Chapter 1

An Overview of the Discipline

 Introduction
• Interpretation is one of the oldest professions since the evolution of
languages.

• Communication among different communities speaking different

languages was documented throughout history.

Example of interpreting: in the early Muslim state when Prophet

Muhammad (pbuh) sent messengers to neighboring empires, for instance
Rome, Persia, and Egypt. Those messengers could speak one language
and the hosting empire used to provide an interpreter.
Importance of interpreting
• Throughout history, interpreting played a vital role in different eras
and for many purposes (e.g., conquerors, missionaries, and
merchants).
• Today:
1) with the increase of multilingual conferences in various fields such
as academia, business, marketing, art, etc. interpreting has become
vital in getting international parties together.
2) The movement of people from one country to another in search of
better opportunities and a better living, whether politically or
financially, has created societies that are multicultural.
 Definition of Interpreting
1. “Interlingual [from one language to another] transfer of a message using the spoken
or sign medium, in a given situation of communication.”

This definition distinguishes interpreting from translation in terms of medium. Translation being
written and interpretation being spoken or sign.

2. “A form of translation in which a first and a final rendition in another language is

produced on the basis of a one-time presentation of an utterance in a source language.”

Unlike translation, in interpreting one must rely on her/his memory for rendering a given message
into the TL with no possibility of using a dictionary or having a chance to edit what she/he has
done.

In interpretation the context, skills, and modes of delivery used to transfer a message from one
language to another vary considerably than in written translation.
3. “Interpreting is a discourse process in which interpreters are active
participants who need to know about and understand interactional
behavior as well as explicit ways in which languages and cultures use
language.”

Interpreters need to understand the nature of social situations, being conscious

of discourse processes, and knowing and recognizing ways of using language.

In interpreting, the knowledge of language (syntactic, structures, vocabulary,

etc.) is as important as context (dialects, register, setting, speaker’s goal, etc.)
and content (theme, topic, and event).

Interpreting is related to different fields such as linguistics, culture, psychology,

technology, health, business, politics, and law.
 Interpreting VS Translation

Translation Intrpretation
Written Spoken
Research based Work under pressure
Require patience and perfectionism Public speaking skills
Tools (Refences, dictionaries, Computer Assisted Tools (note cards, interpreting equipment).
Technology tools).
 Types of interpreting

By mode By context

Simultaneous Interpreting Conference Interpreting

In a booth with headsets; conference and court setting

Consecutive Interpreting
Court Interpreting
Not sentence by sentence; involves note taking; one
direction
Medical Interpreting (community
Liaison Interpreting (community interpreting) Interpreting)
Both directions; informal; Smaller chunks; no note
taking; visible mediating context; less formal
Business Interpreting
Whispered Interpreting
chuchotage: interpretation in a whisper
Media Interpreting
Sight Interpreting
Oral translation of written text while reading in silence.
 Simultaneous Interpreting
• Oral interpretation where both speakers and their interpreters speak at the
same time.

• Interpreters work in soundproof booths.

• Interpreter’s voice is only heard through headsets.

• Most effective in conferences and large meetings.

• Fast pace.
 Consecutive Interpreting
• Interpreters wait until a full sentence, or a short paragraph is spoken before
starting to interpret.

• One speaker at a time.

• Involves listening to a whole chunk of words and taking notes.

• Once the speaker pauses, the interpreter starts giving the content of the spoken
message based on the notes taken and from memory.

• Due to the many pauses and switching between speaker and interpreter, it can
be boring and distracting especially for listeners who know both languages.
 Liaison Interpreting
• Also called community interpreting, dialogue interpreting, escort interpreting, or public service
interpreting.

• Used for community interpreting in informal situations.

• The interpreter liaises between two or more people as a language facilitator.

• Can be used in hospitals to help doctors.

• Can be used in court to help lawyers.

• Can be used in providing social services.

• Important features:
• The physical proximity of interpreter and clients.
• Interpreting into both language directions is necessary.
 Whispered Interpreting
• Uses Chuchotage (The interpretation or translation of speech in a whisper to
a single person in proximity to other people).
• One-to-one or one-to-two interpreting.

• Used when one or two people need personal, individual assistance to

understand a given discourse.

• The interpreter sits beside or behind the person needing the interpretation
and whispers what is said in the appropriate language.

• Used in settings such as political meetings (ex. presidents & world leaders).
 Sight Interpreting
• A written text is silently scanned and read and then an oral presentation is
given in the target language.

• Conducted while reading.

• Used in hospitals where doctors and patients need to know the content of
medical reports written in other languages.

• Used in courts where judges need immediate oral translations of witness

statements or written material in a different language.
 Conference Interpreting
• Used in conference settings.

• Interpreter can use simultaneous interpretation by interpreting from a

booth to anyone listening from a headset.

• Interpreter can use consecutive interpretation by waiting until a full

sentence, or a short paragraph is spoken before starting to interpret.
 Court Interpreting
• Oral interpretation of speech from one language to another in a legal setting.

• Maybe done in the following modes:

• Consecutive (Interpreters wait until a full sentence, or a short paragraph is spoken
before starting to interpret).

• Simultaneous (Oral interpretation where both speakers and their interpreters speak at
the same time).

• Chuchotage (The interpretation or translation of speech in a whisper to a single person

in proximity to other people).

• Sight (A written text is silently scanned and read and then an oral presentation is given
in the target language).
 Medical Interpreting
• Also called Community interpreting.

• Used to facilitate oral communication at hospitals between patients and

doctors who speak different languages.

• Mostly done in the Consecutive mode (Interpreters wait until a full

sentence, or a short paragraph is spoken before starting to interpret).

• For medical reports and tests Sight interpreting maybe used (A written text
is silently scanned and read and then an oral presentation is given in the
target language).
 Business Interpreting
• Two or more businesspeople discuss business matters through an
interpreter.

• Includes liaison interpreting (The interpreter informally liaises between two

or more people as a language facilitator).

• Interpreting settings range from arts, sports, tourism, and recreation to

patent negotiations or government-to-government meetings and
delegations.
Interpreting research
• Two directions of interpreting research since the 1960s:
• Interpreting as a process.
• Interpreting as a community activity.

• Most works focused on either neurolinguistics (the branch of linguistics dealing

with the relationship between language and the structure and functioning of the brain)
or the cognitive (the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and
understanding through thought, experience, and the senses) aspects of conference
interpreting.
• In the neurolinguistics direction: research tried to examine the function of the body
language or explore whether interpreters work better when they listen to the speaker
through the left ear or the right one.

• In the cognitive domain: researchers focused on issues like memory, attention span,
phonological interference, or the impact of speech difficulties such as heavy accents
on the interpreter’s performance.
• Interpreting is still under research for the complicated mental processes that take
place while speaking and listening simultaneously.

• Elements that could make the process of interpreting hard:

• The complexities of maintaining the language structures of the speaker.
• The complexities of maintaining the content of the message.
• The complexities of maintaining language comprehension and production.
• Communication and social patterns.

• Some elements make research on interpreting a bit easier:

• The development of methods of empirical scientific disciplines (large fields in science).
• Software that can process data collected accurately and quickly.

• Challenge to researchers:
• Confidential reasons and lack of professional interpreters make it hard to obtain authentic
interpreted data.
• Interpreters are reluctant to agree to have their work investigated by researchers.
• Research areas interlinked with interpreting:
• Culture
• Cognitive studies (ex. neurolinguistics, brain and memory functioning, etc.).
• Behavioral studies (ex. note-taking techniques, eye-contact, etc.).
• Linguistic studies (language structures, style, etc.).
• Social studies (negotiation of power among participants, politeness, etc.).
• Interpreter training (professional and trainee interpreters).
• Quality assessment (voice quality, speed, pauses, grammatical errors, etc.).
• Special kinds of interpreting (court interpreting, etc.).

• In addition to the linguistic, contextual and cultural variables, behavioral

variation based on gender, class, education and age could have a strong
impact on research in interpretation.