a former English-language interpreter at the Commission in Brussels

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Hello, I'm Dick Fleming,

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a former English-language interpreter at the Commission in Brussels

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and now retired, as you've probably seen.

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I've been asked to talk briefly about simultaneous interpreting,

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which is what I spent most of my working time doing back in Brussels.

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As I'm sure you know, simultaneous interpreting is interpreting

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delivered at the same time as the speaker

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by interpreters sitting in interpreting booths,

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wearing headphones and delivering their interpretation

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into a microphone -

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as opposed to consecutive interpretation, which is delivered after

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the speaker has finished speaking

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and by an interpreter who's usually taking notes

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on what the speaker has said.

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Consecutive interpretation is in fact the older of the two modes,

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used for, I would say, hundreds of years

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before the breakthrough for simultaneous came

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at the end of the Second World War when it was used

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At the Nurenberg Nazi trials

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and it was probably used because

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they didn't want to spend time

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interpreting into what was then four languages:

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English, French, German and Russian.

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when everyone wants to get on with the business of trying these

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Nazi criminals.

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The time factor is, in fact, the most important reason why

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simultaneous is used rather than consecutive.

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In an international meeting you could provide

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simultaneous interpretation into twenty different languages

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in the time it takes for the speaker to deliver his speech

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- and imagine long it would take if you tried to deliver

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twenty different consecutive interpretations one after the other.

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Now, consecutive interpretation is still used for

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bilateral meetings at a high-level

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and also for meetings outside Brussels

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- outside headquarters, at any rate -

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where there are only two languages being used

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or where, perhaps, you're miles away from the nearest simultaneous interpretation facilities,

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such as in a restaurant by the sea in Mykonos

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- fond memories, that!

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But the bulk of our work nowadays is obviously simultaneous.

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And perhaps that's why students of interpreting often can't wait to start simultaneous.

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They see it as the real thing, as opposed to faffing about with a notepad and pencil.

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It also offers the relative anonymity of the booth

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rather than the glare of full frontal consecutive.

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Lastly, sometimes they hope that it will put an end to all the problems

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they've had in consecutive trying to remember things.

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It's also a fact that most of the professional interpreters I know

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prefer simultaneous to consecutive,

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and are probably better at it, too,

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but I think that's because practice makes perfect,

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and they've had a lot more practice in simultaneous than consecutive

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since they finished their interpreting course.

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However it doesn't mean that they were better at it or even preferred it

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when they were at that interpreting course.

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They may have found it initially quite difficult,

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and for good reason, too!

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You see, whichever mode of interpreting you're performing,

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whether it's consecutive or simultaneous,

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the same basic mechanism applies:

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listening,

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understanding,

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analysing

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and reformulating

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- the difference being that in simultaneous you have to do it

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all at the same time,

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including the reformulation part.

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Doing everything at once ought to make it more difficult

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- and it does.

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Point 1:

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in simultaneous you never quite know

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what's going to come next,

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since you don't have the overview of the whole speech

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before you start to interpret,

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and this could create all sorts of problems, like

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missng a negative

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- I've missed a few in my time, I have to admit -

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and this is something that would normally never happen in consecutive,

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where you know the position of the speaker

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before you start interpreting.

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Another reason why you might miss something important

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is the fact that you are talking yourself

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while trying to listen to the speaker:

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your voice can easily mask

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somethimg vital in the original.

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And then, even if you do manage to hear and understand everything the speaker is saying,

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you don't have much time in simultaneous

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to come up with a clear and natural way

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of expressing these ideas in your own language

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especially since the words and the syntax of the original

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will still be ringing in your ears

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when it comes to the process of reformulating.

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And this explains the presence all too often of clumsy, unnatural forms,

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unnatural turns of phrase, if you like,

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taken directly from the source language

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in many a beginner's simultaneous interpretation.

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But please don't be put off:

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simultaneous can be done, and can be done very well,

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as professional interpreters prove every day.

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You just have to realize

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that although you are applying the same basic interpreting mechanism

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to a different mode,

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you're also actually learning to do something

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rather unnatural,

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which is listenign and talking at the same time

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- and still making sense.

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So don't worry if it doesn't cling straightaway:

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you'll need all the practice you can get

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on the last part of your course, if you're a student,

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and you'll still need plenty of professional practice afterwards

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to reach a decent level of proficiency.

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So we are a few basic tips for beginners of simultaneous interpretation.

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Go for quality rather than quantity right from the outset.

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It's not a question of repeating as much you can

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of the original speech

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it's more a question of making sure that what you do say

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is expressed clearly and cogently.

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Also, try and make sure that you speak your language naturally,

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and this will be much easier

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if you latch onto the ideas rather than the words

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of the original speech.

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Thirdly, use short and simple sentences

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just to make life easier for yourself.

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And only attempt to interpret what you've understood;

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otherwise you'll end up inventing,

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which is worse than saying nothing at all.

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And finally, try to make sure

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that someone is listening to you when you practice,

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rather than just performing into the ether,

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and this, because you have somebody listening to you, should encourage you to be clear

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and convincing because you have a customer.

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It will mean that you think more about your audience, rather than yourself,

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which always helps,

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and it will mean that you get useful feedback later.

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So, follow these suggestions

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and keep listening, keep listening

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to your teachers

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to the speaker

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and to yourself,

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and you'll soon be turning out

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the sort of simultaneous

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that delegates are perfectly happy to listen to all day.

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Thank you.

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Captions courtesy of AIB, Agrupación de Intérpretes de Barcelona

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