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1) What does reformulation mean?

- We reformulate something when we break down long, complicated sentences

of the speaker into a series of shorter ones.

2) What is the interpreter’s job?

- To convey the speaker’s meaning as faithfully as possible.

3) As interpreters should we ask a question: “What did the speaker say?” or

“What did the speaker mean? Why?

- The second one, -The second one, When working in consecutive, the interpreter
can take a certain intellectual distance from the text of the speaker and will
naturally reformulate things in a way appropriate to the target language. But when
they are working in simultaneous, the speaker's words will still be ringing in their
ears, and so the interpreter is much more dependent on the speaker's form of
expression

4) Is word by word interpretation acceptable in simultaneous, and will it

always work?

- There is a great temptation to do word-by word interpretation if syntax of the

both languages is compatible, but that’s a very dangerous approach.

1) What is the problem of multi-translation?

- When we are too dependent on the source languages we can interpret the
same term in different phrases. e.g.: “the Mediterranean shore countries”,
“the Mediterranean basin countries”, and the “countries neighboring the
Mediterranean”.
2) What are the advantages of reformulation?
- A further advantage of reformulation is that it enables the interpreter to deal
with words they do not know.

7) Shall we use the tool of reformulating all the time?

- No, Systematic reformulation would be very tiring and is not necessary and
can sometimes be counterproductive. It’s just one of the most useful tools of
the simultaneous interpreter.
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8) We need to read a lot in different field in our own language as well as target
language to be able to reformulate successfully any ideas of a speaker.

The Salami technique

In simultaneous interpreters need to be able to express themselves in short, simple
sentences, however speakers may use long, complicated sentences, hence the
interpreter must divide up the speakers sentences into a number of short, self-
contained ones and then link them as appropriate.

- Why this technique is called the “Salami technique”?

- The interpreter divides one long sentence up into a number of shorter ones. As
this is “slicing up” a sentence rather as one might cut slices of salami.

Efficiency in Reformulation
1) What is the main formal objective of the simultaneous interpreter?
- One of the main formal objectives of simultaneous interpreter is
efficiency of expression. We need to work out techniques for keeping up.
Every second can count.
2) Explain different ways of being succinct.
- One way of being succinct is to make use of a speaker’s reference to
previous comments in the meeting. We may just mention that the speaker
wants to say something concerning the Belgian question and not repeat
the whole question, or summarize it very simply, but the only case when
the interpreter is obliged to repeat the whole question is when someone
repeats it to make sure that they’ve understood it correctly.
- To use acronyms and simple names instead of full names of the
organizations, documents, etc.
- Interpreter should remove all useless filler words, such as really, actually,
well, etc
- Interpreters should be prepared to provide a ‘no frills’ interpretation
where this is appropriate.
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3) When is it legitimate to shorten the names and titles of different

organizations, entities, etc.?

- Some delegations keep repeating scrupulously ‘the international trade

tribunal’ provided this is the only tribunal in the debate; it’s legitimate for
the interpreter to say ’the tribunal’.
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1) When is it desirable or even necessary to simplify a speech?

- Sometimes we find ourselves faced with the task of interpreting highly

technical material. There are two reasons for it:
- The speech might be so technical that we, despite our best efforts to
prepare a meeting and despite documentation made available to us just
cannot render all of the technical details. In such cases we must try to
save the essentials by simplification.
- The speaker may be talking over the heads of their audience, we may
very well be able to cope with speech, but a faithful rendering would just
leave the audience confused.

2) Why the second reason is controversial?

- Some people think that interpreter’s first duty is to be as faithful as

possible to the speaker and therefore it is speaker’s fault if they speak in a
way that cannot be understood by their audience and it’s not up to an
interpreter to palliate the problem. These points are right that’s why
deliberate simplification on the part of the interpreter is a technique to be
used sparingly and carefully. According to author the first duty of
interpreter is to maximize communication.

3) When is it recommended to use simplification?

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- If for example a group of teenagers is being provided information on the

common agricultural policy of the EU. We may interpret unfamiliar
jargon into everyday language or en expert talking in the wrong
register to layman: nuclear scientist explaining to political makers the
safety characteristics of different kinds of reactors.
- in a meeting on product liability for consumer protection, one legal
expert asks another
4) How can you simplify if you don’t know what you are simplifying?

- We can identify the essence of a statement or a question, and convey it,

without understanding all of the details expresses by a speaker, or we
may have understood, but don’t necessarily have all the target-language
vocabulary to express everything quickly enough.

5) Why is interpreting a percentage game?

- The interpreter must know how to sacrifice the less important to the more
important. to identify what is important and what is less important. a
perfectionist would make a supreme effort to interpret even the
problematic passage, but the more important element, the question at the
end would be less satisfactorily interpreted.

1) Why do we use ’generalization’ and how?

- Sometimes we use it just to save time with a very fast speaker; a number
of very specific items mentioned can be expressed in one generic term.
e.g.: a speaker may say: ‘People take it for granted now to have a fridge
and a freezer, the dishwasher and the washing machine with a spin dryer,
a cooker and a vacuum cleaner’ if the speaker is very quick and detail of
the list is irrelevant, the interpreter can generalize (in the sense of using a
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generic term) and interpret, ‘People take it for granted now to have all
households electric appliances.’

This technique should be used only where appropriate.