口译解码训练

Decoding Training (I): Active Listening（积极听入）Decoding in Interpreter’s Training
Interpreting is a decoding-memorizing-encoding (解码-记忆-编码) process. Decoding is the first step in interpreting. To reconstruct ideas clearly and effectively, interpreters must first of all understand them correctly. An interpreter needs acute listening and understanding. If interpreters’ Decoding Effort fails, the other efforts become meaningless, so does the whole interpreting process.
In the context of interpreting, an int erpreter should be aware that “to hear” is not merely to know all the words that are being spoken, but to grasp the main ideas of the original speech, for it is meaning that is to be interpreted, not the words. The pure understanding of words alone is not sufficient for interpreters to reconstruct ideas effectively. Interpreters must be able to seize meaning when they listen to the speaker, and they must therefore listen actively.
Three Guidelines for Active Listening
Both CI and SI require concentrated listening or active listening instead of ordinary listening, which means that the interpreter avoids all distractions, concentrating on the job at hand. To listen actively, the interpreter’s brain must be active. It must perceive the sounds correctly and constantly focus on the information conveyed by the sounds. In order to maintain active listening, interpreters are suggested to follow the following three guidelines（原则）.
1. Listen to the Meanings instead of Words
What the speaker tries to convey（传达）and what the listener is interested in is not the words but the message. To render the speaker’s idea is interpreter’s top priority（首要任务）. Therefore, interpreters are expected to follow the speaker closely and catch the idea while listening.
2. Listen for both Content and Attitude
The total meaning of message consists of both idea and feeling. The speakers choose their own sentence structures and speak in their own tone to express their idea. The same sentence may mean differently by
Interpreters, therefore, shall consider both the content（内容）and the speaker’s attitude（态度）.
3. Listen with Ears, Eyes and Heart
Interpreting is a highly demanding profession. Listening is the first step in interpreting. Interpreter’s decoding decides whether or not the speaker’s message can be correctly transfe rred. Interpreters shall listen with undivided attention and with the intention to receive the intended message. What they shall resort to is not simply their ears, but also their eyes and heart.
Three Methods to Listen Actively
To understand more accurate ly the speaker’s intended message, interpreters must pay constant and careful attention. To improve the efficiency of active listening, interpreters often utilize（利用）several methods to help them focus on listening and collecting information. Following are some suggested methods for active listening.
1. Sit or Stand Comfortably Upright
In the course of interpreting, interpreters usually have to sit or stand beside the speaker, or sit in the booth（口译箱）. Interpreter’s sitting or standing posture will surely exert an impact on their listening. In order to keep alert and limit distractions（分心）, it is advisable that interpreters first of all make sure they are in a comfortable position.
2. Observe the Speaker’s Body Language
As we all know, people speak in both verbal language and body language（身体语言）. The speaker’s message shall be understood on the basis of his choice of words and his body language. Speaker’s body language like gestures（手势）, eye contact（眼神）and facial expressions （表情）sometimes gives hints（暗示）and tells the true story. Speaker’s facial expressions may tell the listener what he really mean.
3. Try to Visualize the Words
Visualization（视觉化）is a tactic of conceiving ideas in the mind through pictures or images. By visualizing the speaker’s words, interpreters may identify（识别）the speaker’s main idea more easily. Such a skill helps the interpreter focus attention on the meaning of words used rather than the forms of the words.
Decoding Training (II): Discourse Analysis（语篇分析）
Interpreting is to “understand and make understood”. To interpret the speech, one must first understand the message of the speech. However, comprehension（理解）of the source discourse goes beyond the simple recognition of words and linguistic structures. The interpreter shall make an analysis of the source discourse. More importantly, the interpreter shall identify（识别）the speech type and know how to identify the main ideas of the original speeches.
Identification of the Speech Types
Speeches are diversified serving different occasions and purposes. It will be of great help to the interpreters if they know the speaker’s style. In most cases, speeches are prepared beforehand. Therefore, a study of the different types of writing helps an interpreter identify the main idea of a given speech. Following are the basic types of writing.
1. Descriptive Writing
Descriptive（描述性的）writing involves a great deal of detailed information. A descriptive discussion aimed at providing details of an event, a scene, a procedure, or a situation. This speech type demands a thorough background investigation of the speaker and the relevant situation by the interpreter.
2. Narrative Writing
Narrative（叙述性的）writing focuses on the development of events. There is no doubt that the interpreter should be very sensitive to dates, time phrases, and verb tenses when a narrative speech is dealt with.
3. Expositive Writing
Expositive（说明性的）writing deals with its subject matter in such orders as chronological, spatial, comparison, and definition. It would be to the advantage of the interpreter to conduct a background investigation of the speaker and the situation, for that would provide the interpreter
with not only the necessary glossary but also the speaker’s standpoint（立场）.
4. Persuasive Writing
Persuasive（劝说性的）writers always want to make their arguments clear, strong and convincing. When the purpose is to convince, writers of persuasive writing mainly employ two techniques -- induction（归纳）and deduction（推论）. Inductive writing starts with specific examples or points to draw a general conclusion, while deductive writing illustrates its thesis at first and then supports and reinforces the thesis through specific examples or subordinate ideas.
Identification of the Main Ideas
In the context of interpreting, the main ideas of the source speech can be identified at the sentence level and at the discourse level. Priority should always be attached to identifying the main idea at the sentence level. We argue that identification of main ideas be done on the basis of sentences. Training in identifying the main ideas in interpreting should naturally take place first at the sentence level.
1. Sentence Level
The most important task for an interpreter to identify the main ideas at the sentence level is to discern (洞悉）the subject, verb and object (SVO). It is highly significant for the interpreter to catch the SVO of the sentence while listening to the source text, as the SVO usually carries the major information of the sentence. For example, when listening to “The best way to carry money while traveling is to have a major credit card”, the interpreter is expected to c atch “The best way is to have a credit card.” If the interpreter is able to catch the SVO of the sentence, he then will produce a complete sentence with the major information in the target language.
2. Discourse Level
There are also some skills an interpreter might employ on different occasions for grasping the gist（要点）of a speech at the discourse level. In
a well-organized speech, the speaker usually explains his point in the first few sentences. Therefore, one of the ways to get the main idea of a speech is to attach priority to the beginning of the speech. Secondly, if the interpreter encounters a speech that is inductively constructed, the interpreter should, to the best of their ability, conduct a study of the speaker's background and viewpoints so that they can follow the speaker's logical guidelines.
Decoding Training (III): Note Taking I（口译笔记I）
A key skill that is involved in interpreting and deserves our foremost attention is note taking, as few interpreters can memorize a segment of speech delivered longer than one minute without some loss of information. Note taking is an indispensable（不可或缺的）tool for interpreters in consecutive interpreting and it helps interpreters reproduce the original speech accurately.
Note Taking—an Aid and an Evil
Note taking plays a very important role in the course of interpreting and it serves as an important aid（助手）to the interpreter. However, it can also be an evil（麻烦）if the interpreter is not able to take notes in a proper way.
1. An Aid
It is easy for an interpreter to speak from their memory when the speaker pauses after every one or two sentences. But if the speaker keeps speaking for 5 or even 10 minutes without any pauses, the interpreter can hardly expect to remember all the details that are mentioned. This is particularly true in cases where the speaker abruptly refers to a long series of figures or a long list of names. It is obvious that, without the help of notes, one can hardly avoid misinterpreting or leaving out important information. In these cases, note taking does play a decisive role in interpreting.
To supplement（补充）short-term memory and reduce the burden of the brain, it is necessary to resort to notes. Nothing but notes can help an interpreter overcome the limitation of human memory. Interpreters take notes for two major purposes. First, notes can aid memory. Some elements in a speech cannot be recalled merely on the basis of memory. Second, notes can represent the structure of a speech. Written notes, even when brief in content, can clearly indicate how ideas are related to or separated from one another, which helps interpreters reproduce the structure and message accurately.
2. An Evil
However, for many interpreters, note taking is said to be a necessary evil（必要之恶）. It is regarded as an evil because it calls for a certain amount of distribution of attention and it might interfere in one’s listening. The fact that taking notes diverts（转移）attention and interferes with listening poses the first obstacle. The second problem is that untrained interpreters are often at a loss what notes should be taken and in which way the notes should be taken.
The most essential aspects of consecutive interpreting are the processes of listening, understanding, analysis and re-expression. If these processes are not well carried out, even the best notes in the world will not produce good interpretation. Therefore, note-taking is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Notes are meaningless if they do not function well as aids in the processes of interpreting.
Two Features of Note-taking
Note taking in the course of interpreting has two distinct features.
1. The Purpose of Note Taking is to Supplement Memory Efficiency.
This means that the importance of note taking should not be overemphasized（过分强调）. An interpreter must realize from the very beginning that it is memory on the basis of correct comprehension that plays the major role in ensuring accuracy（准确）in interpreting. So it is absolutely unnecessary and impossible to write down every word. In fact, if an interpreter spends too much time taking notes, he won’t be able to have sufficient time to ponder（考虑）over the actual interpreting. At any time and under any circumstances, an interpreter should focus his attention on listening and comprehension and try to grasp the central ideas.
2. The Notes are Essentially Individual in Character.
The ability to note down what is said varies from person to person. Some people may have an exceptionally good memory and remember
details; others may be particularly familiar with the subject matter in a particular field. It is therefore not feasible for a beginner to copy mechanically a system of notes used by an experienced interpreter. The notes taken are used immediately and exclusively（专有地）by the interpreter himself. In other words, notes are not intended for others to read or for the interpreter himself to use when the interpreting is over. The content and symbols noted down vary with individual interpreters. Only practical experience and repeated experiments can show an interpreter what type of notes will be best suited for him.
Decoding Training (IV): Note Taking II（口译笔记II）
What Notes To Take?
Interpreters are not able to note down every word he hears. They shall therefore be very clear that what are to be noted down and what are to be kept in mind. Following are some items that are supposed to be noted down.
1. Key Words and Main Ideas
Interpreters have their own note taking habits as to what and how much to write down in their notebooks. However, most interpreters only jot down（略记）the semantic meanings of the very important words and phrases and draw arrows to indicate the relations among them. It is advisable not to write too much when taking notes, as it is likely to distract the interpreter from clearly understanding the speech. Skilled interpreters always keep their notes brief in content and simply jot down the key points. An interpreter should not take notes indiscriminately（不加选择地）. He should make a logical analysis of the original speech and try to catch the key words so as to follow the speaker’s flow of thought.
2. Figures, Proper Names, and Lists
For the purpose of aiding memory, interpreters obviously note down the elements that are difficult to remember. Special attention should be given to personal names, places, figures, time, and the names of organizations. First, when numbers are spoken, notes become indispensable（绝对必要的）, for numbers cannot be recalled reliably without the help of notes, especially when the speech involves a series of numbers. Second, when proper names, especially the ones with which the interpreters are not familiar, are cited by the speaker, notes are also essential. Third, when the speaker gives a long list, interpreters should try to note all the elements of the list as completely as possible.
3. Links and Transitional Expressions
For the purpose of representing the structure of the speech, interpreters need to write down links and separations between ideas.
Interpreters may remember these points without notes, but the written notes of these elements will ensure the efficient and complete reproduction of the original structure. Transitional（过渡的）words or phrases such as "but", "so", "if" are of special importance in indicating the logical relationship between different sense groups and helping interpreters remember what has been said. Therefore, such links and transitional expressions should be jotted down carefully.
4. Beginning and End
It is also necessary to point out that an interpreter should try his/her best to remember the beginning and the end of a speech. It is quite likely that when a long speech comes to an end, the interpreter fails to recall how the speaker began or ended his/her speech. However, the listeners usually remember the beginning and end better. It is therefore suggested that the interpreter note down the beginning and the end of the speeches he/she is going to interpret.
How To Take Notes?
As for how to take notes, it is very much a question of personal preference. However, there are some general guidelines to follow.
1. Take the Notes in Columns
Usually, interpreters prefer to takes notes vertically（垂直地）so as to break up the sentence into sense units for easy digestion. In addition, vertical notes leave enough margin（空白）and space between lines in order to insert markers such as arrows and other meaningful symbols that help imply the relations among what is noted down. Therefore, many experienced interpreters prefer top-opening notebooks to those that open on the side.
2. Use Abbreviations and Symbols
Abbreviations（缩写）and symbols account for much of the veteran interpreters’ notes. Using abbreviations and symbols instead of words in full spelling is what almost every professional interpreter practices when taking notes, as the abbreviations and symbols save time and efforts. In
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order to facilitate note taking, we might as well use some simple words to stand for various groups of transitional expressions. For example, we may write "if" to stand for all conditional expressions such a s “so long as”, “on condition that”, “provided/providing that” and “in case”; “tho” for all concessive expressions such as "although", “though”, "even though", "while", "in spite of" and "despite".
3. Few Words, More Lines.
Skilled interpreters always keep their notes brief in content and simply jot down the key points. An interpreter should always concentrate on listening and practice the maximum economy in note taking. As a rule, his notes should be of such a type that each word (or symbol, or sign) usually represents a sense group, leaving an appropriate space between two words or symbols. In short, the words noted down should preferably be reduced to the minimum（最小值）in number. It is advisable for an interpreter to take notes in columns（纵向）so that each sense group represented by a key word or symbol in the notes occupies half a line or even one line, and that the next sense group is noted in another line.
4. Be Logical and Legible
The notes are taken for immediate use in interpreting. Therefore, the notes should be logical and legible（清晰的）. As far as possible, the interpreter should be able to make a logical analysis of the speech that is being made and to take his notes accordingly. In this way, the speaker's flow or sequence（顺序）of ideas can be better grasped and noted and therefore better interpreted. At the same time, the interpreter must see to it that his notes are legible. They must be easy to read, for the interpreter cannot afford the time to hesitate or meditate（思考）before interpreting them.。