Chapter Oe World Trade Organization and China.docVIP

Chapter One World Trade Organization and China’s Economy 1.1 Interpretation Process and Basic Qualities Required of an Interpreter 1.1.1 The Process of Oral Interpretation Listening → Memorizing → Transferring → Reproducing ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Step 1 a. An Acute Hearing b. Accurate Comprehension of Ideas c. Notes-taking if possible Step 2 a. Instant Active Memory b. High Concentration c. Focus on Ideas, not Words Step 3 a. Good Command of English or Chinese b. Logical Reorganization of Ideas Step 4 a. Good Mastery of Chinese or English b. Clear Correct English Pronunciation Intonation Oral Interpretation, essentially means an extempore or on-the-spot oral reproduction, in one language, of what is said in another language, according to A Practical Handbook of Interpretation (1991) by Mr. Zhong Shukong, a famous scholar on theoretical study of interpretation. Stated as in the above chart the interpretation process of “listening—memorizing—reorganizing—delivery ”, we can find that interpretation involves a process full of difficulties and challenges. The most difficult and challenging part on the part of an interpreter is how to strike a balance between his comprehension of the original speech and his capability of accurate and intelligible reproduction in the target language. Accurate comprehension, or understanding of the “idea” or “meaning ”of the original (esp. English) speaker is always the foremost concern in the process. Without accurate comprehension, there can be no oral reproduction in the target language, which is faithful to the original version of speech. In order to acquire an accurate comprehension of the ideas of the original (esp. English) speaker, an interpreter is most likely to encounter such difficulties, as lexical, contextual and terminological ones. Sometimes, the difficulties are caused by (English or non-native English) speaker’s exceptionally