Mental Energy Allocation In Media Interpreting

Media interpreting is widely acknowledged as one of the most challenging and stressful forms of interpreting due to the uniqueness of working scenarios.Not only do media interpreters have to focus on what the speaker says,but they also have to respond to the gaze of the audience and the camera.For media interpreters,therefore,sound allocation of mental energy is the key to accomplishing tasks.In this context,the author discusses in the present report how a media interpreter can allocate energy in a more efficient way.This report,drawing on Daniel Gile’s Effort Model for consecutive interpreting,examines the author’s simulated consecutive interpretation of an episode of News 1+1,a Chinese TV interview.The report starts with a review of the simulation process,including task designing,pre-task preparation,interpreting process,and post-task evaluation.It is followed by an introduction to the definition,challenges,and typical scenarios of media interpreting.Then the author employs Daniel Gile’s Effort Model to explain why problems in her renderings would occur and with that considered offers potential solutions.Three types of problems are identified and discussed in this report: errors,omissions,and dysfluencies,all resulting from an imbalanced allotment of mental energy involved in the Listening and Analysis,Memory,Note-taking,Production,and Coordination Efforts.Then the author proposes four coping tactics,namely anticipation,chunking,reduction,and self-monitoring,to secure more sound distribution of mental energy in media interpreting.Through this report,the author reflects on her performances in the simulation,learns lessons from it,and gears herself up for future work.It is hoped that the report will help to recognize the special requirements of media interpreting and offer coping tactics for reference.