Consecutive Interpreting Unit 4: Note-Taking and Analysis

In Consecutive Interpreting, you must constantly analyze during the note-taking process the incoming message and note the most salient points to help improve your memory processes during interpretation.

During consecutive interpreting the interpreter has the opportunity to make notes and may refer to those notes while rendering the interpretation.

Both consecutive and simultaneous interpreting require that you understand the message, analyze it, transfer it into the target language mentally, and, finally, reformulate the message in the target language.

When you take notes during consecutive interpreting you can take notes in the target language or in the source language or in some combination of both.

However, If the target language is a signed language, it is not possible to take notes in the target language and sign language interpreters tend to make notes in the source (spoken) language.

In simultaneous interpreting note-taking is not possible because the source message is ongoing.

Some interpreters find consecutive interpreting more difficult because of the amount of time that passes between hearing the source message and rendering the interpretation.

“Although consecutive is more time consuming than simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation allows for more precision and is therefore often the preferred method in highly sensitive meetings where a slip of the tongue could lead to disaster.”  (Mikkelson, 1983, p. 5)

Taking notes can relieve the burden of memory, but you must know how to take notes effectively during the interpreting process.

Analysis allows you to understand the meaning of the source message as best you can with your current resources and skill level.

You must understand the source message before you can interpret.

The most basic level of analysis occurs when you consider the source language text to get the gist or overall meaning. The text can be viewed as a whole, a grouping of ideas or sentences, and grouping of words.

The source text has a communicative function and all the words and phrases that make up the text must be considered within the cultural framework and function of the text.

The point of analysis at this level is to trace the “web of relationships”

We must also be aware that some expressions that have functions only in the source language and will have no communicative purpose in the target language.

How will you interpret the following phrases?

1. “In the cradle of civilization”

2. It’s raining cats and dogs

3. There’s a cathedral, an open square and several outdoor cafes on the

    piazza.

4. The pediatric neurosurgeon determined that my baby has normal reflexes

    but found that she is profoundly deaf by using a tuning fork.

5. “Tit for tat”

6. 2nd year students being older and more experienced trumps the 1^st year

   students in the competition.

7. The musical scores of Canon B consists of two highs and three lows in B

   flat.

8. Discussing which comes first, evolution or God is a moot point.

9. There are sounds of revelry in the background.

10. “Carpe diem” = Latin for “Seize the Day”

Note-taking:

Professionals often use notes in their work and that people in everyday life make notes to remind them of things they want to do or need to remember.

Some studies suggest note-taking may interfere with listening, while other studies suggest the opposite.

This difference may be due to the speed of delivery and effectiveness of the note-taker. Howe (1970) found that the fewer the notes, the better the recall.

Jones (1998) says note-taking is a strategy that can reduce the cognitive load on memory during consecutive interpreting.

If you are working from a spoken language, you will be able to practice note-taking and use note-taking in professional settings.

If you are working from a signed language, you will not be able to effectively watch the signed source message and take notes.

Signed language interpreters can benefit from practicing note-taking with English source materials because the process of taking notes is training for the memory processes related to interpreting-organizing and focusing.

There are actually two main functions associated with note-taking:

1) the process of taking the notes and

2) the process of reviewing the notes.

It appears to help in analysis and processing of information, and the interpreter is more likely to remember something that s/he acted upon him/herself.

Note-taking helps to store the information in memory.

Also, it was stated that the benefit comes from reviewing the notes rather than taking the notes. Therefore the notes serve as an “external memory storage device.”

Another reason to take notes is to minimize mental fatigue as the mental effort is spread out over the entire process instead of all the hard work during the first stage.

When a speech contains numbers or names, it is even more important to use note-taking to reduce the load on memory.

Notes can help the interpreter reproduce the content of the speech, so the notes should indicate which points are most important and which are supporting.

In order to determine which points are main and which are supporting, the interpreter must analyze the message.

The process of note-taking helps to clarify the structure of the source message. The benefits of note-taking, organizing, focus, and enhancing memory are interacting and reinforcing each other continuously.

Note-Taking Strategies:

1. Keep your notes to a minimum. Very few words of the original message are written down, because interpreters focus on ideas, not words.

2. Technical terms, numbers and names should be written down but notes should always reflect what the interpreter has understood not just what you heard.

3. Some interpreters write single words and some symbols that represent entire concepts.

4. Stenographer’s note pad or a writing surface that is convenient and easy to hold.

5. Notes should be taken only on one surface of the note pad rather than trying to switch from front to back of page.

6. Notes should be easily legible and unambiguous. For ex: abbreviations must refer to a single lexical item and symbols should not be invented on the spot as it will be too hard to remember what the new symbol means when rendering the message.

7. See Ilg and Lambert (1996) if you wish more details on note-taking in consecutive interpreting.

8. Take time to learn and practice note-taking can improve your analysis skills and your overall performance in CI.

9. Seleskovitch (1995) says that experienced interpreters who are skilled in taking notes during CI do not focus on the method of note-taking but rather on the meaning of the passage.

10.  Note-taking skills will also help in developing strong analysis skills as note-taking requires you to find logical coherence in the message.

There are many different note-taking systems as there are interpreters and each interpreter’s system is unique. Therefore note-taking should be a personal, non-prescriptive system. It is important to keep in mind that the ultimate goal is an accurate interpretation.

The Rozan Method:

1^st ideas are abstracted from the source language.

2^nd ideas are noted on the page

3^rd main ideas are usually near margin and

4^th supporting ideas are indented.

5^th notes move down the page to represent the order in which they

     occurred.

6^th spacing on the page, abbreviations, symbols, and lines are also used.

For example: etc., Dr. H20, Q/A., +, =, $, &, @, % etc.

Main idea

     Supporting idea

     Supporting idea

Next main idea

     Supporting idea

This is a good training experience for interpreters who have simultaneous interpreting as a goal. Rapid and accurate analysis skills can ensure a more reliable and faithful interpretation.

The Analysis Stage:

Analysis and note-taking are closely interwoven.

Overall discourse: What is the gist of the message?

Grammatical Level: Are the sentences active or passive?

Lexical Level: Do I know what the words mean?

Take the time to consciously analyze the message helps to reduce distortion of the meaning of the source message thus reducing distortion of the target message.

The only way to know whether your analysis has been accurate is to look at the product, or the interpretation.

Awareness of relationships between idea units helps you to analyze and remember the message long enough to interpret it.

You must not work only on idea units or kernels but must work “back up” to the point where you see the relevance of these kernels to the entire discourse.

There are three types of relations between idea units that you should keep in mind the following:

1) temporal        2) spatial     3) logical

Temporal Relationships

Temporal Relationships describe the relationships between events as they occur in time. When you are aware of the importance of temporal relationships, your analysis of the message can be more accurate.

Temporal relations permit you to include the notion of several events that happen at the same time or events that span a long period of time.

This aspect of the interpreting process becomes more important when working into languages that structure time-based events differently than the source language.

Directions are an example of a type of discourse that relies on careful understanding of temporal events.

Driving directions require that the sequence of events be presented in a specific order.

Directions for cooking can require that certain ingredients be added before others.

In either of these examples, if the temporal order is not preserved, the message will be skewed in the target language. When taking notes for CI you can show the temporal relationship between events by listing them, using arrows that show a sequence of events, or develop your own method for showing how events relate to each other.

Spatial Relationships

Spatial Relationships allow for two different possibilities.

“One is between objects such as a house and a tree, and the other is between the viewer and other objects.”  Nida and Tabor (1982)

Spatial relationships point out the importance of the point of view that the text follows. i.e., who is speaking and where that speaker is in relation to the things being talked about.

Spatial relations are especially important in visual languages like ASL. In ASL it is important to establish the location of the objects and people referred to in the signing space. The signer must establish whether the objects being referred to are in view or not and must be consistent in referring to those objects and their relative locations in space.

A valuable tool for developing skill in preserving spatial relationships is visualization. Visualization skills allow you to imagine in your mind’s eye where people are in relation to each other or to objects.

Ex: a text may refer to a person speaking to a woman and giving her a pen. The text may not reveal which person is to the right and which is the left or if they are facing each other.

If you are working into a visual language, you must establish the people and objects in locations in space and then refer back to them systematically and consistently.

If you don’t know the actual location of the objects or people you must create a visualization and use it as a point of reference until the actors or objects shift location. Use hypothesis testing to establish locations until you find evidence of actual locations.

Visualization skills play an important role during transfer for spoken language interpreters as well as signed language interpreters. If you can envision where the people and objects are located in your mind’s eye, then you can work from the visualization into the target language.

Taking notes can strengthen visualization skills. The notes visually show relationships between actors and objects through the use of symbols.

You can follow prescribed conventions for note-taking while in training or develop your own methods for indicating people, objects, and relative locations.

Logical Relations

Logical Relations are the third type of relationship between idea units that Nida and Tabor (1982) discuss. Logical relations refer to “cause and effect or condition and consequence.” Languages may differ in how they arrange cause and effect clauses such as the if-then clause in English.

During interpretation you must keep temporal, spatial, and logical relationships in mind as you work. Taking notes can help you remember the logical relations between causes and conditions.

As you work through the exercises in this unit remember to take brief notes and give the highest priority to writing numbers and names when they occur. Taking notes while you listen to the source message helps you analyze the message for meaning and remember it better so that you will be able to transfer and reformulate the message.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does note-taking help reduce the interpreter’s memory load?
2. Why is analysis important to the interpretation process?
3. What are temporal relationships and why are they important?
4. What are spatial relationships and why are they important?
5. What are logical relations and why are they important?
6. How would you sign the following and list T for temporal, S for spatial and L for logical relations next to the sentence:
   a. The car is parked next to the tree.
   b. My sister, Louise is the oldest, next is Sheila, Ilene and then me.
   c. You must first cook the onions before you add it to the salad or the raw onions will make the salad very bitter.   
   1. How would you interpret the following into ASL?
       a. If it rains, I will not go swimming.
       b. You are going to the party!, I will go too.
      c. If I had known you don’t like eggs, I would not have made        scrambled eggs.
      d. It is best to take the taxi if it’s too dark at the bus stop.

    8.  Place A for active or P for passive voice next to the sentences below:

          a. It is a known fact that generally boys like to rough house.

          b. There is a new supermarket near my home.

          c. David yelled at John.

          d. The dog bit the cat.

          e. Is it true that the sun rises in the East?

How would you interpret this following segment into ASL? Is this temporal, spatial or logical?

Now, depending upon my skill and the layout of the boat I can perhaps get there quicker than somebody else. Of course, if somebody else has a better boat and his skills are better, he’s gonna beat me there. That’s part of the challenge and the fun of sailing.