6. Interpreting Techniques Aword isnot a erjstal, transparent and unchanged, ts the skin of a Ising thought and may vary greatly in colour and content according tothe circumstances and ‘he time in whieh its used. “Josie Oliver Wendell Holmes ou in Melinkof® 1963:440) Of course Iwant counsel. Buti i even more important tohave a good interpreter. Hermann Giving (Tine, 29 October 1045-98) ‘Ack a lypesson about the work of the court interpreter and, to the fstent that he ne any iden at all shot conte interpreters do, hie ssnaver will probably fous om knowledge of» foreign language and of legal terms. Ask a judge or lanyer, and the answer will emphasize that interpreters must translate everything “verbatim, follow the lv, and not interfere with the work of legal professionals. Stores in che ress about interpreted tals often focus on miscariages of justice INTRODUCTION TO COURT ‘hat the term translation is also offen used to denote the overall process of interingual meaning transfer, regardless of whether iti ‘written or ora, In the case of sim language, interpreting involves tronsfesing » menoge from an oral mode to a visual mode or ce ‘versa, also in rel ime, This seemingly simple proces is complicated bythe fact that it is difficult to define all of the elements that make up a mesage, and to wancfer all of those elements intact from the source language (the language of the orginal message) to the target language (che language into which the message i being interpreted or translate), In his book Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice (199), Roger T. Ball cites a standard definition cf transition se the replacement ofa representation of text im one Innguage by a representation of an equivalent text ina second Tanguage’, but goes on to explain that the matter of equivalence is sscredingly comple ‘Texts in diferent Languages can be equivalent in language; the vtnese respond sn the fran Innguaga, aad that response ie merpeted back nto the language of the cour forthe oficial recor NTRODUCTION TO COURT INTERPRET ‘word choice and intonation. emphasisin orignal) “Thishas profound inplenton forthe taining of sour interpre, ‘The way consecutive interpreting = practiced by conference Interpreters, hedges, se-corections, and hestations are emited, ‘eelting in 3 toe soneee rendition that ie somsatines more polished and better organized than che original (Weber 1984:49-50). This sppresch actualy males the interprets job somewhat easier, Decause she is fee to concentrate on the speakers Haas without Doeing diszacted by the paralnguisie ements of the mesage A skiled conference interpreter ean deal with “any length of speech” under these circumstances (Jones 1998:5). Because the iterpretation of a wines: testimony must minor the oxginal utterance as close as poss so that the tris of fact ean assess the person's creddbliy, the cour interpreter must barden her short-term memory with these additonal elements Consequently, a slllad court {ntrpreter cannot be expected 10 retain more than 100 words (one fr two sentences) before intervening to interpret, Foxtunatels, testing witnewes are rarely given the epportnity to speak any longer than that, because attomeys want fo maintain contol omer thet statements “The abiity to coordinate spenker turntaking is therfore an ‘escenalsil that all cont interpreters must master, Deiding wen ERPRETING (TRANSLATION PRACTIC o ‘When interpreting ito the wits’ Language, the interpreter has an audince of just one person, and ean speak sito voce unless one of the participants has asked to monitor the interpretation. When interpreting the witness ancwers int the ofl language ofthe cour forthe record the interpreter mus speak loudly enough tobe heard by estos in th cortroon. ‘Much as been witten about the so-called “veibatin requirement” that prea in cout interpreting (Gonzsles et a 255; Morris 1995 & b; Dikkelson 1998), which has been imposed on ‘mterpetore by mieguided jadace and lawyers AWhousls the ter ten instruct interpreters to “trandate word for word” (Mori 695) exactiy what the wimess sys, it is lar to anyone who speaks more than one language that auch a tandlation would render the message meaningless in the target language, What i relly meant by a Sesbetn” interpretation & thet every single clement of meaning in the soureedanguage message must le accounted for in the at Innevaze vio. In the words of Gonzsle et 3 (10086) “The interpreter is sequted to sender ia 2 verbation manner the form snd content of the Hnguistie and paralingaisic cements of a discourse including all of the pauses, hedges, selfeomections, hestaons, and motion as they aze coueyed dhough tone of vice, RANSLATION PRACTICES EXPLAINED) to intervene in a lengthy statement i a ertal judgement based on the lnterpreta’s assessment of her own memory capacity, the otnen’s speaking ale, and the impact an interpreter intersption ‘sl have on the witness perceived credibly. Berk Seligson (1990) has analyzed the impact ofthe intapreter on witness exedbity with reference to O'Basr= (1982) resmasch om powefal and powerless speech in the courtroom, and she has found that witnesses who are smterupted every few words by the interpreter are perceived as lass rod than thor who ae allowed to spelt ther own pace. The ‘interpreter must thus weigh the nck of alering perceptions of the vitess against the rik offing to interpret accurately, and act ecordingy “Ae noted above, the conssomtve imerpreting practised in the courtroom tends to operate 2 the level of sentences or phrases. AS 2 result, the notetaking techniques that are taught in interpreting schools where long consecutive @ emphasized mast be adapted for court interpreting to take ito account the unique requirements Some cout interpreters do make se ofthe symbols representing key ‘concepts the notion of wertcalization and indentation, che arzows ‘and lines and ether features of consceuivenotetaling developed by conference interpreters (Rezan 1956). An informal surey of Drastsing court interpreters in the United States revealed, however, hot most take notes only on memes and ammbers (selon,‘Vasquez and Gonailer 2989). The interpreters seported that they void elaborate nottaking becouse it requies losing eve coutact with the witness, which the consider vital to exerting sitatonal contol ‘They always Hie to havea notepad and pen avaiable, however, even SH theytake few notes, ‘The component ale required for consecutive interpreting ca be ‘broken down into thiee eategories: lexical, communication, and retention sills Lexical sil inluce familiarity wth the legal reister ofthe courtroom (especially the questioning sive of teal Lawyers), the characeisic regisers of lay wimesses and defendants (colloquial, conversational speech, stret slang, and the argot of the underworld) and the technical jargon used by expert witnesses (ae enforcement parconne, criminal, medical protessionals, and ‘sientits). Communieation sile inchde voice projection and modulation, coordination of tumtaking, and fama with courtsoom protocol, Retention sla enesmpaee acts listing, mnemonic techniques, and noteaking ultaneous Interpreting Jn simultaneous interpreting, according 1 Gatha 1098: ‘equipment to enable them to peak into a microphone ata very lw volume and be heard clearly by a defendant wearing earphones, ven ata distance of several yards. Although this expedient is not as appropriate as the soundproof booths and high-technology ‘equipment used for conference interpreting, it does allow che interpreter to poston herself adequately so as to see and hear all ‘participants protct er vice, and avoid the sain of long in to ‘whisper directly in the defendan’s eas (Grusky 1988; Edwards 1965) Sometimes interpreters will combine simultaneous and conseousive Interpreting for wimess tesimmony, with questions being interpreted simultaneously for the witness alone to hear, and answers being interpreted consecutively in a loud enough voice for the entire ‘courtoom to hea Unfortunately, even simultaneous interpreting without ‘equipment, which estes more ofa sain for the interpreter, not ‘the norm in courts eershere. Du to the ack of tained interpreters and the ignorance of court personnel, many interpreted proceedings fare conducted with sumuary consecutive interpretation (Tsuda 1995; De Mas 1999; Rivezzi 1999). It is widely agreed that smultsnecus interpretation is seally the only acceptable mode of “interpreting t keep the defendant informed of what ie happening in the proceedings, and that cout systems should make a grater effort to reerit tained interprets who ean demonstrate proficiency in TING (TRANSLATION PRACTICES EXPLAINED) ‘he information is transfered into the second language as soon as interpreters understand a “unit” of meaning The word “simultaneous” is misleading, because faterpreters ave to understand a minimum of information before they can translate into the target language The log. between the original and the interpreted version i called dlcalage, and its length varies according to the interpreters. It is usually no longer than seven or eight saconds, ‘The Nusenibusg War Crimes Trial of 1045-46 is generally recognized as the first instance of the use of electronic equipment to make posible simultaneous interpretation of proceedings in multiple Jnnguages Simntanenis interprating aqnipmant hse become quite sophistiated, and it ie now talon for granted that international rmeetings con be conducted offcently with mulkple working Ianguages. Gaia points out in her book about the Nuremburg Trial, however, that éntepreting with sueh equipment is “seldom used in cours because of ts cos o the goverment’, and that the norm is ‘whispered interpreting or chuchotege. In this method, “interpreters ‘it next tothe people who do not understand the working language and whisper the translation in their ears" Gaika 299816). In the United States, many interpreters are using wireless sSmutaneous interpretation (Drioson 1988, 1989; Gonzilex etal 19915 Hewitt 1995; Nicholeon and Martinsen 1997). ‘Simultaneous interpretation is a complex task that requies extensive taining, and even skiled simultaneous interpreters make fore if they work under inadequate conditions. The interpreter needs tobe able to see and hear the speaker clearly in order to render an accurate interpretation, and the speakar’s rate of speech must be reasonable (Jones 1998). Furthermore, fequent breaks should be allowed to prevent interpreter fatigue (Gonzalez etal 199). Studies have shown that even experienced conference interpreters begin to make errors after 20 or 30 minutes of simultaneous interpreting, and itis therefore recommended that for proceedings that wl last longer than that period, interpreters should work in paits so that they can relive each other frequently (Vidal 1967). Many coutts wil fin this standard impossible to mest, given that there may be few or no ‘qualified interpreters in some language combinations, but as the ‘oust interpreting profession becomes more viel” recognized, training and working conditions wll improve, and the courte wil be Detter able to ensure due process for itigants who do not speak the offal nguage ofthe legal sytem. ‘We have already noted that languages are not isomorphic, and therefore interpreters must “repackage” the message to. make it understandable in the target language. This task i much moveINTRODUCTION TO COURT INTERPRETING iiealt in simultaneous interpretation because of the time fator ‘When interpreting froma couree language that i characterized by 2 subject-object-veb (SOV) ajutas into a taeget language that follows a subjct-verbobject (SVO) order, for example the interpreter must often wait several seconds to lear the verb before sendering the sezage inthe target language inthe appropiate order. This wating time isthe déeaiage mentioned by Gaiba (1998), and is one ofthe ‘most important suategas interpreters must lea. Tt takes 2 lot of concentration to lag behind the speaker long enoagh to resructare the mesage without fogeting any elements of meaning: Jones (42998:74) calls this “cultivating split attention’. He also points out that the degiee to which the intexpreter lags behind the speaker sates tremendously depending on the stat of the languages ia (qvesion and the information avedable to che interpreter The cexereisesHsted at the end af this chapter are helpfl for enhancing concentration and expanding déealage, ‘To wait for a ey element such 25 the ver without long pauses, somtimes interpreters use “neutral” of “Br” phrases to “buy time” unt] they have enough infomation to complete the thought, while voiding phraze that commit thom grammatically or small to 2 certain meaning. Gaba (2998:104) deseribes the srateny devised by the imzerpretrs at Nurembarg for coping with long, conseluted Geran sentences in which the verb came atthe end INTRODUCTION TO COURT INTERPRE: ‘anticipation, whereby the interpreter applies her Inowladge of the subject matter, patterns of usage in the souroe langnage, the speaker’ sl, and the contest of the speech to predict what the speaker wll say without having o wait fora hey element such asthe verb, This i a sky practice that reqites alot of experimee to master. As Gatba (1998:204) points out, it requires “native ike Jnowledge” ofthe source laigusge Inthe ese of English, in which adjectives tend to precede the noun they are describing, and speakers ‘wlloten rel off whee tring of adjctver before getting around #0 ‘the al-important noun, am interpreter may need to restructure the message to put the noun before the adjctives inthe target language Itmay be possble for her to anticipate the noun based on the instal adjoctves and the contest of the speech, For example an attomey rmay address the juryin a elosing argument with this statement Ladies and gentlemen ofthe jury, I submit to you that this the most heinous, despicable, outrageous, ‘onoonsionnble crime ever commited agninet a child “The interpreter can safely predict the noun after heaving “heinous,” which is > reatily rare word that almos always appears in 3 collocation with "erime’, To be safe, however, he might use a more ‘neota trike “set inetand of rime” TING (T [TThey stared the sentence with vague and general ‘phrases and then became more specic once they heard the verb, This alowed them to keep pace with the speaker and to deliver a reasonable, ven if not elegant, ‘wanslation, For example a judge may say: ‘You have the spt to have 4 misdemeanor or flony charge agains you dismissed you are not ied within ‘the statutory period of ime ‘The itecpreter recognizes that the ves “to have” ie kel to be an ausiary in a split verb phrase Co have (the charge] dismissed) fd holds the inital parse ip ahort-term memory wntil she bao enough information. The interpreted version, back-ranslated into English, would be as fllows: Wik repost to minlemannor or flony charge, fou are not ied within the statutory period of time you have ih ton dismissal ofthe charge Another sratery often employed by simultaneous interpreters is RANSLATION PRACTICES EXPLAINED In languages with radically diferent syntaues, interpreters may Ihave to resort to more drastic restructuring. This technique is known a “slams” among conference interpreters, and Jones (1998:203) ‘ites an example ofa German-to-Englich interpretation in which this strategy i applied. The original Geman statement, wandated erally into English, i We have tid with the photographer, who the man Caceasatve case], who on the scene of this serous Sesident was seen, a2 he to the injared assistance brought, had identified, to get nto contact. The interpreter toms the many dependent clauses into short sratenoes tas tand alone Aman was sten at this serious aceident, He was helping the ininsed, He ne been identified by a photographer, Webhave tied to get into contact with she photoarapher ‘Thus, to perform simultnecus interpretation ficiently and accurately interpreters mast develop a auimber of component sd In addion to the leical, communication, and retention shils ‘deni as important for consocatve interpretation, simultaneousINTRODUCTION TO COURT INTERPRETING (TRANSLATION PRACTICES EXPLAINED) interpreters must possess 1) quick reflexes and mental agility for appropiate expedient rapid restructuring of messages, 2) the ability to monitor their own Gonz etl (1991401) describe the process inthis way output while also attending earfilly to the speaker to make sure they ase producing an sesutate and ineligible targevlanewage ‘Sight wanclation is analogous to sight reading in music: rmesige, and g) the stamina necessary to cope with the stress the interpreter is given a [source language) document ‘herent ia simultaneous inerpeeting never seen before, and, with minal preparation, the inerpreter provides 2 complete oral translation of the ocutent ito th [argc language]. Like accomplished Sight Translation sscians who play an apparenty effordess version of piece they have never laid eyes on, interpreters are ‘Sight translation is the oral ranulaton of « witten document Tels actually drawing upon years of training and experience necessary wien standard legal forms must be signed by leigants who to petform this fer. The end product should be both do not speak the language ofthe court, or when documents written faithful tothe original text and pleasing tothe er (that jaa forwign Language aze submitted ac evidence. Because the 4s in fee lowing, natara sounding language). inverpreter has litle time to study the document and prepare © render it omally i the target language, sight trandation i not appropsite for lengthy, technical reports or briefs, Partially in ‘countries where much ofthe evidence submited to cour isin writen form, documents shouldbe translated by professionals who are given adequate time for rearch and production of a polished translation. mental agility, plus the abiity to monitor ones own output wile In the case of a standard form that an interpreter can become carefully attending to the original, are required for sight translation. familiar within advan, ora short document like a bith cerificate In addition, the inerpreter mast be able to grap the meaning of that i used to prove a defendants age, sight translation is an ‘writen teat quickly and then convert a message that was originally ‘The mental proces of ight trandation i very similar to that of simultaneous interpretation, except that the souroe message is in ‘written rather than oral form. Consequently, the same component lus that go into simultaneous interpreting, ie, quick rfleses and intended to be send into one that con be understood in oral for In addition to interpreting and sight translating docaments in cour, This may involve breaking up long, convoluted sentences into jndiciay interpneters ate sometines called upon to perform related shorter, more diret aements as well using stress and intonation tad. As stated earlier, weitten materials requiring translation are to caify meaning. Interpreters must sherefore be familiar with both froquently submitted to the court, and court personnel may assume the onl and viten forme of ther seeking languages, whch ‘hat erpreters ul be able to tanelate them. Ia fact, woaslating somtimes differ graty and interpreting, while closly related, ave diferent ils that net “An added dificuly asiees when handwritten documents are freryone is capable of mastering equally; in other words, some presented to the conrt ar eidenos, ach a when 9 defendant sites individuals possessing the prerequisite linguistic 1 Monoingaal dstonnrise on topise such a6 smadicine, chemist, busines, acouating, finance, automotive terms, tole, pharmaceutical products, ‘egal drugs, and weapons 2 Bilingual dictionaries or glossaries on the topics ted shore 3 Monolingual ictonarias and rextbocks on specialized ansas of the Inw auch a6 contracts, property law, family ln, probate, and ltboar relations 4 Viual ictioaries such as the Osford-Duden Ses or the What What series which are published in many ifeens languages 5. Textbooks for students of lav, medicine, hemisy, law enforcement, secounting, or 6, Publications isued Ly goverament ageucies to Inform the public about their programmes or about laws and regulations governing motor TRODUCTION TO COURT INTERPRETI G (TRANSLAT PRACTICES EXPLAINE ceraluated: date of publication, country of origin, identity and ceedensnls of suthow(e), reputation of publishing house, qualiy of Binding and paper, and the presence oF absence of usage actes reguiding grammar, collocations, repster, ld of knowledge, and regionals Tn the e350 of specialized dictionaries itis also a good ‘dea to look for “ler' that is, genera terms that could be found in any dictionary and are added simply to bulk up the volume. To test the reliability ofa dietonary look up a term you already know that is problematic and see how it dealt within this work Msn nowoe interpreters wonder vshether ti appropriate to Ing ditonasies and glossatis to thei interpreting assignments, {eating that thei cliente may doubt hei competence, As pointed out in Chapnat_4. just as legal profesionals consult bocks in the courttoom (appellate reports bench books, and codes for example), Jnrerpreterenaad to bring the tools of tain rade with them to the job. Ifyou Inawin advance that a specific topie such 2s fingerprints cor drug sing wil be cowed, you com come to the assgament prepared with specialized glossaries o notes fom your research. Its lays. good ida tohave a comprehensive bilinzval dictionary with you, in case an unknown tema comes up unexpectedly ot you saddenly ave a memory lapss, somathing that affiote all interpreters at onetime or ancther. Portable elecwonie dieonaries are now avalebe in many language combinations, making it easier ‘veils, Iahour rations, employment, jb sary pensions, housing, family mater, edction, Social welfare, health care, stb, and envzonmental law (a some counties these ‘materiale may be availabe in several langoages) 7, Specialized periodicals such 25 joumals and magazines targeted at professional in the Gals of In meine, nw enforcement Other paper sesources that can be ueafal for seeerching terminology, especially nevi coined terms that have not yet made it ‘to established pabeatons, are newspaper and magazine sdvertzoments, bilbosrds, eateloguer, and phone director: To [rep up with the latect usage, you shoul also ty to listen to radio programming and watch tdevision shows and moves inal of your ‘working lnguazes, poouble. The more times you come acme @ termin diferent resources, the more reliable the term i, Convers, Sf you find a tem in just one soure and cannot veilyt by exes checking, you should be eutious about sin Human ResourcesNTRODUCTION TO COURT IN “The above lists of references inchude works that ideally should be available to every interpreter, but in fact there is a paucity of ERPRETING PRACTICES EXPLAINED) ANSLATION court interpreters, since there are so mans, and since they changing on a daily basis, but some general categories can ‘erence material in some languages of limited difson. Inded, enti some languages are not written at all, and it is virtually impossible to find reference mates in them, An alternate reoarce that should 1 Teminclogy databases, of which Enodiantom not be overlook, even in the ease of major languages is human {5 the most welHinow. Many) intemational txpertedingal or moncingsal peel lier mieionarn, foreaizations maintain databoes for thei fd schol, regavlos of what county they Ive i may be of ttandation and interpretation taffy andthe fesitance in your terminology research hough it may be tine: abl an gin acess fo them, Consuming and expensive to contact them). Even the defendant or 2 Intemational organizations such as the United ‘rites for wom ou are interpreting, o his ends or relates, may Nation, the International Court of Jase, the te consulted about the mennng or appropriate translation of aterm, International Labour Organization, and the Word provided is done withthe knwidge of al he pata in the cae Faith Organiaton, fom whose webs Internat ‘As with the ease of printed resouee, information obtained fom uerscan dovnload speeches an opr Inuman sources should be erowchecked for weifeation. 2. Piiate intention crganiations soch as ‘Amnesty Internationa, Greenpene, and Human Rights Watch, wbich alo post pore of thet Electronic Resources homepases. 14 National nstutons ach as cours, legsataes, ‘The advent of the Internet is a boon to translators and interpreters, justice ministries and law enforcement agencies, who no longer have to travel to other countries or wait for ‘which publish laws and regulations, information to, publications to arrive in the mail in their quest for authentic ‘educate the public, and glossaries. sources, It would be pints to ty to Ist websites of interest to 5. Comercial enties tha ea wheal maser such as Court TV and private lawizms, which post Jal decumente and informatica about prominent Javsuits and trials aswell as glossaries. 6. Bookstores and publishers from which books and other materials can be purchased online 7. Universities and thet Horas, Somme professors ‘and students) homepages have valuable lnks to ‘other Internet sites in their ares of expetin 8, Public ibearies, both national and local, such as ‘the Library of Congress and the New York Puble Libary 9. Professional associations of ‘randators linguists, and others. 10, Litserves, chat rooms, and electron bulletin boards help colleagues and speakers ofa given language stay in contact through mal, Trandators and interpueters often [post queries of the “how do yom env .2" of “hat does. man?” sort on these lists and receive quick and reliable answers. interpreters, Continuing Education It could be apparent by now that the work of a cout interpreter ‘nce sgnest desl of research. Ealy ia sous easeer you will pend much time and money developing your knowledge base and your [ibrary, but eventhough these expenditures will taper off as you gain experince, you will never abandon then entirely. Changes in Innguage usage and the law, and the plication of new reference raterials will oblige you to update your resources constantly. You ray vant to take courses in Iv; seenes, or medicine o gain more in-depth knowledge, or you may take advantage of seminars and ‘workshops organized by professional associations. Reading crime novels and watching telewsion programmes and movies about court cases i uefal for heeping up with slang. Ancther way te engage it continuing education is by making fisld tips to workplaces or public institutions (such asa factory, aja or a crime lab), or participating jn ride-alonz programmes offered by local police departments, 9 find out first-hand about the situations mentioned in the eases you intexpiet,Fovtunately, most interpreters fad that this profesional evelopment isan enjoyable aspect oftheir work, something that ‘comes naturally to them as language lovers. In any ease, itis an excential part ofthe jobINTRODUCTION TO COURT INTERPRETING (TRANSLATION PRACTICES EXPLAT 1, Invite guest speakers such as lawyers, criminaliss, police officers, and judges to speak about specialized topies to your class. 2, Imagine that you have been assigned to interpret a trial involving money [aundering and bank fraud. Explain how you will prepare for the 3. Clip photographs of vehicles, people, and Duildings from magazines and newspapers, and use them as prompts for roleplaying, For example, based on a plctare of a ea, one student will play a witness to an accident, another student will play the questioning attorney, and a third student will interpret. Pictures of people can be nused for descriptions of suspects, and piemares of buildings can be used to deseribe burglaries or robberies, 4 Make a lst of the specific reference works you think every interpreter in your language combination should have. 5. Find out what professional translator and interpreter associations in your country or region offer continuing education activities. D> 6, Obtain a eatalogue from a local institution © higher learning and identify classes that would b appropriate for a court interpreter to take