What is interpretation?

Translation is divided into translation and interpretation. In English, translators are called translators and interpreters are called interpreters. Both translation and interpretation use different languages to explain and reproduce the meaning of the original text. Translation is to reproduce the ideological content expressed in one language in another language through written form, that is, written language or written language. Interpretation is to reproduce the ideological content expressed in one language in another language through oral form. Interpretation is a special means of oral communication. Its task is to serve as a bridge and link between speakers of different languages and cultures, so that both sides can freely exchange ideas without feeling language barriers.

Generally speaking, interpretation can be divided into two categories: deliberate interpretation and simultaneous interpretation. After the speaker finishes a sentence, a paragraph or even a whole article, the interpreter immediately translates to the audience on the spot. This kind of translation is called impromptu translation, which is also called alternate translation or continuous translation. The speaking time varies from a few seconds (dozens of words) to a few minutes (hundreds or even thousands of words). Phonetics and translation alternate. This translation method is mainly used in two situations: first, official meetings, political talks, diplomatic or business negotiations, official negotiations, conference speeches, academic exchanges, press conferences, press conferences, banquets, toasts, opening and closing ceremonies, court debates, briefings and other formal occasions, translators often use notes for translation; 2. Interpreters usually interpret from memory in daily conversations such as reception, concierge, escort, sightseeing, banquet, shopping, entertainment and life arrangement. Simultaneous interpretation is an interpretation mode in which the speaker speaks and the interpreter translates. Simultaneous interpretation is mainly used in international conferences. Simultaneous interpretation can be divided into three situations: first, conference interpretation, that is, the interpreter listens to the speaker's speech through headphones in the interpretation box and immediately translates it to the audience through the microphone, which is almost synchronous with the speaker and at most a few seconds slower than the speaker; The second is visual translation, that is, the translator reads the original text of the speech or written materials (such as the speech draft) while translating the content of the materials. Generally, translators are required to read and translate constantly, not sentence by sentence; The third is whispering, that is, the interpreter immediately whispers what he heard at the meeting to one or two people around him. The speaker kept talking. Whisper translation is generally to compress and summarize the original words. This kind of translation is also called "whisper" translation.

As far as the nature of work is concerned, interpretation can be divided into foreign affairs translation, military translation, business translation, medical translation, contact translation, conference translation, court translation, technical translation, exhibition translation, tour guide translation, life translation and so on. They have their own characteristics, so I won't describe them here.

Interpretation is a hard and intense mental work and a complicated thinking process. Interpreters are by no means simple megaphones. The process of interpreting from the source language to the target language is not a straight line, but a dynamic process of understanding, analyzing and expressing from the outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside. The correspondence between the two languages is not reflected in the surface structure, but in the deep meaning. In fact, the process of interpretation is a very short and extremely complicated process of "listening, understanding, memorizing and expressing".

Since the task of interpretation is to convey the ideological content of the original text, free translation should be mainly used in interpretation. In fact, there is no difference between literal translation and free translation. The key is to see which translation method can more accurately reflect the ideological content of the original text under specific circumstances. Literal translation is literal translation and free translation is free translation. Literal translation is neither dead translation nor hard translation; Free translation is not random translation, nor is it nonsense translation. If it is a political meeting or diplomatic wording, it should be translated literally, because diplomatic wording needs to be precise. If it is a business meeting, you might as well use free translation. In fact, translators can never translate literally or freely, but always use literal translation and free translation alternately consciously or unconsciously. Literal translation and free translation are two complementary translation methods.

Interpretation and translation are two closely related but completely different jobs. Because both have their own characteristics and requirements, the standards are different. Translators understand the original text and obtain information through "reading". Translators can have enough time to think about it, consult dictionaries and various reference books and consult others. Therefore, translation needs "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance", which complement each other and are indispensable. Interpreters understand the original words and obtain information by "listening". After listening to the speaker, the interpreter should express it in the target language immediately, even while listening, and there is almost no time for thinking. In most cases, it is impossible to look up a dictionary or reference book or ask others. The labor intensity of translators per unit time greatly exceeds that of translators. Therefore, the quality of interpretation should not be too high, and it is generally required to be more "trustworthy" and "expressive". Of course, translation also has some advantages that translation does not have. They can understand the original words with the help of the speaker's gestures, intonation and expression. Judging from the requirements of practical work, the standard of interpretation can be summarized as "faithfulness, expressiveness and quickness" (or "accuracy, smoothness and quickness"). "Faithfulness" means being faithful to the content and spirit of the original, not adding, subtracting or making things up at will, and the translated language style should be as close to the original as possible. "Da" refers to words and structures that are fluent and natural, crisp and neat, and do not stick to the original words, and express the ideological content of the original words with words that conform to the usage habits of the target language. "Speed" has two meanings. First, the interpreter's speech speed should not be too slow, and the speech speed should be equal to or slightly faster than the speech speed; Secondly, the interpreter should start translating immediately after the speaker pauses, and the interval between them should generally not exceed two or three seconds, otherwise the interpretation effect will be affected and the audience will be dissatisfied. Among these three criteria, "faithfulness" is the main criterion and the basis and core of interpretation.