REPBLICA BOLIVARIANA DE VENEZUELA

MINISTERIO DEL PODER POPULAR PARA EDUCACIN UNIVERSITARIA

INSTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO TECNOLGICO SUPERIOR DE ORIENTE

CAREER: IDIOMAS (MENCIN INGLS)

PRINCIPLES OF TRANSLATION

LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION

Teacher: Student:

Barrios, Elhyangie. Salazar, Mara Virginia.

C.I. 19.329.559

Barcelona, December 3rd, 2016.

 INDEX

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1
1 LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION .................................................................................................... 2
2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERPRETING AND TRANSLATION ........................................ 2
3 QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE INTERPRETER ........................................................................ 2
4 MODES OF INTERPRETATION ..................................................................................................... 3
4.1 SIMULTANEOUS ....................................................................................................................... 3
4.2 CONSECUTIVE.......................................................................................................................... 4
4.3 WHISPERED .............................................................................................................................. 4
4.4 LIAISON ....................................................................................................................................... 5
5 TYPES OF INTERPRETATION SERVICES.................................................................................. 5
6 INTERPRETION MODALITIES........................................................................................................ 6
CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 7
 INTRODUCTION

The relative increase in human contact across linguistic-cultural boundaries that

has occurred in the past couple of centuries has amplified the need for communication
across said confines. This has rendered translation more and more important,
highlighting the need to assess and develop disciplines that allow humans to
communicate effectively even when they are not able to understand different languages
or cultures on their own.
When academics in translation realized that a more dynamic and practical way of
transferring the ideas from one language into another was needed, they developed the
discipline of Interpreting Studies, which consequently helped developed different
approaches in which information can be rendered, tackling the issue of translating in
real-time in front of live audiences.
However, many members of the public fail to appreciate that interpreting is an
incredibly complex discipline, with some even using the term synonymously with
translating. In reality, taking the spoken word and rendering it in another language is a
tough affair, putting enormous pressure on interpreters to match the speaker's tonal and
emotional register without options to dictionaries and glossaries.
This papers aims to give a glimpse at the importance of Language Interpretation,
explaining its correct definition and different forms and services this field offers.

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1 LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION

Language interpretation, also referred as Interpreting, is the facilitation of spoken

or signed language communication between users of different languages.
Rendering a spoken or signed message into another spoken or signed
language, preserving the register and meaning of the source language content.
(ISO, 2014, p. 1.)
Its not uncommon for people to think that interpretation is a word-for-word
translation of spoken words. However, if this were the case, the end result would be
an unintelligible mess of words to the target audience. Interpreters must rephrase as
needed to properly convey the concepts a speaker presents to the listening
audience.

2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERPRETING AND TRANSLATION

People often believe that translation and interpreting are interchangeable.

However, while both services involve adapting from one language to another, there
are a few differences separating them. Some of them are:

Interpreting is the transference of meaning between spoken languages while

Translation is the transference of meaning between written languages,
Whether its in person, on the phone, or through video services, interpreting
always occurs in real time. Since translation works with previously written
texts, the rendering of the information is never in real time.
Both services demand different levels of accuracy. Translators have more
time to evaluate and check their work before delivering the final product thus
they tend to be more accurate than an interpreter doing a live work.
Since interpreters cant check any reference material, they must be fluent
enough in both the source and the target language to be able to translate on
the spot. Therefore, interpreting jobs tend to be more demanding than
translation jobs.

3 QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE INTERPRETER

Thorough knowledge of the general subject to be interpreted.

Intimate familiarity with both cultures.
Extensive vocabulary in both languages.

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 Ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely in both languages.
Quick decision taking skills.
Excellent note-taking techniques for consecutive interpreting.
Ability to capture tone, inflection, voice quality, and the other intangible
elements of the spoken word and convey those meaningfully to the
audience.

4 MODES OF INTERPRETATION

4.1 SIMULTANEOUS

Simultaneous interpretation is a type of real-time interpreting that happens

without the involvement of the original speaker. During Simultaneous Interpretation,
the interpreter sits in a soundproof booth wearing a pair of headphones and speaks
into a microphone. Strictly speaking, simultaneous is a misnomer since interpreters
cannot start interpreting until they understand the general meaning of the sentence.
Depending for example, on how far apart in the sentence to be interpreted the
subject and the verb are located, the interpreter may not be able to say a single
word until they have heard the entire sentence.
This mode of interpreting is one of the most common and most difficult because
the interpreter must translate the sentence into the target language while
simultaneously listening to and comprehending the next sentence. Since this is a
very demanding task, there should be at least two interpreters per language in the
booth, allowing them to interpret in alternating turns of around 20 minutes. When not
interpreting, the other interpreter has to stay in the booth and prepare for the next
speech and help the other interpreter if necessary.
A high level of education, training and preparation is required on the part of
interpreters in order to carry out the skill of simultaneous interpreting. However, one
of the key skills of the simultaneous interpreter, perhaps the most important one, is
decisiveness since there is simply no time to weigh the merits of variant translations,
or to recall just the right idiom in the target language. Any delay and a few words,
and possibly a complete thought, that the speaker uttered could be lost, and since
the speaker may be far away, or even in a different room than the interpreter, the
loss may be permanent.
Simultaneous Interpretation is most effective for large meetings and its often
used in conferences.

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4.2 CONSECUTIVE

We could define Consecutive Interpretation as Interpreting after the speaker has

finished. During Consecutive Interpreting the speaker stops every 15 minutes,
usually at the end of every paragraph or complete thought, and the interpreter then
steps in to render what was said into the target language.
Some key skills involved in consecutive interpreting are concentration, memory,
understanding, and especially, note-taking, since few people can memorize a full
paragraph in one hearing without loss of detail. Interpreters notes are very different
from those of, say, a stenographer, because writing down words in the source
language makes the interpreters job harder when he has to translate the speech
into the target language. Many professional interpreters develop their own
ideogramic symbology, which allows them to take down not the words, but the
thoughts of the speaker in a sort of language-independent form. Then the
interpreters output is more idiomatic and less source-language bound.
This mode of interpreting doesnt require any technical equipment and is most
efficient at meetings and presentations with a small audience. Samples of situations
when consecutive interpreting is used are question and answer sessions,
presentations, press conferences, speeches, court hearings, conference calls and
interviews.

4.3 WHISPERED

Whispering Interpretation, also known as Chuchotage, is where the interpreter

sits next to the person needing to understand the foreign language and whispers
whats being said in their ear, and most times, If the person being interpreted to
wishes to speak their Whispering Interpreter will speak on their behalf. Its aim is to
provide personal language support to an individual within a group without impacting
the group as a whole.
This mode of interpreting doesnt require any technical equipment and is
commonly used as language support for foreign executives attending company
board meeting, delegates attending group training course overseas, and overseas
factory or office visit. This would not be recommended if more than two people
require interpretation as it would create too much noise and distraction.
Whispering Interpreters work best on a one-to-one basis and in business
meetings its much better if each delegate has their own interpreter in order to avoid
disruption for other delegates.

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4.4 LIAISON

Liaison interpretion, also known as Bilateral interpreting, is used as a link

between two people or small groups of people who speak different languages.
This procedure is often used for informal situations, small business meetings,
and it is also suitable for court interpreting. Liaison Interpreters need to know both
languages very well since they translate what everyone says.
Although in general, with liaison interpretion, the interpreter doesnt need to do
the same kind of preparation as with simultaneous or consecutive interpretation, it is
still important that the client and the interpreter have planned a meeting beforehand.
With business meeting, it is much better that the interpreter knows the subject, the
company and the general sector of the client, to increase the probability of success
in negotiation.
This type of interpreting is also used for interpreting in the community, at the
request of doctors, lawyers, hospitals, Garda, social services and schools.

5 TYPES OF INTERPRETATION SERVICES

Interpretation services for spoken languages are divided in several types, which
are directly related to the event or flied in which the interpreting will take place.
Some of them are:

Conference.
Judicial.
Escort.
Public sector.
Medical.
Sign language.
Not all interpreters are qualified to work in all fields since each one of them
requires specialized knowledge and a different set of skills.

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6 INTERPRETION MODALITIES

Interpretation services can be delivered in three different modalities depending

on the clients need. These are:

On-site interpreting, in which the interpreter needs to be physically present

in order for the interpretation to take place. This is by far the most
common modality.
Telephone interpreting, a modality that allows interpreters to deliver their
services over the phone, without being physically present. This is most
common in situations in which all parties who wish to communicate are
already speaking to one another via telephone.
Video interpreting, another modality that allows interpreters to work
remotely, adding the bonus factor of being able to see all parties while
doing the interpretation. However, this requires special equipment and is
not always possible.

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 CONCLUSIONS

1. Translators and interpreters are not interchangeable.

2. The skills and tasks required are different for the two jobs.
3. Interpretation is used at live, in-person events, such as in courtrooms, police
stations, hospitals, and government forums.
4. Interpreting tends to be more demanding than translating.
5. Simultaneous, consecutive, whispered and liaison are some of the modes of
interpreting. However, simultaneous and consecutive are the most common
ones.
6. Not all interpreters are prepared to work in every mode. Simultaneous
interpretation tends to be the more demanding and requires highly experienced
interpreters.
7. There are several types of interpretation services, all connected to different
fields. These services can be offered in any mode of interpretation and the
selection of the correct mode tends to depends on how large the audience is.
8. There are three interpreting modalities but On-site interpreting is the most
common one.