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NOTE TAKING AND MAPPING IN THE CONSECUTIVEINTERPRETING BY LEGAL GROUP OF POST GRADUATE STUDENTS
OF UDAYANA UNIVERSITY I Wayan Suryasa
Post Graduate Student of Translation Studies, Udayana University [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The title of this paper is “Note Taking and Mapping in the Consecutive Interpretingby Legal Group of Post Graduate Students of Udayana University”. It analyzedfocusing on what strategies applied to interpret the legal text from English into Indonesia language.The text itself was interpreted by interpreter team of legal group. The source test was collecteddescriptively taken from internet. The interpreters was applied the interpreting strategies theory by(Kade cited in Pochhacker, 2004:11). The finding of this analysis, there were two of point ofconsecutive interpreting applied by the interpreters i.e. (1) The strategy was use a note taking in theconsecutive interpreting, and (2) the interpreters mind mapping works in note taking. This paperobtain a significance study about how the mind of power works and the note taking strategy used bythe post graduate student of translation studies at Udayana University.
Key words: consecutive interpreting, note taking, mapping
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Background of the Study
Interpreting is a form of translation in which a first
and final rendition in another language is produced on the
basis of a one-time presentation of an utterance in a source
language. (Kade cited in Pochhacker, 2004:11)
Unlike translation, interpreting is a spontaneous activity.
The interpreter should concentrate well during the task to be
able to receive and understand the incoming message and then
express the meaning in the target language. During the process
of interpreting, the interpreter has to listen carefully,
understand the message, remember it and think fast and
reproduce the translation soon. There is no time to consult
any dictionary. These overlapping series of cognitive
processing activities require high level of concentration.
(The picture was taken from the practice of consecutive interpreting at class
(2013))
Interpreters on-site interpreting performance is shaped by
three major factors: (a) the interpreter’s interpreting
competence, (b) on-site cognitive conditions and (c)
strategies and standards of interpreting (Wang, 2009). The
following figure shows how the interpreting performance is
shaped by the three major forces in combination.
Figure 1: Major shaping factors of interpreting performance
Strategies in interpreting refer to the tactics
interpreters employ to deal with problems in cognitive
processing and inter-lingual and intercultural communication
in interpreting. Standards of interpreting can be defined as
the shared values and concepts among interpreters of the
profession and users of interpreting service on the generally-
On-sitecognitiveconditions
Interpretingcompetence
Strategies andnorms of
interpreting
Interpreting performance
accepted interpreting methods and strategies and on the right
and proper interpreting behaviors (Wang, 2009).
The present research is a descriptive study of strategies
and practices in consecutive interpreting based on the
observation one group of four in translation studies class.
1.2 The Problem of the Study
In this paper, there are some problems that appeared and
need to be answered base on the theories collected concern
with oral translation. The oral translation itself applied in
the consecutive interpreting. The problems are formulated
into:
1. What strategies applied by interpreters to interpret a
legal text?
2. How mind mapping works in note taking by the
interpreters in the consecutive interpreting?
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Consecutive Interpreting
There are four modes of interpreting; liaison, consecutive,
simultaneous and whispering interpreting. Consecutive
interpretation allows the interpreter to produce their
interpretation right after the speaker finishes his/her
utterance. Meanwhile, simultaneous interpretation takes place
during and even in the same time period as the original
speech. Consecutive interpreting gives chances to the
interpreting to take note and this is very necessary in the
interpreting process. Some information like numbers, proper
nouns, and any complicated information which are impossible to
be remembered all together had better be noted. The
interpreter has their own way to make a note. Usually, when
there are more than two working languages, an installation for
either simultaneous or consecutive interpretation should be
provided. In the latter case, one language will be
consecutively interpreted in the room itself and the others
from booths. The speaker does not have to talk slowly, as
normal speed is better for comprehension. Consecutive
interpreting is recommended if accuracy is of top priority.
Consecutive Interpreting(The picture was taken from
http://www.calliope-interpreters.org/en/conference_interpreters.htm)
Qualified interpreters should have a language competence
both in the source and target language. This is the most
important point. Besides, they should also care about the code
ethics in interpreting. The knowledge about the subject matter
is very important. Interpreting in certain topics like
scientific, economic, legal, culture, and any other special
topics require the knowledge about those related fields. There
are many terminologies which the interpreter should know. No
matter how brilliant the interpreters are, if they don’t know
the terms, they will find some difficulties. Therefore, it is
good to get to know the topic or if possible the copy material
prior to the work. Preparation and experience will contribute
almost sixty percent of confidence. To the interpreters,
especially the consecutive one as sometime they need to speak
in front of the people (they are not in the booth like in the
case of simultaneous interpreters) it will be much helpful for
them to have the confidence in order not to get stuck.
On the day of the work, the interpreters will feel the
tense. The overlapping series of cognitive process require
high level of concentration. In this case the interpreter
should have the techniques to support themselves. The tense
and the loads will affect the cognitive process. Memory plays
a very important role. In the case the speakers talk a lot
with loads of specific information, note taking will be very
helpful. The interpreters should know the note-taking
techniques in interpreting which are discussed in the
following section.
3. RESEARCH METHOD
There are three kinds of research based on the location of
the research i.e. library research, laboratory and field
research (Bungin, 2005: 40-41). In this paper, the field
research method is applied by collecting some theories and
information about consecutive interpreting,
The data source of this study is a verbal data, which were
taken from one group i.e. legal group (six students) of four
groups in translation class. The data is collected by closely
observing the interpreter interpret the English language into
Bahasa. By observing the data source, it was founded two
significance study discussed of this study, e.g. the mind
mapping works and note taking by interpreters.
4. DISCUSSION
NOTE TAKING AND MAPPING IN THE CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING BYLEGAL GROUP OF POST GRADUATE STUDENTS OF UDAYANA UNIVERSITY
4.1 Note Taking in the Consecutive Interpreting
Seleskovitch (1978) cited in Santiago (2004) explains
that during the process of interpretation, there is a lot of
information that is registered to the interpreters’ short term
memory. If the interpreters do not do anything with this
information, it will soon disappear. This is one of the
reasons why the interpreters discard the form of the source
text. Smith (1985) quoted in Santiago (2004) states that,
“Short term memory has a very limited duration. We can
remember six or seven items only as long as we give all of our
attention to them” (Smith, 38). If an interpreters try to
retain the form of a source utterance their short-term memory
it will be quickly filled with individual lexical items, which
may not even compose a full sentence. If the interpreter then
attempts to find a corresponding lexical item in the target
language for each of the source language forms in their short-
term memory all of their attention will be wasted on
translating these six items rather than attending to the
incoming message, as Smith points out, “as long as pay
attention to short-term memory we cannot attend to anything
else” (Smith, 38).
Hanh (2006) sums up the advantages of employing note taking
techniques in consecutive interpreting as follows:
“Firstly, notes improve concentration; preventdistraction, thus facilitating the reception andanalysis of the speech. Secondly, notes help theinterpreter relieve the memory. Thirdly, as mnemonic,notes activate the memory of the interpreter with cuesor signals that call up the information in the speech.With notes, the main ideas, the secondary elements andthe links among them become clear and easier for theinterpreter to visualize. Finally, notes can also beused to highlight missing details, inconsistencieswithin the speech and anything implausible that needsattention latter. Thus notes play an important part inconsecutive interpreting.
4.2 How Mind Mapping Works in Note Taking of Consecutive
Interpreting
Different people have different way of thinking; this is
due to the fact that the brain works in different ways. Our
thinking and reasoning follow a structure that is personal to
us. There are certain "programs" loaded in our consciousness.
According to experts in mind mapping, these programs are like
our "natural thinking software". The brain works according to
certain basic principles, and we can use mind maps to take
advantage of them to improve our creativity and memory.
Humans are born with special "brain-programs" to be able
to learn and memorize everything they experience during their
lifetime. We have one "brain-program" to remember special
occasions, one program that remembers pictures, one that
remembers structures, etc. The fantastic thing about mind
mapping is that it uses these existing "brain-programs" and
refines them. Mind mapping simply optimizes the power that you
already have in your mind. Therefore, mind mapping is one of
the very best methods to optimize ones learning capacities and
understanding of how the elements of complex structures are
connected (Ingemann).
Now we proceed to the relation between mind mapping and
note taking in interpreting. Mind mapping as mentioned above
is the technique to optimize the power that we already have in
our mind. The question is HOW. Then we shall see how the mind
mapping techniques works in consecutive interpreting.
Once the speaker starts speaking, the interpreter should
register the information to their brain. The information in
their head is like a map which is not yet arranged. Then, they
should arrange the information and organize them fast in their
mind and write it down in their note. It is of course
impossible to write down all the information in words due to
the limited time. The interpreters should write down the main
points only and connect one event or category to another. The
use of abbreviation will help. There is no such a must rule in
abbreviation. It is up to the interpreters; they have their
own way in managing with abbreviations.
Consecutive interpreting deals with memorizing more
information compared to the simultaneous one. Accuracy is of
top priority because when the speaker pauses the interpreter
will take turn to produce the interpretation and the audience
will clearly hear the interpretation without intervention from
another speaker. In this case the interpreter should remember
the message and organize them well. And the mind mapping will
play an important role in this kind of situation.
After reading about mind mapping tips from Ingemann, this
paper tries to connect mind mapping steps with note taking in
consecutive interpreting. The followings are the steps worth a
try:
Relax your mind.
Register the information from the speaker and concentrate
well. Do not let all other things distract you. Focus is
a must.
Recognize the main point of the utterances, and write it
down fast in short (can be by abbreviating them or just
write some important words in the limited time). It is
impossible for the interpreters to write long sentences.
That will be a waste of time. Some interpreters make a
note in the target language and some others in the source
language and translate it directly while they are
producing the interpretation and taking a look at their
note for some time. Others mix the languages (SL and TL)
in their note. We shall choose which one we feel
convenient with. Sometimes, the interpreters may get
stuck retrieving the information from their memory about
the equivalent of a certain word in TL. If this happens,
it is necessary to just write the SL and when the time
comes to give the interpretation and we still forget,
just use descriptive sentences.
As soon as the next sentence uttered by the speaker, jot
down the other and supporting points.
Then, draw lines to connect the points.
Remember to note the specific information like numbers.
Date, address, proper nouns etc.
The following diagram shows the connection drawn between
the main topic and sub-topic and another sub-topic. This is
how the mind mapping works. Circle the mind topic and draw a
line to another point. Arranging the information is very
important. Drawing the connections make it easier to formulate
the sentences during the interpretation is produced on the
spot.
The diagram is taken from http://www.writingthoughts.com)
The following diagram shows a further example of how the
mind mapping works in note taking. The main point is circled
the lines and drawn to connect one point with another point is
helpful to show how the things work related to the information
uttered.
(The diagram is taken from http://coachmi.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/mind-maps)
We have discussed why note taking is important, the
advantages and the steps in note taking. We also have
discussed about the power of mind mapping in note taking.
However, we should remember that every theory needs a practice
as the saying: practice makes perfect. Theories may different
from reality. Therefore the more practice the better the
result will be.
4.3 A Review on the Practice of Consecutive Interpreting in
Translation Class
This section reviews the practice of interpreting
conducted by Legal Group of Translation students of Udayana
University Class of 2012 conducted in April 2013. There are four
groups and each group consists of six peoples each. The mode
of interpreting used is consecutive and almost all members of
the groups did note taking during the interpretation process.
The use of note taking was proven to be very beneficial since
human has limited ability to do multi tasks at once which
include registering information, comprehending the meaning,
arranging or mapping that information, thinking about the
lexical choice while remembering another message, connecting
it with the previous message (when needed) and producing the
interpretation.
The information such as numbers, date, proper names and
any other difficult and complicated messages are very needed
to be noted in consecutive interpreting. Every student has
his/her own ways in doing note taking. This is related to how
they process the information in their brain. Some people are
born with a good ability to memorize; some are born with a
good analysis. The combination of both would be very helpful.
As stated above, mind mapping will enhance the power of brain
in arranging the information in our mind. From the practices,
not all the students knows about the theory of mind mapping
but all of them could do note taking. Some who know about mind
mapping may find easier way in note taking.
From the practices conducted in the class by the four
groups in eight section (one group divided into two section),
some important points are noted. Those are; (1) when producing
the interpretation we pay attention to the language style.
Recognize the audience and adjust the language style and
formality with them. The use of slang is avoided in formal
settings, (2) when producing the interpretation, eye contact
to the audience is necessary. The last (3) in case of the
interpreter mention a terminology but doesn’t clearly explain
it and if we know about it, we can give the audience brief
information as long as the additional information that we give
is not confusing and is not contradicting. The interpreter may
give some additional information for the sake of making the
interpretation clearer. As long as it doesn’t create
misunderstanding and confusion it is acceptable.
5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion
The strategy applied by the interpreters is note taking and
mapping the mind power to obtain interpretation. As mentioned
in the beginning of this paper, interpreting is not an easy
task to do. It requires a complex knowledge, skills, and
experience. Note taking in consecutive interpreting is
important and helpful because it helps the interpreting during
the work. It helps the interpreters remember certain
information and organize their interpretation. The tense, and
loads mixed with the overlapping cognitive process in the
interpreters’ brain require them to use sufficient techniques
according to the level of difficulty of the topic.
In the note taking techniques, mind mapping plays a very
important part. It will help the information in our brain flow
well. Much information which is not arranged well in our brain
will confuse our system and of course we will spend much
energy to deal with this confusion. Interpreting is a tiring
job; we have to use our energy efficiently.
5.2 Suggestion
Some suggestions on consecutive interpreting especially
for the students in translation class are:
It is good to know and try that mind mapping is
important in note taking in consecutive interpreting.
When producing the interpretation pay attention to the
language style. Recognize the audience and adjust the
language style and formality with them. The use of
slang is avoided in formal settings.
When producing the interpretation, eye contact to the
audience is necessary.
In case of the interpreter mention a terminology but
doesn’t clearly explain it and if we know about it, we
can give the audience a brief information as long as
the additional information that we give is not
confusing and is not contradicting.
Focus is a must in interpreting. Once we get loss, it
may affect to the next information in the case where
the previous information relates with the next one.
Relaxing mind during the work and don’t let other
things distract our concentration.
Apart from the language competence that the
interpreters should have, they should also care about
the code ethics in interpreting.
The knowledge about the subject matter is very
important. Therefore, it is good to get to know the
topic or if possible the copy material prior to the
work.
Preparation and experience will contribute almost sixty
percent of confidence.
The last but not least, practice makes perfect. The
more practice, the better the interpretation will be.
REFERENCE
Hanh, Pham Hong. 2006. Note-Taking in Consecutive Interpreting. HanoiUniversity of Foreign Studies
Hatim, Basil and Mason, Ian. 1999. The Translator as Communicator.Routledge: NewYorkhttp://interpreters.free.fr/consecnotes/symbolexamples2.htm
Ingemann, Marcus. The Power of Mind Mapping. FortuneWell.com
Pochhacker, Franz. 2004. Introducing Interpreting Studies. New York:Routlegde Taylor and Francis Group.
Santiago, R. 2004. Consecutive Interpreting: A Brief Review. Available athttp://home.earthlink.net/~terperto/id16.html
Seleskovitch, D. 1978. Interpreting for International Conferences.Washington, DC: Pen & Booth.
Smith, F. 1985. Reading Without Nonsense. New York: NY Teacher’sCollege Press
Wang, Binhua. 2009. Description of Standards in Interpreting and ItsApplication – A Study Based on the Corpus of Consecutive Interpreting inChinese Premier Press Conferences [D]. PhD dissertation, GuangdongUniversity of Foreign Studies