Subiectele pentru examenul de licen

Anul universitar 2012-2013

A. Examen - discipline de specialitate

Teoria i practica traducerii

1.The Concept of Translation. The Theories on Methods and Techniques of
Translation. The Method of Introspection based on the Semantical Theory of
linguistical signs, and the Method of Interpretation and the Descriptive
Method based on the theory of pragmatics of the translated text.
The term translation,itself have several meanings:it can refer to the general subject
field, the product(the text that had been translated)or the process(the act of the
producting the translation, otherwise known as translating).The process of
translation between 2 different written languages involves the translator changing
an original text(the Source Text) in the original verbal language(the source
language)into the written text (the target text)in different verbal language(the target
language).This type corresponds to interlingual translation,and is one of the 3
categories of translation.The Jacobsons categories are the following:
a.intralingual translation-an interpretation of verbal signs by means of other
signs of the same language.
b.interlingual translation-an interpretation of verbal signs by means of some
other language.
c.intersemiotic translation-an interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of
non-verbal sign system.
Intralingulan translation would occur,for example when we rephrase an expression
or text in the same language to explain or clarify something we might have said or
written.Intersemiotic translation would occur if a written text were translated, for
example into music, film or painting.It is interlingual translation which is the
traditional,although by no means exclusive,focus on translation studies.

The Theories on Methods and Techniques of Translation

Translation method refers to the way a particular translation process is carried out
in terms of the translators objective, i.e., a global option that affects the whole
text.There are several translation methods that may be chosen, depending on the
aim of the translation: interpretative-communicative (translation of the sense),
literal (linguistic transcodification), free (modification of semiotic and
communicative categories) and philological (academic or critical translation).Each
solution the translator chooses when translating a text responds to the global option
that affects the whole text (the translation method) and depends on the aim of the
translation. The translation method affects the way micro-units of the text are
translated: the translation techniques. Thus, we should distinguish between the
method chosen by the translator, e.g., literal or adaptation, that affects the whole
text,and the translation techniques, e.g., literal translation or adaptation, that affect
microunits of the text.Logically, method and functions should function
harmoniously in the text. For example, if the aim of a translation method is to
produce a foreignising version, then borrowing will be one of the most frequently
used translation techniques. Each translation had adopted a different translation
method, and the techniques were studied in relation to the method chosen.
The Method of Introspection based on the Semantical Theory of linguistical
signs, and the Method of Interpretation and the Descriptive Method based on
the theory of pragmatics of the translated text
2.Language Functions: six functions of language according to Jakobson,
namely, Referential, Expressive (Emotive), Conative, Poetic, Phatic,
Metalingual ones. Text-Categories: the texts with pictures, charts, graphs,
diagrams and the ones without visuals, and Text-Types: descriptive, narrative,
expository, and argumentative ones.
Sophie Jakobson defined six functions of language (or communication functions),
according to which an effective act of verbal communication can be
described.Each of the functions has an associated factor. For this work, Jakobson

was influenced by Karl Bhler's Organon-Model, to which he added the poetic,

phatic and metalingual functions.
The six functions of language
The Referential Function
corresponds to the factor of Context and describes a situation, object or
mental state. The descriptive statements of the referential function can
consist of both definite descriptions and deictic words, e.g. "The autumn
leaves have all fallen now."
The Expressive (alternatively called "emotive" or "affective") Function
relates to the Addresser (sender) and is best exemplified by interjections and
other sound changes that do not alter the denotative meaning of an utterance
but do add information about the Addresser's (speaker's) internal state, e.g.
"Wow, what a view!"
The Conative Function
engages the Addressee (receiver) directly and is best illustrated
by vocatives and imperatives, e.g. "Tom! Come inside and eat!"
The Poetic Function
focuses on "the message for its own sake"(the code itself, and how it is used)
and is the operative function in poetry as well as slogans.
The Phatic Function
is language for the sake of interaction and is therefore associated with the
Contact factor. The Phatic Function can be observed in greetings and casual
discussions of the weather, particularly with strangers. It also provides the
keys to open, maintain, verify or close the communication channel:
"Hello?", "Ok?", "Hummm", "Bye"...
The Metalingual (alternatively called "metalinguistic" or
"reflexive") Function
is the use of language (what Jakobson calls "Code") to discuss or describe
itself. (All this article is an example of metalinguistic Function).

Text categories
Literary text categories
1) category of segmentation manifests itself through the literary text division into
parts, chapters, paragraphs that are characterized by formal and compositional
autonomy
2) category of connectedness is realized through cohesion (formal connectedness
and coherence (content connectedness)).
3) category of prospection is associated with the plot development, which can be
prospective or cataphoric (looking towards the future; realized by means of flashforwards) and retrospective or anaphoric (looking towards the past) realized by
means of flashbacks.
4) category of retrospection
5) category of anthropocentricity is reflected through the subordination of the text
to the task of person characterization
6) category of local-temporal reference of the text is expressed through the system
of tenses and lexical time markers as well as place description
7) category of conceptuality accounts for the embodiment of social, moral,
aesthetic ideas of a literary work, which constitute its concept
8) category of informativity is responsible for information stratification into:
factual, conceptual and implicit (or subtext)
9) category of systemic character is attributed to the literary text because its macro
and microelements and functions integrate in a closed system that serves a specific
purpose. Pecularities: no element exists independently; limited in time and space;
its constituents cannot be developed, substituted, removed
10) category of integrity and completeness differentiated a text from a non-text
11) category of modality is the result of the authors subjective interpretation of
reality
12) category of pragmatic orientation consists in stimulating the readers feedback
intellectual and emotional reactions
Categories of time, space, person literary text universals

3.Register Analysis. Registers as varieties of language viewed from the point of

view of formality. Shifts of Register. Restricted Registers: the role of the
translator as communicator in a very restricted register with particular
linguistic, pragmatic, and ideological conventions.
Special purposes language courses are not restricted to the English language: there
has been general acceptance of the acronym LSP or Languages for Special
Purposes. However, much of the research on LSP is written in English and English
for Special Purposes (ESP) has received greater attention than the more general
term from curriculum experts and materials designers. One of the most complete
bibliographies of ESP, that of Robinson (1980), lists over 500 entries of theoretical
and applied work done within only the last ten years. In effect, ESP has become an
umbrella term covering a wide range of interests and approaches to student
centered learning. Munby indicates his acceptance of this term as he defines ESP
courses in which "the syllabi and materials are determined in all essentials by the
prior analysis of the communicative needs of the learner, rather than by non-learner
centered criteria such as the teacher's or institution's predetermined preference for
General English or for teaching English as part of a general education" (1978:2).
Specific content areas have their own acronyms: EST refers to the English of
Science and Techno- EBE refers to English for Business and Economics EOP
refers to English for Occupational Purposes; VESL refers to Vocational ESL; and
EAP refers to English for Academic Purposes. These acronyms reveal the content
areas to be included in the curriculum; it remains the language instructor's job to
specify the content in the syllabus. In other words, these questions must be
addressed: What is distinctive about the language of science? How is the language
of science similar to or different from the language of technology? How are areas
such as science, technology or business different from general English? These
questions are more often asked than answered. One early and influential attempt to
answer these questions was based on the argument that different uses of a
Language will necessarily be accompanied by different surface structure features--

stated simply this means that the language of science will look and sound different
from other varieties of English. Such a view makes intuitive sense. The proponents
of this "function helps determine form" point of view were Halliday, McIntosh,
and Strevens in their book The Linguistic Sciences and Lang- Teaching (1964).
They can be credited with introducing a term, which has become part of the jargon
of applied linguistics--that of "register" or "a variety of language distinguished
according to use" (1964:89). Halliday, McIntosh, and Strevens then defined louse"
in terms of three parameters: field, mode, and style or tenor. Field was used to refer
globally to language activities such as Politics, linguistics, or music; tenor was
used to refer to the interpersonal role relationships between people (e.g.,
teacher/student, parents/children, boss/ employees); mode was used to refer to the
medium of communication selected (e.g., speech, writing). Thus, register in the
Halliday, et al., framework encompassed a number Of socio-cultural features of
communication. Problems arose, however, when the framework began to be
applied to specific contexts. Correlations were found between linguistic features
such as grammatical structures or lexical choices and specific registers. These
correlations led people to believe it was possible to predict what a register would
look or sound like from the occurrences of grammar and lexicon. The Misleading
assumption was that because a text exhibited certain surface structure linguistic
features, then it must belong to a specific register.
Later Halliday and Hasan in Cohesion in English (1976) would define cohesion
or intersentential connectivity also in terms of grammar and lexis. Although
Halliday, et al., never intended for grammar and lexis to be the sole determiners of
register, many interpreted register in this narrow fashion because there did exist
some very specialized registers of English that could be learned with dictionary
and grammar in hand. For example, the topics and questions addressed to hotel
employees are generally restricted to a narrow semantic field. Similarly, the
language use of airline pilots and air traffic controllers is restricted to clearly
identifiable lexical items and grammatical structures. Early studies in ESP, thus,
concentrated on registers that were fairly homogeneous and that did not show a

great deal of variety among Users. When the same methods were applied to more
complex registers, it became clear that grammar and lexicon alone were
insufficient predictors what people would actually say and write. These early
studies were important because they showed the inadequacy of a register approach
alone and the need to include more variables in the descriptive process. The
methodology for register analysis (very often computational linguistics) was
necessarily bound to the words on a page and proceeded in linear, word-by-word,
or sentence-by-sentence parsing. The methodology became similar to that of
"explication de texte"--a structuralist methodology for making the formal features
of a literary work explicit. Explication de texte attempts intensive analysis of
written text assuming that the sum Of the parts is greater than the whole; register
analysis too often loses sight of the global meaning of a text by an overemphasis
on the parts.
One goal of register analysis dovetailed with that of contrastive analysis-where there were differences, one could predict difficulty. Language teachers could
concentrate on lexical differences such as the higher frequency of noun compounds
in scientific English as well as grammatical distinctions such as the higher
incidence of passive voice constructions in scientific English with the intention
that difficulties with the language would be removed once students had enough
practice in manipulating the forms distinctive to a register. Such a solution to the
register problem was necessary because few ESP teachers have the same domain
specific knowledge that their students have, and thus without this top-down
conceptual orientation to the subject matter, these teachers were attempting to
teach what they knew best grammar and vocabulary. While register studies based
on statistical descriptions helped create materials that were more authentic
representations of what students would actually encounter in the real world, they
still were not helping students make the semantic and pragmatic connection that
comprehension entails. Thus, register analysis was a valuable tool for identifying
classroom materials with high content validity; the mistake was to try to teach
these materials by the same principles that they were selected. Selinker, Todd-

Trimble, and Trimble underscored the problems students encounter when teaching
overemphasizes discrete point features of language. They remarked that students
"often seem unable to comprehend the total meaning of the EST discourse even
when they understand all the words in each sentence and all the sentences that
make up the discourse" .
Register analysis is a necessary first step in an analysis of the linguistic needs
of students in ESP Courses. Register analysis can guide teachers in the selection
and preparation of materials that should by their content validity motivate students
to learn. Register analysis thus helps ensure appropriateness of content.However,
the assumption underlying Language Teaching for Special Purposes is that a focus
on the actual use made of language will lead to an improvement in student attitude,
motivation, and ultimately performance. ESP, thus, falls well within the framework
of communicative language teaching which is currently becoming an international
phenomenon. To prevent the focus of ESP from becoming either too narrow or too
wide, teachers need to continue evaluating program goals in light of student
performance both inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, the content of an
ESP syllabus should be based on an approach that combines register analysis with
discourse analysis. Register analysis can be used to determine authenticity of
language in relation to lexical and grammatical features. Discourse analysis can be
used to help deter mine the authenticity Of the message as an act of
communication involving a sender, receiver, and situational context in which a
message is embedded. Thus, these procedures help better isolate what should be
taught in the Classroom. Language teachers, however, must continue to struggle
with the problem of how to make the language used in the classroom more like the
language used outside- the classroom.
4.Translation and Interpretation as two branches of translation: written
and oral ones.
Over the past few years, the terms "Language Translation" and "Language
Interpretation" have emerged as two of the busiest buzzwords in the Language
Service Industry. Although they appear to be and are often mistaken to be

synonyms, there are significant differences between translation and interpretation.

The primary similarity between the two is that they are both modes of language
conversion.Language

Interpretation

is

essentially

about

spoken

language.Language Translation primarily deals with written text.</b> Many

people believe both tasks involve substituting words from one language to words
from another. However, both Language Interpretation and Language Translation
demand a meticulous knowledge of more than just the language itself. Importantly,
both translation and interpretation have various cultural references and cultural
nuances.Along with converting one spoken language into another, Interpretation
basically encompasses converting a spoken source language into spoken target
language, and vice versa. Language Interpreters are required to be very attentive
and excessively careful before they perform any interpretation task. They need to
thoroughly understand what needs to be communicated and the context in which
it's being communicated in both the languages.As Language Translators convert
written material from a source language into another target language, excellent
writing skills and analytical abilities are fundamental for successful translation. In
addition, expert editing skills are critical for effective translation. Language
Translation also involves replacement of words with more appropriate words in the
other language. Those who offer translation services also manage the flow of ideas
in the cultural context to ensure that the resulting document is the closest possible
translation to the target language.If one is considering making a profession in
either of these fields, then it should be understood that both Interpretation and
Translation language services demand a love of both languages. However, there is
a difference in the set of aptitudes and the training needed for each job. Expertise
in Language Interpretation demands extensive research, strong analytical skills,
mental dexterity, and a fantastic memory. On the other hand, the key skill set
needed to deliver Language Translation service is the ability to write well and
express oneself clearly in the target language and the source language. This is why
many professional translators prefer translating only into their native language. A
rich library of dictionaries and reference materials are necessary for effective

Interpretation and Translation.Both Language Interpretation and Language

Translation have become promising career options, especially as globalization
continues. Internationally, there are a growing number of institutes which teach
Professional Language Translation and Professional Language Interpretation
5.The Process of Translation. Main stages of written translation pretranslation analysis and the use of principle techniques: choice of lexis
adequate to style, genre and register, various lexical and grammatical
transformations, substitution, omission, and antonymous translation. Basics
of the process of oral translation, namely, consecutive and simultaneous
translation and conference interpreting.
Process of translation
In modern translation studies we distinguish the following major types of translation:
1. Interpreting can be defined as the translation of speech orally, as opposed to translation
of written texts. It requires special skills (note taking, summarizing, language skills), a
good memory, sheer mental stamina and, often, arduous training.
There are several types of interpreting:
Simultaneous interpreting: The interpreter starts to translate before the speaker has
finished his/her utterance. Most often used at large events such as conferences and carried
out by panels of at least two interpreters using special equipment. As this type of work is
particularly tiring and stressful, the rule of thumb is that an interpreter should be able to
take a break after 45 minutes of continuous work.
Liaison interpreting: A generic name for business interpreting; also just interpreting for
trade conventions and other general business situations. Usually refers to the activities of
a single interpreter who accompanies an individual or delegation around.
Consecutive interpreting: The interpreter starts to translate only after the speaker has
finished his/her utterance. Often used at smaller conferences etc., generally used in
courtroom settings, speeches. Just one interpreter is often enough.
Telephone Interpreting: Interpreting carried out over the phone, using a three-way
calling phone patch; also with video-conferencing.
2. Word-For-Word Translation: Transferring the meaning of each individual word in a
text to another, equivalent word in the target language. Sometimes called 'Literal
Translation'. While this is clearly appropriate for dictionaries, it can produce very for
complex passages of text.
3. Literary translation: Translation of literary works (novels, short stories, plays,
poems, etc.) is considered a literary pursuit in its own right.
4. Free Translation: Translating loosely from the original. Contrasted with word for
word or literal translation, this may be the best method depending on the most
appropriate unit of translation involved.
5. Descriptive translation: One must bear in mind that it is the notional meaning of the
source language unit and not always its morphological nature or structural form that is to
be rendered in the target language. As a result, the target language unit, which
equivalently/faithfully conveys the denotative/connotative meaning of the corresponding
source language unit may not necessarily belong to the same language stratification level.

Depending on the notion expressed by the source language word/lexeme, it may be

conveyed in the target language sometimes through a word-combination or even through
a sentence, i.e., descriptively. Descriptive translating/interpreting is very often employed
to render the sense/meaning of idioms/ phraseologisms, which have no equivalents in the
target language. Descriptive translation is also employed in foot-notes to explain obscure
places in narration.
6. Antonymic translation is employed for the sake of achieving faithfulness in
conveying content or the necessary expressiveness of sense units. It represents a way of
rendering when an affirmative in structure language unit (word, word-combination or
sentence) is conveyed via a negative in sense or structure but identical in content
language unit, or vice versa: a negative in sense or structure sense unit is translated via an
affirmative sense unit.
The antonymic device is employed in the following cases: a) when in the target language
there is no direct equivalent for the sense unit of the source language; b) when the sense
unit of the source language has two negations of its own which create an affirmation; c)
in order to achieve the necessary expressiveness in narration; d) in order to avoid the use
of the same or identical structures close to each other in a text (stylistic aim and means).
7. Back-translation: If one text is a translation of another, a back-translation is a
translation of the translated text back into the language of the original text, made without
reference to the original text. In the context of machine translation, this is also called a
"round-trip translation." Comparison of a back-translation to the original text is
sometimes used as a quality check on the original translation, but it is certainly far from
infallible and the reliability of this technique has been disputed.
8. Machine Translation: Machine translation (MT) is automatic translation, in which a
computer takes over all the work of translating. Obviously, a computer will work much
faster (and is cheaper) than a human being. It can be a useful method if the purpose of the
translation is a limited one; for example, to gain a rough idea of what a text contains
('gisting') and/or to process large numbers of documents very rapidly.
MT works best on highly repetitive texts, involving a restricted range of vocabulary.
Typically, these are highly intricate scientific or technical texts. It does less well on more
general or varied texts, and those involving a high degree of abstraction, and with these
often yields useless results. The problem here is that it fails to cope with speech acts.
Even on repetitive texts, the finished output often needs to be checked to by a human
translator, and varying degrees of post-editing might be necessary.
Another factor is the source language - target language pair. MT works best also where
languages are of a similar type (isolating: English - Spanish) or related (German English) or closely related (Norwegian - Danish). At the time of writing, the obvious
advantage of using MT to translate from one dialect to another in the same language (e.g.
US English - British English) seems to have been overlooked but, using the same logic, it
should work well on this.
9. CAT: Computer-assisted translation (CAT), also called "computer-aided translation,"
"machine-aided human translation ()" and "interactive translation," is a form of
translation wherein a human translator creates a target text with the assistance of a
computer program. The machine supports a human translator.Computer-assisted
translation can include standard dictionary and grammar software. The term, however,
normally refers to a range of specialized programs available to the translator, including

translation-memory, terminology-management, concordance, and alignment programs

With the internet, translation software can help non-native-speaking individuals
understand web pages published in other languages. Whole-page translation tools are of
limited utility, however, since they offer only a limited potential understanding of the
original author's intent and context; translated pages tend to be more humorous and
confusing than enlightening.
Interactive translations with pop-up windows are becoming more popular. These tools
show several possible translations of each word or phrase. Human operators merely need
to select the correct translation as the mouse glides over the foreign-language text.
Possible definitions can be grouped by pronunciation.
10. Pseudo-translation is a technique needed for pseudolocalization that is used in
software localization. In contrast to the usual translation process it is the process of
creating text that mimics a foreign language without the goal of expressing the source
text meaning in the target language.
One approach to pseudo-translation involves the addition of special characters typical for
the locale of the target language (for example a diacritical mark like a German Umlaut
'a'), as well as changing the number of characters belonging to the text. In that approach,
the text is pseudo-translated in a way that allows to recognize the original source text.
Another pseudo-translation solution involves the use of machine translation technology,
which not only generates the necessary special characters but also gives developers a
good indication of the length of a string in a particular target language.
Pseudo-translation precedes the actual translation in the software development process.
Its purpose is to test that the software is prepared for translation.
Elena Shapa suggests the following classification model:
1) According to the unit of translation, translation can be:
sound translation;
word translation;
word-combination, idioms or phraseological units translation;
sentence translation;
paragraph translation;
text translation;
intertextual translation.
2) According to the aim of translation, translation can be:
literal translation;
summative translation, when the main ideas are rendered in the translated version;
abstract/adnotare, not more than a paragraph (sometimes not more than 6-7 sentences).
3) According to tasks and objectives of translation, translation can be:
literary translation;
informative translation;
semantic translation.
4) According to number of translators, translation can be:
individual translation;
committee translation.
She also specifies the following translation types: Formal equivalence translation
(F): This refers to a translation approach which attempts to retain the language forms of
the original as much as possible in the translation, regardless of whether or not they are

the most natural way to express the original meaning. In this type of translation, the
translator chooses one of a limited number of meanings assigned to each word. The
translator fills in the words that belong in the sentence but follows the word arrangement
and grammar that is characteristic of the original language. Such a translation is often
viewed as accurate. However, it can result in awkward, misleading, incomprehensible, or
even amusing sentences.
Interlinear translation presents each line of the source text with a line directly beneath
it giving a word by word literal translation in a target language. An interlinear translation
is useful for technical study of the forms of the source text.
Literal translation is where the forms of the original are retained as much as possible,
even if those forms are not the most natural forms to preserve the original meaning.
Literal translation is sometimes called word-for-word translation (as opposed to thoughtfor-thought translation).
Word-for-word translation: A form of literal translation which seeks to match the
individual words of the original as closely as possible to individual words of the target
language. The translator seeks to translate an original word by the same target word as
much as possible (this is technically called concordance). In addition, the order of words
of the original language will be followed as closely as possible. No English translation,
except for some interlinear translations, is a true word-for-word translation, but those
who prefer this form of translation typically promote formally literal versions.
Loan translation means borrowing the meaning parts of a source word and directly
translating them to the target language, instead of using a native term from the target
language. The meaning parts of the source word are directly translated to equivalent
meaning parts of the target language. Sometimes the borrowing is partial, with part of a
term borrowed and part of it native in form. A word which is created through loan
translation is also called calque.
Idiomatic translation is where the meaning of the original is translated into forms
which most accurately and naturally preserve the meaning of the original forms.
Idiomatic refers to being in the common language of average speakers, using the natural
phrasings and idioms of the language.
Dynamic translation: If a translation is dynamic we mean that the original meaning is
communicated naturally in it, as well as accurately. A dynamic translation pays careful
attention to the natural features of the target language. A dynamic translation attempts to
speak in the language of the average fluent speaker of the language.
Common language translation (CLT) is a version of the source text which is in the
plain, ordinary language of the average speaker. It follows an idiomatic translation
approach. The vocabulary and grammatical constructions are chosen carefully to ensure
that they are in common usage by ordinary speakers of the language.
Vernacular translation: Translation into the everyday language of people, as
distinguished from a literary dialect of their language or some other dialect or language
of education or social prestige.
Meaning-based translation (MB) properly focuses on the critical need for translation
to preserve meaning. Adequate translation cannot always preserve forms of the original,
but it must always preserve the meaning of the original.
Thought-for-thought translation: In such a translation the meaning of the original text
is expressed in equivalent thoughts, that is, meanings. Thought-for-thought translation is

typically contrasted with word-for-word translation.

Interpretive translation: A translation which includes interpretation of the meaning of
the source text, rather than simply the translation of that text. One logically legitimate use
of this term would be for instances where a translator inserts information which, is
extraneous to the particular passage being translated. Such information, if relevant to
study of the implications of that passage, belongs elsewhere, such as in a commentary,
rather than in the translation itself.
Front translation is designed to assist a native translator. It is prepared by an advisor
for a specific translation project for the mother tongue translators under his supervision.
The advisor creates a front translation with the goal of making the meaning explicit and
as easy as possible for the mother tongue translator, whose ability in English (or another
national language) is limited, to use. The front translation contains all the meaning of the
original, including implicit information which may need to be made explicit in the
translation.

7.Techniques of Translation: Direct Translation techniques (Borrowing,

Calque,Literal Translation) and Oblique Translation Techniques
(Transposition, Modulation, Reformulation or Equivalence, Adaptation
and Compensation).
Direct Translation Techniques

Direct Translation Techniques are used when structural and conceptual elements of
the source language can be transposed into the target language. Direct translation
techniques include:
Borrowing
Calque
Literal Translation
Borrowing
Borrowing is the taking of words directly from one language into another without
translation. Many English words are "borrowed" into other languages; for example
software in the field of technology and funk in culture. English also borrows
numerous words from other languages; abbatoire, caf, pass and rsum from
French; hamburger and kindergarten from German; bandana, musk and sugar
from Sanskrit.

Borrowed words are often printed in italics when they are considered to be
"foreign".
Calque
A calque or loan translation (itself a calque of German Lehnbersetzung) is a
phrase borrowed from another language and translated literally word-for-word.
You often see them in specialized or internationalized fields such as quality
assurance (aseguramiento de calidad, assurance qualit taken from English).
Examples that have been absorbed into English include standpoint and beer
garden from German Standpunkt and Biergarten; breakfast from French djeuner
(which now means lunch in Europe, but maintains the same meaning of breakfast
in Qubec). Some calques can become widely accepted in the target language
(such as standpoint, beer garden and breakfast and Spanish peso mosca and Casa
Blanca from English flyweight and White House). The meaning other calques can
be rather obscure for most people, especially when they relate to specific vocations
or subjects such as science and law. Solucin de compromiso is a Spanish legal
term taken from the English compromise solution and although Spanish attorneys
understand it, the meaning is not readily understood by the layman. An
unsuccessful calque can be extremely unnatural, and can cause unwanted humor,
often interpreted as indicating the lack of expertise of the translator in the target
language.
Literal Translation
A word-for-word translation can be used in some languages and not others
dependent on the sentence structure: El equipo est trabajando para terminar el
informe would translate into English as The team is working to finish the report.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. For example, the Spanish sentence
above could not be translated into French or German using this technique because
the French and German sentence structures are different. And because one sentence
can be translated literally across languages does not mean that all sentences can be

translated literally. El equipo experimentado est trabajando para terminar el

informe translates into English as The experienced team is working to finish the
report ("experienced" and "team" are reversed).

Oblique Translation Techniques

Oblique Translation Techniques are used when the structural or conceptual
elements of the source language cannot be directly translated without altering
meaning or upsetting the grammatical and stylistics elements of the target
language.
Oblique translation techniques include:

Transposition
Modulation
Reformulation or Equivalence
Adaptation
Compensation

Transposition
This is the process where parts of speech change their sequence when they are
translated (blue ball becomes boule bleue in French). It is in a sense a shift of word
class. Grammatical structures are often different in different languages. He likes
swimming translates as Er schwimmt gern in German. Transposition is often used
between English and Spanish because of the preferred position of the verb in the
sentence: English often has the verb near the beginning of a sentence; Spanish can
have it closer to the end. This requires that the translator knows that it is possible to
replace a word category in the target language without altering the meaning of the
source text, for example: English Hand knitted (noun + participle) becomes
Spanish Tejido a mano (participle + adverbial phrase).
Modulation

Modulation consists of using a phrase that is different in the source and target
languages to convey the same idea: Te lo dejo means literally I leave it to you but
translates better as You can have it. It changes the semantics and shifts the point of
view of the source language. Through modulation, the translator generates a
change in the point of view of the message without altering meaning and without
generating a sense of awkwardness in the reader of the target text. It is often used
within the same language. The expressions es fcil de entender (it is easy to
understand) and no es complicado de entender (it is not complicated to
understand) are examples of modulation. Although both convey the same meaning,
it is easy to understand simply conveys "easiness" whereas it is not complicated to
understand implies a previous assumption of difficulty that we are denying by
asserting it is not complicated to understand. This type of change of point of view
in a message is what makes a reader say: "Yes, this is exactly how we say it in our
language".
Reformulation or Equivalence
Here you have to express something in a completely different way, for example
when translating idioms or advertising slogans. The process is creative, but not
always easy. Would you have translated the movie The Sound of Music into
Spanish as La novicia rebelde (The Rebellious Novice in Latin America) or
Sonrisas y lgrimas (Smiles and Tears in Spain)?
Adaptation
Adaptation occurs when something specific to one language culture is expressed in
a totally different way that is familiar or appropriate to another language culture. It
is a shift in cultural environment. Should pincho (a Spanish restaurant menu dish)
be translated as kebab in English? It involves changing the cultural reference when
a situation in the source culture does not exist in the target culture (for example
France has Belgian jokes and England has Irish jokes).

Compensation
In general terms compensation can be used when something cannot be translated,
and the meaning that is lost is expressed somewhere else in the translated text.
Peter Fawcett defines it as: "...making good in one part of the text something that
could not be translated in another". One example given by Fawcett is the problem
of translating nuances of formality from languages that use forms such as Spanish
informal t and formal usted, French tu and vous, and German du and sie into
English which only has 'you', and expresses degrees of formality in different ways.
As Louise M. Haywood from the University of Cambridge puts it, "we have to
remember that translation is not just a movement between two languages but also
between two cultures. Cultural transposition is present in all translation as degrees
of free textual adaptation departing from maximally literal translation, and
involves replacing items whose roots are in the source language culture with
elements that are indigenous to the target language. The translator exercises a
degree of choice in his or her use of indigenous features, and, as a consequence,
successful translation may depend on the translator's command of cultural
assumptions in each language in which he or she works".
8.Equivalence in Translation. Types of Equivalents (Four types according to
V.N.Komissarov, namely, only one part of the contents is preserved; the
different versions are distinguished by the portion of contents preserved; what
is preserved is juxtaposed to what is lost; and finally, the part to be preserved
is rationally chosen in function of the translator's considerations.)
A translated text can never be identical to its original,it can only be equivalent to it
in certain respects.These can be systematized in the form of five equivalence
frameworks,not all of wich can be fulfilled simultaneously.Werner Koller,who
identifies the 5 most important ones as follows:
a.The extralinguistic, real-world referents to which the text relates.For e.g.:in the
sencentce:The capital of Italy is Rome., and Die Hauptstadt von Italien ist

Rom,the words Rome and Rom have the same denotation,and are thus
denotatively equivalent.
b.The connotations conveyed in the text,that is,the culturally normative feelings or
associations evoked by a specific term or phrase,and by different levels of usage or
styles,or social and geographical dialects.The equivalence relation constituted here
is called connotative equivalence.For e.g.,the connotations evoked by the term
breakfast in English-speaking context may differ radically from the associations
this term evokes in Islamic countries during Ramadan.
c.The linguistic and textual norms of usage that characterize a particular text.The
type of equivalence which relates to text types is called text-normative
equivalence.For e.g.,a letter layout differs widely across linguistic and cultural
communities,and this needs to be taken account of in translation.
d.The recipients of the translation for whom the translation is specially
designed,so that is fulfils its specially designed,so that it fulfils its special
communicative function for these recipients.This type of equivalence is translation
of Bible.
e.The aesthetic,formal characteristics of the original text.This type of equivalence
is formal-aesthetic equivalence.For e.g.,if the translator succeeded in maintaining
wordplays,rhymes,assonance,alliteration phenomena in the translation,he or she
would have managed to achieve formal-aesthetic equivalence.
The choice of a translator is forced ot make between

differently equivalent

expressions depends in each individual case on the hierarchy of equivalence

demands he/she sets up for himself/herself,or is asked to follow.Translation is only
possible with reference to the concept of equivalence,for there can be no exact
transference of meaning across texts in different languages,only an approximation
appropriate to purpose.But how far that purpose can be achieved is also dependent
on the limits of translatability.Only when the central concept of equivalence is
clarified,is it possible to evaluate the quality of a translation.
9.Cohesion and Coherence in Interpretation and Translation. The Role of
Coherence as a covert potential meaning relationship among parts of a text,

and the translators process of interpretation of the text in order to

appropriate the meaning for the intended reader. The Coherence shift of
expression made by the translator.
Understanding the concepts of cohesion and coherence are crucial for a successful
process of translation. Cohesive ties help to identify semantic relations in the text
and thus contribute to their interpretation. As Mona Baker notes, the main value
of cohesive markers seems to be that they can be used to facilitate and possibly
control the interpretation of underlying semantic relations vers regards the
level of cohesion as essential in distinguishing various characteristics of
translation:It is the level of cohesion, combined with other aspects found to be
typical in translation, that may serve as a guide in the search for the distinguishing
characteristics of translation. The third code apparently consists of a series of
features present in individual translations to a greater or lesser extent. Coherence,
Baker (1992) argues, is derived from the interaction of the information contained
in the text and readers knowledge and experience. The translator has to bear in
mind that the target reader does not have the same background knowledge as the
source reader. Coherence thus depends on the ability of the reader to make sense of
it. The question that Baker (1992) asks herself is this: is meaning property of text
(supporters of this opinion are e.g. Blum-Kulka or Sinclair) or of communicative
situation (Firth or Malmkjaer)? Baker (1992) inclines towards the latter opinion: It
therefore seems reasonable to suggest that, regardless of whether meaning is a
property of text or situation, coherence is not a feature of text as such but of the
judgement made by the reader on the text.
10.Translation Methods. Method of Introspection based on the Semantical
Theory of linguistical signs, and the Method of Interpretation and the
Descriptive Method based on the theory of pragmatics of the translated text.
Translation Methods
There are four basic theories or methods of translation which have been used by those who do
the work of translating from the original languages.

1. Literal or Highly Literal. This is where the exact words, word order and syntax are as
literally followed and translated into English as possible. Many of the interlinears, such as
Berry's Interlinear are examples of this method of translation. Young's Literal Translation is
another example of this method of translation.
Even though these are highly accurate to the Greek, yet often times they are difficult to read in
English. For instance YLT reads in John 3:16, "for God did so love the world, that His Son - the
only begotten - He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have
life age-during." Berry's Interlinear reads, "For so loved God the world that his Son the only
begotten he gave, that everyone who believes on him may not perish but have life eternal."
Although these are accurate translations, due to word order and syntax they are difficult to read
in English. They are best used as tools for those who wish to study the literal English translation
along side the original language. And for those who are more concerned with the structure of the
original than the structure of English. They would be difficult to use in public readings or even
daily Bible reading.
2. Formal Equivalence, Form-Oriented or Modified Literal. This is where the actual words
are translated and then adjusted slightly in order and syntax to conform to the target language.
This method respects the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. It focuses on the form or the very
words of the text and translates them. It is based upon the philosophy that each and every word
of the text is important and carries a meaning of its own which is possible to express in another
language.
This method involves a single process whereby the words are directly translated from the
original to the target language. The emphasis is given to translating the words and the various
parts of speech as closely as is possible without distorting the meaning. This means that nouns
are translated as nouns, verbs as verbs, articles as articles, adverbs as adverbs and adjectives as
adjectives. Close attention is given to grammar so that tenses, moods, numbers and persons are
translated as closely as possible. The KJV is especially accurate in translating the second person
plural as "ye" (a distinction which is lost in many versions by translating both singular and plural
numbers as "you").
This method is sometimes recognized (and criticized) as the word-for-word method of
translation. It is the most accurate of all methods of translation in versions which are readily
available. It is the method which was employed by the KJV, ASV and NKJV translators. Because
of these translator's respect for each word, when they added English words which did not

correspond to a Greek word, they italized these words, so that the reader could know that these
words were supplied by the translators. This type of honesty and ethical responsibility cannot be
found in the modern-speech versions today.
3. Functional Equivalence, Context-Oriented, Idiomatic or Dynamic Equivalence. This
method of translation departs from the formal equivalence method in two areas: (1) It is
concerned with the thought of the writer, (as if they knew!) and (2) The reaction of the translated
message by the person reading it (as if they could predict it). It is based on the underlying theory
that communication takes place, not in word form, but in sentence form or that the sentence is
the smallest unit of communication. (Although we recognize that the definition of words must be
considered in their context, this does not mean that words have no meaning of themselves or do
not communicate themselves. Just yell "Fire" real loud in a crowded place sometime and see if a
single word can communicate. Or whisper "Shop" or "Sale" to a woman and see what happens
next).
This method of translation is defended by such men as Eugene A. Nida and Charles R. Taber in a
book entitled The Theory and Practice of Translation. In contrasting what they term the "new
focus" (Dynamic Equivalence) and the "old focus" (Formal Equivalence) they write, "The new
focus...has shifted from the form of the message to the response of the receptor. Therefore,
what one must determine is the response of the receptor to the translated message. The response
must then be compared with the way in which the original receptors presumably reacted to the
message when it was given in its original setting" (p 1).
In order to achieve this result they go through a three step process which involves: (1) Analyzing
what they think the inspired writer meant; (2) Transferring the thought to the target language;
and (3) Restructuring it to fit what they think the person reading it will understand (Ibid. p 33).
This last step involves a number of subjective judgments and decisions based upon emotions,
attitudes and even doctrinal bias. The result is more interpretation than translation.
The fundamental difference between Formal Equivalence and Dynamic Equivalence is that FE is
a word-for-word translation (which derives doctrine from God's Word) while DE is a thought
translation which allows the translator's doctrine to determine what he thinks the Word of God
should say. Needless to say, we reject the Dynamic Equivalence approach to translation as being
an accurate or valid method of translation.
4. Paraphrase or Unduly Free. This method is hardly worthy of being called a method of
translation, since it is not concerned with the words or sometimes not even the meaning of the

original. It is so loose that it will allow excess words, whole sentences or even paragraphs to be
inserted into the text without any justification other than the paraphraser's belief that he is
producing a product which is easier to understand than the Word of God. Most are nothing but
commentaries and very poor ones at that, since they are packed with the false doctrines of the
author of such works. Further, some of them include words and thoughts which are vulgar and
disrespectful of the dignity which should befit the Word of God. Such liberties are taken in this
method that even liberal scholars do not recognize this as a valid or accurate method of
translation. Neither should we! While we recognize that there is a place for paraphrasing and
commenting upon the Scriptures, honesty demands that we call it a commentary or a paraphrase
of the Scriptures rather than trying to pass it off as the Word of God in a more readable or
understandable form.

11.Difficulties in Translating: the absence of conceptual equivalence or

comparability of meaning, the lack of cultural information, the absence of
grammatical and syntactical structures, and the absence of lexical and
stylistical equivalents, the presence of neologisms, colloquialisms and others.
There are several problems in translating.for example:
Words carry different meanings:English words are known for being polysemous.
Words may be ambiguous, and thus, be mistranslated if interpreted out of context.
Also, words can acquire different meanings across languages like denotative,
connotative, collocational, etc
There are emotive and stylistic differences:words mean different things for
different people: words may differ in their emotive values or stylistically, i.e.
words may be formal, neutral, or informal.
There are terminological differences:emphasizing the previous statement,
equivalents are not always found easily for new terms in recent developments of
telecommunications, regulatory, science, technology, computer, internet, etc. This
is because new concepts and objects are constantly appearing and emerging. This
may cause terminological inconsistencies.
There are cultural differences:this is the issue of what is acceptable in one
language and what is frowned upon in another language. This may sometimes
depend on the context, place, users, etc. Euphemism, which is using a more

pleasant word or expression to replace an unpleasant word or expression, can be

used.
12.Translation and Culture. Translation as an essential tool in ensuring that
languages, values, beliefs, histories and narratives can be mutually shared and
comprehended.
The term 'culture' addresses three salient categories of human activity: the
'personal,' whereby we as individuals think and function as such; the 'collective,'
whereby we function in a social context; and the 'expressive,' whereby society
expresses itself.Language is the only social institution without which no other
social institution can function; it therefore underpins the three pillars upon which
culture is built. Translation, involving the transposition of thoughts expressed in
one language by one social group into the appropriate expression of another group,
entails a process of cultural de-coding, re-coding and en-coding. As cultures are
increasingly brought into greater contact with one another, multicultural
considerations are brought to bear to an ever-increasing degree. Now, how do all
these changes influence us when we are trying to comprehend a text before finally
translating it? We are not just dealing with words written in a certain time, space
and sociopolitical situation; most importantly it is the "cultural" aspect of the text
that we should take into account. The process of transfer, i.e., re-coding across
cultures, should consequently allocate corresponding attributes vis-a-vis the target
culture to ensure credibility in the eyes of the target reader.
Multiculturalism, which is a present-day phenomenon, plays a role here, because it
has had an impact on almost all peoples worldwide as well as on the international
relations emerging from the current new world order. Moreover, as technology
develops and grows at a hectic pace, nations and their cultures have, as a result,
started a merging process whose end(-point?) is difficult to predict. We are at the
threshold of a new international paradigm. Boundaries are disappearing and
distinctions are being lost. The sharp outlines that were once distinctive now fade
and become blurred.As translators we are faced with an alien culture that requires
that its message be conveyed in anything but an alien way. That culture expresses
its idiosyncrasies in a way that is 'culture-bound': cultural words, proverbs and of

course idiomatic expressions, whose origin and use are intrinsically and uniquely
bound to the culture concerned. So we are called upon to do a cross-cultural
translation whose success will depend on our understanding of the culture we are
working with. Is it our task to focus primarily on the source culture or the target
culture? The answer is not clear-cut. Nevertheless, the dominant criterion is the
communicative function of the target text.Let us take business correspondence as
an example: here we follow the commercial correspondence protocol commonly
observed in the target language. So "Estimado" will become "Dear" in English and
"Monsieur" in French, and a "saludo a Ud. atentamente" will become "Sincerely
yours" in English and "Veuillez agreer Monsieur, mes sentiments les plus
distingues" in French. Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that among the variety
of translation approaches, the 'Integrated Approach' seems to be the most
appropriate. This approach follows the global paradigm in which having a global
vision of the text at hand has a primary importance. Such an approach focuses
from the macro to the micro level in accordance with the Gestalt-principle, which
states that an analysis of parts cannot provide an understanding of the whole; thus
translation studies are essentially concerned with a web of relationships, the
importance of individual items being decided by their relevance within the larger
context: text, situation and culture. In conclusion, it can be pointed out that the
transcoding (de-coding, re-coding and en-coding?the term 'transcoding' appears
here for the first time) process should be focused not merely on language transfer
but alsoand most importantlyon cultural transposition. As an inevitable
consequence (corollary?) of the previous statement, translators must be both
bilingual and bicultural, if not indeed multicultural.Is it our task to focus primarily
on the source culture or the target culture? The answer is not clear-cut.
Nevertheless, the dominant criterion is the communicative function of the target
text.Let us take business correspondence as an example: here what we do is to
follow the language commercial correspondence protocol commonly observed in
the target language. So "Estimado" will become "Dear" in English and "Monsieur"
in French, and a "saludo a Ud. atentamente" will become "Sincerely yours" in

English and "Veuillez agreer Monsieur, mes sentiments les plus distingues" in
French. Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that among the variety of translation
approaches, the ?Integrated Aproach? seems to be the most appropriate. This
approach follows the global paradigm in which having a global vision of the text at
hand has a primary importance. Such an approach focuses from the macro to the
micro level in accordance with the Gestalt-principle which lays down that an
analysis of parts cannot provide an understanding of the whole and thus translation
studies are essencially concerned with a web of relationships, the importance of
individual items, being decided by their relevance in the larger context: text,
situation and culture. In conclusion, it can be pointed out that the transcoding
process should be focused not merely on language transfer but alsoand most
importantlyon cultural transposition. As an inevitable consequence of the
previous statement, translators must be both bilingual and bicultural if not
multicultural.
14.Pragmatics and Translation. The possibility of the translator to capture
and translate appropriately the non-linguistic dimensions of verbal
communication thanks to his knowledge of pragmatics.
The noun pragmatics is regarded from different sides, the simplest of which is
practical considerations. The branch of semiotics dealing with causal and
other relations between words, expressions, or symbols and their users.
In an adequate translation the communicat- ive effect is close to that of the source
text.At best the texts communicative effect coincides with the authors
communicative intention.Two types of translation are caused by the above
principle: communicative translation and semantic translation.Sociolinguistic
aspect of the theory of translation includes the consideration of translation as
socially determined communicative process, social norm of translation and
viewing translation as the reflection of a social world. The objects of description
are various kinds of socially conditioned pragmatic relations, which determine the
essence of translation as communicative act: pragmatics of source text, which
determines its functional type; pragmatics of target text, oriented to a different
culture orientation of the translator for meeting the requirements of the society, that

is, social norm of translation; pragmatics of the language units of both source and
target languages, the pragmatics, which is connected with stratification and
situational varieties of lexicon.The importance of socio linguistic factors for
reaching adequacy of translation cant be underestimated. It may be illustrated by
possible translations of the personal pronoun you, which may be translated
as and . Pragmatic approach to the analysis of the situation will show the
translator the right way.To sum up the above said, it is necessary to stress the
importance of the translators background knowledge. That is, profound
knowledge of history, culture, mode of life of the country, the language of which
he studies and is supposed to know for being a good translator.Translating process
reveals double pragmatic orientation. On one hand, it is realized within inner
lingual communication and thus being oriented to the original. On the other hand,
translation is a concrete speech act which is pragmatically oriented to a certain
recipient. Pragmatic task of the translation aims at ensuring maximal equivalency
with the original. Pragmatic aspect of the translation is very important especially in
translation of nationally-biased units of lexicon.
14.History of Translation Theory. Latin as the lingua franca of the western
learned world in the Middle Ages. The translations of Bedes Ecclesiastical
History and Boethius Consolation of Philosophy. The first great English
translation of the Wycliffe Bible. Modern translation: tendencies in the
translation of literary and poetical works.
Early history
The word translation itself derives from a Latin term meaning "to bring or carry across". The
Ancient Greek term is 'metaphrasis' ("to speak across") and this gives us the term 'metaphrase' (a
"literal or word-for-word translation") - as contrasted with 'paraphrase' ("a saying in other
words"). This distinction has laid at the heart of the theory of translation throughout its history:
Cicero and Horace employed it in Rome, Dryden continued to use it in the seventeenth century
and it still exists today in the debates around "fidelity versus transparency" or "formal
equivalence versus dynamic equivalence". The first known translations are those of the Sumerian
epic Gilgamesh into Asian languages from the second millennium BC. Later Buddhist monks
translated Indian sutras into Chinese and Roman poets adapted Greek texts.
Arabic scholars

Translation undertaken by Arabs could be said to have kept Greek wisdom and learning alive.
Having conquered the Greek world, they made Arabic versions of its philosophical and scientific
works. During the Middle Ages, translations of these Arabic versions were made into Latin mainly at the school in Crdoba, Spain. These Latin translations of Greek and original Arab
works of learning helped underpin Renaissance scholarship.
Religious texts
Religious texts have played a great role in the history of translation. One of the first recorded
instances of translation in the West was the rendering of the Old Testament into Greek in the 3rd
century BC. A task carried out by 70 scholars this translation itself became the basis for
translations into other languages.
Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translation, produced a Latin Bible in the 4th century AD that
was the preferred text for the Roman Catholic Church for many years to come. Translations of
the Bible, though, were to controversially re-emerge when the Protestant Reformation saw the
translation of the Bible into local European languages - eventually this led to Christianity's split
into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism due to disparities between versions of crucial words
and passages. Martin Luther himself is credited with being the first European to propose that one
translates satisfactorily only toward his own language: a statement that is just as true in modern
translation theory.
Modern Theory and Practice
Whilst industrialisation has led to the formalization of translation for business purposes since the
eighteenth century it is, perhaps, the internet and mechanical translation that has really
revolutionised the field. In terms of theory Lawrence Venuti's call for "foreignizing" strategies
marks a call for fidelity over transparency in translation. The two poles of metaphrase and
paraphrase, however, still set the terms of debate from the age of Babel to that of Babel Fish.
Bedes Ecclesiastical History and Boethius Consolation of Philosophy.

15.The Linguistic Bias: ,,Translating is Transcoding. Definition of

transcoding. Sociolinguistics and Translation. The connection of translation
not only with words and texts, but with the translators personal way of
understanding words and texts.
Transcoding is the ability to adapt digital files so that content can be viewed on
different playback devices. Working like an interpreter, a transcoder translates files
to a suitable format for the end user. The translations are built upon complicated
algorithmic computations and require significant processing resources.Transcoding

servers and services reformat material that would otherwise have to be developed
separately for different platforms. They are commonly used for adapting content
for mobile devices or serving video. There are a number of different ways that
transcoding can take place but the overall process remains the same. The source
format is translated into a raw intermediate format and then re-translated into a
format the end user's device recognizes.In one example, the original material is
analyzed by a program that creates a separate version containing annotations. The
annotations include information that will instruct the reformatting process. When a
request for the file is sent to the hosting server, the server submits the annotated
version to an authoring application. The material is reformatted there and sent on
to a proxy server. The proxy server accesses information about device preferences
and adapts the material as needed before delivering it to the end user.There are two
main options for those who want to automate the reformatting of content: using a
transcoding server product or using a transcoding service. Transcoding services are
application service providers (ASPs) that take responsibility for the entire process
and deliver the reformatted content from legacy material.
16.The Interdisciplinary Character of Translation Studies. The involvement of
rather diverse disciplines, ranging from Linguistics to Anthropology, from
textual and literary studies to those of complex linguistic aptitudes and
language acquisition in Translation Studies.
Interdisciplinarity has been with us since the earliest days of T&I research. In
most cases, it has been a matter of T&I scholars (often also practitioners in their
own right) trying to stir the collaborative interest of colleagues in such fields as
linguistics, psychology etc. Less often, T&I scholars have been co-opted into
projects anchored in other domains. Thus, interdisciplinarity may refer either to
insiders "looking out", and hoping to apply the knowledge available "out there"
to the study of translation / interpreting, or to outsiders "looking in", and hoping
to glean findings that can then be integrated into their respective "home
disciplines". In the ideal world of truly symbiotic relationships, the two may
coincide.

As individuals in society and as researchers in our respective disciplines, we

have come to see the shortcomings (as well as some advantages) of confining
ourselves to our own paradigms, our own models and indeed, our own selves.
Interdisciplinarity is the recognized by-product of the fluidity and complexity of
our lives, a healthy reaction to the often-exaggerated compartmentalization of
academe. As T&I scholarship has gained ground, and as T&I scholars have
come to be viewed as team members in good standing on the academic playing
field, interdisciplinary collaboration has been on the rise as well, with greater
readiness to acknowledge the potential for mutually beneficial collaboration.
When it comes to the research skills required for pursuing interdisciplinary as
opposed to intradisciplinary research, certain recurrent problems tend to
emerge, regardless of the particular disciplines involved. Encouraged by the
organizers of the symposium to address this topic from a personal perspective, I
take my own experience as a point of departure, starting with the following
question: How did my choice of an interdisciplinary research project affect my
own research skills, and how adequate were they in dealing with the other
discipline (in my case, cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics). There
appears to be a difference between interdisciplinary cooperation within the
humanities and outside of the humanities (most commonly with the social
sciences), where the paradigms, the methods and the history of research are
markedly different. The following are some questions and challenges
encountered in moving beyond TS/IS and beyond the pale of the humanities:
Given the need to go beyond a thorough familiarity with Interpreting Studies
literature, the "interdisciplinarian" must become equally and thoroughly
familiar with what has been done on in the other discipline. How can this be
achieved within a reasonable time, if indeed it can be achieved at all?
If one's advisor comes from within TS / IS (or, as is often the case, from
linguistics), to what extent can s/he ensure that the interdisciplinary research
involving a more "distant" field is in keeping with the requirements of that

other field and does not appear uninformed or nave? Is it in fact essential to
have a second advisor from the other discipline?
From the institutional point of view, researchers are often hemmed in by the
requirement to conduct their research within the confines of their own
faculty or even their own department. The creation of a joint framework, if it
is at all feasible, may entail administrative, logistical and financial
constraints. What are the chances of straddling two departments and being
accepted in both?
Perhaps the manner in which the process unfolded in my own case is an
exception; perhaps not. Despite my "esoteric" field and my lack of
familiarity with the central areas of research, I was invited to spend two
months at the Max Planck Institute in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and was
encouraged to consult with the in-house scholars, notwithstanding the fact
that they had little or no interest in interpreting as such, and to ask questions,
including methodological ones. It was through this interaction that I was
able to narrow down my research question, to access the relevant cognitive
psychological literature and to learn about potential pitfalls. However, when
the time came to link this newly acquired information to my object of
research interpreting it became necessary to return to my natural turf, a
translation department. The cognitive psychologists could provide extensive
background information, but could not help me create the desired interface.
Only in a Translation Studies setting was I able to complete the process.
A doctoral student in my department, whose topic lies at the interface of
(community) interpreting and medical sociology, is a case in point:
The physician at the medical institution which granted her the permission to
conduct the observations and who expects to tap some of her findings, is
keen on quantitative information. The student, on the other hand, is more
interested in qualitative research. The implicit requirement to provide
quantitative findings confronts her with the need to deal with questions that
(1) are of little interest to her; and (2) are not part of her academic
background.

 Sociologists as well as medical researchers whom she has tried to involve in

her study wish to apply research methods not normally used in TS / IS. More
important, their research questions lean toward the epidemiological, whereas
hers focus on (mis)communication and (mis)understandings.
When all is said and done, the study will probably end up being largely
unidirectional; i.e. a translation scholar will tap the expertise of another
discipline (medical sociology) which, in turn, will be wary of integrating the
findings and conclusions thereof. In other words, the interpreting scholar (a
doctoral student, in this case) will be borrowing, but will have little chance
of repaying the loan.
17.Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpretation. Techniques of both types
of interpretation. The stages of the translators preparation for
interpretation. The sources of information before the process of
interpretation.
Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpretation In consecutive interpretation the
interpreter has the advantage of knowing the line of argument before he interprets.
Speeches given at international conferences (excluding written statements)
generally last a few minutes, giving the interpreter time to analyze them. He
analyses the nuances and subtleties of the speech, although the message is
delivered at a speech averaging 150 words a minute. Few activities require such
concentration or cause such fatigue! When conference interpreting first began,
some years ago, the speakers offered to stop after every sentence and give the floor
to the interpreter. This was a manifestation of the belief that interpretation
consisted of a mere word-for-word translation and the speaker felt that, by using
this method, the interpreter could commit to memory all of the words in the
preceding sentence and then translate them. However, the meaning of an individual
sentence is rarely clear when it is taken out of context, and today interpreters
request that speakers carry on with their discourse because the rest of the speech
will often clarify a statement which was obscure and reveal the assumptions
underlying any one sentence. The time lag which the interpreter enjoys in
consecutive interpretation is cruelly lacking in simultaneous interpretation. It may
therefore seem inconsistent to claim that simultaneous likewise provides an
opportunity for exploration and comprehension of the message. But let us look
more closely at simultaneous interpretation before examining the methods of
analysis used in interpretation in general.The observer is struck by the fact that the
interpreter manages to do two things at once: listen and speak. But this is not
exactly the case. In order to understand what simultaneous interpretation involves,
let us look more closely at what happens. When we speak spontaneously our words
do not come out in spurts: we do not first think out what we are going to say and

then stop thinking while we speak; nor do we stop speaking in order to mentally
compose what we are going to say next. On the contrary, our speech is continuous.
To be specific, it involves two superimposed processes in a cause and effect
relationship: mental impulses and their oral expression. Seen in time, however, the
words are uttered at the precise moment the following thought is conceived; at the
precise moment the product of the conceptualizing process is uttered, the mind is
already focused on further development of the thought which is to be expressed in
the following statement The simultaneous interpreter does virtually the same
thing as when he is speaking spontaneously. He hears the next sentence while he is
stating the preceding idea, yet he does not listen to the next sentence but to the
sentence which he himself is delivering. He does, however, hear the meaning of the
sentence being delivered by the speaker and it is this meaning which he retains in
order to deliver the sentence himself immediately afterwards. Thus, just as when
he speaks spontaneously, the words he hears while interpreting are those which he
utters, but the thoughts which his mind focuses on are those which will produce his
next words. The difference is that, here, the thought he will utter comes from an
outside
source.
This is just a very common occurrence carried to extremes. We might go as
far as to say that there are no thoughts which are completely the product of one
individual, or completely original, and that in any situation what one says is only
the end product of a thought which is born of the input of countless outside sources
which nourish us as children and enrich us as adults. The work of an interpreter is,
therefore, only an extreme case of reconstruction of ideas from outside sources. In
practice, however, the simultaneous interpreter is relieved of the immediate task of
developing the thought he has just stated. In place of this he substitutes analysis
and comprehension of the speakers line of thought. Simultaneous interpretation
involves hearing the thoughts of another instead of ones own thoughts. It also
involves speaking spontaneously because all speaking involves talking and
listening at the same time, although usually one hears ones own thoughts.
Simultaneous interpretation means reordering the steps in the mental process
which we all experience when we speak spontaneously. This is why, if correctly
taught, simultaneous interpretation can be learned quite rapidly, assuming one has
already learned the art of analysis in consecutive interpretation. The problem in
simultaneous interpretation stems not from the technique used, but from a series of
other problems. Let us simply say here that simultaneous is too often considered as
a simple word-for-word translation, with a certain number of words stored in the
memory (probably to avoid the trap of false cognates and not translate actuel by
actual) and then repeated in the target language. During the time lag which
separates the speakers words from those of the interpreter, the interpreter had
better things to do than memorize the words he has heard, because the speaker
relentlessly continues to deliver his idea and the interpreter must do the same to
avoid sputtering out snatches of ideas. Even memorizing a half dozen words would
distract the interpreter, whose attention is already divided between listening to his
own words and those of the speaker. It would be impossible for him to memorize
ones in another language. It is humanly impossible to listen attentively to one thing

while saying another. The interpreter listens and says the same thing. By avoiding
the pitfall of word memorization the interpreter manages to understand the thought
which will produce his next words. Thus the simultaneous interpreter is an analyst
or mind-reader, not a parrot. His memory does not store the words of the sentence
delivered by the speaker, but only the meaning which those words convey. There
are even different names for different kinds of simultaneous interpreters.
Whispering interpreters are simultaneous interpreters who whisper their
translations. Usually they work under circumstances where the listeners are a
minority as far as their language is concerned: it can be one person, or perhaps just
a few. Is it one or two people, then the interpreter will usually work without sound
equipment and he will literally whisper his translation to his listeners.
Conversation interpreters can be simultaneous interpreters, but not necessarily.
In the abovementioned example of the marketing research company it is clear that
a simultaneous interpreter is needed to translate the interviews. But is there time
for people to pause during a conversation, and is there no objection to having
participants in the conversation wait for the translation each time a sentence is
spoken, you may consider using a consecutive interpreter.
Court interpreters (= legal interpreters) are usually simultaneous interpreters. The
chance, however, that you will need a court interpreter, is rather slim - unless you
work for a court. Since most courts already have a list of interpreters they work
with, we will not explain the work of this kind of simultaneous interpreters any
further.
Conference interpreters are, in fact, always simultaneous interpreters. They
generally work in interpreter's booths.
18. Five Principles and Five Skills for Training Interpreters.
The first principle is:Before introducing any new training exercise, explain its
potential value for psycholinguistic and professional reasons and explain how it
can be adapted by interpreters later in different circumstances. Example: a selftraining exercise to improve attention and concentration and to make both
hemispheres work synchronically. It can be used in any environment with
moving or parked cars.The most simple exercise is to go along any street, trying to
repeat all the digits and letters of all the car number plates (going either in the same
or the opposite direction).Next level of difficulty: do the same and simultaneously
translate or convert the same number plates from language 1 (L1) into language 2
(L2).Next level of difficulty: do the same, simultaneously translating the plates into
L2 and counting the number of cars in each colour in either L1 or L2 (e.g. 5 reds,

7 whites, 4 cherry, etc.)Final level of difficulty: do the same, simultaneously

translating the plates into L2 and counting the number of cars in each colour in
both languages (e.g. five reds, siete blancos <7 whites in Spanish>, 4 cherry,
ocho negros <8 blacks in Spanish>, etc.)
The second principle is:Increase the self-confidence of students, particularly where
their memory is concerned. This is absolutely necessary, because almost all
students complain of not being able to memorise new information or retain certain
pieces of important data in their short- and long-term memory (STM and LTM).
Example: an exercise with interesting or funny data which is used in order to
demonstrate to students that they can easily remember quite complicated data so
long as it is important or interesting to them. Here I explain how our memory
works and how it deals with the important and non-important information which
we intend to memorise.The exercise is called Very Interesting or Muy
Interesante and it is a dictation of short texts containing interesting figures, dates
or plusmarks, etc. For example: The American fast-food chain Macdonalds,
appeared for the first time in 1955, but it had no tables or chairs until 1966. The
dictation may be in either language or may alternate between the two languages
once self-confidence is gained and the exercise is being used purely to train STM
and LTM.
The third principle is:Work hard on the students concentration and level of
attention from the very beginning.Example: An exercise with distractions, like
extra sounds, excessive gesticulation,etc. This kind of distractive modelled
environment I call training in obstacled conditions. Any instructor can create
his or her own list of distractions, depending on the level of the group or the
specific aim. For more information about my approach to training in difficult
conditions, see my article in Rusistica magazine.
The fourth principle is:A new exercise has to be very clear and straightforward in
order to be understood and worked through the first time (with a short debriefing
afterwards). Next time, the training exercise has to be difficult (an authentic or
nearly real-life level of difficulty). A real-life level of difficulty refers mainly to

the speed of presentation or the sentence complexity, or a lot of specific

vocabulary.
The fifth principle is:It is not my task to teach vocabulary.Firstly, this is because
the trainee interpreters studying the MA in Interpreting de facto have to have a
sufficient level of proficiency in L2 and L3. It is the primary criterion for
admission to such MA courses. The aim is clear: we do not teach languages, we
teach interpreting.Secondly, I think in any case that it is a waste of time to teach
new vocabulary on a word-to-word level in MA courses. It is the students
responsibility to learn vocabulary all the time if they want to be professional
interpreters. At the same time the ideal course may include some specific hours
of training dedicated purely to wordto-word drills (not teaching) from L1 into L2,
alternating both languages all the time.It is necessary to recognise that most of the
modern schools of interpreting at undergraduate and PG level use a lot of linguistic
methods in their teaching practice, working on vocabulary on a word-to-word basis
and on sentence, paragraph and whole text structures, as well as providing a huge
amount of theoretical information. At the same time, they ignore (or simply omit)
certain psycholinguistic techniques such as those I have described above
which are essential for any professional interpreter (working with both
simultaneous SI and consecutive CI interpreting).Pearl, in the article
mentioned above, makes some very precise and critical observations on this point.

19.Memory in Interpreting. The necessity of including some psycholinguistic

elements in the training of future interpreters.
1. Interpreting is defined as "oral translation of a written text" (Shuttleworth &
Cowie: 1997:83). Mahmoodzadeh gives a more detailed definition of
interpreting:
Interpreting consists of presenting in the target language, the exact meaning
of what is uttered in the source language either simultaneously or
consecutively, preserving the tone of the speaker .
Whether novice or experienced, all interpreters find this profession
demanding and challenging. Phelan says that "when an interpreter is
working, he or she cannot afford to have a bad day. One bad interpreter can
ruin a conference" In discussing the qualifications required for an interpreter,
Phelan mentions that:"The interpreter needs a good short-term memory to

retain what he or she has just heard and a good long-term memory to put the
information into context. Ability to concentrate is a factor as is the ability to
analyze and process what is heard" .Mahmoodzadeh also emphasizes that a
skillful interpreter is expected to "have a powerful memory." Daniel Gile
(1992,1995) emphasizes the difficulties and efforts involved in interpreting
tasks and strategies needed to overcome them, observing that many failures
occur in the absence of any visible difficulty. He then proposes his Effort
Models for interpreting. He says that "The Effort Models are designed to
help them [interpreters] understand these difficulties [of interpreting] and
select appropriate strategies and tactics. They are based on the concept of
Processing Capacity and on the fact that some mental operations in
interpreting require much Processing Capacity."According to Gile,
Consecutive Interpreting consists of two phases: a listening and
reformulation phrase and a reconstruction phase :Phase One: I=L+M+N
I=Interpreting, L=listening and analyzing the source language speech,
M=short-term memory required between the time information is heard and
the time it is written down in the notes, and N=note-taking.Phase Two: I=
Rem+Read+PIn this Phase Two of Consecutive Interpreting, interpreters
retrieve messages from their short-term memory and reconstruct the speech
(Rem), read the notes (N), and produce the Target Language Speech (P).
Gile's Effort Model for Simultaneous Interpreting is:SI=L+M+P
SI=Simultaneous Interpreting.L=Listening and Analysis, which includes "all
the mental operations between perception of a discourse by auditory
mechanisms and the moment at which the interpreter either assigns, or
decides not to assign, a meaning (or several potential meanings) to the
segment which he has heard."M=Short-term Memory, which includes "all
the mental operations related to storage in memory of heard segments of
discourse until either their restitution in the target language, their loss if they
vanish from memory, or a decision by the interpreter not to interpret
them."P=Production, which includes "all the mental operations between the
moment at which the interpreter decides to convey a datum or an idea and
the moment at which he articulates (overtly produces) the form he has
prepared to articulate" .Gile emphasizes that the memory effort is assumed
to stem form the need to store the words of a proposition until the hearer
receives the end of that proposition. The storage of information is claimed to
be particularly demanding in SI, since both the volume of information and
the pace of storage and retrieval are imposed by the speaker .In both models,
Gile emphasizes the significance of Short-term Memory. It is actually one of
the specific skills which should be imparted to trainees in the first stage of
training. Among all the skills and techniques which are required for a good
interpreter, memory skill is the first one which should be introduced to
trainee interpreters.
Memory in Interpreting
2.1 Short Term vs. Long Term Memory
Psychological studies of human memory make a distinction between Short-

Term Memory (STM) and Long-Term Memory (LTM). The idea of shortterm memory simply means that you are retaining information for a short
period of time without creating the neural mechanisms for later recall. LongTerm Memory occurs when you have created neural pathways for storing
ideas and information which can then be recalled weeks, months, or even
years later. To create these pathways, you must make a deliberate attempt to
encode the information in the way you intend to recall it later. Long-term
memory is a learning process. And it is essentially an important part of the
interpreter's acquisition of knowledge, because information stored in LTM
may last for minutes to weeks, months, or even an entire life. The duration
of STM is very short. It is up to 30 seconds. Peterson (1959) found it to be 6
- 12 seconds, while Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and Hebb (1949) state it is
30 seconds. Memory in interpreting only lasts for a short time. Once the
interpreting assignment is over, the interpreter moves on to another one,
often with different context, subject and speakers. Therefore, the memory
skills which need to be imparted to trainee interpreters are STM skills.
2.2 Major Characteristics of STM
Input of information: It is generally held that information enters the STM as
a result of applying attention to the stimulus, which is about a quarter of a
second according to the findings of both Sperling(1960) and
Crowden(1982). However, McKay's (1973, in Radford and Govier, 1991:
382) findings do not fully support this, asserting that unattended information
may enter the STM.
Capacity: As mentioned in the previous section, the capacity of STM is
limited and small. Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) propose that it is seven
items of information (give or take two). Miller (1956) says it is seven
"chunks." Another possibility may be that the limiing factor is not the STM's
storage capacity, but its processing capacity (Gross:1990:55).
Modality: To store information in STM, it must be encoded, and there is a
variety of possibilities as to how this operates. There are three main
possibilities in STM: (1) Acoustic (Phonemic) coding is rehearsing through
sub-vocal sounds (Conrad, 1964 and Baddeley:1966). (2) Visual coding is,
as implied, storing information as pictures rather than sounds. This applies
especially to nonverbal items, particularly if they are difficult to describe
using words. In very rare cases some people may have a "photographic
memory," but for the vast majority, the visual code is much less effective
than this (Posner and Keele: 1967). (3) Semantic coding is applying meaning
to information, relating it to something abstract (Baddeley:1990,
Goodhead:1999)
Information Loss: There are three main theories as to why we forget from
our STM: (1) Displacementexisting information is replaced by newly
received information when the storage capacity is full (Waugh and
Norman:1965) (2) Decayinformation decays over time (Baddeley,
Thompson and Buchanan, 1975). (3) Interferenceother information
present in the storage at the same time distorts the original information

(Keppel and Underwood:1962).

Retrieval: There are modes of retrieval of information from STM: (1) Serial
searchitems in STM are examined one at a time until the desired
information is retrieved (Sternberg:1966). (2) Activationdependence on
activation of the particular item reaching a critical point (Monsell:1979,
Goodhead:1999).
3. Memory Training
The purpose of memory (STM) training in interpreting is to achieve a better
understanding of the source language, which will lead to adequate
interpreting. As Lin Yuru et al. put it, "Memory in consecutive interpreting
consists of nothing more than understanding the meaning, which is
conveyed by the words" (Lin et al., 1999:9). Understanding is the first step
in successful interpreting; therefore, memory training is to be provided in the
early stage of interpreter training. Memory functions differently in
consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, because the duration of memory
is longer in CI than in SI. There are different methods of training STM for
CI and SI respectively. Interpreting starts with the encoding of the
information from the original speaker. According to Gile's Effort Model,
interpreting is an STM-centered activity; the process of interpreting could be
re-postulated into:Encoding of information from the Source Language +
Storing Information + Retrieval of Information + Decoding Information into
the Target language.In Consecutive Interpreting, there is probably up to 15
minutes (depending on the speaker's segments) for the interpreter to encode
and then store the information. This is the first phase of Gile's Effort Model
for CI. In the second phase of Gile's Model, the interpreter starts to retrieve
information and decode it into the target language. In SI, encoding and
decoding of information happen almost at the same time. The duration for
storing the information is very limited. Therefore, in the first step of
interpreting, encoding (understanding) information uttered in the SL is the
key to memory training.According to the previous description, there are
three main possibilities of storing information in STM: (1) Acoustic Coding;
(2) Visual Coding and (3) Semantic Coding. Visual coding may be used by
interpreters in conference situations with multimedia. Notes in interpreting
are to assist in such visual coding of information. But in most interpreting
contexts, interpreters will depend on acoustic and semantic coding.
Therefore, exercises should be designed for this purpose. The following
methods are recommended:Retelling in the Source Language: The instructor
either reads or plays a recording of a text of about 200 words for the trainees
to retell in the same language. The trainees should not be allowed to take
any notes. In the first instance, trainees should be encouraged to retell the
text in the same words of the original to the largest possible extent. The
following tactics should be used by the trainees after a certain time of
training on retelling: Categorization: Grouping items of the same properties;
Generalization: Drawing general conclusions from particular examples or
message from the provided text; Comparison: Noticing the differences and

similarities between different things, facts and events; Description:

Describing a scene, a shape, or size of an object, etc. Trainees are
encouraged to describe, summarize, and abstract the original to a large
extent in their own words in exercises (2) to (5). Shadowing Exercise:
Which is defined as "a paced, auditory tracking task which involves the
immediate vocalization of auditorily presented stimuli, i.e., word-for-word
repetition in the same language, parrot-style, of a message presented through
a headphone"(Lambert 1899:381). This kind of exercise is recommended for
training of Simultaneous Interpreting, especially the splitting of attention
skills and the short-term memory in SI.There is another tool which is
effective in memory training: Mnemonic to Memory. Mnemonic is a device,
such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering. Mnemonics are
methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to
recall. A very simple example of a mnemonic is the '30 days hath September'
rhyme. The basic principle of Mnemonics is to use as many of the best
functions of the human brain as possible to encode information.
The human brain has evolved to encode and interpret complex stimuli
images, color, structure, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, spatial awareness,
emotion, and languageusing them to make sophisticated interpretations of
the environment. Human memory is made up of all these features. Typically,
however, information presented to be remembered is from one source
normally words on a page. While reading words on a page reflects one of the
most important aspects of human evolution, it is only one of the many skills
and resources available to the human mind. Mnemonics seek to use all of
these resources. By encoding language and numbers in sophisticated,
striking images which flow into other strong images, we can accurately and
reliably encode both information and the structure of information to be
easily recalled later (Manktelow:2003). It is also advisable that Exercises
with Interference (e.g. noises) be provided in order to prevent information
loss in the Short-Term Memory, since the environment and other information
present in the storage may reduce the information encoded. Recording
speeches with specially 'inserted' noises as a background is a recommended
classroom practice, since this is a very effective method to enable the
students to concentrate and thus strengthen their STM duration.
4. Conclusion
Short-Term Memory is an essential part of interpreting, but memory training
has long been ignored by professional trainers. From the above analysis, we
can conclude that memory skills in interpreting could be acquired by
effectively designed exercises. With a well-'trained' short-term memory,
interpreters are actually equipped with an effective tool for the encoding and
decoding information. It is, therefore, advised that institutions of interpreter
training include "memory training" in the design of their courses.
20.AIIC (goals activities) and Conference Interpreters. Professional
Standards. Stages and sources of information in the process of preparation
for intepreting.

At a time when multilingual conferences are becoming ever more specialised and
technically complex, when an impersonal machine assigns an interpreter to a
meeting on tin in the morning and one on dairy products in the afternoon, when the
number of working languages is increasing as rapidly as the use of consecutive is
declining, and when newly-fledged (and sometimes decidedly under-fledged)
colleagues are being hastily drafted in to fill ever more booths, there is a pressing
need to maintain quality and standards in the profession of conference interpreting,
to motivate newcomers to do so and show them how, and generally to recognise
that the professions reputation for quality and integrity rests on the sum of our
individual efforts to secure it.This guide has therefore been put together to share
practical advice on professional practice in conference interpreting, with the aim of
contributing to high standards of professionalism and quality interpretation, and
thereby to the dignity and integrity of our profession. The present version of this
guide is an updated and expanded edition, based on one published in 1990.The
contents of this vademecum reflect the standards of quality, integrity, and
professionalism espoused by the International Association of Conference
Interpreters (AIIC), a professional association that represents conference
interpreters worldwide and sets standards for the profession that are internationally
recognised, in particular the AIIC Code of Professional Ethics and Professional
Standards. Many practical suggestions have also been distilled from bouquets and
brickbats shared by delegates, clients, and colleagues.The major target audience of
this guide is of course beginners, new colleagues who have completed their
professional training in conference interpreting, passed their qualification exams,
and are now venturing out onto the market and into the booth. But the guide may
also be useful for more experienced colleagues, as an aide-mmoire covering best
practices. Naturally, experienced interpreters will find many statements of the
obvious, while newcomers to the profession may not understand all the reasons
behind some of the suggestions. If this looks like a daunting amount of advice to
take on board, dont worry: things quickly fall into place, and a lot of this advice is
really just common sense.The International Association of Conference Interpreters

(AIIC) is the worldwide professional association for conference interpreters.

Membership of AIIC is a badge of professionalism and quality that is recognised
internationally. Whether you are a freelance or staff interpreter, being admitted to
AIIC is an important milestone in your career.As this guide is an AIIC publication,
you will not be surprised to find yourself encouraged to apply for membership of
your professional association. You will find a detailed explanation of the
application procedure in Applying to AIIC: A Primer.As a member, you will have a
chance to influence how the profession develops. Do not just pay your dues, but be
an active member: Take an active interest in the affairs of the association, which
is democratically run and relies on volunteers to do much of its most important
work. Read AIICs publications, including the Bulletin and Communicate!, and
contribute a letter or an article. Attend regional meetings, go to AIIC assemblies,
and join voluntary groups tackling the issues that matter most to you. If you want
to change something, see if you can find like-minded colleagues and put proposals
to your regional meeting and to the Assembly in accordance with the procedure
laid down for that purpose.If you are asked to sponsor an application to join the
association, read the Regulations Governing Admissions and Language
Classification carefully. Remember that when you sign a sponsorship form, you are
stating that you would be prepared to recruit that person for the language
combination in question, and you are vouching for his or her professionalism and
ethics. Once you have agreed to be a sponsor, you must be prepared to defend your
judgment if challenged and to support the candidate. If you refuse to sponsor a
prospective applicant, give your reasons openly and fairly. Less demanding
sponsors might be found elsewhere, but you will have reminded that person of the
standards set by the profession.
Preparing for the conference
If ensuring proper working conditions is the first pillar of quality in conference
interpreting, diligent preparation is the second. Always prepare thoroughly for
your meetings.The more you know about the context, subject matter, and

terminology of the meeting, the better your performance in the booth will be. A
conference interpreter needs to have as good a knowledge of the terrain as any
trekker heading into the Himalayas. In todays market, many meetings are
becoming increasingly specialised and technical, and at the same time, with more
and more qualified interpreters entering the profession, competition is becoming
more and more intense. Colleagues who are known to prepare their assignments
scrupulously are always at the top of recruiters lists.Thorough preparation takes
time and effort. Make sure that you schedule sufficient time to do the necessary
research before the conference.
2.1 Information sources
There are three main sources of information that interpreters use to prepare for an
upcoming meeting: conference documents, the World Wide Web (WWW) and
other background information and terminology resources, and the pre-conference
briefing.The most useful conference documents are:
program or agenda
background papers on the subjects and organisations involved
documents to be discussed
texts of speeches to be delivered
PowerPoint presentations and the speakers notes
multilingual glossaries of the relevant terminology
summaries or minutes of previous meetings
list of speakers and delegates
speakers bios
Although the standard AIIC contract does require the conference organiser to
provide documents to the interpreters in sufficient time to prepare, one would be
rather lucky to receive all of the above --- in all relevant languages --- in good time
before the conference. It is of course the responsibility of the chief interpreter or
team leader to deliver polite reminders to the conference organiser. Often, though,
some documents will not be finalized until the wee hours of the morning before the
conference starts. It can help to ask for drafts in whatever state they are in,

reminding the organiser that all documents provided will be treated as strictly
confidential and will be destroyed or returned at the organisers request.
Increasingly, documents are being placed on the Internet for the delegates and
interpreters to download themselves. Also, more and more documents are being
sent out by e-mail. It is a very good idea to ask the organiser to convert huge and
unwieldy PowerPoint and PDF files into smaller file formats (like .rtf) before
sending. Make sure that your inbox is large enough to receive inbound file
attachments. (All members of AIIC get a 50 MB AIIC.MAIL mailbox, so if you are
a member, dont forget to set up your AIIC.MAIL service.) Save e-mailed
conference documents in a dedicated directory created for each conference.
In the case of PowerPoint documents, be sure to request a copy that includes the
speakers notes under each slide --- these are often suppressed in the version
distributed to delegates.
When a full set of conference documents is not available in all the relevant
languages (and even when it is), the World Wide Web (WWW) is an extremely
powerful tool for preparation of both subject matter and multilingual terminology.
It is well worth investing time in learning how to search expertly for information
on the web. Two Communicate! articles on this subject are available here and here;
these are now slightly dated, but the basic principles remain more than relevant.
Encyclopedias, basic textbooks for beginners, pre-existing topical glossaries in the
relevant languages, and other introductory materials are also very helpful sources
of background information and terminology.
The first time you work for an organisation, be sure to get hold of its basic texts
(Charter or Constitution, Statutes, Rules of Procedure, Standing Orders, etc.) in the
languages you cover. Study these in detail; the better your mastery of the
organisations structure, procedures, and jargon, the more likely you are to be
recruited again. Interpreters must identify with and fit in to the "corporate culture"
of the organisation. (A very good orientation for interpreters preparing for their
first freelance contract at the United Nations in New York is available here:
Premier contrat freelance: Nations Unies - New York.)

2.2 Glossary preparation

On the basis of the conference documents and your own research, prepare your
own multilingual glossary for the meeting. Never be a terminology freeloader,
relying on others to do the work. Glossary preparation is an important learning
process, the main point of which is to help you understand and memorize the
terminology. On-the-fly glossary lookups while interpreting are distracting and
difficult --- especially when using somebody elses glossary.
In your glossary, include not only unfamiliar technical terms, but also recurring
topical items of a more general nature, in order to contextualize yourself and to
increase their availability, so that they are on the tip of your tongue when you
need them. Pay attention to usage that is specific to the particular body or topic at
hand; a Management Committee in one context may be Steering Group in another.
It can be helpful to make a separate list for acronyms, titles of officials, and the
names of committees.
Make sure that you know how to pronounce names and other proper nouns, and, if
necessary, include an indication of their pronunciation in your glossary. Similarly,
make sure that you know the names of all the relevant countries in all your
working languages; pay attention to any that may have changed as a result of
political developments.
In compiling your glossary, whether on a computer or on paper, make sure that you
have a logical system for sorting terms (e.g. by subject, organisation, committee,
etc.) in alphabetic order for each language so you will be able to find the term you
are looking for quickly.
Be prepared to share your glossary with the other members of the team. It can be
very helpful to cross-reference your glossary against those prepared by other
colleagues, including colleagues working in other booths. You may discover some
gaps in your preparation, and you may find that there are other translations for
terms that you have already captured.

2.3 Coordination with the organiser

Another important aspect of preparation is one that is the responsibility of the
consultant interpreter or team leader. This is coordinating closely with the
conference organiser in the run-up to the conference, to ensure that technical and
other arrangements are in place. Inter alia, it is a good idea to have distributed to
all the speakers, through the conference organiser or secretariat, a copy of AIICs
Guidelines for Speakers. It is also good practice to visit the conference hall the
night before the conference, to make sure that the technical set-up is satisfactory,
and, when mobile booths are being used, that they are positioned properly in the
meeting room with a direct view of the speaker and of the projection screen. AIIC
has prepared a checklist for conference organisers that may be useful in the preconference coordination process.
2.4 The pre-conference briefing
Finally, a pre-conference briefing, even a very short one immediately before a
session, can be a valuable addition to the interpreters preparation for a difficult
technical meeting. It can also enhance the professional image of the interpreters. A
well-organised briefing, i.e. one attended by experts, preferably covering the
working languages of the conference, and by the interpreters, who have studied the
conference documents and done background research in advance, can greatly
improve interpretation performance. Experts usually appreciate informed
questions, and in the course of discussing the significance of a term or a process,
they develop a much better understanding of the interpreters work and much
greater confidence in the interpreters ability to deal with technical subject matter.
The pre-conference briefing may also be a good opportunity to remind speakers of
the need to provide to the interpreters a copy of any text that is to be read out
during the conference, and to demonstrate the appropriate reading speed for highquality interpretation of a recited written text. This is best handled by the chief
interpreter or team leader.

20.Interpreter Honors Code. Ten Plus one Rules of a Good Interpretation

Standards of practice define the framework from which an oral language
interpreters performance is conducted and measured. Standards of practice guide
how a language interpreter will perform his/her role, duties and responsibilities.
Ethical principles focus on the shoulds of an interpreters performance when
ethical and other considerations impact an interpreters ability to adhere to the
standards of practice. Standards of practice and ethical principles are
complementary guideposts to equip an interpreter with clear parameters for
delivery of quality interpretation service.

The development of and adherence to

standards of practice and ethical principles reinforces and supports consistent

practice for all interpreters. Standards of practice serve in all areas where criteria
for professional performance are needed in making decisions and may be used in
making determinations regarding professional misconduct, incompetence or
incapacity. Standards of Practice enable service providers, employers and
non/limited English speakers requiring the services of an interpreter to recognize
what standards of performance can be expected by a competent interpreter. They
also assist educators in developing curriculum and in providing appropriate
instruction. In the event that the Standards of Practice set a standard that is higher
than an employers or service providers policy or procedure, the interpreter should
comply with the standard set by the Standards of Practice. The recommended
standards of practice and ethical principles for the LITP integrates the work of
Across Languages Translation and Interpretation Service, a London, Ontario based
community interpreter service and the American National Council on Interpreting
in Healthcare. There are forty-seven standards of practice interconnected with
eight ethical principles:
1. Accuracy and Fidelity
2. Confidentiality
3. Impartiality
4. Respect for Persons
5. Maintaining Role Boundaries

6. Accountability
7. Professionalism
8. Continued Competence
ROLE OF THE TRANSLATOR
"Every translation shall be faithful and render exactly the idea and form of the
original this fidelity constitutes both a moral and legal obligation for the
translator . - International Federation of Translators (FIT). The Translator's
Charter (approved by the Congress at Dubrovnik in 1963, and amended in Oslo on
July 9, 1994)
TRANSLATOR'S CODE OF ETHICS
Professional

Practice

Translators should endeavor to provide service of the highest quality in their

professional practice.
Accuracy
The translator must translate accurately. By accurate translation we understand a
translation that preserves the meaning, style and register of the source document.
Confidentiality
The translator must respect, under all circumstances, confidentiality and privacy of
the information contained in all documentation provided by the client for the
purpose of translation, unless otherwise required by law. All information submitted
shall be confidential and may not be reproduced, disclosed or divulged.
Impartiality
and
Conflict
of
interest
In order to maintain professionalism, the translator must remain impartial and
declare any potential conflict of interest (including personal or ethical values and
opinions) that may affect his/her performance while translating a document.
Limitation
of
practice
The translator must know his/her linguistic limitations and decline assignments
that

go

beyond

his/her

skills

and

competence.

The translator must only accept assignments that he/she can complete and deliver
in

timely

manner

(by

the

due

date).

The translator must accept documents that he/she can translate, no work should be
subcontracted

to

colleagues

without

prior

written

permission.

The translator should possess sound knowledge of the source language and be an
expert

in

the

target

language.

The translator should accept translations only for fields or subject matters where
he/she has knowledge and experience.
Accountability
The translator is accountable for his/her work and must recognize and
acknowledge translation mistakes and try to rectify them even when the translation
has been completed, in order to avoid potential liability and risk issues.
Professional
Development
The translator
Must seek professional development courses to maintain, improve and
expand translation skills and general knowledge through self-teaching,
formal and informal continuing education.
Must acquire the proper terminology and enhance his/her knowledge by
creating and updating terminology files.
Must seek evaluative feedback and practice self-evaluation concerning
performance.
Respect

for

all

parties

The translator must show respect for all parties involved in the translation
assignment, including respect for self, for the agency and to its clients.
The translator must respect copy rights and intellectual property. Translated
documents remain the clients exclusive property.