Note Taking In Consecutive Interpreting

Consecutive notes exert great importance on interpretation, serving mainly as clues for recalling information and memory reinforcers to help improve the quality of consecutive interpreting. However, ample evidences have shown that note taking, if not properly instructed, will be one of the biggest disturbing factors that divert the interpreter's attention from comprehending the original message, thus resulting in quality deterioration of interpreting performance (Gao liang, Lin Yuru, 1996: 56-60). The author, in the present paper, aims at putting note taking in the right perspective and exploring adequate methods to enhance the skills of note taking.For this purpose, the thesis starts from the process of consecutive interpreting to explain the reasons why note taking possibly become one of the problem triggers in CI. Major focuses are on the analysis of the nature of note taking. The analysis is conducted from two aspects: 1) the prerequisites for note taking, including comprehension, analysis and memory; 2) a basic system of notes, including the principles, components and adequate layout. Bearing all the factors in mind, the author conducts an empirical study to identify the recurrent problems existing in interpreting students'notes, namely, too many unnecessary words taken down; nothing taken down due to difficulties in handling the original speech; absence of transitional signals; wrong figures; and inadequate layout. With a view to solve these problems and build up skilled note taking, the paper proposes an autonomous method of learning note taking.It is hoped that the present paper will extend the studies of note taking in CI to a wider scope and make some contributions to the development of interpreting research in China. It is also hoped that the thesis will provide a new perspective for readers in understanding note taking.