A Study Of Note Taking In Consecutive Interpretation

Consecutive interpretation, as a frequently used form of interpretation, plays a very significant role in the world arena. Great achievements have been made with the persistent work of the researchers and the practitioners. Though starting a little later than the western researches, the studies on interpretation, especially on consecutive interpretation, develops very fast in the past decades. Quite a number of books on the teaching and learning of interpretation have been published, a large proportion of which are concerned with the mastery of specific skills while interpreting. Among them, note taking is talked about the most.As an indispensible part of consecutive interpretation, note taking has indeed begun to be paid more attention to since the initial use of consecutive interpretation at the conference in Paris after the First World War. But it is well-accepted that note taking is a very difficult skill to master. And some people may think note taking is just like stenography, while others may think it is something mysterious, still other may wonder whether it can be mastered. While in this paper, the author intends to explore note taking by using some interdisciplinary theories such as the ones of psychology and cognitive psychology.With this in mind, the author first introduces the basic conditions of consecutive interpretation and note taking. And in the next two chapters, the whole process of consecutive interpretation is illustrated by adopting two well-accepted models: the Paris School`s Interpreting Theory and Daniel Gile's Model for Consecutive Interpretation. And then the relationships between note taking and the other components of consecutive interpretation are explored in detail from the perspective of cognitive psychology. Then some misunderstandings about note taking are cleared and the basic form of notes in interpreting is formed, including the contents, the layout and the language to take in. Though a quite difficult skill to master, note taking will be proven to be possibly acquired even by self-learners through the author's analysis of the questionnaire conducted among five subjects. In order to make mastery of this skill a reality, some more information is proposed to accompany the training or practicing of note taking.It is sincerely hoped that what is talked about in the thesis can expand the scope of researches in note taking and contribute to the studies of interpretation. It is also hoped that the thesis will be a little help for those who want to be engaged in the field of interpretation.