Lecture 1 口译笔记简介在线视频

Hello everyone

It’s good to have you here

I’m your lecturer Catherine

Today

we move to Unit 4: Note-taking

Note-taking is a necessary skill

that is of utmost importance to interpreters

and deserves our foremost attention

We know that it is easy for an interpreter

to speak from his/her memory

if the speaker pauses every one or two sentences

But too often

the speaker keeps talking for four

to five minutes without any pause

In such cases

interpreters can hardly remember all the information

due to short-term memory limitations

It is particularly true

when the speaker mentions a series of figures

or a long list of names and places

Without any external help

interpreters can hardly avoid misinterpreting

or leaving out important information

To ensure smooth interpreting results

interpreters need to find a way for assistance

and notes came into being for this purpose

Taking notes is an excellent way

to supplement short-term memory

and reduce the burden of brains

However

note-taking is by no means easy

For beginners

taking notes while listening may distract their attention

and as a result

they often fail to reach a balance

between taking notes and listening

Another thing is that beginners are often at a loss

what notes to take and how

Therefore

to learn note-taking and do it well

you must first know some specific features of note-taking

Firstly

note-taking in interpreting is fundamentally different

from shorthand

The writing system adopted in shorthand

is an entirely different one

and needs decipherment

as the picture shows

In interpreting however

interpreters can hardly afford the time

to decode symbols and meanings they represent

That’s why interpreters are supposed to take notes

in a way that they’re most familiar with

Also

there is no doubt

that shorthand is impractical for interpreters

In this case

note-taking provides the best solution to the problem

While taking notes in interpreting

interpreters use simple characters

word

symbols

lines

and abbreviations to jot down key words

This picture is a typical example of notes in interpreting

Second

notes are meant to be used

immediately by the interpreter

In other words

they lose meaning and no longer serve a purpose

once an interpreting activity ends

So it is unnecessary as well

as impossible to write everything down

If an interpreter spends too much time taking notes

he/she won’t be able to have enough time

to process the source language information

In this sense

the importance of note-taking

should not be overemphasized

At any time and under any circumstances

an interpreter should focus

his/her attention on listening rather than note-taking

Third

ways of taking notes vary from person to person

That’s to say

notes are individualized and each interpreter

may have his/her unique style of taking notes

An interpreter’s notes are only for him/her

to read and understand

One interpreter tends to use symbols

while the other may prefer abbreviations

There aren’t specific rules on how to take notes

As long as you can read them without difficulty

it’s ok

We’ve talked so much about note-taking theories

now let’s watch this video clip

to get a better preliminary understanding of note-taking

before we go further to explain the details of it

With this video clip I believe

you’ ve got a clearer understanding of note-taking

In the following lectures

I’ll give you instructions on how to take notes

Please be prepared and come back for more