A brief analysis on the Simultaneous Interpretation

Qi Wang

【Abstract】Simultaneous interpretation （SI） is an intellectual activity which requires interpreter to translate form one language into another simultaneously. As the most challenged field of interpretation， SI is considered to be the highest level of language interpreting for it requires special quality of skills which can never be acquired without systematic and sophisticated training.

【Key words】research； skills； practical meaning

I . Description of Simultaneous Interpretation

“Simultaneous interpreting （SI） is an intellectual activity of facilitating oral communication， simultaneously between two or more users of different languages. When practicing simultaneous interpreting， the interpreter renders the message in the target-language （TL） as quickly as he can formulate it from the source language （SL） while the SL speaker continuously speaks， sitting in a sound-proof booth. Meanwhile， the SI interpreter speaks into a microphone， while clearly seeing and hearing the source-language speaker via earphones. SI is rendered to the TL listeners via their earphones. Interestingly， SI is the common mode used by sign language interpreters.” （686）， a citation from Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

From the above-mentioned description， it can be seen that SI takes place in a special setting---a sound-proof booth， translating one language to the other at the same time. It is widely used on such occasions of international communication as in conferences， symposiums， forums， etc.

II. Requirements for professional simultaneous interpreters

2.1 A Good Command of the Languages involved

An SI interpreter can deals with two different languages or more at the same time. He must be competent and proficient in two languages involves---both his mother tongue and the second language. Ideally， he must be proficient enough in the two languages to be bilingual. An SI interpreter， one must be a master of the languages he works with and have a good command of his native language. A profound knowledge of the native language will possibly lead to high proficiency in the second language.

2.2 Requirements for Solid Educational Background

SI interpreters are required of a high quality education. In addition， they must be well-equipped with the knowledge of humanities about the cultures involved--- those branches of knowledge， such as philosophy， literature， and art， which are concerned with human thought and culture. Knowledge of science and technology is also included， at least valid for some of such interpreters. Only a strong professional education will enable SI interpreters to accomplish their tasks because a piece of interpretation work can involve more than the languages alone.

III. Important SI Techniques

3.1 How to Deal with Inverted Sentence.

English and Chinese are different syntax， and the difference inevitably results in difficulty. Hearing “日本人在1945年投降了（1） ，在美国人投了两颗原子蛋之后（2）”。The interpreters usually interpret the first part： The Japanese surrendered in 1945. When the interpreting goes to the second part， the interpreter has to recognize the order of the sentence by restating the whole sentence.

3.2 How to Deal With the Active Voice and the Passive Voice.

The passive voice of English has often proved to be difficult for SI. Through the research， it is found that there are quite a number of interpreters who would fail to produce a smooth sentence in English as far as the voice is concerned. Therefore， this problem deserves enough attention and studies.

3.3 How to Deal with Long Sentences.

To deal with the long sentences well is the basic skills of the simultaneous interpretation. To pay attention to not only divided the complex long sentences into simple sentences according to the meaning of the original but also to avoid to use the same words for several times in the long sentences. So， “who”， “which”， “that”， replace the subject and the object.

Conclusion：The whole thesis is basically focused the descriptions of simultaneous interpretation and the special skills and important qualities of SI interpreters. The research also extends to the training processes and some important factors that will qualify an SI interpreter to be competent enough to deal with a piece of SI assignment. Only if the interpreter is well-equipped with the basic skills and has a large amount of practice could he or she become qualified as an SI interpreter.

References：

[1]“Ju Tong，Who Works for the Prime Minister.” Nov.22，2007.Wang Wang English Website.Date accessed：March 20，2008.

[2]Sun Wanbiao，and Wang Enming.An Advanced Course Of Translation.Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education，2007.

[3]Wang Liming王黎明.“Tong Sheng Chuan Yi de Peixun”. “同声传译的培训”（“Training on the Simultaneous Interpretation.”）Journal of Sichuan College of Education.2006：37-66.

[4]Xing Xing.March 20，2007.“Simultaneous Interpretation Professor Ju Tongs Way of Note Taking.Hujiang Website.http：// tr.hjenglish.com/page/7068/.Date accessed：March 17，2008.