In interpretation, many factors play their parts. One of the most important parts is note-taking. This paper begins with reviewing important theories in note-taking in the interpretation before it conducts an experiment in the hope that it can help improve the quality of interpretation by working out better notes: this paper firstly gives a brief introduction of interpretation and note-taking and exams crucial theories in note-taking. After that, an experiment and analysis are laid out to help to draw the final conclusion.

2 Literature Review 

2.1 Brief introduction of interpretation

In simultaneous interpretation (SI), the interpreter renders the message in the target-language while the speaker continues his speech. The SI is considered to highly efficient since the speaker can continue his speech uninterruptedly which makes for better understanding. One the other hand, this mode requires high concentration and skills from the interpreters.  

In recent years, the reality now requires more concentration on consecutive interpretation (CI), a process in which the interpreter listens to the speaker, and takes some notes. The speech is pided into several segments. When the speaker pauses or stops talking, the interpretation is expected to begin his interpretation, rendering the entire message. The interpreter needs to listen to the speaker at least for 5 minutes during which he must also be able to reorganize the whole information given by the speaker and interpret it in a proper manner, (Zhong Weihe, 2009: 1-3).

In consecutive interpretation, many factors may influence or even determine the quality, such as the language skills, the preparation work, and the access to information, understanding and notes. This paper is going to focus on the note-taking because this paper believes that there is large room for improvement in such filed. 论文网

2.2 Introduction of Note-taking in Consecutive interpretation

In consecutive interpretation, notes play an important role. As a result, the note-taking can definitely help interpreters improve their work. Interpreters often need to turn to short memory to finish their job smoothly. But in fact, people’s short memory has a limited capacity. In a conference, a speaker might keep talking as long as 5 minutes! In this process, he may recall many locations, names and time. While an interpreter listens carefully, he or she might still lose some information from the speaker, not to mention he may compromise some fluentness because of the lost meaning. Therefore, a good interpreter not only needs to seek help from his short memory, he also needs to take some notes. In a word, note can serve as vital helper.

Note-taking sometimes, on the one hand, reminds the interpreter of the missing information, on the other hand, it helps people to reconstruct his logic, thus improving the quality of the interpretation. Some experts believe that a good note can prevent the disorganization in interpreters’ mind, help them to recall the information and better adapt to their work. 

2.3 The Previous Study of Note-taking 

2.3.1 The Western Research on Note-taking

Herbert Jean (1952: 1-3) is the first one mentioned note-taking in his book The Interpreters Handbook. He is veteran interpreter during the First World War and Second World War, participating in many important international conferences and working for many organizations. The Interpreters Handbook is based on his experience and theory. In his book, he argues that a competent interpreter must break the limits of the word meaning. The interpreter is expected to take down the meaning, not the words themselves. Therefore, a man in this career must develop his own note system. He also believes that while taking a note, the last thing an interpreter should do is to pay too much attention to the accuracy, in contrast, he should only take important items. 

Rozan (1956: 2-12) published La Prise de Notes en Intérpretation Consecutive. Genève in 1956. Before that, he is an experienced interpreter in the UN for 10 years. After that, he gave lessons in the University of Geneva. It was in that process that he wrote his book. Like Herbert, he also underlined note-taking, arguing that a system should tailor to an inpidual need. He also introduces some practical ways to make notes more concise. 来.自/优尔论|文-网www.youerw.com/