A Survey Of Incompleteness And Ambiguity In Consecutive Interpreting On The Basis Of Interpretive Theory

The present report is based on the Sixth National Interpreting Competition.The author,as a contestant participating in the interpreting competitions held at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics,in Sichuan Province and the south-west region of China,analyzes all the target texts produced in the three rounds of interpreting competitions,and discusses the reasons for the problems like incompleteness and ambiguity.Meanwhile,the relevant approaches in this regard will be advocated by the author.During the three rounds of this interpreting competition,the problems that mostly affect the interpreting quality include the incompleteness of information transmission and the ambiguity in the target text.On the interpreting occasions,the problems like incompleteness of information transmission would lead to the inaccurate information transmission,make the listeners suspect the interpreter’s interpreting ability,and affect their images in the listeners’ minds.Meanwhile,the ambiguity of the target text will,to some extent,make the listeners unable to clearly understand the meaning of the source text.According to Interpretive Theory,established by Danica Seleskovitch and Roederer,what should be translated is the information and the meaning of the source text,and translation is not just the simple conversion of the language symbols.As for the interpreting,the theory holds the point that interpreting is a kind of dynamic process and it tries to probe into the meaning transmission of interpreting,because it proposes that interpreting is not just the simplex transmission of symbols but transcends the language itself and sets free the meaning.In the report,the author,based on this interpreting competition,has studied the reasons for the incompleteness of information transmission and the ambiguity in the target text based on the ideas of Interpretive Theory.Corresponding approaches will also be explored by the authorin an attempt to provide better reference and guidance for the future interpreting training and practice.Integrating the specific situation of this competition,the author has mentioned three main factors affecting the interpreter’s performance including the complexity of the source text,interpreter’s mindset reflected in note-taking and the lack of background information.With Interpretive Theory as the guidance,the several points mentioned above will be verified.It is evident that the complexity of the source text,the interpreter’s mindset reflected in note-taking and the interpreter’s shortage of background information are those elements that result in the interpreters’ incomplete information transmission and ambiguity in the target text.In order to improve the completeness of information transmission and minimize the ambiguity in the target text,the interpreters are suggested to build up the ability of accepting the source text by keeping sensitive to the various information,eliminate the effect of mindset to strengthen their note-taking skills,and improve their communication ability.