultaneous interpreting due to the physical isolation in a
sound-proof booth. Jones cites two fundamental differences between simultaneous
and consecutive interpreting: acoustic and intellectual, and suggests that
techniques have to be developed in simultaneous interpreting to cope with these
two types of difficulty. Efficient use of equipment, cultivating split
attention, and listening to oneself in simultaneous interpreting are discussed
and explained. A set of “golden rules” is listed. The last section in this
chapter deals with techniques of simultaneous interpreting: when to start
speaking, reformulation, the Salami “slicing” technique, simplification,
generalization, omission, summarization and recapitulation, explanation,
anticipation, and so on. The discussion is supported by good examples, clear
explanations and exercises, leaving no doubt that the author is master of his
craft. You may agree or disagree with some of his suggestions, but such is the
nature of a profession that is coming together through a synthesis of a diversity
of experiences and theoretical frameworks, while allowing room for individual
differences. The author concludes his book
with chapter five The Pleasure of Interpreting. Reflecting on how interpreters
are viewed by the public and how we see ourselves as interpreters, and the
immense social and intellectual pleasure of establishing communication between
people. The analogy between the interpreter and the chess player drives the
message home for most interpreters. How to be one step ahead of the speaker, to
speak without having heard the totality of what the speaker intends to say, to
anticipate through thought and language pattern recognition, and to map out the
discourse intuitively surpasses anyone's expectations of an intellectual
pursuit imbued with pleasure. WRITING STYLE One striking feature about the
writing style in this book is its fluctuation between the second person and
third person for no apparent reason except perhaps to cater for the needs of
the four categories of readers defined at the outset. Another register-defining
feature is the colloquial usage of the plural reflexive pronoun to refer to
singular nouns. Inclusive writing would have been more effective using other less
annoying and less affected grammatical forms. Instances of ambiguities caused
by unjustified ellipsis, such as “In simultaneous [interpreting,] interpreters
need to be able to express themselves in short, simple sentences” jolt
comprehension, and the reader is forced to re-read the sentence. These
stylistic idiosyncrasies are of a restricted nature. DESIGN AND NAVIGATIONAL
FEATURES The book is set somewhat as a
report or thesis, thus diminishing the effectiveness of its frame of reference
as an accessible book catering for the information needs of four categories of
users. Chapters are marked as such only with a weak numbered title that is not
clearly distinguished from the rest of the headings throughout the book. The
contrast between headings and body text is poor. Contrast between the various
elements of the design to provide a better frame of reference, font size
weight, balance or even distribution of weight on each side of the vertical
axis, and dominance, which gives the eye a starting point, more appropriate for
chapter headings, are not utilized effectively to make the book more accessible
and navigable. Locating a chapter
becomes a cumbersome task, and the reader has to refer to the table of contents
to locate the page number. In this manner, the book design does not provide
easy access to the book's contents, especially if the book is to be used as a
reference for students, teachers and practitioners. Every time I read this
book, I had to use five bookmarks to mark the chapters. Yet the book is rich with hints
and tips derived from the author's own practical experience as a staff
interpreter for one of the institutions of the European Union and his
reflection on his own work. The author modestly declares, “I write only as an
interpreter, not as an academic, a theorist or a researcher in the field of
translation studies”, which makes the book all the more relevant to the
profession. References Darwish,
A. (2003). The Interpreter’s Guide. Gile, D.
(1995). Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Hatim,
B. (2001). Teaching and Researching Translation. Pöchhacker,
F. (2004). Introducing Interpreting Studies. Pöchhacker,
F. and Shlesinger, M. (eds) (2002). The Interpreting Studies Reader. © 2005 Ali Darwish.
Home | Abstracts | Books | Glossaries | Interviews | Contact | Legal Notice |
