The Brain Anatomy of Consecutive Interpreters

#German , #English , and #Japanese are my working languages. Recently, I worked in a business setting where they were randomly used in combination. That was new. I was asked to interpret German freely into Japanese or English, depending on the audience.

Translating between German and English as a non-native was per se no big issue for me. What bothered me was the change of target language at the last moment.

My brain was preparing Japanese output while listening to a German speaker with my Japanese audience in mind. But occasionally, just when I was about to open my mouth, the client opted for translation into English. My brain was baffled then.

Imagine a blackboard (= a brain memory) onto which you have jotted down your ideas in one language. Then, you realize your notes are all in the wrong language. You cannot be quick enough to erase your scribbles on the blackboard.

The longer the information I had accumulated, the more I felt taken aback by such last-minute changes. While summarizing information in Japanese, my brain was too deeply attuned to the Japanese mode.

What I learned from this experience:
Consecutive interpreting is not a parrot-like transfer of words from right (source) to left (target).  It involves three parts, namely
input (listening),
cognitive digestion,
and output (speaking).

The length of speech (retention!) or technicality of the subject being talked about (terminologies!) are not the only challenges that interpreters face. An illogical flow of thoughts expressed by a speaker can make it even harder to translate. This affects the crucial part of interpreting, what I call “cognitive digestion”.

Need to impress your foreign audience with the help of linguists? You can now perform better given this knowledge of the unique anatomy of an interpreter’s mind.

 #consecutive #interpreting