Conference Interpreting

A Student's Practice Book

Andrew Gillies

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136293184
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Languages & Linguistics
• Categoría: Languages

Conference Interpreting: A Student's Practice Book brings together a comprehensive compilation of tried and tested practical exercises which hone the sub-skills that make up successful conference interpreting

Unique in its exclusively practical focus, Conference Interpreting: A Student's Practice Book, serves as a reference for students and teachers seeking to solve specific interpreting-related difficulties. By breaking down the necessary skills and linking these to the most relevant and effective exercises students can target their areas of weakness and work more efficiently towards greater interpreting competence.

Split into four parts, this Practice Book includes a detailed introduction offering general principles for effective practice drawn from the author's own extensive experience as an interpreter and interpreter-trainer. The second 'language' section covers language enhancement at this very high level, an area that standard language courses and textbooks are unable to deal with. The last two sections cover the key sub-skills needed to effectively handle the two components of conference interpreting; simultaneous and consecutive interpreting.

Conference Interpreting: A Student's Practice Book is non language-specific and as such is an essential resource for all interpreting students regardless of their language combination.

Part C

Consecutive interpreting

This section suggests practice activities for some of the main elements of consecutive interpretation technique:

•Delivery

•Active listening and analysis

•Memory

•Note-taking

•Reformulation

•Self-monitoring

•Split attention

Delivery

However ambitious it may seem, your goal as a student interpreter is to speak, when interpreting, like a competent public speaker giving their own speech. The details of what exactly that means and how it is to be achieved will be part of your interpreting course, though you will also find pointers online. Here are a few exercises to help you achieve that goal.

Most of the exercises in this section are aimed at improving your speaking technique, rather than physiologically training up the parts of the body involved in speaking. The latter are the preserve of professional voice coaches and here I have neither the space nor the expertise to go into all the possible exercises they might recommend. If exercises C.1 and C.2 appeal to you, you will find references in the bibliography to guide you towards more voice training exercises. Alternatively, find a voice coach, or suggest to your interpreting school that they hire one to come and give your class some training.

C.1 Breathe

Aim: to slow down your breathing to promote better voice quality, and relax.

You will need: space to stretch your arms.

Stand with your feet about 50cm apart, leaving enough space around you to extend your arms, with shoulders relaxed, but not hanging down! Your chest is open, the ribcage in a natural position. Your hands are touching each other in front of your belly, palms facing upwards. Breathe in, lifting your arms gradually out to the sides until they are level with your shoulders. This movement should make you breathe in. When breathing out, let your arms gradually go back to the original position. Repeat ten times.

Take a deep breath, lifting your arms to the side again, and think you are breathing into your belly and your lower back. Your lungs need space to expand, that is why they push out your belly. Now bring your arms to the front but keep them at the height of your shoulders and form a circle with your thumb and index finger, as if you are holding a thin rubber band. Now exhale slowly, pulling this imaginary rubber band with your index finger and thumb until your arms are back out at 180°, level with your shoulders, and you run out of breath. This will help you control the amount of breath you exhale. Exhale very slowly as you are pulling the ‘rubber band’ and try to resist as long as possible. Exhale on a long ‘sssss’ or ‘fffff’ sound. Notice that ‘fff’ will make you exhale faster then ‘sss’. Try to control the amount of air you exhale.

Voice coaches will ask you do this same exercise exhaling while you make a series of different sounds — p, t, k or h-h-h, or prrrr and brrrr. If you're interested in more of the same, check the bibliography or consult a voice coach.

Source: Mühle

C.2 Face massage

Aim: to improve diction and relax the face and parts of the body involved in speaking.

You will need: space to stretch your arms.

Massage your face, the underside of your jaw and the jaw muscles. Pull on your lips. Scrunch the face together and then stretch it apart. Pull funny faces (gurn)! Pull your hands down the front of your face, pulling your mouth open, relaxing the lower jaw and making a ‘ha’ sound as you do.

A lot of tension resides in the face, which can affect the quality of your voice and your stress levels.

Source: Mühle

C.3 Just a Minute 1

Aim: to practise public speaking under time pressure.

You will need: at least two other people.

‘Just a Minute’ is a UK radio game show in which one person must speak on a given subject, without hesitation or repetition, for 60 seconds or more. The speaker doesn't know in advance what the subject is. For this exercise, the subject is suggested by the others in the group and they then assess the speaker's performance according to a set of public-speaking guidelines you have been working with as part of your course.

Can you speak fluently and confidently on any subject at a few seconds' notice? This exercise will help you to sound confident even when you are not.

C.4 Just a Minute 2

Aim: to practise public speaking under time pressure.

You will need: at least two other people.

When you are comfortable with the Just a Minute exercise above (C.3), extend the time in which the speaker has to improvise towards 2 minutes and then add the following element to the exercise.

One of the people listening shows a card with a word or concept written in large letters on it. The person speaking must coherently incorporate the word/ concept on the card into the improvised speech.

A further stage is to show the card only to the speaker and not to the other listeners. The listeners must try to guess what was on the card from the speaker's intonation. If the speaker has mastered the art of controlled public speaking, they will not give away which word was on the card by, for example, sounding hesitant or smiling when they include that word in their improvised speech.

C.5 Talking to a mirror

Aim: to raise awareness about how you appear to others when speaking.

You will need: a mirror.

Practise speaking in front of a mirror. Check for twitches, gestures and the like. What impression do you make on the listener? If you or your school have a video camera, try using that too. If your mobile phone has a video camera, then use that.

Source: Heine 2000: 217

C.6 Tell it to grandma

Aim: to rediscover your natural speaking ability.

You will need: a speech.

Pick a topic or listen to a speech and then imagine you are explaining it to your grandmother or a relative from abroad who might not be familiar with the subject matter. You'll have to explain and communicate the subject more naturally, paying less attention to the detail of the information and more attention to making sure the listener understands what you're saying. This is communication!

C.7 Observe and copy

Aim: to improve your speaking skills by imitating the experts.

You will need: access to professional speakers' speeches or performances.

Observe professional speakers in, for example, national parliaments; note and try to emulate how and when they pause for breath, their rhythm and other oratorial techniques.

Source: Heine, 2000: 217

C.8 Write and deliver speeches

Aim: to practise debating skills and defending opinions that are not your own.

You will need: at least one other person.

Write and deliver speeches commenting on articles reported in newspaper articles, or imagine that you are trying to persuade a government official to change a certain rule. Record yourself or ask a colleague to listen. Are you convincing?

Source: Nolan 2005: 9

C.9 Defend controversial viewpoints

Aim: to practise debating skills and defending opinions that are not your own.

You will need: at least one other person.

Think up a controversial statement designed to spark a lively debate (if not within your group, then in society as a whole). Speak defending first one side of the argument and then the other. You can also do this exercise in groups for more realism.

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