Note taking from Japanese

What I have read so far about note taking for consecutive interpretation in Japanese sources is hopeless. One author would stress that each interpreter has its own method, that you write in shorthand and symbols, that there is no method (but one's own). But nothing more. There may be something more tangible in Japanese on the issue but I have yet to find it out. The question which is itching me these days is whether the Gillies method can be applied to taking notes from Japanese. Of course, the best way to know is to try. I am fancying that a group of interpreters would work out the issue, in workshop fashion, test, trial and discuss. Right now, it's just a wish without foreseeable application.

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japan, Japanese language, translation, translator

In praise of the Gillie's book, again

I know it's starting to sound like a fan club, a love-love affair, but the Gillies' book on note taking for consecutive interpreting is deep and gets deeper at each re-reading. It's a must have, and as Japan is these days enamored with the catch-phrase "interpreter's training technique applied to better language learning", it makes sense to refer and introduce the method proposed by Gillies in advanced language classes, or as the core material for a starter on liaison interpreting.

I keep telling my new students that it doesn't matter whether they want to pursue into interpreting as a profession or not. Thinking, working and drilling around interpreting as a focused task for enhanced listening, paraphrasing and finally rendering into another language is very demanding and it makes them growing, I believe. Ad to this a focus on shadowing and you get a powerful method - still to be developed - to help them get to the next level. They are stranded as it seems in a gray zone where the feeling that there is no more progress is pervasive. That method is really a breakthrough into the next step. I was glad to see last time that some students actually bought the book although I did not make the purchase a requisite. Now if they do follow-up with daily servings of focused shadowing, they will within a year reach that new level, which is to be confident listening to most any podcast on most subject available around, and understand at least 80% of what they hear. The Gillies', although unrelated with that task, actually provides for the tangible side of balancing shadowing with something more palpable, tangible, chunky, which is note taking, the pondering and practice of it.

In a vacuum

Over the phone interpretation never ceases to surprise. The assignments I had tonight came with a three words subject, and nothing more. Business as usual. It was a tough one because I could not make inferences out of it all and prepared very lightly for lack of tangible clues. When the call came, I learned in bundle that 1) The people about to talk already talked some time ago. It was a follow-up, and 2) They shared a list of questions I had not the pleasure to have a look at. Ad to this that the Japanese side was very fluent in English, enough so that the interpreter was not a necessary item. I was called to translate a few things at the end of the conversation but I believe that was for the sake to make me feel useful. How kind. OPI happens enough in a vacuum sometimes to learn that on top of it, both sides are already in the knows while the interpreter is left stranded. The organizers called the following day to apologize for the organizational blunder. As long as they give me more assignments, I am ready to forgive.

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japanese language, Tokyo, translation, translator

Shadowing NHK

The NHK news web site is even better now, allowing to go through a continuous stream of short video news snippets with attached script. The stream control is not reactive as it could be in a language lab environment, but it allows to perform pure shadowing, shadowing together with script reading, delayed shadowing - where you wait for a full sentence to end, stop the stream and read the sentence allowed, reading or not the script. Although certainly not intended for Japanese as a foreign language learning and training tool, the web site is nonetheless a powerful source for alternative educational usage. A slowdowning function would make it a killer application for speech training.

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japan, Japanese language, translation, translator

Veering course orientation

I am veering the interpreting intro course orientation by shuffling the order at which I provide content to the students. I now give them access to the audio file prior to the course so that they can get wet with it. I am also mixing a lot more learn-by-doing Gillie's note-taking technique. I was surprised and happy to see that some pupils actually bought the book although I didn't make it a requisite. One other point: I accelerate the pace of the course, not dipping too much down under on each sentence but trying and make as much as possible in one session.

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japanese language, translation, translator

Almost clueless interpretation

No briefing. A single two words subject. Not a single question. I only new who would meet who. Preparation totally based on inference, anticipation of probable subjects to be raised. I bought a book on the subject the previous day for self mental care. What is common in over the phone interpretation is to turn common in face to face liaison interpreting. Let's call it for the time being (almost) clueless interpreting. The issue at stake, maybe even more than with OPI is: how do get ready for the job? The clients were satisfied. Not I. Too much approximations, too much paraphrasing for lack of the specialized jargon. How this approximation can be managed, that is checked by prior, focused preparation better anticipation?

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japan, Japanese language, translation, translator

War as an opportunity to relate to liaison interpreting

Liaison interpreting is the "parent pauvre" of the subject "interpreting". Conference interpreting dwarfs the way much more common liaison interpreting. Catching up on listening to a backlog of This American Life, I was reminded of the fact that the Iraq war like no other conflict has exposed the profession to some scrutiny from a most extreme and appalling context where interpreters are slain by the hundreds. A refugee interpreter gives a lesson they don't tell you in academic papers about what it takes to do the job.

"Act Two. Kill the Messengers.

Basim, an Iraqi national, worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He talks with host Ira Glass about the time he had to purposely mistranslate in order to keep a situation from turning violent, as well as the day interpreters became the prime targets for insurgent assassins—even more prized than American soldiers. (22 minutes)"

That's from episode # 327 of TAL.

This is mandatory listening.

Technorati Tags: gaijin, interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japan, Japanese language, Tokyo, translation, translator

What to do with transcribed video resources

This is an open question to myself. I am testing exercising with transcribed video resources in Japanese, mostly news snippets (as mentioned in the previous post) from TV channels like NHK and TBS. It's not shadowing when reading aloud, trying and keep pace with the real fast delivery speed of standard TV news reporters. It's really fast! And reading effort takes over the capacity to really shadow the voice, or so it feels. I have been trying a different approach to enhance shadowing, meaning repeating what one hears, by doing silent lip reading-shadowing. Don't know what to think about all this, but not using the transcription is a waste of time. For Japanese language learners, it could be powerful. Slowing down speed using ad hoc software could be interesting although it requires preparation and editing. There's something there, definitely.

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japanese language, translation, translator

Into something tangible

I am into something tangible with course designing. Without any order: any reference about note taking for consecutive interpreting I can find about Japanese is hopeless. It keeps stressing that notes are compulsory and very personal, without expanding into any "method". I use the Andrew Gillies book and tell my students again and again that they don't have to stick to the Gillies model. But as far as models ate concerned, discovering the Gillies model is the best way to think about note taking. Using a simplified, or shortened version of the Gillies model with a a selection of podcast, I can have my students think and practice seriously paraphrasing, and shed light - sometimes crude - on their competence, or the lack of it. Paraphrasing and - on their own - shadowing are the best activity duo I can think about to help them boost their competence and think about what interpretation is all about.

Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japan, Japanese language, translation, translator