同传

In (extempore) simultaneous interpretation (SI), the interpreter renders the message in the target-language as quickly as he or she can formulate it from the source language, while the source-language speaker continuously speaks; a spoken language SI interpreter, sitting in a sound-proof booth, speaks into a microphone, while clearly seeing and hearing the source-language speaker via earphones. The simultaneous interpretation is rendered to the target-language listeners via their earphones. The first introduction and employment of extempore simultaneous interpretation was the Nuremberg Trials, with four official working languages.
One noticeable advantage of simultaneous interpreting is that it’s very effective. The speaker can make a consecutive discourse without being interrupted and the listeners can have a better understanding of the whole speech. The simultaneous interpreters have very high income. The average income of those who convert English to the listeners is 12,000 to 21,000 each day. Some eminent interpreters can even earn
20,000 Yuan per hour. Really high? Yes. But the work also demands for high qualifications. A high standard of education, a degree in interpreting, mastery of one or more language, a broad general knowledge and keep abreast of what happens in the world.
Fast speech is the arch enemy of the simultaneous interpreters. Prior preparation may address deficiencies in knowledge and terminology and to some extent, alleviate the speed of delivery. But, if the speed is beyond a certain limit, no interpreter can transmit the message in full, even if he/she is an expert in the subject. Then how do the interpreters cope with that? According to the experienced interpreters, there are four strategies.
First, request the speaker to slow down. This is the first possible tactic when a speaker is speaking too fast; however, one must remember that reminders seldom work, for speakers are either set in their speaking habits or are trying to cover too much within a limited time. After being reminded, the speakers will usually slow down for one sentence or two before quickly forget the rules. Also, too-frequent reminders impede communication. If this strategy doesn’t work, the interpreters should take the second strategy, which is to speed up. The constraint, however, is that speech rate can’t be increased indefinitely. And if a speech is delivered too fast, the interpreters’ attention is focused on the comprehension of the speech, leaving little time and energy for translating and speaking the target language. And the result would be either incoherent or too fast for the audiences to understand. The third strategy is summarization. This is a tactic used when the interpreter can’t keep up the pace even with increased speed. Summary interpreting can produce a more brief speech than the original. But sometimes summarizing may result in omissions. The audiences may find difficult to follow the speaker, especially when the speaker is reading in governme nt jargon. If these all don’t work, you may try the last one, to terminate the service. Although this is not a very good choice, some people have used the strategy. It’s said that during the debates at the United Nations General Assembly, an interpreter is interpreting another language into English. The speakers speake too fast
that the interpreter can’t keep up with him even with a fast interpreting speed. Halfway through interpretation, the interpreter suddenly burst out, saying something to the following effect:”Mr. Chairman, interpreters are not machines. The speaker is speaking too fast, if you don’t intervene, I will stop working.” You may take it as an anecdote, but what we do know is that interpreters also have rights, they needed to be respected.
Well, in a word, simultaneous interpreting is not an easy job. If you want to be an outstanding simultaneous interpreter, you need to work harder, to gain more knowledge and to acquire more skills. And I will cross my fingers for you.。