HELPFUL SKILLS – ATTRIBUTES FOR INTERPRETING

HEARING ABILITY:
For obvious reasons, it is essential that interpreters have acute hearing.
Potential interpreters who have, or feel that they might have, a hearing
disability should seek medical advice. In some cases hearing adequately
compensate for hearing loss.

PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS

In any interpreting situation, an interpreter should not mumble, stutter or
speak too quickly or slowly. It is obviously necessary to have a clear, well –
modulated voice and a smooth style of delivery. Learners who feel
insecure when speaking in public might consider joining a club to develop
their public speaking skills.

CONVERSION SKILLS
Interpreters must be able to think quickly and “on their feet”. Interpreting
is an inmediate process, which leaves Little margin for thought before
action must take place.

MEMORY SKILLS
The short – term memory is used for the temporary storage of segments
of speech so that they can be decoded and re – encoded.
To improve short term memory and speaking style, students are advised
to do the following exercises:

a. Newspaper Translation
Take a newspaper article 75 – 100 words in length and study it for
about one minute, then first, putt he article fase down and repeat it
as precisely as posible (note: use the language of the article),
second translate the article aloud. Speak evently without pause or
stutter. Do two passages a day until you can speak without
 hesitation. It is a Good idea to use a tape recorder to record and
check yur performance. This may need frequent practice over 12
weeks or so.

b. Translating from Speech

Ask a friend or member of your family to read to you fairly slowly a
passage of about 300 – 400 words. Make notes and then reproduce
the passage as accurately and completely as you can in the other
language. Again use a tape recorder to check your performance.
The Reading should be as slow as required by dictation.

c. Radio translation
Tape record short passages of speech in your language from the
local radio station and try to interpret as much as you can. Or tape –
record news and science reports in English from VOA or BBC or ABC
and reproduce these as accurately as you can in English.

d. Interpreting Practice
Ask Friends or members of your family to “acto ut” interview in
which yu work as the interpreter.

e. Observing High – level Interpreters

Take particular notice of high – level interpreters, such as Prime
Minister’ interpreters, who appear on TV news, and observe their
technique.

NOTE – TAKING SKILLS

The interpreter should begin taking notes as son as one of the parties
begins speaking. When taking notes, the interpreter should take as many
notes as required to help the memory concerning all pertinent points but
not so many that she/he is distacted from what is being said. The
interpreter needs to remember what has been said rather than rely
exclusively on notes, which should be a back up to the memory.
It is noted that there is no best note taking system. Each interpreter needs
to develop his/her own system of note taking. A system of arrows is often
an integral component of a general system of notes. For example:

Movement towards, tendency, tren, sending, conveying…..

Receive from, import, return, and derive from……

Did not go send, convey, and export….

Did not return, import, and derive from …progress.

Increase, rise, improvement, etc. Deedline, fall, and decrease.

Been there and returned, resumed normal course of action …….

5 qualities every interpreter should have:

1. Amazing Language Skills

First and foremost, interpreters need to have an exhaustive grasp of the

language they interpret for. This sounds obvious, but it’s not always the
case. When an interpreter is working in the field, they probably don’t have
time to refer to an encyclopedia or dictionary. An extensive
vocabulary and excellent written and verbal communication skills are a
must.

An interpreter should be able to speak just as well, and preferably better,

than a native speaker. Superior grammatical knowledge and the ability to
interpret idioms, nuance and metaphors in conversation is essential to
effective communication.

2. Specialty Knowledge

Most translators work in a specific industry or field

(i.e. healthcare, legal, finance, etc.). This means they need to have
specialized knowledge in a certain area to be successful communicators.
Even though someone might be an amazing multilingual speaker, they
wouldn’t get far providing medical interpreting services at a hospital if
they had no experience with the vocabulary.

3. Accreditation

Certification or accreditation from a reputable interpretation institution

shows that an interpreter has put the necessary work in and has the
credentials to do the job well. Those who have undergone professional
training will not only have a better grasp on language requirements, but
also codes of ethics used by interpreters.

At the same time, someone who has received credentials is less likely to
make mistakes on the job. And errors can lead to serious consequences
for both interpreters and the institutions they work for.

4. Soft Skills

A good interpreter is more than just a skilled linguist – he or she is

someone who is willing and able to be a good, compassionate listener.
Interpretation situations can be intimidating for non-native speakers, and
an interpreter should try to make the experience as comfortable as
possible. Second in importance to outstanding language skills is the ability
to connect with a wide range of people. These invaluable connections are
a necessity for any strong interpreter.

5. Cultural Competence
Interpreters should not only be very familiar with more than one
language, but they should also have a cultural understanding of the
languages they interpret for. This is the ability to detect certain nonverbal
cues or customs that are specific to a particular group of people or
geographical place. Having a strong grasp on cultural norms will help an
interpreter better convey what a non-native speaker is trying to get
across.