Topic 27: compression and expansion

27.1. Compression and its Types in Simultaneous Interpretation Compression

Compression and its Types in Simultaneous Interpretation Compression (компресія змісту повідомлення) is understood as the economy of speech signals that are required to render the same amount of information (the same sense). Compression becomes possible due to the natural redundancy of speech and is widely used in simultaneous interpreting, especially when the speaker speaks fast. However, if the speaker speaks slowly, excessive compression may result in the unnatural pauses in translation, which make listeners believe that interpreter does not translate everything. In such cases it is even better to use a little bit of contextually grounded expansion (e.g. instead of складні умови праці interpreter may say: умови, які значно ускладнюють працю), or to use a pause to compensate previous losses or for self–correction.

However, interpreters are highly recommended not to abuse the so–called "hedges" to fill in the gaps in interpretation. The abuse of hedges makes interpretation too lengthy and, in fact, may be perceived as a lack of interpreter's knowledge or as the use of the "powerless" or "female" talk as it is described by many scholars writing on the gender issues in language and speech. Typical examples of hedges are as follows: well; you know; that is to say; somehow; kind of; you see; et cetera; ну; так би мовити; мовляв; типу, etc.

Most authors distinguish between the following kinds of compression in simultaneous interpreting, which may be illustrated by the examples from one and the same language or from the contrasted languages.

27.2. Syllabic and Syntactic Compression

Syllabic compression, which is the reduction of the number of syllables in the TL message, as compared to the S L message. It may be achieved by choosing shorter TL words, which leads to the lower speed of speech in the TL, e.g. kit for набір; state for держава, etc. Syllabic compression is usually achieved at the subconscious level and is often the case in interpreting from Ukrainian into English simply because there are more shorter words in English comparing to the Slavonic languages. However, the opposite also occurs from time to time, e.g. складний for sophisticated; погіршення for deterioration, etc.

Syntactic compression, which is the use in the TL of a shorter and less complicated syntactical construction than the one used in the SL. Here the following cases may be mentioned:

a) a complex sentence with several subordinate clauses is replaced by several simple sentences, e.g. When I entered the room, 1 saw that he was standing there – Я увійшов у кімнату. Він стояв там;

b) a subordinate clause is replaced by a predicative construction with the participle, gerund or infinitive in English and by дієприкметниковий або дієприслівниковий зворот in Ukrainian, e.g. 1 saw that he was standing there – I saw him standing there;

c) a predicative construction or a phrase with the participle, gerund or infinitive in English (or, accordingly, their Ukrainian counterparts) is replaced by a phrase without the participle, gerund or infinitive or by a noun in the indirect (oblique) case, e.g. I saw him standing there – I saw him there: to give greater practical reality to the principles contained in the Charter... – ... повніше втілювати у життя принципи Уставу:

d) a phrase is replaced by one word or a full name of a country (organisation, etc) is replaced by the corresponding abbreviation, e.g. the United States of America – the US', Organisation for Security and Co–operation in Europe – OSCE. the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation – PABSEC.