The Application Of Variation Approaches In Interpreting-a Report On Interpreting For An International Symposium

In whispering interpreting, the interpreter sits or stands next to the smalltarget-language audience whilst whispering a simultaneous interpretation of thematter to hand; this method requires no equipment, but may be done via a microphoneand headphones if the participants prefer. Whispering interpreting is used undercircumstances where the majority of a group speaks the source language, and aminority (ideally no more than three people) does not speak it. Compared with thesimultaneous interpreter in the booth, the whispering interpreter, without microphone,may confront disturbance from the speaker and the pressure is no less than the former.Based on the self-assessment of his whispering interpreting performance at aninternational symposium and an analysis of recorded transcription, the author studiesthe typical difficulties that frequently occur in whispering interpreting, includingambiguous logical relation, Chinese characteristic terms, information redundancy, lossof information, and cultural gap. The author also analyzes his cases to summarize thefour variation approaches that can be applied in whispering interpreting, includingsupplementation, omission, modification, and reorganization. The author hopes thatthis report can help other interpreters better understand and apply variationapproaches in whispering interpreting and can offer some references for interpreterswho want to work in the field of whispering interpreting.