On Memory System and Training in Interpreting【文献综述】.doc

1、 1 Literature Review On Memory System and Training in Interpreting Interpreting is needed in various settings. Due to the rapid development of economy and international communication, it plays a more important role in our society nowadays. Interpreting research has recently received more and more at

2、tention; it plays a significant role in peoples life. The profession as an interpreter was formally accepted at the Pairs Peace Conference after World War I in 1919, because it was the first time that English and French were used in a standard conference (Gong Rui, 2008). Memory plays a fundamental

3、role in the process of interpreting. A qualified interpreter, in Mahmoodzadehs opinion, should have a powerful memory (Mahmoodzadeh, 1992). However, scholars have not paid enough attention on memory in interpreting. While memory is the key to the process of interpreting, it is necessary for us to fi

4、nd more valuable information in this field, which is also the purpose for the paper. The following part will introduce some relevant books or journal papers which contribute significantly to my paper; it is a general discussion of useful materials. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Trans

5、lator Training is written by Daniel Gile. Concepts and models in this book are concluded mainly in accordance with the authors experience as an interpreter and researcher in translation and conference interpreting. Readers can easily understand the “concepts” and “models” through reading this book a

6、nd the book is mainly written for interpreting/translation trainers who are looking for methodological basis for their teaching program. In this book, essential translation and interpretation phenomena are stated. He also introduces strategies on how to cope with difficulties encountered by interpre

7、ting learners and interpreters. The theories proposed by Gile are mainly elaborated from the perspectives of psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology and interpreting/translation 2 research. From this book, I may reasonably come to the conclusion that interpreters may encounter a lot of troubles duri

8、ng interpreting, troubles refer to errors and omissions in the process of interpreting. These troubles cant be explained by the interpreters weaknesses in terms of source language or target language proficiency, world knowledge or interpreting skills. In order to explain these problems that hinder a

9、 perfect interpreting, Gile came up with the Effort Model, which is widely accepted by the researchers in interpreting. There are two phases, the first one: CI=L(listening and analysis)+M(short-term memory)+N(note-taking)+C(coordination), the second is: CI=Rem (recall from memory and notes)+Read(rea

10、ding notes)+P(production) (Gile, 1995). This theory is widely recognized among interpreting researchers and instructors. All the four activities ask for a share of effort, and allocation of these activities should be proper. The Effort Model is used in interpreting teaching, and many interpreting co

11、urses are taught based on this theory. This theory is also useful to my paper. From his study, theoretical evidence can be found to explain why memory plays a key role in interpreting, because memory is a process that requires a balanced capacity of effort for information to be processed and put to

12、short-term and long-term memory to be remembered. Memory is an indispensable part in interpreting, thus my essay further presents three memory systems in interpreting and lists some factors affecting memory. Some strategies are provided to indicate how to train memory effectively. “Memory training i

13、n interpreting”, this is an article written by Zhong Weihe who makes a great contribution to the development of interpreting research. “Interpreting is an STM-centered activity; training of STM skills is the first step in training a professional interpreter” (Zhong Weihe, 2003, p.12). In China, inte

14、rpreting is a required course for junior and senior English majors in many universities and language institutions. It is also a popular optional training subject for many employees in foreign firms. Most of these courses focus on language training, note-taking or 3 theme translation, while few effor

15、ts are spent on memory aspect. With Zhong and many other researchers efforts, things are starting to improve, increasing number of schools pay more and more attention on memory, especially on short-term memory. STM is also named working memory. It is the key part in information process. From the per

16、spective of cognitive psychology, Zhongs article uses the rules of memory to interpreting teaching practice. Whats more, some effective solutions are offered to improve memory ability and many main skills used in CI are introduced. From his study, it is obvious to see that memory capacity is limited

17、, but interpreters need to receive a great number of information, so it is a challenge to interpreters. In order to improve interpreters performance, STM training is necessary. Comprehension ability, listening and analysis ability are factors affecting memory in interpreting. Interpreters need to li

18、sten during the process of interpreting at first and then collect the useful information; analyzing the logical links of the speakers information and understanding the meaning are important parts of interpreting. STM should no longer be the bottleneck in interpreting, and it can be improved after pr

19、oper training. “Training of memory and note-taking in the teaching of interpreting” is written by Li Qiaowen. This article mainly argues about memory and note-taking, which are key parts in interpreting, based on the conflicts between memory capacity and high demand in interpreting. Interpreting can

20、 be simply described as “The interpreter has first to listen to the speaker, understand and analyze what is being said, and then resynthesize the speech in the appropriate form in a different language” (Jones, 1998, p.6). It is a complicated progress, interpreters need to receive information, encode

21、 and retell. It has a high requirement on memory ability, and note-taking is an effective way to improve your memory ability (Li Qiaowen, 2007). From the authors detailed explanation of note-taking in interpreting, it makes clear to us that note-taking is a popular way in interpreting, but few peopl

22、e know how to use it properly. In terms of note-taking, its unwise to note all the contents that the speaker said; interpreters should leave more time to think about the contents and find out the connections between various materials. It is hard for interpreters to memorize all the 4 information con

23、veyed in the speech, but noting the key words is a good approach. It is helpful to my paper by providing a detailed introduction of note-taking and offering suggestions about how to note useful information effectively. References 1Gile, D. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Tra

24、ining M. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995. 2Jones, R. Conference Interpreting Explained M. Manchester: ST. Jerome Publishing, 1998. 3Mahmoodzadeh, K. Consecutive Interpreting: Its Principles and Techniques M. New York: Harper, 1992. 4龚锐 (Gong, Rui). 从工作记忆的角度研究交替传译 M. 上海 : 复旦大 学出版社 , 2008. 5李巧文 (Li, Qiaowen). 英语口译教学中的记忆与笔记的训练 J. 柳州师专学报 , 2007(3): 76-78. 6仲伟合 (Zhong, Weihe). 口译中记忆训练 J. 中国翻译 , 2003(2): 12.