Unit 10 compression and expansion in simultaneous interpretation

Main points

10.1 Compression and its types in simultaneous interpretation

10.2 Expansion in simultaneous interpretation

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10.1 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 [Алексеева 2001: 89-93, Чернов 1987: 147-165], 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 (e.g. J.Coats; R.Lakoff; W.M. O’Barr, B.K.Atkins, R.Wardhaugh and others) writing on the gender issues in language and speech [see more on gender markers in Максімов 2006: 90- 98]. 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 [Чернов 1987: 147]:

10.1.1 Syllabic compression, which is the reduction of the number of syllables in the TL message, as compared to the SL 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 державa, 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; погіршaння for deterioration, etc.

10.1.2 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, I saw that he was standing there – Я увійшов у кімнату. Він стояв там;

2. 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. I saw that he was standing there – I saw him standing there;

3. 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;

4. 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.

10.1.3 Lexical and semantic compression, which is the use of more general notions instead of more concrete ones, or simply expressing the same idea with less number of words carrying the same sense in the given communicative situation. Lexical and semantic compression has much in common with a transformation called “generalisation” in written translation. Examples are: nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in the outer space and under water – ядерні випробування у трьох середовищах; And now the floor is given to the representative of Ukraine – Зараз представник України!

The extreme case of lexical and semantic compression is replacement of notional words (повнозначні слова) by deictic pronouns, which is also called substitution [Hoey 1991], e.g. The issue of illegal immigration was raised many times by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe – Це питання неодноразово піднімалося ОБСЄ.

Compression, however, should not be mixed up with omission of those words, which carry important information in the message, which often occurs with inexperienced interpreters. Only redundant elements of the message may be omitted or replaced by shorter elements without substantial losses. Thus, omissions of numerals, proper names, as well as other items of the “precision lexicon”, are regarded as gaps (лакуни, пропуски) in interpreting and should be avoided by all means. Most items of the precision lexicon (except dates) have no redundancy and have to be rendered immediately before they slip out of the interpreter’s memory. Compression in rendering of dates may, for instance, be as follows: in the year “zero seven” instead of in the year two thousand and seven; events of 9/11 instead of events of the 11^th of September, etc.