Causes Of Listening Comprehension Problems In Online English-Chinese Consecutive Interpretation And Coping Strategies

When interpreters’ listening and comprehension is weakened in online English to Chinese interpretation,their understanding of the source language tends to be severely undermined,even leading to inaccurate,incomplete or illogical output in some cases.Referring to previous studies,this thesis first summarizes the definition and factors of listening and comprehension in consecutive interpretation.It then briefly introduces a mock conference of Brookings Institution’s discussion on How to Control Healthcare Costs and the interpreter’s performance.After that,examples from the conference are categorized to analyze different causes of and solutions to listening and comprehension problems.The author lists four causes,namely logical analysis,extra-linguistic knowledge,linguistic knowledge,as well as problems of online interpretation and the interpreter’s mentality.The first cause entails a lack of analysis of the source language,such as failing to use common-sense analysis or neglecting the logic of sentences and paragraphs.As for extralinguistic knowledge,the interpreter is neither fully equipped with enough knowledge about different disciplines,nor has the ability to leverage contextually derived knowledge.The third cause is an insufficient command of linguistic language,including struggling to understand sentences with unfamiliar words,and adapting to various speakers’ pronunciation and speeds of speeches.Moreover,technical problems,distractions and the interpreter’s mentality also weigh on the listening and comprehension of online meetings.To address the above problems,sufficient analysis should first be guaranteed,which can be achieved by relying more on common-sense analysis,and paying more attention to logic structures of sentences and paragraphs.Secondly,the interpreter must accumulate more extra-linguistic knowledge from as many fields as possible,apart from activating contextual knowledge.In order to improve linguistic knowledge,more emphases should be laid on an increased input of vocabulary across fields and registers,and the interpreter should learn to quickly adapt to different pronunciation and speeds of speeches.Moreover,preemptive preparation,emergency protocols and stronger minds can better prepare the interpreter.To conclude,this thesis hopes to help other interpreters and inspire more discussions on alleviating listening and comprehension problems of online consecutive interpretation.