Difficulties In Whisper Interpreting And Coping Tactics

Whisper interpreting is almost simultaneous interpretation of original text; it involves simultaneous comprehension, translation, and production. Clearly every whisper interpreting task invites some common difficulties like interpreting abstract words, false starts, unknown terms, etc. The added burden of speaking while comprehending also makes it even more difficult to perform several cognitive tasks concurrently. Furthermore, a higher rate of input will also detract from interpreters’ effective comprehension of lexical meanings. While on the other hand an interpreter working under optimal conditions — native or near-native proficiency in the source and target languages, comfortable rate of input, familiar and unambiguous input text, relatively simple syntax — will presumably showcase better performance. However, as the task becomes more demanding, the interpreter will coordinate the allocation of limited resources, reducing those allotted to some sub processes while maintaining the level of others, so as to keep up a steady output. Based on the author’s interpreting practice, the author reflected upon the difficulties encountered in this interpreting task and came up with some coping tactics in overcoming the difficulties.It is wished that this report could offer some reference insight to future interpreters who might have interest in whisper interpreting.