On Comprehension Obstacles In Consecutive Interpreting In The Light Of Gile’s Effort Models And Comprehension Equation

Nowadays, with the acceleration of globalization and rapidly increasing international communication, interpreting becomes indispensable in many fields. As a result, professional interpreters are in ever-increasing demand. However, there is much to be desired when it comes to the performance of interpreters. During interpreting, it is easy for interpreters to focus on note-taking yet neglect listening analysis and comprehension, ending up losing important information in the process. Gile’s Effort Models are rather influential in interpreting process studies. His Simultaneous Interpreting Effort Model and Consecutive Interpreting Effort Model illustrate clearly the multi-tasking processing of interpreting. Since this paper is on the basis of consecutive interpreting case, the author uses the Consecutive Interpreting Effort Model for reference. Meanwhile, Gile gives prominence to the comprehension involved in interpreting process, therefore further puts forward Comprehension Equation, advocating that comprehension is the interacting outcome of linguistic knowledge, extra linguistic knowledge and analysis. This paper is a report on the author’s field practice as a consecutive interpreter. Guided by Gile’s Effort Models and Comprehension Equation, this paper intends to analyze the improper capacity distribution and comprehension barriers in consecutive interpreting, and provide reference for further study and practice in consecutive interpreting.