BOOK COMP.......

Translation and interpretation

Translation and interpretation is very important in different sectors/areas worldwide
This book is written and designed for those students around the glob who are bilingual
or multilingual and wants to become an interpreter/translator in a short period of time.

As an example- in a multicultural and multilingual society of Hong Kong ethnic
minorities are facing lot of problems due to language barrier, especially south Asian
residents of HK.
I also experienced that ethnic minority’s majority are less educated and higher degrees
and professional translation courses might be difficult for them.
In this particular atmosphere the demand of professional and quality interpreters /
translators are increasing day by day. So translation and interpretation needs more
attention. Although different NGO’s of Hong Kong are providing translation and
interpretation services for EM’s and also the Government of HKSAR understands the
importance and needs of translation and interpretation, Recently funds are allocated
for four centers to provide interpretation services .I feel there is a need of a quick
Reference book for the Ethnic Minorities bilingual and multi-lingual’s to understand
how to be an interpreter/Translator. I hope that this book will help the students who
would like to be an interpreter/Translator by providing the necessary information that
is needed to be a successful interpreter/translator.

This book is outcome of my research and experience in interpretation/translation I am
voluntarily working for human rights especially for EM’s of Hong Kong for last 10
years. I did interpretation and translation for them as well.

last year(2008) just to enhance my ability in interpretation I completed a Training of
trainers , training for community interpretation in refugee legal aid settings under The
Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre ltd and The Cairo community interpreter project.

I was also an interviewer for selection of interpreters in a NGO, I conducted short
training sessions for my students, I studied many books on translation but still I could
not find any book that may help particularly south Asian bilingual and multilingual
who want to become interpreter in short period of time. I am writing this book while
keeping in mind South Asians bilinguals and multi-lingual and those worldwide
students who are bilingual or multilingual and want to become an interpreter in short
period of time.

This book is totally based on my understanding during interpretation, training, notes

which I took during my own training, teaching and discussion with my students,
interweaving of interpreters, discussing with my classmates, and finally my thoughts
which are based on practical experience, as well as my understandings while studying
different material on it.

I hope that this book will help the students who would like to be an
interpreter/Translator by providing the necessary information that is need to be a
professional interpreter/translator. Wish you good luck interpreters/translators.

There is always a room to improve in every field I have few suggestions as under

1-A registration board should be formed it may be similar
to Registered social workers

2-Government should introduce annual awards/scholarship for the best
interpreters/translators

3-The salary package should be good enough so the interpreters/translators
concentrate, plus improve there ability by ongoing or refresher courses etc. It also
helps to encourage new comers and cause to develop the interest in community to
become an interpreter/Translator

4- Concerning Organization role is very important to protect interpreters/translators
rights and it will also help translators and interpreters to bring them together, be it for
social or professional get-together and this kind of organizations can bridge or
establish communication with Government authorities on rates of pay etc, because I
think Government is a major translation/interpretation buyer.

Syed Muhammad Naeem Asim
Director

International Human Rights Forum Ltd
(Hong Kong)

Ph. 852- 96087191
Email: [email protected]

Contents

Introduction’

Chapter 1 Interpretationpage3

Chapter 2 Translation

--page 4

Chapter 3 Fields of Interpretation---page5
Chapter 4 Modes of Interpretation ----PAGE6
Chapter 5 Roles of interpreter ----page7
Chapter 6 Basic Protocols of Interpretation -----PAGE8
Chapter 7 Opening Statement----page9
Chapter 8 Note taking Strategy
Chapter 9 Ethics

Translation and Interpretation
Written By Syed Muhhammad Naeem Asim
All rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or by any
means without the prior permission of the publisher

Interpretation

(Chapter 1)

What is interpretation?

Interpretation could be described in many ways; the most appropriate definition could
be as under:

Definition

The process of rendering a verbal message spoken in one language into another
language without adding, deleting, or modifying its meaning or intent so that two or
more people may communicate directly with each other as if they spoke the same
language.

OR

Oral process of rendering messages between languages.

OR

Communications between two or more speakers who are not speaking the same
language.

It means that during interpretation we need to be very careful when we are rendering
the message from one language to another and we shouldn’t add anything from our

side, like our own thoughts or point of view and we must not use reported speech
while interpretation it means instead of saying ‘he said or she said’ use the 1st person
Ex. If somebody say ‘I came from a country where my life is in danger’ instead of
interpreting this way that ‘he is saying that he came from a country where his life is in
danger’ you should repeat the same way ‘I came from a country where my life is in
danger’

Some people get formal education and professional training to become

interpreter/translator they do there master degree in a foreign language and join

professional training/courses and then start there career as a professional interpreter or

translator (I think apart from academic qualification and professional training a person

should be familiar with cultural sensitivity ) secondly some people have a ready
option to become an interpreter even though they didn’t plan to become an interpreter
and maybe they don’t have a degree in any foreign language but because they adopted

another country as there home land and they are living there for a long period of time

some of them living from generation to generation and they learnt local language,
their proficiency of language is good, they also have little experience about
interpretation for there friends etc. they are very much familiar to local culture and
system so they have a ready option to become an interpreter. But professional training
is must for both the one who go for academic qualification and the one who have
ready option to become an interpreter. I have much experience about those who have
a ready option to become an interpreter because I am also one of them as I adopted
HK as my second home land. But here I want to clarify one thing that for
interpretation simply bilingual or multilingual person the ready option one may be fit
for the interpretation but for translation people must go for higher education master
degree in foreign language etc. for example in HK some people from ethnic minorities
can speak Chinese but they can’t read it so they can be an interpreter but can’t be
translator. We can also say that translator can be an interpreter but it is not necessary
that interpreter can be a translator.

The difference between bilingual multilingual and interpreter.

Normally people who can speak two languages they maybe called bilingual or people
who can speak more than two languages they are called multilingual but actually we
can’t treat them as professionals interpreter unless they studied about it. There is a
difference between bilingual, multilingual and in between interpreter. To discus the
difference we may look at the differences between bilingual and multilingual.

Bilingual.

Bilingual means the person who knows two languages for bilingual fluency of
language isn’t required to be able to communicate. In bilingual and multilingual you
use your language skills to express your own messages/voice/point of view.

Multilingual

Multilingual means a person who knows many languages. Multilingual person also
doesn’t require the fluency of language. Bilingual or multilingual persons cannot be
treated as interpreter/translator unless they have a particular training about it and they
join interpretation/translation as there profession or we can say that
bilingual/multilingual may not be an interpreter but interpreter must be at least
bilingual. Thus the only difference between bilingual and interpreter is professional

training
Interpreter

Interpreter is a person who is rendering a verbal message spoken in one language into
another language without adding, deleting, or modifying its meaning or intent so that
two or more people may communicate directly with each other as if they spoke the
same language.

Interpreter/translators have special training/courses.
Interpreter use there bilingual or multilingual skills to join interpretation as a
profession
Interpreter transferring the message from one language to another for other persons
Interpreters required fluency

Interpreter needs fluency in Languages to whom he is interpreting. In interpretation
you use your language skills to transmit other people messages. The role of an
interpreter requires you to earn and deserve much trust. You are lending your ears /
brain / voice to another so that they may get their message across directly. They are
entrusting you with their message, trusting that you will not take from it or add to it,
but rather that you will deliver it exactly as they intended it.

Difference between Interpretation and Translation

Actually if we want to make it simple we may say that interpreter works with spoken
language and translator works with written language for further understanding we can
say that interpreting and translating are two different jobs and for these two different
jobs we need different skills abilities trainings courses etc. for example many south
Asians can speak very good Chinese language they are very fluent and if we can give
little training they might be a good interpreter but as we know most of them cannot
read even a single word of Chinese language so they cant be a translator because
translator deal with written language.

Translation

Translation consists of transferring ideas expressed in writing from one language to
another

OR

Written process of rendering written messages between languages
Interpretation
Interpretation consists of transferring ideas expressed orally from one language to
another.

OR
Oral process of rendering verbal messages between languages (from one language to
another language)

Translation

(Chapter 2)
Definition of translation:
Translation
Translation consists of transferring ideas expressed in writing from one language to
another
OR
Written process of rendering written messages between languages
What good qualities should a translator have?
Professionally trained
Proofreading ability Good correction ability to check not only his own work but able
to check others work because in translation translated draft normally referred to
another translator to check it when you become a translator you may get this kind of

work as well so a good translator must prepare for this.
Also check your ability that how many pages you can translate in a day it helps you
for time management for example someone give you 100 pages book and give you
one week time to complete the translation so you have to know that could you do
that ?
Or in one time you take much text to translate and could not finish them on time
because you did not calculate it. A writer of “The translators hand book” said “I am
the first to admit that as an apprentice I took on more than one text which I simply
couldn’t manage…and that it always ended in tears!”
He should be a computer literate

Should have good grammar skills and subject knowledge
Ability to work under pressure
The ability to work quickly and to absorb new information quickly
Good Research Skills
Good in using Strong terminology
Strong knowledge of the subject
Ability of proofreading

Fields of Interpretation

(Chapter 3)
Interpretation usually occurs in two general categories: conference and community

Conference

In conference interpretation large gathering and often deplumation or international
setting such as the UN, intergovernmental meetings the interpreter is separated from
the audience in a booth with headphones and microphones. Simultaneous mode of
interpretation is usually used from the booth. Often have written preparation materials
to prepare terminology for the conference. Sometime interpreter’s works in pairs
rotating every 30 to 40 minutes. Higher educational degrees such as Master Degree
exist for conference interpreting

Community

Done out in escort/liaison contexts of community service meetings, face-to-face and
between two people or a small group

It occurs at grassroots level between immigrants who do not speak the language of the
country and service providers who do not speak the language of the immigrants

Interpreters works bi-directionally back and forth between the languages

There is generally less preparatory information about the meeting before going into it,
for preparation of terminology, etc

The interpreter is right there physically side by side the parties and must also deal
with direct interpersonal issues

There are fewer opportunities for training or higher education in community
interpreting

Sub-sections of community interpretation:

Legal Settings: Healthcare Settings:

Court Hospitals

Police Clinics

Lawyers Psychosocial Counseling

Detention Centers

Social Services Settings: Small groups or semi-formal settings:

Schools Educational seminars or workshops

ISS Escorting a journalist doing street

Housing Dept interviews

Labor Dept Small press conferences

Community interpretation in the above settings can be performed live/in person or via

telephone.

Modes of interpreter

(Chapter 4)

Interpretation i.e., the rendering of a message from one language to another without

adding deleting modifying meaning or intent, can occur in generally three different
modes, i.e., timing structures

Consecutive Mode:

The speaker and the interpreter take turns talking, so that the speaker speaks a chunk
of their message and then pauses to allow the interpreter to render that chunk out loud
in the other language and then the interpreter pauses to allow the speaker to continue.
The chunks of message may be a sentence or two, up to longer, depending on the
context of the presentation and the audience.

Simultaneous Mode:

The speaker delivers their message and the interpreter delivers the interpretation of
that message at the same time as the speaker is talking, without either one pausing for
the other. The interpreter stays a few seconds behind the speaker in the delivery, and
usually speaks in a lower voice (but nowt whispering, as whispering for long periods
can damage the vocal chords!) Frequently but not in every context simultaneous
interpreting relies on the interpreter speaking into a microphone that delivers their
voice into headphones worn by the listeners, so that you do not hear the interpreter’s
voice out loud at all.

Sight Translation:

The interpreter takes a document written in one language and reads it aloud in the
second language so that the parties know the full contents and layout of the document
as if they were able to read it in their own language.
Sight translation may occur in both conference and community interpreting.
Simultaneous interpreting is the standard mode of operation for conference
interpreting, and consecutive interpreting is the standard mode of operation for
community interpreting

Roles of interpreter
(Chapter 5)

Ideally, after the opening statement, the interpreter will only open their mouth to
render messages back and forth between the languages of the speakers, in the role of

language conduit (or channeler).
Language conduct
Classic interpretation, rendering of messages, when the interpreter hears everyone
perfectly well, no one speaks to much or too fast/low/long, and the interpreter
understands all the terms, etc. of the speakers. But occasionally the interpreter needs
to speak up in their own voice to intervene if there is a blockage to communication
structure or interpreting protocol.

Adjust the flow of speech

Interpreter may need to speak up and request the speakers to modify the flow of their
speech, as in, to speak in shorter chunks, or not to speak at the same time, or to speak
more slowly or more loudly. This is only if the issue affects the interpreter’s ability to
hear, understand and interpret accurately.
Clarify if the interpreter didn’t hear or understand
Interpreter may need to speak up and request a clarification of a term or word said, if
they don’t know what it means. This is only if the issue affects the interpreter’s ability
to understand and interpret accurately. They are not to try and clarify the overall
content of the conversation.
Remind parties of interpreter limits (from opening statement)

Interpreter may need to speak up to re-establish their limits with the parties, should
one of the parties say or do something against interpret protocols , address the
interpreter directly with a question ,or tell the interpreter not to interpret something
that was said , or ask the interpreter for advice, etc.
The interpreter must repeat any of the above interventions in both languages, so that
everyone stays in the loop.

Basic Protocols of Interpretation ‘Before/During/After’ a meeting

(Chapter 6)

There are few points to discuss protocols which help students to understand what
basic protocols are, let’s discuss one by one.

1. Waiting Room Conduct
2. Pre-Brief with provider
3. Seating arrangement Set-up
4. Interpreter Opening Statement

5. Proceed with meeting, using 1st person for parties/ 3rd person when speaking for
self

6. Destroy notes after meeting
7. Post meeting Conduct with client

Waiting Room Conduct

Before and after the meeting, the interpreter should avoid contact with the client in the
waiting room/ hallway/ bathroom/ outside the building, as this may increase the risk
of the client telling the interpreter information that could jeopardize his/her neutrality
inside the meeting or risk a conflict of interest or compromise of ethics.

Pre-Brief with provider

Before going into the meeting, the interpreter should have a moment with the provider,
outside the meeting room, in order to get brief information on the nature of the
meeting, in order to prepare terminology, and also to get the provider’s permission to
do the opening statement before the meeting conversation begins. Having the
providers buy-in to do the opening statement will increase the chances of compliance
with protocols for interpreting

Seating Arrangement

The goal of the seating structure is to:

Put the parties in direct line of sight, eye to eye facing each other directly

Put the interpreter out of direct line of sight sidelined off to the side so as to be as
unobtrusive/ invisible as possible

The classic seating arrangement for interpreting is a triangle like this:

Client Provider

Interpreter
Note – practically in some departments you may not have the choice to do seating
arrangement so you have to adjust your self accordingly just keep in the mind the
basic them that what we want to achieve from the seating arrangements

Interpreter opening statement

Opening statement must be said immediate before the meeting starts
(We discussed briefly on opening statement in a separate chapter of this book)

Proceed with meeting, using 1st person for parties/ 3rd person when speaking for
self

For example should not say he said she said when you are interpreting for client and
case worker but if you need to speak to clarify some thing for your self so you need to
say “interpreter need to ask” instead of “I need to ask”

Destroy notes after meeting

If interpreter took some notes during the meeting he should destroy the notes after the
meeting to insure confidentiality.

Post meeting Conduct with client
Before are post meeting with the client should be avoided.

Cognitive Skill

Interpreter’s Brain on Interpreting

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Cognitive Skills used when interpreting:
Listening- actively
Understanding
Concentration/focus
Memory cache (huge mental storage of details, vocabulary, and the ability to recall it
rapidly)
Analytical thinking
Creative thinking on your feet
Rapid reaction-time and decision-making
Good judgment

Opening Statement
(Chapter 7)

To orient parties, to the limit of their roles, and how to communicate with the
interpreter make sure that the following points get covered before the meeting starts:

 The opening statement should be presented at the start of the meeting especially
for those who have not worked with a trained interpreter before, and should
cover the following points:

 Everything that is said in this meeting will be interpreted. Please don’t say
something and then tell the interpreter not to interpret it, this breaches
interpreter’s ethics.

 Speak directly to each other and not to the interpreter. Don’t frame your
statements to the interpreter by saying: ‘Ask him. Tell him…’’ Address the
person directly and the interpreter will say exactly your statement, as you phrase
it, in the other language)

 Don’t direct questions directly to the interpreter, but rather to each other;
 Interpreter will maintain all information here completely confidential and secret.
 Please pause regularly to allow interpreter to interpret
 Interpretation will be rendered in first person, like an echo of what you say, and

not as ‘He says, she says’’
 Make sure all parties can understand the interpreter’s pronunciation / dialect

clearly
 Close by asking if there any questions and then start the meeting
 The whole Opening Statement should take less than 1 or 2 minutes to, per

language
 Obtain permissions from the provider to say the opening statement first thing

before he starts the meeting.
 Say the opening statement in the language of the provider first and then in the

language of the client.
 When having to convey information such as this, as the interpreter, always repeat

everything you say in both languages, so that you never leave anyone out of the
understanding loop.

Note-Taking

(Chapter 8)

During interpretation sometimes we need to take the notes therefore the note taking
could be useful.

Note taking can help you in all the ways such as remembering the names, places,
numbers, Amounts, Dates. Etc. During the interpretation

Why the note taking strategy could be helpful?

During the session interpreter hold the memory in his mind for interpreting in the
target language but during the process of holding the memory it might be difficult to
remember the figures while you are transferring the message so note taking could help
the interpreter to transfer the message fluently because if the interpreter forget the
figures it might cause interruption during the interpretation.

However

Notes should be kept short

All notes you take should be considered confidential and after the meetings/session
the notes should be destroyed or if requested given to case worker to store in the
clients file.

Interpreters should never keep the notes with them.

Why do we have to destroy the notes immediately after the session?
It is because we need to keep the confidentiality.

ETHICS

(Chapter 9)

Basic ethical principals for interpreters
Honest representation of credentials, skills, experience/level,
Accuracy and completeness in message interpreting

Confidentiality
During interpretation client information disclosed in front of you, and you should not
share this information to anyone else after the meeting ends keep the entire
information secret. No participating confidentiality and discretion

Neutrality
Interpreter should neutral with both parties’ client and case worker etc.

Impartiality
From any action of interpreter should not show that he is not impartial.
None-bias

Dealing with conflict of interest violation of Ethics
In case of conflict of interest interpreter should refuse to interpret
Interpreter should avoid violation of Ethics for example; your close relative is
applying for refuge status it can be conflict of interest so in that case the interpreter
may refuse to interpret to avoid violation of Ethics

Compensation
Interpreters are bound by ethical principals no being paid twice for the same
assignment from two different parties.

Professional responsibilities

1. Professional Behavior
2-Punctually ---At least 15 minutes before you should reach at the meeting point
3-Appropriate Dress
4-Professional Development
5-Proper Preparation For assignment
6-On going education and training
7-On going professional exchange with other interpreters

Attitude towards the Parties

Diplomatic
Equal
Courteous
Respect and Sensitivity to all persons, cultures and systems

The End