Interpreting notes

Interpreting notes are used by some interpreters, who re-express oral communications (such as speeches) in whole or in part. Such notes may be used when the interpreter is working in "consecutive mode."

Interpreting notes are not part of any conventional graphic system, and practitioners are free to develop their own techniques. However, some basic rules facilitate the recording of details in order to aid the interpreter in coping with large amounts of information.

Theory

The purpose of interpreting notes is not to transcribe the speech verbatim. Interpreting notes are not a form of shorthand. Their purpose is to write minimal notes which will, at a quick glance, elicit in the interpreter's mind the intent of an oral communication so that it can be re-expressed in a different language.

It is not appropriate to document a speech in shorthand, as this would result in task duplication.

Practice

The interpreter should listen with utmost concentration to the speaker and write only the information which he judges sufficient to render the meaning. Numbers, names, and the titles of persons must be retained in the interpretation.

The interpreter is required to decipher his notes and to re-express their content in the target language. Following analysis of the speech, the interpreter may write the information in abstract form.

Ideograms

Ideograms are an important tool used by interpreters. For example, the letter “E” laid on its side (like the Cyrillic letter sha, Ш) may represent Europe. Then one can specify whether eastern, western, or central Europe is meant by slashing the relevant upward leg. A horizontal bar with two vertical bars beneath it might represent a table, which would indicate a meeting or a conference.

These ideograms are at the same time linked by a simple system of arrows and brackets to render the structure of the sentence. One can consequently note that a sum increased (or decreased according to the arrow’s direction) by a certain percentage to reach another value. A bracket before an action (verb) indicates that it will take place in the future, and vice versa.

As an example, the notes in the illustration read:

"We are particularly glad to inform you about an important increase in our company’s revenues, which rose by 10 percent, from 3.5 to 3.85 billion (*) dollars. This derives from huge sales of helicopters. The United States of America bought 50 and South Africa 20 of them. On the other hand we must relocate parts of our production in these countries." ((*) a “billion” (bn) is called in most languages “milliard”, Md or mrd).

Some people have even created complete systems of abbreviations to note all academic titles, administrative functions, military grades, and so on. This system has a drawback, as it is, just like shorthand, too closely connected to a given language.

Formatting

The sentences are usually written vertically in a notebook, each one being separated from the others by a horizontal line. After reading each sentence, the interpreter slashes it (discreetly). This small gesture has an important psychological effect: It’s like when you erase data on a computer memory, you make space free for other data.

Bibliography

Andres, Dorte: Konsekutivdolmetschen und Notation. 2000, ISBN 3-631-39856-5
Gillies, Andrew: Note-taking for Consecutive Interpreting. 2005, ISBN 1-900650-82-7
Jones, Roderick: Conference Interpreting Explained. 1998, ISBN 1-900650-57-6
Matyssek, Heinz: Handbuch der Notizentechnik für Dolmetscher. Ein Weg zur sprachunabhängigen Notation. 1989, ISBN 3-87276-616-3
Rozan, Jean-François: La Prise de Notes en Interprétation Consécutive. 1956, ISBN 2-8257-0053-3
Seleskovitch, Danica: Langage, langues et mémoires.1975, ISBN 2-256-90752-X
Snell-Hornby, Mary/Hönig, Hans G./Kußmaul, Paul/Schmitt, Peter A.: Handbuch Translation. 1999, ISBN 3-86057-995-9

External links

Note-taking for Consecutive Interpreting (Interpreter Training Resources)