UNIT 4

INTERPRETING IN TOURISM

Nguyen Quynh Mai, MA.

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 WARMING UP

Watch the video and answer the following questions.

File video: Link
1. How many people are there in the video and who are they?
2. What do you think about what the man in black T-shirt does?

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 WARM UP (cont.)

An Arabic man The translator/ interpreter An officer

• Situation: The conversation takes place at the US Embassy in Arab. The Arabic man is applying for an US visa
and is about to have a trip to the US.
• The translator’s job: He has failed his job. He has mispronounced “translator” as “transistor” and “tourist” as
“terrorist”, which creates huge misunderstanding and may lead to his client’s failure in visa application.

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 OBJECTIVES

• Present the importance and possible challenges in tourism interpreting.

• Present interpreting techniques in tourist sites.
• Apply interpreting techniques in tourist sites.

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 OVERVIEW

4.1 Importance of interpreting in tourism

4.2 Challenges in interpreting at tourist sites

4.3 Interpreting techniques at tourist sites

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 4.1. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM

4.1.2. Importance of interpreting

4.1.1. Overview of interpreting
in tourism

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 4.1.1. OVERVIEW OF INTERPRETING

• Interpreting or oral translation is the transfer of thoughts and ideas from one language to another to
conveying understanding.
• Interpreting is considered interlingual, intercultural, oral or signed mediation, enabling communication
between individuals or groups who do no share/ choose to use the same language(s).
• Interpreting requires faithful and accurate reproduction of a message from a speaker without emotional or
personal bias.
• Interpreters help speakers to discharge their duty to make them understood and help listeners to satisfy their
need to understand.
→ Interpreters serve as a kind of channel or bridge through which communication between two people
can happen.

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 4.1.1. OVERVIEW OF INTERPRETING (cont.)

Modes of interpreting
There are two major modes of interpreting which must be taken into consideration due to their difference in
skills and aptitudes required:
• Simultaneous interpreting: the translation of a speech is delivered at the same time with the speech.
• Consecutive interpreting: the speech is divided into segments, each of which is uttered in certain pace of
time, and the translation is delivered segment by segment during the speaker’s pause.

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 4.1.2. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM

• Tourism interpreting is a kind of consecutive interpreting:

▪ refers to the realization of communication between a speaker (tour guide or locals) and an audience
(foreign tourists) through an interpreter.
▪ can be held at various locations for one or several hundreds of audience.
• Interpreters are important to avoid communication barrier and act as an essential link between
communicating parties.
• Tourism interpreters in particular, and consecutive ones in general, may be affected by various factors:
environment, logistics of travel, the speaker’s and audience’s comfort and feelings.
• Criteria for successful interpreting: high standard of accuracy (especially for terminology), usefulness of
information to audience and audience’s satisfaction.

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 4.1.2. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM (cont.)

To ensure quality interpreting, interpreters must take into consideration the following questions:
1. Who are the audience?
2. What is their nationality?
3. What do they expect from the presentation?
4. What is their cultural background?
5. Do I need to adjust my language so that the audience can comprehend the presentation well?
6. How good is my knowledge of the subject matter?
7. Do the audience require additional explanation?
8. Are there any terms that I need to explain the meanings?

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 4.1.2. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM (cont.)

Practice 1: Decide whether the following statements are True or False.

1. When interpreting, one must give accurate reproduction of a speech while maintaining neutral attitudes
towards the subject matter.
2. Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting require the same skills and aptitudes.
3. In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter can interrupt the speaker whenever he/she wants to
give translation.
4. Interpreters must check whether the speaker and audience are comfortable or not to ensure the quality of
their services.
5. Interpreters do not need to prepare knowledge about a subject matter in advance if they are involved in
consecutive interpreting projects.

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 4.1.2. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM (cont.)

Answers
1. When interpreting, one must give accurate reproduction of a speech while maintaining neutral attitudes
towards the subject matter. → True
2. Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting require the same skills and aptitudes. → False
3. In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter can interrupt the speaker whenever he/she wants to give
translation. → False
4. Interpreters must check whether the speaker and audience are comfortable or not to ensure the quality of
their services. → True
5. Interpreters do not need to prepare knowledge about a subject matter in advance if they are involved in
consecutive interpreting projects. → False

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 4.1.2. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM (cont.)

• KNOWLEDGE: The interpreter did not have enough background knowledge to understand the text. This
knowledge is not tied to culture-for cultural challenges.
• HEARING: The interpreter misheard the source text.
• UNDERSTANDING: The interpreter misunderstood the source text.
• VOCABULARY: There is an error in vocabulary, word choice, or idiom.
• WORD ORDER: There is an error in word order.
• SENTENCE PATTERN: The interpreter uses a unique sentence pattern that is unnatural in the
target language.

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 4.1.2. IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETING IN TOURISM (cont.)

• MEASURE WORD: The interpreter misuses a measure word. This can be grating on the listeners’ ears but
does not necessarily affect comprehension.
• UNCLARITY: The interpreter’s word choice or omission of a certain phrase unintentionally makes the
interpretation unclear and could confuse the listener.
• ENVIRONMENT: The interpreter is uncomfortable in the interpreting environment. Examples include
interpreting while walking, being interrupted, or interpreting in a cramped space.
• CULTURAL ASPECT: The interpreter encounters a cultural reference that is difficult to transfer into the
target language.
• NERVOUSNESS: The interpreter makes a simple mistake due to nervousness.
• PUBLIC SPEAKING: The interpreter’s ability of communication is affected due to a lack of public
speaking skills.

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 4.2. CHALLENGES IN INTERPRETING AT TOURIST SITES (cont.)

Practice 2: Complete the following passage with the given words/ phrases.

background knowledge sentence patterns nervousness

mishear misunderstand misuse

When working at tourist sites, interpreters face various difficulties, which unavoidably leads to mistakes. For example, due to
ill preparation, interpreters may lack (1) __________ of the destination and fail to translate some items whether they are
culture-bound or not. This problem may also make the interpreters (2) __________ a word or term if they translate from a
foreign language to their native one, resulting in mistranslation. Additionally, the interpreters likely produce inaccurate
translation as they (3) _________ the tour guide’s speech due to noises and sounds at the tourist sites.
If the interpreters translate from their mother tongue to another language which they are not really competent, they can (4)
___________ words or apply unfamiliar (5) __________, which may be syntactically wrong and confuse the tourists. Another
factor that may affect interpreters’ performance is their (6) ___________, especially when they are not good at public
speaking. This can make them breathe faster or sweat a lot.

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 4.2. CHALLENGES IN INTERPRETING AT TOURIST SITES (cont.)

Answers

background knowledge sentence patterns nervousness

mishear misunderstand misuse

When working at tourist sites, interpreters face various difficulties, which unavoidably leads to mistakes. For
example, due to ill preparation, interpreters may lack (1) background knowledge of the destination and fail to
translate some items whether they are culture-bound or not. This problem may also make the interpreters (2)
misunderstand a word or term if they translate from a foreign language to their native one, resulting in
mistranslation. Additionally, the interpreters likely produce inaccurate translation as they (3) mishear the tour
guide’s speech due to noises and sounds at the tourist sites.
If the interpreters translate from their mother tongue to another language which they are not really competent,
they can (4) misuse words or apply unfamiliar (5) sentence patterns, which may be syntactically wrong and
confuse the tourists. Another factor that may affect interpreters’ performance is their (6) nervousness,
especially when they are not good at public speaking. This can make them breathe faster or sweat a lot.
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 4.3. INTERPRETING TECHNIQUES IN TOURIST SITES

• Basic stages of interpreting: (1) understanding, (2) analysing, and (3) re-expressing
• Interpreting techniques refer to techniques used to facilitate an interpreter in reproducing the closest
equivalent rendition from the source language text into the target language one.

•Reformulation •Summarising

•Generalisation

•Salami techniques •Explanation

•Omission
•Simplification •Anticipation

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 4.3. INTERPRETING TECHNIQUES IN TOURIST SITES (cont.)

• Reformulation: interpreter needs to reformulate the original wording to maintain the right distance from the
speaker. Long and complicated sentences are to be broken down into a series of easier, shorter ones;
relative and subordinate clauses can be shifted around within a sentence; active clauses changed into
passive(or vice versa).
• Salami techniques: interpreter must divide up the speaker’s sentences into a number of short, self-
contained ones and then link them as appropriate.
• Simplification: this can be applied in two cases:
▪ (1) for highly technical speech, interpreter must at least try to save the essentials by simplification.
▪ (2) when speaker talking over the heads of the audience, and faithful rendering would make the audience
confused; hence, interpreter’s first duty is not so much to be faithful but to maximize the communication.
• Generalization: a number of specific items in a speech can be expressed in one generic term to save time
perhaps with a very fast speaker

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 4.3. INTERPRETING TECHNIQUES IN TOURIST SITES (cont.)

• Omission: the deletion of information can be the strategies when the interpreter faces under duress due to
the technical term of a subject, mode of the expression of the speaker, and the speaker speaks too fast. Two
ways of omission include: (1) keep the essential elements and miss out only what is illustrative, or (2) in
some way accessory such as asides, digressions, etc.
• Summarising: interpreters may wish to recapitulate what a speaker has already said and what they
themselves have already interpreted, if they feel the audience may have failed to grasp the point.
Summarising here refers to a summary that is added to the full text.
• Explanation: for notions, cultural, or institutional references that have no direct equivalent in the target
language, interpreter should explain them to the audience. To save time, if the notion is repeated many
times in a speech, the interpreter can explain its meaning the first time it is mentioned and thereafter refer to
it an abbreviated form.
• Anticipation: interpreter should take anticipation when he often begins a sentence without knowing exactly
where the sentence is going. The anticipation can be possible from the context of a meeting.

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 4.3. INTERPRETING TECHNIQUES IN TOURIST SITES (cont.)

Practice 3: Watch the video and provide oral translation using the guidelines below.
File video: Link

• Situation: You are an interpreter for the tour guide in the video. This is a
brief introduction and reminders for tourists before the tour begins.
• Instructions:
▪ Listen to the tour guide and take notes
▪ Provide your translation whenever the tour guide stops speaking.
Note: The tour guide’s speech has been cut into several segments and the
time for translation, which is equal to the length of the tour guide’s
utterance, is added to the video.

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 4.3. INTERPRETING TECHNIQUES IN TOURIST SITES (cont.)

Practice 4: Watch the video and provide oral translation using the guidelines below.
File video: Link
• Situation: You are going interpret for a tour guide. The destination is Kalinga province, the Philippines.
• Instructions:
▪ Search for information about Kalinga province and note down any detail that you think may be helpful for
your translation.
▪ Watch the video, listen to the tour guide, take notes and provide your translation.
Note: The tour guide’s speech has been cut into several segments and the time for translation, which is equal
to the length of the tour guide’s utterance, is added to the video. The video contains caption, but there are still
some inaccurate details, so pay attention to what the tour guide says.

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 4.3. INTERPRETING TECHNIQUES IN TOURIST SITES (cont.)

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 SUMMARY

• Interpreting at tourist sites is consecutive interpreting.

• Interpreting at tourist sites is of great importance as it is an essential link between communicating parties
and deals with the communication barrier between tour guides and locals and tourists.
• Interpreters may be affected by several factors when working at tourist sites such as environment, logistic of
travel, the tour guide’s and tourists’ feelings and their own feelings and health.
• Interpreters at tourist sites must pay attention to the accuracy and usefulness of the information and the
audience’s satisfaction on their services.
• Interpreters at tourist sites may encounter different challenges related to knowledge, hearing,
understanding, the use of words and sentence patters, unclarity, environment, cultural aspects, nervousness
and public speaking.
• To interpret well, interpreters may make use of such techniques as reformulation, salami techniques,
simplification, generalisation, omission, summarising, explanation and anticipation.

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 GLOSSARY

• mediation (n): trung gian

Hành động, quá trình giúp hai bên đạt được sự nhất trí và thấu hiểu lẫn nhau
• reproduction (n): tái tạo, tái sản xuất
Hành động tạo ra một sản phẩm mới dựa trên nguyên liệu có sẵn hoặc nguyên bản
• simultaneous interpreting (n): dịch đồng thời, dịch song song
Loại hình dịch nói trong đó phiên dịch viên dịch song song với bài trình bày của diễn giả. phiên dịch viên
dịch lại lời nói của diễn giả gần như ngay lập tức.
• consecutive interpreting (n): dịch liên tiếp, dịch đuổi
Loại hình dịch nói trong đó diễn giả nói một câu hoặc một đoạn ngắn rồi ngưng lại để phiên dịch viên dịch
trước khi nói phần tiếp theo.
• communication barrier (n): rào cản giao tiếp
Khó khăn hoặc trở ngại trong giao tiếp, khiến các bên giao tiếp không thể thấu hiểu nhau.

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 FAQ - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Phiên dịch và biên dịch có gì khác nhau?

→ Biên dịch là dịch các văn bản viết (bản dịch có thể ở hình thức viết hoặc nói), còn phiên dịch là dịch nói các
văn bản nói (hay bài trình bày) và được thực hiện ngay tại thời điểm văn bản được cấu thành. Vì thế, phiên
dịch được đánh giá là khó hơn, nhưng yêu cầu về độ chính xác với phiên dịch không quá chặt chẽ như với
biên dịch.

2. Dịch đồng thời và dịch liên tiếp có gì khác nhau?

→ Khi dịch liên tiếp, phiên dịch viên có thời gian ghi chú thông tin, và sẽ dịch khi diễn giả tạm ngừng phần nói.
Mặt khác, với dịch đồng thời, phiên dịch viên cần nghe lời nói của diễn giả và dịch gần như ngay lập tức và
song song với bài trình bày của diễn giả. Vì thế, người nghe gần như sẽ không nhận thấy sự chênh lệch về
mặt thời gian giữa bài nói của diễn giả và lời dịch của phiên dịch viên.

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 FAQ - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (cont.)

3. Phiên dịch được ứng dụng như thế nào trong lĩnh vực du lịch?
→ Trong lĩnh vực du lịch, phiên dịch có thể được áp dụng trong các tour du lịch có khách là người nước
ngoài. Cụ thể, hướng dẫn viên du lịch sẽ đóng vai trò phiên dịch. Trong trường hợp hướng dẫn viên du lịch
không biết tiếng nước ngoài, hoặc khách du lịch không hiểu ngôn ngữ ở điểm du lịch (hoặc cả hai bên
không có một ngôn ngữ chung để giao tiếp, ví dụ như tiếng Anh), công ty du lịch sẽ cử thêm một phiên dịch
viên đi kèm.
4. Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến phiên dịch viên khi dịch tại các điểm du lịch là gì?
→ Khi phiên dịch tại điểm du lịch, phiên dịch viên có thể bị tác động bởi một số yếu tố như môi trường, di
chuyển, cảm xúc của người nói và người nghe, và trạng thái và tình trạng sức khỏe của phiên dịch viên.
5. Khi phiên dịch tại các điểm du lịch, làm thế nào để phiên dịch viên biết mình đã làm tốt vai trò
của mình?
→ Khi phiên dịch tại các điểm du lịch, phiên dịch viên cần đảm bảo dịch chính xác thông tin (có thể đầy đủ
hoặc không, tùy theo kỹ thuật phiên dịch), truyền tải thông tin hữu ích cho người nghe và đảm bảo người
nghe hài lòng với thông tin mình nhận được.
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