English-Chinese simultaneous interpretation

Author: Zhang Weizhu
Editor-in-Chief: Luo Jinde
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: Classic translation theory, renowned translation studies from China and abroad, practical guide for translation, and a guide for learning translation skills.
Excerpt:
The history of simultaneous interpretation is not long. From its first use at the end of World War II to the present, it has only been about eighty years. However, simultaneous interpretation has been favored in Europe first for its obvious advantages—rapid delivery, minimal time consumption, and the ability to handle multiple languages simultaneously. It has since been widely used in the United Nations system and other international conferences. In recent years, the application of simultaneous interpretation in China has also increased significantly. Simultaneous interpretation has become an accepted translation method for modern international conferences. With the growing interactions between China and the outside world, connections with numerous international organizations in political, economic, social, cultural, and technological fields have become increasingly close. It has become commonplace for foreigners to attend international conferences in China and for Chinese people to participate in international conferences abroad. The number and scope of international conferences attended by Chinese participants are unprecedented in the history of China's foreign exchanges. For this reason, the demand for high-quality simultaneous interpretation has also grown. English dominates international communication today, and the majority of international conferences use it as the primary working language. The status of Chinese in the world is also on the rise. The United Nations Charter has long stipulated that Chinese is one of the official languages of the United Nations system. With China's rise and the growing influence of the Chinese community, the use of Chinese in international conferences and various international exchanges has been increasing. All of this naturally creates a broader demand for high-quality English-Chinese simultaneous interpretation. Although simultaneous interpretation has a short history, its development has been rapid, and it has now reached a certain scale. There are now thousands of simultaneous interpretation interpreters worldwide, and specific working methods, professional ethics, specialized equipment, and training centers have been established. Countries such as China, France, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Russia all have dedicated schools or programs for training simultaneous interpretation interpreters. Most simultaneous interpretation interpreters are concentrated in cities with frequent international conferences and numerous international organizations, such as New York, Geneva, Brussels, Paris, and Bangkok. Bilingual societies like Canada and Hong Kong also employ a large number of simultaneous interpretation interpreters. Additionally, an increasing number of other forms of international exchanges are adopting simultaneous interpretation, even political talks and corporate business meetings. The focus of this book is to explore the theory and techniques of English-Chinese simultaneous interpretation. Simultaneous interpretation can be compared to a four-story building: the first floor is language knowledge, the second floor is background knowledge, the third floor is the interpreter's qualities, and the fourth floor is the theory and techniques of simultaneous interpretation. The fourth floor can only function with the support of the lower three floors. If an interpreter cannot understand the speaker's language or grasp the content of the speech, no matter how much theory and technique they master, they cannot become a qualified simultaneous interpretation interpreter. Similarly, without the basic psychological qualities an interpreter should possess—such as quick reactions and the ability to overcome stage fright—simultaneous interpretation becomes impossible. Of course, these four levels all develop gradually. Limited by the scope and theme of this book, we will not discuss the content of the first, second, and third floors in detail here but will focus on the exploration of simultaneous interpretation theory and the analysis and training of simultaneous interpretation techniques. It should also be noted that when simultaneous interpretation reaches a level of perfection, it enters the realm of "instinctive simultaneous interpretation." The term "instinctive simultaneous interpretation" refers to the ability, after a period of training and practice, to integrate various techniques seamlessly and use them effortlessly during the interpretation process, based on a solid foundation of knowledge and language. From this perspective, the highest technique in simultaneous interpretation is "no technique." In contrast to "instinctive simultaneous interpretation" is "mechanical simultaneous interpretation," where interpreters cannot integrate techniques and only rigidly apply them, with limited deployable knowledge and language resources. This makes it difficult to achieve the true purpose of conveying information and exchanging emotions.