어국한、어

여O

프료- 여 조L동시 o ..., '2. 중심으로 보-

프토L 。콰 oJ H λ4 。 기 -I 살저1 석 1L '--;

π‘→

李 'f:::J'" l옳 *

A Practical Analysis of Interpretation:

Focused on English- Korean

S imultaneou s Interpretation

Lee Yong Sung

Contents

I. Introduction 7. R e spons ibili ty

II. The Communication process 8. Physical Fittedness

m. The role of interpreters and translators 매. Training for the Simultaneous interpreter

N. Two inter-communication media 1. Keeping Abreast of Time

1. Comparison of Interpretation and Translation 2. Shadowing

2. Simultaneous Interpretation 3. Extrac ting Ideas

3. Consecutive Inte rpreta tion 4. Consecutive Interpretation and Sight

Translation4. Sight Translation

V. Quahlications of the simultaneous interpreter. 5. Number Counting

I. Knowledge of Language 6. Idioms

2. Comprehensive Faculty 7. Overcoming structural Differences

3. Insatiable Curiosity VI. The importance of preparation

4. Extrovert Personality \I. Conclusion

5. Good Speaking Manners Bi bl iography

6. Memory

Abstract in Korean

본 논문에서는 언어능력의 응용분야라고 볼수있는 벤역파 동역을 상호 81 교 하 여 냐루였냐

특히， 제목에 냐타나 있는 바와 같이 영어 -한국어의 동시 봉역을 중심으로 하여 심제 석-으로

홍역이 어떻게 행하여 지고 있으며 또 연어를 얀마는 것파 통역을， 그것도 동시 동여으 한다는-, :e.

• 쏘 I I I 外國 ‘냄 λ짜 .w. (r ‘훌뼈

-105­

1 이/ ‘ 이{ ↓1쩌 ι it (써 5 힘i 19!12. 3)

l 덩 거 , ~;:'←~， i 블 씻 사해 보았냐

? 써사 " 잉는 바μ 한 9) 국어 즐 얄연 그 오|국카와 모국어 산의 홍역은 누구나 다 할 수

r시 t_1 _1~_ 생 각 파 는 삿 사 , f _-1.버 c.j. 루개의 엔어를 안마논 셔 자체얀 까지고는 전운 분야라 할 수/‘、

?1-: 증| 익 g 역은 검:사능하나-

농 약 ?: 二「누 선달 (oral communication) 익 즉변에 서 이해되어아 한다 동역자는제 2의연사

‘,j. 。'.' 서 o~ 사 의 E즈 1 ’ 쟁중이 이해할 수 았얀 어어로L 바구어 션달한으로써 연사와 챙중의 <~화를 가

(，싸셔1 래 F}L 二r ' r- 건 달 °1 매 개 체 석 역 할을 하는 것 이 다

능-격 파 )션 C녁 으 1 까야 는 드[게 얘→ 연 운어 쓸 깐싹 ,,_ IJ~ 꾸 4 r 것이 벤역이며 동역은 구꺼를 구어로옮

/ 1 -~ 섯 이라 한 수 있냐 二L ".\나 본문에시 설영왼 바야 같이 야외에도 벤역을 하는 사랍에게

신 착 ~tF 학 -"' I f 잔。 1 요구되 πj -8 역 완 하 려 연 는간걱이고 민첩한 투뇌작용이 펄요하마는 둥의

여 ιi ’ f ;<) 나양한 싸이 까 。! 으욕 0). 수 아 ιL~、 '0 ’~ ,

본 간:푼에 서 강조한 바은 “동시 웅역”익 방업， 즉 어떠한 가깨를 홍하여 어떻게 이루셔 지는

사 :L "I :i'.. 야 를 샌 한 수 있어 아 사r셔 또 어떤 훈렌마정 을 통하여 L 능력윤 심화시켜야 하는가

τ

.c5" ',,-

。

r 섞 석 _0 로 c:+루-였나

안셔서와 영어의 난。} 상이한 문 1 i'- 조 석 까이보 인하얘 영어-한국어 동시 통역은 도저히

피 II 늠하냐는 션촌을→ t.I1 라 고 있는 샤란이 많이 있나

그 ,,\ 나 농 역 은 한 사 암으l 쿠어 운상응 二l 대 로 전하4二 것이 아니요 그 운장의 뜻 (idea)을 건하

1τ 삿이므띄 어문二「조익 차이가 있냐뉴 것 이 불펜읍 연으←I I는 요인이 되 기는 하냐 결코 동시통

역 ?r 룰까능하거1 만드는 요언이바고 볼 수는 없다. 본문에시i상술한 바와 같이 영어와 한국어의

F 한 구-조걱자이논 동사의위치이나- 。3 어 의 동사는 주어 또는 주부의 바로 뒤에 냐타냐는 반

연 한국어에 서 뉴 저l 안 뒷 부분에 위 치 하고 있마 이렇게 볼때 영어의 동사 또는 동사구를 한국

어로 옮잔애어1 영싸규L 또는 i5J 용 사 구 보 서 처리하꺼l 꾀연 무리없야 순서에 따라 한국말로 옮걸

수 였는 여1 가 석지 않마- 끌으로 본 논문이 얀어응용의 한 분야안 벤역，동역의 。 1 흔 및설제적

!냥법파 구두 건탈에 매한검마 넓은 이해를 도울 수 있기를 바란냐.

I . INTRODUCTION

Since the Tower of Babel was razed to the ground by the Divine Wrath , men have

had to suffer from lots of difficulties in communicating with people w 'Io use different

languages. Whenever two or more people , whose language systems are different from

each other , want to communicate they have to fall back upon a third person who has

a fairly good command of both languages and of the subject of their communication.

Here , if the third man deals with written materials and converts the idea of the writ­

ten text into another language writing system, he is doing the translation. And inter ­

pretation is oral translation of spoken language. Both translators and interpreters serve

as a media of international comm unica t ion. But the interpreters have to bear an addi­

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A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 3

tional burden; the time limit.

Some people believe that the job of interpretation or translation can be done satisfac­

torily by any bilingual person. But an interpreter should be more than a bilingualist. He

should meet various qualifications such as sense of communication, analytic power, quick

wittedness, excellent memory and sense of responsibility, let alone the knowledge of

languages and general culture. Therefore an interpreter is said to be born and not

trained.

But still, such gifts should be trained in a proper way to become an able and res­

ponsib�e interpreter. Like a violinist, an interpreter should have his instrument (afore­

said qualifications) and interest in his performance. Interpretation must be an every

day practice of an interpreter.

A common mistaken notion about simultaneous interpretation is that simultaneous

interpretation is an impromptu, on-the-spot performance which does not need any

preparation. Surely an interpreter may be called into doing his job without any grace

period. That is why everyday practice is so important to an interpreter. In most

cases, however, an interpreter must prepare himself mentally and physically before

he makes his appearance in a conference room.

As the title indicates, this paper is mainly focused on the qualifications and training

of simultaneous interpreters and the following will be dealt with;

.. · .. ·The process of communication

...... The role of translators and interpreters

..... ·Two intercommunication media

...... Qualifications of the simultaneous interpreter

...... Training for the simultaneous interpreter

...... The importance of preparation.

Missing here is the marketability of interpreters which is one of the most important

factors in the job of interpretation. Lacking in actual experiences as an interpreter,

the writer is not in a position to talk about Korean market at this point. But one

thing is clear here, the demand is rapidly increasing. Soon you will find professional

interpreters in our society.

II. THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

"Language consists of more than the meaning of the symbols and the combination of

symbols;it is essentially a code in operation, or, in other words, a code functioning

for a specific purpose or purposes:,1) Language is a set of codes through which we

1) Eugene A. Nida, Toward a Science of Translation (Leiden:E. J. Brill 1964) p.120.

-107­

',I\\: n I tlllJ 1"1 I.'}' ,ii,; -:<: ~ (::ll 5;l! 1982. 3)

express our ideas and understand the opinions of other people. This type of exchanging

ideas by use of language is called communication. The analysis of communication is very

important to find out where an interpreter stands in the process of communication and

what he is supposed to do.

Communication consists of two processes, that is sending and receiving. In the first

place, the process of sending the message c omp r is-e s following three steps:

1) selection of a topic, i. e. the conception to be communicated,

2) encoding the conception into symbols and arranging them and

3) the transmission of these symbols.2 )

The process of receiving a message likewise involves three different steps:

1) receiving the s ig na l, either aurally, when it is heard, or visually when it

is read,

2) decoding the signal, i. e. interpreting it, a kind of reversal of the pro­

cess of e nco ding l th is means extracting the image from the symbols in a manner analv­

g ou s to that used by the encoder in selecting symbols to express the image)and

3) response:<1

De Saussure analyzed the process of communication in a little bit different way which

will help s up p lim e nt Nida's analysis. De Saussure analyzed the process of communication

in three steps:psychological process, physiological process and physical process~)The

psychological process covers the I), 2) or sending process and 2), 3) of the receiv­

ing process. The physical process coincides exactly with 3) of sending process and

l Lo f receiving process. However De Saussure added the physiological process:the trans­

mission of an impulse corresponding to the image from brain to the organs used in

producing sounds and of sound image from hearing organs to the brain.

With this information we can put the process of communication into a diagram as

shown below.

So far, we have discussed the process of communication. The diagram of communi­

cation shown below is based on one assumption: the set of codes employed in the com­

munication should be identical If A and 8 use different language, the physical process

on the part of the receiver will not be followed by the psychological process thereby

making it impossible for both parts to communicate with each other.

2) Ibid.. p.122.

3) E. Nida, Toward a Science of Translation(Leiden:E. J. Brill 1964), p.122

4) Ferdinand De Saussure, Course in Linguistics(W. Baskin trans. New York:Phylosophica\

Library \950)pp. 11- 12

-108­

---

A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English- Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 5

----------------------. psychological process - -- --------- -----­

---- --- ----.-- physiological process ------ ---------

_

T

--T

_~JD~Gl::- -~h',;;;;;~;,." s s -RrE~J~~ c <,decode./'Ic

response response

--""'C RECEIVING mechamsm tSENDING encode cot" _________1 . -A C : concept or message B

A. B : two parts engaged in communication

T : transmission

Figure 1. Communication Diagram

m. THE ROLE OF INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS

One cultural group may employ a few different sets of codes (as is the case of

Switzerland or Belgium). However. different cultural groups usually have different

languages.1 And as this world is getting smaller. it is becoming inevitable for the grobal

people to get together and discuss a variety of issues in spite of their language bar­

riers. He r e , in order to make it possible to communicate. a bridge which can overcome

the language gap is imperative. That bridge should serve as an instrument which can

decode the symbols spoken in JOe language and can encode the contents of the message

again in another set of co de s so as to enable the receiver to understand the message.

Functionally interpretation or translation is aimed at bridging "the bilingual and bi-cultural

distance in a process of dynamic international communication." 5)

To extend the above shown diagram of communication to make a diagram of interna­

tional communication. a special bridge should be built in the transfer mechanism.

As the diagram indicates, an interpreter or a translator is supposed to 1) receive

the symbols, 2) decode those symbols and get the contents of the message. 3) encode

the message in a different set of codes and 4) send the encoded symbols to the re­

ce ive r ,

5) Huh Chufboo, S"me Note on English-Korean Korean-English Simultaneous Translation (Seoul:

;'~reign Affairs Institute s . 1973), p. I

-109­

'I,\'<M' I :'f~ )11·1"1 ),J}l J6U Jt~ (m 5 '" 1982. 3)

r ec e iv ing de code- MES SAGE-encode-sendingr

sending-encode- M E S SAGE-decode- receiving

:0 c ............

response

C ........encode

decode

T -sending

receivingsending

receiving

A B

~ T 1----­ transfer ~r encode

I~-I----+---------·mechanism-~c

rpsponse

Figure 2. the Role of Interpreters or Translators

Translators may have time to go through these processes. But interpreters must

do these within a limited time, and in case of the simultaneous interpreters, these

four processes should be done almost instantaneously.

What an interpreter or a translator deals with is the contents of the message. He

conveys the idea of the sender to the receiver. However, he is tempted to translate

the primary meaning of the word in stead of the meaning it has in the context, because,

especially in simultaneous interpretation, the interpreter is speaking while the language

used by the speaker is constantly resounding is his ears. He is liable to fail to get

the message from the speaker and replaces the symbols by the different ones i. e. the

symbols of the receiver's language. This strong inclination is called "linguistic or lan­

~uage interference:' 6) This interference occurs due to the strong preoccupation of the

source language (speaker's language from which the interpreter gets the message).

Naturally the risk of being interfered is much higher between language which are of

. . 7)common o r ig m ,

The interpreters must understand the speaker and make himself understood to the

audience. In this manner, they transmit the idea, not the words or language itself. A

literal translation I. e. the word-for-word translation fails to serve the purpose of

in te r p r e t a tion to get the point across to the audience th r augh language barriers.

Future interpreters should bear this in mind and try to resist the temptation to do

verbatim translation.

N. TWO INTER-COMMUNICATION MEDIA

Comparison of Interpretation and Translation

6) Danica Seleskovitch, Interpreting [or International Con[erences (Washington:Pen and Booth Inc.

1978), p.103

7 ) Ibid.. p , 104

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A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 7

In this chapter, interpretation and translation will be compared with each other.

And in the latter part of this chapter, various methods of doing interpretation will be

in troduced.

Since interpretation or translation includes not only international communication but

also inter-cultural and interlingual communication, a new word, "inter-communication;'

IS employed here.

As explained earlier, translation deals with written material and interpretation with

spoken language. But this is not the only difference. A translator usually has a plenty

of time to do his job, therefo r e, he is expected to be as accurate as practically pos­

sible. Translators' work will be examined and criticized by any who have even a

limited knowledge of the source language and the target language (receiver's language

through which the interpreter conveys the speaker's idea).

The figure 3 shows the vocabulary spans of two different men, X and Y. Surely

this diagram has a lot of implications, but clearly manifested here among other things

is that the writing vocabulary exceeds the speaking vocabulary in quantity among those

who have higher education. This can be interpreted to mean that translators work

with more vocabulary than interpreters.

,,:X

I:~

:X

I ..

, , ,, -~ --------------'!'- ­ B

, ,: 1: --:- - J_ --~-- D I I

..; I I,,

producer(act~e) language

consumer (passive) language

Figure 3 Comparison of Vocabulary Span 8

Therefore no mistake is allowed in translation. The translator does the writing. He

remains hidden in the process of communication. In this sense, J. F. Henry said that

a translator is "confined in the back room:' ~I He also called the interpreter "the gla­

mour boy: the one who sits in front of the audience or in the booth wearing e a r p hon e s l'I'"

8 E. Nida, The Theory lind Pra c t icc oi T'r a ns Io t io n (Leiden:E. J. Brill 1969), p.155.

9 J. Henry, rour Futur(' in T'ru ns lu t i on u n d Int('rpr('tll/ion(New York:Richards Rosen Press Inc.

1969) p. 16

10) Idid., p.16.

-111­

The interpreter must make a physical appearance in the conference room. For him.

the most important factor is speed. Any hesitation is fatal. In case of simultaneous

interpretation. the intereter should make a split- second decision. Faltering or the break

of the linkage of his presentation is quite detr im en ta I to gaining th e con fide nee of

the audience.

2. Simultaneous Interpretation

There are two methods of doing simultaneous interpretation:telephonic interpretation

and whispering. Telephonic inte rpretation is done in a booth. an isolated and noise­

proof place, and in it, interpreters hear through earphones and speak into microphones.

This method is widely employed in multilingual conferences.

However, when all the audience except a couple of foreign delegates can directly

understand speaker's words. whispering is used. In this case. the interpreter sits

with the foreign delegates beside him out of the voice diffusion area lest his voice

should interrupt that of the speaker. But this method is rather inconvenient for the

interpreter and the audience.

The voice of the interpreter, however small it may be. is the noise to the majority

of the audience. To minimize the decibel of noise, the in t.e r p r e t e r stays out of the

voice diffusion area, which will hinder the interpreter from receiving clear message

and thereby making his job all the more difficult.

The following is the diagram of the location of the foreign delegates and the inter-

Pre te r ,

speaker

x xy y

x x fo re ign de Iega te

y inte r p r e te r

voice diffusion area

Figure. 4 The Location of Interpreters and Foreign Delegates

in a Conference Room When Using Whispering Method 111

11) C.De!(ueldre, Introduction to Interpretation(Seoul:Hankuk University of Fo r e ig n Studies 1980) p.23.

-112­

A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 9

3. Consecutive Interpretation

Consecutive interpretation and sight translation are two methods of interpretation

other than above explained simultaneous interpretation.

In conferences where there are only two or maximum three working languages, con­

secutive interpreta tion is a convenient and cheap method. C onsecu tive inte rpreta tion

does not need all the equipment used in simultaneous interpretation, and the only exp­

anse is the salary of the interpreters.

Co nsec u tjve interpreter sits beside or behind the speaker and takes notes while lis­

tening to the speaker and reproduces the message in another language at the end of

the speech, if the speech is short, or at a provided time for interpretation in the

middle of the speech. Since the consecutive interpreter reproduces the message in

ten or fifteen minutes, his prerequisite is the retentive memory. He also has to deve­

lop a special note-taking system which can help the interpreter's memory.

The consecutive interpreter should be more accurate in word choice than the simul­

taneous interpreter since he has more time to reorganize the idea. Another interesting

aspect can be found in the comparison between the simultaneous interpretation and the

consecutive interpretation. Generally in a conference with simultaneous interpretation,

the audience hears either from the speaker or from the interpreter. Sometimes a si­

multaneous interpreter makes and gets away with them, if those mistakes are insignifi­

cant and do not affect the flow of the speaker's main idea.

However in consecutive interpretation, the audience is forced to hear both versions

and some of the audience who know the target language well tend to judge the inter­

pretation during the interpreter's presentation (to them, the interpreting period is a

spare time.). In this sense, the consecutive interpreter is more vulnerable to criticism

than the simultaneous interpreters,

In consecutive interpretation, attitude can be more important, because listeners tend

to try to read the in te r p r e te r's expression as well as that of the original speaker to

see what lies behind the actual words. The art of feeling out one's audience is a

great help here in establishing a friendly rapport to begin with.

The interpreter has to face a battery of faces, the tension of conferences, which

is quite nerve-wracking, or the ordeal of public speaking.

Consecutive interpretation is not widely used today mainly because of one particular

disadvantage: the loss of time. The conference will be delayed as each speech will

require the time amount comparable to the original speech. Another disadvantage is

that the speech may Jose much of the speaker's impact on the audience because of the

time interval given to m te r p r e ta tjon.

-113­

4. Sight Translation

Sight translation or translation at sight is the combination of translation and inter­

Pretation. However it can be said to be an interpretation in that the message reaches

the audience instead of the reader. In sight translation, the interpreter receives mes­

sage from written material and send the message in spoken language. An interpreter,

sometimes, is given the written speech and asked to do the sight translation.

V. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER

So far, the simultaneous interpretation is reviewed along with its related areas such

as the consecutive interpretation and the translation.

N ow let's look at what qualifications are necessary to be a full fledged simultaneous

interpreter who can vitally play his role in the process of communication.

In order to play his role (hearing-understanding-speaking) successfully, the following

qualit~s are necessary:

1 Knowledge of Language

2 Comprehensive Faculty

3. Insatiable Curiosity

4. Extrovert Personality

5. Good Speaking Manners

6. Memory

7. Sen se of Responsibility

8. Physical Fittedness

1. Knowledge of Language

An interprete r- should know the vocabulary and the sentence structure of both tar­

get and the source language. He must have a perfect ear and language knowledge to

understand the idioms and phrases of the source language immediately and the ability

to find appropriate counterparts in the target language at once. Knowledge of the

source language is imperative, since the interpreter can not convey the message he does

not understand.

However, even more important than the knowledge of the source language is a com­

plete control of the target language (Korean in case of English-Korean interpreter).

A certain amount of data of the source language can be secured from dictionaries or

technical research papers, but there is no substitute for the thorough mastery of the

target language. Certainly, as Nida pointed out, the numerous and serious errors a r i s e

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A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Si:nultaneous Interpretation: 11

"primarily from the lack of thorough knowledge of the receptor language:' 121

Actually knowledge of the source language is a taken-for-granted matter for an inter­

preter and the audience wili Judge the skillfulness of an interpreter by their fluent

use of the target language. A p r o Ie ss ional interpreter must be able to speak at

least 120 words per rninu te.""

In short. an interpreter should be a bilingualist. Bilingualism is the utmost prere­

qu is it e of an interpreter.

Here. a caution is necessary:bilingualism alone is not a necessary and sufficient con­

dition to be an interpreter. It is necessary, to be sure, but it is not sufficient.

I t is one thing to know a language in gene r a l and ano ther to have a spec ial know­

ledge in biology or neuclear physics. For example, one may be generally familial with a

language and still know nothing about horticulture or viticulture. Such a general

knowledge of a language IS not adequate as a background for interpreting technical

ma t e r ia ls in those fields.

Again. a 'l1an who hates public speaking or who has a stage fright or who has ex­

rrorn e ly harsh voice is not adequate to be an interpreter. Such qualifications necessary

to be an interpreter other than the bilingualism will he discussed in the following.

2. Comprehensive Faculty

lnteretation deals with the contents (or the idea) of the message. In no way can the

interpreter convey the message which he fails to comprehend. What the interpreter is

in need of are skills to analyze and comprehend, power to concentrate and the feeling

for comm u nic a tion." , In 0 the r words the inte rp r e te r should concen tra te on the speaker,

analyze the speech to get the message, find the count e r p a r t s in target language that

convey the same idea and deliver them in coherence with the unfolding track of logic

of the original speake r ,

The simultaneous interpreter should go through this process in a second or two. For

him quickness in mind is the key to do his job. It may not be an exaggeration to say

that this quality. quick w it te dn e s s , is the conspicuous difference between the in t.er p >

re t o r and a mere bilingualist. Without this, the interpreter may fall into the pitfall of

the language interfe rence and be at a loss what to say though he understand the mes­

12) E. Nida , Talford a SchoneI' 01' T'r u n s la t t on (Leiden: E. J. Br ill 1964) p. 150. E. Nida used "the

receptor la ngua g e;' while J. Henry and D. Seleskovitch used "the target la ng uag e " These two

mean the receiver's language.

l:)J C. De z o e ld r c , Essay on the TraininR of In te r p r e ta tion and Translation{Seoul:Hankuk University

of F'o r e ig n Studies 1980) p.23.

14) D. Seleskovitch. [n te rn r ct i n e [o r International Conl'.-renef' (Washington:Pen and Booth Inc. 1978) p,120.

-115­

sage, or do word-for-word translation, which will get the audience nowhere.

3. Insatiable Curiosity

An interpreter can never know enough about anything and should therefore be keenly

interested in everything. He is expected to be something akin to a walking encyclopedia,

and not only to be able to use words properly, but also to know what he is talking

about, no matter how few others may do.

Of course, this level is virtually impossible to attain. But such an attitude is requi­

red to develop the capacity to learn. Future interpreters should have an insatiable cu­

riosity. They will be interested in communication as well as the most important problems

of modern times. In one word, the interpreter should have extremely broad knowledge

ranging from language, linguistics, chemistry, biology, history and medicine to intern­

ational law, economy, international politics, and education. Since the interpreter rs

working amidst professionals and experts in a certain field, he must be able to under­

stand what is being discussed in the conference room and for that, he must be fully

familial with the terminologies used in the discussion.

The insatiable curiosity will urge the interpreter to devour and digest any knowledge

and the accumu lated broad knowledge will provide a cushion against shocks the inter-

p r e t.e r may receive when he is asked to interprete in the state of total unpreparedness.

4. Extrovert Personality

Above mentioned three qualifications, knowledge of language, comprehensive faculty

and the broad knowledge may well be applied to a translator, though the translator

need one more: the keen sense of literature. But an interpreter needs more than that.

He works in public and for the public.

Above anything else, interpreters should not be afraid of talking in front of the

audience or into the m ic r o p ho n e s , In the booth, the interpreters receive a lot of ten­

s io n, Therefore two interpreters enter into One booth, and work with team spirit.

They are doing interpretation in turns, and the interpreter who is not working also

hears the speech and helps correct mistakes if any.

These can not be done by an introvert person who easily becomes embarassed in

front of the people. J. F. Henry put it in this way:"I would much rather to say you

need to have a broad, outgoing personality, with imagination and sympathy, to under­

stand and share the experience of another human being whatever his language is:' 15)

15) J. F. Henry, }"our Future in Translation and Interpretation (New York:Richards Rosen Press

Inc. I969)p. 25.

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A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous interpretation: 13

The interpreter must have a positive attitude to manage to control the stage fright

or the microphone phobia and to discharge the stress he may receive as soon as pos­

sible to renew his strength in a short break. Interpretation especially simultaneous in­

terpretation is a job for the extrovert.

5. Good Speaking Manners

The interpreter serves as a bridge that links the speaker to the audience. He is a

speaker behind the speaker who enables the audience understand what is being said by

the speaker. Therefore, the interpreter himself must have all the qualities of a good

speaker. "Interpreter is a professional public speaker:' l6) He must have a clear feeling

of communication and know what and when to emphasize as well as how to reorganize

the idea of the speaker in another language. He is not allowed to stammer or splutter

even when the speaker does. Actually though speakers in a conference are the specia­

lists In their own fields, they usually are not properly trained to speak in front of a

group of people. So it is not uncommon that the conference speaker loses the track

of logic, repeats the same idea endlessly and murmurs, stammers in his speech.

The interpreter must also have a pleasant voice, A harsh or coarse voice will tire

out the audience, which will hinder the understanding of the listeners. Some otherwise

able interpreters stay out of the job because of their grating voice. Along with this,

the interpreter must be accurate in pronunciation and proper in his intonation.

6. Memory

There is no job separation between the consecutive and simultaneous interpretation. A

simultaneous interpreter is expected to do consecutive interpretation, if the occasion

requires it. Therefore a simultaneous interpreter should be able to interprete eithe r

simultaneously or consecutively.

This means that a simultaneous interpreter must also train himself to do the c on s e­

cutive interpretation, where the memory plays the vital role. Interpreter's memory is

different from the capability to recall what was said in the conference room.

It goes further than that: it includes the capability to catch what was meant and the

capability to reconstruct the meaning in a different language.

But, however excellent memory an interpreter may have, it has its own limit. It is

next to impossible to reproduce a five or ten minute speech only with memory.

Here, the note- taking system comes into the scene of in te r p r e tion. Note taking sys­

tem is an instrument specially designed to help the interpreter's memory. It is differ­

16) C.Degueldre, Essay an the Training of Inte r p r e t a t io-n (Seoul: Hanku k University of Foreign

Studies 1980)p. 19.

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ent from stenography in that the stenography is used in transcription and the note-

taking system for interpretation. The stenography is for reproducing the sentences, while

the note taking system lor reproducing. the idea. In other words, the stenography is

employed to write down what is being said in t1.; same language system. And the note­

taking system, on the other hand, is a device for writing down the idea of the deliver­

ed speech in another language in order to reproduce orally in five or ten minutes la­

ter. Note taking system is by no means a wholesome method to reproduce the speech,

it is only a supplimentary measure to help the interpreter's memory:it is a m em o nic

device.

One interpreter's note taking system may be different from that of his colleague,

because every interpreter develops his own note-taking system which is most suitable

to his need.

Two important points in note t.. king system are, firstly the interpreter should not

try to write down every word spoken by the speaker and secondly, the interpreter

should take notes in the target language.

Speakers who are not properly trained to speak in public may repeat his point more

than necessary and sometimes commit grammtical errors. The interpreter does not

have to interprete all the voice clearing sound, meaningless repetitions or grammatical

errors. That is why the interpreter should not try to follow every wod!.. He catches

the important idea with his analytic mind and comprehensive faculty and just takes

short notes lest he should forget the idea.

Secondly, the mterpreter is supposed to start interpretation as soon as the speaker

stops m case of consecutive interpretation. He is not given a spare time to translate

what he has written down before he starts interpreting. Therefore it is more conve­

n ient to take notes in the target language.

Note taking is such an indispensable instrument in consecutive interpretation that a

special interest should be given to it.

7. Sense of Responsibility

The audience who wears earphone in the conference room turns to the interpreter

as to God, while looking at the face of the speaker, He is like a shepherd who leads

the sheep that do not know where to go. He must stict to his job even in the face

of a great danger just in front of him.

If the interpreter puts off the earphone or turns off the microphone simply because

he does not feel good or if he walks out of the conference room or of the booth

embarrassed by an unexpected mistake he made, the whole conference will be-com e a

great mess. The interpreter means more than the speaker to the conference. partici­

pants who is dependent upon the interpreter. After all, the interpreter' is paid in

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8

A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 15

return for the co nt r ibu t ion he makes by making possible the communication between the

speaker and the participants of the conference.

Therefore the interpreter should have a Strong sense of responsibility that he is a

communication moderator and that he leads the conference. He must do what he can

do well in the best way he can. The other side of responsibility is self assurance o r

self confidence. They are the different sides of a same coin. Interpreters should be

confident in their capability to do their duty so as to make the audience rest assured

that they are hearing the right message of the speaker through the in terpreters.

Interpreters should never abandon their job in any circumstances. He may do a poor

job, which he should not do, but that poor job is still better than no job.

Physical Fittedness

Interpretation, in short, is a nerve-wracking experience and an extremely tiring job.

The interpreter does "a quantity of work which is 10 times greater than that of a

translator, at a speed which. is by necessity 30 times faster:,17) It virtually exhausts

the interpreter within 30 minutes.

The simultaneous interpretation booth is noise-proof and is usually poorly ventilated.

and in it, interpreters s t r a m every nerve to hear correctly, to understand and find

the counterparts as quickly as possible and to speak in a right m anae r , Interpreters

do incalculable amount of mental activities.

Sometimes, interpreters are forced to travel many places, to eat various food, to

sleep in different places. Moreover, responsible interpreters do preparation the night

before or even from a few months before the conference, by studying the working do­

cuments of the meeting and a variety of the related subjects.

All these mental stress, coupled with poor circumstances and physical activities, will

make the interpreter feel extremely tired and may make ordinary people sick in bed or

hospitalized.

Interpreters must be able to overcome the enormous tension and discharge the piled­

up stress and must' have physical strength to endure miles of travelling and different

climates and to digest various dishes, if need be.

As is shown here clearly and in detail, bilingualism is not sufficient to be a transla­

tor or an interpreter. Each of the qualifications is not less important than the k no w l­

edge of languages.

This means that the foreign language is an indispensable factor bu t there are other

equally important qualifications needed to be an able interprete r ,

17) D. Se le s kov it.ch, Interpreting for International Conferences (Washington:Pen and Booth Inc. 1978) p.144.

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VI. TRANING FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER

An interpreter with aforesaid qualifications is an artist who expresses what he gets

from the speaker. And as the violinist or the pianist practises everyday for better

performance, the interpreter also sharpens up his skill of interpretation everyday.

In this chapter, various methods of training to fully develop the quality of interpre­

ters will be discussed. The methods introduced here are not the wholesome coverage

of all o o s s ib le trainings. What is dealt with in this chapter is not the methodology of

training but some necessary trainings an interprete r should practise everyday viewed

from the point of practicality.

To fully develop the interpreter's talents, the following practices are recommendable:

1 Keeping Abreast of Time

2 Shadowing

3 Extracting Ideas

4 Consecutive Interpretation and Sight Translation

5 Number Counting

6. Idioms

7. Overcoming Structural Differences

1. Keeping Abreast of Time

Interpreters are expected to be a "living complete encyclopedia constantly kept up­

to-date:,18) Though it is admittedly impossible to attain this state, an interpreter should

be able to enjoy poking his nose into every nook and corner of human knowledge.

Reading newspapers, weekly magazines and listening to news reports everyday should

be a routine practice. Through this method, an interpreter can get access to changing

in te rna t ional economy or world politics and ge taw ide know ledge of eve ry branch 0 f

study.

Another benefit of reading magazines and internationally important subjects is that

the interpreter canbe familial with terminologies. Those knowledge along with the termi­

nologies present a valuable instrument to the interpreter in doing his job.

To be able to read current magazines and to digest the contents, the interpreter

should have a considerable amount of basic knowledge in such fields as litu r a tu r e , ling­

uistics, mathematics, geology, geography, economics, politics, chemistry, physics, biol­

ogy, botany, philosophy and religion, to name a few.

In short, an in te r p r e te s is a man of eternal curiosity who enjoys widening his

knowledge.

18) C. De zu e kl r e, Essay on thr Training III [n t erp r e l u t in n a n d Tvn ns la t i o n. (Seoul: Hankuk University

of Foreign Studies)p.16.

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A Practical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 17

2. Shadowing

Shadowing is an exercise of repeating what is being said with a ,little time lag in the

same language. This train is used for dichotomizing the function of brain, that IS to

exercise hearing and speaking at the same time. This can be done either in the mother

tongue or in the foreign language. It is a basic training to enhance the hearing ability

while speaking.

Through this practice, the trainee can learn correct pronunciation and proper accent

and intonation.

At first, it is very difficult to understand what the trainee hears and speaks. But

gradually he will be able to divide his brain function in three parts :hearing, understan­

ding and repeating.

3. Extracting Ideas

The strongest tempta tion for an inte r p r e te r is to inte r p r e t e word- for-word. He IS

apt to do verbatim interpretation. Though he perfectly understand the vocabulary and

sentence structu res, if he does not know what idea the speaker tries to convey to

the audience, he can not successfully play his role. However poorly organized the

speech may be, the interpreter should be able to organ ize the idea properly and well

in the target language.

For this, the future interpreter should practice extracting ideas from speeches or

news paper articles. The final aim of this exercise is to be able to get the idea from

a speech in foreign language and say it in one's own m o the r tongue. For that end,

the first step should be extracting ideas from speeches in the mother tongue and sum­

marize and rephrase them again in the interpreter's mother tongue. After getting suf­

ficient fluency of the first exercise, the second step is introduced: to summarize the

foreign language speeches and rephrase them in the same foreign language. The third

step is extracting ideas from speeches in the interpreter's mother tongue and reproduce

the contents in the foreign language. The fourth step is to reproduce foreign language

speeches in the interpreter's mother tongue.

The order is set according to the degree of difficulty of performance.

Some trainees say that reproducing speeches of the mother tongue in a foreign langu­

age than reproducing the other way around. However the language interference has

much more influence over a foreign language which will hinder the interpreter to find

'a proper equivalent in his mother tongue.

4. Consecutive Interpretation and Sight Translation

As explained in the former chapter, there is no clear job separation between conse­

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6

cu tive interpretation and simultaneous interpretation. And "the interpretation techniques

are basically similar:'19) Again in many cases, the interpreters will be asked to do sight

translation.

These two traning methods present a good model of group exercise. A group of

trainees hear from one tape recorder and one of them interprets it consecutively while

others compare the interpretation with their own version or one does translation at

sight with prepared material while others listening to him. In this way, many compari­

sons will be made within the group which will help the trainees find proper counter­

parts in target language and learn desirable way to deliver the translated version. Above

anything else. consecutive interpretation and sight translation are valuable in gaining

accuracy and fluency.

After e ve r y thing is said and done, a good simultaneous interpreter is an excellent

consec u t ive interpreter and good sight translator. It is sometimes said, not without

reason, that consecutive interpretation and sight translation are the only methods of

training simultaneous interpreters.

5. Number Counting

Re g a r d le s s of simultaneous or consecutive interpretation, the most annoying thing is

the interpretation of numbers.

What makes the matter worse is that numbers are treated importa'ntly in most cases.

To overcome the difficulty and manage the numbers, interpreters must pay special

attention to this monstrous thing. Interpreters should never stop training themselves to

handle numbers until they can in te rp r e te the numbers almost unconciously.

oJ:- ten thou sand

"iJ oJ:- ••.. ············hundred thousand

~,i oJ:- ••••.• ••••••••••••••••••••,•••ten million

Above three are the main culprits of causing confusion in counting numbers. Inte r ­

p r e te r s must endlessly practice interpreting numbers until he can tame them.

Idoms

If the number is the most hostile enemy of interpreters, the second most one is

tne idiom. Here, word-for-word interpretation has no place to stand, it will make the

idiom totally meaningless. Let me tell you an interesting example. An English professor

was asked to interpret for foreign guests in a banquet meeting, where a Korean speaker

used a typical Korean maxim, "'WA..s::QIJl1tW:' He made a ve r ha tim interpretation in

this way: "Even a saint sometimes should follow the time:' No foreigners there could

understand what the speaker tried to say. He later recalled the equivalent English

19) Ibid., p. 27.

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A Prectical Analysis of Interpretation Focused on English-Korean Simultaneous Interpretation: 19

maxim, "Do as Romans do, while in Rome:'

To earn rao ne y Koreans are adviced to keep on digging only one well, while Am e r r-:

cans try to be a stone which is not rolling. Too many Korean rowers will meet too

many American cooks in the final station of failure. Koreans become ghosts when

they die. Americans, on the other hand, give up their ghosts in a dying bed. This

difference in proverbs can be said. to be derived from the difference way of thinking

between Koreans and Americans.

On more interesting observation is that the Ameridans usually marne things according

to their shapes or locations, while Koreans emphasize the usage of things in naming

them. For example, Korean word "6,1.£" means a way for pedestrians. But Americans

call it sidewalk simply because it is located to the left or the right side of a street.

";<]711" in Korean is a-frame in English. Understandably the ;<1711' s shape is somewhat

like the letter A. Like this, the English names such as octave, Pentagon, Oval Office

and Broadway show the shape and overbridge, Capitol Hill, Three Mile Island and

Longbeach tell us the location of those things.

Thpsp a r e but a few examples. Idioms and other c r o s s c u ltu r a l differences a r e

challenging studies to the interpreters.

7. Overcoming Structural Differences

It is often said that English-Korean simultaneous interpretation is very hard because

of the down right differences between English and Korean language structures.

However such differences should not be an insurmountable obstacles.

This subject will be continuously studied by the interprete r s , and here, one s ugg e s ­

tion w ill be made to that end.

The major structural difference between English and Korean is the location of verb:

in Korean, the verb comes last, while in English it immediately follows the subject.

part.

North

The comparison of these two versions will shed some light on how to overcome the

linguistic differences, though the sentence is an extremely simple one. The interprete r

must hear the end of the s e n t e nc e before he presents the Korean version, if he sticks

to the grammatical points of the target language, Korean.

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This time. as the sentence is simple, no serious problem will be posed. But if the

sentence is a little bit longer than this, one, the stakes are high that he may forget

the first of the sentence or may fail to hear the first part of the following sentence.

Here again, in te r p r e te r s should bear in mind that they are dealing with the idea not

the grammatical points. Compare the following four sentences:

We strongly oppose the military aggression from the North.

What we strongly oppose is the military aggression which comes from the North.

These four sentences covey exactly the same idea. The comparison of the first

sentence and fourth sentence gives some hint. The verb "oppose" in the first sentence

is converted into a noun phrase in the fourth sentence. In this way if we interpret

English verb as a noun p h r a s e in Korean, we can solve a lot of problems stemming

from structural differences. Here are some examples:

He went into the tea room in order to meet his president.

~7~ %"l'\t ~~-2:- LC~8J-"JtJ~ "Ii=- A~"J-% pJt+71 -i'lv"l ;dt+.

He emphasized that Japan should know Korea is her neighbor.

_-L7~ 7J-.x.~J8~ "J-i':-" I °l"~"}~ -<}'-l-f!:- ~Yf"l -l~ cl?;t{lO}e-}i=- :;;!"ILCr.

Now is the time for us to establish a self relient defence post u r e,

"10<11 .q-i.'17~ "I-'i\-~ tJ~i=- 4Cf'-'t 8J- Q] "HI "It:}.

Again, we can change the verb into an adjective phrase as shown in the following

sentences:

asked him to take care of the book which will be returned to the library.

t-l17~ toJ--¥-"6J.-tJ~ ~oJl711 "~7}:.<1.:Jl ~~e-}t;! ;~-2:- 5'..Al"1!-oJ] 8JI.-,J-"6J.- 7,;J"lt~.

We are studying English which is now used as a international auxiliary language .

.q-i.'17~ -t'--¥-3~.:Jl ~i=- °s"li=- "10<110:-0<1] .'L.x."l5Jl %%"] 5'j.:Jl ~t~.

Ch anging the English ve rb into a noun ph r a s e or an adjective phrase when inte r p r e-:

t ing into Korean simultaneously is very helpful though not a panacea. Method of over­

coming the structural differences should be continuously studied by the English-Korean

in te r p r e te r s .

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f /:'

A Practical Analysis of l n t e r p r cta t io n Fl)cIJ,,';t,rl 0)\ Engllsh- Korean Simultane,(}\~'s Interpretation: 21

I

VII. THE IMPOETANCE OF PREPARATION

An interpreter is not a magician who c-au .]. anything by waving a wand. Behind him,

there is an enormous amount of t im e 11(' :-.;r't.'nd" .. n preparation.

Though the interpreter is extending his k no w ied g e constantly by reading books and

newspapers, he should aquire, for each conference in which he serves as an interpreter,

the knowledge and terminology of subject related to the conference. He must consult

e nc-yc lope dia and all available documents ro la te d to the conference for which he will

interpret.

In many cases, speakers are more knowledgeable than the in rc r p r o t e r about the

subject at hand. Consequently there is no co n t e re nc e for w h ich the interpreter does

not have to prepare.

As such, before an interpreter gOt'S into it boo r h for interpretation, he should

make a lot of preparation. And no a mo un t of pre-p a ra t io n IS more than necessary.

In his interpretation, an interpreter s ho u ld bt' familial not only with the subject and

terminology but also with the pronunciation of the conference speakers. Indian English

is quite different from American English and Japanese a re notorious for their bad p r)­

nunc ia rion.

Unlike face to face dialogue, it IS very difficult to h ca : -i r r a ng c pronunciation through

earphones. Therefore, it is necessary for an in t e r p r e u- r 10 hecome acquainted with

the pronunciation of the speaker. It is b e t t e r for him to h,- exposed to various types

of pronunciation to an extent that he can feel at home or e ve n feel affinity when he

hears uncommon pronunciation. In his preparation, he has to include the participating

the conference eve party and establishing w a r m and friendly relationship with th e

speakers and making them rest assured for the ability of the interpreter. This will also

provide the interpreter a good chance to become acquainted with the pronunciation of

the speakers.

VI. CONCLUSION

We have reviewed what kind of work a translator or an interpreter is supposed to

do, what qualifications are needed to be a responsible and able interpreter.

As clearly manifested in this paper, a mere bilingualist cannot fulfill the r e s po n s ib ili­

ty of the interpreter. But it goes without saying that bilingualism is the first prere­

quisite to be an interpreter. With bi ingualism, he also should have a fair ly good knowle 1­

ge about the subject which he will deal with in interpretation. In addition to this, he

should have a quick mind to comprehend the message right at the moment he hears

it, and have a good speaking mannes to fully get the message across to the audience

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'I,\'i 1·\' I 'f JJII"J )J}' ulfO 'iC it (~5" 1982. 3)

without causing resistance on the part of the listeners.

Moreover, an interpreter can not select what he will interpret for the conference.

So he must always be prepared to do his duty regardless of his interest of the

[e c t of the conference.

And again, he should have a keen sense of responsibility as a helper and operator of

bilingual communication.

Besides these, he should have a good memory and strong physical constitution to

adapt himself to various climates, foods, hours of travelling and diffe rent sleeping p la­

ces.

All these qualifications alone do not produce a good interpreter. These qualificati ­

ons should be trained in a proper way to maximize the interpreter's ability.

Among other things, the idioms and numbers present the eternal hinderance to an

interpreter, which, by all means, should be tamed.

Especially Korean interpreters have to fight against the seemingly insurmoutable st ­

ructural differences between Korean and English. For this a research is made here on

overcoming the word order differences by converting English verb into a noun or a dje c­

t i v e phrase when it is being interpreted into Korean.

For maximization of the fruit people can get from a international conference or from

communication, interpreters should always be ready to stand in front of people by con­

stantly updating his knowledge and fully prepare for the conference when he is called

into doing his duty.

hope the reader will recognize the difference between a mere bilingualist and an

able interpreter by s tu dy ing with this paper.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Huh Chul Boo, Some Notes on Englis I. Korean, Ko r e a n-i En g lis h Simultaneous Translation, Seoul:Fo­

reign Affairs Institute 1973.

Degueldre Christian, Essay on the Training of Interpretation And Translation. Seoul eGra dua te School

of Interpretation and Translation in Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 1980.

De gue ld r-e Christian, Introduction to Interpretation, Seoul: Graduate School of Interpretation and

Translation in Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 1981.

Henry J. F., Your Future in Translation a ns Interetation, New York:Richards Rosen Inc.; 1969.

Nida Eugene, Toward a Science of Translation, Le ide n, Netherlands:E. J. Brill, 1964.

Nida Eugene, The Theory and Practice of Translation, Leiden, Netherlands:E. J. Brill, 1959.

De S,\ussure Ferdinand, W. Baskin trans., Course in Linguistics, New York: Philosophical Library,

1950.

Seleskovitch Danica, In te rpreting for International Conferences, Washington D. C.: Pen and Booth

Inc., 1978.

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