Note-taking Mistakes And Solutions In Chinese-to-English Consecutive Interpretation

Note-taking is an indispensable tool in consecutive interpretation.It supplements the interpreter's short-term memory and allows the interpreter to make connections between different ideas,paving the way for successful interpretation.However,note-taking is no easy task.Due to lack of experience,beginner interpreters and student interpreters tend to make various mistakes which make notes ineffective.Ineffective notes are not only of no use to the interpreter,but also they can affect the interpretation quality.Note-taking mistakes are therefore a problem that an interpreter cannot afford to neglect.This thesis is a case study on the author's interpreting experience at the Model Press Conference for the 4~thh World Internet Conference,with a focus on note-taking mistakes and possible solutions.Three types of note-taking mistakes are identified in the study,namely,incomplete notes,redundant notes and improper layout of notes,which result in much inaccuracy and disfluency in the rendition.After analysis,the author concludes that the note-taking mistakes in the case result from a lack of preparation beforehand,poor note-taking skills and shortfalls in listening comprehension ability.The author then gives several suggestions on how to address these problems and puts forward several training methods to make notes more reliable in interpretation.