MODULE 1 The Role of Communication in Interpreting Training

Interpretation has always existed since the Tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues.
Since then, man had to make use of intermediaries in order to communicate from one
language to another. In the recent past, human knowledge has broadened to the point that it
transcends national boundaries in every field of science, human relationships and industry.
Nowadays, professional interpreting is essentially a service activity with a communication
function, performed in a professional setting with a professional aim in mind, and
constrained by this setting.
To serve its inherent communication function the conference interpreter is the link between
the speaker and the listener, dealing with messages whose fleeting words are important, not
because of their linguistic form, but because of their meaning.
The purpose of this Course is to shed light on the mental processes and knowledge
acquisition which enables the instantaneous transmission of an oral message into another
language.
In view of the above, the conference interpreter is the communicating vessel of the words
uttered by the speaker
which are aimed at a listener
who the interpreter addresses directly, and
in whom the speaker seeks to elicit a reaction.
The following diagram defines the act of communication in an interpreting setting:

From the Sender (Speaker) to the source-language Receiver (Listener)

From the Sender (Speaker) to the Interpreter, and
From the Interpreter to the target-language Receiver (Listener)

Source-language Receiver
Sender
Interpreter

Target-language Receiver

Actors of verbal communication in an interpreting setting

It should be noted that in interpreting all parties concerned should be aware of the
communication situation, including possible difficulties associated with the interlingual and
sometimes intercultural transfers.
The act of communication involved requires certain aspects such as cooperation from
speakers who may:
try to speak more slowly,
enunciate more clearly,
choose certain terms and structures and avoid others
clarify terms and concepts that they would not otherwise bother to explain.
In other words, although the interpreter essentially works alone, he or she may be helped
through on-line interaction with both Sender (Speaker) and Receiver (Listener) of the
information.
On the other hand, if the proportion of target-language listeners in the audience is very
small, the interpreter may suffer from interference instead of benefiting from cooperation,
especially in consecutive interpretation. The reason is that source-language Listeners often
perceive interpretation as a necessary evil. When the delegates who actually need
interpretation are few in number and unimportant for the others, interpretation can be
perceived as a necessary evil that entails:
loss of time, and
technical constraints
o speed of delivery
o seating arrangements
o the mandatory use of microphone.
Delegates may therefore put pressure on the interpreter to be very brief or to summarize
and will not cooperate in other ways.
From the Interpreters standpoint the act of communication has the following implications:

Understanding phenomena: Why do speakers express themselves in the way they do?
Why do speakers make ungrammatical sentences? What does it mean to understand a
verbal statement? How are oral statements perceived by the audience? This means that
the interpreter needs to be aware of:
o
o
o
o

Odd expressions
Bad grammar
Unstructured discourse
Perception by the audience (whether receptive or not)

Understanding translation difficulties: Why is it difficult to reexpress the same message

in a different language? Why is there linguistic interference between two working
languages? Why do interpreters sometimes fail to understand very simple speech
segments? The interpreter needs to be aware of:
o Transmission of the main message in the target language regardless of the
package used
o Linguistic differences and interferences between languages (contrastive
grammar and terminology) making sure to maintain the linguistic register of the
Sender
o Saturation and fatigue

Understanding interpreting strategies recommended by instructors: Why is it acceptable

for interpreters to change some information elements when going from source language
to target language? Why should interpreters spend as little time and effort as possible on
note-taking in consecutive interpreting? The interpreter should be aware of:
o Elaboration of the discourse in the target language on the basis of "meaning"
rather than the actual words to avoid "transcoding (Spanglish)
o Use of both verbal and non-verbal communication
o Proper use of the concentration and short-term memory

Components of Acts of Communication in Interpreting

The basic components of verbal acts of communication are the following:
Aims and Intentions
Initially, an act of verbal communication occurring in a professional interpreting setting is
triggered by an aim or intention. These are multi-layered. For instance:
at the most superficial layer: an act of communication may aim at introducing the
Receiver (the Listener) to a fact;
at a deeper layer: it may aim at scoring a point or achieving awareness in an
intellectual debate by providing information;
at a deepest layer: it may aim at converting the Receiver to a philosophy, or at
sending an emotional message.
Communication theoreticians often speak of:
a phatic layer, consisting for instance of chit-chat or small talk to help build a
personal relationship with the audience through a proper presentation or
introduction of the subject matter or the speaker;
a cathartic layer, that is communication aimed at releasing emotions, feelings and a
sense of awareness in the audience;
an informational layer, intended to provide factual data to support discussion;

an appellative layer, intended to encourage the decision-making process.

Not all layers are equally active in a speakers conscious mind, and not all are equally
powerful in shaping the message, which is eventually verbalized. Nor are they equally
visible to an outside observer, to the Receiver or even to the Sender.
Generally, conference interpreters are not called on to work on all levels of intention,
though they have to take into account more than one level in serving the Senders interests,
particularly in diplomatic and political speeches.
Basically, interpreters process consecutive units of source-language speech the size of
sentences, clauses, or parts of clauses (Interpreting Units) the content of which is
essentially informational. The immediate aims behind informational discourse segments
can be classified as follows:

Informing the aim underlying the production of the segment may be limited to
providing a piece of information such as a name, an address, a purpose.

Explaining the aim of the segment may be to clarify through information, and release
a feeling of awareness.

Persuading a speech segment may introduce a piece of information in order to

convince the listener that the Senders idea is correct, morally right, appropriate for the
circumstances, etc. For instance, figures may be given as evidence, or an authoritative
personality supporting an opinion may be quoted.

Acting the end speech segment may include an implicit or explicit call for measures
or a position to be taken.

In informational discourse such as is generally processed in conference interpretation, these

three components may be equally active in the Senders mind to serve his or her own
intentions:

a piece of information may be consciously chosen for the purpose of explaining an idea
and,
the explanation may be given so as to convince (persuade) the Receiver

The Interpreter will strive to produce his or her own target-language discourse in such
a way as to contribute to all these aim-layers. Since they converge towards the same
goal, this does not pose any problem; the main obstacles arise from the possible inadequacy
or relative weakness of the information or the segment of speech in relation to the Senders
aims and the Receivers attitude.

Content and Package

In most verbal communication acts, in order to achieve an aim, the Sender issues a verbal
signal, written or spoken, which consists of informational content (the Message) and its
package (linguistic structures and verbal delivery).

In speeches, the package is made up of the words and linguistic structures of the
speech, as well as the voice and delivery (the actual combination of word sounds
and rhythm), plus a non-verbal signal.
In written texts, it is composed of words, linguistic structures, fonts, page layouts,
graphics, etc. In other words, the term package refers to the linguistic and perilinguistic choices made by the Sender and to the physical medium through which
they are instantiated.

Clearly, there may be informational content (Message) in the package as well. For
instance:
by using technical terms, the speaker may show that he wishes the Receiver to
know that they are specialists;
by using familiar style or slang in a type of discourse where more formal language
is generally used, Senders may aim at making it clear that they do not wish to
follow conventional behaviour;
by imitating someones linguistic or gestural mannerisms, they may show lack of
respect for that person.
There is also much information transmitted unintentionally by Senders in the
package:
o mistakes may show the Senders low level of education,
o an accent may indicate the country or part of the country they are from,
o certain features of delivery may betray a speakers nervousness, and
o much information may be gained by the pace of the speech and tone of
voice.
It is important to note that both content and package are selected as a function of the
characteristics of the target Receivers as perceived by the Sender, in particular their
knowledge of the language, subject and context, and their personal and cultural attitudes
toward the Sender and his or her ideas.
Basically, from the Senders viewpoint, communication is successful if he or she manages
to achieve the aim: that is, if Receivers of the target language are:
successfully informed,
understand the point, and/or
have been persuaded.

AIM/INTENTION

Inform

Explain

Persuade

SENDER

DISCOURSE

Content

Package

RECEIVER

Verbal communication components in an interpreting setting

Quality
Considering that the Sender formulates a statement with an aim in mind, it is reasonable to
assume that from his or her point of view, at the level of each information segment,
communication is successful if Receivers understand the Senders message, regardless of
the fulfilment of the Senders aims. Receivers may be satisfied with the communication
even if they challenge the explanation and even if they fail to be convinced by the message.
It should be noted that in some cases, the interrelationship between:
satisfactory quality as perceived by a given Receiver, and
the level of fidelity, linguistic acceptability, clarity or terminological accuracy of
the Interpreters production
may be weak or non-existent.
Interpreters have been known to serve the purpose of:
adding prestige to conferences where their linguistic mediation was not required, or
to have a useful role as official scapegoats in diplomatic negotiations, or
to serve tactical purposes by giving one of the parties in the negotiations more time
to think.
In all instances the goal should always be to serve the communication interests.
Besides, the interpreter is instrumental in helping to achieve the Senders aims, but
cannot guarantee their fulfilment:
the Senders statement may be inadequate, and the Receivers may lack the
necessary background knowledge, intellectual aptitude or motivation to receive the
message, or
they may have a strong resistance to the ideas the Sender is trying to transmit.

Discourse Components
As stated above, the act of communication occurring in the interpreting setting can be
analysed as a set of two parallel components, namely content and package, which interact
to provide the desired effect.
For instance, good content is weakened by poor style and by a poor voice and poor delivery
in a speech. Conversely, a good voice and a pleasant delivery may occasionally do more
toward convincing a listener than the quality of the idea that is formulated or the
information that is delivered. Conference delegates sometimes complain about the
monotonous delivery of interpretation, which makes listening tiresome and hinders
communication. On the other hand, nice packaging of the information by the interpreter
can strengthen the impact of a speech.
In fact, packaging may result in a distorted view of quality, especially in interpreting. One
often hears delegates assess an interpreters performance as very good in spite of the fact
that the interpreter sitting adjacent in the booth could detect numerous and sometimes
major errors of content. It appears that the interpreters voice and self-assured delivery have
a confidence-inspiring effect. Conversely, beginning interpreters with a somewhat hesitant
voice are often mistrusted by delegates, however faithful and clear the informational
content of their speech.
The perception of quality depends to no small extent on the viewpoint of each participant in
communication: a passionate speech interpreted very convincingly may be highly
appreciated by the Sender but resented by a Receiver.
However, there is a consensus on some quality criteria, which are more or less independent
of the context:
ideational clarity,
linguistic acceptability,
terminological accuracy,
fidelity to the speech, and
appropriate professional behaviour on the other.
The Sender
The act of speaking spontaneously is the mere thought process at work. Thought triggers
speech and the tone of voice to transmit meaning on the part of the speaker, and an
immediate reaction on the part of the listeners, such as their smiles or the movement of
their heads showing approval or disapproval. Thus, the initial thought is fragmented by the
speaker as he expresses himself and as he adjusts its utterance to the audience.
Speech shapes the thought of the speaker and transmits meaning through hesitation,
repetition, association of ideas as well as the intonation of the voice. Thus, the verbal
message depends on the way it is being expressed.
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In interpretation, Senders are generally aware of the fact that they are being interpreted, and
interact with the Receiver. In consecutive interpretation, they can listen to the targetlanguage speech, and, given sufficient understanding of the target language, be in a good
position to assess the quality of interpretation.
They are also helped by the volatile nature of the spoken word, which disappears rapidly
from their mind and leaves them with the meaning and general impact; they forget the
exact words used in their own speech. In simultaneous interpretation, Senders cannot hear
the target-language speech and can therefore only check it to a very limited extent through
the reaction of the Receivers (the delegates), if any.
Types of Senders
The unexperienced speaker
He speaks or reads quite fast, thus bursting out words to transmit ideas or concepts.
He stammers and retracts himself all the time.
The chaotic speaker
He doesnt have a logic line of thought. He beats around the bush all the time and
gets lost in his own reasonings.
The shocking speaker
He seeks to break the ice or generate a shock in the audience through some
unexpected action. He makes jokes and cannot understand why the audience does
not laugh at them.
The histrionic speaker
He speaks with the affectation or exaggeration of an actor. He poses and makes
gestures that clearly show that he is acting to show off instead of communicating an
important message. He uses unconventional language to conceal or make up for the
lack of ideas.
The progressive speaker
He tries to capture the attention of the audience by speaking quite slowly at the
beginning and as soon as he thinks he has succceeded he speeds up and increases
the density of the speech to exceptional levels.
The straightforward speaker
He is very sure of himself, the subject matter of the conference and the level of
knowledge of the audience. He uses extremely technical terminology and a very
high linguistic register, for experts only.

The Receiver
Receivers are at the opposite end of the communication line. In simultaneous interpretation
delegates can listen only to the original, or else to the interpretation. Some spot-checking of
words or groups of words can be done, but it is extremely difficult if not impossible to
listen to the whole target-language speech and to the whole source-language speech while it
is being interpreted. A delegate listening to simultaneous interpretation can therefore assess
the packaging, but may find it just as difficult to assess content fidelity (meaning).
In consecutive interpretation, the situation is quite different: if delegates understanding of
both languages is good enough, they are in a relative good position to assess the quality of
interpretation regarding the accuracy of individual segments, though they may not be able
to note all the omissions because of the large quality of information involved and the fact
that they do not take notes as the interpreter does.
In particular, Receivers of informational discourse may not be equally interested in all the
information offered or in the overall quality of the interpretation. They may be interested in
particular pieces of information which are found in a fraction of the speech and completely
disregard the rest, in which case their perception of quality depends to a large extent on one
or several interpretation segments that are scrutinized carefully, while the rest of the targetlanguage discourse will go virtually unnoticed.
This is particularly salient in conference interpretation: delegates tend to listen to only part
of the presentations given at conferences, both because they feel that many are not relevant
or not interesting enough, and because the concentration required to listen carefully to all of
them is very demanding. They therefore tend to judge quality without the necessary control
of informational content, which often leads to a surprisingly favourable assessment of
quality in conferences in which interpreters feel they have done a very poor job.
The Interpreter
The Interpreter is regarded as a Receiver and a Sender. The following are the main features:
He has a good understanding of the source language, and
a good command of the target language.
He generally knows less about the subject, the motivations, the aims, and the
respective interests of the Sender, and
He is less familiar with the appropriate terminology than the Sender and the
Receiver.
Another constraint applies specifically to interpreters: because they are engrossed in
complex cognitive operations under severe time pressure, their processing capacity is busy
if not overloaded, and they are not in a position to monitor fully the quality of their output
while interpreting. Clearly, after interpreting, part of the material for comparison is not
longer there, as words have disappeared from their minds.

The preceding analysis indicates the basic positions and possibilities for quality
assessment. In actual practice, assessment also depends on the motivation of the
participants in communication and on the attention they actually focus on quality
evaluation.
An anecdote may be enlightening: at a sports conference, a rather poor speaker from a
manufacturing company presented his companys device for measuring an athletic
performance variable. The audience consisted of administrators of athletic events and two
representatives of another manufacturer of a similar machine. The organizer was worried
about the poor quality of the source-language speech and asked the participants whether the
interpretation was clear; all delegates said it was fine, except the two representatives of the
speakers competitors, who complained they had not understood anything from the
interpretation. This anecdote illustrates the fact that the actual assessment of quality
depends inter alia on the specific needs of the assessor, and suggests that although common
quality criteria do exist, actual overall quality assessment can vary significantly in any
given context for this very reason.
As discussed above, criteria of quality and actual quality assessment by the various
participants in communication may depend to a significant extent on the definition of the
Interpreters role as the Senders alter ego, or as a facilitator of communication.
In what can be described as high-level interpretation, such as conference interpretation,
the general consensus that applies in nearly all cases is that interpretation should be:
a faithful image of the original discourse, and
that the interpreter should strive to represent fully the Sender and his or her
interests.
This also seems to be the most challenging position, as the Interpreter accepts full
responsibility for creating an image as faithful as possible of the Senders act of
communication in the Receivers environment, with the well-known technical and
philosophical difficulties this task involves.
Whenever the first professional loyalty option is chosen, according to which the Interpreter
is the Senders alter ego, considerations on communication discussed above, lead to the
following conclusions:
a. Interpreters loyalty and fidelity (meaning) are due first and foremost to the Sender
(Speaker) rather than the interpreters own knowledge of the subject.
b. Quality is a function of communication efficiency from the Senders viewpoint, and
both package and content of the message in the target language should be optimised
with a view to fulfilling the Senders objectives.
c. Although fairly objective components for the assessment of quality as broken down into
content, packaging, and their interaction can be found, quality assessment can be very
difficult precisely because of the communication structure of interpreting.

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Knowledge and technical skills

It is necessary to analyse what sort of knowledge and technical skills are required in the
training of conference interpreters.
It should be first noted that an Active Language is the language the interpreter can interpret
into (the target-language). A Passive Language is the language the interpreter can interpret
from (the source-language).

Interpreters must have a good passive knowledge of their passive working language.
In conference interpreting, professionals must be able to respond very rapidly to spoken
language. They must be able to grasp not only the basic informational meaning of a
speech, but also fine shades of meaning as expressed by subtle choices of words and
expressions, as well as their rhythm, intonation and mental images.

Interpreters must have a good command of their active working language.

In conference interpretation, this requirement is set at a very demanding level.
Interpreters are required to be able to make speeches at a linguistic level commensurate
with that of the personalities they interpret, be they diplomats, scientists, politicians,
artists or intellectuals.

Interpreters must have a good knowledge of the subjects of the texts or speeches they
process.
Clearly, needs are highly variable, depending on the level of interpretation required, the
subjects themselves and working conditions. Interpreters can tackle more specialized
subjects if help from an expert and/or relevant documents are available.

Interpreters must have a good command of the different interpreting techniques for
consecutive interpreting, simultaneous interpreting, first-sight interpreting and
simultaneous-consecutive (or ad-hoc interpreting).

This component refers to the conceptual framework and technical skills of interpretation. It
involves:
comprehension of principles of fidelity and of professional rules of conduct,
techniques for knowledge acquisition, for linguistic register and semantics, for problemsolving, for decision-making, for note-taking,
concentration and memory for both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting.

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