1.3 Types (modes) of translation and interpretation

Translation may be of the following types as far as the modes of its performing are concerned:

written translation oral translation (interpretation)

oral

whispered

oral

simultaneous

translation translation oral

of non-fictional of fictional consecutive

texts texts

Interpretation, which is in the focus of this book, may be of the following kinds or, rather, performed in different modes, which are described below:

1. Consecutive interpretation, which is a kind of interpreting, performed by an interpreter consecutively, i.e. messages of the SL speaker are interpreted one after another in pauses (these messages may be sentences or paragraphs long enough to convey a complete meaning and short enough for an interpreter to remember or/and to take notes of them). Thus, while working in a consecutive mode, the interpreter sits at a conference table, listens to a speech, takes notes and then renders the meaning of the speaker's message into the target language.

2. Simultaneous interpretation, which is a kind of interpreting, performed by an interpreter almost simultaneously (i.e. within the delay of not more than several seconds) with receiving a message in the SL with the help of special equipment. Thus, while working in a simultaneous mode, the interpreter sits in a soundproof booth with direct (or indirect – via the TV monitor) view of the conference room, listens to a speaker through earphones and simultaneously interprets the message into the target language via microphone to the listeners in the room.

Simultaneous interpretation is also called “conference interpretation/interpreting” because today it is mostly used at international (often multilingual) forums, while consecutive interpretation/interpreting is more often associated with bilingual meetings, discussions and interviews.

Consecutive interpretation is characterised by establishing “interpersonal relationships” between the interpreter and other participants, while professional simultaneous interpretation is performed in a booth, which isolates interpreters from the audience and with the help of special equipment (microphones, earphones, FM radio or infra-red transceivers, TV monitors, tape-recorders, etc. See more on interpretation booths in Annexes 5, 6 and 7 to this book).

3. Whispered interpretation, which is performed in the following mode: seated in the meeting room, the interpreter whispers in the target language to a maximum of two or three delegates what is being said by the source speaker. Whispered interpreting is performed in a simultaneous mode, however without any special equipment.

See more on modes of interpretation as they are given by AIIC in Annex 2 to this book.

1.4 Regulators of interpretation and associations of translators/interpreters

There are many regulators of interpreting activities throughout the world, such as AIIC (L' Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence; The International Association of Conference Interpreters, based in Europe: http://www.aiic.net. See AIIC Statutes in Annex 1), TAALS (The American Association of Language Specialists: http://www.taals.net/), ATA (American Translators Association: http://www.atanet.org/), EST (European Society for Translation Studies: http://www.est.utu.fi/), FIT (Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs, International Federation of Translators, based in Canada: http://www.fit-ift.org), Асоціація перекладачів України: http://www.uta.org.ua, Союз переводчиков России: http://www.translators-union.ru/, Ассоциация переводчиков и педагогов: http://www.shmel.com/index.php, etc. However, the most influential regulators are: AIIC in Europe, TAALS, ATA in the USA and FIT in Canada.

European interpreters and interpretation companies have to comply with the rules and regulations set up by the International Association of Conference Interpreters – AIIC (see more about AIIC in Annex 1).

You may already have seen or heard interpreters at work whispering for politicians and members of delegations or interpreting in soundproof booths at large international conferences.

The ability to interpret is a skill many claim but few truly possess. Consider the process of interpreting: the interpreter listens to the speaker, understands the message and converts it into another language, speaks to the delegates and all the time monitors his output to ensure elegant delivery. And while this is happening the interpreter is processing the next part of the speech.

What are the processes involved here? It is essential to grasp that interpreting is first and foremost perceiving and understanding the intended message perfectly. It can then be "detached" from the words used to convey it in the source language and reconstituted (transformed), in all its subtlety, in the words of the target language.

Interpreting is a constant “to-ing” and “fro-ing” between different ways of thinking and cultural environments. Conference interpreters usually work in a team put together for a specific conference according to the event's working languages. Today, interpreters spend most of their time performing simultaneous interpretation. For smaller meetings, where only two or at most three languages are used, consecutive interpretation is also suitable. The majority of professional conference interpreters now have more than two working languages – on average; AIIC interpreters have three or four. But they do not work into all of them indiscriminately. AIIC has defined a strict language classification scheme to ensure quality, which is called the “language combination” [How we work http://www.aiic.net/ViewPage.cfm/page1403.htm ].