Interpreting notes are used by some

interpreters Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language. The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interp ...

, who re-express oral communications (such as speeches) in whole or in part. Such notes may be used when the interpreter is working in " consecutive mode." Interpreting notes are not part of any conventional graphic system, and practitioners are free to develop their own techniques. However, some basic rules facilitate the recording of details in order to aid the interpreter in coping with large amounts of information.

Theory

The purpose of interpreting notes is not to transcribe the

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...

verbatim. Interpreting notes are not a form of

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''s ...

. Their purpose is to write minimal notes which will, at a quick glance, elicit in the interpreter's mind the intent of an oral communication so that it can be re-expressed in a different language. It is not appropriate to document a speech in

, as this would result in task duplication.

Practice

The interpreter should listen with utmost concentration to the speaker and write only the information which he judges sufficient to render the meaning. Numbers, names, and the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

s of persons must be retained in the interpretation. Interpreting notes are typically written in a

notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking. History ...

with each note being separated from the others by a horizontal line. After interpreting a sentence with the aid of a note, some interpreters might make a

slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

over it, if they have the time. This has an important psychological effect — it is similar to erasing data on a computer. Others might consider it too time-consuming to do so when a fast pace of interpretation is required or they might think that it detracts from the pace of their delivery. The interpreter is required to decipher his notes and to re-express their content in the target language. Following analysis of the speech, the interpreter may write the information in abstract form.

Ideograms

Ideogram An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by famili ...

s are an important tool used by interpreters. For example, the letter “E” laid on its side (like the

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...

letter ''sha'', Ш) may represent Europe. Then one can specify whether eastern, western, or central Europe is meant by slashing the relevant upward leg. A horizontal bar with two vertical bars beneath it might represent a table, which would indicate a meeting or a conference. A bracket before an action indicates that the action will take place in the future, and vice versa. These ideograms are linked by a system of arrows and brackets that show the structure of a sentence that is to be interpreted. Using this system, one can note, for instance, that a sum has increased or decreased by a certain percentage (according to the arrow’s direction). For example, the notes in the illustration might be interpreted to mean :

We are particularly glad to inform you about an important increase in our company’s revenues, which rose by 10 percent from 3.5 to 3.85 billion dollars.(*) This derives from huge sales of helicopters. The United States of America bought 50 and South Africa 20 of them. On the other hand, we must relocate parts of our production in these countries. (A
billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...
(bn) is called a milliard (mrd or Md) in some languages.)*

Some interpreters have devised complete systems of abbreviations, which include all academic titles, administrative titles, military ranks, etc. Such a system has the drawback that, like shorthand, it may be useful only for a particular language.

Bibliography

* Andres, Dorte: ''Konsekutivdolmetschen und Notation.'' 2000, *Farwick, Judith: ''Between the Signs. How to take notes without words''. 2018. * ** Gillies, Andrew (2005). ''Note-taking for Consecutive Interpreting''. . * Jones, Roderick: ''Conference Interpreting Explained.'' 1998, * Matyssek, Heinz: ''Handbuch der Notizentechnik für Dolmetscher. Ein Weg zur sprachunabhängigen Notation.'' 1989, *Roth, Daniel: ''Die Redeschrift. Ein Übungsheft für Dolmetscher. Grundlagen und sprachenübergreifende Symbole.'' 2018, ISBN 9783746775524 * Rozan, Jean-François: ''La Prise de Notes en Interprétation Consécutive.'' 1956, * Seleskovitch, Danica: ''Langage, langues et mémoires.''1975, * Snell-Hornby, Mary/Hönig, Hans G./Kußmaul, Paul/Schmitt, Peter A.: ''Handbuch Translation.'' 1999, {{ISBN, 3-86057-995-9

External links

Note-taking for Consecutive Interpreting (Interpreter Training Resources)
Language interpretation Communication