Date post: | 02-Jun-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | javier-puerto-benito |
View: | 226 times |
Download: | 1 times |
of 24
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
1/24
This article was downloaded by: [88.15.196.196]On: 09 October 2014, At: 00:57Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
The Interpreter and Translator TrainerPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ritt20
A Simplified Multi-model Approach to
Preparatory Training in Consecutive
InterpretingRobert Neal Baxter
a
aUniversity of Vigo, Galiza, Spain
Published online: 12 Feb 2014.
To cite this article:Robert Neal Baxter (2012) A Simplified Multi-model Approach to Preparatory
Training in Consecutive Interpreting, The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 6:1, 21-43, DOI:
10.1080/13556509.2012.10798828
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2012.10798828
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (theContent) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to orarising out of the use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms
& Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2012.10798828http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2012.10798828http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/13556509.2012.10798828http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ritt208/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
2/24
The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 6(1), 2012, 21-43
ISSN: 1750-399X St. Jerome Publishing, Manchester
A Simplified Multi-model Approach to
Preparatory Training in Consecutive
Interpreting
Robert Neal Baxter
University of Vigo, Galiza, Spain
Abstract.With the onset of the new Bologna framework, pre-
paratory training is set to become the backbone of undergraduate
interpreter teaching. Based on over fifteen years of teachingexperience, this paper offers an overview of the approach used
for basic training in consecutive interpreting, designed to provide
a solid grounding for would-be interpreters before moving on to
more advanced, professional-standard training. Bringing together
what are sometimes seen as contradictory theoretical models,
used here as purely pedagogical tools, rather than focusing on
recall and translation, the approach described focuses on a sim-
plified two-step model geared to active listening and production,
underpinned by the concept of the rational management of finitecognitive resources (effort) within the framework of the minimax
strategy. The paper also introduces and discusses the advantages
of the key concepts of knowledge mobilization (in the processing
stage) and the principle of simplicity (in the production stage).
Keywords.Preparatory training, Efforts model, Minimax strategy, Mobiliz-
ing knowledge, Principle of simplicity.
This paper provides an overview of the methodology developed over 15 years
of experience in preparatory teaching of consecutive interpreting within the
framework of the graduate degree in Translation and Interpreting offered at
the University of Vigo since 1992 (Baxter 2008). Despite a series of signifi-
cant structural modifications (Alonso Bacigalupe 2005:193), the approach
employed remains equally well-suited to the new Bologna Process.
Within this new framework, three compulsory, practice-oriented founda-
tion courses in interpreting are introduced in the third year, with a total of6 credits each: simultaneous (SI), consecutive (CI) and liaison interpreting.
In their fourth and final year, students then have the possibility to follow
up their basic training with a series of three optional courses in advanced
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
3/24
22 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
SI, advanced CI and interpreting from their second foreign language.1It is
important to stress that the approach described is not intended to lead to
professional-level proficiency, but rather to provide novice students who
have a background in translation with the basic skills they require in order
to fully appreciate what is involved in interpreting. Once the essential con-
cepts have been grasped and the basic skills mastered, students who aspire
to work as professional interpreters will be prepared to move on to more
advanced, professional-standard training available through optional subjects
and specialized masters degrees.
The methodology outlined is considered appropriate to preparatory phase
training as described by Ilg and Lambert (1996:73):
Teaching consecutive interpretation is one step in a chain of
successive learning situations designed to develop the skill of com-
municating orally between two languages .... CI should not be taught
right from the start because it presupposes students already have the
ability to carry messages across linguistic barriers. This must first
be taught and acquired: in simplified, didactically oriented settings.
Such initial training is of vital importance as it lays the foundations for
further progress, paving the way for full professional training. With the
advent of the new curricular reforms introduced by the Bologna Process,
basic training is set to become the backbone of undergraduate interpreter
training, as Arum Ribas (2010:42) suggests when she argues that inter-
preter training has evolved in the direction of a more general training which
places great importance on the techniques and preparatory exercises for the
various interpreting modalities most demanded in the job market today.
The approach described offers a user-friendly model, easily understood by
first-time interpreting trainees, which accurately reflects both the wider CI
setting and the CI-specific phases, whilst at the same time attending to the
skills required to perform the tasks involved.Much of the literature seems to present CI teaching as a collection of exer-
cises for the acquisition of specific microskills, such as the twelve preparatory
exercises described in Ilg and Lambert (1996:76), ranging from listening and
memory exercises and processing of digits, proper names, technical words
and acronyms to anticipation exercises. However, rather than building upon
a series of microskills, what is followed here is the methodology applicable
to both SI and CI outlined in Alonso Bacigalupe (1999; 2009), where inter-
preting is seen as a macrotaskmade up of a three main subskills(listening,
memory and note-taking in phase I, followed by production, memory andnote reading in phase II). The methodology described here hinges on three
1Full course details available at http://webs.uvigo.es/vicprof/index.php?option=com_co
ntent&task=view&id=1495&Itemid=572&lang=gl (accessed 30 December 2011).
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
4/24
Robert Neal Baxter 23
main guiding principles, namely: CI as an essentially natural process; the
implications of a user-oriented approach, and the usefulness of the concept
of effortas applied to CI. Each of these translates in practical terms into
a series of strategies put into practice via specific classroom exercises. In
order to mirror the actual CI process as closely as possible from the outset,
all skills are applied to actual texts to be analyzed and/or interpreted in such
a way as to reflect the interplay of the strategies derived from the main
guiding principles (Iliescu Gheorgiu 2001:40); for example, comprehen-
sion is a prerequisite to processing and analysis of the source text, critical
understanding and analysis of the source text serves as the basic script for
the target text, and so on.
A word of caution is in order regarding the way in which different and
ostensibly competing models are made to converge. Broadly speaking, thereexists a certain divide in the field of interpreting studies between those who
defend a deep, meaning-oriented explanation of the interpreting process
(thorie du sens) and others who advocate at least partially more translation-
based approaches that rely on the notion of formal equivalence. However,
as Gile notes (2003:62-63):
When considering deverbalisation in practical Translation terms,
as opposed to academic theories, there is probably a much larger
common denominator between the various schools of thought amongprofessionals than might be inferred from the theoretical literature,
which tends to stress differences.
Barring the innovative use of languages other than the students main
working languages, the aim of this paper is not to propose any new exercises
as such, but rather to provide a broad guiding framework for initial training
courses. This approach is informed by an over-arching framework that brings
together potentially contradictory theoretical postulates in a very pragmatic
way, allowing students to shift between theories, depending on the circum-stances, in order to find the best solution possible to any given problem. From
this perspective, the approach draws on both models, reclaimed as purely
heuristic tools, and is not intended as either an indictment or an endorsement
of either as a descriptive theory of actual processes of professional interpret-
ing. In other words, this article is exclusively concerned with the practical
usefulness of any given model as applied to the initial teaching and learning
process. The approach adopted is intended to provide students with a multi-
farious yet simple conceptual structure designed to heighten their awareness
of the various strategic options available in the early stages of interpretingpractice, as described by Gile (2003:62) in terms of a prescriptive paradigm
in reply to Djean Le Fal (2002:146). Therefore, apparently conflicting and
contradictory elements such as translation and language play can be made
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
5/24
24 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
to sit happily within a wider context of the underlying meaningfulness of
segments, with the former serving as a set of tactical devices set within a
broader conceptual framework of deverbalization-reverbalizationas an
underlying guiding strategy.
1. Consecutive interpreting as a natural process
In order to help students appreciate what is involved in interpreting, it is
important to underline that while SI violates the rules of natural discourse
and requires the acquisition of a specific, counter-intuitive technique that
involves talking over someone else, the techniques and skills involved in CI
are not in fact specific to it. Indeed, the basic CI process can be described as
natural inasmuch as it is something that people in general perform regularly
(Bowen and Bowen 1980/1984:21).With a view to building on as solid a base as possible, during the first
interpreting class students are requested to provide a rough-and-ready def-
inition of what they believe CI involves in order to dispel common myths
which potentially lead to apprehension and impede progress, namely that the
defining components of CI are essentially: (a) memory, (b) translation, and
(c) note-taking. Such common misconceptions are echoed in authoritative
manuals and serve only to further dismay trainees by detracting from the idea
that CI is something they basically already know how to do. Nolan (2005:3),
for example, explains the process as follows:
A consecutive interpreter listens to the speaker, takes notes, and then
reproduces the speech in the target language. The consecutive
interpreter relies mainly on memory, but good note-taking technique
is an essential aid.
While these elements certainly do feature prominently in any professional CI
setting, the approach argued for here does not consider them to be an integral
part of the basis of the CI processper se, which is understood instead moresimply in terms of telling someone else something that had previously been
told to them by another person.
Realizing that at the very basic level CI involves nothing more, in es-
sence, than fine-tuning something that the students are already familiar with
and capable of also helps to reduce nervousness (Russell 2005:143), thereby
helping to improve overall confidence, the key to improved performance.
Furthermore, becoming aware that they are starting from a pre-existing base
rather than from scratch also helps pave the way for progression in the acqui-
sition of more specific techniques and strategies. The first lesson can thus beused productively to encourage students to find situations where they carry
out this process in their everyday lives, for example, when reporting back on
a phone conversation to a third party. In cases such as these, it also becomes
clear that the original message is not intentionally memorized, and that the
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
6/24
Robert Neal Baxter 25
relayed (interpreted) message is naturally tailored to fit the perceived needs
of the receiver. In everyday situations such as these, the sequence of events,
the role and number of players and the basic relaying process involved are to
all intents and purposes similar enough to the basic CI process to be useful
as a starting point.
Another classroom exercise I have found useful involves asking one of
the students in the second session to report back on the contents of the first
session to any newcomers, for example in relation to timetables, groups, ma-
terials required, office hours, etc. In both cases, recall is inevitably involved
(in the latter case, unlike the actual CI process, long-term memory is also
involved). But once again, the focus is not on initially trying to memorize
the information with a view to relaying it later to a third party, but rather on
understanding, processing and appropriating the message before adapting
it to the perceived needs of the target receiver. This quintessentially natu-
ral character of CI at the basic level forms the mainstay of the approach
described and must be firmly and repeatedly impressed upon the students
from the beginning.
In the very early stages, the basic CI process can be seen as involving
verbalization-deverbalization-reverbalization as described in the thorie du
sensdeveloped by Seleskovitch, which can be profitably used as a peda-
gogical tool for preparatory training, as demonstrated by Gile (2003). As
illustrated by the previously described classroom exercises taken from real-
life, linguistic transfer is if not irrelevant at least marginal or incidental
to the actual CI process. Seleskovitch argues along the same lines (1975:163;
my translation):
strange as it may seem, the fact that the message must be expressed
in another language is of only incidental importance to interpreting.
Once the ideas conveyed by the original have been assimilated, they
can then be reformulated in any given language that the interpreter
is familiar with: interpretation never involves transposition at the
linguistic level.
In practical terms, what this means is that initial exercises should avoid in-
terlinguistic transfer (translation) in order to focus on the cognitive aspects
(Lambert 1986) involved in understanding and processing the originalLambert 1986) involved in understanding and processing the originalinvolved in understanding and processing the original
message; this is essential if the message is to be relayed effectively. Once
understanding/analysis and production can be performed satisfactorily in the
students A language, teachers can move on to integrate the interlinguistic
aspect required of any real professional situation, in monolateral (B-A) situ-
ations before progressing to active production in their B language in bilateralscenarios (B-A-B).2
2A fully annotated selection of the types of text used is available at http://sites.google.
com/site/nealsweb/my-forms (accessed 30 December 2011).
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
7/24
26 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
Full mastery of and fluency in their working languages are obviously
essential prerequisites for any would-be professional interpreters, to which
end the linguistic transfer variable is introduced as soon as possible into the
course. Language skills per seare not, however, seen as being central or
specific to the CI process and are not directly dealt with in this approach,
other than to provide students with strategies designed to help overcome
linguistic limitations, primarily by erring on the side of caution and simplic-
ity. It is fair to assume that undergraduate students have a sufficient basic
mastery of their working languages, and while learning to work within their
range of limitations during any specific interpreting event, they should also
continually seek to improve their linguistic skills and proficiency.
2. A user-oriented approach
In order to provide a very simple model which reflects actual professional
practice, the distinct teaching phases are designed to mirror as closely as pos-
sible the phases of the interpreting process itself. Here I depart from Bowen
and Bowens (1980/1984) classic three-phase model in order to reflect the
overall three-player (speaker-interpreter-listener) interpreting setting more
closely, whilst at the same time drawing a clear distinction between the situ-
ation itself and the actual interpreting phases through which the interpreter
proceeds within this wider chain of events: (a) ST production, (b) (ST recep-
tion) interpretation (TT production), and (c) TT reception.
Figure 1. Chain of interpretation phases
As Figure 1 shows, the apparently complex overall situation involving
several variables, as indicated by the three-player triangle, can ultimately be
reduced to a remarkably simple two-step interpreting process as far as the
interpreter is concerned, basically comprising nothing more than processing
the ST, involving active listening(i.e. aural comprehension and discourseanalysis), followed by delivery(i.e. production of the TT).3Indeed, there is
3For reasons of completeness, the schema also includes a third element (recall) which falls
outside the actual scope of the main process. Memory and recall are discussed in more detail
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
8/24
Robert Neal Baxter 27
a generally agreed consensus (Albl-Mikasa 2008:198) that the simple two-
step chain of comprehension/analysis-production is the key to successful
consecutive interpreting, as Jones explains (1998:12):
To express ideas clearly and effectively, you must first have them
clear in your own mind. It follows that if you wish to re-express
someone elses ideas without having the possibility of repeating them
word for word which is the case for the interpreter then you must
make a clear, structured analysis of them. And to make that analysis
you have to understand the individual ideas that are the basic building
blocks of a speakers line of reasoning.
For this reason, I follow Seleskovitch and Lederer in insisting that [f]irst
and foremost, teachers must encourage students to pay attention to the mean-
ing of what is being said. When fully mastered, this becomes the basis of
interpretation as a whole (1989:16; my translation).
The learning process is gradual and involves a series of steps which must
be mastered and automated before moving on to the next. The first step
involves textual analysis of ST contents and structure as an indication of
full textual comprehension. In order to focus on the key need to foster full
comprehension and analysis before moving on to the TT production phase,
teaching is subdivided into two phases, corresponding to the distinction
established by Jones (1998:12), i.e.: an initial phase centred exclusively on
comprehension and analysis of the narrative and chronological structure of
the source text, and a second phase dealing in more detail with the way the
source text could be restructured. In interpreting settings, meaning, however
abstract in itself, is expressed using language. For example, the experiment
in fidelity described in Gile (1995:50-53) shows how the same simple idea
expressed as an image can be rendered linguistically in a range of seman-
tically equivalent or similar ways. Students are encouraged to identify the
thematic subject, object and main verb of each segment and to arrange themin the unmarked syntactic order of the target language (S-V-O, etc.), turning
passive sentences into active sentence wherever possible and splitting rela-
tive and subordinate clauses into new sentences for greater clarity in order
to determine who did what to whom, when, how and for what reasons.
Text analysis is performed initially without linguistic transfer (A language
ST A language TT), using short local items taken from newspapers. Typ-ically, these stories are constructed in a non-linear way and with a profusion
of potentially non-pertinent information. The following example shows a
typical analysis of a simple ST for initial CI training.
later in the article in order to avoid detracting from the basic simple two-step model.
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
9/24
28 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
Example 1 (translated from Galician4):
A woman aged 69, O.S.S. from San Xurxo
de Sacos in Cotobade dies of drowning atPortocelo Beach in the borough of Marn
in Pontevedra.
According to eye witness accounts, the
body revealed a slight blow to the head,
although this appears not to have been
the cause of death.
Emergency services stated that the in-
cident had occurred at 13:00 when out
walking with her husband.
Most of the following information
can be deemed irrelevant in non-specialized contexts (see Footnote
11): her initials (she is not identified),
and place names which are unfamil-
iar even to people from other parts of
the same Province of Galiza.
Misleading information: it has al-
ready been established how she died.
It is unnecessary to provide a list of
other unlikely causes of death.
Chronologically this information
could easily have been integrated
into the first paragraph, if deemed
relevant.
With no instructions given to students regarding how they are to proceed,
the text is read out once in its entirety and students are required to provide
an oral synthesis. This almost inevitably results in failure due to a misguided
attempt to memorize all of the material and then translate it. Having seen
firsthand that shallow, memory-based approaches are unfeasible at this stage
of their training, students are reminded once again of the two-step process
involved in the natural CI model, with active listening and analysis as the first
step. The same text is then reread a second time, section by section, calling
on one student to analyze each section and produce a synthesized version.
The teacher provides guidance during this process, with participation from
the rest of the class. This deeper analysis reveals that the basic contents of
the ST are significantly easier to grasp, retain and relay than a superficial
analysis would tend to suggest.
In order to focus on ST analysis, emphasis is initially placed almost
exclusively on the way the ST is processed rather than on the production of
the TT. As the students progress in their ability to analyze the ST, emphasis
shifts to their expression in the TT production phase in their A language
before finally moving on to the same exercise using B-A translation. At the
TT production level, attention can then be focused on the principle of sim-
plicity described more fully below. The success of any interpretation relies
on an adequate understanding of each CI situation, with special attention to
the target public.
4The original text is from Galicia Hoxe(29 September 2009). Available at http://www.
elcorreogallego.es/indexSuplementos.php?idEdicion=1489&idMenu=17&idNoticia=47
0007 (accessed 10 January 2012).
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
10/24
Robert Neal Baxter 29
One of the main features which set interpretation apart from written transla-
tion is its immediacy: unlike the reader of a translation who operates in deferred
time vis--visthe ST and can freeze the text as and when necessary, the receiver
of the interpreted message cannot deliberate on the (translated) message relayed
and received in real time. This calls for a clearly user-oriented approach,
where quality has been defined as user satisfaction (Kurz 2001:407). It
means that the production phase is essentially driven by the perceived re-
quirements of the public, regarding not only contents/structure as dealt with
in previous sections, but also other, more formal elements such as register,
smooth delivery, and so on. In short, our ultimate goal must obviously be
to satisfy our audience (Djean Le Fal 1990:155).
Many variables can come into play when gauging user expectations
(ekov 1998:166-67). Drawing on the findings reported in Moser (1996)in relation to simultaneous interpreting, it is possible to extrapolate a certainnumber of key desiderata that can be extended to CI, including terminologi-
cal accuracy, faithfulness to meaning, rhetorical skills, and control of voice,
among others.
2.1 Situation management
European guidelines for convergence in higher education include a series of
competences.5
In compliance with European and Spanish guidelines, theUniversity of Vigo distinguishes between three types of strategy defined as
saber(tacit knowledge),saber facer(know-how/skills) andsaber estar/ser
(conduct). However, for the purposes of basic CI training, it is useful to draw
a simple two-way distinction between the two main complementary aspects,
referred to as attitude vs. aptitude.6
Students often see interpretation as more challenging than written transla-
tion, with which they are more familiar, both as would-be practitioners and
consumers. However, interpreters are at an advantage vis--vis translators
because they are able to see who their target audience is. This places themin a potentially better position to deploy not only their aptitude(technical
5Competence includes: i) cognitive competence involving the use of theory and concepts,as well as informal tacit knowledge gained experientially; ii) functional competence
(skills or know-how), those things that a person should be able to do when they are
functioning in a given area of work, learning or social activity; iii) personal competence
involving knowing how to conduct oneself in a specific situation; and iv) ethical com-
petence involving the possession of certain personal and professional values (European
Commission 2005:11) .6Despite possible confusions with the usual meaning ascribed to the term aptitude, which
is used in the literature to refer to innate talent for interpreting, it is maintained here as a
useful mnemonic device with the meaning of knowledge of technique, as opposed to the
way interpreters react in order to apply this knowledge creatively in situ(attitude).
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
11/24
30 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
skills) but also their attitude(evaluating the implications of the situation).
Understanding this and bearing it in mind when making strategic decisions is
the key to successfully complying with the user-oriented approach defended
here. In short, interpreters should not attempt to blandly transmit the contents
of the ST, but rather to shape their TT based on full awareness and appraisal of
the relationships which bind the three elements of the interpreting/translation
triad. In order to do this, students must take into account who is talking to
whom, contrasting how the speaker of the ST intends to relate to his or her
public and the way they themselves interact with their TT public. The aim
at all times should be to understand their audiences needs and expectations
(including cultural factors) in order to gauge the effects of their TT.
While equally applicable to SI, the situationality factor is particularly
salient in many instances of CI, and better suited to more intimate situationssuch as bilateral and community interpreting which provide greater leeway
for interpreters to interact and intervene in accordance with the situational
needs as they see them. For example, as Jones (1998:38) explains, it is
perfectly legitimate for the interpreter to benefit from the fact that they are
working in consecutive and put a question to the speaker. Consecutive
interpreters are often more highly visible than simultaneous conference
interpreters, which can make them potentially more vulnerable. By taking
the situational factors into account, interpreters can present themselves as
figures of confidence rather than a source of irritation, lulling their listenersinto a sense of security regarding the content of the interaction, and thereby
shielding themselves from mistrust.
A cursory overview such as this does not lend itself to an in-depth dis-
cussion regarding the role of the interpreter and the ethics of interpreter
(in)visibility. In line with the overall philosophy adopted here, interpreter
invisibility is not seen as a question of being in favour of or against a visibly
active role. Instead, students are taught to become aware of the way they
behave and to be prepared to take a back seat when they feel it is the most
advisable course of action but do not forego the right to adopt a more proactiverole when required by the circumstances. They are thus taught to gauge and
manage situations which require direct intervention. This has the double
advantage of facilitating an impression of direct communication between the
main parties involved, whilst at the same time mitigating the interpreters
own vulnerability as an extraneous element interrupting the desired natural
flow of discourse. By consciously adopting a flexible attitude in terms of
situation management, trainee interpreters learn to fulfil their duties towards
the three members which make up the interpreting triad: the receiver(s), the
speaker and the interpreters themselves.Role play can be used effectively in the classroom to train students to
manage situations (Russell et al. 2010). In a role play setting, while one
student delivers a short speech to the rest of the class, another student acts
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
12/24
Robert Neal Baxter 31
as interpreter and has to begin by making a decision regarding where to sit
in order to interpret effectively and how to go about making his or her needs
clear to the other parties involved. Interpreters may not always be able to
talk to speakers prior to an interpretation in order to discuss the best way
to proceed. Alternatively, in the heat of the moment, speakers may become
carried away and forget any pre-interpreting agreements with the inter-
preter regarding the need for pauses, etc. In such cases, the interpreter has
to interrupt the speaker in order to be able to perform their task adequately.
Such role play settings where the rest of the class is reliant on the skills of
the student acting as interpreter make it clear that the interpreter must find
ways of intervening. The need for direct interpreter intervention can then be
discussed. Once again, the emphasis is on the whole setting within which
the interpreting takes place rather than merely on the two-step interpretingprocessper se. Interpersonal skills needed to manage such situations are often
ignored by novice students in favour of more equivalence/translation-oriented
concerns, memorizing and note-taking skills, but are key to the success of
CI, and as such should not be overlooked or underestimated when teaching
basic CI techniques.
2.2. An effort-based approach
The efforts modelfirst introduced by Gile is a comprehensive model forboth SI and CI, as well as on-sight and written translation, and has been
extensively developed in both areas, specifically by Fettig (2009) for CI.
Gile (1995:161) defines effortas some sort of mental energy that is only
available in limited supply. Interpretation takes up almost all of this mental
energy, and sometimes requires more than is available, at which times per-
formance deteriorates.
Like everyone else, students have a finite amount of cognitive reserves
that they can deploy at any one time, and resources must therefore be as-
signed in a rational way in order to resolve priority tasks rather than spreadingresources too thinly over both important elements and trivia alike and failing
to complete any of the attempted tasks correctly. The principle of judiciously
employing a finite capital, understood in terms of the total effortinvested at
any one time and on any one element, is extremely useful for making students
aware that less quantity can mean more and better quality. The corollary is
that students need to take charge of their own TT based on an analysis of the
ST in order to decide what can and should be discarded in order to be able
to transmit the core message, rather than embarking on a futile attempt to
mechanically remember and translate the ST in its entirety.At the very simple level of introductory training, the practical application
of the notion of effortcan be taken to mean that students should be taught how
to minimize cluttering by getting rid of any chaff which leads to unnecessary
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
13/24
32 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
depletion of the total available cognitive capital at any one time, in order to
focus on the basic two-step process of active listening (comprehension and
analysis) followed by the production phase. The concept of effortbecomes
a powerful tool for successful early-stage CI training when combined with
the minimax strategy, comparable to the scales and chords when learning
to play the piano. These techniques alone will not be enough to provide
professional-standard performance (analogous to becoming a concert pian-
ist), which requires that basic skills become second-nature through further
specialized training. Here, the minimax strategyis taken as the overarching
conceptual framework from which more specific tactical principles, such as
the principle of simplicity, derive. Lev (1967:1179) was the first to use the
term minimax strategy: the translator resolves for that one of the possible
solutions which promises a maximum of effect with a minimum effort. Thatis to say, he intuitively resolves for theminimaxstrategy.Although heused
the term in the context of written translation, the strategy has specific practical
benefits for interpreters who interact directly with the recipients of their TT.
Having to listen to even the most experienced SI interpreter can be tiring,
and this situation is aggravated in the case of CI where the interpreter has to
intervene and interrupt the natural flow of interaction between the two parties.
This renders the consecutive interpreter more vulnerable than the unseen
simultaneous interpreter, safely hidden away in the booth. Every interven-
tion (potentially perceived as an interruption) on the part of the consecutiveinterpreter runs the risk of antagonizing the audience. At the same time, it is
clear that the more interpreters say, the more likely they are to make mistakes,
including grammatical errors when working into their B language.
Ideally, therefore, the less often interpreters have to intervene and speak
while rendering the core of the ST accurately the better for both their own
self-preservation and for the speaker and the audience. Interpreters can be
seen as a necessary evil by parties who would, were it not for the language
barrier, prefer to be able to communicate among themselves without the need
for an extraneous intermediary. By reducing intervention to a minimum, theself-effacing interpreter can blend into the background of the interaction,
helping maintain the pretence of one-on-one communication between the
speaker and the target public, thus complying with the user-oriented principle
described above, whilst at the same time remaining loyal to the speaker.
At the pre-production level, i.e. during the processing phase prior to em-
barking on TT production, the key to a successful application of the minimax
strategy lies in paring the ST down to the bare bones (Alexieva 1998:185),
by getting rid of the non-essential information (Lambert 1986:794) in(Lambert 1986:794) inin
order to ensure that what is genuinely important is properly retained andtransmitted. Helping students break with the unproductive idea of trying to
memorize and relay the ST in extensoin order to focus on a more cognitive
approach based on ST comprehension, analysis and processing can be dif-
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
14/24
Robert Neal Baxter 33
ficult. It is important to explain that, in many CI situations, the elimination
of secondary elements in order to capture the core of the message is often
imperative rather than expeditious, for at least one very practical reason: in
conference and other formal settings, the time allotted to speakers does not
as a rule make allowances for the time required for interpreting, so that all of
the time used up by the interpreter is, in effect, an encroachment on the time
available to the speaker. It should be borne in mind that although professional
interpreters should be able to provide a more complete rendition of the ST as
and when called upon to do so by any of the parties involved, what is being
taught at this stage is the basic techniques rather than professional-standard
specialization where novice students should aim to do the minimum well,
rather than trying to do the maximum shoddily. Nor should reduction within
the conceptual framework of the minimax strategy be taken to imply thatinterpreters are entitled to hack away at random at the ST. By contrast, it
means that the interpreter is not only entitled but indeed obliged to take full
responsibility for deciding what may need to be sacrificed based on his or
her perception of the needs of the audience at any moment in order to fulfil
the task of satisfying user expectations regarding the faithful transmission of
core contents and a smooth, convincing delivery. Once again, there is signifi-
cant overlap between this principle and the other key concepts underpinning
the overall approach, with successful deployment of the minimax strategy
depending on both a correct understanding of the ST and effective situationmanagement geared to the user-oriented approach described above.
As mentioned earlier, recall is another element of the CI equation that
often causes problems, with students complaining that they cannot remember
what was said. However, memory is seen as an addendum to rather than a
component of the basic two-step model, and efforts are directed to reducing
recall by focusing on what can be done within the scope of the basic concep-
tual model. Therefore, rather than specific drills to enhance memory, relying
on the successful deployment of the simple minimax strategy effectively
helps reduce the mnemonic burden, thereby reducing the effortinvested byavoiding unnecessary depletion of total cognitive capital available at any one
time. Or, to use a computing analogy, freeing up memory makes the whole
process run more smoothly. The more the interpreter can do by relying on
the first step of the inherently natural CI process of active listening (com-
prehension plus analysis), the easier the task will be, with the added bonus
of saving capacity to resolve any specific difficulties that may arise, whilst
at the same time helping to provide a more relaxed, natural delivery.
To sum up, it is preferable to lose accuracy when transmitting specific items,
such as numerical data, in order to maintain a clear, faithful and coherent basicmessage rather than vice versa. For example, in certain circumstances 72.8%
of the cases involved women as opposed the remaining 27.2% involving men
may be better rendered as the vast majority of cases affected women. This
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
15/24
34 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
would allow for smooth, confident delivery based on full understanding of the
content and mastery of production, and would be preferable to a failed attempt
to produce all of the figures exactly. Texts used for initial CI training should be
tailored to ensure that such processing is possible at the early learning stages.
Once the basics of the two-step model have been fully assimilated, mastered
and automated, this approach can be supplemented with note-taking to improve
accuracy as and when necessary.
While the minimax strategy provides the overall guiding rationale, two
other tactical principles can also be deployed to reduce the global effort
invested at any particular moment, with a view to avoiding wasteful deple-
tion of finite cognitive resources, namely: mobilizing knowledge and the
principle of simplicity.
2.3. Mobilizing knowledge
The concept of mobilizing knowledgeis akin to anticipation based on in-
ference, but unlike anticipation which takes place during the interpreting
process and is cued by linguistic, cognitive, situational and/or pragmatic
factors (Chernov 2004) knowledge mobilization takes place primarily
prior to the initiation of the ST output phase and is wholly semantic, in line
with the Factor Th (thematic factor) of cognitive inference (ibid.:74). For the
purpose of teaching at preparatory level, knowledge mobilization is more of
a brainstorming tool than a theoretical or descriptive notion. Unlike more
traditional tools of preparation, it relies not on external information sources,
but on what the interpreter already knows, thereby not only increasing the
actual knowledge base but also boosting self-confidence.
If an interpreter is lucky enough to be provided with even an outline of the
text to be interpreted and time enough to prepare it (Gile 1995:146-48), so much
the better. This, however, is not the case most of the time, at least in the con-
text of the highly specialized freelance Galizan market (Alonso Bacigalupe
2010:19) for which our students are primarily trained; one suspects that simi-
lar situations exist elsewhere. As texts are not always available, having thepotential to fill that gap is always useful. Developing a capacity to anticipate
is of key importance as it will inevitably lighten the burden of unexpected or
new information to be processed. Students are taught how to foresee what
is likely to be said prior to the interpreting itself, based exclusively on the
title/subject in combination with their own world knowledge or what Gile
refers to as: preexisting ELK [extralinguistic knowledge] (1995:85). On the
one hand, making their own world knowledge readily available and usable
(mobilization) provides students with a sense of self-confidence which helps
mitigate the apprehension that often hinders performance in the early stages
of interpreter training (Kuwahata 2005:173). More importantly, being able to
pre-empt what is to be interpreted effectively reduces the overall workload.
By having to work less over all, i.e. investing less effort (cognitive capital)
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
16/24
Robert Neal Baxter 35
by reducing the amount of new information to be processed, retained and
transmitted, students are able to dedicate all of their attention to any seg-
ments or elements which require a greater effort to understand and process
correctly, thereby improving the overall quality of the interpretation. This
process also helps reduce the overall mnemonic burden (i.e. the volume of
new items that need to be remembered) by making students aware of what
they already know, and encouraging them to rely on their own knowledge
rather than trying to learn and retain new, extraneous knowledge. In other
words, the less students have to work by using up their limited supply of ef-
fortat any given time, the better they will be able to work when they really
need to. When asked to anticipate in this way, students often focus exclusively
on content. However, it is important to teach them that foreseeable textual
architecture is also very useful in anticipating important aspects of the textto be interpreted, with content and structure mutually interacting.7
In a practical exercise, one student is requested to prepare a coherent
short speech on a subject familiar to them in order to guarantee naturalness,
with the rest of the class then guided by the instructor to apply the deductive
knowledge mobilization process prior to the speech itself. This exercise is
based exclusively on the topic/title, in order to compare to what extent their
suppositions coincide with the actual text. A simple A-A consecutive can then
ensue as an introductory exercise. This exercise can be repeated until the
students feel comfortable with the concept, before moving on to applying itto simple, specially prepared texts. Students are guided from one idea to the
next and encouraged to organize content into blocs of ideas, which in turn
are organized in a logical way to create an overall structure. Finally, they
go on to perform a B-A consecutive. The important thing is not to proceed
necessarily in a linear order, but to be able to find pathways which enable
students to leap backwards and forwards among levels (structure, content,
vocabulary/translation) until they have exhausted all of the possibilities of
their own knowledge base, anticipating and therefore effectively avoiding
foreseeable difficulties.8
Knowledge mobilization should be seen as an ongoing process which
merges with the more traditional types of anticipation and inference once
the ST has been initiated, building upon students own knowledge base by
combining it with knowledge acquired from the text itself (Gile 1995:85).
Once again, this calls for active listening and processing in line with the
precepts of the thorie du sens as applied to CI (Gile 2003), as opposed to a
shallow approach geared to mimetic memorizing and translating. As such,
7A useful metaphor here involves the idea of planning a house, where the furnishingsrequired (content) depend largely on the way the space is divided and the functions al-
lotted to each space (structure).8A more detailed example of how this process is applied in practice to a text on AIDS
can be found in the Appendix.
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
17/24
36 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
mobilization is practised systematically prior to any CI exercise, moving
steadily from a slower teacher-guided approach to a quicker, autonomous
moment of reflection.
2.4. The principle of simplicity
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the approach described involves the
emphasis placed on the principle of simplicity. Unlike the minimax strategy,
which serves as the overall rationale applied to the CI process as a whole, the
principle of simplicity is specific to the TT production phase, and involves
controlled output on the part of the trainee interpreter.
The key to a controlled and simplified production is a heightened sense
of self-awareness, and lessons should thus be used to allow students toexplore and determine their own limits and range of possibilities which
should not be overstepped when producing their TT. Although this would
be more obviously applicable to production in their B language, over which
they inevitably have less mastery, it is equally relevant to production in their
A language, where their tongue tends to run away with them. Interpreters
should be aware of their own limitations, with the classroom helping them
to both determine and to broaden their scope, especially when producing
their own discourse.
Keeping it simple and never overstepping the bounds of ones own cap-abilities by erring on the side of simplicity rather than running the risk of
becoming suddenly bogged down due to pointless over-elaboration is useful
for maintaining the tacit pact with the receivers of the TT. Interpreters can
reinforce the perception of themselves as trustworthy figures rather than a
potential source of annoyance by reducing their margin of error, whilst at the
same time providing a smoother production on the whole. This inevitably
entails a high degree of planning on the part of the interpreter, and students
should be continually warned to think ahead and plan not only what they
intend to say based on the comprehension and processing of the ST, but how
they are going to say it, avoiding unfamiliar lexicon and overly-complex
structures, as Ilg and Lambert note (1996:75):
In a CI course trainees need to focus on speech comprehension and
production, i.e. ways of enhancing active listening ..., and how to
organise ones thoughts in order to plan a convincing statement (to
chart, start, and finish, linguistically acceptable and meaningful
sentences).
During lessons, students should constantly be advised to know beforehand
where their sentences are going to end in order to avoid the frequent mistake
of trailing off, back-tracking and generally waffling at the end of segments
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
18/24
Robert Neal Baxter 37
which may have already been fully and correctly transmitted.
Although basic training centres on B-A interpreting, because it is required
by the market as a basic technique, liaison interpreting is introduced at a later
stage. One of the problems encountered is that when actively using their B
language (in this case English), students often overstretch themselves by
assuming that they should be able to do things and express themselves in
ways which they are unable to do, at least within the pressing context of in-
terpreting, which does not afford them the benefit of time to consult external
sources such as dictionaries and grammars. One way of practising the ap-
proach described here in the classroom involves getting students to perform
CI drills based on apparently complex texts (again, newspaper articles are
useful) into languages with which they only have a basic but sufficient
working knowledge (C languages). In this case, planning is required inorder to identify very simple structures which are nonetheless capable of
conveying the basic message, resorting to hyponyms and avoiding any
structures which may be troublesome, for example irregular verbs, the use
of the subjunctive, relative and subordinate clauses, etc. Once this mindset
based on the principle of simplicity has been grasped and interiorized as a
useful and necessary strategy for C languages, it can profitably be applied
to the students main working languages (A and B).
The guiding concept of situation management described above is an
essential factor in determining how to apply the principle of simplicity
appropriately, and students should be reminded at all times of the context
within which they are operating, especially who they are translating for
within the framework of the user-oriented approach. For example, there is
greater leeway for simplification when there is the possibility of (semi-)direct
interpersonal interaction, including situations which involve interpreting
questions for a single listener (notably television or radio settings) and where
the interpreters main task is to ensure that the questions posed are clear and
answerable. Here, simplification might involve the following:
avoiding repetition of superfluous information about the TT receiver
which the latter already knows. This applies to information that could
easily be very conspicuously mistranslated, and is best replaced with
expressions such as: The presenter is now introducing you and going
over your list of published works;
eliminating or integrating statements by the person posing the question
into the question itself, especially in journalistic interviews where it
is more important for interviewees to be able to express their views
on the question posed rather than transmitting the question unclearly
amidst a muddled attempt to transmit the interviewers standpoint. For
example, a segment such as It has been suggested that W, X and Y...
What is your own view on Z? can potentially be reduced to: What is
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
19/24
38 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
your view on Z? if necessary, and depending upon the situation;9
refraining from translating complex details which are likely to be
transmitted inaccurately and incompletely and which the public can
access from alternative sources in a more convenient manner, e.g. long
lists of programme changes, including the names of foreign speakers,room numbers, times, titles, etc., can all be adequately rendered as:
Changes have been made to the programme. For more details please
do not hesitate to enquire, or even more simply as: Please ask at the
information desk.
Situations such as these are repeated and altered until students learn to
become autonomous and take full responsibility for the way they decide to
handle each event.
Having achieved a command of the basics and feeling the need to go fur-ther, one question often raised by students and which needs to be addressed
is whether simplification of this kind is ethical. On the pragmatic level, it is
a truism that would-be interpreters should only attempt to do what they can
do well, and should avoid biting off more than they can chew: knowing and
staying within ones limits, providing a clear, simplified account is always
preferable to a muddled attempt at a more complete one, especially at the
initial training stage dealt with here. The more they progress, the more their
limits will expand, although concision and simplicity always remain values
to be aspired to. This assumes that trainees must be capable of performing
the basic tasks with a sufficient mastery of their A and B languages for both
aural comprehension and oral expression, which is a fair assumption to make
for third-year undergraduate students. If, however, these skills are deficient,
students must take it upon themselves to improve matters or alternatively
resign themselves to being unable to interpret properly. If simplification is
a result of a conscious decision on the part of the interpreter based on text
management (i.e. not just due to a fault in the comprehension/processing
phase) and situation management (tailored to the needs of the public), thennot only is it deontologically acceptable, but for the reasons described above,
it is legitimate and integral to the CI process, to a greater or lesser extent
depending on the exact context when applied professionally. Within this
model, the concept of simplicity is intimately bound with the user-oriented
approach, with the interpreter paid to provide a quality of service that is defin-
able, according to this model, as fitness for purpose, meaning that quality
is deemed to have been attained if the intended purpose has been fulfilled or
when the customers expectations have been satisfied (Grbi 2008:247).
9Whether or not any given segment or item is considered irrelevant or less relevant
will depend on the situation. The onus is on the interpreter to decide which elements are
irrelevant or otherwise, based on the factors described, i.e. not only the ST, but also the
perceived needs of the receivers of the TT as well as time constraints.
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
20/24
Robert Neal Baxter 39
As we have already seen, especially at the introductory level, in many
cases simplification is not only necessary, but also desirable and integral to
the CI process itself. To what extent translators and interpreters are ethically
entitled to simplify at any given moment depends on a sense of responsibil-
ity (Pym 1997:67-82), not only towards the ST (assumed by the receiver
to be correct in content unless suggested otherwise by faulty delivery) but
primarily towards the client, and towards themselves, since it is in the inter-
est of their own self-preservation not to overstretch and expose themselves
to unnecessary vulnerability.
3. Concluding remarks
It may seem strange that little mention has so far been made of what novicestudents often see as the crux of successful CI. However, relegating the issue
of note-taking to a final aside mirrors the rationale behind the way note-taking
is dealt with within the wider methodological framework.
While little consensus exists among scholars (Ilg and Lambert 1996:78),
there nevertheless seems to be a trend to ascribe a central role to the system-
atic teaching of note-taking as an essential training skill for CI. As a case in
point, despite repeatedly stating that [t]he essential part of a consecutive
interpreters work is done in analysis, re-expression (Jones 1998:43-70),
the same author goes on to dedicate almost half of the space devoted to CIin his volume to questions related to note-taking, as compared with a much
more varied approach to SI in the same book. However, experience has
shown that while notes can be a helpful tool for more experienced interpret-
ers who already have a full and automated grasp of the basic tasks required
of them, for the novice who has not yet mastered the basic tasks of process-
ing (understanding and analyzing the ST) and reformulating (producing
the TT), note-taking can represent an additional effort, detracting from the
main task in hand (Jones 1998:43) and becoming a hindrance rather than a
aid. For this reason I fully agree with Ilg and Lambert (1996:75) that note-taking explanations and demonstrations should come as late as possible in
the curriculum.
In the current approach, note-taking is forbidden in the initial stages in
order to ensure that students focus on the key process of understanding,
analyzing and reducing the mnemonic load. At a midpoint stage, note-taking
begins to appear naturally as the students become more familiar with their
main task and is then dealt with in very basic terms (clarity, structure, etc.).10
Once notes are permitted, it should be stressed that, while good note-taking
10While the training is essentially oriented towards interpreting practice, basic theoret-
ical notions should be introduced in order for students to appreciate the rationale behind
what they are being taught, with recommended reading of key authors and concepts
discussed in class.
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
21/24
40 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
can be useful, bad note-taking is worse than no note-taking, and attempts
should be made to keep notes to an absolute minimum. As Ilg and Lambert
argue (1996:78),
Note-taking is no more than a means to help overcome memorys
short-comings and could be likened to a crutch. Its use should
therefore be restricted to the kind of information which is not easily
stored and retrieved from memory, that is structural aspects of a text,
characteristic details (facts, figures, names) and deliberate nuances.
Drawing on Giles efforts model reduces the mnemonic load via the ap-
plication of the minimax strategy in the form of the principle of simplicity,
which makes note-taking unnecessary for the basic training phase discussed.
Note-taking is only allowed once the basics have been fully grasped, and
is only ever used as an aid to improve the process, never substituting it or
distracting trainees from the true task in hand. The onus is on students to
judge the situation in order to take full responsibility for their decisions,
with a view to ensuring that the TT responds to the perceived expectations
of their target audience, described in terms of user-oriented situation and
text management.
Finally, the success of preparatory courses such as this should not be
gauged in terms of whether students provide professionally acceptable in-
terpretations, but in terms of the extent to which they become familiar with
the situation in which they operate and are able to take a fully proactive role:
they are taught not to interpret, but to think and act like interpreters. Having
acquired and fully automated the basic skills and attitude required, students
are then equipped to go on to make the leap to professional-standard inter-
preting by attending specialized courses.
ROBERT
Gabinete C38, Faculdade de Filoloxa e Traducin, Universidade de Vigo,E-36200 Vigo, Galiza, Spain. [email protected]
References
Albl-Mikasa, Michaela (2008) (Non-)Sense in Note-taking for Consecutive
Interpreting,Interpreting10(2) : 197-231.
Alexieva, Bistra(1998) Consecutive Interpreting as a Decision Process, in Ann
Beylard-Ozeroff, Jana Krlovand Barbara Moser-Mercer (eds) Transla-
tors Strategies and Creativity, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins,181-88.
Alonso Bacigalupe, Luis (1999) Metodologa de iniciacin a la interpretacin
simultnea,Perspectives: Studies in Translatology7(2): 253-63.------ (2005)Pedagoga de la interpretacin: investigacin emprica sobre per-
NEAL BAXTER
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
22/24
Robert Neal Baxter 41
cepcin de estudiantes, Sendebar16: 193-217.
------ (2009) El procesamiento de la informacin durante la interpretacin
simultnea: un modelo a tres niveles, Granada: Atrio.
------ (2010) O mercado profesional da traducin e a interpretacin, in Luis
Alonso Bacigalupe (ed.)Insercin profesional d@s estudantes de traducine interpretacin, Granada: Atrio, 13-25.
Arum Ribas, Marta (2010) Redefinir la enseanza-aprendizaje de la inter-
pretacin en el marco del EEES: Propuestas en un contexto de cambio,Redit,
Revista Electrnica de Didctica de la Traduccin y la Interpretacin4 : 42-62.
Available at http://www.redit.uma.es/Archiv/n4/mono_ArumiRibas_redit4.pdf
(accessed 30 December 2011).
Bowen, David and Margareta Bowen (1980/1984) Steps to Consecutive Inter-
preting, Pen Booth: Washington
Baxter, Robert Neal (2008)Proxecto docente, Unpublished manuscript, Vigo:Universidade de Vigo.
ekov, Ivana (1998) Quality of Interpreting A Binding or a LiberatingFactor?, in Ann Beylard-Ozeroff, Jana Krlov and Barbara Moser-Mercer(eds) Translators Strategies and Creativity, Amsterdam & Philadelphia:
John Benjamins, 163-70.
Chernov, Ghelly Vasilievitch (2004)Inference and Anticipation in Simultaneous
Interpreting: A Probability-Prediction Model, Amsterdam & Philadelphia:Amsterdam & Philadelphia:
John Benjamins.
Djean Le Fal, Karla (1990) Some Thoughts on the Evaluation of Simultane-
ous Interpretation, in David Bowen and Margareta Bowen (eds)Bowen and Margareta Bowen (eds)(eds)Interpreting
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Binghamton: SUNY, 154-60.
------ (2002) La thorie du sens au banc dessai, in Fortunato Isral (ed.)
Identit, altrit, quivalence ? La traduction comme relation, Paris & Caen :
Lettres Modernes Minard, 145-56.
European Commission (2005) Towards a European Qualifications Framework
for Lifelong Learning, Brussels: Commission of the European Communities.
Available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/consultation_
eqf_en.pdf (accessed 30 December 2011).
Fettig, Daniela (2009) Giles Effort Model fr das Konsekutivdolmetschen, Mu-nich: GRIN Verlag.
Gile, Daniel (1995)Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator
Training, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
----- (2003) Justifying the Deverbalisation Approach in the Interpreting and
Translation Classroom,Forum1(2): 47-63.
Grbi, Nadja (2008) Constructing Interpreting Quality, Interpreting10(2) :232-57.
Ilg, Gerard and Sylvie Lambert (1996) Teaching Consecutive Interpreting,
Interpreting1(1): 69-99.Iliescu Gheorgiu, Catalina (2001)Introduccin a la interpretacin. La modalidad
consecutiva, Alicante: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alicante.
Jones, Roderick (1998) Conference Interpreting Explained, Manchester: St
Jerome.
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
23/24
42 A Simplified Approach to Training in Consecutive Interpreting
Kurz, Ingrid (2001) Conference Interpreting: Quality in the Ears of the User,Meta46(2): 394-409.
Kuwahata, Minako (2005) Sink or Swim: Five Basic Strokes to E-J Consecutive
Interpreting,Interpretation Studies 5: 173-81.
Lambert, Sylvie (1986) Approche cognitive de la traduction conscutive,in Alain Giacomi and Veroneque Daniel (eds) Acquisition dune langue
trangre. Perspectives et recherches, Universit de Provence: Aix-en-
Provence, 791-805.
Lev, Ji (1967) Translation as a Decision Making Process, in To Honor Ro-man Jakobson. Essays on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday, Vol. II,
The Hague & Paris: Mouton, 1171-82.
Moser, Peter (1996) Expectations of Users of Conference Interpretation, In-
terpreting1(2): 145-78.
Nolan, James (2005)Interpretation Techniques and Exercises, Clevedon: Mul-tilingual Matters.
Pym, Anthony (1997)Pour une thique du traducteur, Ottawa : Artois Presses
Universit & Presses de lUniversit de Ottawa.
Russell, Debra L. (2005) Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting, in Terry
Janzen (ed.) Topics in Signed Language Interpreting: Theory and Practice,
Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 135-64.
------, Risa Shaw and Karen Malcolm (2010) Effective Strategies for Teaching
Consecutive Interpreting,International Journal of Interpreter Education 2.
Available at http://www.cit-asl.org/Journal/2010_Vol2/Russell-abstract.html(accessed 30 December 2011).
Seleskovitch, Danica (1975)Langage, langues et mmoire. Etude de la prise de
notes en interprtation conscutive, Paris: Minard.
------ and Marianne Lederer (1989) Pdagogie raisonne de linterprtation,
Paris:Didier Erudition.
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4
8/11/2019 A Multi-model Approach to Consecutive Interpreting (2012)
24/24
Robert Neal Baxter 43
APPENDIX
A schematic example of how the mobilization of knowledge as a preparatory
exercise can be applied to a text on the subject of AIDS.
The order is unimportant: what is essential is to seek as many pathways
as possible to move between levels, hopping from one element to the next
until as a complete a structure as possible is formed.
Trigger Reflection Level
Subject What type of subject is it? Medical Structure(useful for other structural
deductions)
Subject/Title What does AIDS stand for?Acquired Human Immune Defi-ciency Syndrome
Therefore it affects the ImmuneSystem.
How is this translated in the target
language?
What is a syndrome? Look it up.
Vocabulary/Translation
AIDS Related acronyms, etc.? HIV
What does it stand for?How do I translate it?
Content
Vocabulary/Translation
Subject/Title How can I start?Definition: Say what AIDS standsfor.
Perhaps a historical introduction:
when was it first detected?Use lateral pathways, e.g. When was
the film Philadelphia set?
Syndrome Symptoms
Use this as a heading for a sectionideal for a medical text.
Structure
Symptoms What other sorts of headings (i.e. struc-tural subsections) go with this?
Treatment; Transmission;Prevention
Structure
Headings Organize sections into a logical or-der
Headings Fill each structure with content, e.g.
how is it transmitted, who does itaffect and why?Translations for syringe, blood
transfusion, etc.
Content
Vocabulary/Translation
D
ownloadedby[88.15.196.1
96]at00:5709October201
4