12.4. Specifics and Situations in Interpreting Process

We should always remember three main commandments of the interpreter are as follows:

1. He does not influence the source information of a sender and is not responsible for it, but he has professional, moral and even judicial responsibility for his translation;

2. He never feels panic or gives up in any situation;

3. He is supposed to translate the thoughts, not words.

Objective difficulties of interpretation are caused by the fact, that information is immaterial and exists as sound waves, is not fixed on the career (paper, display, film, diskette, etc.) if compared with written translation or translation from the sheet, when information is material, “tangible” and does not “slip away from the interpreter.

Objective complexity of interpretation is intensified by subjective factors: specificity of general situation and the model of interpretation, peculiarities of a sender’s speech and a recipient of information, as well as by individual professional and psycho-linguistic features of interpreter, other circumstances of objective and subjective character.

The task can be facilitated by:

a) the use of universal translation notes, which makes information material, creating support for memory, data base for analysis and synthesis of the data received;

b) the development and training of operational memory; here one should take into account, that its capacity is limited by objective factors and, unfortunately, diminished with age;

c) elimination of the negative effect of π-factor.

12.5. Factor of Time

Consecutive interpretation extends the time of talks minimum by 1.5 2 times. Therefore, when interpreting the factor of time should be taken into account, i.e. one should strive, if possible, to save precious minutes without delaying a tiresome talk, which demands tremendous efforts both from the sides making agreements and a translator. It’s easier to make translation shorter if it is made into English, but when translating into Ukrainian it’s expedient to direct the time factor to the good, primarily by accelerating the tempo of speech, avoiding unnecessary pauses, repetitions, “mumbling” and stumbling, striving to pick up the shortest, meaningful words and constructions.

In some cases it is possible (if mutually agreed) to edit and simplify the translation or even to render main thoughts without specific details. Good translation is laconic and speedy! The old adage says: “Wise people make language short”. It is applied to interpretation, too.

Basic interpretation and linguistic terms

USED IN TOPIC 12

two-way interpretation	двосторонній переклад
recipient	реципієнт, отримувач, адресат
one-way interpretation	односторонній переклад
indirect bilingual communi-cation activity	непряма двомовна комунікативна діяльність
inter-text relations (connections)	внутрішньотекстові зв’язки
cause-and-effect relations	причинно-наслідкові зв’язки
intercultural differences	міжкультурні відмінності
universal translation note-taking	універсальний перекладацький скоропис
probabilistic prediction	ймовірнісне прогнозування

Questions for discussion:

1. How does communication look like without interpreter?

2. What are two levels of interpretation?

3. Why do we speak about the triad of interpretation process?

4. Why is psychological aspect essential in interpretation?

5. What can be said about π-factor?

6. Speak on specifics of interpretation process?

7. Speak on the factor of time.

Practise sight translation of the text: