Interdisciplinary encounters: Dimensions of interpreting studies

Interdisciplinary encounters: Dimensions of interpreting studies brings

together researchers, scholars, practitioners, interpreters and interpreter

Interdisciplinary
trainers, who share their research results, perspectives and experiences
regarding the interdisciplinarity in the eld of interpreting studies.
This interdisciplinarity is well re ected in the range of topics covered
and research questions asked. From the interplay of interpreting
and linguistics to the interplay of interpreting and psychology, to mark
quite arbitrarily only two distinct epistemologies, and hence distinct
methodologies.
encounters:
“This volume is an excellent addition to the Interpreting Studies literature.
The cutting-edge research presented by a wide range of international
experts demonstrates the strength of an interdisciplinary approach
to the study of interpretation. The volume will be of great bene t to
educators, students of interpreting as well as experienced practitioners.”

Robert G. Lee, Senior Lecturer in BSL and Deaf Studies,

University of Central Lancashire, UK
Dimensions
of interpreting
studies

Edited by
Andrzej Łyda, Katarzyna Holewik
 Interdisciplinary encounters:
Dimensions of interpreting studies
 Interdisciplinary encounters:
Dimensions of interpreting studies

Edited by
Andrzej Łyda and Katarzyna Holewik

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego • Katowice 2017

 Editor of the series: Językoznawstwo Neofilologiczne
Maria Wysocka

Referee
Piotr Mamet

The “word cloud” used on the cover by Mark Forshaw and Katarzyna Holewik

Copy editing and proofreading Krystian Wojcieszuk

Technical editing Małgorzata Pleśniar
Cover design Magdalena Starzyk
Typesetting Damian Walasek

Copyright © 2017 by
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
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 Table of contents

Introduction (Andrzej Łyda and Katarzyna Holewik) . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter One
Diachronic research on community interpreting: Between interpreting, linguistics
and social sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Marta Estévez Grossi

Chapter Two
Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training in the 21st
century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Carmen Valero-Garcés

Chapter Three
Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness training in public service
interpreting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Carmen Toledano Buendía and Laura Aguilera Ávila

Chapter Four
Three perspectives on interpreters and stress: The experts, the novices, and the
trainees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Heather Adams and Ligia Rosales-Domínguez

Chapter Five
Self-confidence in simultaneous interpreting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Amalia Bosch Benítez

Chapter Six
PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews – working together to
achieve best evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Katarzyna Holewik
6 Table of contents

Chapter Seven
“Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”: A new
initiative for the training of community interpreters in Austria . . . . . . . 104
Elvira Iannone

Chapter Eight
Elaboration of specialised glossaries as a work placement for interpreting
students: Opportunities and pitfalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Heather Adams and Agustín Darias-Marrero

Chapter Nine
Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts . . . . . . . . . . 136
Maria Bakti

Chapter Ten
Where have the connectors gone? The case of Polish-English simultaneous
interpreting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Andrzej Łyda

Chapter Eleven
Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting: Making live speech visible 161
Ursula Stachl-Peier and Ulf Norberg
 Introduction

Due to an increase in multiculturalism, multilingualism, immigration and

globalisation as well as situations of conflict, we can observe a continuous growth
of and demand for interpreting services worldwide. Researchers, trainers and
interpreters themselves have long been investigating and drawing from vari-
ous disciplines in order to examine the processes and complexities of an act of
interpreting, show how the discipline has evolved over time, discuss the role of
an interpreter and also to meet the demands of such a dynamic profession in
the modern world. These are only some reasons why interpreting studies have
profited from those interdisciplinary encounters. Other reasons, as we hope, can
be found in the present volume.
Interdisciplinary encounters: Dimensions of interpreting studies brings together
researchers, scholars, practitioners, interpreters and interpreter trainers, who
share their research results, perspectives and experiences regarding the inter-
disciplinarity in the field of interpreting studies. This interdisciplinarity is well
reflected in the range of topics covered and research questions asked. From
the interplay of interpreting and linguistics to the interplay of interpreting and
psychology, to mark quite arbitrarily only two distinct epistemologies, and hence
distinct methodologies.
The volume opens with an article by Marta Estévez Grossi, who focuses on
research on community interpreting among migrant workers from Galicia, Spain
in Germany in the 1960s and 70s. In her research she spans three areas, namely,
interpreting, migration linguistics and social sciences. The study based on
narrative interviews required of the author that a corpus be built. To overcome
the perennial problem of corpus-building the author resorted to Oral History,
thus incorporating the methodology of social sciences. The range of data
obtained and the analysis performed testify to the claim that applying interdis-
ciplinary approaches can be beneficial to interpreting research.
The diachronic approach to interpreting or more precisely to research on
interpreter training is clearly visible in Carmen Valero-Garcés’s chapter on the
evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting (PSI) in the last twen-
ty years. Taking the first Critical Link Conference in Geneva Park, Canada in
1995 as the starting point the author outlines the development of the idea of
8 Introduction

interpreter training. She emphasises the growing awareness of the role of inter-
disciplinarity in the training process.
The interplay of psychology and interpreting research is explored in the three
subsequent chapters, which deal with the problem of stress and self-confidence.
The first of them “Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness
training in public service interpreting” by Carmen Toledano Buendía and Laura
Aguilera Ávila reports on the results of an introductory course for public service
interpreters aimed at delivering assertiveness training. Having analysed the major
stress factors in PSI, the authors propose that the development of assertive-
ness as one of interpersonal competencies could alleviate the stress factors and
assertiveness training should be included in the PSI training.
In “Three perspectives on interpreters and stress: The experts, the novices,
and the trainees” Heather Adams and Ligia Rosales-Domínguez explore the
relation between the degree of expertise as a conference interpreter and stress-
inducers. The results of a small-scale questionnaire-based study seem to indicate
that primary stress factors are the density of information, fast speech delivery,
and the lack of prior documentation, yet the three groups under analysis differ
significantly in what they find the major stress-inducer.
Amalia Bosch Benítez’s contribution is also directed at the problem of
affective factors in interpreting as the author addresses the role of self-confidence
in interpreters. She presents a number of case studies in which she discusses
and explores the impact of empathy on this aspect of interpreters’ personality.
The chapter  “PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews —
working together to achieve best evidence”  authored by Katarzyna Holewik 
attempts to map the PEACE model and the principles of investigative interviewing
into interpreter-mediated interviews. The author examines a number of factors
and concepts necessary for effective interpreter-mediated police interviews and
points out similarities between both participants of the communicative event,
that is, interviewers and interpreters, highlighting the importance of profession-
alism, awareness and understanding, cooperation and trust (PACT).
Elvira Iannone’s “ ‘Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay
Interpreters’: A new initiative for the training of community interpreters in
Austria” reports on the development of a new university course in community
interpreting in the field of medicine, psychotherapy, social work and community
settings. The author concentrates on a wide range of factors deemed instrumental
in the practical implementation of her theoretical model and offers a compre-
hensive assessment of the course results.
In “Elaboration of specialised glossaries as a work placement for interpreting
students: Opportunities and pitfalls” Heather Adams and Agustín Darias-
Marrero provide an account of the process of drawing up glossaries for use in
a multi-cultural and multi-lingual project. The project meant as a supervised
work placement for final-year and recent graduates in interpreting yielded a clear
 Introduction 9

insight into the problem of assessment of relevance of terminology by novice

terminologists, their teachers, interpreters and clients.
The final three chapters in this volume examine the process of interpreting
in terms of discourse structure. The chapter by Maria Bakti “Explicitation in
sight-translating into Hungarian texts” is a good example of analysis of explicita-
tion shifts. The author argues that the specificity of sight translation can be no-
ticed in the fact that it tends to produce qualitatively different explicitation shifts
(e.g., extra information) than the shifts reported in many other studies (e.g.,
strengthening cohesive ties) as typical of the simultaneous interpreting mode.
The other discourse-oriented contribution comes from Andrzej Łyda. In
“Where have the connectors gone? The case of Polish-English simultaneous
interpreting” the author analyses strategies of rendering (a)syndetically-marked
discourse-rhetorical relation of concession from Polish into English. By compar-
ing the results with those obtained in Łyda (2008) he investigates whether the
factor of directionality plays any role in the comprehension of this cognitively
demanding discourse-rhetorical relation in source languages text and its produc-
tion in the target language by simultaneous interpreters.
The final contribution in the volume takes the reader to one of the least inves-
tigated areas of interpreting studies, that is, real time speech-to-text interpreting,
in which it is expected that auditory qualities of speech should be represented in
written text. In “Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting: Making live
speech visible” Ursula Stachl-Peier and Ulf Norberg analyse a number of cases
focusing on such prosodic features as loudness, stress, pauses and sentence-initial
and sentence-final pitch patterns.
Although addressed mainly to scholars studying interpreting, we hope that
this collection of articles may prove inspiring also for researchers and practi-
tioners working at the intersection of different disciplines, who will interpret
the results of the analyses and discussions included in this volume in terms
relevant to their own research interests and in ways which go beyond our brief,
introductory outline.
Andrzej Łyda and Katarzyna Holewik
 Chapter One

Diachronic research on community interpreting:

Between interpreting, linguistics
and social sciences

Marta Estévez Grossi

This chapter aims to present the interdisciplinary character of (diachronic) research on commu-
nity interpreting by presenting an ongoing project on the communicative situation of the migrant
workers from Galicia (Spain) in Hanover (Germany) in the 1960s and 70s and their need for
community interpreting.
In order to be able to thoroughly describe the language mediation among this migrant group,
it was imperative to provide a detailed linguistic description of the Galician community in Hanover.
The theoretical foundations of the project lie therefore on two different and relatively new disci-
plines: community interpreting within the field of interpreting studies and migration linguistics
within the applied linguistics.
The diachronic nature of the object of study posed some additional methodological challenges.
Being one of the main research problems on interpreting the creation of the corpus, oral history,
within social sciences, supplied the guidelines and strategies for conducting narrative interviews,
which form the empirical basis of the study. As for the analysis methodology, qualitative content
analysis provided a flexible though systematic model to qualitatively analyse a corpus based on
linguistic material, such as semi-structured interviews.
Keywords: community interpreting, migration linguistics, oral history, qualitative content analysis

Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to present the interdisciplinary character of interpret-

ing studies in general and community interpreting (CI) in particular. This will
be illustrated with an ongoing project on the communicative situation of the
migrant workers from Galicia (Spain) in Hanover (Germany) in the 1960s and
70s and their need for community interpreting.
12 Chapter One

The study intends to establish how communication took place in this trilin-
gual situation (Galician-Spanish-German), that is, by whom and under which
circumstances mediation was performed, how the linguistic situation evolved
over time and how the migrants adapted linguistically and culturally.
This paper, though, does not seek to show the results of the analysis on the
CI situation of this community, but to expose how a CI research project can
profit from the methodologies and findings from other disciplines.
A brief introduction on the research project will be followed by the identi-
fication of the initial hypothesis of the study, which is partly responsible for the
increased interdisciplinarity of the project. Before carrying out the analysis on CI
it was considered necessary to resort to the migration linguistics, an emerging
discipline within the applied linguistics, in order to test the premises about the
linguistic situation of the migrant group.
The project will be then situated within the CI paradigm research, identifying
the history of CI as one of its essential fields of study.
The diachronic nature of the object of study presents additional methodo-
logical challenges, which will be dealt with by applying different methodologies
from the field of social sciences. In this regard, the oral history strategies and
theoretical underpinnings mainly employed in this project for the corpus crea-
tion will be outlined. To a lesser extent, the guiding principles of the qualitative
content analysis, used in this project to analyse the corpus, will also be briefly
displayed.
Finally, the theoretical basis of the migration linguistics analysis will then
be discussed and one of the linguistic premises of the study will be exemplarily
tested within this framework.

2. Presentation of the project

In the wake of the German Wirtschaftswunder, the Federal Republic of Germany

(FRG) signed several bilateral recruitment agreements with different countries
in order to gain the workforce that its flourishing economy needed. On 29th
March 1960 the FRG signed a bilateral recruitment agreement with the Spanish
Government, marking the official start of the first Spanish migration wave in
Germany. It is estimated that between 1955 and 1988 around 800,000 Spaniards
emigrated to the FRG, although the vast majority of them, around 86%, returned
to Spain during the same period (Sanz Díaz 2009: 168–169). According to the
official statistics, the migrants from the region of Galicia were the second largest
group within the Spanish group, accounting for a 20.03% of the total Spanish
migration in the FRG (Leib and Mertins 1980).
Following the unquestionable “one state, one language” belief, the migrant
workers from the region of Galicia in Spain were perceived as Spaniards and
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 13

therefore as speakers of Spanish, although the vast majority of them were

monolingual Galician speakers, with only limited active competences in Span-
ish. Moreover, they arrived mostly with no knowledge of the German language
and were confronted with a monolingual German society, which was virtually
not prepared for them. This collective was therefore inserted in a multilingual
context, confronted with three different languages: Spanish, German and Gali-
cian. This trilingual context makes this migrant group a particularly interesting
object of study, also from the point of view of the community interpreting
itself.
The objective of the research project is to describe the communicative
situation of the migrant workers that arrived from Galicia (Spain) to Hanover
(Germany) in the 1960s and 70s and their need for community interpreting.
The main reasons for the choice of the city of Hanover as the location of the
study was the relatively high number of Spanish migrant workers in the region
and its well-established Galician community. According to official data, the
Region Lower Saxony-Bremen is in the fourth place amongst the German regions
according to the number of Spanish migrant workers after North Rhine-West-
phalia, Baden‑Württemberg, and Hesse (Sánchez López 1969). In this respect,
the city of Hanover, as an important economic and industrial centre of the State
of Lower Saxony, is representative of the situation of the Galician migrant work-
ers in Germany. The fact that this city still counts today with a well-established
and very active Galician community was an advantage in order to initiate contact
with the community.
As can be implied from the above paragraphs, this study is based on three
premises, two of them regarding the linguistic situation of the migrants and
the third one taking into account the existing literature about the provision of
interpreting in the FRG.
The first premise is that the vast majority of the Galician migrant workers
arrived in Germany having Galician as their first language and low competences
in Spanish. The second one is that this collective of migrants arrived with no
knowledge of German and had difficulties to acquire the language afterwards.
Finally, the third hypothesis is based on some well‑established studies on the
models of international response to the need of linguistic services (Ozolins 2000;
Ozolins 2010; Sauvêtre 1999) which in the case of the FRG pointed to the ten-
dency of the provision of interpreting services to be based on ad-hoc approaches,
with no state support.
The analysis of the CI situation will allow (among other things) to assess the
validity of the above-mentioned models of the provision of interpreting services
in the FGR for this particular migrant group. However, before performing the
actual analysis of the CI situation, the veracity of the premises about the lin-
guistic situation of the Galician migrants in Hanover should be put to the test.
In order to do so, the methodology of migration linguistics should be applied.
14 Chapter One

3. The interdisciplinary character of CI diachronic research

When it comes to situating a project within the paradigm of CI research, the

literature review and mapping of its research topics performed by Vargas-Urpi
(2012) can be considered a good starting point.
In her article, Vargas-Urpi identifies eleven different research topics, includ-
ing: text analysis and interpretation, quality assessment, interpreting in different
contexts, community interpreting and technology, community interpreting
history, ethics, terminology and glossaries, community interpreters’ specific com-
petences, community interpreters’ working conditions, community interpreters’
training, and finally community interpreting professionalisation.
Taking this paradigm into account, it is clear that the research project
introduced in this chapter has a multifaceted character, addressing different topics
such as the different contexts in which CI took place, the working conditions
of the interpreters or the (non‑)professionalisation of the interpreting services
provided. However, one of the central areas of research that make up the project
had a paramount importance adding up to its interdisciplinarity: the CI history
component.
Even though the history of interpreting has been gaining scholarly interest
in the last years (see Takeda and Baigorri Jalón 2016; Baigorri Jalón 2015), the
truth is that the studies on this area rarely focus on the interpreting provision for
migrant workers. A worthy example can be found nonetheless in the research of
Otero Moreno, who also focuses on the language mediation among the Spanish
migrants in the RFG, as sole author (Otero Moreno 2008, 2010) or as co-author
(Baigorri Jalón and Otero Moreno 2012). In any case, when studying the history
of interpreting of the past century, scholars have rather devoted their attention
to interpreting in war settings, military tribunals, high-level politics and inter-
national organisations (see Baigorri Jalón 2015: 19–24).
Regardless of the specific object of study, however, all studies on the history
of interpreting have something in common: the problem of gaining reliable
sources of information. As Pöchhacker (2004: 159) states, the difficulty of
researching on the history of interpreting is

the ‘evanescence’ of the activity, which does not leave any tangible trace, and
its often low social esteem. For the most part, interpreting was a ‘common’
activity, in several respects, which did not merit special mention.

The collection of material in order to create a corpus poses therefore one

of the main challenges in researching into this area of CI – or interpreting
in general for that matter. When dealing with past events, it is normally not
possible to access the actual interpreter‑mediated encounters, precisely because
of the mentioned evanescence of the spoken (and therefore interpreted) word.
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 15

Likewise, the fact that the activity of interpreting, especially in social settings,
has traditionally been regarded as an everyday activity implies its absence or,
at best, paucity in most of the written accounts or archives (Payàs 2012: 31; see
Alonso Araguás, Fernández Sánchez, and Baigorri Jalón 2012: 973).
In order to solve this riddle it is necessary to resort to some alternative
methodological approaches, such as the ones present in the social sciences and
more specifically the historiography (Alonso Araguás, Fernández Sánchez, and
Baigorri Jalón 2012: 973; Baigorri Jalón 2012: 90). In this regard, Baigorri Jalón
(2012: 103; 2006: 103) pleads for the use of not only the most traditional histo-
riographical methods, but also some new approaches such as the use of personal
narratives or oral history.

4. Social sciences: Corpus creation, processing and analysis

As has been outlined in the above paragraphs, the diachronic nature of the
object of study had enormous methodological repercussions. One of the main
challenges of community interpreting research, especially in diachronic studies
but not solely, is the difficulty to collect material such as interpreter-mediated
encounters and thus create a corpus. This also proved to be true for the present
research project.
Within the project, the first step was to conduct a thorough literature re-
view looking for previous studies that discussed the linguistic situation of the
Galician or, in general, the Spanish migrant workers in the FRG. Apart from
the noteworthy exceptions of Otero Moreno’s research (see above), the literature
review revealed that even if this migrant group had been studied and addressed
from a myriad of angles (such as from the statistic, social sciences, psychology
or even the historiography itself), the linguistic issue had only been dealt with
tangentially.
Taking into account the concerns expressed by the different scholars reviewed
in the above paragraphs (Pöchhacker 2004: 159; see Alonso Araguás, Fernández
Sánchez, and Baigorri Jalón 2012: 973; Payàs 2012: 31; Baigorri Jalón 2012: 90),
it was decided to follow Baigorri Jalón’s methodological proposals and to approach
the object of study by making use of the historiographical framework.
The archival research carried out in several archives in the city of Hanover
(Germany) and Galicia (Spain) only delivered scarce pieces of information on
the linguistic situation of the Galician or, in general, Spanish migrant workers in
Germany or their interpreters. It became obvious that the data collection would
have to be eminently empirical.
Despite of the diachronic character of the object of study, the fact of it lying
in the near past opened up the possibility of interviewing some of the involved
participants. The latter however, also posed some methodological challenges.
16 Chapter One

In this respect, the oral history methodology was deemed especially appro-
priate to approach this endeavour since, as the oral historian Valeria Yow (2005:
12) says: “Oral history reveals daily life at home and at work – the very stuff that
rarely gets into any kind of public record,” exactly like the interpreter-mediated
encounters.

4.1 Corpus creation: Oral history

Oral history is a historiographical method which deals with the gathering of

memories of historical significance through recorded interviews (Ritchie 2003:
19). With its origins in the 1960s and 70s, oral history can be counted among
the new historiographical approaches, challenging the traditional methods of
recounting the past (Chamberlain 2006: 387). The philosophy behind this method
is to give voice to the voiceless, following an approach of writing history “from
the bottom-up” (Ritchie 2003: 23).
In her article “A place for Oral History within Translation Studies”, McDonough
Dolmaya (2015) advocates for the adoption of oral history methods in historical
translation studies research. The author, however, restricts the use of the oral
history to studies focusing on the role or figure of the translator, especially the
non-literary ones, traditionally more neglected in the scholar literature (McDon-
ough Dolmaya 2015: 196). The scope, however, can be expanded by applying
or adapting the oral history methodology to any diachronic research on trans-
lation or interpreting studies. In fact, there are some precedents on interpreting
research carried out on the basis of oral history (Torikai 2010; Torikai 2009;
Takesako 2014; Takesako and Nakamura 2013) or using oral history archives
(see Fernández Sánchez 2013; Kurz 2014). Taking into account that the migrant
groups in a need of linguistic services can be considered an especially neglected
group within society, oral history seemed to be best suited for digging into this
reality.
Thus, even if not all features of oral history will be applied to this project,1
this framework proved to be of advantage not only for the corpus creation but
also, to a lesser extent, for the corpus analysis.
As for the corpus creation, oral history supplied some guidelines and prac-
tical strategies when it came to plan the field work. One of the considerations
that had important repercussions was the status of the interviewer regarding
1
 This project does not comply with some of the general principles followed by many oral
history scholars, such as making the interviews publicly available (see Ritchie 2003: 24; Shopes
2002: 590; Yow 2005: 72; Samuel 2003: 392) or sending the interviewees the transcripts back for
correction (Yow 2005: 143). Although this project might therefore not be strictly considered an oral
history project – neither intends to be it – it definitely demonstrates the benefits to be achieved
by the use of oral history methodological and theoretical underpinnings.
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 17

the community in question. When carrying out an oral history project focusing
on a community, it is essential to consider the status of the interpreter within
the community itself – whether she/he is (considered to be) part of the com-
munity or not. There is a great degree of unanimity among the oral history
scholars regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the interviewer being
a part of the community object of study (Larson 2006: 121–123; Ritchie 2003:
55–56; Thompson 2000: 140–141; Yow 2005: 201–202). Interviewing as an in-
sider usually implies gaining access to the community, building rapport during
the interview and obtaining privileged information more easily. Conversely, the
interviewee might not be willing to discuss with another community member
some obviously shared information or topics considered to be delicate by the
community. In that respect, the outsider interviewer might be able to ask naïve
questions about controversial topics, without risking so much the established
rapport.
In this regard, I was able to understand my role as the main interviewer of the
project simultaneously as an insider (being Galician myself and currently living
in Germany) and as an outsider (not part of the Galician migrant community
originated by this first migration wave). These initial considerations were crucial
for the planning of the field work and, as will be shown later on, to consciously
deal with some potentially sensitive topics, such as the first language of the
migrants (see Section 5).
Not being strictly part of the Galician migrant community in Hanover,
an important point in order to access the migrant group was the hint of
starting by contacting individuals working as community gatekeepers (Ritchie
2003: 88). In the context of oral history and other qualitative methodologies,
the term gatekeeper refers to an influential, well‑regarded and respected indi-
vidual within the community. Only through its gatekeepers was it possible to
gain access to the community and the trust of the first informants. After in-
terviewing the first individuals, a snowball sampling approach followed, where
one interviewee refers to the next. This method of obtaining informants is
favoured by some experts in the field of oral history (see Thompson 2000:
235; Yow 2005: 81).
As for the interview methodology, the interviews were semi‑structured,
guided by a questionnaire or an interview guide – term preferred by some oral
historians (for the terminological discussion, see Yow 2005: 71–74) – with open
questions that allowed the interviewees to speak freely.
An unstructured or less structured interview, usually preferred in oral history
research (Jennings 2005: 105), would not be appropriate since the interesting
topics for the study may not arise spontaneously. It should be noted that the
adoption of an interview guide is also not uncommon in oral history research,
its studies ranging from unstructured to semi‑structured interview methods
(Thompson 2000: 222). The use of an interview guide should be regarded as
18 Chapter One

a memory aid, to avoid losing perspective during the interview and to help
when the dialogue seems to have come to a dead end (Dumbrava 2004: 20–21).
Furthermore, the adoption of semi-structured allows one to obtain comparability
between the interviews. The results of this research, though, should be regarded
as tendencies, since the relatively low number of interviewees does not allow to
achieve statistical significance.
Finally, and within the corpus analysis, the project also profited from some
of the theoretical underpinnings of oral history. Memory being the core of this
discipline (Abrams 2010: 78; Ritchie 2003: 19), oral history also provided a the-
oretical framework to deal with the problems that may appear when collect-
ing diachronic data. Some topics on memory addressed by oral history are the
tensions between collective and personal memory, the process of construction
and reconstruction of those memories or the relation between memory and
aging (Abrams 2010: 78 ff.; Green 2004; Hoffman and Hoffman 2006; Ritchie
2003: 33 ff.; Yow 2005: 35 ff.). Considering the advanced age of the majority of
the interviewees, understanding the contradictions present in their narrations
allowed to better interpret the information. These contradictions also spoke for
the necessity to contrast the information provided by the migrants and drove
me to carry out expert interviews. Due to space constraints, however, it will not
be possible to further discuss those matters. A slightly larger discussion on this
matter, providing a practical example from the corpus, can be found in Estévez
Grossi (2015: 61–62).

4.2 Corpus processing and analysis:

Qualitative content analysis
Once the field work was completed, the preliminary corpus was based on 25
interviews with over 30 participants. After discarding three interviews, the
final corpus was composed by 22 interviews, 11 of them with the narrative of
community members, Galician first generation migrants, and 11 with experts,
Spanish or German individuals who were somehow professionally involved in
the migration process.
The transcription of the interviews was based on the transcription system
GAT 2 (Gesprächsanalytisches Transkriptionssystem 2 or, in English ‘conversa-
tion-analytical transcription system’) (Selting et al. 2009; for the English trans-
lation, see Selting et al. 2011). This project is based on the “minimal transcript,”
the simplest one of the three levels covered by GAT 2 (see Selting et al. 2009:
359 ff. or in the English translation see Selting et al. 2011: 7 ff.).
Given the narrative character of the interviews and the relatively small num-
ber of interviewees, which does not allow to achieve statistical significance, the
methodological framework of the qualitative content analysis (in German quali-
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 19

tative Inhaltsanalyse, also known in English as qualitative text analysis) proved

to be the best suited to analyse the data (see Kuckartz 2014a).2
This method, used mainly in the social sciences, allows to qualitatively
analyse material based on any type of communication, such as life biographies
or interviews. This methodological framework, though, has already been used
in different linguistic studies (see Knapp 2005).
Qualitative content analysis is based on some principles such as: 1) the cen-
trality of the creation of categories, 2) the adoption of a systematic approach,
including clear rules to follow in each step of the analysis, 3) the classification
and categorisation of the whole corpus (and not only fragments of interviews),
4) the use of techniques for the creation of categories, 5) the hermeneutic reflec-
tion upon the corpus and 6) the recognition of quality standards3 and aiming
for intercoder agreement (Kuckartz 2014a: 39).
Through the implementation of this analysis methodology it was possible
to code the entire corpus and thus structure the information provided by the
informants during the interviews. Since the research question plays a central role
during the analysis process, it was necessary to perform two analysis rounds on
the whole corpus: one for the migration linguistics and one for the community
interpreting component. Due to space constraints it will not be possible to ex-
plore the analysis procedures at a greater extent. In the next section, however,
the analysis on migration linguistics will be sketched and exemplified.

5. Linguistic description of the community: Migration linguistics

Similarly to CI within interpreting studies, migration linguistics (in German

Migrationslinguistik) is a relatively young discipline within the field of applied
linguistics. This new area of study has been established in the German speaking
countries (Gugenberger 2004: 79; Zimmermann and Morgenthaler García 2007:
7) and in particular within the Romance linguistic studies. Migration linguis-
tics pursues the study of the linguistic dynamics and processes originated in a
migration context (Gugenberger n.d.: 63), analysing the transformation of the
migrants’ identity and the results of the linguistic contact (Gugenberger n.d.:
64–65; Stehl 2011: 39–40), such as the sociolinguistic or acculturative strategies
employed by the migrant. In this respect, the framework provided by the mi-
gration linguistics constitutes a useful tool to linguistically describe a migrant
community such as the Galician community in Hanover.

2
 It has also been published an English translation of Kuckartz’s Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse:
Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterstützung (see Kuckartz 2014b).
3
 A discussion about which quality standards should guide the qualitative content analysis
can be found in Mayring (2008: 109–115) and Kuckartz (2014a: 165–169).
20 Chapter One

Thus, the analysis of CI was preceded by an analysis of migration linguistics.

This should allow to verify the above-mentioned premises regarding the linguistic
situation of the migrants, that is, whether the majority of the Galician migrants
had Galician as their initial language and low active competencies in Spanish at
the moment of the migration and whether they arrived with no knowledge of
German and had difficulties to acquire the language afterwards. At this point it
is important to clarify that this project does not intend to objectively evaluate
the language proficiency of the informants in the different languages involved
in this multilingual context. That endeavour would imply carrying out specific
language tests and would go well beyond the limits of the study. The aim is rather
to analyse the conceptions that the informants developed about the individual
and collective language competences and proficiency.
The analysis on migration linguistics was based on the models proposed by
Krefeld (2004) and Gugenberger (2007; in press) for the analysis of migration
linguistics. Despite their differences, both models seek to describe the commu-
nicative practice of a migrant or community of migrants. Another point in com-
mon is the consideration of the linguistic competences and the social-linguistic
networks of the migrants as an essential part in both models. Gugenberger,
however, also believes the migrants’ conceptions about the societies to be relevant
for the analysis on migration linguistics.
Due to lack of space, this contribution will not be able to show the whole
analysis on migration linguistics performed on this migrant group, which
allowed to classify the migrants individually and collectively according to their
acculturation strategies and their communicative practices. However, the pro-
cedure to test the first premise within the migration linguistics analysis will be
exemplarily shown in the next paragraphs.
As stated before, the first hypothesis argues that the vast majority of the Gali-
cian migrants had Galician as their first language and a low active competence
in Spanish, at least as they first arrived to the FRG. If this was to be proven, it
would mean that this migrant group would have indeed been inserted not into
a bilingual but in a trilingual constellation.
Compared to the premise about the competences in German among this
migrant group,4 proving the hypothesis on the initial language posed some
additional difficulties. The first drawback was the lack of literature on this matter.
As opposed to the linguistic situation regarding the German language, discussed
in the relevant literature on the subject,5 there is virtually no mention about
4
 A section of the migration linguistics analysis on the German competences of the Galician
migrant group can be found in Estévez Grossi (2016: 46–48).
5
 Although scarce, there are some references about the lack of knowledge of German of the
Spanish migrants in general at the point of arriving to the FRG (see Martín Pérez 2012: 56;
Sanz Lafuente 2009: 424; Vilar Sánchez 2015: 10), the difficulties encountered when learning the
German language afterwards (see Fernández Asperilla 2000: 71; Gualda Caballero 2001b: 98; Sanz
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 21

the initial language of the Galician migrants in the FRG. In the only reference
found around this topic an interpreter anecdotally mentions to have experienced
linguistic difficulties when interacting with Galician migrants in Spanish (see
Otero Moreno 2010: 122).
The second problem involved the sociolinguistic situation of the Galician
language and the status of the main interviewer simultaneously as an outsider
and insider to the community (see Section 4.1). Since the Galician language has
a low social status in relation to Spanish, it was not possible for me as the main
interviewer and Galician myself to directly ask about the initial language of the
migrants. A direct question about their first language could have been regarded
as face-threatening and therefore potentially damaged the rapport created during
the interview with the informant. Taking this into account, it was necessary to
develop an alternative strategy to gain an insight into this linguistic reality.
The information around the linguistic situation of the community was there-
fore inferred from the four following factors:
• spontaneous statements during the interview;
• language of choice during the interview;
• biographical data (age, age at migration, origin, level of education);
• statistic data.

The first factor refers to the interviewee’s explicit mention of Galician as his
or her first language or difficulties with the Spanish language.
The second factor was the consideration of the language in which the inter-
view took place. If the language used by the informants during the interview was
at least partly Galician, it was considered safe to state that the initial language of
the participant was Galician. This can be established by considering the age of
the informants. Taking into account that under the Franco’s regime in Spain the
Galician language was banned from the educative and any other public sector,
the fact that a person of the age of the participants was able to communicate in
Galician can only point to a native acquisition of Galician, probably as a first
language.
The consideration of these two factors enabled to infer the initial language
of 11 out of the 15 Galician informants. Thus, it can be claimed that 10 inter-
viewees had Galician as their initial language while only one single migrant
affirms to have Spanish as her first language. In the remaining four cases the
initial language could not be unequivocally inferred.
The cross-check of the available statistical data with the biographical data
of the informants also proved to be a useful source of information. Thus, the
inferred data on the first language among the informants is also consistent with
Lafuente 2006: 48; Sanz Lafuente 2009: 434), or the level of language achieved, often compared
to the Spanish migrants in other countries (Bermejo Bragado 1998: 111; Gualda Caballero 2001a:
108; Gualda Caballero 2001b: 194; Martínez Veiga et al. 2000: 344).
22 Chapter One

the official statistics on the initial language in Galicia. According to the data
collected in 2003 by the Instituto Galego de Estatística (Galician Statistics Insti-
tute), 63.23% of the population between the ages of 50 and 64 and 76.34% of
the aged 65 or over had learnt to speak Galician. On the contrary, 22.29% of
the aged between 50 and 64 and 13.93% of the aged 65 or over had learnt to
speak in Spanish.
For the assessment of their active proficiency in Spanish, the information
obtained about their initial language was also cross-checked with their biograph-
ical information and the statistical data available. In this respect, the key factors
were the rural or urban origin in Galicia, the level of formal education and the
age at the point of the migration.
Due to the sociolinguistic dynamics prevailing in Galicia, the rural or urban
origin of the informant can be regarded a significant indicator of his or her
Spanish proficiency. This is because the Galician language has traditionally been
more present in the rural areas and smaller towns, having Spanish a strong-
er presence in the cities. Taking into account that the initial language of the
majority of the participants was identified as Galician, coming from a more rural
area would have meant a lesser contact with the Spanish language.
According to the biographical data collected, only one informant was raised
in a city, precisely the only one who explicitly declared Spanish to be her first
language. On the contrary, the rest of the informants came from rural areas or
smaller towns, which would point to a more Galician-speaking environment and
to the contact with the Spanish language mainly through the education system.
The information available, though, indicates that this contact was relatively lim-
ited. During the interviews, the Galician informants claimed to have achieved
a low level of formal education, which is consistent with the scarce statistic data
on this matter (see Aguirre 1980: 8–9).
The young age of most of the informants at the point of the migration should
also be taken into account. The latter makes unlikely that the migrants had pre-
viously experienced internal migration or made stays away from their immediate
surroundings – with the eventual exception of the military service in the case
of the male participants. This would also point to a limited contact with the
Spanish language before the international migration experience.
The question of the limited proficiency in Spanish is also mentioned in the
corpus both by community members and experts in relation to the Galician
language. In their narratives, the informants usually mention the rural origin
and the low level of formal education of the Galician migrants as the reasons
for not being able to properly communicate in Spanish, as can be observed in
Except 1 and Excerpt 2.
The passage in Excerpt 1 has been extracted from an interview with a com-
munity member who explains his linguistic situation at the point of his arrival
in the FRG.
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 23

Interviewer: entonces en tu caso tampoco (-) había ningún tipo de preparación?// [so in
your case (-) there was also no preparation al all?//]
Suso: //en absoluto yo// [//not at all I//]
Interviewer: yo que sé pues (--) pues de alemán/ de lengua alemana o algo así (‑) por
parte de? [I don’t know well (–) well for the German/ German language or
something like that (-) from?]
Suso: //mira (--) lo que sabía yo era malamente (-) el castellano
[//look (--) I could hardly speak (-) Spanish]
Interviewer: mhm
Suso: por decirlo de alguna manera porque eh allí hablábamos gallego [so to speak
because we used to speak Galician in there]
Interviewer: claro [of course]
Suso: y (-) lo que aprendimos en el colegio (--) nada más//
[and (-) what we learnt at the school (--) nothing else]
[…]
Suso: //yo salía los catorce años de/ del/ del colegio y ya a trabajar
[I left when I was fourteen the/ the/ the school and off I went to work]
Felipe: sí sí claro// [yes yes of course]
Suso: //me entiendes? y luego (-) eso aprendíamos el castellano (-)
en el colegio (-) pero (--) en el pueblo se hablaba el gallego
[do you understand? and then (-) well we learnt Spanish (-) at the school (‑)
but (--) in the village we spoke Galician]
Excerpt 1. Community member reflecting upon his own Spanish competences

Thus, this community member explains the sociolinguistic dynamics present

in his village of origin, typical for the situation in rural Galicia at the time.
In this rural environment, Galician was the only language used in the community
and Spanish was only introduced through the education system. The low level
of education achieved, however, does not enable the achievement of proficiency
in Spanish. As a result, this migrant arrives to the FRG “hardly” being able to
speak Spanish.
The extract in Excerpt 2, on the other hand, comes from an interview with
an expert, a former social worker from Central America, who used to work
with the community.

Interviewer: y el (---) nivel (-) lingüístico en general (-) de alemán?

[and the (---) general (-) language level (-) in German?]
Francisco: malo! nada! nulo! (--) nulo nulo nulo (--) es/ era muy d/ muy difícil no el le/
las/ la mayoría de los españoles que vinieron aquí (-) venían de Galicia no?
[bad! nothing! zero! (--) zero zero zero (--) it’s/ was very d/ very difficult
right the th/ the/ the majority of the Spaniards that came here (-) came from
Galicia right?]
Interviewer: mhm
24 Chapter One

Francisco: y entonces (-) MUchos (-) venían con un idioma bien cerrado (-) gallego no?
(--) hay algunos gallegos que se mm comPRENden pero otros que vienen
quién sabe de dónde de qué aldea (--) y (-) tenían un idioma muy cerrado
(---) ah (-) y hab/ y (--) eh y hab/ y teníamos problemas de comprenderlos
no? (--) de com/ los mis/ los mismos ((ríe)) ((incomp.)) <<riendo> españoles>
tenían problemas de (-) de comprenderlos no?
[and then (-) a LOT (-) came with a language hard to understand (-) Galician
right? (--) and there are some Galicians who can be mm undersTOOD but
others come from a village who knows where (--) and (-) they had a very
thick accent (---) ehm (-) and ther/ and (--) ehm and ther/ we had problems
to understand them right? (--) to und/ even th/ even the ((laughs)) ((unin-
tell.)) <<laughing> Spaniards> had problems to (-) understand them right?]
Interviewer: mhm
Excerpt 2. Expert reflecting upon the Spanish competences of the community

It should be noted that in both examples (Excerpt 1 and Excerpt 2) the

topic of the Galician language within the community and the deficiencies in
Spanish arise spontaneously, when actually asked about the German‑language
competences of the migrants. In Excerpt 2, the expert argues that it was indeed
hard to understand some of the Galician migrants when speaking in Spanish.
He further suggests that the reasons for the latter were that many among them
used to speak Galician and had a thick accent in Spanish. The informant also
declares that the difficulties he experienced in understanding this migrant group
were not due to his own Central American origin, since other colleagues com-
ing from Spain also had similar problems. This view was also shared in other
expert interviews.
All these factors seem to indicate that at least part of the Galician migrants
would have arrived to the FRG with limited (active) Spanish competences.
The information gathered also points to the fact that at least in some cases, the
first continued contact with the Spanish language would have occurred during
the migration experience itself.
In this regard, I believe that the premise of the project about the dichotomy
between Galician and Spanish among the Galician migrants has been corroborat-
ed. It can be therefore stated that this migrant group was indeed inserted into a
trilingual environment (Galician-Spanish-German), which should be considered
when analysing the CI situation.

6. Conclusions

This chapter shows how a project on (diachronic) community interpreting can

profit from applying interdisciplinary approaches, both methodologically and
theoretically.
 Diachronic research on community interpreting… 25

The gathering of information seems to be an intrinsic problem of research

on interpreting. When the object of study is additionally of diachronic
nature, or it cannot be directly observed, the only feasible option usually is
to access information through indirect recounts of the involved participants,
but this approach also poses methodological and procedural challenges. In
this respect, the methodologies present in the social sciences have proved
to be a useful resource in order to create and analyse a corpus based on
linguistic material.
For the corpus creation, this project has made use of some of the strategies
and theoretical foundations of oral history.
This historiographical methodology proved to be useful when it came to plan
the field work, reflecting on the role of the interviewer as an insider or outsider
to the community and decide on the type of interview most appropriate for
the study. The theoretical reflections on memory, a topic fundamental although
usually neglected in diachronic research, helped to understand the contradic-
tions found in the narratives and pointed to the necessity to find other sources
of information that would corroborate the data. In this particular project, the
latter led to the conduction of expert interviews.
For the corpus analysis, the qualitative content analysis provided a systematic
model to qualitatively analyse linguistic data, while still allowing a certain degree
of flexibility during the process.
The theoretical foundations of the project, originally based on CI, were
complemented by the migration linguistics. This emerging discipline within the
applied linguistics provided a great framework in order to thoroughly describe
linguistically the community object of study.
This enabled me to prove some of the premises of the project, which had
great repercussions for the CI situation among the community.
One of the said premises suggested that the Galician migrants would have
been inserted not into a bilingual but in a trilingual environment, since many of
these migrants arrived to the FRG having Galician as their initial language and
only limited active competences in Spanish. Due to the fact that the interviewer
was partly considered an insider to this community, it was not possible to directly
ask the informants about their initial language, since the sociolinguistic status
of Galician makes this a delicate matter.
An alternative way to elicit this piece of information had to be found.
Through the consideration of the content of the corpus, the language spo-
ken during the interviews, the biographical data of the informants and
the statistical data available, it was possible to infer the initial language
of 11 out of 15 Galician informants. From this group, 10 had Galician and
one Spanish as their initial language. The information gathered also indicated
that some Galician migrants had indeed low competences of Spanish or even
that for some of them their first prolonged contact with the Spanish language
26 Chapter One

occurred during the migration experience itself. The results of this analysis were
also consistent with the statistical data on this matter.

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 Chapter Two

Evolution, trends and gaps

in public service interpreting training
in the 21st century

Carmen Valero-Garcés*6

Since the first Critical Link Conference in Geneva Park, Canada in 1995, Public Service Interpreting
(PSI) has experienced a dramatic change in both theory and practice. National and international
conferences, seminars, courses, and workshops all around the world, as well as an ever-growing
flow of publications have made it possible for practitioners, trainers, and researchers to get together
and discuss their views and exchange ideas. During this journey, new tendencies, disciplines, and
tools have been applied in research and training. This article will focus on training. Research on
training shows a certain evolution in teaching that goes from a prescriptive approach based on the
insistence of the “interpreting is interpreting” trope – while usually disregarding translation – to
a much more interdisciplinary, realistic, and fuller understanding of the complexities of this mat-
ter based on a specific sociocultural moment. It is my intention to demonstrate these evolutions,
trends, and gaps in PSI training, followed by some suggestions for the future.
Keywords: interpreting, public service interpreting, PSI, interdisciplinary, PSI research, PSI training

1. Introduction
The globalization, the diversification, and the fast mobility of people in today’s
markets require specialists in communication to serve as many heterogeneous
settings and audiences as possible. Interpreters, translators, intercultural medi-
ators and other international professional and non-professional and/or ad-hoc
communicators serve as links to facilitate understanding across global and local
contexts through diverse communication channels.
In Translation and Interpreting Studies, there is an increasing awareness
of the need to build bridges in research communication studies (Risku 2010;
*
FITISPOs-UAH. University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain.
32 Chapter Two

Ehrensberger-Dow and Daniel 2013). Indeed, some research reveals that the
fields of translation and interpreting and of professional communication are
converging, as practitioners initially trained in one field seek cross-training in
the other as a way to capture both ends of the market (Minacori and Veisblat
2010; Genecchi et al. 2011). Another reason mainly in the field of Translation
and Interpreting Studies is the lack of recognition of the profession of translators
and interpreters not only in the business market, but also at an institutional level
(legal, administrative, education, healthcare, and social services). This situation
applies more specifically to the area of Public Service Interpreting and Transla-
tion (PSIT) (or Community Interpreting and Translation). As Maylat (2013: 48)
points out, more research and dialogue is needed to fully grasp the implications
and commonalities in all areas of multicultural professional communication,
unless they are no longer ascribed peripheral roles in business, technical, and
scientific endeavours.
If we focus specifically on public service interpreting (PSI), a field that is
full of asymmetries (Wadensjö 1998: 33; Mikkelson 2014: 126; Hale 2007: 45),
the need to research contact points and explore common ground and points
of convergence is even more necessary, as there is a progression toward more
multicultural societies in which less frequently spoken languages come into play
as well as minority languages that clash and compete with the relentless advance
of English as an international language, which leads Tsuda (2010: 68) – among
many others – to state that English hegemony is “not a purely linguistic matter,
but is directly connected with ‘power,’ namely, ‘who controls the world’ . ”
These two seemingly parallel factors are seen differently by its speakers and,
as Yajima and Toyosaki (2016: 96) reveal with regard to English, and by mak-
ing this point relevant to native speakers in other countries as well, there is
a revelation of “power differentials that native speakers in particular may take for
granted and even exacerbate if they are not made aware of how their decisions
about language(s) can be apprehended by non-native speakers – or by those who
do not speak the official language(s) at all.”
These changes have undoubtedly affected – and continue to affect – the
training of translators and interpreters in order to modify the training of these
future professionals to fit the needs of the workforce, as Valero-Garcés and Toudic
point out (2015: 202):

[…] translator education and training is the shared responsibility of univer-

sities and employers, and in a highly competitive market, graduates need
to be equipped during their course of studies with the basic competences
listed above (by a combination of academic education and training and in-
ternships) before they finally enter the labour market, where they will then
acquire the further experience and advanced knowledge and competences
they need to become fully-operational translation industry professionals.
 Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training… 33

This brings us back to the main focus of this article – public service in-
terpreting (PSI) – in which regulated training is still scarce and very diverse.
The need to train suitable professionals who meet the expectations of the work
market is even more imperative nowadays.

2. Toward PSI definition and scope

Continuous research and publications on aspects related to PSI, such as the Crit-
ical Link series or the FITISPos Alcalá Research Group series, demonstrate that
defining the scope of PSI is a complex and difficult task. By combining different
ideas from authors like Wadensjö (1998: 33), Mikkelson (1996: 126), and Leech
(1999: 93), PSI can be defined as the kind of interpreting provided in public ser-
vices in order to balance power relations among speakers and addressees who do
not speak the same language(s), prioritizing the need for good communication to
ensure an egalitarian access to these services (Echauri 2014: 465).
One of the most significant and stated arguments is that the interpreter does
not merely carry out linguistic conveyance but also coordinates, mediates, and
negotiates cultural and social meaning. The problem lies in setting the exact
boundaries of this intervention. This issue has given rise to different philosophies
and practices, ranging from adhering to strict linguistic conveyance all the way to
mediation (also called “advocacy”), or actively defending service users belonging
to minority groups (Martin and Phelan 2002; Valero-Garcés 2002). Whether we
are at one extreme or the other, the consequences can lead to poor results for
the speakers, especially for the weaker party (Cambridge 2002: 123; Corsellis
2008: 44), as well as to different training practices.
With regard to training, and based on the aforementioned works and on
the publications of two of the most emblematic organizations/associations in
this field – including Critical Link and FITISPos – Alcalá (due to their ongoing
works and efforts in favor of recognizing and professionalizing PSIT) – we note
that there has been a growing interest in this area of training and research not
only in places such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and Western Eu-
rope, but also in countries in which PSIT was practically unheard of or ignored
until well into the 21st century. This is the case with Poland (Tryuk 2005; Pi-
otrowska 2005; Malinowski 2005), Japan (Konishi 2005), Argentina (Fernández
2005), and Cuba (Reyes and Bernabé 2005). A decade later, we once again find
research focused on countries that are new to literature regarding PSIT, such
as Jordan (Alshchab et al. 2014), Taiwan (Ho and Chen 2014), and once again
Japan (Marszalenko 2014).
Although these papers all looked at PSIT from different perspectives, they
all shared a common goal which was to promote communication between
linguistically and culturally diverse communities showing similar tendencies,
34 Chapter Two

including an emerging need for competent PSIT services, the consideration of

sign language and less frequently used languages, society’s gradual awareness
of PSI, and the ongoing efforts made by institutions, NGOs, ethnic commu-
nities, and individuals to join efforts. Proceedings from the last Critical Link
conferences (Wadensjö et al. 2009; Schäffner et al. 2013) as well as from the
last conferences on PSIT held in Alcalá (Valero-Garcés et al. 2008, 2011, 2014)
reaffirm this interest.
After more than two decades of debates regarding PSIT through publica-
tions, conferences, seminars, and projects, the overall outlook with regard to the
profiles of interpreters has not varied much, currently driven by the economic
crisis that started in 2008. The table that Hale outlined in 2007 (Hale 2007: 35)
continues to hold true in several contexts:

[…] interpreters work with other professionals in the delivery of their ser-
vices. There is often a misunderstanding about each other’s tasks, roles,
needs and expectations. Untrained interpreters may not understand the
reasoning behind procedures, specific questions or modes of delivery in
different settings, as well as the significance of the layperson’s responses in
allowing the primary service providers to perform their duties adequately.
On the other hand, professionals working with interpreters rarely under-
stand the complexity of the task and the interpreters’ needs on producing
an acute rendition.

This serves to conclude that few opportunities exist, that pay and working
conditions are poor, and that the lack of understanding of the interpreter’s role
and others’ lack of appreciation of their role places pressure on interpreters,
making it difficult for them to perform at a professional level. What they need
at this level is training. In other words, training is a paramount step toward
professionalization.
PSIT professionals and practitioners agree that there are several stages in
the process of achieving real, effective communication in multicultural societies
where there are minority populations that are unaware or not sufficiently familiar
with the majority language and culture.
Nearly two decades ago, Roberts (1997: 27) outlined the process of profes-
sionalization regarding public service interpreting. These guidelines included:

1. Clarification of terminology, in other words, settling on a universally

recognized name;
2. Clarification of the role(s) of the public service interpreter;
3. Provision of training for interpreters;
4. Provision of training for trainers of interpreters;
5. Provision of training for professionals working with interpreters;
6. Accreditation of public service interpreters.
 Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training… 35

Corsellis (2003: 71–89) also discusses three parallel processes of change

which are developing over time. Each of these processes is related to one of the
links that form part of the chain of communication:
a) public service providers;
b) public service users who do not master the language in which these services
are offered;
c) intermediaries that enable communication.
Each of these links goes through a process of change that is described below:

Process A: Public Services

Public services often go through the following stages, but not always at the
same rate or in the same manner:

1. Unawareness of the problem.

2. Denying that the problem exists and attempting to give solutions, which
are often times irrational. This is what leads to some of the typical com-
ments frequently heard in different parts of Spain. For example, “we don’t
usually have problems because they are accompanied by their children
or friends who help them,” “we understand each other with signs, draw-
ings…,” and “there are people who can lend a hand if necessary in the
center.”
3. Recognition (accepting the problem).
4. Analyzing and implementing solutions. This stage of action is often not
so difficult on paper, but poses more problems once it comes to actually
being implemented and usually takes longer than expected. Not only are
professionals needed to interpret and train, but also to teach their own
employees how to work with people from other cultures or with interpret-
ers (see Corsellis 2003: 71–90). There are public services that have been
able to utilize important resources with good results in terms of train-
ing as well as monitoring the results or providing multilingual services
(i.e., healthcare or court interpreting), while there has been less progress
in other services (educational or social services, etc.). Furthermore, big
differences can be observed between countries and even between areas
in the same country.
5. Progress at a local level through individual or private initiatives that over-
come great obstacles. Typically, enthusiastic individuals and dedicated
volunteers take the first step after recognizing that there is a problem
that needs to be solved.
6. Institutionalization at a national level. Social change takes place very
differently in different cultures. It can come about without having to
challenge the laws of the host country or after legislative changes are
passed, depending on the situation.
7. Local consistency within a national framework after completing a series of
general measures: codes of conduct, professional interpreting services, etc.
36 Chapter Two

Process B: Intermediaries (“The Linguists,” as Corsellis calls them

in this case)
1. Unawareness of the problem. Knowing the language and even having
worked as a translator or interpreter does not always mean that one is
familiar with or has been involved in working within public services
(hospitals, schools, police stations) on an informal basis, either by helping
out friends or working voluntarily. In addition, PSIT is not considered
a profession, but rather as occasional or even voluntary work in these
contexts. This outlook needs to be changed, even by language specialists
themselves, to be able to recognize that when working in public settings,
the same standards of excellence should be observed as in other settings
(trade, business, and courts).
2. Accepting the problem and answers. Language specialists immediately
acknowledge problems. But this is not always enough if they are not
qualified or are not fluent in the languages in which their services are
needed or if they are not used to working in a team or forming groups.
3. The process of professional regulation. This involves, as in any other
profession, people with a particular area of expertise who follow a pro-
fessional code of ethics for the protection of their clients, colleagues,
and body of knowledge. Public Service workers are governed by rules
and regulations. However, is this also the case for linguists or language
specialists? This phase has already begun in many countries and settings,
but it is a slow process which requires – and will continue to require –
patience until it is recognized, as have other professions.

Process C: Those who do not speak the language of the country or

public service
This process applies to individuals more than groups, given that each
person’s background is very different. What may be useful for one indi-
vidual is not necessarily useful for another belonging to the same group,
country or culture. Therefore, a process cannot be designed for a group,
but it must instead be designed to be adaptable based on a range of var-
iables and factors. These may have been present prior to migration (e.g.,
education, social conditions, work experience, family ties, etc.), appeared
during migration (e.g., planning, development, whether migration is or-
ganized, forced, etc.), or come up after migration (degree of post-migra-
tion trauma, overcoming cultural barriers, knowledge of the host country’s
language, etc.).
Corsellis concludes (2003: 89) that the best chance for success occurs only
when there is an optimal horizontal relationship between these three vertical
processes.
This position has not been reached by most of the countries, and from this
emerges the lack of professionalization. This has also lead to wide diversity and
 Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training… 37

to a great difference between countries when it comes to providing services,

training, and accreditation programs for translators and interpreters working in
or cooperating with public services. Different countries have developed different
programs to train translators and interpreters, some of which are national and
others which are locally based. Some organizations provide free multilingual
services, while others charge a fee. Some governments fund PSIT services while
others only indirectly support or almost completely disregard them. Some coun-
tries have already developed strategies to organize and provide such services to
the groups or individuals that need language assistance, while others are only
now starting to see the problem. In some countries, there is specialized university
training while in others education is limited to workshops, seminars, and courses
that vary in the number of training hours. This wide array of solutions being
offered demonstrates that there is still a lack of coordination and professionalism
and that there is a need for training.
Progress is being made sector by sector. The lead is currently being taken by
the legal system, mainly because there is relevant legislation. Thus the EU is seek-
ing to establish equivalent standards for legal translators and interpreters (LITs)
in all 27 member states. Directive 2010/64/EU3 of the European Parliament on
the right to interpreting and translation in criminal proceedings is a big step, as
well as the gradual emergence of joint projects that seek global solutions. There
have been several EU-funded projects focusing on LITs such as:

Aequitas. Recommended the equal and adequate standards required

(2001).
Aequalitas. Sought to disseminate those standards throughout the EU
(2003).
Aequilibrium. Looked at the necessary liaison working arrangements
between the language and legal professions (2005).
Status Quaestionis. Survey of developments in LIT in all member states
showed an uneven patchwork of provision (2008).
EULITA. European Legal Interpreters’ and Translators’ Association aims
to promote EU-wide standards and information exchange (2009).
Building Mutual Trust 1, 2. Selection of sample teaching and other ma-
terials for LITs and legal services, and their trainers (2011, 2013).
AVIDICUS 1, 2 and 3. Assessing the implications of video conference
interpreting (2011, 2013, 2015).
JUSTISIGNS, a ground-breaking initiative focusing on identifying compe-
tencies for sign language interpreting in legal settings and providing training
for both qualified and qualifying signed language interpreters in this domain
(2013–2016).
TraiLLD: Training in Languages of Lesser Diffusion focus on the different
aspects and methods of training for interpreters in languages of lesser dif-
fusion (2013–2015).
38 Chapter Two

Understanding Justice, a project orientated towards interpreting in the civil

justice domain (2013–2015).
Co-Minor-IN/QUEST (2013–2014), a project that focuses on vulnerable vic-
tims, suspects and witnesses under the age of 18 and how to provide the
necessary information, support and protection to this group (2013–2014).

This outlook, however, is rather different in other fields (healthcare,

education, welfare/social services) in which the services of translators and
interpreters in a wide range of languages are required.
Such a diverse scenario makes it difficult to maintain “unity in diversity,”
as indicated by Pöchhacker (2002: 125–140). However, a global overview of the
situation allows us to see some trends and developments in PSI.

3. Evolution in PSI training: An example

A review of the literature on PSIT shows that PSI has shifted from a largely
prescriptive approach to a much more complex, interactive matter. This almost
exclusive focus on issues that embody a monolithic view of language has been
abandoned. The interpreter is not simply seen as a “windowpane” or a “black
box” through which ideas simply pass unchanged (Angelelli 2004, 2008). There
is an increasing appreciation among scholars and practitioners based on the
fact that language, and thus the interpreter’s performance, forms part of a larger
institutional, cultural, social, and political framework that affects both micro-
and macro-linguistic aspects of the interpreter’s performance and the various
interlocutors’ utterances.
A close look at the development of PSI through the subjects that were picked
for international meetings and debates in conferences and seminars in Spain
during the 21st century may serve as an example to illustrate the actual situation
in some other countries.
During the last decade of the 20th century, Spain experienced an influx of
immigrants concentrating in limited spaces within a short time span. This has
led to the country turning into a laboratory of ideas offering different solutions
that give way to the start of the transformation of an otherwise homogeneous
and monolingual society, into a more multicultural and multilingual one.
This experience, and the manner in which the country has evolved, can be
compared with other countries within the European Union.
The first experience that the University of Alcalá had with PSIT was during
the 3rd International Conference on Translation held in 1997 – just two years
after the first Critical Link (1995). The Alcalá conference’s main theme was New
Trends in Translation Studies, and I delivered a paper titled “PSIT: What are you
talking about? A new specialization in Translation Studies” (Valero-Garcés 1997:
 Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training… 39

267–277). The 1st FITISPos conference took place in 2002, and was titled New
Needs for New Realities (Valero-Garcés 2002). This conference was held at the
same time as the arrival of a massive wave of immigrants in Spain with specif-
ic needs having to be met. The 2nd FITISPos conference, titled Translation as
Mediation or How to Bridge Linguistic and Cultural Gaps (Valero-Garcés 2005),
was held in 2005 at a moment of discussion between two forms of understand-
ing communication with the foreign population. The 3rd FITISPos Conference,
Challenges and Alliances in PSIT: Research and Practice (Valero-Garcés et al.
2008), was held in 2008 at a moment in time in which more effective and solid
cooperation among institutions was needed to facilitate integration and help
build the multicultural, multilingual society in which we live today. The 4th
FITISPos conference, Future in the Present: PSIT in www (Wild Wired World)
(Valero-Garcés et al. 2011), took place in 2011, a time in which the influence of
technology could no longer be ignored, and new means of communication were
emerging (e.g., remote interpreting, automatic translation, new CAT tools).
The 5th FITISPos conference, held in 2014, was titled (Re)visiting Ethics and
Ideology in Situations of Conflict (Valero Garcés 2014), and took place during
a moment of economic crisis, social tensions, and war conflicts, which are
currently being exposed in the media with the arrival of thousands of refugees
to EU countries. The 6th FITISPos conference titled Beyond Limits will be held
in 2017. Its main aim is to reflect on expanding the limits of translation and
interpreting and taking into consideration the need to overcome these limits
and assimilate fast advances.

4. Challenges and shifts in PSI training in the 21st century

Four aspects of paradigmatic challenges which have influenced the evolution

of PSI are:
1. The dynamic nature of language.
2. The ubiquity of culture.
3. The role of culture as a network of systems interacting with each other
institutionally and between the institution and the individual (on both vertical
and horizontal axes).
4. The role of the practitioner.
Using these four aspects as a starting point, Rudvin (2006a: 22–24) points
out some paradigm shifts that lead to certain epistemological developments:

1. A gradual abandoning of the classical rationalist’s absolute objectivity

within the framework of “grand theories” in exchange for a cultural-
ly relativistic approach in which all cultures have equal value. In other
words, instead of formulating complex theories, researchers today tend
40 Chapter Two

to examine local realities. What we see, therefore, is a shift from unitary

theories to multi-voiced representations.
2. A crisis of representation deriving from a more nuanced understanding
of the role of the researcher/observer/practitioner as no longer being
a detached, neutral observer, but rather a participating agent who is con-
stitutive of the very texts they are creating.
3. The tendency to celebrate differences with vibrant and fluid borrowings
of ideas across multiple disciplines.
4. Viewing the text as polyphonies of voices and text production as a dynamic,
dialogic affair in its broader context.
5. A change from language viewed as a monolithic nature to a set of ideolog-
ical tools and relationships. Research shows a trend toward valuing social,
pragmatic, dynamic and interrelated aspects of language as a cultural and
social system in a larger context rather than as a code accountable only
to itself and lost in space.
6. A change from ideologically-marked and prescriptive standard-setting
attitudes (i.e., the imperative use of British English in language teaching
worldwide) to an appreciation of variations in language use (e.g., Euro
English). This attitude has led to a more dynamic and critical approach
in which the contextual factors of society, culture, ideology, politics,
institutional frameworks, technology and the media impact languages
and place constraints upon language usage.
7. Finally, the increasing value and emphasis given to the more (diachroni-
cally and synchronically) dynamic and interrelated aspects of culture, and
recognition of the subjective and relativist nature of the phenomenon of
observing and describing culture(s).

These paradigm shifts in PSI have led to a much more realistic and com-
prehensive understanding of the complexities of communicative events within
a specific socio-cultural moment at an intersection of many different professions,
academic disciplines, and corporate and ethnic cultures.

5. Some recent trends and gaps in PSI training

How are these shifts reflected in training? The evolution in training offers and
curricula has given rise to a wide range of solutions:
• sessions of discussion, seminars, and workshops organized by NGOs, associ-
ations or institutions, and more academic courses, many of which have been
conducted in close cooperation between the universities and educational
entities with institutions, associations, and NGOs;
• incorporation of internships/traineeships, or workplace assignments in the
curricula;
• in-service training for practicing interpreters;
 Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training… 41

• the opportunity for students to customize their studies by choosing electives

from a pool of predefined modules according to their languages and profes-
sional interest;
• development of programs completely (or mostly) devoted to PSIT (e.g., Uni-
versity of Alcalá, Spain; London Metropolitan University, or Heriot Watt, UK);
• development of programs for potentially bilingual students with a migration
background or programs that intensify translational training only with foreign
(minority) languages.
All of these efforts represent, firstly, attempts to break the vicious circles
of low status, lack of training, low levels of professionalization, and a lack of
interpreting quality at an academic level by promoting and offering a wide range
of courses to students and (lay) practitioners and, secondly, they also represent
the steps needed to be taken toward professionalization.
Some significant signs of evolution are also present in some programs as
trainers are applying findings and input from anthropology, sociology, law, and
medicine to language studies and interactional communication. The MA in In-
tercultural Communication, Public Service Interpreting and Translation offered
at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, Spain is a prime example (Valero-Garcés
2013). The methodology used is part of a comprehensive and multidisciplinary
approach based on the implementation of a multilingual and multicultural model
that combines theory and practice from several angles such as:
1. Combination of traditional classroom teaching with new technologies and
online education.
2. Participation of leading practitioners and academics who speak different lan-
guages ​​and who are members of different cultures as well as representatives
from various institutions in discussions, presentations, and workshops in the
chosen language pair.
3. Active participation of students through the exchange of experiences related
to the translation and interpretation services in several fields.
4. Practice in the classroom with authentic texts and simulations based on real
experiences.
5. Discussions on codes of ethics and standards of good practice guides to
increase awareness of the fact that such codes are situated in a wider profes-
sional and institutional field which will inevitably impact interpreter ethics
and performance.
6. Internships in public and private institutions working with foreigners as an
introduction to the working world.
7. Introduction to research with the completion of a Master’s thesis or research
project.

One issue at stake that deserves some attention is the controversy involving
interpreting/mediation. In several European countries (such as Italy and Spain)
42 Chapter Two

(Rudvin 2006b; Rudvin and Tomassini 2011; Sales 2005), there is an open de-
bate between PSI and “intercultural mediation.” Both approaches are related to
“language mediation” and are confusingly similar but very different practices,
ranging from a neutral to a more active position. The practice may not be wrong
in itself, but it is a different position. What happened (and is still happening) in
these countries (Italy and Spain) seems to be the opposite of what has happened
in most other Western countries where the interpreting position and trained – or
untrained – interpreters have focused first on “interpreting accurately” and only
subsequently opened up to the need to include cross-cultural communication
modes in interpreting training, running parallel to an increased awareness of
the differences in cross-cultural communication models and how these affect
the interaction between the foreign language client in institutional discourse
situations (Rudvin 2003; Martin and Phelan 2009; Rudvin and Tomassini 2011).
Once far removed from technology, PSI now makes extensive use of certain
technological advances, both in training and practice. For example, remote
interpreting (telephone or videoconferencing) and specific joint ventures, as in the
creation of specific software or projects like Universal Doctor or AVIDECUS,
attempt to make even greater use of this technology due to the tendency of
administrations to save time and money.
However, as Viezzi pointed out in the international conference held at the
University of Alcalá in October 2015, under the specific theme of Training, Test-
ing and Accreditation in PSI, attention needs to be given to PSI for technology
and PSI through technology in the near future. We simply need to figure out
how to achieve a balance.
A lack of PSI education programs has also been focused on by D’Hayer
(2014). D’Hayer claims that a deeper understanding and application of peda-
gogical principles to PSI education is needed as a way for PSI to engage in an
open debate on its professionalization and as a step further from the current
training courses which mainly offer a skill-based approach and are summative
assessment-led, with little awareness of pedagogical principles.
Another trending topic is the need for training the actual trainers.
Methodologies for T&I teacher training has yet to be properly developed.
Training-the-trainer initiatives still tend to be low-level, short-term, and ad hoc
in nature, and they are mostly offered by non-academic providers (Rillof, Van
Van Praet and De Wilde 2014: 40).
The already mentioned conference on Training, Testing, and Accreditation in
PSIT, sponsored by the European Commission, is an example of the need for
continued cooperation between the main stakeholders and the representatives
of all parties. Representatives of EU Institutions, European Masters in Transla-
tion Network, European Language Council, CIUTI, European Network in Public
Service Interpreting and Translation, EULITA, and local representatives from the
governmental, educational bodies as well as associations defending translators
 Evolution, trends and gaps in public service interpreting training… 43

and interpreters’ rights (Red Vértice, AFIPTISP), all contribute to discussions

and exchanges of ideas and new projects that aim to help integrate a harmonized
set of programs, PSIT competency profiles, standards, training, testing, and
accreditation in PSIT (Valero-Garcés 2016).
In summary, training has gone from courses, seminars, and workshops
organized by a handful of enthusiastic volunteers, PSI practitioners, and trainers on
a local level, to more solid structures which still provide a few examples of best
practice. There is still a need for developing complete PSI education programs.

6. Some conclusions and future trends

The 21st century has been marked so far by globalization and technology. These
two circumstances affect all aspects and levels of our lives. In the field of Transla-
tion and Interpreting Studies and, within it, PSIT, a new “collaborative,” “co-pro-
ductive” paradigm is required, which aims at a future in which technology plays
an increasingly important role and in which the interpreter and translator are
increasingly empowered.
Currently, we are shifting toward increased professionalization and toward
a far more interactive and collaborative role not only as interpreters/translators,
but also as participants in communicative events thanks to the opportunities
offered by new technologies. PSI training has also shifted from a largely pre-
scriptive approach to a much more complex, interactive matter after accepting
the fact that language, and thus the interpreter’s performance, forms part of
a larger institutional, cultural, social, and political framework that affects both
micro- and macro-linguistic aspects of the interpreter’s performance and the
various interlocutors’ utterances.
The times in which each participant focused exclusively on one particular
task, rather than seeing that task in a more global perspective and taking respon-
sibility only for their own isolated “unit of activity,” are far gone. With globaliza-
tion, the process of professionalization is also linked to complex ideological and
social factors. The tendency is, or should be, a closer, more participatory and
collaborative one that links interpreters and institutions, and finds that common
ground and interface between interpreters’ services and ethics, and those of
the clients and service providers.
This could also help bridge the current gap between the various parties and
professions in the exchange. Discourse-based methodologies as well as the diver-
sities in disciplinary approaches taken by the researchers and trainers – although
fragmentary and insufficient – are extremely rewarding and very promising for
the future, in both research and training.
This has allowed for progress to be made in PSI training, allowing it to
shift toward a more active methodological style. At the same time, this training
44 Chapter Two

has shifted from being a topic of discussion within an academic environment

(Critical Link 1995), to becoming a topic of discussion and action within actual
conference halls.

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 Chapter Three

Stress, interpersonal communication

and assertiveness training
in public service interpreting

Carmen Toledano Buendía and Laura Aguilera Ávila

The learning/training required to become a professional interpreter must involve raising aware-
ness and understanding of a set of specific competencies that go beyond just cognitive skills, that
is, technical skills or knowledge of the subject. The acquisition and development of behavioural
competencies are also needed to manage the different factors that induce stress, as and when
they arise.
In this chapter we focus on interpersonal communication as a fundamental competency with-
in the profession of public service interpreting (PSI). More specifically, we focus on the assertive-
ness training as a basic tool to improve the interpersonal communication skills of interpreters and
to assist them in overcoming the various stress factors that can and do appear in the professional
practice of PSI. Firstly, we begin by analysing the factors that may trigger stress for interpreters
during interpersonal interactions in PSI. Secondly, we describe an introductory pilot course for
public service interpreters aimed at delivering assertiveness training.
Keywords: public service interpreters, stress factors, interpersonal competence, assertiveness

1. Introduction

In recent years it has been possible to observe a growing interest in research

that deals with the issue of work-related stress and its adverse effects on pro-
fessionals. This has led to studies that discuss self-care and people’s emotional
well-being as factors that could be linked to preventing and treating occupa-
tional burnout. For this reason, it is apparent that the learning required to be-
come a professional must involve raising awareness and understanding of a set
of specific competencies that go beyond just cognitive skills, that is, technical
skills or knowledge of the subject. The learning and training processes must
 Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness training… 49

also include, to a greater or lesser extent, the acquisition and development of

the competencies that are needed to manage the different factors that induce
stress, as and when they arise.
In interpreting particularly, training aimed at creating qualified professional
interpreters involves acquiring a series of specific competencies that have been
widely accepted as objectives in interpreter training courses. These objectives
include an excellent command of the languages used in intercultural and
inter-linguistic communication; knowledge of the sociocultural context associated
with the working languages; specialist knowledge of the different topic areas;
an excellent command of interpreting and translation techniques; and a profound
understanding of the code of the professional ethics governing this occupation
(Pöchhacker 2004: 179; Sawyer 2004: 53–60).
These competencies, however, should be developed hand-in-hand with other
competencies that will ensure that any practicing professional can perform his
or her duties without jeopardizing their well-being, whilst also assisting them
with emotional management and self-care.
When referring to behavioural competencies, we are speaking of a body of
knowledge, a set of skills, and behaviours and provisions that a person possesses
that enable this individual to perform an activity successfully (González Maura
2002: 50). These relate directly to “knowing how to behave” or “knowing how
to act” in any given situation. For this reason they are extremely useful compe-
tencies in terms of an interpreter’s professional development and performance.
Behavioural competencies are manifestations of our emotional health and our
ability to interact with others. They help us to carry out the things we have to
do more easily with less conflicts and frustrations. Not only do they increase our
productivity, but they also bring us greater happiness when it comes to personal
and professional activities by producing a more stable psychological state, which
results in better professional performance. Some examples of these competencies
include: professional responsibility, empathy, self-control, self-awareness, stress
management, adaptability and acceptance of diversity, interpersonal communi-
cation, etc.
In this chapter we focus on interpersonal communication as a funda-
mental competency within the profession of public service interpreting (PSI).
More specifically, we focus on the assertiveness training as a basic tool to im-
prove the interpersonal communication skills of interpreters and to assist them in
overcoming the various stress factors that can and do appear in the professional
practice of PSI.
Firstly, we begin by analysing the factors that may trigger stress for inter-
preters during interpersonal interactions in PSI. Secondly, we describe a pilot
course for public service interpreters aimed at delivering assertiveness training.
This is an essential tool within their interpersonal competencies skill set as it
can serve to alleviate the stress factor listed above.
50 Chapter Three

2. Some stress factors in PSI

There is a general consensus that the task of interpreting involves high levels of
stress. Several studies have confirmed the involvement of different factors that
cause stress in an interpreting task (Cooper et al. 2009; Kurz 2003; Valero-Garcés
2006).
In conference interpreting, research carried out into the stress experienced
by interpreters has focused on analysing the effects of different types of factors
(environmental, psychological and physiological factors) on interpreters’ actions,
reactions, and professional performance. Examples of these factors include: phys-
ical conditions inside the interpreting booth, that is, the dimensions, lighting,
and temperature (Kurz 1981; Kurz and Kolmer 1984); the relationship between
fatigue and performance; the physiological effects of concentration and stress
(Moser-Mercer et al. 1998); the ability to handle stress and observable differ-
ences based on levels of expertise (novice vs. expert) (Kurz 2003); the effect of
different types of media channels on performance (remote interpreting vs. on-site
face-to-face interpreting) (Ricardi et al. 1998), etc. In the field of public service
interpreting, research has mainly been dedicated to the study of the emotional
and psychological impact of working as a PSI interpreter in specific contexts
such as the healthcare setting (Ruiz Mezcua 2010), mental health settings (An-
derson 2011), or settings and contexts dealing with torture, sexual abuse, or other
violence (Harvey 2001).
By way of definition, a person is considered to be in a stressful situation
when he or she feels threatened or overwhelmed by his or her own lack of re-
sources. Normally, the elements that trigger stress are connected to unexpected
changes or unreasonable demands, and thus it is these changes or demands that
lead to overexertion.
A distinctive feature of PSI is the interpersonal dimension; there is a signif-
icant amount of multidirectional interaction between the participants involved
in the communicative act within institutional settings involving “interpreter-me-
diated communication in spontaneous face-to-face interaction” and

[…] whereas situational descriptions can account for a number of important

factors, it is the interpersonal dimension which, we submit, is the primer
determiner of the range of concerns which dialogue interpreters experience
in their day-to-day work. (Mason 1999: 147–148)

Interpersonal relationships can be an important source of stress for an

interpreter, either because they are unpredictable, threatening, complicated,
or because they cause intense emotional reactions. The attitude and self-per-
ception of the interpreter is fundamental to the success of their interactions
with users and professionals from other fields involved and their performance
 Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness training… 51

within the specific institutional framework. It also plays a crucial role for in-
terpreter’s coordinating function, to handle the conversation, organizing turns
of talk, for instance.
Gil-Monte and Moreno-Jiménez (2007) indicate three groups of variables
that will create stress in the workplace: social variables, organizational variables,
and personal variables. Within these groups it is possible to identify some fac-
tors that specifically can affect interpersonal communication and trigger stress
in PSI interpreters.

2.1 Social variables

This group of variables refers to the social identity the profession holds in society,
how it is perceived and how well recognized it is (both by fellow interpreters
and society in general).
Unlike conference interpreting, which carries prestige, a well-established
professional identity, along with homogenised professional development pro-
grammes and training courses virtually worldwide, the social identify of PSI is
much more difficult to pin down in such a manner. The social identity of PSI is
hazy at best as perceptions about this profession vary greatly, not just between
different geographic areas, but also between different areas of occupational prac-
tice and the contexts in which interventions take place.
In Spain, as in many other countries, awareness of PSI is fairly limited and,
unfortunately, there is still a lack of solid and well-founded professional identity
(Roberts 2002). Generally speaking, at this point in time we can confirm that it
carries little social prestige, contains more female practitioners than male ones,
has a markedly lower salary band than CI, and very often there is either little
or no formal academic training available (Pöchhacker 2007: 173–174).
There also seems to be a general lack of understanding about the complex-
ity of the interpreting process, and the need for specialist training that goes
beyond just providing an understanding of languages and specific terminology.
Technically speaking, liaison interpreting does not appear to be as complex as
other interpreting modes, lacking the more visible and striking skills of listening
and speaking at the same time of the simultaneous interpreting, or the mastering
of consecutive note-taking techniques; however, it has its own technical com-
plexities that should not be overlooked.
Furthermore, in many public-service contexts the task of interpreting has
been performed by untrained bilingual individuals and has been associated with
people offering their services voluntarily. This positioning of PSI on the margins
of productive structure and the economy has made it difficult for the profession
to take hold and to gain professional recognition and prestige. In their work
on legal interpreting, Hertog et al. identify “the reluctance of governments and
52 Chapter Three

people in almost every country to address the practical needs of those who do
not speak their language” (2007: 153).
Lastly, this lack of professional identity is also affected by the fact that PSI
standards and practices are institution-led, rather than profession-led (Ozolins
2010). This will create significantly different expectations about the way inter-
preters are supposed to perform their duties and interact with the other parties
as well as their function and role, both of which place PSI interpreters in a sub-
ordinate position to the other professionals they have to engage with. However,
we need to be able to establish a professional identity that goes beyond its mere
functions and is based on a social concept of this profession.
This lack of social recognition can exacerbate feelings of low self-esteem and
make the PSI interpreter lose faith in either himself/herself or their skills as an
interpreter that can affect interpreters’ interpersonal communication.

2.2 Organizational variables

Another group of variables that appear as stress factors in PSI that can also
influence interpersonal interactions are those that derive from the institution in
which the interpreter is providing his or her services. PSI takes place in different
public services, such as hospitals, courts, social service offices, schools, etc., that
may vary greatly in terms of work organization as well as in their established
interpersonal relationships.
Many of these contexts are very hierarchical organizations in which the
interpersonal relations are very protocolarized, for example, courts; or they
are male-dominated environments, such as police stations, whereas other work
environments may be much more relaxed or informal, such as social services.
Work settings such as the healthcare system, the judicial system or the police
can be perceived as a stressful environment by users, leading to unsatisfactory
communication as a result of communication that is of poor quality, hurried,
and/or impersonal, even in monolingual exchanges. These have an influence
on interpersonal communication as well as on the power dynamics that are
established in the interactions among professionals and users and among them
and with the interpreter.
The system through which linguistic services are provided – that are at times
regulated or improvised to greater or lesser extents – can also have an impact
on the interpersonal relationships that are established between the participants
and the interpreter. This will determine, for instance, the interpreter’s working
conditions (freelance, on a voluntary basis, a member of staff, a provider of
remote telephone assistance), the degree of other professionals familiarization
with the work of interpreters and the degree of collaboration and coopera-
tion that is perceived during the encounter, or the interpreter’s need to defend
 Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness training… 53

his/her professional skills in front of other collectives involved in the encounter

and justify norms of professional conduct that are unknown by most users.
Finally, interaction with the users of public services can also generate
interpersonal communication events that produce stress in interpreters, includ-
ing: different expectations regarding the role of the interpreter; requests that
go against the code of professional ethics; or participation in events that cause
emotional strain.

2.3 Personal factors

In addition to the two aforementioned groups of external stress factors, Gil Mon-
te and Moreno-Jiménez (2007: 35) point to a third set of variables pertaining to
internal stress factors, which are unique to each and every individual and include
things such as: an individual’s degree of self-control, age, gender, experience,
expectations about the job in question, or the possession of strategies that can
be used to overcome difficulties as they arise. This particular group of factors
is the one over which the interpreter has the most control as they depend on
the individual’s own approach to matters and the decisions that they decide to
take. As such, if an interpreter is aware of the particular personal factors that
may trigger stress and is alert to these, then they possess the key to being able
to minimise or prevent stress.
Cognitive factors such as self-awareness, a sense of being competent, or
possessing the ability to handle problems are all central to stress management.
The greater the confidence they have in their own work, knowing the difficulties
they are likely to face, being able to count on the support of those around them,
or possessing a solid set of skills all decrease the likelihood that the interpreter
feels overwhelmed by the stress that they may experience in work context.
These competences are those that enable PSI interpreters to work more
efficiently and healthily, thus benefitting both the interpreter and those who are
around them. The correct acquisition of the said competences will enable them
to put their psychophysiological capacities to full use and reap their full benefits
(e.g., attention span, concentration, memory, and the capacity for analysis and
reformulation), thus allowing the interpreter to master the technical and cogni-
tive components of the interpreting process.

3. Interpersonal communication and assertiveness training

Interpersonal competence is the ability to select a particular type of communica-

tion, the one that is the most effective for a given situation. Possessing this com-
petence empowers an individual to achieve the goals of the communication act
54 Chapter Three

in a manner that is best suited to all parties involved and results in improved
communication skills. In general terms, this competency, in the case of PSI, refers
to the individual’s ability to work professionally in a team and interact with the
different parties involved in the interpreting process as part of their professional
activities. The interpersonal dimension acquires special relevance in PSI given
that it is carried out in a participatory framework that involves relationships and
interactions with others because the interpreter is a very visible element in the
communicative acts between different agents. Personal interactions with others
can be a source of great stress for the interpreter.
Assertiveness training helps interpreters to handle the pressure placed on
them and to reduce stress levels by teaching them how to defend their legitimate
rights without undermining the rights of others.
A classic definition of assertiveness is that it is the self-assured and confident
way in which we communicate with others when defending our rights, without
undermining the rights of others (Caballo 1983; Castanyer 1996). According to
Lazarus (1973) assertiveness training involves developing the following skills
and abilities:
• Being able to express both positive and negative emotions efficiently without
ignoring or denying those of others, and without creating or experiencing
feeling of embarrassment.
• Being able to distinguish between assertive behaviour, aggression, and passive
behaviour.
• Being able to recognise when one’s personal behaviour is appropriate and im-
portant.
• Being able to defend one’s self against any uncooperative or unreasonable be-
haviour by others without resorting to aggressive or passive behaviour.
Within the framework of this chapter, assertiveness is viewed as a necessary
tool for the interpreter when it comes to his/her interactions with other partic-
ipants in the communicative act. It is important for dealings with professionals
so that the interpreter can clearly and concisely explain their role and the way
that they will work. In the end, it is a way to protect their professionalism, to
protect their “face.” On the other hand, it is important in dealings with users
in order to mark the boundaries of an interpreter’s responsibilities and to gain
enough trust so that the interpreter is seen as a professional figure, thus avoid-
ing any desire on the part of the user to form more personal bonds as a result
of shared characteristics. Furthermore, when an assertive style is used, not only
is it easier to reach the desired goal and defend our rights without jeopardiz-
ing the rights of others, it is also more likely to bring about a greater sense of
self-esteem and self-confidence, which improves overall mental health (Peneva
and Mavrodiev 2013: 6).
Below is a description of a pilot course that was delivered to 5 public service
interpreters. The course was split over 6 sessions and the structure was guided
 Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness training… 55

by the theoretical works of authors such as Caballo (2002) or Castanyer (1996),

who describe the general steps that need to be taken on board during a stand-
ard assertiveness training course to ensure that this competence is appropriately
developed and available to use when necessary.
The first stage of the course involves identifying the communication style that
is most often employed. Interpersonal relations on occasion can generate con-
flicts based on differences of opinion. When conflicts arise, people tend to react
differently. Generally speaking, there are three possible ways in which we can
react to conflict that form the three categories of interpersonal communication:
1. Aggressive style: The individual adopts an aggressive attitude towards others
and does not take into account their points of view or feelings. It is common
to hear sentences that are very direct, a heavy use of the imperative, sentences
containing demands, and in some cases, offensive comments. Examples of
this style are: “I did not tell you to sit there”; “You cannot take notes”; “But
are you listening to me?”
2. Passive style: The individual does not defend their own interests, or they su-
press their own needs and emotions during a conversation. The sentences they
use show submission, passivity, vulnerability, etc., giving them the appearance
of being a fearful, feeble person. This impression is backed up by their body
language, which does not inspire confidence. Examples include: “Excuse me,
I’m sorry, but I’m not sure exactly what it is you want me to do…”; “I won’t
do it again”; “Ok. Sorry.”
3. Assertive style: The individual defends their own interests, expresses their
opinions or needs, etc. whilst not allowing others to take advantage of them.
The sentences they use are direct, thus expressing their needs with neither
attacks nor demands. The body language is correct and well adjusted to the
verbal communication message, it is also relaxed and friendly, but without
appearing overconfident. Examples of this style are: “To help the conversation
run more smoothly would you mind looking at and talking directly to the
detainee.”; “I apologise, but I cannot do what you are asking because it would
be a breach of confidentiality.”
It is very important to pay attention to the choice of words, volume, into-
nation, tone, facial expressions, and body language that accompanies each of
these styles as far as they become an important part in effective communica-
tion. Students are asked to reflect on cultural differences that affect displays of
assertiveness. There is a strong underlying cultural component to assertiveness;
in fact, in some cultural contexts assertiveness can be confused with aggression
(Flores, Díaz-Loving, and Rivera 1987). Socially established gender roles can also
influence people’s perspectives of this quality, and assertiveness can be perceived
as more appropriate for men than women under some circumstances (Hall and
Canterberry 2011).
56 Chapter Three

The second phase of the course is devoted to identifying the situations in

which someone would like to improve their communicative style or increase
their assertiveness, which involves a phase of self-observation. It is believed that
this style should be used more frequently during contact with clients (users).
For example, when the said professional agent interferes with the PSI interpreter’s
method of working and they have felt powerless to contradict the said profes-
sional; when the victim asks the interpreter not to share all the information
they hear and the PSI interpreter wants to say no; when the PSI interpreter
needs to request clarification regarding the interpreting contract and the related
documentation prior to commencing work but it is not forthcoming; when the
PSI interpreter wants to claim any legitimate work-related rights, for example,
pay rises, waiting time payments, etc.; when trying to defend confidentiality;
when trying to manage the conversation or meeting; when requesting where to
sit in order to see and hear proceedings correctly; when the use of a notepad
is forbidden; etc.
The next stage of the course involves establishing training involving scripts
in order to achieve the desired changes in our communication with other people
who are involved in the interpreter-mediated encounters, whether they are the
users or the professional agents. Students should consider the following elements:
1. Expression and voicing your needs, be they the rights that you want to be
respected, whatever they may be; what you need or want in a given situation;
and what your feelings are regarding the situation.
2. Identifying the time and place you are prepared to discuss the problem.
Depending on the case, this may be prior to a session in order to predict
and prevent any undesirable circumstances from arising, or it may be during
or after the session.
3. Using assertive responses, like the following (Caballo 2002: 227):
• Basic Assertive Response: Plain speaking and simple requests expressing your
own interests and rights. These types of sentences can be used during interrup-
tions, when people meddle in our work, or in the face or discrediting remarks,
etc. For example, in an interaction with professional agents: “I would like to
ask you to speak more slowly so that I can interpret everything and not miss
any information”; “It is my obligation to transmit all of the information that
you give me. This is the best way to assist this person. If there is something
you do not want them to know, please do not share that information with me.”
• Positive Assertiveness: This consists of reaffirming value other people hold for
you and the help received from them. For example, with regards to collabora-
tion with other people: “Thank you so much for giving me those documents
beforehand. They really helped me prepare for the job.”
• Adapted Assertive Response (or Scaled-up Assertiveness): This involves a grad-
ual increase in the firmness of our assertive response (although more than
being a response it is a pattern of behaviour). For example: “I would appreciate
 Stress, interpersonal communication and assertiveness training… 57

it if you spoke more slowly”; “I beg of you that you go more slowly, please;
“Please, more slowly…”
• Subjective Assertiveness (or I-messages): Adapting the definition of feelings
to messages referred to as “I-messages”; in other words, instead of using
accusatory statements or blaming the other party, these types of messages relate
the feeling to the behaviour it causes. The steps involve: a) describing, without
blame, the behaviour of the other person; b) an objective description of the
effects of said behaviour; c) a description of one’s own feelings; d) and finally,
verbalising what is needed from the other person. For example: “When I am
interrupted, I lose my train of thought which affects the interpretation. Could
you let me finish and make any comments you feel necessary once I finish?”;
“If I am not given any information on the case I cannot prepare properly.
This makes me feel as though I am the only person who knows nothing about
the case. As a professional interpreter, I am obliged to keep all information
confidential, so any documents you give me will be for my own personal use
and kept strictly confidential.”
Finally, the last stage of training focuses on body language. In assertive
communication, knowing how to correctly use body language is essential and
therefore discussed in detail during assertiveness training. Aspects such as pos-
ture – leaning slightly forwards, sitting upright, being too stiff or appearing
relaxed; gaze – staring, frowning, having a glazed look in your eyes, avoiding
eye contact; hand gestures – hand-wringing, using gestures; etc., that need to be
in tune with that is being said and how it is being said. The students are shown
the effects of different types of eye contact on others, and when it is necessary;
how to use gestures to manage the session, for example, using the hand to in-
dicate who should speak/stop speaking; different ways to use our tone of voice,
for example, to reaffirm our body language, to be assertive, or to back up what
is being said, etc.
Following a session in which these techniques are demonstrated, assertive-
ness training should be introduced into the interpreting classes as a part of the
role-play exercises students undertake in their training.
By integrating assertiveness training into the classroom in this way it is
possible to build the necessary transversal competencies at the same time as
other competencies throughout the course, such as reflective practice (Sawyer
2004: 77–79).

4. Final remarks
However, we must not forget that assertiveness, in being considered behaviour,
is not an easy concept to define. There are even authors who prefer not to speak
about assertiveness as a specific type of behaviour, but who prefer to integrate it
58 Chapter Three

as a part of other social competencies (Caballo 1983: 52). Cultural factors will
also affect its definition, as not all conduct is perceived in the same manner by
all cultures. In any given context, certain behaviours or conduct may be viewed
as more assertive in some cultures, and less in others. In other words, it is
a fluid concept affected by cultural norms.
For this reason, we must not overlook the pragmatic value of spoken lan-
guage and body language, nor should we overlook the communication barriers
imposed by differences between the languages themselves. Knowing and under-
standing these different forms of conduct within the framework of personal and
professional relationships helps to lay the foundations on which to practice our
profession whilst respecting the work of others and whilst ensuring our profes-
sion is respected, and ensuring we know what to do in any given moment. The
sense of self-affirmation and an improved sense of self-esteem that are induced
by practicing assertiveness also bring benefits to the interpreter’s professional
activities by presenting the interpreter as a more competent professional to both
users and other professionals. Likewise, it is important to remember the pos-
itive stress-reducing effects of assertiveness. According to the aforementioned
classification system, assertive behaviour proves to be a more effective tool for
controlling the personal factors that may cause stress or unease, such as a lack of
self-efficacy or negativity. However, it also has an impact on social factors to the
extent that the more the profession of the interpreter is recognized and respect-
ed, the less the uncertainties will exist between users and other professionals,
thus reducing the conflicts and ambiguities that surround this professional role.
Ultimately, the use of this social competency improves our work and the
perception that others hold regarding our profession whilst being easy to acquire
and develop.

References
Anderson, Arlyn. 2011. “Peer Support and Consultation Project for Interpreters: A Model
for Supporting the Well-Being of Interpreters who Practice in Mental Health Set-
tings.” Journal of Interpretation 12(1): 1–12.
Caballo, Vicente. 1983. “Asertividad: definiciones y dimensiones.” Estudios de psicología
13: 52–62.
Caballo, Vicente. 2002. Manual de evaluación y entrenamiento de las habilidades sociales.
Madrid: Siglo XXI de España.
Cooper, Cary, Rachel Davies, and Rosalie Tung. 2009. “Interpreting stress: Sources of
job stress among conference interpreters.” Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage
Communication 1(2): 97–108.
Flores, Galaz, Rolando Díaz-Loving, and Susana Rivera. 1987. “MERA: Una Medida
de rasgos asertivos para la cultura mexicana.” Revista Mexicana de Psicología 4(1):
29–35.
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trabajo (burnout): grupos profesionales de riesgo. Madrid: Pirámide.
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ison of Experts and Novices.” The Interpreters’ Newsletter 12: 51–67.
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697–699.
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in interpreting: Effects on quality, physiological and psychological stress (Pilot
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.org/issue14/art_ozolins.php (accessed 20.04.2016).
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Psychological Thought 6(1).
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 Chapter Four

Three perspectives on interpreters

and stress:
The experts, the novices, and the trainees

Heather Adams and Ligia Rosales-Domínguez

That interpreting causes stress is hardly a new idea. Our intention in the present chapter, in the
context of literature that looks at stress in foreign language learners and interpreting students,
is to look at factors that induce stress in interpreters at different stages of their professional
careers and/or training. Hence, we carried out a small-scale study in which we posed a number
of questions in this field to expert conference interpreters (with eight or more years’ professional
experience as such), “novice” interpreters (with less experience in simultaneous or consecutive
interpreting but with a certain level of experience in liaison interpreting), and final-year students
of a translation and interpreting degree, who had successfully completed at least one year of
interpreting studies. The results obtained give an idea of the main stress-inducers in each group,
and can be particularly useful for curricular design and teaching practice at different stages of
competence development.

Keywords: interpreting, stress factors, experts, novices, trainees

1. Introduction

The very nature of interpreting, which always entails a wide range of commu-
nicative variables, and often presents a number of unforeseen elements that the
interpreter has to adjust to in situ, means that practitioners will always experience
some degree of stress.

At the beginning of a conference even the most experienced, efficient

and skilled interpreter will feel a certain amount of tension, because he
is aware that there may be some unknown elements he will have to cope
with: new concepts or technical words, a difficult accent or pronunciation,
 Three perspectives on interpreters and stress… 61
technical defects, somebody not talking into the microphone, an unsched-
uled paper read at impossible speed.
(Riccardi, Marinuzzi, and Zecchin 1998: 97)

According to Kurz (2003: 51), conference interpreters work under conditions

generally considered by psychologists to be stressful, such as the constant flow of
information, time pressure, the high level of concentration required, fatigue and
the insuffcient space inside the booth. In a study carried out at the University of
Vienna, she analysed both physiological factors, such as pulse rate and levels of skin
conductance response during a simultaneous interpretation, and the different ways
in which both experienced and trainee interpreters dealt with stress.
The said study concluded that the highest levels of stress are produced
when the nature of the work makes demands on interpreters that are over
and above their capacity, needs, or means available. At the same time, indi-
vidual or situation-related factors may increase or alleviate stress: what may be
stressful for one interpreter need not necessarily be so, or to the same extent,
for a colleague.
AIIC has also addressed the reality of stress in the booth. A survey carried
out in 1981–1982 among 1,400 of its members worldwide sought to clarify sev-
eral issues, including work-related stress and how such stress manifested itself
and concluded that
conference interpreters are under a considerable amount of pressure in their
job and there are a number of areas of concern […] work could be organ-
ised to take many of them into account, although some are less amenable
to change.
(Cooper et al. 1982: 104, qtd. in Riccardi, Marinuzzi, and Zecchin 1998: 98)

Further work on the stress and exhaustion of AIIC interpreters was com-
piled by Makintosh in a study in 2001, based on four parameters: psychological,
physiological, physical, and performance factors, as well as interaction between
them. Psychological factors were studied by means of a questionnaire sent out to
a representative sample of self-employed and staff AIIC members, while physio-
logical and physical parameters were measured by means of clinical tests, while
performance was judged on six two-minute segments of interpreting recorded
at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of a day’s work.
The study’s findings revealed that three main categories contribute to stress:
environmental aspects (such as heat and noise), mental aspects (tasks requiring
a high level of attention, decision making, etc.) and stress-inducers derived
from interaction with colleagues, bosses, underlings and others. Drawing on
the literature on interpreting, the study mentions some stress-inducing factors
directly related to interpreters’ work such as characteristics of the original speech
(intonation, accent, speed, gesticulation, etc), extent of preparation for the specific
speech/event, spontaneous speeches vs. those that are read aloud, how long the
62 Chapter Four

working turn lasts and whether or not the interpreter can see the speaker and/or
the audience, particularly in video conferences. This survey found that low levels
of stress aid memory and ensure the interpreter’s concentration does not wan-
der, but that an excessive level of stress can trigger exhaustion and, in extreme
cases, emotional anguish or health problems. The exhaustion of a simultaneous
interpreter is due to the mental overload that can lead to a lack of attention or
having to stop working. Lack of recognition by clients of interpreters’ work may
also lead to a loss of motivation.
The findings of this questionnaire reveal the factors that caused the inter-
preters the most stress, the following were mentioned (by the percentage of re-
spondents given in brackets): delivery speed of the original speech (78%), the fact
of a speech being read aloud (71%), frequent changes of subject-matter (64%)
and lack of appropriate documentation to prepare for a speech/an event (60%).
When asked for their perception of stress-inducing factors, the following were
given (highest to lowest): delivery speed, a speech read out aloud, poor technical
equipment, difficult accents, uncomfortable booth conditions, not having a good
view of the speaker, lack of documentation prior to the event, the complexity
of the text (speech), short preparation time, lack of discipline on the part of
speakers (interruptions) and uncomfortable chairs.
In response to an open question on other factors causing stress, 20% men-
tioned travelling, 16% long periods of extreme levels of concentration and 13%
requests to carry out additional work, such as longer hours or related trans-
lation work. Self-employed interpreters mentioned poor booth conditions,
frequent travelling and having to interpret into their B language more frequently
than staffers.
Interpreters’ exhaustion levels were also compared with those of other pro-
fessionals such as teachers, hi-tech workers, and Israeli army officers, taking into
account such factors as: the level of mental and physical fatigue, cognitive fatigue
and mental stress, with the results showing interpreters scored the highest of the
four groups in all three parameters.
The questionnaire also included questions relating to the turns covered dur-
ing a working day. As many as 39% replied that they covered two or three turns,
20%, four turns; 19%, five and 22%, six or more. 69% reported turns lasting 30
minutes, 6%, between 32 and 45 and 23%, over 25 minutes. Another interesting
point is that 81% said they received documentation prior to the event in order
to prepare, while 42% received material relating to one or some of the speeches
to be interpreted. Around half of the respondents stated that they did not re-
ceive documentation sufficiently in advance to be able to prepare speeches for
interpretation.
Factors that affected their willingness to carry out a job included booth
partners (a strongly positive factor for 94%), the subject-matter of the speech
(63%), doing a good job (63%), and personal interest in the subject-matter (37%).
 Three perspectives on interpreters and stress… 63

One last point of interest here is that around half of the respondents con-
sidered stress to be a useful, positive aspect associated with their work, while
30% considered it to be detrimental.

2. Our study

In the light of the data presented in this AIIC survey, we decided to un-
dertake a study to determine stress-inducing factors affecting both (local)
professional and trainee interpreters in the Canary Islands. Questionnaires
were drawn up including questions relating to the original speech (delivery
speed, poor enunciation, lack of documentation prior to the event and lack
of preparation time). Likewise, three different groups were established in this
case: professionals with over eight years’ experience (each) as freelance simul-
taneous interpreters (Group 1), experienced liaison interpreters with limited
experience of simultaneous interpreting, who had signed up for an intensive
booster course in simultaneous interpreting offered at the University of Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria and thus were clearly interested in acquiring further
experience in this field (Group 2), and undergraduate interpreting students at
the ULPGC (Group 3). Our intention was to compare the data obtained from
each group, the results of which we expected to differ, given the considerable
differences in interpreting experience. Groups 1 and 2 comprised 5 subjects
each, while Group 3 was made up of 15 students of the final (fourth) year
from the English-French Translation and Interpreting degree7 who, in addition
to the compulsory English-Spanish interpreting courses, had also signed up
for the electives Consecutive and Liaison Interpreting C French and Simulta-
neous Interpreting C French courses, each worth three ECTS credits, thereby
demonstrating their interest in furthering their training in and knowledge of
these interpreting techniques in their “C language” (L3). All the questionnaires
were filled in on an anonymous, voluntary basis, once the subjects had been
duly informed as to the purpose of the survey.
Although Groups 1 and 2 differ in terms of their amount of experience in
simultaneous interpreting, they are all T&I professionals, whereas Group 3 have
yet to embark on their careers. We therefore devised two questionnaires, one for
Groups 1 and 2 and the other adapted to the trainees’ situation.
Both questionnaires were made up of eight questions each; however, the
initial questions, covering the characteristics of the subjects participating, varied
from model to model, in line with the profiles of the participants. Thus, Groups
1 and 2 were asked not only to give their age and sex, but also number of years

7
In this degree course, Spanish is the mother tongue (L1), English the B language (L2), and
French, the C language (L3).
64 Chapter Four

working as a professional interpreter and the modality of interpreting they prac-

tice, while Group 3 (the students) had to respond to the questions regarding age
and gender, whether they were a home or exchange student. In the former case
(home students), information was sought as to previous interpreting subjects
studied and the number of hours per week of classes for both simultaneous
and consecutive modalities, while Erasmus students were asked to indicate their
mother tongue, the language combination that the above-mentioned elective
subjects constituted for them (A→B, A→C) as well as the number of hours of
interpreting training they had received previously in both consecutive and
simultaneous modes. The subsequent questions included in the two questionnaire
models are presented in Table 1:

Table 1. Questionnaires used in our study

Question Questionnaire model (questions 1 and 9 are common for/shared by all three groups)
number Groups 1 and 2 Group 3
1 List in order of priority the most important requisites for an interpreter. Specify,
where appropriate, differences for simultaneous and consecutive modes:
1. Absolute command of both working languages.
2. Solid academic training as an interpreter.
3. Command of the technical equipment.
4. Good documentation on the subject matter before the event.
5. Good stress control during the interpreted event.
6. Coherent production of the target speech.
2 List in order of priority the factors that Which modality of interpreting (simul-
cause you the most stress when interpret- taneous or consecutive) do you find
ing. Specify, where appropriate, differences stressful.
for simultaneous and consecutive modes: Open-ended question requesting a brief
1. Not having access to speeches or justification of their answer.
documentation before the interpre-
tation.
2. Lack of familiarity with the sub-
ject-matter of the speech.
3. Level of specialization of speech.
4. How dense the information is.
5. Speaker’s reputation.
6. Poor speaker enunciation.
7. Fast rate of speech delivery.
8. Bad mood caused either by some-
thing related to the event or other
reasons.
9. Poor sound quality.
10. Working with a new booth partner
for the first time.
11. Previous negative experiences with
the client (specify organizational
and/ or payment issues).
 Three perspectives on interpreters and stress…
3 Indicate how stressful you find not hav-
ing material/speeches to prepare in ad-
vance of an event, on the following scale:
• I turn the job down.
• I find it very stressful.
• It’s stressful but not overly so.
• I’m used to it, so I don’t find if very
stressful.
• It does not worry me.
4 Number in order of priority the factors
that motivate you regarding an inter-
preting assignment in both simultane-
ous and consecutive modes:
• Whether you know the client.
• Whether the client is used to working
with interpreters or not.
• Whether the client provides speeches
and documentation.
• Whether the client pays on time.
• Whether you know your boot partner.
• Whether you can choose your booth
partner.
5 Preferred time slot:
• from 8:00 to 13:00,
• from 12:00 to 16:00,
• from 15:00 to 18:00,
• from 19:00 to 22:00.
6 What is the longest period of time that
you can interpret alone, both in consec-
utive and simultaneous modes.
What do you think the maximum peri-
od should be?
65
List in order of priority the factors that
cause you the most stress when inter-
preting. Specify, where appropriate, dif-
ferences for simultaneous and consecu-
tive modes:
1. Not having access to speeches or
documentation before the interpre-
tation.
2. Lack of familiarity with the sub-
ject-matter of the speech.
3.  Level of specialization of speech.
4.  How dense the information is.
5.  Speaker’s reputation.
6.  Poor speaker enunciation.
7.  Fast delivery.
8. Bad mood caused either by some-
thing related to the class or other
reasons.
9.  Poor sound quality.
10.  Working with a new booth partner
for the first time.
How stressful do you find not knowing
in advance the subject-matter of the
speech(es) to be interpreted in class:
• I find it very stressful.
• It’s stressful but not overly so.
• I’m used to it, so I don’t find if very
stressful.
• It doesn’t worry me.
Preferred time slot
• from 8:00 to 10:00,
• from 10:00 to 12:00,
• from 12:00 to14:00,
• from 15:00 to17:00,
• from 17:00 to 19:00.
What is the longest period of time you
can interpret for (in both consecutive
and simultaneous modes).
What do you think the maximum peri-
od should be?
66 Chapter Four

7 How stressful do you find interpreting the following subject domains (very stressful,
moderately stressful, not stressful)
• science (not medicine) • medicine
• technical subjects • academia
• tourism • human rights,
• politics • climate change
• development cooperation
8 What level of stress (high, medium, or
low) do the following kinds of speech
cause you?
• protocol,
• opening and closing ceremonies,
• reading of a final declaration,
• speakers’ presentations,
• thanks speeches
• improvisation
9 Do you prefer interpreting into your mother tongue or in retour?

Although the two questionnaire models differ in some respects, we have

attempted to ensure that the differences reflect the experience of the various
groups while the information given in the responses corresponded to the same
or similar issues.

3. Results

Having analysed the answers from each group of participants individually (the
first group with more than eight years of experience; the second, less-experi-
enced professionals who have worked mainly in liaison mode; and the third,
final-year translation and interpreting undergraduates from the University of
Las Palmas from Gran Canaria, we can now present a comparison between
the results observed, contrasting similarities and differences between the dif-
ferent groups.
In order to make this comparison as orderly as possible, we will pres-
ent our results concisely question by question. As far as the first question is
concerned, relating to the requisites for professional interpreters perceived by the
respondents, both experts and students prioritised a perfect command of the two
working languages as the most important requisite, while the less experienced
interpreters opted for the production of a coherent target speech. Knowledge and
command of the technical equipment was deemed the least important requisite
by all three groups.
A clear distinction can be drawn between the importance of proper docu-
mentation on the subject of the speech prior to the interpretation, with students
 Three perspectives on interpreters and stress… 67

deeming it far more important than the experts. This could be due to the con-
siderable experience of the professionals, which enables them to be able to tackle
speeches without full documentation while for the group of students, at a much
earlier stage of their interpreting learning curve, having prior documentation
helps to feel much more confident when interpreting.
The second question posed to the students, as to whether they found con-
secutive or simultaneous interpreting more stressful was not contemplated in
the other two groups, so we can only present the results obtained, without any
cross-group comparison. Students responded that they found consecutive inter-
preting more stressful, mainly due to having to learn and deploy in real time
specific note-taking techniques and the exposure of the interpreter to the audi-
ence (which also appeared as a comment in the following question on stress-in-
ducing factors). We also think it relevant to point out that interpreting training
starts three years into the T&I degree (whereas translation is introduced in the
second year) and there tends to be a level of expectation/anxiety on the part of
the students, who are not entirely sure what to expect. During the third year,
they acquire the basic skills for consecutive interpreting, and so the learning
curve is particularly steep. Without in any way wishing to belittle the additional
competences required for a command of simultaneous interpreting, it is clear
that the foundations are laid in consecutive, and this may partially account for
the perceived greater difficulty with respect to simultaneous practice.
If we look at the question aimed at discovering the factors that cause most
stress in interpreting situations, be they professional or in class, the group of
experts indicated that a high level of density of information is the factor that
causes them most stress, while the less-experienced professionals pointed to the
lack of prior documentation and the students underlined the stress caused by
fast speech delivery and not knowing enough/much about the subject-matter in
question. Once again, the distinction between the stress-inducing factors that
affect each of the groups could be attributed to the differing amount of experi-
ence in each case. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that the factor that
caused least stress in all three groups was the reputation of the speaker.
The third question (Groups 1 and 2) was also adapted slightly to the learning
situation of Group 3 (for whom it constituted the fourth question). Question-
naire 1 (for the experts and novices) looked at the stress caused by not being
given documentation prior to the event, while Questionnaire 2 (students) asked
about stress levels caused by not knowing in advance what the subject-matter
of a speech would be. Of the five possible answers, the majority of answers in
all three groups reflected a different picture. The most common response from
the expert group was that they are used to not having documentation to work
from and that it therefore is not something that stresses them unduly; there was
no clear consensus in the novice group, where the responses were either “I find
it very stressful” or “It’s stressful but not overly so.” Finally, the majority of stu-
68 Chapter Four

dents replied “It’s stressful but not overly so” However, we would posit that this
response is conditioned a) by the students’ following a course that it designed
to help them develop their skills gradually, rather than having to tackle the
complete “interpreting experience” in a situation in which they receive no
documentation, and b) by the very fact that their experience comes from classwork
and exams, rather than real-life situations. Although some interpreting situations
(such as press conferences, interviews, and mini-conferences) are simulated as
part of course material, most classes clearly aim to provide a supportive learning
environment, and are, of course, subject to a number of conditioning factors,
among which we could cite large numbers of students in class, the fact that
the audience for whom students are interpreting in consecutive mode are their
classmates and, in simultaneous, mainly their teachers. This is an undergradu-
ate, rather than a postgraduate, course, evaluated by continuous assessment.
We consider it unlikely that this “acceptable” stress level would remain so were
the students to have to interpret for a real audience, dependent on them for the
full comprehension of the original message.
The fourth question for the first two groups looks at factors that motivate
the subjects for when faced with a possible interpreting assignment; there is
no equivalent question for the student group. However, the comparison of the
responses from Groups 1 and 2 reveal that the experts are most highly moti-
vated by knowing the customer, as well as their booth partner, and being able
to pick the said partner. Meanwhile, the novices underscored the importance
of knowing that the client pays on time. This would seem to suggest that the
more experienced interpreters placed a high value on the human, personal factor,
feeling comfortable in their work situation in this regard, whereas the relative
newcomers are more motivated by being paid on time, a completely understand-
able viewpoint, given the current situation of the job market and economic crisis.
The fifth question, although adapted, is similar across the groups, as it aims to
discover the time of day the subjects prefer to interpret or to have an interpreting
class. The time slots given for Groups 1 and 2 break up the day into different
chunks, reflecting the range of timings that interpreting jobs tend to fall into,
whereas the slots proposed in the students’ questionnaire correspond to class times,
as per the faculty’s timetable. The responses reveal that the experts’ and novices’
preferred time of day for an interpreting job is from 8:00 to 13:00, while the stu-
dents’ opted mainly for the 10:00–12:00 slot. Meanwhile, the least favourite time
for the experts is from 19:00 to 22:00, whereas in this case, the students opted
for 8:00–10:00, thereby revealing very different preferences from the experts. It is
worth noting that, despite the experts’ lack of enthusiasm for evening work, it is
not uncommon to be offered interpreting work in that slot, ranging from seminars
and presentations, product launches to after-dinner speeches, among others.
Question six aims to reveal information as to how long each subject feels they
can interpret on their own. A comparison of the responses from the three groups
 Three perspectives on interpreters and stress… 69

shows that students tend to think that they can interpret for shorter periods of
time (20–30 minutes) in both simultaneous and consecutive modes; the longest
period stipulated by a student was 30 minutes, in simultaneous mode, which
matches the absolute maximum length of speech worked on in class. Experts
and novices give a longer time span, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour and
a half. The second half of this question asked how long subjects felt maximum
working time (on their own) should be. Here, replies in the three groups were
fairly similar: most of the experts and novices responded between half an hour
and an hour, while most of the students opted for 30 minutes.
The seventh question is related to the stress caused by interpreting speeches
in different subject areas. The results from the expert and novice groups reflect
a clear similarity in terms of the subject areas that cause the most stress: medicine.
It is also worth noting that the students have not interpreted in all the different
fields mentioned, including medicine and science. Hence, they were given the
option “I have not yet interpreted a speech on this subject,” although none of
them marked it.
At the same time the options that caused most stress amongst the students
were consecutive interpreting in the field of politics, followed by technical subjects,
technology and development cooperation in both modes. Meanwhile, the experts
find tourism, human rights and development cooperation the least stressful of the
options given, marking a clear distinction with the student group, who specified
that the subject-matter that causes them the least stress is climate change.
A further detail was elicited from the experts and novices, regarding speech
type and stress levels. This section was not included in the students’ question-
naire as the undergraduate courses in interpreting tend not to cover the range
of speech types mentioned. In terms of the comparison between experts and
novices; while the majority of the first group feel that speeches of thanks and
improvisation on the part of the speaker barely cause them any stress and that
the most stressful speech type is the reading of a pre-drafted declaration, novice
interpreters find improvisation very stressful.
Finally, the eighth question was the same for all questionnaires, and asked
for the subjects’ preference for interpreting into the mother tongue or the B
language. As was to be expected, in line with the recommendations of the major
international organizations, the majority of subjects in all three groups opted for
interpreting into their mother tongue, justifying their preference alluding to the
larger range of linguistic resources in the mother tongue.

4. Conclusions

In the first instance, it is clear that the scope and sample size of our study is
in no way comparable to those carried out by AIIC; however, it was never our
70 Chapter Four

intention to try to “update” their data, rather to contrast some of the issues they
raised between three groups of interpreters with differing levels of expertise to
determine the levels of stress induced during the learning and consolidation
processes. Given our small sample sizes, particularly in the expert and novice
groups, we would not claim that our findings can be extrapolated in general,
rather that they may serve as pointers for both would-be interpreters and novices
looking for further consolidation, as well as interpreting trainers.
Responses to the AIIC survey (2001) showed the principal stress factors in
conference interpreting to be the delivery speed of the original speech, a speech
that is read aloud, frequent changes of subject matter and a lack of appropriate
documentation for proper preparation. In our study, the expert groups pointed
to the density of information in the original speech, novices indicated the lack
of prior documentation and students, fast speech delivery and insufficient prior
knowledge of the subjectmatter in question. Interestingly, lack of prior documen-
tation was not rated highly as a stress inducer amongst the professionals, who
claimed that this was a regular occurrence in their professional lives. Further
studies could examine how they deal with this situation.
One of the key factors that motivated the interpreters who took part in
the AIIC study was their booth partner, which also scored highly among our
expert group, while novices did not tend to rate this factor so highly. Lengths
of turn were fairly consistent across the survey and the groups in our study.
It should be pointed out that no quality control was carried out in our study,
so the impressions given are purely based on the interpreters’/students’ im-
pressions of their work. Subject matters and stress levels varied across our
groups, which may be of interest, particularly in terms of designing/planning
curricula in years to come. It was also interesting to note that more experi-
enced interpreters take speech improvisation in their stride, finding pre-draft-
ed declarations the most stressful speech type, while novice interpreters find
improvisation very stressful.
We believe that the findings of our small-scale study will be useful in the
planning and teaching of conference interpreting, given the insights into the
perspectives of interpreters of varying levels of experience that it provides.
They can also help to orient future interpreters on the initial stages of their learning
curve in terms of what to expect as they progress and gain further experience.

References

Cooper, Cary L., Rachel Davies, and Rosalie L. Tung. 1982. “Interpreting stress: Sources
of job stress among conference interpreters.” Multilingua 1–2: 97–107.
Kurz, Ingrid. 2003. “Physiological Stress during Simultaneous Interpreting: a Compari-
son of Experts and Novices.” The Interpreter’s Newsletter (University of Trieste) 12.
 Three perspectives on interpreters and stress… 71
Mackintosh, Jennifer. 2001. “The AIIC workload study – executive summary.” Avail-
able online at: http://aiic.net/page/888/the-aiic-workload-study-executive-summary
/lang/1 (accessed 1.04.2017).
Riccardi, Alessandra, Guido Marinuzzi, and Stefano Zecchin. 1998. “Interpretation and
Stress.” The Interpreter’s Newsletter (University of Trieste) 8: 93–106.
 Chapter Five

Self-confidence in simultaneous interpreting

Amalia Bosch Benítez

Even after many years of teaching interpreting, one still experiences unpredictable situations when
trying to teach conference interpreting to our students. Both as a teacher and as a student, I have
encountered a number of students who, unfortunately, were not successful in acquiring the ade-
quate strategies for interpreting.
It is this realisation that drove me to try new teaching methods. One of these has been tied
to the selection of speeches that would prove (emotionally) engaging enough for students. I was
intent on trying to find out if empathy could help restore self-confidence in students, especially
those with difficulties and help them improve their skills in interpreting (see also Furmanek 2006;
Kurz 2003; Korpal 2016).
In this paper, I will present findings of a survey conducted on my regular students.
Keywords: simultaneous interpreting, empathy, self-confidence, tales

1. Introduction

In a former study (Bosch Benítez 2013), three students who were not doing well
in class happened to overcome their difficulties when they came across a speech
that was appealing to them. After that experience their marks in the subject
significantly improved.
When I asked them, they confirmed that the empathy and connection they
had felt with the speech helped them to reformulate and to deal with the rate-
related or comprehension difficulties regarding the speech. Surprisingly, it was the
topic which had a big emotional impact on them – it dealt with a real case of
domestic violence (an authentic testimony of a victim). These three students were
moved by the recorded testimony and it prompted strong emotional reactions
in them (tears).
I was surprised by the unusually high quality of the rendered speech given
their less than stellar levels in simultaneous interpreting previous to that speech.
 Self-confidence in simultaneous interpreting 73

They themselves told me that now they understood what interpreting was all
about, and that they now could trust their skills and that they knew what to
do in the booth.
The mentioned event has encouraged me to start an empirical research about
methods and strategies that could prepare our students to acquire the expected
requirements of simultaneous interpreting.

2. Simultaneous interpreting as a compulsory subject

Conference interpreting, including consecutive mode, at the University of Las

Palmas de Gran Canaria is a compulsory subject. I deal with students who are
not voluntarily choosing conference interpreting. They enter the subject after
three years (six semesters) of translation studies, learning subjects which focus
more on translating skills than on interpreting.
Their first encounter with interpreting takes place during the fifth semester
when they start with consecutive interpreting. They begin with the basic skills
of note-taking and with short speeches up to 3 minutes long during a period
of time of not more than 15 weeks. Then, in the sixth semester, they continue
with consecutive interpreting for the same period of time and the speeches now
last between 5 and 8 minutes.
Students start the first level of simultaneous interpreting (15 weeks) in the
seventh semester. After they have started acquiring basic techniques, in the sec-
ond level (also 15 weeks) they begin to deal with more specialized speeches and
start to encounter even more difficulties concerning their English. We usually
use recorded speeches from TED or the Speech Repository, Speechpool or even
Youtube. Students are then faced with a variety of accents and even where English
is the official language, such as India, their accent can be a handicap for these
students more accustomed to British English. American or Australian English
can be also difficult for them.
There are some important differences when designing or structuring the
classes for these young BA students who also have a limited knowledge of eco-
nomics, politics, or cultural items – a lack of competence with the English lan-
guage, preparing speeches and other types of material is also problematic with
MA students. However, in my opinion the major difference is motivation and
the age gap.

3. Corpus of the study

At the starting level, we give students easy speeches, with no specialized

vocabulary or topics. These are speeches with no density in information, which
74 Chapter Five

means that the kind of narrative exhibited by the text is of great importance
(Seleskovitch and Lederer 1995; Gillies 2013).
After completing Level 1 we start Level 2. Avoiding assigning students to ba-
sic, beginner, or intermediate level is sensible given that, in my opinion, students
can experience great difficulties during some basic or beginner speeches, and on
the other hand find some so-called intermediate speeches easier than the former
ones. My experience seems to indicate that the mentioned differences have some-
thing to do with the text type and the density of information contained in it.
We take the Millennium Development Goals approved by the United Nations
in September 2000 as the material source for our speeches in Level 2. Here
one can find more specialized speeches dealing with topics concerning extreme
poverty, gender equality, access to education, access to fresh water, infectious
diseases like dengue or malaria, etc. Bearing all these topics in mind, it is im-
perative we select the material well. Sometimes we utilize recorded material and
at other occasions we deliver the speeches ourselves.

4. Case study
I decided to present a series of questions to my students in order to find out some
answers to the following points of interest: stress factors linked to the subject
itself, such as fear, lack of language knowledge; didactic techniques such as sight
translation and the selection of traditional fairy tales; if the way of teaching and
selecting material could enhance their self-confidence and help them flourish. The
survey was composed of 22 items they had to answer anonymously. I have posted
only 21 of them due to the limit of space. But the results are presented herein as
well. The number of students who participated in this case study was 42.
In addition, my intention was to find out what percentage of the surveyed
students would have chosen simultaneous interpreting had they had a chance
to have done it. Here are the questions and the obtained results:
1. Do you link any emotions like fear to the subject of simultaneous interpreting?
a) A lot (33%)
b) A little (59%)
c) Not at all (9%)
2. If you answered yes, what were the reasons for this fear?
a) I don’t feel I have the adequate skills for this subject. (9%)
b) I don’t feel I have the adequate language competence. (17%)
c) I don’t think I can control my emotions. (4%)
d) I feel that the skill to listen and to talk simultaneously is a very difficult
one. (24%)
e) I feel that very few students will be successful in the subject. (35%)Other
reasons. (11%)
 Self-confidence in simultaneous interpreting 75

3. Would you have chosen interpreting voluntarily as a part of your syllabus?

a) Yes (41%)
b) No (59%)
4. Do you feel uncomfortable in class because of its compulsory nature?
Yes (65%)
No (35%)
5. Does the compulsory nature of the subject make you feel insecure in your
skills and competences?
Yes (70%)
No (30%)
6. Do you think that you have an adequate competence in English for this
subject?
a) Yes (26%)
b) No (74%)
7. Do you think that you have an adequate competence in Spanish for this
subject?
a) Yes (65%)
b) No (35%)
8. What character traits do you think could be useful for the learning of si-
multaneous interpreting?
a) High self-esteem (48%)
b) Self-confidence (30 %)
c) Others (22%)
9. You had no previous experience in simultaneous interpreting when you
entered the booth the very first day to interpret Snow White. Did you
experience any emotions like fear?
a) Yes (72 %)
b) No (28 %)
10. As the narrative of the tale moved on did you feel that your interpretation
in the booth was improving?
a) Yes (15 %)
b) No (85%)
11. Did the fact that you knew the tale help you reduce your fear or anxiety in
the booth?
a) Yes (59%)
b) No (41%)
12. Did this previous knowledge help you in reformulating the tale?
a) Yes (43%)
b) No (57%)
13. Did the previous knowledge help you with the interpreting?
a)Yes (83%)
b) No (17%)
76 Chapter Five

14. We read the tale The Princess and the Pea and we did a sight translation of
it in class. Afterwards we did the interpreting in the booth. Did this exercise
help you in the booth?
a) Yes (35%)
b) No (65%)
15. Did you experience any of these effects?
a)  I anticipated the information not minding/paying attention to the pace
of the narrative. (30%)
b)  I paid attention to the background information (previous knowledge) and
hence disconnected the listening of the tale. (41%)
c)  It helped me very much with the interpreting. (28%)
16. We did a reading of The Happy Prince but no sight translation. How did this
affect your interpreting?
a)  I anticipated the information not minding/paying attention to the pace
of the narrative. (43%)
b)  I paid attention to the background information (previous knowledge) and
hence disconnected the listening of the tale. (57%)
c) It helped me very much with the interpreting. (29%)
d) Other (36%)
17. What tale did you feel better while interpreting in the booth?
a) Snow White (74%)
b) The Princess and the Pea (20%)
c) The Happy Prince (7%)
18. Did aforementioned classes help you overcome any of the negative emotions
linked to the learning of simultaneous interpreting?
a) Yes (17%)
b) No (83%)
19. Did the use of fairy tales help you get more confidence in your interpreting
skills?
a) Yes (48%)
b) No (52%)
20. Do you feel that the interpreting of tales has helped you overcome the fear
you experienced for the subject you had in the beginning?
a) Yes (30%)
b) No (70%)
21. If your answer to the former question was affirmative, do you feel now that
a) You are more confident in your interpreting skills? (26%)
b) You are more confident in your language knowledge? (20%)
c) You are more confident in controlling your emotions? (9%)
d) You now have the ability to listen and talk simultaneously? (24%)
e) You are now convinced that you can be successful with the subject? (22%)
 Self-confidence in simultaneous interpreting 77

3. Conclusions

The compulsory nature of simultaneous interpreting is considered a negative

aspect in the findings. Only 41% of the students would have chosen it if they
had been given the chance.
Conference interpreting is linked to some negative emotions like anxiety or
fear. Only 4% declared no negative emotions.
The reason of that fear is linked to the complexity of listening and speak-
ing at the same time (24%); 35% had thought that very few students would be
successful in the subject because of its inherent difficulty.
As for the character traits, 78% of the students believed that self-esteem and
self-confidence are very important. This survey was done after three weeks of
regular classroom lessons and interpreting in the booth.
So if our students believe that self-esteem and self-confidence make a dif-
ference, I think we should try to offer them strategies and methods that can
enhance these crucial aspects of their personality. Some of the strategies deployed
have not proven to be the solution for the lack of self-confidence. It surely has
something to do with the typology of the texts and the information contained
in them. But also with the way these texts are read or transmitted. The use of
known texts like tales has undoubtedly helped (83% of the aswer “Yes”) but this
is not sufficient. All our students have to enhance self-confidence in their skills
of listening and reading before we introduce more specialized texts in the second
semester. In my opinion more research has to be done in order to find out a more
successful approach for interpreting and the selection of the appropriate material.

References
Bosch Benítez, Amalia. 2013. “Empathy in simultaneous interpreting.” Paper presented
at the Conference Language, Culture and Politics organised by Tischner European
University in Kraków.
Gillies, Andrew. 2013. Conference Interpreting. A Student’s Practice Book. New York:
Routledge.
Furmanek, Olgierda. 2006. “The role of emotions in establishing meaning: implications
for interpreting.” Journal of Specialised Translation 5: 57–71.
Korpal, Paweł. 2016. “Interpreting as a stressful activity: Physiological measures of stress
in simultaneous interpreting.” Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 52(2):
297–316
Kurz, Ingrid. 2003. “Psychological Stress during Simultaneous Interpreting: A Compar-
ison of Experts and Novices.”  The Interpreters’ Newsletter  12: 51–67.
Seleskovitch, Danica, and Marianne Lederer. 1995. A Systematic Approach to Teaching
Interpretation. Washington DC: RID.
 Chapter Six

PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative

interviews –
working together to achieve best evidence*8

Katarzyna Holewik

It is widely known that investigative interviews are fundamental and most prevalent law-enforce-
ment activities and are considered to be “the major fact-finding method police officers have at
their disposal when investigating crime” (Schollum 2005: 3). What is more, it is often stated that
quality interviews can ensure quality investigations and that is why many police officers undergo
training in investigative interviewing. There is no doubt that the interview needs to be as accurate,
reliable and effective as possible and in the case of monolingual interviews this success largely
depends on factors such as interviewing techniques and strategies, strength of evidence, access to
legal advice or an interviewer’s attitude to name but a few (St-Yves and Deslauriers-Varin 2009).
However, in bilingual interviews, there is one more critical factor which may have an impact on
the confession process of a suspect or obtaining a credible statement from a witness, namely,
the presence of an interpreter.
Drawing on the PEACE model for investigative interviewing and the seven principles of
investigative interviewing in England and Wales, the chapter aims at mapping the PEACE model
into interpreter-mediated interviews and examining factors and concepts necessary for effective
interpreter-mediated interviews.
The intention of this chapter, which reviews literature on investigative interviewing as well as
public service interpreting, is to identify and illustrate shared principles and behaviour between
both participants of the communicative event (i.e., interviewers and interpreters) suggesting that
both of them work towards the same goal – obtaining best evidence, and also to argue that it is
through professionalism, awareness and understanding, cooperation, and trust (PACT) that they
can achieve it.
Keywords: investigative interviewing, PEACE, interpreter-mediated police interviews, cooperation,
principles of investigative interviewing, PACT

*
 The chapter’s title is partly derived from the conference The First UK National Joint Training
for Police Officers and Police Interpreters Working together to obtain the best evidence (Cam-
bridgeshire Constabulary, Huntingdon, 11 September 2015) which also emphasised the need for
collaboration of interpreters and police officers.
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 79

1. Introduction

In the context of literature that looks at investigative interviewing as well

as public service interpreting, the chapter aims to highlight the importance
of investigative interviewing as a main component of police investigation
together with the need for the provision of interpreters. The main objective is
to examine the seven principles of investigative interviewing in England and
Wales together with the PEACE framework for investigative interviewing and
apply them to interpreter-mediated interviews in order to identify and illus-
trate shared principles and behaviour between interviewers and interpreters.
These are: obtaining an accurate and reliable account, refraining from bias,
acting fairly and ethically, seeking clarification, careful planning and prepa-
ration before an interview and evaluation after an interview. It is also argued
that not only do interviewers and interpreters tend to follow similar principles
and value similar concepts and practices, but most of all they share the same
goal – achieving best evidence. According to the author of the chapter, what
is also prerequisite in order to attain this goal is PACT, an acronym standing
for factors such as professionalism, awareness and understanding, cooperation,
and trust.
The author has chosen to focus on the PEACE model on the grounds that
she believes it to be a successful framework for investigative interviewing which
makes use of psychological theories and has been applied in many countries
worldwide as well as due to the availability of extensive literature on the subject.
Other deciding factors are the author’s interest in forensic psychology and the
investigative interviewing practices in the UK as well as the openness of British
police forces towards academic research and willingness to share their experience
and professional point of view on investigative interviewing.

2. The importance of investigative interviewing

Investigative interviews are thought to be fundamental and most prevalent

law-enforcement activities and are considered to be “the major fact-finding
method police officers have at their disposal when investigating crime” (Schol-
lum 2005: 3). It seems that interviews maintain this position of the utmost
importance due to the fact that they take place during the initial phase of the
criminal justice process and that they are later used as evidence during the
criminal proceedings. According to the College of Policing (2016), investigative
interviews play as a pivotal role in the investigation as forensic evidence:

Without the accounts of those who played a central role in the crime, or
those who have witnessed an important aspect of the commission of a crime,
80 Chapter Six

other sources of material such as CCTV images, fingerprints and forensic

material, although extremely important, may have little value.

Horvath and Meesig (1996, cited by Heydon and Lai 2013) mention the
overemphasis on forensic and physical evidence in criminal cases and likewise
claim that physical evidence does not tend to be used in the majority of criminal
cases. What tends to be used, however, is the testimonial evidence. Schollum
(2005: 15) and Heydon and Lai (2013) maintain that testimonial evidence
accounts for 80% of all evidence presented in courts (the remaining 20% accounts
for “real and documentary evidence”). Finally, Milne and Bull (1991: 1) point
out that it is “the completeness and accuracy of the witness account” that is
a key factor determining the solvability of a crime.
On the other hand, according to The Open University (2016) even though
witness testimony and suspect interviews play such a pivotal role in the inves-
tigation, one needs to bear in mind that there are some risks associated with
them, for instance wrongful convictions.

Psychological research has revealed the dangers of relying on evidence

gained from an eyewitness and also how careful the police need to be when
questioning witnesses […] Eight factors that have contributed to wrongful
convictions (based on data from Scheck, Neufeld and Dwyer, 2000) are as
follows: eyewitness misidentification, forensic blood analysis, police miscon-
duct, defective/fraudulent science, false confessions, false witness testimony,
informants, DNA inclusions.

Consequently, in order to prevent wrongful convictions (see Innocence

Project), there is no doubt that interviews need to be as accurate, reliable and
effective as possible. In the case of monolingual suspects’ interviews this suc-
cess largely depends on contextual factors, such as interviewing techniques and
strategies, strength of evidence, access to legal advice or an interviewer’s attitude,
etc. (St-Yves and Deslauriers-Varin 2009). Other factors which may contribute to
the success of the interview enumerated by Scholum (2005: 5) are: “skill level of
the interviewer, the cooperation of the interviewee, the nature of the offence or
incident under investigation and the type of approach being taken, for example,
a conversation management interview (CM) or an enhanced cognitive interview
(ECI).” Finally, interpersonal skills, personality and the attitude of the interviewer
seem to be of great importance as well (see Shepherd 1991).
However, due to globalisation, constant migration and consequently the
development of multilingual and multicultural societies there seems to be one more
major factor that can affect and/or contribute to the success of an interview – the
presence of an interpreter. If the interpreter-mediated interviews are to remain
accurate and effective and the police evidence reliable when subjected to the
scrutiny of the court, there needs to be mutual understanding and cooperation
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 81

between interviewers and interpreters, without whom, it seems, it would be im-

possible to obtain the accounts of witnesses, victims and suspects who do not
share the language with the interviewer. The collaboration is necessary if the
aim is to obtain the best evidence and such a view is advocated throughout the
chapter.

3. Presence of an interpreter in criminal

proceedings when a foreign language is spoken

When describing contextual factors and focusing on monolingual interviews

St-Yves and Deslauriers (2009) do not mention interpreters at all, however it
seems that access to an interpreter could well be considered one of the contextual
factors if the discussion concerned bilingual interviews. Various international
legal documents emphasise the right to defence, a fair trial and effective access
to justice1 which, in multilingual and multicultural societies, can be guaranteed
not only by access to (free) legal advice but also to an interpreter if a person
does not speak or understand the language of the proceedings.
Article 6 of The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provides
that “everyone charged with a criminal offence has a right to have the free
assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used
in court.”2 Since 2010 not only does there exist a relevant European legislation
entitling defendants in criminal proceedings to translation and interpretation
services, namely European Directive 2010/64/EU, but also member states have
their own legislations ensuring the right to translation and interpretation services
(e.g., Polish Code of Criminal Procedure (1997) articles 72 and 204, Human
Rights Act UK (1998) article 6, Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984)).
Despite such recommendations for the use of interpreters, there still seems
to be some reluctance on the part of the police force at times. Gallai (2013)
enumerates the following reasons for what he calls “resistance to the use of
interpreters,” namely the difficulty of obtaining an interpreter, the cost of
interpreters, additional thinking time given to the interviewee, interposition
of the interpreter between the parties in the interview which may influence the
perception of the interviewee’s non-verbal language or finally, the feeling of
losing control of the interview and the loss of the effectiveness of the interview.
On the other hand, there are many police officers who understand the necessi-
ty of providing the interpreter’s assistance and at the same time the difficulties
it may entail. When discussing the extended period of time of the interviews
due to the need for interpretation, Bryant (2013: 497) points out that the inter-

1
Article 47 and 48(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union (2000/C 364/01).
2
See also Human Rights Act UK (1998).
82 Chapter Six

viewer needs to allow extra time in order not to “hurry the process” and does
not perceive this slower pace as a disadvantage. Bryant (2013: 497) claims that
thanks to that, the interviewer will be able to devote more time “to observe and
consider the suspect’s NVC3 and demeanour.” Also, Laster and Taylor (1994: 135,
cited by Hale 2007: 68–70) explain that the provision of interpreters contributes
to police efficiency: “The effort expended in obtaining evidence may be wasted
if it is subsequently excluded by a court as being unreliable” and consider the
right to an interpreter during the interview even more paramount than during
the trial. On the whole, it is apparent that interpreters play a pivotal role in
investigative interviews and without their presence it would be rather impossible
to conduct interviews with interviewees who do not speak or understand the
language of the proceedings.

4. Principles of investigative interviewing and their applicability

for interpreter-mediated interviews
In recent years many countries, for instance, United Kingdom, Australia, New
Zealand, adopted the term “interviewing” instead of “interrogation” due to the
negative connotation of the latter. It is widely known that the objective of “inter-
rogation” is to obtain a confession or an admission (Yesche 2003, cited by Schol-
lum 2005: 11), quite often with the use of coercion and persuasive techniques
(Roberts 2012), while the aim of “interviewing” is to gather information, build
and develop rapport as well as take a non-judgemental approach. Nowadays,
police forces in many countries advocate ethical interviewing, treating interviewees
with respect and dignity and adopting a professional approach if the interviews
are to be effective (see New Zealand Police 2012; Shepherd and Griffiths 2013).
Interviewing is considered to be a complex activity and, as it was stated before,
its success depends on multiple factors and thus “it requires learning and practice
to ensure that high standards are achieved and maintained” (College of Policing
2016). Similarly, Schollum (2005) stresses that obtaining accurate, complete and
relevant information is a complicated task and thus needs to be performed “with
care, subtlety and skill.” Therefore, due to this complex nature of investigative
interviewing, police forces in many countries undergo training on how to con-
duct ethical, reliable and effective interviews, which focuses on skills such as “the
ability to plan and prepare for interviews, to establish rapport, effective listen-
ing and effective questioning,” among others (Schollum 2005: 16). Such training,
however, generally tends to focus on conducting monolingual interviews and thus
lacks guidance on how to successfully work with interpreters in order to obtain
an accurate and reliable account during bilingual interviews, which due to the
language barrier make the interviewing process even more elaborate.
3
Non-verbal communication.
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 83

Whilst it seems vital that not only police officers but also interpreters under-
stand the complexity of interviewing, many skilled, trained and certified public
service interpreters do not undergo any specialist training on how to work with
police forces, let alone how to conduct effective interviews. They can however
make use of certain resources to familiarise themselves with principles and stages
of investigative interviewing (see Bull and Milne 1999; Clarke and Milne 2001;
Shepherd 2013).
This section contains the seven principles of investigative interviewing
introduced and developed by the Home Office (1992) and the Association of
Chief Police Officers (ACPO) which, as a foundation of good investigative
interviewing techniques, are said to contribute to obtaining a high quality
account (College of Policing 2016) and to conducting interviews in an ethical
way. The principles which are so vital for interviewers can be a great source of
knowledge for police interpreters as well so as to help them better understand
the nature and tenets of investigative interviewing and the expectations of police
officers conducting the interviews. Thus, each principle presented in this section
(apart from Principle 5) contains a commentary on its possible application and
relevance to interpreter-mediated interviews and police interpreters, suggested
by the author of the chapter.4

Principle 1

The aim of investigative interviewing is to obtain accurate and reliable5

accounts from victims, witnesses or suspects about matters under police in-
vestigation.

To be accurate, information should be as complete as possible without any

omissions or distortion.
To be reliable, the information must have been given truthfully and be able
to withstand further scrutiny, e.g. in court.
Accurate and reliable accounts ensure that the investigation can be taken
further by opening up other lines of enquiry and acting as a basis for ques-
tioning others. (College of Policing 2016)

Principle 1 is regarded to be of great importance for police officers and should

also be for police interpreters so that the police evidence remains reliable when sub-
jected to the scrutiny of the court. In order to assist obtaining accurate and reliable
accounts, interpreters need to provide accurate translation. It is essential that inter-

4
The version used in the chapter contains the commentary by the College of Policing. It has
been chosen due to the fact that it contains additional explanations and is thus considered by the
author to be quite comprehensive for it to be applied to interpreter-mediated interviews.
5
Emphasis added – KH.
84 Chapter Six

preters understand the importance of providing accurate translation/interpretation

along with the consequences of not doing so. Mulayim et al. (2014: 58) claim that

the lexical choices interpreters make during a police interview will be sub-
ject, sometimes almost instantaneously, to close scrutiny by the interviewing
police officer, and may, at later trials give rise to hours of examination of
and debate over the interpretation of target language words rendered by
the interpreter.

Therefore, interpreters need to exercise caution when making their lexical

choices. Accuracy is most quoted tenet of many international codes of ethics/
codes of conduct for public service interpreters and any professional interpreter
is (or should be) aware of its significance. It is generally understood as being
faithful to the original message and in police settings it particularly needs to
concern providing details, exact words (especially coarse language), general fea-
tures of spoken language, paralinguistic elements and preserving the tone and
register. Since the notion of accuracy appears to be a rather elaborate one both
for interviewers and interpreters, let us examine it in detail.
Firstly, police interpreters need to strive for rendering the whole message
without summarizing, omitting, adding, editing or removing anything, for
example, details in a description of a suspect or a stolen vehicle. They should
understand that interviewers need to obtain any details which they feel may be
relevant to the case and it is up to them, not interpreters, if any information
will be disproved later or not and/or how the account will be interpreted. It is
also worth pointing out that some police officers6 even prefer to use the term
“translate faithfully” over “interpret faithfully” due to the fact that the word
“interpret” carries multiple meanings, one of them being “to explain the meaning
of, to elucidate.”7
On the other hand, interviewers need to bear in mind that accuracy should
not be confused with literal translation (see Hale 2007; Eades 2010; Berk-Selig-
son 2002). Thus, statements such as “Please translate everything, word-for-word,
literally” often made by them should be avoided. Police officers need to be aware
of the lack of linguistic equivalence, problems of ambiguity or non-explicitness
(Jackobsen 2002, cited in Hale 2007: 113).
Secondly, faithfulness and accuracy in police and public service interpreting
also concerns

conveying derogatory or vulgar remarks as well as non-verbal clues.

(AUSIT code of ethics, cited by Hale 2007: 109)

6
British Transport Police (2016) – personal communication.
7
See The Free Dictionary.
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 85
conveying hedges, false starts and repetitions […], retaining English words
mixed into other languages and culturally bound terms which have no direct
equivalent in English8 or may have more than one meaning, conserving the
register, style and tone of the source language.
(NAJIT code of ethics)
[conveying] insults and any non-verbal clues.
(International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Code of Ethics
1999: 14)

Furthermore, interpreters need to convey “any patent mistakes and untruths”

(International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Code of Ethics 1999:
14) and any content they themselves may find offensive, immoral or wrong.
Translating vulgar remarks, swear words or insults may not come easy to some
interpreters. The feelings of embarrassment and uneasiness may often accompany
especially trainee interpreters who try to “soften” derogatory language and amend
the vocabulary or ignore false starts and/or repetitions.9 Hale (2007: 140) states
that swearing may pose problems as well due to the fact that it “may be against the
beliefs of some interpreters and so they may refuse to interpret accurately, resort-
ing to omitting the utterance.” However, what interpreters need to realize is that
they are not the authors of the utterances and thus should not feel embarrassed
about such vocabulary since no one will be offended if they use it. Interpreters
are indeed responsible for faithfulness and accuracy but not “for what10 is said
by anyone for whom they are interpreting” (Cross-Cultural Health Care Program
Code of Conduct in Hale 2007: 119). Those issues, however, need to be addressed
not only in codes but first and foremost during interpreter training.
Finally, it is widely known that in order to maintain accuracy and fidelity while
interpreting in consecutive or semi-consecutive mode, interpreters take notes, akin
to police officers. Both interpreters and interviewers however need to make sure
that the notes taken during the interview are left behind or destroyed at the end
of the interview (see Cambridgeshire Constabulary 2016) to ensure confidentiality.

Principle 2

Investigators must act fairly when questioning victims, witnesses or suspects.

They must ensure that they comply with all the provisions and duties under
the  Equality Act 2010  and the  Human Rights Act 1998.
Acting fairly means that the investigator must not approach any interview
with prejudice. The interviewer should be prepared to believe the account

8
This should apply to both source and target language.
9
Holewik (2016) pilot study.
10
Emphasis added – KH.
86 Chapter Six

that they are being given, but use common sense and judgement rather than
personal beliefs to assess the accuracy of what is being said.
(College of Policing 2016)

It can be seen that Principle 2 focuses on fairness and lack of prejudice as well
as applying common sense and judgement. Treating others as well as providing
accurate interpretation (translation) without prejudice or bias also applies to
public service interpreters. Such attitude is often prescribed by various codes of
conduct for public service interpreters together with the principle of impartiality.
Interpreters are expected to remain unbiased and impartial (Austrian Association
of Certified Court Interpreters Code of Ethics 2016) and “shall refrain from
conduct that may give an appearance of bias […] and must not engage in con-
duct creating the appearance of bias, prejudice, or partiality” (California Rules
of Court 2016). Unlike the interviewers, interpreters are not required to apply
common sense and judgement in order to assess the accuracy of what is being
said, since it is the task of interviewers to assess the account and then decide
whether to believe it or not. As language professionals though, interpreters apply
common sense and judgement in any linguistic decisions they make in order to
“render the language in an efficient and intelligible manner, while retaining all
meaning and style” (Mikkelson 1999, cited by Mulayim et al. 2014: 57).

Principle 3

Investigative interviewing should be approached with an investigative

mindset.
Accounts obtained from the person who is being interviewed should always
be tested against what the interviewer already knows or what can  be 
reasonably established. (College of Policing 2016)

Principle 4 highlights the importance of having an open mind for interview-

ers which means being free of pre-judgements. While an interviewer needs to
be ready to believe the account provided by a suspect, victim or witness, they
also should be wary of deception. An interpreter’s task, on the contrary, is not
to test an interviewee’s account or be careful about deception; it is however
essential that they also have an open mind, that is, are prepared to believe and
accept whatever they hear and then render it accurately regardless of whether
the content seems unreasonable, untrue or appalling. Having an open mind
means translating even “patent untruths and mistakes” (International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Code of Ethics; 1999: 14 see Principle 1)
and not forming any judgements or making any assumptions about the content
of the message or an interviewee, which is also advocated by some codes of
conduct:
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 87
Even if the interpreter disagrees with what is said, thinks it is wrong, a lie or
even immoral, the interpreter must suspend judgement, make no comment
and interpret everything accurately. (Cross-Cultural Health Care Program
Code of Conduct in Hale 2007: 119)

Principle 4

Investigators are free to ask a wide range of questions in an interview in

order to obtain material which may assist an investigation and provide
sufficient evidence or information.
Although the interviewer may ask a wide range of questions, the inter-
viewing style must not be unfair or oppressive. (College of Policing 2016)

Due to the fact that Principles 4 and 6 seem closely related, they are discussed
together under the Principle 6.

Principle 5

Investigators should recognise the positive impact of an early admission in

the context of the criminal justice system. (College of Policing 2016)

Principle 5 seems to be the only one which does not appear to be directly
applicable to police interpreters due to the fact that they are not law enforce-
ment officials.

Principle 6

Investigators are not bound to accept the first answer given. Questioning is
not unfair merely because it is persistent. An investigating officer has the
duty to obtain accurate and reliable information. A complete and reliable
account from witnesses, victims and suspects may not always be easy to ob-
tain. It is acceptable for interviewers to be persistent as long as they are also
careful and consistent but not unfair or oppressive. (College of Policing 2016)

As noted before, Principle 6 appears to be connected to the Principle 1, that

is, the need to obtain an accurate account, and also to the Principle 4, asking
a wide range of questions. The Principle 6 contains a pivotal statement that
obtaining a complete and reliable account may not be an easy task. This seems
to be a characteristic of both investigative interviewing and interpretation which
will be commented upon below.
The interviewer may have difficulty in obtaining complete and accurate
account on the grounds that the suspect, witness, or a victim may be unwilling
to cooperate or may be (generally) unclear in expressing their ideas. Similarly,
88 Chapter Six

the interpreter may experience difficulty in understanding what the interviewee

means if they do not express their ideas clearly, if they speak in a quiet man-
ner or have (or pretend to) have some speech impairment. This could result in
the interpreter’s inability to render the message correctly (or even render it at
all) due to the fact that it seems impossible to translate the message if it is not
understood or heard properly.
Thus, strategies such as seeking clarification and asking additional questions
can assist in obtaining accurate and complete information in the case of both the
interviewer and the interpreter. It is vital though that the need to seek clarifica-
tion or ask for repetition be welcomed11 by interviewers and not perceived, for
example, as a sign of interpreter’s incompetence or an attempt to hold a personal
conversation with the interviewee (see Hale 2007). An interpreter naturally needs
to inform both parties that they are going to seek clarification in order to main-
tain the trust of both parties. As previously stated, interpreters share the goal of
obtaining and conveying an accurate message with police officers and thanks to
seeking clarification or asking for repetition, they are able to achieve that goal.

Principle 7

Even when a suspect exercises the right to silence, investigators have

a responsibility to put questions to them. (College of Policing 2016)

According to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) a suspect can ex-
ercise their right to silence under police questioning and even in “no comment”
interviews the interviewer needs to ask all relevant questions so that the suspect
is given “the opportunity to respond to any relevant information” (College of
Policing 2016). Whilst such interviews may at times be off-putting for police
officers, they should not be for interpreters. Interpreters need to bear in mind
that any “no comment” interview may turn into a regular interview at any point
if the suspect all of a sudden makes a decision to respond to questioning.
To that end, interpreters ought to be aware of the importance of “no comment”
interviews, stay focused at all times and render all interviewers’ questions
accurately to the suspect regardless of the suspect’s demeanour or attitude which
may at times appear inappropriate or discouraging.
From the analysis of the principles described above it could be conclud-
ed that they are necessary, not only for effective monolingual investigative
interviews but also for effective interpreter-mediated interviews (bilingual in-
terviews). Almost all principles, excluding Principle 5, could be applied to
police interpreting. Hence, it seems apparent that both police officers and
interpreters strive for achieving common goals, that is, accurate, reliable and
11
In fact, according to British Transport Police (personal communication) they are generally
welcome.
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 89

detailed account, refraining from bias, acting fairly and suspending judge-
ment, having an open mind and seeking clarification, and in order to achieve
them they tend to follow analogous principles and display similar behaviour.
In addition, it could be suggested that knowledge and understanding of the
principles could help interpreters better understand the process of investigative
interviewing and actions taken by police officers, for example, putting questions
to suspects even if they decide to exercise the right to silence or asking for the
same information multiple times.

4. PEACE model for investigative interviewing

4.1 Introduction

According to Milne and Bull (1999) until the mid-1980s police officers seemed
to lack guidance on how to conduct successful and ethical interviews. Therefore,
what was needed was the model which would “increase the investigative poten-
tial of witness interviewing” and which would not aim at obtaining confessions
from suspects (Shepherd and Griffiths 2013: 25) but function as “a conversation
with a purpose” instead (Schollum 2005: 10), allowing interviewers to obtain all
the information they need “in order to discover facts about the matters under
investigation” (New Zealand Police 2012). What was also requisite was a well
structured and planned framework. Consequently, the PEACE model for investi-
gative interviewing (see Table 1 and Figure 1), strongly influenced by psychology
(see Milne and Bull 1999; Shepherd 2013) was introduced in the UK in 1991.
The present section contains a brief explanation of each stage of the PEACE
framework, the mnemonic of which stands for:

Planning and preparation

Engage and explain
Account, probing12 (clarification) and challenge
Closure
Evaluation

The importance of planning cannot be overemphasised both in professional

and private life, hence, not without reason is planning and preparation con-
sidered one of the most important stages in investigative interviewing. It is by
the virtue of planning and preparation that the interviewers can review key
issues and objectives in the investigation, consider individual characteristics of
the interviewee(s), make some practical arrangements (including the need for
12
Also known as Account, clarification and challenge (College of Policing 2016).
90 Chapter Six

a solicitor or an interpreter) or prepare a written interview plan (College of

Policing 2016).

Figure 1. PEACE model for investigative interviewing (Schollum 2005: 43)

The next stage, that is, engage and explain, is considered “as the most in-
fluential factor in ensuring the success of the interview” (Schollum 2005: 45).
Bryant (2012) maintains that this stage is about building rapport between the
interviewer and the interviewee, “explaining the reasons for the interview,
describing the routines, setting out the route map, stating the expectations and
explaining the legal rights.” Since the majority of interviewees are unfamiliar with
interviewing and police procedures in general, it is a stage when they should
obtain clear information on what is going to happen and what the “ground rules”
are (Shepherd and Griffiths 2013) as well as be reassured.
Account, which is the main part of the interview, is the stage when the in-
terviewee’s full account of events is obtained by the interviewer (Schollum 2005).
Milne and Bull (1999) point out that what is needed for the account to be reliable
and accurate are appropriate questioning skills and techniques. According to the
College of Policing (2016), active listening and well formulated questions also
play an important role. After obtaining the account, the interviewer may need
to seek clarification from the witness (Schollum 2005) or challenge a suspect’s
account in case of any inconsistencies or discrepancies. Since the professional
approach to interviewing requires interviewers to act ethically, while challenging,
it is vital for an interviewer not to accuse or criticise but to ask for explanation
instead (Bryant 2012).
As stated before, an interview cannot be successful without prior preparation
and planning. Correspondingly, it should not end abruptly either. The aim of
the last stage of the interview proper, that is, closure, is to make sure whether
the parties (e.g., the interviewee or the second interviewer) have any further
questions, have an opportunity to correct or add some information as well as
provide an explanation of what will happen next and to end the interview
politely and positively (College of Policing 2016; Schollum 2005; Bryant 2012;
New Zealand Police 2012).
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 91

After the interview has concluded, in the evaluation stage, the interviewer
has an opportunity to evaluate the information obtained, what has been achieved,
if the objectives of the interview have been achieved but also to reflect on their
own performance, identify strong and weak points along with the areas for im-
provement (Bryant 2012).

Table 1. Models and stages of investigative interviewing

PEACE
Phases of
model for
PEACE in successful interpreter-mediated investigative
investigative
investigative interviews interviewing
interviewing
in Poland*
in the UK
P Planning P Planning, Pre-interview Planning and
preparation and preparation
priming (=briefing
and rapport)
E Engage Build rapport and
and Interview explain
Explain Explanation of role (preliminary/initial
E and ethics interview)
A Account A Free narrative account
C Accuracy, analysis, Question phase
active listening (Challenge-suspect
interviews)
C Closure Clarification Closure
E Evaluate E Evaluation and Post-interview Evaluate
reflection
(debriefing)
*See Kuźmiński (2014), Niezgoda (2007), Śrubka (2013).

Shepherd and Griffiths (2013: 27) maintain that the PEACE model for in-
vestigative interviewing is still “the foundation of the interview strategy by the
senior leadership of the police service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
Schollum (2005) also claims that the model is applied in other countries, such
as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe. The stages of investigative in-
terviewing in Poland13 also seem to reflect the structure of PEACE (see Table
1), even though the method used by police forces in Poland is called the “FBI
method of interviewing,” and the emphasis is put on, for example, obtaining as
much information as possible, building rapport with the interviewee or active
listening (Bartuszek 2007). Table 1 illustrates the stages of investigative inter-
viewing in the UK and in Poland, where similarities in the structure could be

13
The author of the chapter also conducts her research in Poland.
92 Chapter Six

observed, as well as attempts to map the PEACE model into interpreter-mediated

interviews, which is commented upon in detail in the following section.

4.2 PEACE model for interpreter-mediated investigative

interviewing – factors for effective interpreter-mediated
interviews
Drawing on the PEACE model for investigative interviewing, the section con-
tains concepts, practices and principles which, according to the author of the
chapter, are of paramount importance for interviewers and interpreters alike
and are considered to be factors necessary for effective, reliable and accurate
interpreter-mediated interviews (see Table 1). The issues to be addressed are:
• Planning, preparation and priming (pre-interview stage);
• Explanation of role and ethics, accuracy, analysis, active listening
and clarification (interview stage);
• Evaluation and reflection (post-interview stage).

Even though the mnemonic PEACE applied to interpreter-mediated inter-

views corresponds to the stages of the investigative interviewing framework, it is
pivotal that all of the issues in the interview stage (except for the explanation of
role) be observed in every stage at all times (i.e., Engage and Explain, Account,
Closure) and not just in the separate ones, which is reflected in Table 1.

4.2.1 Pre-interview: Planning, preparation and priming (P)

It is widely recognised that planning and preparation are essential for conducting
effective police interviews and so are they for successful interpreting assignments.
It is for this reason that their importance is highlighted during any interpreter
training. First and foremost, planning and preparation prior to an assignment,
for every professional interpreter, generally cover the linguistic aspects, such as
a review of legal terminology and procedures (e.g., interpreted version of caution
(UK), rights and duties of an interviewee (Poland), preparing notes or glossa-
ries). Planning, however, also covers logistics and practical aspects connected
with an assignment, for instance, allowing sufficient time to get to the police
station in order to arrive at least 15 minutes before the assignment, planning
one’s own availability during the day (some interviews may take more time than
expected and interpreters should always allow extra time if they are planning
other assignments for the day). Perez and Wilson (2007: 84) in their research
study conducted with the Scottish Police also raise the notion of “logistics”
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 93

(in terms of an interpreter’s availability and time) and state that it is considered
as an area of concern among police officers.
Another fundamental issue which needs to be addressed if an interview is to
be effective is priming the interpreter. Since interpreters are generally unaware
of the nature of the assignments when they are booked (which seems somehow
understandable in police settings), it appears that upon their arrival at the po-
lice station they would prefer some information about the assignment, rather
than just step into the interview room without any briefing. Brunning (2015),
who considers interpreters as “highly skilled people operating at high level” and
for whom being properly briefed is equal to being properly prepared, advo-
cates briefing interpreters and claims that that “they should not hear about the
events they would be interpreting for the first time as they enter the interview
room.”
Cambridgeshire Constabulary (2016) also recognises the importance of brief-
ing an interpreter “on the nature of the assignment.” Furthermore, a document
prepared by the British Ministry of Justice “Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal
Proceedings” (2011) also highlights the importance of including interpreters in
a planning process which will allow them to develop an understanding of the
structure and the aims of the interview and questioning methods.
However, there does not always seem to be a consensus among police
officers whether they should brief their interpreters, what they should brief them
about or when to brief, that is, in suspect interviews and/or in witness or victim
interviews. Some officers claim that an interpreter does not need to be briefed
in detail (or briefed at all) in order not to become influenced or contaminated
or because they do not wish to reveal the content of the interview prior to it,
especially if the same interpreter is to interpret between the defence solicitor
and a suspect.14 These are undoubtedly serious dilemmas and therefore Rom-
bouts (2011) suggests that before the interview the interpreter should be pro-
vided with a short briefing (without going into much detail) which will enable
their successful participation in the interview. In a similar manner, Avon and
Somerset Constabulary (2016), which include briefing and preparation into the
responsibilities of both an interviewing officer and an interpreter, state that the
interpreter should be provided with “brief information on the nature of the case”
and also informed about the interviewing technique.
Last but not least, it should be noted that pre-interview briefing can be
an excellent opportunity to build rapport between the interviewer and the inter-
preter (like between the interviewer and the interviewee during Engage and Explain
stage), discuss practical matters, for example, interpreter’s breaks or safety (es-
pecially in the case of suspect interviews), establish and build trust relations as
well as give both parties an opportunity to explain their roles and expectations

14
British Transport Police (2016) – personal communication.
94 Chapter Six

towards each other in order to ensure successful cooperation during the interview.
Despite such a great importance of briefing and even though Brunning (2015)
claims that interpreters should not be apprehensive about requesting briefing, it
seems that the initiative in this matter lies mostly on the part of the interviewing
officers. Hence, perhaps police officers ought to take this initiative more often and
talk to their interpreters about how they would like to work with them.

4.2.2 Interview

Whereas the content of the previous section referred to the pre-interview stage,
the issues described in this section (explanation of role and ethics (E), accuracy,
active listening and analysis (A), clarification (C)) apply to “the interview proper”
and thus refer to the following stages of the PEACE framework for investigative
interviewing: Engage and Explain (E), Account (A), and Closure (C).
As previously stated, all of the issues (except for the explanation of role)
ought to be observed throughout all of the stages of the interview and not only
in its separate stages (see Table 1). The explanation of the interpreter’s role to
the interviewer(s), as noted before, should take place during a briefing session
in the Preparation and planning stage, whereas to the interviewee during Engage
and Explain. The interpreter’s behaviour resulting from the explanation of the
role needs to be observed throughout the interview though.

Explanation of the role and ethics (E)

Clarity is considered to be one of the key concepts of investigative interviewing.
This clarity (and comprehensibility), which to a large extent is a result of careful
planning, needs to be evident throughout the interview stage as well. While the
pre-interview briefing between an interviewer and interpreter should ideally aim
at explaining the structure of the interview to the interpreter, provide them with
some general information about the interview as well as clarify their role, it is
during Engage and Explain stage that the interpreter’s role should be explained
to the interviewee (since some interviewees may not be familiar with working
with an interpreter). As mentioned earlier, interpreter’s behaviour resulting from
the explanation of their role needs to be observed throughout the interview.
Due to the fact that it is the interviewer who leads an interview, not the interpreter,
it is them who should explain to the interviewee what the interpreter-mediated
interview will look like. According to “Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal
Proceedings” (2011: 58) at the beginning of the interview it is the interviewer’s
task to explain “who will lead the interview in terms of maintaining direct com-
munication with the witness” and to maintain eye contact with the interviewee.
Interviewers are also advised to clearly identify the interpreter at the outset of the
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 95

interview and if possible, even make sure they are visible in a video recording
(“Achieving…” 2011: 58).
Providing the interviewee with a clear explanation how both parties need
to work with the interpreter will enhance the flow and success of communica-
tion and prevent problems such as, for example, not maintaining eye contact
by the interviewee or expecting advocacy from the interpreter (see Eades 2005;
Gibbons 2003).
The concept of ethical behaviour appears to be of great importance for investi-
gative interviewing and police interpreting alike, which has already been discussed
under the Principle 2 and 3 of investigative interviewing and in various codes of
conduct for interpreters. Schollum (2005: 3) maintains that ethical investigative
interviewing means “treating suspects with respect, being open-minded, tolerant
and impartial” and it seems the same behaviour should be observed by professional
police interpreters. On the other hand, knowledge and awareness of the principles
of interpreters’ professional conduct by police officers working with interpreters
could also prove useful. While there are police officers who “believe that the in-
terpreter acts in good faith and attempts to do the best they possibly can,”15 there
are still probably some who may be concerned about issues such as impartiality
or confidentiality. By virtue of that knowledge police officers could be assured that
professional interpreters also strive for maintaining standards and ethics at work.

Accuracy, active listening, analysis (A)

While the significance of accuracy in both investigative interviewing and inter-
preting has already been emphasised while discussing Principle 1, this section
focuses on elements which seem to be inextricably linked to it and are consid-
ered key skills in interpersonal communication and interpreting, namely active
listening and analysis.
Let us first examine active listening from the perspective of investigative
interviewing. According to the College of Policing (2016) interviewers need to
“support an account with active listening” which is connected to building rap-
port, understanding and trust by making use of the appropriate non-verbal be-
haviour, allowing interviewees to pause in order to recall the information without
interruptions and encouraging them to carry on until the account is complete.
While it seems vital that interpreters also be aware of and respect the pauses
within the interview and avoid taking the floor too early, active listening skills in
interpreting, above all, entail listening and at the same time analysing what the
speech is about and what the speakers are trying to say which requires split-
attention, full concentration and being focused (see Gillies 2013; Jones 1998). Loss
of attention, interruptions or background noise often lead to misinterpretation,
inaccurate rendition of the message or even omission of the information at times.
15
British Transport Police (2016) – personal communication.
96 Chapter Six

Many professionally trained interpreters are able to cope with such difficulties,
however police officers may also contribute to a successful and accurate interpre-
tation by, for example, ensuring that interview suites are not exposed to excessive
noise or arranging breaks in the interview, bearing in mind that interpreting is
a challenging mental process and being aware that interviews may last over an
extended period of time.

Clarification (C)
Gerver (1971, cited by Pochhacker 2007: 16) defines interpreting as “a fairly com-
plex form of human information processing involving the reception, storage, trans-
formation and transmission of verbal information” which, as it has been stated
above, requires active listening and analysis. It is thus apparent that interpreters
need to understand the speaker’s message before rendering it in the target language
and if they do not or cannot understand it, they simply cannot provide (accurate)
interpretation. However, as noted while discussing Principle 6, interpreters may
experience difficulty in understanding what the interviewee means if they do not
express their ideas clearly, if they speak in a quiet manner or have (or pretend to
have) some speech impairment.
For example, respondents (police officers, judges, and public prosecutors)
in the survey on the quality of translation and interpreting services in criminal
proceedings in Poland (Mendel 2011: 17–20) reported that there were some
cases when “the interpreter was not able to interpret accurately and relay the
message due to the fact that the interpreter himself/herself did not understand
what the witness meant or did not understand what the suspect was saying.”16
What is more, some interpreters, to whom the survey was addressed as well,
also pointed out that in some cases the message was too fast, unclear or chaotic
(Mendel 2011: 29). In such situations it is indispensable for interpreters to ask
for clarification or repetition. Tate and Hann (2010) also consider it significant
in order to promote understanding between parties. What is more, due to the
fact that public service interpreting is a culturally bound activity and interview-
ees can have different cultural backgrounds, there may be cases when cultural
differences will require the interpreter’s intervention, that is, seeking clarification
or providing explanation in order to communicate cultural gaps (Angelelli 2008),
avoid misunderstanding or a serious communication problems, alert the parties
to a possible missed cultural inference, reflect the speaker’s intention and “pro-
duce similar reaction in the listener” (Hale 2007: 142).
On this basis, asking for repetition or clarification should not be perceived
by police officers as a sign of poor interpreting skills but as an essential strategy
applied to ensure obtaining accurate information and rendering the message
accurately and faithfully. Certainly, when seeking clarification or asking for
16
Translation from Polish – KH.
 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 97

repetition, interpreters need to make sure that both the interviewee and inter-
viewer are kept informed of such interventions in order to maintain their trust
and not to make anyone feel excluded from the communication.

4.2.3 Post-interview

Evaluation and reflection (E)

Reflective practice, which is related to professional contexts and which according
to Ghaye (2005) “is seen as a way of promoting the development of autonomous,
qualified and self-directed professionals,” can be a powerful tool to enable the
interviewer and interpreter to consider and analyse the interview again. While
the reasons for evaluation between both parties differ to some extent, that is,
the interviewer does it generally with the intention of “determining how the
interviewee’s account fits in with the rest of the investigation or whether any
further action is necessary” (College of Policing 2016), there are common bases
as well, such as reflecting upon one’s own performance with a view to establish-
ing strong and weak points as well as areas for improvement. Thus, the value of
reflection and evaluation cannot be underrated for police forces and interpreters
alike. Professionals need to bear in mind that:

Reflection is an important human activity in which people recapture their

experience, think about it, mull it over and evaluate it. It is this working with
experience that is important in learning. (Boud, Keogh and Walker 1985: 19)

The key notion here seems to be “working with experience,” that is, careful and
intentional reflection on experience since the experience alone does not automat-
ically need to lead to learning and/or professional development. What also needs
to be noted is the fact that reflective practice and (self-)evaluation should not be
considered a valuable tool only for trainee interpreters but, above all, for practising
interpreters as one of the fundamental elements of continuing professional devel-
opment (CPD), aside from attending seminars, training sessions, and conferences.
What is more, evaluation can serve as a debriefing session for the interviewer
and the interpreter during which both parties can express their opinion and voice
their concerns regarding the interpretation during the interview and, if necessary,
identify any areas for improvement. The debriefing can also be an opportunity
for the interviewer to check the interpreter’s welfare, that is, to establish how they
feel after the interview. Interpreting is generally considered a stressful task (see
Kurz 2003; Valero-Garcés 2006). Toledano Buendía and Aguilera Àvila (Chapter
Three of the present volume) maintain that healthcare and legal settings tend
to be stressful environments to work in. It could be asserted that the interview
is even more stressful for interpreters than for interviewers on the grounds that
98 Chapter Six

the content can often be emotionally and psychologically straining. Brunning

(2015) rightly notices that police officers are able to seek consultation after the
interview whereas interpreters “often leave the police station as a ticking bomb.”
Finally, if “the interview should not end abruptly” for a suspect, victim
or witness (College of Policing 2016), neither should it for the interpreter.
It is therefore crucial that both interpreters and interviewers attach value to the
debriefing session instead of considering it as overtime or, even worse, a waste
of time. If interpreter-mediated interviews are to be successful, both professionals
need to work as a team and cooperate not only during the interview, but also
and most of all, before and after.

5. Working together to achieve best evidence

In the context of literature that looks at investigative interviewing as well as

public service interpreting, the chapter aimed to examine the seven principles of
investigative interviewing (7Ps) together with the PEACE framework for investi-
gative interviewing and apply them to interpreter-mediated interviews in order
to identify and illustrate shared principles and behaviour between interviewers
and interpreters, namely obtaining an accurate and reliable account, refraining
from bias, acting fairly and ethically, seeking clarification, careful planning and
preparation before an interview and evaluation after an interview. It appears
that not only do both parties tend to follow similar principles and value similar
concepts and practices, but most of all they share the same goal – achieving
best evidence. However, according to the author of the chapter, what is also
prerequisite in order to achieve best evidence is PACT, which stands for factors
such as professionalism, awareness and understanding, cooperation, and trust
(see Figure 2).

PACT
Professionalism

P Awareness &
E P Achieving  Understanding
A E A C  Best
C E Evidence
E  Cooperation
& 7 Ps

 Trust

Figure 2. Achieving best evidence in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews (Holewik)

 PEACE in interpreter-mediated investigative interviews… 99

Professionalism entails skills, integrity and professional conduct, where tenets

such as accuracy, impartiality and confidentiality need to be of prime importance
for interpreters and interviewers alike. Police officers expect professionalism and
for them the fact that the interpreter is on the register should guarantee the
quality of interpreting and professionalism (Mendel 2011: 17). In the same way,
interpreters perceive police officers as professionals, who work in the public
interest by achieving the highest possible standards and whose attitude, effective-
ness and professionalism affect people’s perceptions not only of the whole police
force but, most of all, of the criminal justice system (see Milne and Bull 1999).
Professionals in the interpreter-mediated interviews should also be the indi-
viduals who possess knowledge and aim to develop awareness and mutual un-
derstanding of how to work effectively with others. Shepherd and Griffiths (2013:
21) claim that “if we receive something from another person, we feel obliged to
reciprocate by giving something back. This applies in all human interactions.”
Such mutual understanding and reciprocity can facilitate an interaction – an
interview as well as foster cooperation which, as it has been reiterated throughout
the chapter, is such a critical factor in investigative interviewing.
Cooperation is essential throughout the whole interview, during every stage
and ought to commence very early on – with briefing. It is also manifested in
understanding other participant’s roles and behaviours. Interpreters should not be
considered as merely “assistants” with a role and status inferior to police officers,
lawyers and judges (Gallai 2013: 58), as an impediment or a necessary evil “only
used in the rarest of rare occasions when there exists no other option” (Vadack-
umchery 1999: 99, cited by Gallai 2013: 59). Pöchhacker and Schlesinger (2005:
158) mention three roles which an interpreter may take (especially in medical
settings): “the interpreter may either take over the interview, serve as a mere
tool to facilitate communication or work in partnership17 with the interviewing
specialist.” It is widely known that the aim of interpreting is indeed to facilitate
communication, but since interactions do not take place in a social vacuum and
the interpreter is considered an active participant (Wadensjö 1998; Angelelli
2008; Berk-Seligson 2002), it is the cooperation and partnership between the
participants that is essential to ensure a successful outcome, namely, achieving
best evidence. For this reason, interviewers ought to explain to interpreters how
they would like to work with them18 not through them, and the training on how
to work with interpreters should be integrated into the investigative interviewing
training (see Perez and Wilson 2007).
Finally, mutual understanding and cooperation as well as establishing rapport
can assist promoting trust between the interviewer and the interpreter and
in consequence between the interviewer and the interviewee. It is widely known

17
Emphasis added – KH.
18
Emphasis added – KH.
100 Chapter Six

that both interviewers and interviewees hold certain expectations towards the
interpreter. In particular, he/she
• is present during the interview to facilitate the communication;
• shall not disclose any information (confidentiality);
• shall be interpreting faithfully and will not alter anything, for example, for the
benefit of the interviewer or the interviewee;
• shall not side with or advocate for the other party (impartiality).
They trust the interpreter and consequently the interpreter needs to maintain
trust with both parties at all times. Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that the
interpreter also places trust in the interviewer, especially with regards to their safety
hoping, for instance, that their personal details will not be disclosed to a suspect.
Given this, it is apparent that not only do all of the above-mentioned factors,
namely professionalism, awareness and understanding, cooperation, and trust,
have equally important status, but also that they are interrelated. Therefore, if
the interpreter-mediated interviews are to remain accurate and effective and the
police evidence reliable when subjected to the scrutiny of the court, these factors
as well as principles and concepts for interpreter-mediated interviews suggested
in the chapter, would need to be observed at all times.

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 Chapter Seven

“Community Interpreting – Professionalisation

for Lay Interpreters”:
A new initiative for the training of
community interpreters in Austria*19

Elvira Iannone

In 2013, my colleague Katharina Redl and I developed a new course for the professionalisation of
community interpreters (“Community Interpreting – Professionalisierung für LaiendolmetscherIn-
nen im sozialen, medizinischen, psychotherapeutischen und kommunalen Bereich”). The course
was first held in 2014 at the University of Innsbruck, Tyrol, and was repeated in the same year
due to high demand. We were later asked to hold the course with some modifications for a group
of interpreters working for the City of Wels Department for Women, Non-Discrimination and
Integration in Upper Austria.
This training was held from October 2014 to January 2015, and a second group of interpreters
is now being trained. All training courses were open to all interested interpreters regardless of
their background and language combination.
In my chapter, I would like to highlight the factors that influence the success of training
initiatives for community interpreters, taking into account problems such as the lack of regulation
in many European countries, the different backgrounds of untrained interpreters and the question
of what level of expertise to aim for. I will also explain how these considerations influenced the
design of our course. In this I will focus on two of our main problems: first, how to plan a train-
ing course for a group of interpreters without any information about who might potentially be
interested in such a course and what their level of experience might be. Second, how to convey the
necessary content in a realistic timeframe but without becoming unaffordable for our target group.
The objective of my chapter is to lay out the course design, taking into account the above-
mentioned questions, and to show how such a training programme might be implemented on
a long-term basis in Austria. I will draw some conclusions regarding course content and organ-
isational aspects, providing an outlook on complementary training programmes that Katharina
Redl and I are now in the process of realising.
Keywords: community interpreting, interpreter training, lay interpreters, professionalisation

*19Translated from German by Edward M. Bradburn.

 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 105

1. Preliminary remarks: Background to the professionalisation

course for lay interpreters
In the literature on interpretation studies, community interpreting is a complex
subject area. Typical problems commonly highlighted in this context include the
knowledge, power and status imbalances between the primary actants (Pöch-
hacker 2000), as well as role attributions, expectations, and conflicts (Wadensjö
1998 or Lee and Llewellyn-Jones 2014). The literature also addresses the dif-
ferences between the various settings in contrast to others: studies have been
published on court interpreting (Berk-Seligson 1990 or Kadrić 2001), on asylum
procedures (Pöllabauer 2005), on police interviews (Perez and Wilson 2007) and
on doctor-patient consultations (Carr 1997), to name but a few. The risks posed
by unqualified interpreters or poor-quality interpreting and a lack of proper
training have also been the subject of many studies, which, starting with Gentile
et al. (1996), are accompanied by urgent calls for professionalisation. Pöchhack-
er’s charwoman interpreter (2000), Bahadır’s communication crutches (2010a)
and the interpreter as Good Samaritan discussed by Moazedi (2006) could all
be cited as examples here. At an international level, there is now a multitude of
training formats whose diversity involves not merely the scope but also course
content and the entity offering the training (client-side or provided by independ-
ent institutions). In terms of considering how theoretically consistent models are
(or could be) actually implemented in practice in Europe, and whether these
courses could also be offered over the long-term and thus established as an
institution, practical literature and/or literature accessible in languages other than
the respective national language is lacking, however.1
To lessen this gap, the following chapter will introduce a university course
for the professionalisation of lay interpreters offered by Innsbruck University:
“Community interpreting: a professionalisation course for lay interpreters in so-
cial work, medicine, psychotherapy and community settings” (UCI).2 After de-
fining the scope of the term “professionalisation,” the paper discusses the initial
deliberations during the conceptual phase and the course design, followed by
the actual course model used, and concludes with an initial assessment.
Note that the chapter does not offer a detailed presentation of the development and
situation of community interpreting specifically for Austria and the special status
accorded there to court interpreting in particular, nor does it provide a closer
analysis of the various German terms and definitions (cf. Pöllabauer 2009) that
1
This could result from differences between the legal frameworks applicable in each country,
combined with a varying degree of federalism/centralism (and thus competences) or – as is more
likely – it could reflect the conditions set by the bodies that provide funding for such studies for
model development and pilot projects.
2
German Universitätskurs „Community Interpreting – Professionalisierung für Laiendolmet-
scherInnen im sozialen, medizinischen, psychotherapeutischen und kommunalen Bereich“.
106 Chapter Seven

led to the course’s lengthy title. Accordingly, this paper does not so much offer
a theoretical analysis (and much less a model) but instead constitutes a field
report about the practical implementation of theoretical considerations while
accounting for various factors.

2. Professionalisation: Aspirations and reality

As a first step, we will briefly consider how the term “professionalisation” –

a fairly vague concept when used in non-technical language – is defined in re-
lation to conference interpreting. Without wanting to go into any further detail
concerning the definitions of profession, professionalism or professionalisation
as used in the social sciences (cf. Pöllabauer 2009: 100–104), our definition
will then be used to explore the status of the professionalisation of community
interpreters in Austria, with the ideal being contrasted with the actual situation.

2.1 Professionalisation in the training of conference interpreters

Even in the field of conference interpreting, professionalisation cannot be taken

for granted, although newcomers can generally avail themselves of established
structures. Here, we do not merely mean training with a theoretical component
and interpreting exercises of increasing difficulty as part of a formal interpret-
ing studies degree (on the development of conference interpreter training, see
Kalina 2015: 20–29), but also “mock conferences,” during which other (meta-)
skills can be gained to maximise practical relevance for training (Andres 2013).
Moreover, Neff (2015) also views targeted professionalisation courses during
degree studies as an essential precondition for a professional approach to con-
ference interpreting. Only so, he argues, can good interpreting students become
customer-oriented interpreting service providers, since career professionalism
requires professional awareness: “When service providers (i.e., interpreters) are
denied their status as professionals, interpreting fees decline and working con-
ditions grow desperate” (Neff 2015: 220).
Yet professionalisation is not merely a topic for the individual interpreter
but for the totality of all interpreters and hence the profession itself. For con-
ference interpreters to be appreciated as practitioners of their trade, Neff offers
the following steps toward professionalisation (some mutually dependent) that
are necessary for interpreting to even be considered a profession:
• “sound foundation of academic training,”
• “a professional organisation,” that would organise and ensure the following
points:
 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 107

• “statutes and codices of ethics and conduct,”

• “a quality assurance and litigation system,”
• “the setup and regular updating of a membership directory made available
to customers,”
• “a fee policy reflecting the true value of the service rendered,”
• “harmonised working conditions,”
• “quality standards and certification of interpreting service providers,” as well
as – “close cooperation between the recipients and the service providers or
their association, in order to sensitise both parties to reciprocal needs and
expectations” (Neff 2015: 220).
Neff concludes that the process of professionalisation in this sense is already
complete for conference interpreting and partially so for court interpreting, but
that

[t]his definitely has not yet been the case everywhere for community inter-
preting, especially not in Europe, where efforts to secure this recognition
only began in the late 1990s. (Neff 2015: 220)

On this view, the professionalisation of conference interpreting is com-

plete. The steps towards this goal outlined by Neff are not only described with
great precision but also plentifully illustrated with examples from practice.
Accordingly, his model can also be applied to other fields within interpreting.

2.2 Professionalisation in community interpreting:

Aspirations in Austria (and elsewhere)

Taking into consideration the points raised by Neff (2015: 220), we are forced
to come to the conclusion that much has yet to be done for professionalisation
in the field of community interpreting, at least in the case of Austria. While
community interpreting has been the subject of empirical research – starting
with Pöchhacker’s (2000) study in the late 1990s at Vienna General Hospital
and Pöllabauer’s (2005) investigations of interpreting in asylum procedures –
an established system of academic training remains absent. Whether this is in fact
realistic, due to the legal requirements that one must satisfy to be able to enrol
in a degree course and the further restrictions with which they are associated,
is an entirely different question, particularly when one considers the merely
formal requirements to be fulfilled by native speakers from Afghanistan, Soma-
lia or other (civil) war zones. Nor is it even worth mentioning the systematic
approach articulated in other items raised by Neff (2015: 220), since the rele-
vant stakeholders are not organised into any professional association. Yet the
fact that professionalisation is not being tackled by the community interpreters
108 Chapter Seven

themselves but by organised conference interpreters on the former’s behalf is

nonetheless an interesting development. In summer 2013, UNIVERSITAS Aus-
tria, the Austrian Association of Conference Interpreters and Translators, took
the step of forming an internal committee for community interpreting (AfCI
2016). UNIVERSITAS Austria has also set up a Facebook group for networking
and sharing information, and one may hope to see further engagement by the
Association in this area.
As regards training programmes in Austria, the four-semester university
course in community interpreting offered by the University of Graz (Universi-
tätslehrgang “Kommunaldolmetschen”, UCG) can – and indeed must – be seen
as a pioneering development. This career-integrated course, under the academic
direction of Erich Prunč, runs for a total of four semesters, offers a total of 73
ECTS credits including an internship and is offered for specific language pairs.3
The qualification earned is “Academic Interpreting Specialist in Social Work, Med-
icine and the Community” (UCG 2016). The university course was first held from
2004 to 2006 (ITAT 2016). Since then, it has been offered at regular intervals but
actually held rather infrequently and not for all languages. A likely reason why
this very wide-ranging and scientifically sound course with immense practical
relevance could not be held more often is as trivial as it is decisive: the costs.
If we compare these costs with the hourly rates charged by interpreters who work
for public organisations and NGOs – always assuming they are actually paid and
not working in a voluntary capacity – we immediately notice a serious imbalance
between the two figures. This disparity is made worse by the fact that many in-
terpreters in social work are part-time, and use interpreting to supplement their
bread-and-butter job. This also adds a time dimension to other limits on basic
or further training due to location. Nor have we yet considered the point that
a minimum number of participants must enrol per language pair for the course
to be financially viable. The question therefore presents itself of how to design
an educational training programme so that it will attract the target market while
simultaneously managing to keep course relevant in terms of its content.
Excepting this University of Graz course, no generally accessible educational
programme was offered for lay interpreters in Austria. In the time since the
last evidence-based study on the state of training for community interpreters in
Austria – published by Daneshmayeh in 2008 – this situation had remained
entirely unchanged. In isolated cases, institutions working almost exclusively with
interpreters have trained “their” interpreters, but this has generally involved only
a few hours of training – or only an onboarding interview. Some interpreters
had not received even this perfunctory briefing since they had been working for
other institutions or government agencies. Even if we consider the professional
3
For the 2016 summer semester, prospective student lists were available for the “Community
Interpreting” course at the University of Graz in the languages Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/
Serbian, Hungarian, Russian and Turkish (UCG 2016).
 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 109

development courses for conference and court interpreters offered by the various
professional associations – mostly offered in Vienna and at typical industry fees
for training – there is still no real sense of a systematic approach or general
accessibility.

3. UCI – “Community Interpreting: A professionalisation

course for lay interpreters in social work, medicine,
psychotherapy and community settings”

To remedy the deficiencies in training courses for the professionalisation of lay

interpreters, Katharina Redl and I developed a university course in 2013 for the
University of Innsbruck, whose course model (and conceptual development)
will be introduced and critically analysed in this section. Following an initial
request made by Ankyra, an institution within the refugee service (Diakonie
Flüchtlingsdient), which offers psychotherapy for migrants and refugees with
the help of interpreters, and is a pioneer in this field, and the Tyrol State Inte-
gration Office, this initial professionalisation course was to be designed and then
offered in western Austria in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck.
The body to which implementation was ultimately entrusted was the Coordi-
nation Unit for Continuing Education, which offers specialised interdisciplinary
research-based professional development for academics. Since this programme
is not offered to university students, however, the Coordination Unit’s work
must at least cover its own costs. A further objective was to make the course
publicly accessible with low entrance requirements, so as to offer value to
establishments such as NGOs that are often forced to resort to interpreters with
no formal training.

3.1 Considerations during the conceptual phase

During the conceptual phase, various decisions needed to be made concerning

the structure and organisation of the intended university course. For reasons of
space, the following section will only briefly outline a number of issues involved
in decision-making during the preparatory phase. Of these, only the most signif-
icant will then be further elaborated, prioritised by the impact of the individual
decision taken in each case.
The core issues and questions that were raised time and again, and led on
occasion to heated debate, can be summarised as follows:
Target market: Completion of an initial needs assessment will be waived in
favour of the experience held by initiators and stakeholders. Is the actual target
market aware of its own need for professionalisation, however – especially in
terms of the observations cited above? How can this target market be reached?
110 Chapter Seven

Language: Should the course be offered for specific language pairs? And if
so, which language group(s) should be catered to?
Prerequisites: Where should we set the bar as regards German language
skills? And where for mastery of the other language? What should be the min-
imum or maximum level in terms of working experience? And how should the
fulfilment of these requirements be documented and verified?
Didactics: Will teaching follow the traditional didactical style typical for
a conference interpreter degree course – that is, more or less “chalk and talk”
for the presentation of theoretical content and interpreting exercises? Or do the
equally complex yet differently structured communication settings in community
interpreting actually require a pedagogic approach that emphasises advanced
role-play, such as that adopted (albeit in a different format) by Mira Kadrić
(2011) or Şebnem Bahadır (2010b)?
Course structure: Should teaching take place in short, high-intensity
“blocks”? Or should evening or weekend classes be offered for participants with
a day job over a longer period? Should the course be “all-in-one” or consist of
multiple interlocking modules4?
Scope: What content will be covered during the course? And in what depth?
In the preparatory phase, almost all discussions ultimately returned to this
last question of content. Here, the focus was less on addressing the gaps in the
participants’ theoretical knowledge and far more concerned with what could actually
be offered in terms of the available budget, not least because the length – and
cost – of the course is directly related to the content covered. As the cost of the
course rises, so does the number of potential trainees excluded from the outset
for financial reasons. Moreover, how many prospective participants can or want to
pay good money for a continuing education course when they will ultimately be
offering interpreting on a voluntary basis or for a token hourly rate? The hardest
of the above questions to answer was therefore the cost-vs.-scope dichotomy.

3.2 Course design

The present section not only illustrates the actual answers to the above questions
but also presents the actual course design used. The various deliberations that
led to these decisions being taken are also discussed.
4
A modular approach is taken by “Quality-Focused Interpreting in Asylum Procedures”
(QUADA), a UNHCR Austria project directed by Annika Bergunde (UNHCR Austria) and Sonja
Pöllabauer (University of Graz). This project first involved the publication of a training handbook
(UNHCR 2015), whose 12 chapters have since been successfully converted into course modules
(each consisting of an online and classroom component) offered by the Association of Austrian
Adult Education Centres in Vienna (VÖV 2016). Note: the UCI and QUADA programmes were
parallel but nonetheless independent developments.
 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 111

Given that the objective was to create a training programme with general
accessibility, as few participants as possible should therefore be excluded a pri-
ori. No minimum or maximum limit is therefore placed on work experience.
As far as knowledge of German is concerned, the bar was set deliberately low:
CEFR level B2 is clearly inadequate for interpreting work. This decision none-
theless acknowledges the difficulty that participants have in proving an advanced
level of verbal language skills (i.e., listening comprehension and speaking), espe-
cially if these skills have not been acquired in a language course but are either
a result of the many years they have already spent in a German-speaking region
– which may overlap with their interpreting experience – or the fact that they
were born there. Here, our appraisal following an interview held during the
mandatory pre-course briefing is decisive in assessing language skills. Knowledge
of the other language is not verified.
The course is not designed to cater to specific language pairs. On the one
hand, this circumvents the problem of having to find suitable tutors and examin-
ers for languages such as Pashtu, Somali or Kurdish dialects. On the other hand,
the language-neutral approach also increases the chances of the course being
held: no course could be offered for only a few Tigrinya-speaking participants,
for example, although this is a key language in asylum procedures. The concerns
voiced by Neff (2015: 220), as mentioned at the outset, also apply here – namely
the decoupling of the process of professionalisation from the actual activity of
interpreting. Neff (2015: 220) also postulates this approach for the training of
conference interpreters, and this is now put into practice in a variety of forms at
many universities. German skills must therefore be developed enough to permit
the individual to comprehend complex issues and discuss these with others.
Although the overall course was to focus on language-neutral aspects, exercises
specific to language pairs were planned from the outset.
Regarding methodology and course structure, and also in light of the
lack of a needs assessment, a decision was taken to pair a standard didactical
approach to interpreting with a career-integrated course held on six Saturdays,
each consisting of 8 course units (48 units in total, 2.5 ECTS credits), plus a final
exam. The course was scheduled over a time frame of roughly three months.
This ensured the course was not too burdensome on participants coping with
the demands of a daytime job while also allowing enough time between course
units for reflection on the theoretical parts of the course and for applying its
practical aspects.
The course is offered for a maximum of 20 participants. Higher registration
fees would need to be charged if this maximum size were to be lowered with
no changes to course content. The course was to be marketed to prospective
participants with folder displays in organisations working (frequently) with
interpreters, and mailing lists run by the Tyrol State Integration Office and the
Diakonie Flüchtlingsdient.
112 Chapter Seven

1. The topics to be covered can be grouped into four content blocks:

• Theory
• Interpreting – history and profession (conference interpreting, court inter-
preting – strictly regulated in Austria, community interpreting, fixers5)
• Different modes of interpreting with a focus on aspects relevant for com-
munity interpreting
• Use and care of the voice in interpreting
2. Practical exercises (alone, with a partner, in groups, role plays)
• Preliminary language exercises (mother tongue and foreign language)
• Sight translation
• Basics of note-taking
• Chuchotage
• Preparation and follow-up of interpreting assignments
3. The role of the interpreter
• Role expectations
• Role conflicts
• How to deal with emotionally stressful situations (defining boundaries,
inter-/supervision)
• Professional ethics (codes of conduct of the Austrian professional organisa-
tions UNIVERSITAS Austria and ÖVGD, and of the German BDÜ)
4. Interpreting in specific settings (presentations by experts)
• psychotherapy
• medical settings
• youth welfare
• police
• asylum procedures
The final exam is a two-part oral examination. The first part consists of an
interview that addresses the most important aspects of course content for critical
self-reflection by the participant and correlation with his or her own practice.
The second part consists of a role-play involving a typical conversation that must
first be interpreted and then analysed. Students are examined simultaneously in
groups of two or three: this not only makes the role-play itself possible, but is
also intended to lessen the stress of the exam situation.
If one of the key criteria that define the success of such a programme is
that of cost – in the sense of the course actually being held – then one should
also address the subject of course costs at this juncture. It was clear from the
outset that fees for the community interpreting course should be kept as low
as possible for participants and the six-day structure for teaching the material
was also chosen for this reason. Yet the final fee (representing 1/20 of expenses
5
Interpreters in war or conflict zones are called fixers, “especially those working for the
media, because of the wide range of duties they undertake to ‘fix’ things for the journalist” (Baker
2010: 209).
 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 113

for course development and implementation, that is, total outlay split between
20 participants) was still many times higher than that presumably acceptable to
community interpreters, given their low hourly rates. Ultimately, the implemen-
tation of the course has depended on (variously-sized) contributions from the
State of Tyrol, the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) and the Diakonie Flücht-
lingsdient,6 which have covered a considerable proportion of the costs.7
All in all, the end result has been a relatively compact course aimed at
attracting a prospective student body as varied as possible in terms of language
diversity and prior experience. A conscious decision was also made to retain
theoretical content, since the primary goal is to motivate students to question
their own work, limits and opportunities, and to engage in self-reflection of
their own behavioural roles. Apart from teaching the fundamentals, the course
therefore focuses on the profession’s ethical principles as well as an appreciation
of and a nuanced engagement with the interpreter’s role. Given the wealth of
course content, the timetable seemed tight yet entirely feasible.

3.3 Critical analysis

The design decisions taken in the course’s conceptual phase may naturally seem
both theoretically plausible and justifiable by rational argument. After comple-
tion of the first course, however, questions were nonetheless raised about the
practical success of implementing this design and whether the previously set
goals had been achieved. In the year 2016, the following initial assessment has
been supplemented by an efficacy analysis based on a survey of the course grad-
uates. The goal is to identify the course content from which participants have
derived long-term benefits and which has proven helpful in individual cases
before, during and after an interpreting session. The survey also aims to include
the institutional staff in their role as interpreting service clients.
The analysis that follows is based on the course participants themselves,
self-reflection by the two course tutors and statements from students in the feed-
back section of the final exam and in the anonymous course evaluation survey.
For reasons of space, a detailed analysis is not offered in this paper.
As a result of the declared objective of creating a non-exclusive course,
the group was fairly heterogeneous, both in terms of language diversity and prior
work experience. While a detailed breakdown by first language, working lan-
guage, length of interpreting career, experience by interpreting setting(s), etc.
6
For various reasons, the sponsor situation has changed for subsequent courses: the third
course on community interpreting received no further funding from the ÖIF. The City of Innsbruck
has now joined Tyrol and the Diakonie Flüchtlingsdient as co-sponsor.
7
Pöllabauer (2009: 105–106) also addresses the dependency of the Graz university course
on grant funding.
114 Chapter Seven

cannot be given here, one interesting fact is that the participants included two
sworn and court-certified interpreters and members of the Austrian Association
of Certified Court Interpreters (ÖVGD, cf. ÖVGD 2016) who wanted to attend
a professional development course near their place of work. The heterogeneity
of the student body turned out to be beneficial to the participants, since a real
exchange of experience took place between them – both “old hands” and “green-
horns,” and in terms of differences in the fields of interpretation and languages
represented. The course certainly reached its target market and had therefore
attracted the “proper” students.
Knowledge of the German language was at least adequate for all participants;
the trainers were not able to assess skills held in other languages. In the exercises
specific to language pairs, participants provided one another with feedback, and
not only on comprehensiveness and other qualities of the interpreting provided
but also on specific linguistic aspects. The students on the course were well aware
that progress in this area could be made only by offering reciprocal feedback
and mutual support. While this situation may be unsatisfactory for teaching
staff, the focus of the UCI lay on raising participants’ awareness of the ethical
questions in their profession – to make them conscious of expectations for their
services and offer practical ways of handling difficult situations in this context.
Accordingly, the decision to offer a primarily language-neutral course was in
hindsight justifiable.
The decisions taken on methodology and course organisation also proved to
be appropriate, and the overall course design can be said to have worked well.
In terms of scope and course content, it must be clearly conceded that com-
prehensiveness was never the intended goal: in the case of some course units,
there was simply not enough time to cover individual aspects in depth. It was
nonetheless possible to address a wide range of topics in brief, and thus highlight
the thematic diversity of interpreting while discussing some of the trade’s more
interesting aspects. Professionalism in the sense defined above cannot of course
be expected after just six days of study. In our final exam interviews with course
participants, it was certainly clear to see how they had nonetheless developed an
initial awareness of many difficult topics within community interpreting.
As the final interviews and comments offered in the written course evaluation
show, course participants were able to profit from the entire spectrum of topics
offered. Many participants also expressed an interest in additional courses.
While the issues raised are too varied to be easily summarised, subjects such as
taxation, liability and insurance (explicitly not covered by the course), note-taking,
networking and the chance to discuss “difficult cases” were frequently mentioned.
The last point in particular leads us to conclude that one goal was achieved that
Daneshmayeh (2008: 332) views as applicable to all professionalisation measures:
she states that professionalisation is possible only if training programmes create
the conditions for community interpreters to act and react in a professional way
 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 115

in light of the discrete challenges they are faced with, and if they are able to
reflect on their actions.8
The interpreter is only one of the parties involved in interviews utilising inter-
preting, however: responsibility for communication in the sense of conversation
management is borne by the client – that is, the advisor, doctor or social worker.
The vague awareness that these parties (as is also true of the clients of confer-
ence interpreters) know nothing or very little of the interpreter’s role and working
practice – or have derived their own theories of the same from their experience
with interpreters of varying quality – was also clarified by the students’ discussions
of their experiences. The point was also made explicitly in the lectures given by
external speakers, when they provided their own views of how cooperation with
interpreters works (or should work) in their own institutions.9 We must therefore
ask how successful interpreters, sensitive to and capable of handling their profes-
sion’s ethical questions, can be if other interview stakeholders (unwittingly) set
different ground rules. Here, too, there is a need for training – although its target
market may not necessarily believe this to be the case (cf. Pöllabauer 2009: 109).

4. Subsequent activities and outlook

This initial university course resulted in a number of additional steps and

programmes. It is therefore possible to state that, even if not originally designed as
such, the professionalisation course has increasingly assumed a modular format,
as we attempt to accommodate the participants’ requests for continuing educa-
tion. Only a selection of the wide variety of topics and formats – and organising
bodies – will be named here by means of example.
A presentation on taxation and commercial law was organised via the
Coordination Unit for Continuing Education at the University of Innsbruck,
held by a professional tax advisor and management consultant specialising in
language service providers (11 May 2015). A weekend workshop10 is also planned
for examining and discussing certain course topics in greater depth. Şebnem
Bahadır’s staged interpreter approach (2010c) has been explicitly chosen as the
methodology here (WW 2016).
An email distribution list was also used to inform course graduates of rele-
vant events of potential interest that the trainers or staff at the Coordination Unit
for Continuing Education were unable to organise themselves or which were
8
“[…] nämlich dass eine Professionalisierung nur möglich ist, wenn Ausbildungsprogramme
die Voraussetzung dafür schaffen, dass DolmetscherInnen im Bereich des CI professionell agieren
und reflektiert auf unterschiedliche Anforderungen reagieren können” (Daneshmayeh 2008: 332).
9
On the various expectations placed on interpreting in asylum procedures (for example), cf.
Pöllabauer (2015: 58–59).
10
Details of this and all other activities mentioned in this section are accurate as of March 2016.
116 Chapter Seven

organised by other parties. As examples of these other external events, talks or

publications, we might cite the presentation given by Brigitta Busch (14 April
2015) on telling and retelling in the asylum procedure or the updates provided
about the above-mentioned QUADA project, from the initial online publication
(UNHCR 2015) to the repurposing of the training modules as basic/continu-
ing education (VÖV 2016). This approach also ensures that graduates are kept
informed of relevant training offered by the Tyrol Chamber of Commerce: one
result of our close collaboration with the Chamber was a course on note-taking
(25 September and 2 October 2015), for example.
A regular meet-up for course graduates to get together and compare notes
was also organised after the end of the first course. This meet-up is held once
every quarter on alternating weekdays, to ensure that everyone gets the chance
to attend the event, regardless of their other regular weekly commitments.
Here, interpreters can learn more about their fellow course participants and dis-
cuss their profession with colleagues – note that unlike conference interpreters,
community interpreters handle their assignments alone. Since the UCI has been
held several times, graduates also meet participants from other courses, which
helps to form a real-world community interpreters’ network.
When the Coordination Unit for Continuing Education organises its activities,
one of the underlying considerations on each occasion is whether these events
could potentially be of interest to other target groups. While the two events
mentioned above were targeted primarily at graduates of the university course, in-
vitations were nonetheless also extended to sworn and court-certified interpreters.
There were two reasons for this decision. First, CPD courses have not been offered
for these court interpreters in western Austria – only in Vienna, with its associated
factors of cost and (in particular) time.11 The aim was therefore to “raise the status”
of Innsbruck. Second, the idea was to offer an additional forum for networking –
and thus for active communication and knowledge transfer.
The last point to address is the demand for this professionalisation course,
which refers back to the questions raised above about the accessibility of the
target market and finding the balance in terms of course costs.12 The first course
was scheduled for the 2014 summer semester at Innsbruck and was booked out
shortly after course dates were posted, with demand being roughly double the
number of available places. A waiting list was then set up, and resulted – with

11
The distance from Innsbruck to Vienna is roughly 480  km, a rail journey of some
4–4.5  hours.
12
As of the winter semester 2015/2016, the course fee (including the final exam) is €250
per person. As things have turned out, this seems to be the de facto limit, although it is still
too high for some participants, especially those who have just completed the asylum procedure.
Accordingly, a number of organisations that employ these individuals with “languages of limited
diffusion” as interpreters seem to be covering a larger or smaller proportion of the costs. Exact
figures are unavailable, however.
 “Community Interpreting – Professionalisation for Lay Interpreters”… 117

a certain amount of word-of-mouth advertising – in the second course in the

following 2014/2015 winter semester. Since the course is currently being held
for the third time at Innsbruck (winter semester 2015/2016), 60 (lay) interpret-
ers have now attended this professionalisation course. Participants in this third
course were also contacted and encouraged to book via the waiting list, which
is maintained throughout the year. Here too, the number of prospective
participants was more than twice that of the places available on the course. In some
organisations – such as the State Police Department, for example13 – interpreters
are not merely being made aware of this training programme but are even
being asked to submit proof that they have successfully completed the course.
In other words, the programme is not simply being advertised in the interpreter
community but is also being acknowledged by interpreting clients – who now
form the next target market for raising awareness of interpreting work.
Apart from the courses held at Innsbruck, the course has also been held in
the 2014/2015 winter semester and the 2015 summer semester in Wels in Upper
Austria. To cover the needs of the city’s administration, the local Department
for Women, Non-Discrimination and Integration had established a pool of inter-
preters that needed basic training before starting work. The original concept was
retained, with minimal adjustments to the necessary settings and also restricted
to 15 participants. Since the formalities for a third course for the 2016 summer
semester have now been agreed, up to 45 interpreters will then have received
training in Wels. Other enquiries have also been received from various locations
and organisations in Austria. One has also been received from Germany, which
again underlines the primary dilemma of course costs vs. scope.
The German SprInt network of linguistic and integration mediators has
developed a full-time programme for community interpreters: encompassing 2,000
units timetabled over 18 months, and including three separate internships, the
course is also officially recognised nationwide (SprInt 2016). The association
from which the enquiry originated informed us that some of their interpreters
had already completed this course, but also noted that resources were unavailable
for funding those of their interpreters that had not been working for the asso-
ciation for as long and had yet to gain SprInt certification. In the interim, the
association was therefore looking for an alternative for basic professionalisation
until further funds were available.

5. Conclusions

The university course “Community Interpreting: A professionalisation course

for lay interpreters in social work, medicine, psychotherapy and community
13
Email dated 28 January 2016 from the Tyrol State Police Department to the mailing list
for interpreters who work for the police in Tyrol.
118 Chapter Seven

settings” was developed with the aim of offering a specific training programme
for the Austrian “community interpreting market” that addressed the need for
a generally accessible and affordable course for the professionalisation of lay
interpreters while considering the (very) few continuing education programmes
available. While the course design necessarily involved compromises into terms
of time and content, it has been readily accepted by the target market.
The course focuses on raising awareness of interpreting as a profession, profes-
sional ethics, the topic of role-playing in all of its aspects and the specific emo-
tional content of the interpreted conversation. Our experience to date has been
very positive, although a systematic review is still outstanding. The demand for
professional community interpreters is real, as is the need for continuing educa-
tion and professionalisation on the part of community interpreters themselves, as
is clear from the feedback received from subsequent programmes and network-
ing initiatives. In terms of content, our professionalisation course is unlikely to
revolutionise the profession, but it currently seems to offer a workable answer
to the dilemma of course costs vs. scope. While anything but comprehensive in
theory, it is a practical course that is actually being put into practice.

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 Chapter Eight

Elaboration of specialised glossaries

as a work placement for interpreting students:
Opportunities and pitfalls

Heather Adams and Agustín Darias-Marrero

This paper describes a supervised work placement for final-year and recent graduates in interpret-
ing comprising the drawing up of glossaries for use in a multi-cultural and multi-lingual project
that used professional interpreting services on a regular basis. Thus, the students were given access
to a considerable amount of documentation used in the meetings of a UN-led project for gender
equality and the empowerment of women in Spain and Africa (the African-Spanish Women’s
Network for a Better World), from which to compile glossaries on a number of specific topics,
including health, education and sexual and reproductive rights. A brief description of the project
will be followed by details of the work placement and examples of the glossary itself. Special atten-
tion will be paid to the delimitation of what should be included and excluded, the students’ and
supervisors’ perspectives in this regard, and examples of some cases in which cultural differences
affected language use in speakers/users of the same language.
Keywords: interpreting, specialised glossaries, UN-led project, work placement

1. Introduction
We will start by giving a brief overview of the context in which this work place-
ment took place, starting with the creation and nature of the African-Spanish
Women’s Network for a Better World itself and the interpreting and translation
assignments involved.
The passing of the Spanish Law on Gender Equality (Ley Orgánica 3/2007,
de 22 de marzo, para la igualdad efectiva de mujeres y hombres) constituted
a legislative landmark in the field of women’s human rights not only in Spain, but
across Europe, and even further afield. Such turning points do not take place
without a vast amount of preparation and groundwork, carried out by a wide
range of interested parties. In this case, one such stakeholder was the Spanish
122 Chapter Eight

government, led by the PSOE (Socialist) party, whose deputy prime minister,
María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, among many other activities, visited a num-
ber of African countries including Kenya and Mozambique with the Secretary of
State for International Cooperation, Leire Pajín in 2006. In Maputo, the capital
of Mozambique, they celebrated International Working Women’s Day (March
8th) and officially closed the Spain-Africa Women for a Better World forum.
As a result of the conversations held and agreements reached at that event, the
African-Spanish Women’s Network for a Better World was created in November
2007, with the support of the Spanish Government, the United Nations (UNI-
FEM) and civil society actors (women’s rights groups, NGOs and others from
both Spain and Africa).
The initial phase of the Network was dedicated to establishing its modus
operandi, how it should be coordinated, its terms of reference, membership rules
and rights and many other procedural issues which occupied a high percentage
of meeting time, but which were deemed essential in order to create a solid
framework within which to operate.
As its website explains (2011) this partnership between the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Government of Spain and civil
society, grew over four years to include 1,500 members, including individuals
and organizations from 51 countries in Africa and Spain.
This enabled women’s groups to share knowledge and experiences from
all over the African continent with others in Spain, and vice versa, as well as
coordinating capacity-building activities for the empowerment of women and
gender equality in five main areas: women’s rights, economic development,
health, education, and violence against women. The network’s structure was
based on working groups, each one of which dealt with one of these thematic
areas.
The Network’s Secretariat, which took care of all the logistics, was located on
the premises of Casa África in Las Palmas, hence the link with a team of local
interpreters hired under contract by UNIFEM for the duration of the project,
to ensure consistency and coherence in the interpreting and translation activities
generated up until the end of January 2012.
During the lifetime of the project, specifically in July 2010, the United
Nations restructured a number of previously existing agencies, including UNIFEM,
as well as the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), International
Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW),
Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women
(OSAGI), to form ­UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality
and the Empowerment of Women. This move was heralded by the UN as consti-
tuting a historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality
and the empowerment of women, merging and building on the important work
of four previously distinct parts of the UN system.
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries… 123

2. Interpreting for UN Women and the Network

The UN team of interpreters who worked for the network, by virtue of their
contracts as external contractors, and coordinated through the Network’s per-
manent Secretariat based in Las Palmas, interpreted in a number of different
types of communicative situations, as we shall see, many of which corresponded
to those of working meetings in international organizations, according to Gile’s
classification of interlingual encounters (1989):

Les organisations internationales […] accomplissent une partie importante

de leur travail à travers l’activité de comités et groupes de travail qui se
réunissent régulièrement dans le cadre de l’exécution d’un mandat qui leur
est confié. Ces réunions peuvent durer quelques dizaines de minutes ou
plusieurs jours, et se déroulent selon un ordre du jour qui précise les points
qui devront être abordés. (Gile 1989: 652)
A large amount of the work carried out by international organisations takes
place through activities by committee and working groups that meet on a
regular basis within the framework of executing the mandate they have
been assigned. These meetings may last for less than an hour or for several
days, and they follow an agenda that sets out the points to be dealt with.
(our translation)

In this type of meeting, different points were discussed in a more or less

spontaneous fashion, as the basic information has already been laid out in work-
ing documents prepared in advance by members of the Secretariat and distrib-
uted among the attendees, almost always including the interpreters.
Likewise, the team of interpreters also worked at a considerable number
of Network seminars and specialised training or capacity building events (Gile
1989: 651), at which one or more teachers or leaders address the attendees, whose
working languages and level of previous knowledge on the subject-matter of the
training session differ. In most cases, here some kind of written material or visual
aid was used as part of the pedagogical approach, facilitating the uptake by the
attendees of abundant, dense information taught during sessions that normally
ended with time for Questions and Answers.
These two communicative situations prevailed in the bulk of cases where
interpreting was used. In terms of technique, almost all the interpreting was
simultaneous, booth-based interpreting, although on some occasions, where there
were few attendees requiring interpretation for a particular language, chuchotage
(whispered interpreting) was used. The languages required were Spanish, French
and English, and occasionally, Portuguese. On one occasion, in October 2011,
telephone interviews were carried out with the help of an interpreter, thereby
extending the interpreter-mediated situations to remote, telephone interpreting.
124 Chapter Eight

In addition to the different interpreting techniques used, the team of in-

terpreters (Spanish, English, and French) worked in a number of settings and
in different places. Most of the events were held at Casa África14 in Las Palmas de
Gran Canaria, in both the Nelson Mandela auditorium and in the round table
meeting room. On at least one occasion, the setting was the Press Club of the
local newspaper La Provincia. As the Network became more consolidated, events,
activities and courses were planned further afield, and interpretations took place
at meetings in Seville and Madrid and subsequently in various parts of Africa,
as the events detailed below clearly show:
• On 19 and 20 February, 2010. 6th Steering Committee meeting of the Afri-
can-Spanish Women for a Better World, organised by UNIFEM in Bamako,
Mali.
• On 15 and 16 April 2010. Meeting to draw up a map of sexual and reproductive
health in Africa and Spain organised by the African-Spanish Women’s Network
for a Better World, UNIFEM, on the Madrid Press Association’s premises in
Madrid.
• On 25, 26 and 27 June 2010 “African and Spanish women entrepreneurs’ en-
counter: towards economic empowerment,” organized by UNIFEM in the Mu-
nicipal Conference Centre (Palacio Municipal de Congresos), Madrid.
• On 7 July 2010. Steering Committee Meeting and Monitoring Committee meet-
ing of the African-Spanish Women for a Better World, held in the Ministry
for Equality, Madrid.
• On 7 and 8 October 2010. Launch and first working meeting of the working
group on education, organized by UNIFEM, Nairobi, Kenya.
• On 6, 7 and 8 July 2011. Meeting of the African-Spanish Women for a Better
World’s working group of health, to discuss sexual and reproductive health
and rights in Africa and Spain, Hotel Abba Triana, Seville.
• On 19 and 20 January 2012. Extraordinary meeting of the African-Spanish
Women for a Better World Steering Committee, UN Women, Madrid.
These interpreting missions and the numerous meetings held and interpreted
in Casa África, gave rise to a considerable amount of written translation between
the official languages of the Network (Spanish, French, and English) of the doc-
uments generated. Moreover, as a result of the numerous contacts made at the
various events, such as that of Red Activas network, the team of interpreters
was hired to work in Bamako (Mali) to work, once again in simultaneous mode
French-Spanish-French, in the following meetings dealing with sexual and
reproductive health and rights.
14
Casa África is the public diplomacy service that works for the Spanish state’s external
activities on the African contents and is part of the Network of such Casas belonging to Spanish
public diplomacy. Headquartered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, it was set up in 2006 and organ-
ises activities in political, social, education, and cultural spheres, all aimed at promoting relations
between Spain and Africa. See http://www.casafrica.es/en/nuestra_mision.jsp (accessed 29.04.2016).
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries… 125

• On 26, 27 and 28 January 2011. Workshop “Health, gender and aid efficiency”
organised by the Activas network and the Spanish International Development
Cooperation Agency (AECID), at the Bamako international conference centre,
Mali.
• On 10 and 11 May 2011. Regional encounter “Health, gender and aid efficiency,”
organised by the Activas network, Nuakchot, Mauritania.

3. The placement project

The details given of the interpreting and translation work carried out by
professional interpreters during the lifetime of the network give an idea of the
amount of work and its importance for the network members, to the extent that
a team of local interpreters was taken on and accompanied the network’s events
even when they were held abroad. This was acknowledged by the network’s
secretariat as answering a real need for consistent communication between the
different people and bodies belonging to the network, who not only spoke
different languages, but also came from a wide range of countries and cultures
from all over the huge African continent, as well as from the different regions
of Spain. From the initial network meetings, it became clear that the Spanish
and African committee members needed not only interlinguistic interpreta-
tion, but also to understand each other’s cultural behaviour to avoid potential
misunderstandings. The factors that this group of people, all of whom shared
the same overarching interest of promoting women’s human rights, had to deal
with include the following:
• Different countries and cultures, as we have said, network members came from
51 different countries.
• Different professional profiles of network members, from politicians and
activists to grass-roots associations working in local communities, as well as
technical and administrative workers and any and every type of individual or
collective network members.
• Different communicative situations: meetings, training sessions, and telephone
interviews, among others.
• Different thematic areas: women’s rights, economic development, health,
education and violence against women.
• Different text types: meetings agendas, lists with network members’ details,
presentations and pedagogical material on a wide range of subjects, always
from the perspective of women’s rights. Different terminological usages in
a same language, depending on the socio-cultural level of awareness of women’s
rights vindications not only of the different network members, but also in the
institutional settings and local communities where they live and work, as well
as the use of (or attempts to correct) sexist language.
126 Chapter Eight

This set of differentiating characteristics of the speakers participating in the

meetings underscored the need to standardise, at least to some extent, the termi-
nology to be used in the network and to coin a specific set of terms of reference.
Said terms were not only essential to ensure that the network could operate
smoothly across such a wide range of languages, cultures and speakers/receivers,
but were also deemed to have a pedagogic function in themselves, acting as
a benchmark for members, activists and women in general in those socio-cultural
settings where awareness regarding women’s rights was less developed.
These needs gave rise to the creation of the project that we will now present.

4. The project

On the one hand, given the situation described thus far, a terminological glossary
including the terms of reference habitually used in the interlingual meetings of
the network was clearly needed, both by the network’s members and by the inter-
preters themselves. Although interpreters carry out their terminological prepa-
ration before the mediated event takes place and subsequently call on a range
of resources during their interpretation in order to overcome lexical challenges
(Rodríguez and Schnell 2009), they would need to compile a large amount of
terminological information in the huge mass of documents and to harmonise
the terms used in the different languages, with a view to helping effective
communication between the various interlocutors.

La préparation terminologique de l’interprète avant la conférence consiste

essentiellement en la constitution de lexiques « maison » de quelques dizaines
à quelques centaines d’entrées sur la base de l’exploitation des documents de
conférence envoyés avant la réunion ainsi que d’autres documents portant
sur les sujets devant être traités pendant la conférence. (Gile 1987: 165)
The pre-conference preparation of terminology by an interpreter essentially
entails the creation of “home-made” glossaries comprising between a few
dozen and hundreds of entries taken from conference documents sent to
the interpreter before the meeting as well as from documents on the
subject-matter to be dealt with during the conference. (our translation)

On the other hand, the academic motivation for the project arose from the
introduction of compulsory work experience stipulated in the undergraduate
curriculum, in line with the EHEA and according to the stipulations of the
Canary Islands’ Regional Government, requiring all final-year undergraduate
students to complete a period of meaningful, supervised work experience.
The learning objective in this case lay in underscoring the need for determin-
ing terminological equivalences in interpreting, given that interpreters change
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries… 127

subject-matter with each new assignment, frequently working with and trans-
mitting highly-specialised knowledge for an expert audience.
This confluence of professional and academic interests underscores the
relevance of this project, which consisted of a group of students from the Faculty
of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
drawing up a terminological glossary comprising lexical equivalences in the
different languages in question, for the interpreters and network members to
use and consult, when faced with a wide range of options used by speakers and
network members. Based on a series of documents provided by the network,
the students’ assignment was to produce a definitive list of terminology. Thus, the
work practice of the students selected to carry it out consisted of producing this
terminological material, following the procedure outlined below. Once the work
experience was complete, each student received their corresponding certificate
for 100 hours of work completed.
The steps followed by the students while carrying out this terminological
study are those stipulated by Kutz (2000, cf. Rodríguez and Schnell 2009),
clearly differentiating the following phases: thematic preparation, linguistic
preparation, translation preparation and interpreting preparation, although
these phases inevitably overlap in time and practice. Firstly, they started with
the thematic preparation, becoming familiar with the thematic area of the
documents and, at the same time, developing linguistic preparation, by sys-
tematically reviewing the documentation in order to extract the relevant terms,
synonym, initials and acronyms, set phrases and expressions, aspects related
to the feminist slant of the network in gender-related issues, in order to take
the “le « jargon » technique propre à chaque groupe”15 (‘the technical “jargon”
used by each group’) into consideration. Translation preparation took the form
of adding to the list of terms selected their equivalents in the other working
languages, in turn identified in comparable texts in the respective languages.
In theory, interpreting preparation is something the interpreters working with
the authentic documents and speeches to be interpreted carry out in order to
identify the terms and include them in glossaries. The aim here is to facili-
tate this step for the interpreters, by providing them with the terminological
glossaries created by the students, whose work placement thus puts them in
a real-life situation, as experienced by professional interpreters confronting
any interpreting assignment.
In terms of the members of the student team, 10 final-year students at the
Translation and Interpreting Faculty took part. They were divided into different
teams of two by language pairs and thematic area. So, four students worked in
the English-Spanish language combination, two with the documents relating to

15
See http://aiic.net/page/1472/petit-guide-pratique-a-l-usage-des-jeunes-et-moins-jeunes
-interpretes-de-conference/lang/2 (accessed 29.04.2016).
128 Chapter Eight

economic aspects affecting women and women’s rights and the remaining two,
with those concerning health. This division of labour was replicated for the
students charged with producing the terminology glossary in the Spanish-French
language pair. Moreover, a coordinator and proofreader was designated for each
language pair, charged with standardising and checking the draft version.

Human resources
Coordinator
Thematic area Language combinations
2 x Health 2 x ES/FR
2 x Economic issues 2 x ES/EN
Figure 1. Human resources: breakdown of the team

The documents that make up the textual corpus corresponding to this project
came in almost all shapes and sizes, including power point presentations, train-
ing handbooks, national laws, European Directives, African Union documents,
the working documents of a number of women’s rights organizations, meeting
agendas and minutes, and witness and victims’ testimonials, among others,
all resulting from the networks’ activities. Following Corpas Pastor’s (2001) guide-
lines on the classification of types of corpora, we would therefore surmise that
the corpus the students worked with is partially comparable and partially parallel
(as some documents used were actually translations of originals); approximately
balanced, with roughly the same amount of texts in each original language in
each case; trilingual, including texts in three original languages; periodical,
as the texts it comprises date from the period of the project’s lifetime, and textual,
comprising complete texts rather than fragments. However, it is not generic,
as the texts come from many different genres. It is an ad-hoc corpus, in that
it was compiled specifically for the purposes of standardising the terminology
to be used in the network and by network members, wherever they might be
working, emanating from professional practice and specifically adapted for the
purposes in question. Its ad-hoc nature also reflected the broad variety of
authors of the various texts, given the extremely wide range of authors who had
penned them, corresponding to the broad range of professional profiles of the
network’s members (activists, politicians, technical experts, etc., from many
different countries). In short, the corpus was made up of a wide variety of source
text types produced by huge variety of author(esse)s from all sorts of cultural/
linguistic and professional backgrounds.
Bearing in mind the complexity of the task facing the students, the glossary’s
format was structured as a three-columned table, each of which corresponded
to the lexical elements of one of the three languages: EN/ES/FR. Initially,
a fourth column was included for Portuguese, designated as one of the network’s
official languages, but which, for operational reasons derived from the lack of
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries… 129

any Portuguese members of the coordinating committee; as a result, Portuguese

was not included in the glossary. During the elaboration process, however,
the fourth column was reinstated and used to reflect comments and uncertainties
the different teams had, particularly when they came across different versions
of the same concept in each language. Thus, both team members and the coor-
dinators were able to pinpoint and double-check potential inconsistencies not
only in each glossary, but also across the themed glossaries. These comments
were erased as they were solved, and finally the whole column was deleted, and
a “clean” copy was handed in to the client.
Before work began, some basic rules for the presentation of the different
contents of the glossaries were established. These included the following:
• Synonyms
• Initials and acronyms
• Explanations
• Idioms or stock phrases
• The agreement of grammatical numbers and genders.
We will now include tables to illustrate examples in order to demonstrate
how each of these types of contents was dealt with and presented. Thus, in
terms of synonyms, some difficulties arose when students were unsure of how
to choose the correct equivalent in one of the other working languages, often
dependent on context. We show the need to distinguish between the French
words méthode, as a compendium of knowledge in a particular discipline with
a pedagogical purpose, and guide, providing brief, but also pedagogic, guidelines
for the carrying out of a specific task (see Table 1).

Table 1. Synonyms
Synonyms

Manual: (DRAE) 9. m. Libro en que se com-

*
Méthode: (CNRTL) 5. LING. (dans le domaine
pendia lo más sustancial de una materia. de l’enseign. des lang.). Somme de démarches
raisonnées, fondées sur un ensemble cohérent
d’hypothèses ou de principes linguistiques,
psychologiques, pédagogiques, et répondant
à un objectif déterminé. − P. méton. Manuel
ou matériel pédagogique ordonné (pour l’en-
seignement d’une langue).
Manual: (MM) 6. Tratado breve de alguna Guide: (CNRTL) B. (Le substantif désigne
materia. une chose) a. Ouvrage à caractère didactique.
- Manuel qui guide le profane dans la réalisa-
tion d’un travail donné.
*
The references used indicate that the definitions have been taken from the following dictionaries: (DRAE)
Diccionario de la Real Academia Española; (MM) María Moliner’s Diccionario de uso del español; (CNRTL)
Centre National de Ressources textuelles et lexicales (http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/); Collins Dictionary (http://
www.collinsdictionary.com/).
130 Chapter Eight

When looking at the second field, initials and acronyms, the objective was
to make both the interpreters’ job in the booth easier and to help the meetings’
attendees ensure that they would always use the Network’s accepted terms when
referring to specific concepts, thereby eliminating potential misunderstandings
in cross-cultural debates and discussions. Thus, in each case, the glossary had one
entry starting with the acronym/initials followed by the full term or expression
in brackets, and a further entry where the full version was given first followed by
the acronym/initials in brackets, with a view to making it as easy as possible to
locate both forms as quickly as possible in the glossary. Consequently, acronyms
and initials used frequently to refer to concepts and institutions in this context
and subject-matters stood out plainly.

Table 2. Initials and acronyms

Initials and acronyms
English Spanish German

AECID (Spanish Agency of AECID (Agencia Española AECID (Agence Espagnole de

Cooperation for Interna-
tional Development)
Spanish Agency of Coopera-
tion for International Devel-
opment (AECID)
ECOWAS (Economic Com-
munity of West African
States)
FT (Fair Trade)
de Cooperación Internacional
para el Desarrollo)
Agencia Española de Coop-
eración Internacional para el
Desarrollo (AECID)
CEDEAO (Comunidad Eco-
nómica de Estados de África
Occidental)
CJ (Comercio Justo)
Coopération Internationale au
Développement)
Agence Espagnole de Coopéra-
tion Internationale au Dével-
oppement (AECID)
CEDEAO (Communauté éco-
nomique des Etats de l’Afrique
de l‘Ouest)
CE (Commerce Equitable)

We provide examples (see Table 3) of the usage of explanations included

relating to a number of concepts; these explanations were needed by the Net-
work in order to clarify a number of frequently-occurring concepts, so that
members from a wide range of professional profiles and with different levels
of training and education could immediately identify what was being referred
to at any given moment. Explanations corresponding to acronyms and proper
names, as we can see at the end of the Table 3, proved to be of maximum
relevance, as, for examples, national associations from one country might not
be recognisable by members from other countries; hence, the explanations
included made it easier not only to identify the reality of other countries,
but also facilitated mutually enhanced knowledge and communication between
network members.
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries…
Table 3. Explanations
English
Eclampsia:
(Collins) (pathology)  a
toxic condition of unknown
cause that sometimes
develops in the last three
months of pregnancy,
characterized by high blood
pressure, abnormal weight
gain and convulsions.
ALBOREÁ:
(Gypsy Women’s Associa-
tion)
Explanations
Spanish
Eclampsia:
(DRAE) 1. f. Med. Enfermedad
de carácter convulsivo, que
suelen padecer los niños y las
mujeres embarazadas o recién
paridas. Acomete con accesos,
y va acompañada o seguida
ordinariamente de pérdida
o abolición más o menos
completa de las facultades
sensitivas e intelectuales.
ALBOREÁ:
(Asociación de Mujeres Gi-
tanas)
131
French
Eclampsie:
(CNRTL) MÉD. HUM.
Ensemble de manifestations
convulsives accompagnant,
surtout chez l’enfant et la
femme en couches, certains
états pathologiques.
ALBOREÁ:
Association de Femmes
Gitanes)

Examples of a category of elements that constituted a major challenge for

the work placement students are provided (see Table 4), as they had to identify,
within the wealth of varied documentary sources, terms with their corresponding
collocations constituting stock phrases or idioms imbued with a specific prag-
matic value for the network. This aspect caused a number of problems in that
the students included numerous multi-word groups or clusters that were neither
stock phrases nor idioms, due partly to their lesser command of English and/or
French and also to their sometimes incomplete grasp of the pragmatic parame-
ters pertaining to the communicative situations generated within the Network’s
meetings and day-to-day work. In this regard, the supervisors (teachers),
in their final review of the work undertaken, had to delete a considerable number
of entries.

Table 4. Stock phrases

Stock phrases
English Spanish French
Outstanding loan Cartera de Portefeuille de
portfolio préstamos sin amortizar prêts non amortis
Social and legal Desigualdades Inégalités sociales
inequalities sociales y legales et légales
Detection and Detección y Détection et
early treatment tratamiento precoz traitement précoce

And finally, among the numerous aspects of particular relevance for the
Network, we include a number of terms that illustrate the feminist vision of the
132 Chapter Eight

associations and individuals belonging to the Network. In these cases, despite

the fact that other equivalent terms might exist in the various working lan-
guages, those options that underline the gender-equality-based approach were
preferred, with a view, once again, to standardising terminological usage across
the Network. For example, for the last term given in the Table 5, the French term
violence de genre was preferred to that of violence conjugale or violence familiale,
which are terms that can still be found in the official website of a Belgian
association that fights gender-based violence and discriminiation against women
(Collectif contre les Violences Familiales et l’Exclusion [CVFE]).16

Table 5. Number and gender agreements

Number and gender agreements
English Spanish French Clarification
Human Derechos Droits The usual rendering in French is droits de l’homme,
Rights humanos humains but this expression was not used in this context,
given the feminist stance of the network.

Empower- Empoder- Empower- (Larousse): La plus grande autonomie. However,

ment amiento ment within the network, the Anglicism was preferred,
as a means of underscoring the degree of power
or lack thereof over their own decisions held by
women in different contexts.
Gender- Violencia Violence  
based de género de genre
violence

5. Conclusions
This project consisting of a work placement for an international cooperation
network carried out as an integral part of the undergraduate degree training
at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Las Palmas de
Gran Canaria requiring students to compile a trilingual terminological glossary
in Spanish, French, and English on the thematic areas of health and sexual and
reproductive rights and the economic capacity-building of women leads us
to the following conclusions:
For the students who participated in the project, the work placement
provided:
1. Practical hands-on training, specifically in one of the profiles for Trans-
lation and Interpreting graduates, that of terminologist/lexicographer.
16
See http://www.cvfe.be/ (accessed 30.04.2016).
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries… 133

While working on the project, the students had to handle a large amount of
documentation from different sources in which they had to identify trans-
latability problems and to provide a coherent justification for the solutions
opted for regarding the final choice of term(s) and equivalents included in
the glossary. To this end, they made use of terminological and documentary
tools, as well as basic multimedia tools.
2. Team work practice, as the work carried out had to be coordinated at several
levels, both in language pairs and across subject-matter, as well as by language
(coordination between the different groups working on the same language
pairs but on different subject-matters) and between the different subject
matters and, at all times, with the overall coordinator. Not to mention meetings
with all group members in order to standardise all the contents and formal
aspects. The need to coordinate on various levels forced the students to learn
how to handle moments of frustration and to communicate with one another
on trickier aspects such as lesser command of one of the working languag-
es or not meeting the interim deadlines that had been agreed upon, where
appropriate. Having to voice these types of concerns, and finding suitable
ways to do so while maintaining a constructive working environment helped
students to adopt more mature interpersonal working skills, which will work
to their advantage in any future work environment. In short, the collaborative
framework in which this work was carried out, and which played a crucial
part in its successful outcome, forced them to acquire or enhance their
capacity to create, coordinate and control the processes involved in teamwork,
consisting of multiple time-constrained tasks while ensuring ongoing quality
control throughout the project, although the reviewer and proofreaders were
ultimately responsible for quality assurance.
3. Self-monitoring for quality. The students had to take on responsibility for
the final glossary produced, so it was up to them to safeguard the quality
of their product and to make sure their colleague were also working to the
same quality standards, particularly in those cases where a colleague either
failed to maintain the precision criteria required or to keep on schedule, not
meeting the various deadlines agreed upon at the outset. This consequently
enhanced their capacity for autonomous learning; they learned to demand
more of themselves, to better understand the need to choose future work-
mates with more care in their professional undertakings, relegating personal
preferences and friendships to second place, and to abide scrupulously by the
deadlines established.
4. Contact with professional reality that enabled them, or even forced them,
to reflect on the differences between academic training and professional practice,
for example given the heterogeneousness of the texts they had to work with,
as well as the inaccuracies found in many of the texts provided that, in some
cases, were incomplete or were actually translations the appropriateness of
134 Chapter Eight

which was questionable, but which is often found in situations in which they
have to be carried out at sight and without access to the usual translation
resources. The situation was further complicated by the enormous number of
files provided by the client which, on occasions, gave rise to confusion, as it
was not always clear which contained the original document, and which,
the translations to other languages.

For the supervising teachers, the main conclusions drawn are given below:

1. The student glossary handed in to the supervisors was much too long. As such,
it was extremely difficult to handle both during the process of compilation
and once completed. This aspect was largely caused by the second conclusion,
given by the following conclusion:
2. Students lacked clear criteria to differentiate between thematic terms and gen-
eral vocabulary, and tended to include absolutely everything. The supervisors
observed considerable confusion between, on the one hand, those thematic
terms that were relevant and needed to be included in the glossary, either
because of their thematic relevance or in order to ensure standardised usage
where various options existed in the same language, and, on the other, vocab-
ulary that was unfamiliar to the students and that they included, although it
did not fulfil either of the above-mentioned criteria. It is understandable that
the students made the most of the access afforded to them to such a large
number of original, authentic documentation produced in a professional con-
text, as well as texts that had been translated in real, professional situations
to include as much as they possibly could, particularly where such entries
helped them to acquire new vocabulary or address any qualms they might
have. However, their selection of terms to be included in the glossary lacked
rigour, and the supervising teachers have taken on board the need to improve
the initial instructions given, including a precise definition of the concept of
a lexical term, something they had assumed the final-year students would not
need reminding.
3. There was an expectation gap regarding the final product created between the
client, the interpreters, the teachers and the students. Differences in expec-
tations were detected between the professional clients, on the one hand, and
the academic authors, on the other. Although they had not mentioned it,
the Network (i.e., the client), expected a list of their terms of reference, followed
by their corresponding definitions in order to standardise the terminology
used in the Network’s encounters and working documents. The professional
interpreters, who had hoped to be provided with a standardised, trilingual
glossary with which to work in the booth, were frustrated to discover that
the lesser command of the working languages of the students resulted in
a document that they felt was insufficiently rigorous to be depended on and
 Elaboration of specialised glossaries… 135

that was far too long to be manageable in the booth. The main lesson learnt
by the supervising teachers centred on how to manage multidisciplinary teams
at the crossroads between different professional actors and students. As a final
comment, we consider that the students constituted the group that benefitted
the most from the various aspects we have indicated in the conclusions.

As a corollary to this professionalising experience for final year students in

work placements, we can say that, despite the negative points indicated above
due mainly to a lack of accurate definition of the specific expectations of each
of the user groups, the project as a whole constituted a considerable achieve-
ment, particularly from an academic point of view, as the pedagogical objective
regarding the training provided to the students, regarding the relevance of
terminology in interpreting was clearly attained, and the students were the
ultimate beneficiaries of the project.

References
Corpas Pastor, Gloria. 2001. “Compilación de un corpus ad hoc para la enseñanza de la
traducción inversa especializada.” Trans 5: 155–184.
Gile, Daniel. 1989. “Les flux d’information dans les réunions interlinguistiques et l’inter-
prétation de conférence : premières observations.” Meta 34(4): 649–660.
Gile, Daniel. 1987. “La terminotique en interprétation de conférence: un potentiel à
exploiter.” Meta 32(2): 164–169.
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2011/10/african-spanish-women-s-net-
work-for-a-better-world-celebrates-fourth-anniversary#sthash.KJFNGpRJ.dpuf (ac-
cessed 9.09.2015).
http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women#sthash.kz6vtIs0.dpuf (accessed
25.08.2015).
Kutz, Wladimir. 2000. “Training für den Ernstfall. Warum und wie sich die Vorbereitung
auf den Dolmetscheinsatz lohnt.” MDÜ 46(3): 8–13.
“Petit guide pratique à l’usage des jeunes interprètes de conference.” Available online at:
http://aiic.net/page/1472/petit-guide-pratique-a-l-usage-des-jeunes-et-moins-jeunes
-interpretes-de-conference/lang/2 (accessed 29.04.2016).
Rodríguez, Nadia, and Bettina Schnell. 2009. “Regard sur la terminologie adaptée à l’in-
terprétation.” Archivée 6(1). Available online at: http://www.btb.gc.ca/btb.php?lang=-
fra&cont=1312#tphp (accessed 29.04.2016).
 Chapter Nine

Explicitation in sight-translating into

Hungarian texts

Maria Bakti

Explicitation is the process of making explicit in the target text information that is implicit in
the source text (Vinay and Darbelnet 1958, qtd. in Klaudy 2007). It is considered as a translation
universal (Klaudy 1998), however, it has received limited research attention in interpreting studies
to date. It can be stated that in simultaneous interpreting explicitation is closely linked to cohesion
and the use of cohesive devices (Gumul 2015).
This paper examines explicitation shifts in sight-translated target language texts and compares
the results with those on explicitation shifts in simultaneously interpreted target language texts.
In contrast to simultaneously interpreted target language texts, in sight-translated target language
texts explicitation shifts were characterized by adding extra information or explanation, rather
than creating or strengthening cohesive ties.
Keywords: explicitation, sight translation, constraints in interpreting

1. Introduction
Explicitation is the process of making explicit in the target text what is implicit in
the source text (Vinay and Darbelnet 1958/1995). According to the explicitation
hypothesis (Blum-Kulka 1986/2000), during translation, the level of explicitness
of the target language (TL) text increases. Explicitation is considered as a trans-
lation universal (Klaudy 1998).
Klaudy differentiates between four major types of explicitation. Without
obligatory explicitation TL sentences would be ungrammatical. Optional ex-
plicitation, in turn, is dictated by differences in text building strategies and
stylistic preferences between languages. Pragmatic explicitation is dictated by
differences between cultures, whereas translation-inherent explicitation can be
attributed to the translation process itself (Klaudy 1998, 1999). In her Asym-
metry Hypothesis, Klaudy (2001) argues that translators favour explicitation
over implicitation.
 Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts 137

Explicitation in interpreting has received limited research attention to date.

Many consider that this is because the constraints (Gile 1995; Gumul 2006;
Shlesinger 1995) of simultaneous interpreting (SI) limit the appearance of
explicitation in simultaneous interpreting. The first constraint is the Time
Constraint, that is the work of the simultaneous interpreter is paced by the source
language speaker. In addition, the concurrent processes that take place during
SI are constrained by the availability of memory or mental energy (Memory/
mental energy Constraint). Third, the Linearity Constraint has to be taken into
consideration. Simultaneous interpreters work based on unfinished SL sentences.
Thus, interpreters depend on texture for comprehension; they can access struc-
ture or context through texture only (Gumul 2006: 173). The fourth constraint is
the [Un]shared Knowledge Constraint, in other words interpreters do not have
the same level of expertise and background knowledge as the SL speaker does,
which might result in an information gap. These constraints might be expected
to affect the type and extent of explicitating shifts in SI, but at the same time
they are the causes triggering explicitation in this mode (Gumul 2006: 173).
It seems that one of the key questions studies on explicitation in simultaneous
interpreting try to answer is whether explicitation in SI is a strategy interpreters
consciously use, or a by-product of linguistic mediation. No conclusive evidence
has been gathered to answer this question. According to Shlesinger (1995), shifts
in the use of cohesive devices, in other words increased explicitness in simultane-
ously interpreted TL texts, are manifestations of the universal tendency towards
translationese. Pöchhacker (2004) argues that explicitation might be seen as
a strategy to circumvent linguistic and socio-economic differences. Gumul (2006)
found evidence that explicitation is not a consciously used strategy, but it is not
the by-product of linguistic mediation, either. Based on the results in the field of
explicitation in SI, Gumul (2015) argues that explicitation in SI is mainly related
to cohesion and the use of cohesive devices (pp. 155–156).
Sight translation (ST) is at the boundary of translation and interpreting
(Agrifoglio 2004), but some scholars see it as a specific type of written transla-
tion or a variant of oral interpretation (Lambert 2004). During ST the input is
a written text, so the interpreter has continuous access to the information in the SL
text. During the perception stage, the interpreter must divide attention between
visual input and oral production. During ST, translation is interpreter-paced.
During text production, the interpreter must also monitor their production while
reading and translating.
Gile differentiates between a Reading Effort, a Production Effort and a Co-
ordination Effort for sight translation (1995: 183). He argues that during ST, there is
no Memory Effort similar to SI or consecutive interpreting, as the SL information
is available in writing. He adds that the Time Constraint and the Memory/Mental
Energy Constraint are not present in ST (Gile 1995: 183). However, it has to be
kept in mind that in ST interpreters have to determine translation units while
138 Chapter Nine

interpreting, and this can be rather difficult if the two languages are syntactically
different, such as English and Hungarian. In other words, the linearity constraint
does apply to sight translation to some extent, as interpreters must produce the
TL text and read forward till the end of a section or a sentence concurrently.
The [Un]shared Knowledge Constraint also applies to sight translation.
In the research presented in this paper I have worked with the following
research questions:
1. What types of explicitation shifts occur in sight-translated TTs?
2. In what way does this explicitation pattern differ from that of simultaneously
interpreted TL texts?
3. Do interpreters favour explicitation or implicitation?
4. What information, if any, do questionnaires and interviews reveal about
explicitation during sight translation?
My hypotheses were the following:
1. Due to the nature of sight translation and its constraints, there will be differ-
ences between the explicitation patterns of sight translated and simultaneously
interpreted TL texts. During sight translation, the explicitation shifts will also
include shifts that would add or explain, in addition to cohesive shifts char-
acteristic of SI.
2. I expect that according to the Asymmetry Hypothesis (Klaudy 2001), inter-
preters will also favour explicitation over implicitation.
3. Based on the results of Gumul (2006), I expect that questionnaires and inter-
views will not concern explicitation as a consciously used strategy during ST.

2. Procedure
Ten students from Translation and Interpreting M.A. programme, all specializing
in interpreting, participated in the investigation. The average age of the students
is 25.3 years, their A language is Hungarian. English is the B language of three
students, and the C language of seven students.
The average time students have spent with learning their B language is 19.3
years, and the average time they have spent learning their C language is 12.8
years. In other words, they have spent a considerably longer time learning their
B language than their C language.
Only three out of the ten students have spent time in an English-speaking
country, one between 1–4 weeks for studying, another between 1–4 weeks for
working, and one student for a week-long holiday. Out of the ten students four
had previous experience in interpreting from English into Hungarian, all three
students who had English as their B language, and one of the students who
had English as their C language. Table 1 summarizes the data about the partic-
ipants. The second column shows the age of the students, the third one their
 Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts 139

gender, column four indicates their B language and the time they had spent
studying it at the time of making the recordings, and column five indicates their
C language and the time they had spent learning it at the time of making
the recordings. Column six shows the previous experience in interpreting and
the language combination in which they had gained experience prior to the time
the recordings were made.

Table 1. Data about the student interpreters who participated in the

investigation
Previous
Student Age M/F B lg/time C lg/time experience in
interpreting
A 23 F EN/20 ESP/6 B>A, A>B,
C>A
B 23 M EN/20 DE/20 B>A, A>B
C 25 F FR/7 EN/14 B>A, A>B
D 27 F FR/13 EN/17 B>A, A>B
F 24 F ESP/10 EN/15 None
H 23 F ESP/9 EN/9 B>A
K 30 F EN/18 IT/12 B>A, C>A
T 25 F FR/10 EN/3 B>A, A>B
W 25 M DE/15 EN/17 B>A, A>B
C>A
Z 28 F DE/25 EN/15 B>A, A>B

The students had to complete five tasks. First, they were asked to speak
about the role of English in the world, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and its
consequences for the future of the interpreting profession. They could prepare
for this task in advance, but they were asked not to write down and then read
out their thoughts. Second, they were invited to do a sight translation task;
the topic of the SL text was ELF. This was followed by a consecutive interpretation
task; the SL text was part of a video interview on ELF and interpreting.
Then recordings were made of the spontaneous speech of the students, in this in-
terview they were asked about the previous tasks, and about their future plans and
interests. Finally, they were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their language
competence, background, and the interpreting tasks. The TL texts for the sight
translation and the consecutive interpreting tasks were recorded, together with
the spontaneous speech and the extemporaneous speech of the students.
The recordings were made in a language lab one week before the final interpreting
exam. The SL text for the sight translation task was 385 words and was about
English as a Lingua Franca. This was one of the topics on their final exam as
well. The TL texts were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for the occurrence
140
of explicitation using the taxonomy from Gumul 2006. This taxonomy excludes
obligatory explicitation shifts, and includes the categories summarized in Table 2.
Table 2. Taxonomy of explicitation shifts (Gumul 2006) with examples from the sight-translated
Hungarian TL texts
Explicitation shifts
Adding connectives
Categorical shifts of cohesive
devices
Shifts from referential cohesion
to lexical cohesion
Shifts from reiteration in the
form of paraphrase to reitera-
tion in the form of identical/
partial repetition
Filling out elliptical construc-
tions
Lexical specification
Adding modifiers and qualifiers
Adding a proper name to a ge-
neric name
Distributing the meaning of
one SL unit over several units
in the TL
Replacing nominalizations with
verb phrases
Disambiguating metaphors
Additional explanatory remarks
Chapter Nine
Examples from the TL texts
SL: Where is it used?
TL[B]: De hol is használják?
[But where is it used?]
SL: …and addition of extra vowels
TL[B]: míg a magánhangzók, plusz magánhangzókat adnak
bele
[while they add vowels, extra vowels]
SL: How is it used?
TL[F]: De mire is használják a lingua francát?
[But how is the lingua franca used?]
SL: …as a form of linguistic imperialism. This term…
TL[D]: mint az imperializmus nyelve. Ez a kifejezés tehát,
hogy az imperializmus nyelve,
[as the language of imperialism. This term, that is the lan-
guage of imperialism]
SL: Zimbabwe, among many others.
TL[T]: Zimbabwe és számos másik ország.
[Zimbabwe and several other countries]
SL: English has long been a tool…
TL[Z]: …fejezte ki ….
[expressed]
SL: differs from Standard English in a number of ways.
TL[F]: különbözik a standard angoltól, méghozzá sokfél-
eképpen.
[differs from Standard English, in addition, in many ways. ]
no example
SL: Below you will find…
TL[D]: A most következőkben…
[In what now follows….]
SL: …with the publication of Robert Phillipson’s influential
book
TL[K]: amikor Robert Phillipson nagy hatással biro könyve
megjelent…
[when Robert Phillipson’s influential book came out]
no example
SL: as “Frank” was a common designation for all……
TL[C]: a frank kifejezés a……
[the expression frank was]
 Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts 141

3. The results

3.1 Text analysis

First, I looked at the number of words and the cases of explicitation in the
TL texts. Student C had the lowest number of words in the TL text (357),
and Student H had the highest number of words in the TL text (497). The average
length of the TL texts was 437.1 words. The average length of the TL texts of the
students whose B language is English was 462 words, and the average length of
the TL texts of the students whose C language is English was 426.4.
Based on Gumul (2006), I identified explicitation shifts in the TL texts.
Student F had the highest number of explicitation shifts in the TL text (43),
and Student A had the lowest number of explicitation shifts in the TL text (18).
There were 28.5 explicitation shifts on average in the TL texts, the average of the
students with English as their B language is 30, and the average of the students
with English as their C language is 27.8.
Next, in order to get a comparable figure, the explicitation shifts/100 words
of the TL text were calculated. This figure is the lowest for Student A, with 4.04
explicitation shifts/100 words of the TL texts, and the highest for Student F, with 9.03
explicitation shifts/100 words of the TL text. Table 3 summarizes the above results.

Table 3. Results of the TL text analysis. Explicitation shifts in the TL

texts
Number Explicitation shifts
Student of TL text shifts/100 words of
N
words TL text
A 445 18 4.04
B 479 42 8.76
C 357 23 6.44
D 470 34 7.23
F 476 43 9.03
H 497 26 5.23
K 462 30 6.49
T 400 25 6.25
W 364 22 6.04
Z 421 22 5.22
Average 437.1 28.5 6.473

Next, the types of explicitation shifts in the TL texts were categorized. It can be
seen from Table 4 that the four most frequently occurring explicitation shifts in the
sight-translated TL texts were: replacing nominalizations with VPs, adding modifiers
142 Chapter Nine

and qualifiers, additional explanatory remarks, and adding connectives. I also added
one category, that of superlatives, as it happened in some cases that students added
superlative forms instead of an adjective in the comparative or base form.

Table 4. Types of explicitation shifts in the sight-translated TL texts

Type of explicitation shift Per cent
Replacing nominalizations with verb phrases 28.10
Adding modifiers and qualifiers 23.85
Additional explanatory remarks 18.25
Adding connectives 10.2
Lexical specification 9.10
Filling out elliptical structures 3.85
Shift from referential to lexical cohesion 2.80
Distributing the meaning of one ST unit over several units in the TT 1.75
Superlatives 1.40
Categorical shifts of cohesive devices 0.35
Identical/partial repetition 0.35
Total 100

In order to put the results into the wider context of interpreting research,
the results are compared with those of Gumul (2006). In her study on explicitation in
simultaneous interpreting, Gumul found that the most frequent explicitation shift
type was adding connectives (38.8% of all explicitation shifts), followed by replacing
nominalizations with Verb Phrases (11.1% of all explicitation shifts), and identical
or partial repetition (9.9% of all explicitation shifts). In simultaneously interpreted
TL texts, adding modifiers and adding explanatory remarks were less frequent,
whereas these were quite often used in sight translation. See Table 5 for more details.

Table 5. Comparison of explicitation shifts in simultaneously interpreted and sight-translated TL texts

Simultaneous
Sight
Type of explicitation shifts interpreting
translation
(Gumul 2006)
Replacing nominalizations with verb phrases 28.10 11.1
Adding modifiers and qualifiers 23.85 4.2
Additional explanatory remarks 18.25 0.8
Adding connectives 10.20 38.8
Lexical specification 9.10 0.4
Filling out elliptical structures 3.85 5.0
Shift from referential to lexical cohesion 2.80 5.2
Distributing the meaning of one ST unit over several units 1.75 1.5
in the TT
 Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts 143
table 5 continued
Superlatives 1.40 –
Categorical shifts of cohesive devices 0.35 1.2
Identical/partial repetition 0.35 9.9
Other 0.00 21.9
Total 100 100

3.2 Case studies

In addition to explicitation shifts, I examined three sections of the SL text that

I think were particularly interesting from the aspect of explicitation. The first
one was the abbreviation ELF, which comes up seven times in the SL text.
In addition, two sections from the SL text give examples of how ELF is used,
and when sight translating these two examples, interpreters might also have to
resort to explicitation.
Example (1) novel use of morphemes (such as *importancy or *smoothfully)
Example (2) many instances of ELF also incorporate across-the-board
third-person singular usage (such as “He go to the store”).
First, I looked at the TL renderings of the abbreviation ELF.
This abbreviation comes up seven times in the SL text, it is explained the first
time it occurs, and then only the abbreviation is used in the SL text. In the TL
texts, students resorted to different strategies when rendering the abbreviation
ELF. Most frequently students used the full term ‘English as a lingua franca’ in
the SL in the TL texts, the second option was the use of the abbreviation ELF
without any alteration in the Hungarian TL texts. Sometimes students used the
Hungarian equivalent of lingua franca (közvetítőnyelv), or omitted ELF in the TL.
It also happened that students used lingua franca instead of ELF or gave an expla-
nation: ELF, azaz English as a lingua franca. Most frequently students used the
full term English as a lingua franca instead of the abbreviation. This result clearly
shows that students favoured explicitation over other solutions, which supports
the Asymmetry hypothesis of Klaudy (2001). Table 6 summarizes the results.
Table 6. Ways to render the abbreviation ELF in the TL texts
TL equivalent Per cent
English as a lingua franca 60.0
ELF 15.0
Hungarian equivalent (közvetítőnyelv) 13.4
Omission 8.4
Lingua franca 1.6
ELF, that is English as a lingua franca 1.6
Total 100
144 Chapter Nine

Second, I looked at the TL renderings of Example (1) such as *importancy

or *smoothfully in the sentence: “novel use of morphemes (such as importancy
or smoothfully).” Three students omitted the example, and three students gave
additional explanatory remarks, such as

mint például az ‘importancy’ vagy ‘smoothfully’ szavak, amelyek a standard

angolban nem léteznek [for example the words ‘importancy’ or ‘smoothfully’,
which do not exist in standard English], Student K).

Two students rendered the words without any explanation or translation,

one student used a more general term, and one student invented a Hungarian
equivalent for these two words

[a morfémák újszerű használatában, mint például fontosságosság vagy fino-

manság kifejezéseknél” (Student A)].

Out of these five ways of rendering the examples, only two (additional
explanatory remarks, inventing a Hungarian equivalent) can be considered as
explicitation, which is in contrast with the Asymmetry hypothesis (Klaudy 2001).
Table 7 summarizes the results.

Table 7. Ways to render Example (1)

Way of rendering No. of students Per cent
Omission 3 30
Additional explanatory remarks 3 30
No change 2 20
More general term 1 10
Inventing a Hungarian equivalent 1 10
Total 10 100

Next, I looked at the renderings of Example (2) “He go to the store”, in the
sentence: “Many instances of ELF also incorporate across-the-board third-person
singular usage (such as “He go to the store”).” The solutions show evidence
against the Asymmetry Hypothesis (Klaudy 2001). In sight-translated TL texts,
five students gave additional explanatory remarks, four omitted the example, and
one student mistranslated the example. Student B rendered Example (2) with
additional explanations:
TL: Sok esetben az angol mint a lingua franca magába foglalja az egyes szám
harmadik személy használatát, nem megfelelő használatát, mint például az
angol mondat He go to the store. [In many cases English as a lingua franca
involves the use of the third person singular, for instance in the English
sentence He go to the store.]
 Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts 145

In other words, 50% of the TL solutions had an element of explicitation in

it. See Table 8 for results.

Table 8. Ways to render Example (2)

Way of rendering No. of students Per cent
Additional explanatory remarks 5 50
Omission 4 40
Mistranslation 1 10
Total 10 100

3.3 Student questionnaires

In order to triangulate the results a questionnaire survey was also carried out.
One of the questions in the questionnaire was about the factors that helped
students to carry out the sight translation task. The factors listed in the ques-
tionnaire were the following:
a) presence of SL text;
b) understanding the SL text;
c) terminology;
d) determining unit of interpreting;
e) production of a sophisticated TL text;
f) monitoring TL text;
g) coordinating concurrent task.
According to the students, the presence of the SL text and the understanding
of the SL text were the factors that facilitated the sight translation task the most.
Table 9 summarizes the results.

Table 9. Factors facilitating the sight translation task

Statement Per cent
Presence of SL text 33.5
Understanding the SL text 18.5
Production of a sophisticated TL text 14.8
Terminology 11.0
Coordinating concurrent tasks 11.0
Monitoring TL text 7.5
Determining the unit of interpreting 3.7
Total 100

In another question I asked about problem triggers during the sight trans-
lation task. The options were the following:
146 Chapter Nine

a) presence of SL text;
b) understanding the SL text;
c) terminology;
d) determining unit of interpreting;
e) production of a sophisticated TL text;
f) monitoring TL text;
g) coordinating concurrent tasks.
Students found that monitoring TL text and coordinating concurrent tasks
were the most problematic during the sight translation task.

Table 10. Problem triggers during the sight translation task

Statement Per cent
Monitoring TL text 26.6
Coordinating concurrent tasks 20.0
Understanding the SL text 13.4
Terminology 13.4
Determining the unit of interpreting 13.4
Production of a sophisticated TL text 6.6
None 6.6
Total 100

3.4 Student interviews

It is important to note that these interviews were not retrospective interviews,

but were recorded for the purposes of the analysis of the spontaneous speech
production of the students. During the interview the students were asked about
the problems they faced during the two interpreting tasks. It seems that the
consecutive interpreting task proved to be more difficult, so there were more
remarks about that.
One student, (Z), stated that sight translation was the most difficult task,
as they felt they had no practice in sight translation and found it difficult to
understand the SL text. In contrast, three out of ten students (H,T,W) said that
the sight translation task was the easiest one.
According to Student H, although the text was familiar, a lot of restructuring
was needed, when realized what the text was about. She also mentioned that
sometimes she added modifiers. Student T said the following: “[…] we had the
English text in our head, there was not so much interference.”
 Explicitation in sight-translating into Hungarian texts 147

4. Summary

This paper examined the occurrence of explicitation shifts in sight-translated

target language texts. The most frequently occurring types of explicitating shifts
in the sight-translated TL texts were the following: replacing nominalizations
with verb phrases, adding modifiers and qualifiers, adding explanatory remarks
and adding connectives. This pattern of explicitation shifts is different from the
pattern observed in simultaneously interpreted TL texts (Gumul 2006), where
adding connectives was the most frequent type of explicitation shift.
The case studies have also revealed that, in addition to explicitation,
implicitation is also resorted to by interpreters during sight translation.

5. Conclusions

My first hypothesis stated that because of the differences of constraints between

SI and ST, there would be differences between the explicitation pattern of sight-
translated and simultaneously interpreted TL texts.
The explicitation shifts would not exclusively focus on cohesive devices
during ST. This hypothesis was also confirmed by the results, as the most
frequently occurring explicitation shifts in sight-translated TL texts were replacing
nominalizations with verb phrases, adding modifiers and qualifiers, additional
explanatory remarks and adding connectives.
This might be partly due to the lack of the time constraint and the mental
energy constraint during sight translation, but might also be caused by the
syntactic differences between the SL (English) and the TL (Hungarian).
My second hypothesis was only partially confirmed. According to the
hypothesis, I expected that according to the Asymmetry Hypothesis (Klaudy 2001),
interpreters will also favour explicitation over implicitation. This was the case
only in one out of the case studies I examined. This means that the parallel
investigation of explicitation and implicitation shifts in interpreted TL texts would
be useful to see the proportion of the two processes during sight translation.
The interviews and the student questionnaires provided only scarce reference
to the strategies used during the sight translation task.
148 Chapter Nine

References
Agrifoglio, Marjorie. 2004. “Sight translation and interpreting. A comparative analysis
of constraints and failures.” Interpreting 6(1): 43–67.
Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. 1986/2000. “Shifts of Cohesion and Coherence in Translation.”
In The Translation Studies Reader, edited by Lawrence Venuti. London and New
York: Routledge.
Gumul, Ewa. 2006. “Explicitation in Simultaneous Interpreting: A Strategy or a By-prod-
uct of Language Mediation?” Across Languages and Cultures 7(2): 171–190.
Gumul, Ewa. 2015. “Explicitation.” In The Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies,
edited by Franz Pöchhacker, 155–156. London: Routledge.
Gile, Daniel. 1995. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Klaudy, Kinga. 1998. “Explicitation.” In The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies,
edited by Mona Baker, 80–84. London: Routledge.
Klaudy, Kinga. 1999. “Az explicitációs hipotézisről.” [On the explicitation hypothesis]
Fordítástudomány 1(2): 5–22.
Klaudy Kinga. 2001. “Az aszimmetria hipotézis.” [The Asymmetry hypothesis] In A X.
Magyar Alkalmazott Nyelvészeti Konferencia előadásai, edited by Bartha M, 371–378.
Székesfehérvár: KJF.
Lambert, Sylvie. 2004. “Shared Attention during Sight Translation, Sight Interpretation
and Simultaneous Interpretation.” Meta 49(2): 294–306.
Pöchhacker, Franz. 2004. Introducing Interpreting Studies. London: Routledge.
Shlesinger, Miriam. 1995. “Shifts in Cohesion in Simultaneous Interpreting.” The Trans-
lator 1(2): 193–214.
Vinay, Jean-Paul, and Jean Darbelnet. 1958/1995. Comparative Stylistics of French and
English. A Methodology for Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
 Chapter Ten

Where have the connectors gone?

The case of Polish-English
simultaneous interpreting

Andrzej Łyda

In the stage of the Source Language (SL) text comprehension interpreters are particularly
vulnerable to conditions in which they are working. As is often the case, such factors as a dense
speech, fast delivery and background noise can weaken the monitoring capacity and result in the
interpreter’s failure to hear and/or comprehend some elements of the original speech including
connectives used to strengthen the coherence of the text. The problem of “missing” connectives
in the SL was addressed in Łyda (2006, 2008). This article revisits the question of interpreters’
strategies used for recognizing and reconstructing such missing elements and extends the study
to Polish-English simultaneous interpreting.
Keywords: simultaneous interpreting, connectives, concession, coherence, discourse, text, direc-
tionality

1. Introduction

The present study concentrates on the problem of the production of target

language (TL) texts in English in the simultaneous mode from partly incom-
prehensible source language (SL) texts in Polish. As such this study adds to the
growing research in psycholinguistic aspects of simultaneous interpreting, and
more particularly to the question of how interpreters solve the problem of textual
cohesion and coherence.
Cohesion in simultaneous interpreting has been addressed in numerous
studies in recent years. Much attention has been given to the problem of shifts
in cohesion (Shlesinger 1995; Blum-Kulka 2000). Shlesinger (1995) has demon-
strated that that shifts occur in all types of cohesive devices, particularly in the
ones not affecting the propositional content. Another repeatedly reached obser-
150 Chapter Ten

vation was that simultaneous interpretation involved an increase in the number

of conjunctive devices in such language pairs as English-Polish, English-German
and English-Hebrew (Gumul 2006; Becher 2011; Shlesinger and Ordan (2012).
What these studies had in common was that they examined the problem of
recognizing cohesive links present in the SL, that is, accessible to the interpreter.
By contrast the present study investigates interpreters’ strategies of dealing with
a partially incomplete SL text when some individual elements or occasionally
portions of SL text escape the interpreter’s attention due to a variety of factors
(speed of delivery, noise etc.). In other words, this study concentrates then on
the problem of recognizing cohesive elements missing from the SL text and their
reconstruction and representation in the TL.  More specifically, the study analy-
ses the effects of omitting connectors of one type, namely concessive connectives.
The problem of missing concessive connectives in the process of interpreting
has been studied by Łyda (2006, 2008). Łyda (2006) analysed simultaneous
interpreters’ strategies in English to Polish interpreting and demonstrated a close
link between the ungrammaticality of the SL text and the rate of omission of con-
cessive connectives in the TL output. Similar observations were made in Łyda’s
(2008) analysis of concessive connectives in English to Polish consecutive inter-
preting. The study showed that interpreters often resorted to undertranslation
by leaving the concessive relation implicit or using underspecified connectives.
The present study revisits the problem of interpreters’ strategies used for
recognizing and reconstructing such missing concessive connectives in the case
of simultaneous interpreting from Polish into English.

2. The relation of concession

In spite of the fact that there have been proposed different theoretical models
of the relation of concession and understanding of concession has been under-
going a continuous development paralleling the development of new linguistic
theories and the emergence of new fields of linguistic studies, concession is most
often understood as a kind of relation of contrast: a contrast of expectations
and a contrast to the normal cause-and-effect. From a syntactic point of view,
concession is defined as a relation between two clauses: the adverbial concessive
clause and the main one combined by a subordinating conjunction of concessive
type such as although, though and even though (see, e.g., Molencki 1997: 352).
Apart from the syntactic-semantic approach, concession has been also stud-
ied within Rhetorical Structure Theory, in which the identification of the con-
cessive markers is based on a definition of concession as a rhetorical relation
between two spans of texts (nucleus ad satellite), whatever their size. In this
approach the essence of the relation lies in the speaker’s acknowledgement of
“apparent incompatible” information in the nucleus and satellite situations, which
 Where have the connectors gone?… 151

although regarded as apparently incompatible are actually compatible. Given the

fact that connectives are multifunctional and that they exhibit a high degree of
underspecification, it is not then the connectives that define the relation between
the two spans uniquely. What is crucial for a concessive interpretation is the
semantics of the nucleus and the satellite.
The role of connectives in marking both cohesion and coherence cannot
be ignored, especially in the case of concession, of which the frequent use of
discourse markers to signal the relation is a characteristic feature (Taboada
2004). Nevertheless concession is also marked asyndetically. In Barth-Weingar-
ten (2003) it was demonstrated that asyndetic concessive constructions (i.e., no
overt connective) amount to 16% of all connective constructions in her corpus of
English interviews. This observation is of particular significance for the present
study, since all markers of concessivity were omitted, transforming the clauses
into (potentially) truly asyndetic constructions.
From a psycholinguistic point of view the complex nature of concession is
reflected in is the fact that it is the last conceptual relation to acquire. Wing and
Scholnick (1981) claim that the logical implications of concessive connections
is fully realised by children at the age of 6–8 and Townsend (1997) has found
that even among adult speakers of English the reading time of causal therefore
sentences was shorter than for concessive however sentences. Interesting results
were obtained also by de Vega (2005) in an experiment partly resembling the
present one. According to de Vega the rate of processing/reading of adversative/
concessive sentences was lower than in the case of causal or temporal ones when
a connective was replaced with an inadequate one. Considering the specificity of
simultaneous interpreting situation and the complexity of the process it could be
expected that asyndetic concessive sentences, which reduce the cognitive effort
of the speaker while increasing the cognitive effort for the hearer, would pose
a serious problem to interpreters.

3. Materials and procedure

As in Łyda (2006, 2008) a single text was used for the purposes of the study.
The text was interpreted from Polish into English in the simultaneous mode.
The text representing the genre of parliamentary speech was not authentic although
it consisted of a number of extracts taken from authentic speeches produced in
the Polish Sejm. The fragments underwent necessary modifications and were
combined into a coherent speech
The text was based on speeches delivered during two sessions of the Sejm
held in 2014 and recorded in Stenograhic Reports (http://orka2.sejm.gov.pl/Ste-
noInter7.nsf/0/44807A9B5C8C9399C1257C7800623A53/%24 File/60_c_ksiazka
.pdf). Some parts were re-written and converted into concessive constructions,
152 Chapter Ten

and the delivery of the text (Text A) took about 15 minutes, that is, at the rate
of 140 words per minute.
Text A served as a basis for the production of Text B, in which a number
of concessive markers were made unavailable to the interpreters having been
jammed with a microphone-speaker reflux sound. Jamming was found preferable
to a simple removal of concessive markers to avoid artificial pauses in the SL text.
The recordings were made with a small group of postdiploma students of one
of Polish private universities: four female and two male students in May 2014.
The number of concessive markers used in the SL text followed from ear-
lier studies on their frequency. The frequency for a number of languages in-
cluding Polish and English ranges from 27 to 30 instances per hour (see, e.g.,
Barth-Weingarten 2003 and Łyda 2007). The decision was taken not to exceed
“the natural norm” so that the interpreters should not be suggested the goal of
the study. However, they were told that the recording was technically imper-
fect and on a few occasion they might hear a very short reflux sound. The set
of Polish primarily concessive markers included: jednak(że) (however), ale/lecz
(but), (po)mimo (despite, in spite of, yet, still), choć/chociaż (though, although)
in the spans of text shown in the next section.

4. Results and discussion

After collecting the data in the interpreting tests presented in Table 1,

a quantitative analysis was performed in terms of several criteria intended to
show the interpreters’ choice of strategies in rendering the English sentences. The
texts below are arranged according to the strategies chosen by the interpreters.

1. Po pierwsze, przedstawiciele Klubu Poselskiego SLD oraz innych klubów

w ramach interpelacji i zapytań w sprawach bieżących również zgłosili tę
sprawę. Była o tym mowa na forum Wysokiej Izby. Jednak bardzo ważny
jest fakt, że w środę Komisja Polityki Społecznej i Rodziny na wniosek
klubu Solidarnej Polski miała zajmować się tą sprawą…
First, the representatives of the Parliamentary Club of SLD and of other
clubs also raised this issue as a part of interpellations and questions on
current issues. This act was mentioned at the forum of this Chamber.
However, what is very important is that on Wednesday the Commission
on Social Policy and Family at the request of the club of the Solidary
Poland was to deal with the matter…

In (1) jednak conveys a clear concessive meaning, which is hardly retrievable

when the connective is absent. In the absence of the connective the relation
between the portions of text originally linked by means of jednak can be inter-
 Where have the connectors gone?… 153

preted as elaboration or conjunction, to use RST terminology. It is not surprising

then that five out of six interpreters did not provide any conjunction. In only
one case the interpreter decided to use but marking an apparent incompatibility
between the two spans.

2. Funkcjonuje kilka ustaw dotyczących zadośćuczynienia przez państwo

osobom pokrzywdzonym i prześladowanym z powodów politycznych.
Każda z tych ustaw podejmowana była jednak w określonym czasie
i rozwiązywała tylko jeden problem.
There are several laws relating to the state compensation to the people
persecuted for political reasons. Each of these laws, however, was adopted
at a specific time and solved only one problem.

Example (2) presents a similar case. For an interpreter to analyse the relation
as concessive would require specialist knowledge on state compensation laws and
their weaknesses. Not unsurprisingly, the interpreters adopted a safe solution and
refrained from using any connective.

3. Klub Poselski SLD w lipcu ubiegłego roku złożył projekt ustawy w tej
sprawie przywracający świadczenia, zgodnie z tym, co orzekł Trybunał
Konstytucyjny, jednak niestety mimo monitów ten projekt nadal leżakuje
w Komisji Polityki Społecznej i Rodziny.
Last year in July the Parliamentary Club of SLD, filed a bill in this case
restoring the benefits, according to what was held by the Constitution-
al Court, but unfortunately, despite reminders the project is still in the
Committee on Social Policy and Family.

In (3) the omission of the conjunction jednak does not obliterate the conces-
sive interpretation. This is due to the presence of unfortunately, which signals the
speaker’s acknowledgement of “apparent incompatible” information. Unfortunately
functions as a disjunct and as claimed by Thompson and Zhou (2000) disjuncts
can function as cohesive signals of concession. In (2) four interpreters did not use
any connective and two decided to link the two clauses by means of but.

4. Tą ustawą zwiększamy do 50% możliwość ubiegania się samorządów

o refinansowanie wydatków poniesionych na fundusz sołecki. Dla wielu
gmin jest to jednak zbyt mało, bo wiele gmin ma problemy z bieżącym
utrzymaniem oświaty na swoim terenie.
By this act we increase up to 50% the possibility of self-governments’
applying for refinancing expenses incurred by sołectwo fund. However for
many municipalities this is not enough, because many municipalities have
problems with the current support of education in their areas.
154 Chapter Ten

Like in (3) the omission of the conjunction jednak in (4) does not wipe
out a concessive interpretation, mainly thanks to the phrase zbyt mało, which
forestalls a possible objection, namely, that the refinancing should solve financial
problems. Again the decision not to provide a connective was the most common
strategy among the interpreters. Only three of them combined the two sentences
by means of but.

5. Walczyli właśnie o taką Polskę swoich marzeń. Jednak polska transformacja,

plan Balcerowicza przyniosły nową niesprawiedliwość i nowe dramaty.
Najwyższy czas, aby po 25 latach Rzeczpospolita Polska przypomniała
sobie także o ofiarach polskiej transformacji.
They fought for the Poland of their dreams. However, the Polish trans-
formation, Balcerowicz’s plan brought new injustices and new tragedies.
It is high time that after 25 years Poland remembered also about victims
of the transformation.

This is a particularly interesting fragment of the SL text because it shows

the importance of “lagging” behind the speaker’s statement. The deleted jed-
nak in the SL text made the relation between the first two sentences unclear.
It is only when the third sentence becomes available to the interpreter that
the axiological load of the second sentence is clarified and the concessive
interpretation between the first two sentences can be weighed as a preferred
option. In (5) three interpreters lagged further behind and thanks to the clue
given by the third sentence they used concessive connectors: yet and however.

6. To dobry, lecz niewystarczający krok i choć przewidywane w ustawie

świadczenia w niewielkim stopniu zapewnią pomoc zarówno opozycjoni-
stom, jak i ich rodzinom, dają nadzieję na poprawę sytuacji.
It is a good but insufficient step, and although benefits assumed in the
act provide little help, they will help both opposition members and their
families and build up hopes for improvement.

The omission of choć in the SL text leads to ungrammaticality and lack of

cohesion. However a relatively strong hint is offered by the structure of the
two sentences conjoined by i (and). Both have a contrastive structure: good but
insufficient and provide little help but they will help. This juxtaposition was not
noticed by four interpreters, who got stuck at this portion of the text and pro-
duced an incoherent sequence. Only two of them manage to retain the concessive
meaning by combining ‘benefits assumed in the act provide little help’ with ‘they
will help…’ by means of but.
 Where have the connectors gone?… 155
7. Choć o ich zasługach na rzecz wolności mówi się dużo i często, to jednak
przez prawie 25 lat państwo polskie, które swój byt zawdzięcza ich deter-
minacji, odwadze i sile ducha, nie zapewniło im ani godnych warunków
życia i pracy, ani pomocy.
Though much is said about their share in the attainment of freedom, for
almost 25 years, the Polish State, which owes its existence to their deter-
mination, courage and the strength of spirit, provided them neither with
decent living and working conditions nor help.

The omission of the sentence-initial choć did not perplex the interpreters due
to the presence of to jednak (~however), which proved a clue strong enough for
the interpreters to retain the concessive meaning by means of yet, however and
clause-final though. In two cases the clauses were combined by and.

8. A ta ustawa wprowadza nową dyskryminację, dyskryminację zwykłych

ludzi, żyjących wtedy w PRL-u, ludzi, którzy nie byli działaczami opozy-
cji, nie mogli, nie chcieli, tacy byli, choć często dostali od tego PRL-u
po łapach nie mniej niż działacze, ale dzisiaj nie mają na to papieru lub
nie chcą swoją przeszłością epatować i brać za nią pieniędzy, tak jak ja.
And this law introduces a new discrimination, discrimination against
ordinary people living in the then communist Poland, people who were
not activists of the opposition, could not, would not. There were such
ones although they often got a rap on the knuckles from the PRL no less
painful than activists, but today they do not have any proofs or do not
want to dazzle anyone with their past and to take her money, just like me.

The fact that choć clause follows a sequence of verb-phrases turns the phrase
into another verb phrases when the connective is unavailable to interpreters.
This verb phrase forms a logical sequence nie mogli, nie chcieli, tacy byli, choć
często dostali od tego PRL-u po łapach. Just because the sequence is coherent,
the possibility of a concessive interpretation never even crossed the interpreters’
minds and none of them provided any connective in the TL text.

9. Otóż chociaż wskaźniki makroekonomiczne były całkiem niezłe na tle

reszty Europy, zwrócono uwagę na zwiększenie zadłużenia kraju, jak
również na wysoki deficyt finansów publicznych, na niską ściągalność
podatków.
Now, although macroeconomic indicators were quite good against the rest
of Europe attention was drawn to the increasing debt of the country, as
well as a high public finance deficit, the low tax collection rate.

The above fragment proved difficult for most interpreters. This almost proto-
typical concessive was treated by the interpeters as a sequence of two sentences,
156 Chapter Ten

of which the second one developed and qualified the proposition made in the
first one. Only one interpreter was able to see a contrast between the proposi-
tions, which he marked by means of but.

10. Niestety pomimo informacji o wskaźnikach, które w większości są zresztą

na niższym poziomie, niż zakładano w strategii, trudno dostrzec w obu
dokumentach rekomendacje odnośnie do działań, jakie należałoby pod-
jąć, aby przyjęte cele mogły być skutecznie zrealizowane.
Unfortunately, despite the information on the indicators, most of which
are at a lower level than envisaged in the strategy, it is difficult to see in
both documents recommendations on the measures to be taken so that
their targets can be effectively attained.

The missing connective pomimo leads to ungrammaticality of the Polish sen-

tence. Three interpreters resorted to a strategy of chunking the complex sentence
into two converting the first sentence into an existential one (There was informa-
tion…; Information was given….). Three other interpreters failed to interpret the
first clause after a false start (Unfortunately, the information on the indicators).

11. Pomimo korzystnych zmian na tle innych krajów sytuacja jest ciągle zła.
Despite favourable changes in comparison with other countries, the situ-
ation is still bad.

As in the previous extract the Polish sentence is ungrammatical. The strat-

egies employed by the interpreters were also similar and consisted in the con-
version of the first clause into an existential sentence (There were…). Again in
the case of three interpreters the output was incoherent.

12. Pamięć bohaterskiego oficera szargają dziś ludzie, którzy korzystają z  wy-
walczonych przez niego swobód obywatelskich i brylują na salonach, mimo
że powinni straszyć w  skansenach postkomunizmu, panie pośle Iwiński.
The memory of the heroic officer is tarnished today by people who enjoy
the civil liberties gained and hold their court, despite the fact that they
should haunt in the open-air museums of post-communism, Mr Iwiński.

The final case of jamming involved the mid-sentential connective mimo (że)
followed by a full clause. Interestingly, the idea of concession is still retrievable
even if the connective is removed. The asyndetic subordination brings about the
effect of increasing the hearer’s positive regard for the nucleus element equally
effectively thanks to the fact that the two clauses express propositions easy to
interpret pragmatically. Five translators decided to use asyndetic coordination
and only in one case the two clauses were connected by means of but.
 Where have the connectors gone?… 157

Finaly, but concession (13–15) showed itself as the easiest case for the inter-
preters. The principle reason lies in the fact that the omission of but never leads to
perplexing ungrammaticality, which does not slow down the comprehension of the
propositions. The strategy used by the interpreters consisted in refraining from the
use of any connective or combining the nucleus and the satellite by means of and.

13. Niemniej jednak z szacunku do młodych ludzi dziękuję za debatę. Przykro

mi, że nie toczyła się ona w sposób merytoryczny, ale mam nadzieję, że
ci młodzi ludzie, którzy nas oglądają, będą mogli to ocenić.
However, out of respect for young people thank you for the debate.
I’m sorry the debate was not up to the point, but I hope that those young
people, who are watching us, will be able to judge.

14. Liczę także na państwa wsparcie w tej kwestii. Każdy ma prawo do

własnego zdania, ale dobrze byłoby czasami to własne zdanie umieścić
w logice wspólnego działania i narodowej solidarności w obliczu zagroże-
nia, bo te zagrożenia mogą być większe niż do tej pory.
I count also on your support in this matter. Everyone is entitled to their
own opinion, but sometimes it would be good to put one’s own opinion
in the logic of joint action and national solidarity in the face of danger,
because this danger can be greater than ever.

15. Dziś historia biegnie jakby w drugą stronę, ale historia ostatnich dziesięcio-
leci pokazuje, że odwrócenie biegu jest możliwe. Ten bieg niejeden raz
– i to też jest nasze własne, polskie doświadczenie – się odwracał.
Today, the story goes a sort of the other way, but the history of the last
decades shows that reversal is possible. This course more than once – and
this is also our own, Polish experience – had turned.

The following table presents the interpreters’ choice of strategies.

Table 1. Jammed concessive markers in Polish-English simultaneous interpreting

Text Marker Concessive markers
Clause order Other means
no. jammed used in the TL text
1 jednak x jednak y but (1)
2 x jednak y –
3 x jednak y but (2)
4 x jednak y but (2)
5 x jednak y yet (1) however (2)
6 x choć y but (2)
7 choć choć xy yet (2); however (1); though (1) and (2)
8 x choć y –
158 Chapter Ten

Table 1 continued
9 chociaż xy but (1)
10 pomimo pomimo xy – existential there
11 pomimo xy – existential there
12 y mimo, że x but (1)
13 ale x ale y and (3)
14 x ale y and (3)
15 x ale y and (3)

5. Conclusions

The results obtained allow for a number of observations:

1. Concessivity is a difficult relation for simultaneous interpreters. The number of
unretrieved concessive markers was high. Given fifteen texts times six interpreters,
90 concessive markers could be expected. Instead the interpreters produced only
16 syndeticly marked TL texts if traditional concessive markers are taken into
account. Thus explicit concessive marking was present in only 17.7% of all cases.
2. Explicit concessive marking was provided by the interpreters only when the
omission of the original marker in the SL text did not lead to ungrammati-
cality or incoherence. Whenever the comprehension of the SL text was low,
the interpreters either failed to interpret the text or resorted to omission of
any connective. In the latter case they simply delegated the task of establishing
a relation between two clauses/sentences to the hearers rather than attempt
to misinterpret the SL text or overinterpret it.
3. The same strategy of avoidance or implicit marking can be observed in the
cases in which the general knowledge about the context of the SL text or
about the subject matter was necessary for the interpreter to analyse the
relation between two spans of the SL text as concessive. The results obtained,
that is, nine instances of and indicate that the interpreters have recourse to
semantically less complex relations, such as addition or co-occurrence. Again
this strategy allows the interpreter to ease the burden of explicitation and
decrease the processing load.
4. The presence of “secondary” markers of concession such as disjuncts was not
a factor encouraging the interpreters to provide an explicitly concessive TL text.
“To be on the safe side” the interpreters decided only to retain the disjuncts.
5. The same strategy of avoidance of overinterpretation can be noticed even in
the cases in which the missing SL connective was “reconstructed” in the TL
text. Given a number of functions that concession may fulfil in discourse (e.g.,
marking contrast, forestalling a possible objection, self-correction, hedging,
etc.), the interpreters tended to use an all-embracing but rather than more
restricted connectives like even though, yet, still, etc.
 Where have the connectors gone?… 159

Comparing the results of the present study with Łyda (2006, 2008) it can
be concluded that in the case of the concessive relation the factor of language
direction does not play any significant role as the same strategies were used
irrespective of the language direction. Generally, the absence of processing
instruction provided by a connective is a factor that induces avoidance rather
than risk-taking.

References
Barth-Weingarten, Dagmar. 2003. Concession in Spoken English. On the Realisation of a
Discourse-Pragmatic Relation. Tübingen: Narr.
Becher, Viktor. 2011. “When and why do translators add connectives? A corpus-based
study.” Target 23(1): 26–47.
Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. 2000. “Shifts of cohesion and coherence in translation.” The
Translation Studies Reader, edited by Lawrence Venuti, 298–313. London and New
York: Routledge.
de Vega, Manuel. 2005. “El procesamiento de oraciones con conectores adversativos y
causales.” Cognitiva 17: 85–108.
Gumul, Ewa. 2006. “Explicitation in simultaneous interpreting: A strategy or a by-prod-
uct of language mediation?” Across Languages and Cultures 7(2), 171–190.
Łyda, Andrzej. 2006. “Asyndetic Subordination in Interpreting: The Case of Concessive
Markers.” In Innovations in Psycholinguistics: A Step to Innovations in Brain, Culture,
Cognition and Communication ResearchTRANS. (Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwis-
senschaften) 16, edited by Elly Brosig. Available online at: http://www.inst.at/trans/16
Nr/06_4/ lyda16.htm (accessed 1.04.2017).
Łyda, Andrzej. 2007. Concessive Relation in Spoken English. A Study into Academic Spoken
English. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego: Katowice.
Łyda, Andrzej. 2008. “Last to Acquire: On the Relation of Concession in Interpreting.”
In Morphosyntactic Issues in Second Language Acquisition Studies, edited by Danuta
Gabryś-Barker, 144–159. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Molencki, Rafał. 1997. “Concessive Clauses in Chaucer’s Prose.” In Studies in Middle
English Linguistics, edited by Jacek Fisiak. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter
Shlesinger, Miriam. 1995. “Shifts in Cohesion in Simultaneous Interpreting.” Translator
1(2): 193–212
Shlesinger, Miriam, and Noam Ordan. 2012. “More spoken or more translated? Exploring
a known unknown of simultaneous interpreting.” Target 24(1): 43–60.
Taboada, Maite (2004). Building Coherence and Cohesion: Task-Oriented Dialogue in En-
glish and Spanish. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Townsend, D.J. 1997. “Processing clauses and their relationship.” In Processing interclausal
relationships: Studies in the production and comprehension of text, edited by Jean
Costermans and Michel Fayol, 265–282. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wing, C.S., and E.K. Scholnick (1981). “Children’s comprehension of pragmatic con-
cepts expressed in ‘because’, ‘although’, ‘if ’ and ‘unless’.” Journal of Child Language
8: 347–365.
160 Chapter Ten

Thompson, Geoff, and Jianglin Zhou (2000). “Evaluation and organization in text: the
structuring role of evaluative disjuncts.” In Evaluation in Text. Authorial Stance and
the Construction of Discourse, edited by Susane Hunston and Geoffrey Thompson,
121–141. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
 Chapter Eleven

Discourse prosody and real-time text

interpreting: Making live speech visible

Ursula Stachl-Peier and Ulf Norberg

In real time speech-to-text interpreting a trained transcriber using a standard or specially designed
keyboard translates spoken contributions into written text which is displayed on a (computer or
TV) screen to be read by Deaf/deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Since typing rates are slower than
speaking rates, transcribers must develop strategies that allow them to include as much of the
spoken content as is possible while at the same time attaining maximum synchronicity between
speech and the text on the screen. In spoken discourse, prosodic features are used by speakers to
demarcate grammatical units, give particular prominence to words or phrases and indicate emo-
tions. Auditory qualities can also be represented in written text through a range of typographical
devices; however, their insertion requires additional time and effort. This explorative study looks at
transcribers’ use of punctuation to reflect speakers’ employment of the prosodic features of pauses
and pitch to demarcate the segmentation of utterances. It also investigates whether stressed words
are represented in the written text. The analysis uses extracts from a videorecorded speech-to-text
interpreted university seminar and a TV interview with live subtitles.
Keywords: speech-to-text interpreting, speech-to-text transcription, live subtitling, discourse pros-
ody, sentence boundaries, pitch, stress, loudness

1. Introduction

Prosody and its role in text processing has been the subject of a large number
of studies. Cutler, Dahan and van Donselaar (1997) reviewed around 300 studies
spanning from the use of prosody in the recognition of spoken words and the
computation of syntactic structure to the role of prosody in the processing of
discourse structure (see also Dahan 2015 for recent advances).
There exists also a considerable body of research that has looked at the role
of prosodic phenomena in interpreting. The first studies reflected researchers’
fascination with the ability of simultaneous interpreters to listen to and com-
162 Chapter Eleven

prehend spoken (or signed) input in one language, translate the processed input
into another language while simultaneously producing a spoken or signed target
text. In the 1960s and 70s, simultaneous conference interpreting was therefore
often used as a test case for language processing theories. Later studies were less
concerned with simultaneous interpreting as a “window” on psycholinguistic
processes and the role of prosody in speech comprehension, and shifted the focus
on the discoursal1 functions of prosodic features as well as the impact of source
text intonational patterns on the interpreters’ output (for details see Section 3).
Very few studies have looked at prosodic phenomena in speech-to-text
interpreting (STTI) and live subtitling (LS2), that is, real-time captioning of
spoken language on TV, which are also modes of communication that involve
simultaneous spoken text comprehension and reproduction of the content.
Both are intralingual, diamesic translation activities, that is, the spoken input is not
translated into another spoken language but into written text3 for Deaf/deaf or
hard-of-hearing clients who do not habitually use sign language (cf. Schjold-
ager, Gottlieb, and Klitgård 2008 (2010): 57). Most of these studies have had
a technological focus and investigated the use of prosodic information for the
improvement of automatic speech recognition software to be used in respeaking
(see, e.g., Romero Fresco 2011, 2015). Prosody and its contribution to text com-
prehension and reproduction in STTI and LS by a transcriber using a keyboard
is largely unexplored. A notable exception is Wiklund’s study of STTI (2014)
which examined the correspondence between “paragraph intonation,” that is,
the use of intonation “to group sentences in a paragraph-like way” (Wichmann
2000: 24), and paragraph divisions in the transcript (for details see Section 3).
In this article we will look at further prosodic features that have been shown
to play a role in text comprehension and examine how they are represented
in speech-to-text interpreting and live subtitling transcriptions. In an analysis
of extracts from a university seminar and of a TV interview we will examine
how prosodic features such as loudness, stress, pauses, and sentence-initial and
sentence-final pitch patterns are treated by the transcribers.4
1
For a detailed discussion of the multifarious meanings of “discourse” in prosody research, see
for example Cutler, Dahan, and van Donselaar (1997: 142) and Wichmann (2014). For the purpose
of this paper, discoursal parameters are defined as prosodic resources “that can be used to highlight
features of spoken discourse” (Cutler, Dahan, and van Donselaar 1997: 13; see also Section 4).
2
Live subtitles can be produced with the help of automatic speech recognition and respeaking
or by a speech-to-text transcriber using a standard keyboard or a specially designed keyboard.
3
In this article we focus on STT interpreting, that is, transcription of the input text by
an STT interpreter, and live subtitling with a standard or specially designed keyboard; see also
Section 2. For the use of respeaking for live subtitling, see for instance Luyckx et al (2010) and
Romero Fresco (2011).
4
Paragraph intonation, which was the focus of Wiklund’s study, will not be investigated since
it is not relevant to our data. Live subtitles do not have paragraphing and the seminar consisted
mainly of short exchanges, so paragraphing coincided mostly with turn-taking.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 163

Section 2 briefly describes speech-to-text interpreting and live subtitling.

Section 3 gives a short overview of prosodic features and their role in text compre-
hension and reviews previous research of prosody in STT interpreting research.
In Section 4, the methodology and material of this study are presented.
The results of the analysis are discussed in Section 5. In Section 6, some con-
clusions and proposals for further research are presented.

2. Speech-to-text interpreting and live subtitling

Speech-to-text interpreting is a mode of communication in which spoken lan-

guage is transcribed by a (trained) person using a standard or specially adapted
keyboard, with the text being instantly displayed on a screen. STTI is used
primarily by (late-)deafened or hard-of-hearing adults who never learnt sign
language (SL) or did not attain a sufficiently high level of competence in SL to
be able to benefit from SL interpreting. STTI is frequently employed in public
service settings, where it is used to assist communication between individual
clients and officials, healthcare personnel, etc., in educational settings, where
again it is often employed to provide translation for individual students, and
during (semi-)formal meetings, lectures and cultural events, where the transcrip-
tion is typically displayed on a larger screen and can be read by several clients
(Norberg, Stachl-Peier, and Tiittula 2015). Contributions by the STTI service
users are usually in spoken language, so the work of speech-to-text interpreters
is for the most part only speech-to-text.
The technology used for STTI varies, with different countries showing differ-
ent preferences (Nofftz 2014). In some countries, such as Finland and Austria,
STT interpreters use standard keyboards; others, such as The Netherlands and
France employ veyboard (or velotype), a custom-designed keyboard that permits
faster typing speeds. In Sweden, both standard keyboards (qwerty) and veyboard
are used. In some countries, such as the UK, Ireland and the US, stenotype equip-
ment is used (see Luyckx et al. 2010: 3). Although most STTI providers maintain
that their STT interpreters produce verbatim transcriptions of everything that is
said, several studies have shown that between 30 and 45% of the words of the
original input are in fact omitted (see Tiittula 2009; cf even Tiittula 2006 and
Norberg and Stachl-Peier (2017) on the importance of condensation strategies).
Live subtitling (LS) is the term used for real-time captioning of spoken lan-
guage on TV screens. The programmes that are most frequently subtitled live
are political debates, sports competitions and entertainment events. When users
select LS, the transcribed text is displayed at the bottom of the screen. LS is not
only used by hearing impaired people but also viewers that may be unable to
hear the spoken text because of a noisy environment, or who have problems
following spoken language, such as L2-speakers (see also Luyckx et al. 2010: 2).
164 Chapter Eleven

As in STTI, LS technological preferences vary. Some countries have been

investing heavily in the development of speech recognition and respeaking
technologies (for an overview see Romero Fresco 2011, 2015; Luyckx et al.
2010), in others subtitlers employ standard computer keyboards, veyboard or
stenotype equipment.5 In Sweden in 2016, all live subtitling is produced using
veyboard.
Although STTI and LS are similar in many respects, there are also some
important differences. In STTI contexts, the speaker(s), client(s) and the inter-
preter(s) normally share the same space. Speakers, clients and interpreters can
interfere in the communicative event; clients and interpreters can ask for repe-
tition or clarification, the transcribed text can be adapted to the personal needs
of the users through adjustment of the typing speed, font size and the complexity
of lexical items and syntax.6 Live subtitlers, by contrast, have no or only indirect
contact with their audience. They cannot ask for repetition or clarification, and
their clients are comprised of a diverse group making adaptation to individual
needs impossible (see also Norberg in print).

3. Discourse prosody

3.1 Theoretical introduction

As Cutler, Dahan and van Donselaar (1997: 142) note, the term prosody is used
in many different ways by researchers:

[…] from at one extreme those who maintain an abstract definition not
necessarily coupled to any statement about realization (“the structure that
organizes sound”), to those who use the term to refer to the realization
itself, that is, effectively use it as a synonym for suprasegmental features
[…] at the other extreme.

For the purpose of this study, the latter usage is adopted. Following Wich-
mann (2000), prosody is seen as the “interface between intonation and discourse
analysis” (Wichmann 2000:1), and defined as “the complex set of features which
together make up what we commonly perceive as ‘tone of voice’ , ” which include
suprasegmental features such as intonation, loudness, timing (including final
lengthening, tempo changes and pauses) and voice quality (Wichmann 2000: 8;
5
With the increasing use of remote interpreting in recent years, respeaking is likely to become
a viable alternative in public service settings (see Hattinger 2013).
6
In this case, the often quoted requirement of “complete rendition of the source text” is
of course impossible.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 165

Barth-Weingarten 2011: 5; Shriberg et al. 2009: 214).7 At the level of discourse,

prosodic features represent the cues that indicate the organisation of utterances
into larger segments (sentence and paragraph boundaries8), topic units,
given vs. new information, turn-taking, as well as features that create or reflect
the relationship between speakers (Wichmann 2014: 14; see also Venditti and
Hirschberg 2003).
Across languages, the relationship of prosody to discourse differs (Cutler,
Dahan, and van Donselaar 1997: 171). In English, for instance, read (affirmative)
sentences typically start on a high pitch and end on a low pitch, with pitch reset,
that is, the noticeable shift from low pitch to high pitch, providing a clear cue
to listeners that the speaker has embarked on a new sentence (Wichmann 2000:
249). To mark the beginning and the end of topics or “conceptual” paragraphs,
speakers tend to use low boundary tones at topic endings and a particularly high
pitch at the beginning of the first sentence introducing the new topic (Wichmann
2000: 24; Cutler, Dahan, and van Donselaar 1997: 180).
Swedish shares many features with English yet also possesses some unique
characteristics. As Myrberg and Riad (2015: 141) note, in Swedish, stress is separate
from lexical accent, which produces a “richness of structure that is lacking
in West Germanic” (see also Engstrand (2004: 173), who similarly notes that
Swedish has “relatively rich prosody”). Like English, Swedish is a stress-timed
language, that is, the temporal duration between two stressed syllables is equal,
while the length of unstressed syllables may be compressed to fit into the time
interval. A feature not found in English is lexical tone. Most Swedish dialects
employ two different word accents in disyllabic words, which are referred to
as tone accent 1 and tone accent 2, or traditionally also as “acute” and “grave”
accents. Central Swedish has extra high pitch on the stressed syllable, which is
7
Auer (2010: 9), by contrast, found that pauses do not represent reliable cues to sentence
boundaries as they can occur inside an intonation phrase, just as two intonation phrases can be
connected, or “latched together” without a pause.
8
As Wichmann (2014: 2; 2000: 30) notes, using “sentence” and “paragraph” as analytical
constructs in spoken text analysis is problematic; both the “sentence” and the “paragraph” are
essentially orthographic units. For the segmentation of spoken language into smaller chunks
a large range of terms have been suggested. Brown and Yule refer to these units below the sentence
as “tone groups” (Brown and Yule 2000: 155), which are “units rhythmically bound together […]
which appear to be intended by the speaker to be taken together” (Brown and Yule 2000: 157).
Chafe uses the term “information unit,” which he defines “as spurts of vocalization that typically
contain one or more intonation peaks, that end in anyone of a variety of terminal pitch contours,
and that usually but not always are separated from each other by pauses” (Chafe 1988: 397).
Other linguists have used the term “intonation phrase” (see, e.g., Auer 2010: 8; Barth-Weingarten
2011). In this article we will employ the term “intonation units” for salient intonational units
below the sentence.
9
Jansen, Gregory and Brenier (2001) also found that speakers tended to use greater pitch
reset and major breaks before direct quotes than before indirect quotes; for the latter, the prosodic
contours of narrative speech were employed.
166 Chapter Eleven

absent in accent 1 (Riad 2014: 23).10 Variants of Swedish that use this second
pitch peak are generally referred to as “double-peaked” dialects (Schötz et al.
2012: 123). The special tonal contour of Swedish plus the isochronic division
of the speech flow into portions of equal length generate a very regular rhythm
(Engstrand 2004: 205–206) which is often perceived as “sing-song” by non-native
speakers and perhaps most typically associated with the Swedish chef ’s language
in The Muppet Show (Riad 2008).

3.2 Discourse prosody and simultaneous interpreting

As we noted in the introduction, simultaneous conference interpreting was

frequently used as a test case for cognitive processing theories. In the 1960s and
70s, psychologists such as David Gerver, Frieda Goldman-Eisler, Henri Barik
and Brian Butterworth conducted a series of studies in which they investigated
different prosodic parameters and their impact on interpreters’ performance.
Gerver (1969), for instance, investigated speech rates and found that faster speech
rates resulted in more errors and omissions. Gerver (1974a) showed that
background noise that caused difficulty in perceiving source language passages
reduced the ability of simultaneous interpreters to monitor their output.
In another experiment, Gerver (1974b) tested the effect of simultaneous listening
and speaking on comprehension and recall and found that retention scores were
lowest for shadowing (verbatim repetition of source text in the same language)
and highest when the test subjects had merely listened without interpreting.
Goldman-Eisler (1968) and Barik (1973) studied pauses in the interpreters’
output as manifestations of processing procedures and suggested that interpret-
ers tried to take advantage of speakers’ pauses to reduce the extent of time
during which they had to listen and speak at the same time.11 Pauses were also
studied by Barik (1975) and Butterworth (1980). Butterworth found that pauses
in spontaneous speech occur mostly at phrasal or clausal boundaries, which he
interpreted as evidence of automatic planning in cognitive planning and pro-
cessing. Barik concluded that interpreters’ performance was improved when the
speakers of the source text paused at grammatical junctions.
Another aspect investigated by Barik (1975) was time lag, that is, the span
between the source input and interpreting output. Although time lag is not
a prosodic feature, the study is included here because of its relevance to
our analysis. Barik found that long time lag helped disambiguate input and
10
Myrberg and Riad (2015: 117) describe tone accent 2 as being comprised of “lexical tone
+ intonation.”
11
Later research is highly critical of their conclusion. Even Gerver (1971: 29) doubts that
“simultaneity of input and output” is interpreters’ biggest problem; rather it is “the additional
information processing load imposed by the translation task.”
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 167

reduced the number of misinterpretations, yet it also increased the likelihood of

content being omitted. Barik’s results were confirmed by Cokely in a study on
sign language interpreting (Cokely 1986) which also showed that greater time
lag resulted in fewer errors (for an overview of further cognitive research into
interpreting, see Christoffels and de Groot 2005).
Later prosodic studies in interpreting were more concerned with interpret-
ers’ intonational patterns and their effect on the audience. Shlesinger (1994),
for example, found that the intonational system employed by simultaneous
interpreters was marked by a unique set of salient features only found in simul-
taneous conference interpreting. Williams (1995) similarly showed that source
text stress patterns tended to impact target language prosodic contours; Ahrens
(2004, 2005) likewise concluded that interpreted texts display very typical
features, including longer pauses, shorter prosodically defined units and conse-
quently more pitch changes, and frequently rising pitch or rise-level contours at
the end of the sentence suggesting that the sentence is not yet finished (Ahrens
2004: 230). Monotonous intonation and its effect on audiences was examined
by Collados Aís (2001), who was able to empirically confirm the negative effect
of monotonous interpretations on content recall. Nafá Waasaf also investigated
monotony in SI output. In contrast with other studies, she concluded that simul-
taneous interpreters drew on their expertise as professional communicators and
tended to use lively intonation in their renditions (Nafá Waasaf 2003) as well as
standard intonational patterns with clear high pitch-low pitch boundary mark-
ings (Nafá Waasaf 2007).

3.3 Discourse prosody and STTI/LS

STTI and LS were long considered to be outside the purview of translation

studies, which may also explain the dearth of empirical studies on speech-to-text
interpreting and live subtitling by translation scholars. Prosodic features have
only been the subject of one study, which was conducted by Wiklund (2014)
and focused on paragraph boundaries (for details see below).
In written language, prosodic cues are, at least partially, represented and
“made overt through punctuation,” as Chafe argues (1988: 423). Full stops and
commas are typically said to coincide with intonation boundaries, with full stops
normally representing falling pitches, and commas non-falling pitches (Chafe
1988: 424).12 New paragraphs tend to coincide with a shift from low to high pitch,

12
Commas – at least in English – represent different types of intonation, depending on
whether they are used in enumeration or denote apposition (cf. Duran Eppler and Ozón 2013).
In enumeration, commas often represent slightly rising intonation (Cook 2013: 96; see also Taboada
2004: 43), or a falling-rising pattern (Warren 2016: 25) if a speaker is “a) completing one part of
168 Chapter Eleven

which is interpreted as a cue that a new topic is about to be addressed (Wich-

mann 2000).
Other typographic markers that can be used to represent prosodic features
are question marks indicating rising pitch, exclamation marks, CAPITALS,
italics, bold-faced and underlined text to denote stress and loudness, [.] to
indicate pauses which do not demarcate grammatical units, and emoticons
for rise and fall patterns that express astonishment, incredulity, boredom and
other feelings.
There is, however, no complete match between intonational boundaries,
punctuation marks and paragraphing. Chafe, for instance, found that when
test subjects were asked to reinsert punctuation marks in texts from which
these had been removed, they did not always reinsert syntactically prescribed
commas, leading him to conclude that commas do not necessarily coincide
with intonation boundaries (Chafe 1988: 424; see also Kalbertodt, Primus,
and Schumacher 2015). Moreover, when test subjects read texts aloud, they
introduced more “intonation units” than there were “punctuation units” in
the written text. Erekson (2010: 80–81) similarly found that “[i]n published
writing syntactic units are separated by punctuation less frequently than one
might expect.”
Inconsistencies between written and spoken (i.e., read-aloud) text segmen-
tation were also reported by Wichmann. Written paragraph breaks are generally
said to occur at boundaries at which coherent spaces, temporal sequences, char-
acter configurations, event sequences and words change more or less radically
(Wichmann 2000: 33, quoting Chafe 1979: 180). In Wichmann’s experiment,
the written text did indeed follow this pattern with paragraphs indicating the
chronological sequence of the described action. When the text was read aloud,
however, the speakers divided their spoken texts into functional episodes and
inserted boundaries to mark the beginning and end of the functional units such
as setting, experience, complication, and solution (Wichmann 2000: 32).
Drawing on Wichmann’s (2000) concept of “paragraph intonation,” Wiklund (2014)
studied the correlation between intonation contours and paragraphs in the STTI
output and showed that “topic resets” in the Finnish read-aloud texts (Wichmann
2000: 25) correlated with new paragraphs in STT interpreters’ transcriptions.
That is to say, STT interpreters clearly interpreted the shift from low to high
pitch as a cue that a new topic was about to be introduced. However, the STT
interpreters tended to insert paragraph breaks also where there were no “topic
reset” cues in the original; the transcript included twice as many paragraphs as
the spoken text. The explanation suggested by Wiklund is the large font size
used in STTI to display text on the screen. Standardly, only around 15 lines can

the utterance (shown by the fall) and b) connecting this to a following part (shown by the rise).”
For Duran Eppler and Ozón (2013: 174), by contrast, commas denote “falling intonation.”
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 169

be shown. To increase readability, STT interpreters appear to break up the text

into smaller paragraphs.
Although Erekson notes that “as a rule authors do not expect to cue readers
this way [through punctuation] for every idea, and readers do not expect this
kind of pervasive guidance” (2010: 81; see also Gårding 1974: 12), it could still
be argued that the representation of prosodic features would facilitate STTI and
LS users’ understanding of the discoursal impact of speech.

4. Materials and method

The materials used to investigate transcribers’ representation of prosodic features

comprise videorecorded extracts from a university seminar and from Swedish
Television’s Agenda programme. The seminar was held at the History Depart-
ment of a Swedish university in May 2011 and lasted around 90 minutes. The
seminar involved a teacher-moderated discussion of a set course book. The desks
were arranged in a horseshoe formation, with the lecturer standing at the front
of the class. The two STT interpreters sat on either side of the student that
needed interpretation; they used standard keyboards and usually worked for ten
minutes before handing over to the other interpreter. The transcribed text was
displayed on a computer screen. The video shows the screen but not the inter-
preters. Since no additional microphones were used, contributions by students
who were seated a long way from the camera were not always fully audible
or were obscured by noise.13
The extract from the news programme is from a c. 5-minute live interview
between a journalist and a representative of the UNHCR who was asked to
comment on the refugee crisis. The transcriber(s) used veyboard. Unprepared
text was displayed word by word, the journalist’s prerecorded questions line by
line. White subtitles were used for the interviewee and cyan for the journalist.
The extracts were transcribed by the authors using the following conventions:

• A slash (/) was used to separate intonation units, that is, units that represent
“a spate of talk delivered as one recognisable overall pitch movement” (Szczepek
Reed 2010: 351) with a “tendency to decline both in pitch and volume from
beginning to end” (Chafe 2014: 206; see also Section 3).
• Accents were used to indicate voice pitch changes at the beginning and end
of intonation units: (´) before a word or syllable indicates rising pitch, (`)
indicates falling pitch, (ˇ) represents fall-rise and (ˆ) rise-fall. Where no fall
13
See Norberg and Stachl-Peier (2017) for a discussion of the transcribers’ use, or rather
non-use, of targeted condensation strategies and its implications for the client’s ability to become
involved and ultimately, her access to education.
170 Chapter Eleven

or rise occurred, this is indicated by (_). Pitch level changes are represented
in terms of relative pitch contrasts, that is, absolute pitch contrasts were not
marked.
• CAPITALS were used for prominently stressed words.
• A hyphen (-) indicates a noticeable pause, two hyphens a long pause.
• In the English translations of the extracts [misspelt] has been added when
a word in the transcribed text was misspelt.

The acoustic analysis was carried out with the speech analysis program
PRAAT (see Boersma 2001 and Boersma and Weenink 2016).
In the STT interpreters’ transcription, (…) was used to indicate the omission
of one or several words.

5. Analysis

The seminar represented a typical classroom exchange, with an initiating move

from the teacher, followed by a student’s response and a follow-up move by the
teacher evaluating the response (cf. Sinclair and Coulthard 1975). Most of the
lecturer’s contributions were relatively short and clearly articulated; questions
were typically followed by long pauses as she waited for students to raise their
hands and respond to her question. Most of these pauses were used by the
STT interpreters to catch up with the speaker; typically, the interpreters had
just finished typing when a student began to respond (see also Norberg and
Stachl-Peier (2017)). The students’ responses were often uttered at a much faster
pace and less clearly articulated and structured than the lecturer’s, with many
false starts and repetitions.
The interview similarly followed a standard pattern. The journalist asked
questions which were answered by the interviewee, who was usually allowed to
finish her utterances before follow-up questions were asked.
Example 1:
Example 1 is from the beginning of the seminar and comprises a short
outline of the lesson by the lecturer and a first general question regarding the
set textbook. The lecturer and the students spoke slowly and paused frequently,
which allowed the STT interpreters to produce an almost verbatim rendition of
her utterances.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 171

Figure 1. Computer screen with displayed text

On the following page the left-hand column presents the transcription of

the spoken text by the authors of this paper, while the right-hand column
presents the text produced by the STT interpreters which was displayed on
the screen. The English translations of both transcriptions are added below.
172 Chapter Eleven
0:32–1:59
Lecturer:
`ehhh vi `KÖR / ´vi har
JÄTTEMYCKet i`dag / ´eller
GANska `mycket / ´vi ska PRAta
WÄNGˇneRUD / _å `sen så ska vi
göra en utvärder´ING / ´och sen så
skall ni få ˇSKRIVningen / - `om ´vi
HINNer / ska vi prata `om -- ˆULLa
ˆlindSTRÖM `också / _litegrann_/
- ´men jag TÄNKTE så ˆHÄRA /
-- ´iSTÄLLet för att jag lägger PÅ
MAssa OHbilder med jättemycket
´TEXT / - eh / `så har jag kopierat
ˆUPP / - `två sidor till `ER / `som
ni kan få anTECKna `på / - _det är
jätte `beKVÄMare / eftersom vi inte
har nån DAtor här och kan köra
nån POWERpoint eller ´så / - - `så
´det HÄR E till ˆer / - _ni kan skicka
ˆRUNT / - - _ja `vad TYCKte ni om
ˆWÄNGnerud / - - ´har ni fått TAG i
`den / - ˆJÄTTEbra / - ´hur gick det
att ˆLÄsa /
Student 1: ´det var lite ˆJOBBigt / _för
min var JÄTTEkluddad i min `bok /
L: ´hon `har ju så många beGREPP
ˆänDÅ / `så ´det är ˆoNÖdigt att
kludda i den ˆMER /
St 1: ´jag kludda ˆingenting / ´den
VAR ˆkluddad
L: ´vad sa ˆdu / ´för du skulle säga
`nånting /
St 2: _det var väldigt MYCKet långa
ˇresoneMANG på nåt ´vis /
L: `ahm /
St 2: ´utan att hon egentligen kom
fram till ˆnånting / ´tyckte jag /
0:33–2:02
Vi kör. Vi har jättemycket idag.
Ganska mycket, vi ska prata
Wejnerud och sedan göra en
utvärdering opch så skall ni få
skrivningen. Om vi hinner skall vi
prata om Ulla lindstörm. Jag tänkte
så här: i stället för att jag lägger på
oh-bilder med mycket text har jag
kopierat upp två sidor som ni kan
anteckna på. Lite bekvämare då jag
inte har någon dator och kan köra
powerpoint. Detta är till er, ni kan
skicka runt.
Vad tyckte ni om Wegnerud?
Har ni fått tag i den? Bra.
Gick det att läsa?
- Det var lite jobbigt, mon var
jättekluddad i boken jag lånat.
- Hon har så många begrepp ändå,
onödigt att kludda i den mer.
- jag kluddade ingenting.
- DU skulle säga något?
- Det var långa resonemang, utan att
hon egentligen kom fram till något,
tyckte jag.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting…
L: ´mm / - ´mm /
St 2: ˆhon GILLade STOra `ord /
L: ˇhon GILLade STOra `ORD / ´vilka
ORD `då
L: ahh we START / we have a GREAT
DEAL [to get through] today / or
rather a lot / we will TALK about
WÄNGNERUD / and then we will
do an evaluaTION / and then you
will get the WRITING task / if we
MANAGEwe will also talk about
ULLAA LINDSTRÖM / a little
bit / but I was THINKING the
FOLLOWING / INSTEAD of putting
ON masses of OH-slides with a lot
of TEXT / eh / I have copied / two
pages for YOU / which you can
make NOTES on / this is much more
COMFORTABLE / since we don’t
have a comPUter here and cannot
use POWERpoint or so / so this
HERE is for you / you can pass them
ROUND / yah what did you THINK
of WÄNGNERUD / were you able to
get HOLD of it / EXCELLENT / how
was it READING it
Student 1: it was a little DIFFICULT /
as there were LOTS of annotations in
my book /
L: she uses so many CONCEPTS
anyway / so it is unNECessary to
annotate MORE /
St 1: I did not add anything / it WAS
annotated
L: what did you say / you were about
to say something
173
- Hon gillade stora ord.
- Vilka ord då?
We start. We have a great deal to get
through today, we will talk about
Wejnerud [misspelt] and then do an
evaluation and [misspelt] then you
will get the task. If we manage we will
talk about Ulla lindström [misspelt].
I was thinking the following: instead
of using OH-slides with a lot of text
I have copied two pages for you on
which you can make notes. A little
more comfortable as I do not have
a computer here and cannot use
powerpoint. This is for you, you can
pass them round.
What did you think of Wegnerud?
Were you able to get hold of it? Good.
Was it ok to read?
- It was a little difficult, mine
[misspelt] had lots of highlighting,
underlining and notes the book I
borrowed.
- She uses so many terms anyway,
unnecessary to add more annotations.
- I did not add more annotations.
- YOU were about to say something?
174 Chapter Eleven

St 2: there were VERY long - There were long argumentations,

argumentations somehow / without her reaching a conclusion I
thought.
L: mm

St 2: without her reaching a

conclusion / I thought /

L: mm - mm

St 2: she LIKED BIG words / - She liked big words.

L: she LIKED BIG WORDS \ which - Which words?

WORDS then

Intonation units and punctuation marks

In total, Example 1 contains 40 intonational units; the transcription contains
12 full-stops, one colon, seven commas and four question marks. That is to say,
not all prosodic segmentation cues are represented in the text by punctuation
marks. A possible explanation could be that Swedish punctuation rules do not
require the insertion of commas before conjunctions linking coordinate and
subordinate clauses. These rules seem to take precedence over the representation
of prosodic cues in STTI texts.
The full stops (periods) and colon in the STTI transcription coincide with
marked pitch level changes, that is, falling pitch at the end of the first unit with
subsequent rising pitch at the beginning of the next unit.
The commas represent different boundary movement patterns, which seems
to confirm the observations reported in fn. 12:
• Fall followed by rise in “GANska `mycket / ´vi ska PRAta WÄNGˇneRUD”;
• Rise-fall followed by fall in “´hon `har ju så många beGREPP ˆänDÅ / `så
´det är ˆoNÖdigt att kludda i den ˆMER”;
• Rise-fall followed by even in “det HÄR E till ˆer / - _ni kan skicka ˆRUNT”
and “det var lite ˆJOBBigt / _för min var JÄTTEkluddad i min `bok”;
• Rise-fall followed by rise in “… kom fram till ˆnånting / ´tyckte jag,” and
• Rise followed by rise in “det var väldigt MYCKet långa ˇresoneMANG på nåt
´vis / [L: `ahm] / ´utan att hon egentligen kom fram till ˆnånting.”
Question marks have generally been thought to represent rising contour.
In natural speech, however, many questions do not end on a rise. Hirsch-
berg (2000), for instance, found in her speech samples that 30% of questions’
read speech and 43% in spontaneous speech used falling intonation. The STTI
transcription in Example 1 includes four question marks, all coinciding with
falling pitch contour.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 175

Prominently stressed words

Nearly all prominently stressed words were retained; the only that was not
transcribed was in a clause which was completely edited out by the STT inter-
preter (“den VAR kluddad”).
Example 2:
Example 2 is an extract from later in the seminar and starts with the lecturer
calling on a student who had raised her hand to answer. The student’s response
is interspersed with the lecturer’s affirmative “`hms”. The student speaks fast
and exploits a very small pitch range in her intonation, with few marked peaks.
The passage also contains many false starts and repetitions, when the student
struggled to find appropriate wordings, which proved challenging for the STT
interpreters.

L: Lecturer, S: Student
(13:03) (13:09)

L: ´det var nån som räckte upp
`HANDen / ´var det [STUDENT’S
NAME] ˆeller /
(13:06)
S: _hm kom på ˆasså / `jag har tänkt
säga det här med att hon be`skriver /
´vad jag uppfattar ganska objek´tivt
/ `det här med att - ofta så väljs
kvinnor ´IN / `men dom HAMNar i
vissa _utskott / _alltså dom ´E
L: `precis
[STUDENT’S NAME]: detta med
att ofta väljs vkinnor in men man
hamnar i vissa utskott.. Det kan lätt
tolkas så, ,.kvotering är debatt. Vad
är mnaligt och vad är kvinnlig? Det
(13:30) ska finnas båda könen i alla
utskott.. Kön sk ainte spela roll i
politiken på det sättet.. Hon tar upp
det som en problem..
Intervjuerna tar upp det också.d ett är
åsikterna..
Hur vet du det ?

S: `och det kan ju lätt ˇTOLKasså /
`det är liksom fort­farande / _det här
med KVOTering det är fortfarande
ˆdeBATT / ´vad är ˆMANligt / å ´vad
är ˆKVINNligt
Vissa hade ingen utbildning men kom
in (14:00) ädåd. Nadra kvinnor hade
utbildning men kominte in.. Det blir
problem som hon beskriver objektivt
(14:09)

L: `hm
176 Chapter Eleven

S: _och det är som personen hävdar

ju att det spelar ingen `ROLL / _det
FINNS / - det ˆfinns / `det ska finnas
båda könen (13:30) i varje ˆUTskott
/ `för egentligen ska inte kön spela
någon `roll - i poliTIken på det `sättet
/

L: `hm

S: `MEN / - det är så det det tar

hon ju upp lite som ett proBLEM
ˆdetdär / att - ˆdet_specificeras så
mycket JA med det här med sociAla
[incomprehensible]

L: `hm

S: `det här `vård / ´allt det där

HAMNar ˆKVINNorna (13:45) / ­och
ˆfiNANS / ´och det tar hon också
upp i de här interˇVJUerna / - _att
det är ju verkligen `Åsikten / - _alltså
åsikterna om ja men männen är i
ˆKOLL / _ja ´men hur hur vet du
´DET /

L: `hm

S: `vissa hade inte ens nån

utˆBILDning / `men kom in där
ˆänDÅ / _och så var det andra
kvinnor som hade UT´bildning /
`men dom kom INte `IN / `så det är
ˆliksom / `det blir ett ˆproBLEM /
`som hon beSKRIVer rätt obˆjektivt
`tyckerjag /

S: `hm (14:06)
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting…
L: someone raised their hand / was
that [STUDENT’S NAME] was it
S: hm was thinking well / I thought
I would say that there with what
she describes / what I think is quite
objective / that there with that women
are voted IN / but they END UP in
certain committees / that is they are
L: exactly
S: and they are that can easily be
INTERPRETED / this is still / that
there with gender QUOTAS this is
still subject to DEBATE / what is
MALE / what is FEMALE
L: hm
S: and this is as if the person claims
that it plays no ROLE / there is / -
there are / there ought to be both
genders in every COMMITTEE /
as gender should not play a role - in
POLITICS in this way /
L: hm
S: BUT / - that is that is mentioned by
her as a PROBLEM that there / that -
is specified so much YEAH with that
social thingy there
177
[STUDENT’S NAME]: that thing
with that women [misspelt] are often
elected but they end up in certain
committees.. That can be easily
interpreted as such . gender quota is
a debate. What is male [misspelt] och
what is female? There should be both
genders in all committees.. Gender
should not [misspelt] play a role in
politics in this way.. She mentions this
as a [wrong article] problem..
The interviews also mention this.
these [misspelt] are opinions.. How
do you know?
Some had no education . but still were
[misspelt] elected. Some [misspelt]
women had education but were not
[misspelt] elected.. This becomes
a problem which she describes
objectively.
178 Chapter Eleven

L: hm

S: that with care / that is there

WOMEN END up / and finANCE
/ and that is also something she
mentions in these INTERVIEWS
/ - that these are really OPINIONS
/ - that is opinions about yeah but the
men are in control / yeah but how do
you know THIS /

L: hm

S: some did not even have an

EDUCATION / but were STILL
elected / and then there were other
women who had EDUCATION / but
were NOT ELECTED / so that is like
/ that becomes a PROBLEM / which
she DESCRIBES rather objectively I
think

S: hm

Of the 220 words in the spoken text, the transcribers managed to reproduce
89. In total, Example 2 contains 35 intonation units; the transcription has seven
full-stops, one comma and two question marks.
All intonation units that did not contain prominently stressed words were
omitted by the STT interpreters. In the intonation units that were retained,
the transcription always reproduces the stressed words, while the remainder of the
utterance is often summarized and condensed. All full stops and commas in the
transcription coincide with intonation unit boundariess and the end of a falling
contour or a marked pitch change.
Example 3: Live subtitled interview
Example 3 is an extract from the beginning of a live subtitled interview.
The UNHCR representative exploited a very large pitch range and emphasized
many words both audibly through prominent stress and visually through nodding.
Both she and the journalist spoke at a moderate pace and enunciated very clear-
ly. Given the spatial and temporal constraints of subtitling, however, including
strict rules governing the number of lines and words that can be shown on the
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 179

screen14 and minimum exposure times, coupled with viewers’ expectation of

synchronicity, the subtitlers were unable to produce a verbatim reproduction
and condensed the original speech. Of the 246 words in the spoken text,
96 were rendered by the subtitlers.
Journalist = J, Interviewee = I
The transription of the spoken text is on the left; the subtitles are on the right.
The subtitles are shown with the original line breaks; | indicates breaks between
screens. The text highlighted in light grey indicates prerecorded subtitles.

(0:00) (0:00)
J: `när man HÖR manuel valls `här (Prerecorded)
/ så talar han om SÄKRade YTTre Du är biträdande regionchef
gränser för EU och `HOT spots / för UNHCR i Nordeuropa. |
alltså MOTtagnings`läger där dom Säkrade yttre gränsen för EU och
asylsökande ska - ska SAMlas upp `då “hot spots” – mottagningsläger. |
/ ´vad tycker UNHCR om `det här Vad tycker UNHCR om det här? |
förslaget
(0:12) (0:15)
I: ´alltså i STOra ´DRAG / I stora drag överensstämmer
ˇså - överensstämmer UNhcr:s UNHCR:s rekommendationer |
rekommendaˆTIOner / `som vi är / - om hur situationen bör lösas. |
fört FRAM till EukommiˆSSIOnen /
`till EuLÄNderna om hur situationen
bör ˆLÖSas /
(0:24)
J: `vad är det ni ˆGILLar /
I: `med dom / ´som HAN förde fram
`här / ´framför allt DET att - ALLa Alla länder måste bidra,
Euländer måste ˆbiDRA / `det är ett det är ett gemensamt ansvar. |
geMENsamt `ANsvar / `det är inte ett (0:39)
system a la `CART /
(0:32)
J: _varför är det `viktigt /

14
Guidelines typically recommend not more than two lines per subtitle and between 32 and
34 characters per line. The recommended presentation rate for subtitles is 140 words per minute,
the recommended presentation time for one line is 2.12 to 3 seconds, for two lines 5 to 6 seconds
(see BBC’s Online Subtitling Editorial Guidelines 2009).
180 Chapter Eleven

(0:34)
I: `DÄRför att ˆANNars / `så får
vi den KAotiska situation vi HAR
`nu / `där MÄNNiskor på FLYKT -
SKYFFlas från ETT land till ett `annat
/ ˆutan att ha möjlighet att utöva sin
rätt att söka `asyl (0:45) / ´sen med
MOTtagˆningsCENter / `det håller
vi OCKså ˇmedom / ˇANNars / `det
är ETT sätt att komma till rätta med
den situationen som vi har på LESbos
(0:53) till `exempel / `som vi såg i
INslaget ˇINNan /
Annars får vi den kaotiska
situationen som vi har (0:45) nu. |
Med mottagningscenter,
det håller vi också med. (0:53)|
Det är ett sätt att komma till
rätta med situationen i Lesbos. (1:00)|
Vad gäller gränskontroll
så måste asylrätten upprätthållas. |
(1:09)

_vad gäller GRÄNS`kon´TROLL

/ ˇså är det VIKtigt att aSYLrätten
´upprättHÅLLS (1:03) / `som han
också NÄMNde i ´inter`VJUN
/ det FINNS ju REGler i
SCHENGenˆavTAlet /

(1:05) (1:10)

J: `om jag bara får stoppa dig där (Prerecorded)

ˆlite / ´när det gäller dom här Hur tänker ni att ett sånt här
MOTTAGnings - ett sånt här mottagningscenter ska fungera? |
mottagningsˆCENTer / `eh / - `vad
är det man ska SE FRAMför sig `då (1:20)
egentligen / ´är det ett kon´TOR / Är det ett kontor
`dit man går och får en ˆSTÄMPel eller ett läger? |
/ `eller eller är det mer ett ˆLÄGer /
`med MUrar `ochsådär / _ där _ där
asYLsökande ska - ska HÅLLas eh
på ´plats / ´så att ˆsäga (1:23) /

J: if one LISTENS to manuell valls (Prerecorded)

here \ he speaks about SECURED
EXTERNAL borders for the EU and
HOT spots / that is RECEPTION
camps where the asylum seekers
You are the regional deputy head
headfor UNHCR in northern Europe |
Secured external borders for EU and
“hot spots” – reception camp. |What
does the UNHCR think about this?|
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 181

will will be gathered / what does the

UNHCR think about this proposal /

I: well OVERALL / the UNHCR Overall are UNHCR’s

recommendations are the same /
which we are / - have PROposed to
the EU COMMISSION \ to the EU
COUNTRIES about how the situation
ought to be RESOLVED /
recommendations the same |
about how the situation should be
resolved. |

J: what do you LIKE /

I: with those / that HE proposed

here / above all THAT that - all EU
countries must CONTRIBUTE / this All countries must contribute,
is a SHARED RESPONSIBILITY / this is a shared responsibility. |
this is not a system A LA CARTE /

J: why is this important /

I: because OTHERWISE / there we Otherwise we get the chaotic

get the CHAOTIC situation we HAVE situation which we have now. |
now / where PEOPLE FLEEING Concerning reception centres,
- are SHUFFLED from ONE we also agree. |
country to another / without having This is one way of coping with the
the opportunity to exercise their situation in Lesbos. |
right to asylum / then concerning As concerns border checks
RECEPTION centres / here we ALSO the right to asylum must be secured. |
agree with them / OTHERWISE /
this is also ONE way of coping with
the situation we have on LESBOS
for example / as we saw in the CLIP
BEFORE / as concerns BORDER
CHECKS it is IMPORTANT that
the right to ASYLUM is secured
/ as he also MENTIONED in
the INTERVIEW / there are (Prepared subtitle)
REGULATIONS in the SCHENGEN How do you think such a
AGREEMENT reception centre will work? |
182 Chapter Eleven

J: if i can maybe stop you there a little Is it an office

/ concerning these RECEPTION - or a camp?
such a reception CENTRE / eh / what
should we SEE BEFORE our mental
eye / is it an OFFICE where people go
to get a STAMP / or is it like a CAMP
/ with WALLS and and so on / where
where ASYLUM seekers will will be
DETAINED so to say

Of 39 intonation units in this extract, 18 were reproduced by the subtitlers.

The chunks that were omitted contained information that the subtitlers could
reasonably expect the audience to already possess, either because they had been
referred to in the news item that was shown immediately prior to the interview
and on which the UNHCR representative was asked to comment, or because
they represented paraphrases or repetitions, or added details which would nor-
mally be part of the mental image evoked by the uttered word. All the omitted
units were relative clauses which started on a falling pitch suggesting that the
following chunk was non-defining and therefore dispensable; these sequences
were, however, not uttered with a lower intensity than the surrounding text.
Prominently stressed words
Most prominently stressed words are reproduced in the intonation units that
were transcribed.
Intonation units and punctuation marks
Subtitiling guidelines recommend that sentences should not extend over
more than one subtitle (see BBC’s Online Subtitle Editorial Guidelines 2009) and
instead to break a long utterance into two or more sentences and display them
as consecutive subtitles. This recommendation was followed by the subtitlers in
our example. The UNHCR representative produced very long utterances with
prosodic contouring that signalled that she wished to hold the floor, and ignored
the journalist’s attempts to ask a question until he very clearly formulated his
request for the floor by injecting “om jag bara får stoppa dig där lite” (‘if I can
maybe stop you there a little’). All long utterances were broken into short units
by the subtitlers that fitted on two lines.
As was noted above, only 18 of the 39 intonation units were reproduced.
In the intonation units that were retained, the punctuation used by the subti-
tlers, that is, full stops and commas, coincide with intonation unit boundaries.
However, as in Example 1, not all prosodic segmentation cues were represented
in the text by punctuation marks. Also here Swedish punctuation rules seem to
take precedence.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 183

6. Concluding discussion

As noted in Section 1, this explorative study set out to investigate how prosodic
cues were reflected in the STT transcribed texts and to what extent features of
the written text can be assumed to have been affected by prosodic phenomena.
We also hoped to identify categories for further research into the representation
of prosodic features in real-time text production.
The results would suggest that prosodic cues do guide STT interpreters’ and
subtitlers’ transcriptions. In Example 1, where the slow pace of the speakers and
long pauses permitted an almost verbatim STTI reproduction of the spoken text,
the full stops and colon coincide with marked pitch level changes that signal
intonation unit boundaries. Question marks coincide with falling intonation,
which again is in line with previous reports (e.g., Hirschberg 2000). All stressed
words were retained. The inserted commas coincide with a range of contour
patterns, confirming previous observations in the literature. As was noted above,
not all prosodic segmentation cues were represented in the text by punctuation
marks, however, since the insertion of commas between clauses is not required
by Swedish punctuation rules. It might be worth investigating if the inclusion of
optional punctuation marks could facilitate STTI and LS users’ understanding
of the discoursal impact of speech.
Example 2 is an extract which was heavily edited by the STT interpreters.
Prosodic features appear to have guided their decisions on what to omit: All in-
tonational units that did not contain prominently stressed words were edited out,
and in the retained units, all stressed words were reproduced, while non-stressed
chunks may be summarized or condensed. Full stops and commas coincided
with intonation unit boundaries.
Example 3 also suggests that prosodic cues affect subtitlers’ segmentation
of the speech stream into clauses and sentences. Full stops and commas coin-
cide with intonation unit boundaries and all stressed words in the reproduced
segments were retained. However, overall only 18 of the 39 intonation units
were retained. The subtitlers edited out all information mentioned in the news
item that the UNHCR representative had been asked to comment on as well as
world knowledge that viewers could be expected to possess. As noted above,
such chunks started on a falling pitch, yet were uttered with the same intensity
as the remainder of the text. Prosodic cues alone cannot explain the subtitlers’
decisions; rather, the subtitlers appear to have drawn on higher-level discourse
processes and applied their discourse competence.
Although heavy editing was employed by the subtitlers, the subtitles were
rarely in synchronicity with the speaker. This raises a number of interesting ques-
tions that future research would need to address. One concerns ethical questions.
Most subtitling guidelines recommend verbatim or near-verbatim subtitles, as is
illustrated by the BBC’s guidelines (2009: 4):
184 Chapter Eleven

Your aim should be to give the viewer as much access to the soundtrack
as you possibly can within the constraints of time, space, shot changes,
and on-screen visuals, etc. You should never deprive the viewer of words/
sounds when there is time to include them and where there is no conflict
with the visual information.
Where it’s necessary to edit, edit everything evenly – do not take the
easy way out by simply removing an entire sentence. Sometimes this will be
appropriate, but normally you should aim to edit out a bit of every sentence.
It is not necessary to simplify or translate for deaf or hard-of-hearing view-
ers. This is not only condescending, it is also frustrating for lipreaders.

Since verbatim speech reproduction and genuine synchronicity are possible

only in those rare cases when a speaker speaks very slowly, it is obvious that sub-
titlers and STT interpreters need to employ strategies for successfully condensing
the text without leaving out essential information. The omission of repetitions
and false starts appears to be a strategy on which consensus is perhaps easy to
attain.15 The strategy employed by the subtitlers of the SVT news programme
is presumably more controversial. We would argue, however, that their strategy
successfully translated the main information for Deaf/deaf and hard-of-hearing
viewers and ensured that speaker(s) and viewers shared the same information.
Such editing requires in-depth cognitive processing which, as Norberg and
Stachl-Peier (2015) showed, is difficult to employ in the kind of stressful situation
that STTI and live subtitling represent. Further studies of how STT interpreters
and subtitlers make use of prosodic features might be able to help redefine what
“rendition of the entire content” could mean. Moreover, many of the discussions
within STTI and LS bear similarities with earlier debates in spoken language
interpreting. Closer cooperation between the two fields, it seems, could produce
new insights into similarities and differences between the two, enriching both
and ultimately also improve Deaf/deaf and hard-of-hearing people’s access
to information.

15
However, see Norberg, Stachl-Peier and Tiittula (2015), Norberg (2014), and Bartoll and
Martínez Tejerina (2010) on clients’ fears that something may be “withheld” from them if the
spoken text is edited.
 Discourse prosody and real-time text interpreting… 185

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 Interdisciplinary encounters: Dimensions of interpreting studies
Interdisciplinary encounters: Dimensions of interpreting studies brings
together researchers, scholars, practitioners, interpreters and interpreter

Interdisciplinary
trainers, who share their research results, perspectives and experiences
regarding the interdisciplinarity in the eld of interpreting studies.
This interdisciplinarity is well re ected in the range of topics covered
and research questions asked. From the interplay of interpreting
and linguistics to the interplay of interpreting and psychology, to mark
quite arbitrarily only two distinct epistemologies, and hence distinct
methodologies.
encounters:
“This volume is an excellent addition to the Interpreting Studies literature.
The cutting-edge research presented by a wide range of international
experts demonstrates the strength of an interdisciplinary approach
to the study of interpretation. The volume will be of great bene t to
educators, students of interpreting as well as experienced practitioners.”

Robert G. Lee, Senior Lecturer in BSL and Deaf Studies,

University of Central Lancashire, UK
Dimensions
of interpreting
studies

Edited by
Andrzej Łyda, Katarzyna Holewik