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Abstract：This study was designed to analyze specifically the impact of language direction on professional Chinese/English interpreters’ performance and strategy use through their experience of simultaneous interpreting in different language directions.
Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a kind of translation that constituted by orally translating the message heard in one language into another language immediately and continuously, and at the meanwhile the message will not stop being produced. The unique characteristics of simultaneous interpretation and the various factors that will have great impact on the procession and performance of Chinese/English SI were taken into discussion. It should be noted that unlike in daily communication situations, comprehension and production are often overlapping in simultaneous interpreting. Concurrent comprehension of the source language and production of the target language is perhaps the most unique characteristic of the SI task.
Drawn from the effort model proposed by Gile, simultaneous interpreting is accomplished by the sharing of four major efforts: listening and analyzing, production, memory, and coordination. In other words, while a comprehension problem will have a negative effect on production, a production problem also has consequences for comprehension.
In this study I illustrate arguments for interpreting of L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 language respectively, described the studies about interpreters’’ strategy use and the relationship between language direction and SI strategy use. Interpreters’’ performance of simultaneous interpreting in different directions was determined by a few factors, including the context, personal factors, and interpreting norms.
Studies showed that professional interpreters who must interpret regularly and simultaneously in both directions may develop strategic approaches to meet the different demands of A-to-B and B-to-A interpreting. Strategy use can be defined in this study as any goal-oriented, potentially conscious employment of tactics designed to overcome the processing problems interpreters encountered during simultaneous interpreting. This definition involves interpreters’’ responses to any problems occurring during the stages of comprehension, translation, or production. As demonstrated in this study, strategies were applied throughout the interpreting as a general approach to the interpreting task, namely anticipating, restructuring, generalizing, visualizing and among others. The difference in interpreters’’ performances seems not only to be a result of the disparity between their A and B language proficiency, but also a result of their awareness of their language abilities, the tactics available to them and other norms they apply to their performance, as well as the speech structures of their working languages.
This study not only sheds lights on the differences of performance and strategy use among interpreters working with different language directions, but can also contribute to the design of more effective interpreting teaching programs.
Key word：directionality simultaneous interpreting strategy use
I Introduction
Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a kind of translation that constituted by orally translating the message heard in one language into another language immediately and continuously, and at the meanwhile the message will not stop being produced. SI is a complicated cognitive activity which requires listening to what the speaker says and transferring it immediately into another language, listening to the speaker’’s next message, storing the message in mind before retrieving it for interpretation, and supervising his or her own production, all at the same time. Being extraordinarily proficient in at least two languages is the prerequisite for performing simultaneous interpreting.
Interpreters are often supposed to have perfect command of their working languages. Whereas psycholinguistic studies have shown that, even for advanced learners of a second language, the comprehension and production processes in the second language (L2) often differ from the first language (L1), to some extent we can get a hypothesis that simultaneous interpreting from L1 to L2 and from L2 to L1 may have different processes and result in different products.
This study also focused on the impact of language direction on interpreters’’ strategy use, an important factor affecting interpreting performance. Professional interpreters are known for skillful use of a variety of strategies. Many strategies, such as anticipation or segmentation, are indispensable parts in interpreter training programs. Because those tactics can be used to reduce the cognitive demands imposed by the SI task or to help cope with emergencies in the process of interpreting. Adapting a definition provided by Kalina, strategy use can be defined in this study as any goal-oriented, potentially conscious employment of tactics designed to overcome the processing problems interpreters encountered during simultaneous interpreting. This definition involves interpreters’’ responses to any problems occurring during the stages of comprehension, translation, or production, such as anticipating, restructuring, or generalizing. Professional interpreters may also behave differently from student interpreters when it comes to simultaneous interpreting in different directions. This study not only sheds light on the differences in performance and strategy use between interpreters working with different language directions, but also can contribute to design of more effective training program. Moreover, by furthering our understanding of the role that L1 and L2 proficiency plays in this unique form of communication, this study may also contribute to the research on bilingualism and second language acquisition in general.
Acknowledgements
Many people have contributed to this dissertation. First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs. Zhao yun-shan. Throughout this dissertation, she has not only been the greatest mentor but also the most supportive friend. Without her expert guidance, warm encouragement, and enthusiastic support, this dissertation would not have been possible. From her, I have seen a teacher who truly cares about her students’’ growth and progress, a mentor who provides not only intellectual but mental support. The dissertation would not have been accomplished without the help of many friends. I am grateful to Zhou Ying, Andy and many other people who have taken time out of their busy schedules to help me along the way. Finally, my greatest appreciation is reserved for my parents, who have provided me with the opportunity to receive a good education, with the encouragement to move on when I faced difficulties. It is their love support and companionship that have made this four-year journey to my degree possible. I dedicate this dissertation to them.
References：
\[1\]Donovan,C.Survey of conference interpreters on SI into B\[J\].2002．
\[2\]Gile,D.Testing the effort models’ tightrope hypothesis in simultaneous interpreting-A contribution\[M\].1999.23.153-171．
\[3\]Gile，D.Norms in research on conference interpreting.Translation and norms\[M\].1999.Hoosain，R..Psychological reality of the word in Chinese\[M\].1992．
\[4\]Kroll，J. F.，Steward，E..Category interference in translation and picture naming：Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory\[J\].1994．
\[5\]Kalina，M.Discourse processing and interpreting strategies:An approach to the teaching of interpreting\[M\].1992．
\[6\]Kohn，K.，Kalina，S.The strategic dimension of interpreting\[M\].1996.
\[7\]Moser-Mercer，B..Simultaneous interpreting：Cognitive potential and limitations. Interpreting\[M\].
Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a kind of translation that constituted by orally translating the message heard in one language into another language immediately and continuously, and at the meanwhile the message will not stop being produced. The unique characteristics of simultaneous interpretation and the various factors that will have great impact on the procession and performance of Chinese/English SI were taken into discussion. It should be noted that unlike in daily communication situations, comprehension and production are often overlapping in simultaneous interpreting. Concurrent comprehension of the source language and production of the target language is perhaps the most unique characteristic of the SI task.
Drawn from the effort model proposed by Gile, simultaneous interpreting is accomplished by the sharing of four major efforts: listening and analyzing, production, memory, and coordination. In other words, while a comprehension problem will have a negative effect on production, a production problem also has consequences for comprehension.
In this study I illustrate arguments for interpreting of L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 language respectively, described the studies about interpreters’’ strategy use and the relationship between language direction and SI strategy use. Interpreters’’ performance of simultaneous interpreting in different directions was determined by a few factors, including the context, personal factors, and interpreting norms.
Studies showed that professional interpreters who must interpret regularly and simultaneously in both directions may develop strategic approaches to meet the different demands of A-to-B and B-to-A interpreting. Strategy use can be defined in this study as any goal-oriented, potentially conscious employment of tactics designed to overcome the processing problems interpreters encountered during simultaneous interpreting. This definition involves interpreters’’ responses to any problems occurring during the stages of comprehension, translation, or production. As demonstrated in this study, strategies were applied throughout the interpreting as a general approach to the interpreting task, namely anticipating, restructuring, generalizing, visualizing and among others. The difference in interpreters’’ performances seems not only to be a result of the disparity between their A and B language proficiency, but also a result of their awareness of their language abilities, the tactics available to them and other norms they apply to their performance, as well as the speech structures of their working languages.
This study not only sheds lights on the differences of performance and strategy use among interpreters working with different language directions, but can also contribute to the design of more effective interpreting teaching programs.
Key word：directionality simultaneous interpreting strategy use
I Introduction
Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a kind of translation that constituted by orally translating the message heard in one language into another language immediately and continuously, and at the meanwhile the message will not stop being produced. SI is a complicated cognitive activity which requires listening to what the speaker says and transferring it immediately into another language, listening to the speaker’’s next message, storing the message in mind before retrieving it for interpretation, and supervising his or her own production, all at the same time. Being extraordinarily proficient in at least two languages is the prerequisite for performing simultaneous interpreting.
Interpreters are often supposed to have perfect command of their working languages. Whereas psycholinguistic studies have shown that, even for advanced learners of a second language, the comprehension and production processes in the second language (L2) often differ from the first language (L1), to some extent we can get a hypothesis that simultaneous interpreting from L1 to L2 and from L2 to L1 may have different processes and result in different products.
This study also focused on the impact of language direction on interpreters’’ strategy use, an important factor affecting interpreting performance. Professional interpreters are known for skillful use of a variety of strategies. Many strategies, such as anticipation or segmentation, are indispensable parts in interpreter training programs. Because those tactics can be used to reduce the cognitive demands imposed by the SI task or to help cope with emergencies in the process of interpreting. Adapting a definition provided by Kalina, strategy use can be defined in this study as any goal-oriented, potentially conscious employment of tactics designed to overcome the processing problems interpreters encountered during simultaneous interpreting. This definition involves interpreters’’ responses to any problems occurring during the stages of comprehension, translation, or production, such as anticipating, restructuring, or generalizing. Professional interpreters may also behave differently from student interpreters when it comes to simultaneous interpreting in different directions. This study not only sheds light on the differences in performance and strategy use between interpreters working with different language directions, but also can contribute to design of more effective training program. Moreover, by furthering our understanding of the role that L1 and L2 proficiency plays in this unique form of communication, this study may also contribute to the research on bilingualism and second language acquisition in general.
Acknowledgements
Many people have contributed to this dissertation. First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs. Zhao yun-shan. Throughout this dissertation, she has not only been the greatest mentor but also the most supportive friend. Without her expert guidance, warm encouragement, and enthusiastic support, this dissertation would not have been possible. From her, I have seen a teacher who truly cares about her students’’ growth and progress, a mentor who provides not only intellectual but mental support. The dissertation would not have been accomplished without the help of many friends. I am grateful to Zhou Ying, Andy and many other people who have taken time out of their busy schedules to help me along the way. Finally, my greatest appreciation is reserved for my parents, who have provided me with the opportunity to receive a good education, with the encouragement to move on when I faced difficulties. It is their love support and companionship that have made this four-year journey to my degree possible. I dedicate this dissertation to them.
References：
\[1\]Donovan,C.Survey of conference interpreters on SI into B\[J\].2002．
\[2\]Gile,D.Testing the effort models’ tightrope hypothesis in simultaneous interpreting-A contribution\[M\].1999.23.153-171．
\[3\]Gile，D.Norms in research on conference interpreting.Translation and norms\[M\].1999.Hoosain，R..Psychological reality of the word in Chinese\[M\].1992．
\[4\]Kroll，J. F.，Steward，E..Category interference in translation and picture naming：Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory\[J\].1994．
\[5\]Kalina，M.Discourse processing and interpreting strategies:An approach to the teaching of interpreting\[M\].1992．
\[6\]Kohn，K.，Kalina，S.The strategic dimension of interpreting\[M\].1996.
\[7\]Moser-Mercer，B..Simultaneous interpreting：Cognitive potential and limitations. Interpreting\[M\].