Note: All the text of the introduction to the Consecutive Interpretation chapter of The Interpreter's Edge, Generic Edition, is reproduced here. No attempt has been made, however, to make the HTML version look like the page layout of the book.
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Consecutive interpretation, in which the interpreter waits until a complete statement has been spoken and then begins interpreting (so only one person is speaking at a time), is used primarily to interpret witness testimony, a situation in which everyone in the courtroom needs to hear the interpretation. Simultaneous interpretation is generally considered inappropriate for witness testimony--unless the courtroom is equipped with wireless equipment for that purpose--because hearing two voices at once is too distracting. In your work as a court interpreter, you will find that simultaneous interpretation is called for much more often than consecutive, because most cases are settled without a trial. Nevertheless, you must be prepared to perform consecutive interpretation at any time.
When you are interpreting a witness' testimony into English, your
version is the only record of what that witness said. Therefore,
a very high standard of accuracy prevails in consecutive interpretation.
Not only must you convey the content of the source-language message,
but you must also convey structural elements of that message that
are not contained in the words: pauses, tone of voice, stress,
etc. Many interpreters regard consecutive as the most difficult
mode of interpreting because it is so hard to retain all of these
aspects of the source language message, particularly when a question
or answer is very lengthy or is not entirely coherent (an unfortunate
fact of life in court interpreting).
Because memory is such an important component of consecutive interpretation,
this chapter begins with six memory exercises (Tape 4B), which
are designed to help you improve your memory skills before beginning
to practice consecutive interpretation. They are placed in a logical
sequence so that you can work on the individual components of
consecutive interpretation and gradually put them together to
form a whole. Each of the six lessons illustrates a type of exercise
that aids in the development of consecutive interpreting skills;
you can use these as models and make up your own exercises if
you feel you need to work more on one or more aspects of memory.
The first two lessons are really listening exercises; many people
overlook listening as a component of memory, but it should not
be taken for granted. Often, errors in consecutive interpretation
occur because the interpreter was not using good listening skills.
For example, if you become bogged down in details and fail to
grasp the overall meaning of a passage, you will not be able to
recall it correctly. Thus, Lesson 1 emphasizes zeroing in on the
main idea. If you allow yourself to be distracted by an unfamiliar
word, an idea you disagree with, or an emotional reaction to vulgar
language or incorrect usage, you may stop listening to the rest
of the passage and you will not be able to recall it accurately.
On the other hand, if you strongly agree with a statement or have
a personal association with what the speaker is saying, you will
be better able to recall the message.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of your own reactions to
statements and to suppress negative reactions that might impede
your retention. If you have a strong positive reaction to a statement,
be careful not to state it more forcefully than the original or
add information that was not originally stated. Lesson 2 consists
of a controversial passage designed to help you become aware of
how personal reactions can impede retention and recall, or conversely,
how identification with the speaker can enhance these skills.
Lesson 3 illustrates the value of focusing on key words as an
aid to memory. Whether you write down these words or make a mental
note of them, they help you organize the ideas into a meaningful
structure that is easier to recall than a mere string of disjointed
words. One problem that novice interpreters frequently encounter
is excessive note taking; they devote so much energy to scribbling
notes that they fail to listen to the speaker, and the result
is a jumble of illegible notes that may do more harm than good.
It is important to regard notes as an aid to memory, not as a
substitute for it. Focusing on key words gives you the discipline
to write only what you need to help you retrieve ideas from your
memory.
Lesson 4 is designed to show you how much you can remember without
taking any notes, provided that the original message is clear
and logical; it also helps if the content lends itself to visualization.
The more coherent the original message, the more you can retain.
Conversely, an illogical or disjointed statement is very difficult
to retain (unfortunately, many witnesses' testimony falls into
the latter category). Also, if you are unfamiliar with the subject
matter, you have more trouble remembering the message. Therefore,
the more knowledgeable you are about the subjects that are likely
to come up in courtroom testimony, the greater capacity you will
have to retain the information.
In Lesson 5, you will have an opportunity to try note taking again,
after you have discovered how little you really need to take down.
Some interpreters take very few notes, writing down only names
and numbers, while other interpreters take copious notes. It is
a good idea to experiment with note taking to determine what works
best for you. You will find that with some speakers and some subject
matters, you will take more notes than with others. Eventually,
you will develop your own style of note taking, and you will be
able to adapt it to different speakers and subjects.
Finally, Lesson 6 contains questions and answers that are typical
of the length and detail of the testimony you will be expected
to interpret in court. Once you are able to recall these passages
accurately, you are ready to move on to the consecutive interpreting
exercises. Even after you have completed all the tapes, you may
want to return to these exercises occasionally (or make up similar
exercises of your own) to hone your memory skills.
Directions for the memory exercises are given on the tape as well
as in the script. To do these memory exercises, ideally you should
have two tape recorders (or a single unit that contains two tape
stations): one to play the tape, and one to record your own rendition.
When you play the memory exercises, pause the recorder when you
hear the word stop. Then record your version of the passage on
the second tape. When you play back your own rendition, read along
in the script as you are listening to it, to check for accuracy.
If you do not have two tape recorders, you can switch cassettes
in the same recorder (though even the short delay involved in
switching cassettes may impede recall). Alternatively, you can
give your rendition without recording it, and simply read the
script immediately afterwards to check for omissions. Do not read
the script while listening to the tape for the first time.
The consecutive lessons (Tape 4B - 5B) are typical question-and-answer
testimony for practicing consecutive interpretation. Because this
is the Generic Edition of The Interpreter's Edge, both the questions
and the answers are in English. In practice, of course, the questions
would be in English and the answers in your second language. In
this book, the second-language material is set in a different
type face, like this, to distinguish it from the material
that really would be in English.
You can address this situation in a number of ways:
When you play the tapes, pause the recorder at the end of each
question, give your interpretation (which, ideally, you should
tape to check for accuracy and to monitor your delivery, as described
above for the memory exercises); resume playing the tape, pause
at the end of the answer, give your interpretation, and so on.
Do not read the script while you are interpreting; consult it
afterwards to check for accuracy or to look up problem terms.
Q: State your name and county of residence for the record,
please.
A: My name is Dominique de Strange Lorenzo, and I live
here in town. I don't, uh, know the name of the county--I just
moved here.
Q: Are you married, Ms. Lorenzo?
A: Yes, to Hilton Norway, but we're separated now, after
what he... well, that's why we're here, isn't it?
Q: Please confine yourself to answering the questions,
Mrs. Lorenzo, or should I call you Mrs. Norway?
A: Whatever you like. I use de Strange, for my father,
because that's the custom in my country. But whatever's convenient
for you, sir--it doesn't matter to me.
Q: Okay, Ms. de Strange. How long have you been married?
A: Let's see, how many years has it been? We got married
in 1975, so it's... I don't know how many years it would be. Until
we separated, or what?
Q: Do you have any children of this marriage?
A: Yes, sir, I have three children, two boys and a girl.
Q: Now, Ms. de Strange, directing your attention to the
night of December 19 of this year, what, if anything, happened
on that night?
A: Well, my husband got home very late, OK?, at 11 or
12 o'clock at night. He was pretty tight; he was very loud and
offensive when he got home, and I stayed in the bedroom because
I knew what was waiting for me.
Q: And what was that, Ms. de Strange?
A: Well, it wasn't the first time that he'd come home
that way. He was all steamed up and was itching to hit me. I'm
sure he'd been with that other bimbo.
Q: Ms. de Strange, I'd like you to just answer the questions
I ask you. Please don't go into details about unrelated matters.
Now, you say that your husband came home drunk and you stayed
in the bedroom. What happened next?
A: He kicked the door. I kept quiet. He started threatening
me and calling me names: a filthy animal, a bitch, a whore2...
He said that he hated me.
Q: What, if anything, did you do in response to his statements?
A: I didn't do anything. I didn't dare say a word.
I know what he's like when he gets like this, and I don't want
to get myself into any more trouble.
Q: After he kicked the door and said all those things to
you, what did he do next?
A: He took out a picture of the other woman and told
me that he didn't love me anymore, that I disgusted him.
Q: Was he still on the other side of the door at this point?
Strike that. Did he enter the room where you were at any point
in time?
A: Yes, because when he kicked the door, it opened,
and he came in shouting--he kept shouting and shouting.
Q: And what happened next?
A: I kept quiet; he was shaking uncontrollably. I started
crying... he told me to knock it off... that it wouldn't do me
any good.
Q: And then what happened?
A: He slapped me to shut me up.
Q: I know this is upsetting to you, Ms. de Strange. I'm
sorry to make you go into it in such detail, but I'm sure you
understand it is necessary. Would you like to take a little break?
A: No, no, no, that's all right. I'm OK.
Q: Okay, thank you. Now, you say your husband slapped you.
Where was he at this point?
A: He was next to the night stand. I was crying harder
because the slap hurt, so he kept on beating me and punching me.
I couldn't defend myself because I was lying down, and every time
I tried to stand up, he'd knock me down again with another punch.
Q: I see. And how long did this last?
A: Seconds, because I managed to slip over to the other
side of the bed, but I fell on the floor because I got tangled
up in the sheets as I was struggling to get away from the punches
he was throwing at me.
Q: Now, in your earlier testimony, Ms. de Strange, you
said that you have three children. Were any of them present during
this altercation?3
A: During what? I'm sorry. I don't understand4.
Q: While your husband was beating you, did any of your
children witness this incident?
A: No, thank God, they were with my mother. She'd invited
them to go to the movies with her--that's why they weren't there.
They didn't get back until afterwards.
Q: All right. Now, you mentioned that you fell off the
bed. Did he continue hitting you while you were on the floor?
A: Oh yes. He kept on shouting at me and insulting me...
he started to take off his belt. I begged him not to leave me,
that I hadn't done anything, that he should leave5.
He told me no, that I was the one who should leave, and my bastards
with me.
Q: I'm sorry, Ms. de Strange, would you like a moment to
compose yourself? Would you like a glass of water? Here's a kleenex.
A: Thank you, that's very kind of you. No, I want to
go on, thanks. So then afterwards, he caught me in the corner
of the bathroom, and he began to give me a thrashing with his
belt.
Q: Thank you, Ms. de Strange. Now, directing your attention
to what has been marked People's Exhibit 2 for identification,
a belt, do you recognize this belt, Ms. de Strange?
A: Yes, I'll never forget it. He hit me with it, and
he kept on hitting me and hitting me. I thought he was never going
to stop.
Q: Now, Ms. de Strange, at some point did something happen
to cause your husband to stop hitting you with the belt?
A: Yes. I think the neighbors must have called the police,
because we heard sirens, and then they knocked on the door. They
shouted, "Police, police! Open the door!" My husband
was startled and tried to run away, but there was no place to
hide.
Q: Now, when the police arrived, Ms. de Strange, did they
question you about the incident, did they take a statement from
you?
A: Yes, they asked me questions, but the officer who
talked to me didn't speak my language very well, so it was hard
to understand what he was asking me. And while they were handcuffing
my husband, he kept shouting at me not to tell them anything.
Q: At some point did you give a full statement to the police?
Did you in fact press charges against your husband?
A: Yes... yes, even though I was ashamed to do it, I
did it because... that's it, we've been at it for many years now,
many years of hoping that everything would take care of itself...
and there's just no way, I gave up hope.
Q: In your earlier testimony, Ms. de Strange, you mentioned
that this was not the first time your husband had beaten you.
Can you give us an estimate of approximately how many times he
had assaulted you like this during your 18 years of marriage?
A: No, no, I couldn't say. He started in on it from
the beginning, and almost, almost daily he's insulted me. He didn't
beat me quite that often, but I'd say about... let's see, maybe
three times a month, something like that.
Q: So this had become a pattern in your relationship, in
your marriage, that your husband would insult6
you regularly and that he would periodically beat you, and this
was just the last straw?
A: Yes, that's for sure. After all the blows, the humiliations,
the mistreatment, it wasn't just for me but for the children too...
and I'm sick of being made fun of and looked down on because I'm
his wife. I never did anything to deserve that.
Q: Thank you, Ms. de Strange, I have no further questions.
Counsel, your witness.
Select the footnote number to go back to the point in the text
where you were when you selected the footnote.
1. If you create tapes in this manner,
and you would like others working in your language to have access
to them, contact ACEBO about the possibility of our duplicating
and distributing your tapes at our cost.
2. Insults do not always translate directly--the
choice of terms will vary with the context.
3. Make sure you don't alter the level
of language, even if you think the witness might not understand
the term.
4. Interpret the witness' question; do
not explain the term yourself.
5. Often when witnesses are upset, their
testimony becomes disjointed. Be sure to interpret everything
as close to verbatim as possible.
6. The English verb form would insult is
not the conditional here.
Memory Exercises
Consecutive Lessons
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Sample Consecutive Interpretation
Lesson (from The Interpreter's Edge,
Generic Edition)
Lesson 4: Battered Wife (Tape 5A)
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Footnotes