THE MAKING OF:
Gemma and I are both interpreters and we were asked to do a speech and consecutive for you to show you just one example of how an interpreter’s consecutive notes are used to convey a message in a lively way, so that the interpreter is taking real ownership of the speaker’s message.
As we did not have much time for filming, Lourdes suggested we met beforehand and ran through the speech together to see if there might be any potential stumbling blocks for my notes, as that was the focus of her video this time. So this was not a real test situation (as I was not hearing it totally for the first time) but I had NOT taken notes from it the first time so the film shows me actually taking notes from a speech having heard the story once before. The speech was not read. It was a story that Gemma was telling and she did not necessarily say exactly what she had said when I heard it the first time earlier that day. So it was very close to being a real consecutive situation but not quite!
In a way that is more like a meeting as you would be aware of the subject and vocabulary beforehand and would be conveying arguments which are less unpredictable than in a test or an open competition. The speech was not that difficult and only lasted about five minutes, I think. In a test one might be asked to do a speech of seven or eight minutes and that is perfectly possible when one has been trained to do it. As conference interpreters we mostly do simultaneous interpretation so consecutive is sadly not such a frequent occurrence but I believe it is the best possible way of learning to be a good interpreter because your powers of analysis and understanding have to come to the fore. You cannot allow yourself to get hung up over one word or the way to say something. The great advantage is that you have the time to listen to the whole speech before you render it in your mother tongue so you are in almost the same position as the speaker and can really try to put across the whole message. That is why I think consecutive interpretation is actually a great deal more satisfying to do even though it never stops being a bit nerve-wracking ! Adrenalin is never a bad thing though and I really recommend all student interpreters not to be scared of consecutive and even to try to enjoy it!”
Anne and Gema are both staff interpreters at the SCIC, DG INTERPRETATION, European Commmission.
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This is one of the best examples I have seen. You two demostrated the skill genously. I completely agree that one must not be fearful of “consecutive interpreting.”
The type of work I do requires simultaneous and consecutive interpreting to achieve actionable information.
Absolutely fantastic! I got some good ideas for my consec 🙂 thanks!
The best video so far! The interpreter is excellent, not even one ”err…” 🙂 It’s what we all as students hope to achieve! Great job, thank you.
Mostly consecutive interpretation is done with breaks in between. Therefore may not be as nerve wracking as the video suggests. Longer sessions require good genetic memory and lots of training. Learning to take good notes while in college helps a lot. Marvelous job. What are the names and emails of the interpreters of the video? Enrique
¡Fue toda una inspiración! How marvelous! La elección del tema fue sorprendentemente apropriada, porque como intérpretes luchamos por la frescura, la localización, y el buen gusto, y más que todo el involucramiento espontáneo del auditor. What a serendipitous topic! Because of course as interpreters what we strive for is freshness, local flavor, and the flavor of quality, and more than anything we seek to draw the listener into spontaneous rapport. Su discurso fue alentador precisamente porque se trataba de un trabajo entre amigas. Your presentation was encouraging most of all because it was a cooperative labor of love. Gracias. Thanks.
Increíble y qué bonita letra caray. 🙂 Gracias por tomarse el tiempo para crear un video tan profesional. Lo voy a compartir con mis estudiantes de la carrera de traducción/interpretación en la Universidad de San Diego. Seguro van a quedar encantadas/os. Viendo este video me doy cuenta que lo que me hace falta es, como siempre, lo clásico: tener más símbolos. Tengo que aprender de mi gemela, que acaba de pasar el examen de acreditación de la UE. A ver si un día se saludan en Bruselas (ella va a estar en la cabina alemana), pero como vive en Viena, lo más probable es que la inviten poco.
Bueno, muy impresionante el video. Mil gracias de nuevo.
Soy traductora pero ésta es la primera vez que veo un ejemplo de interpretación consecutiva. De verdad, fue un gusto ver, leer y escuchar el video. Muchísimas gracias por compartirlo con nosotros
Muchas gracias por la gentileza de mostrar la toma de notas en el momento mismo del discurso. He buscado y buscado en internet algo asi, un taller de toma de notas en video, e increiblemente (ya en el 2013) Uds. son las unicas personas que se han atrevido. Alabadas sean las pioneras!!!
Son notas buenísimas. Gracias por el vídeo. Sin embargo, una pequeña objeción: ¡la lectora va muy despacio! Creo que ése no es el ritmo al que suelen ir los ponentes. Gracias otra vez.
Thanks for the videos! I’m a EMCI student and I absolutely dread consecutive. I do so poorly at it I’m afraid it’s going to take me down. I wish I could specialize in sim only.
Amazing! I really enjoyed this clip.
Fantástico ejemplo. Sin embargo, veo que es imprescindible subir la tarifa de consecutiva en 5 o 10 euros más al día. ¡El gasto en libretas debe ser impresionante! 😉 Por otra parte, necesitamos también no solo mejorar nuestra técnica y aprender a ser mejores intérpretes cada día, sino también que los ponentes tomen cursos para aprender a hablar en público. Esto sería maravilloso; les ayudaría a ellos y nos ayudaría a nosotros. Ojalá en la mayoría de los casos los ponentes tuviesen esa cadencia y esa claridad de ideas en la exposición de su discurso. Muchas gracias.
Excellent. Your memory and concentration are astonishing!!!