1. INTRODUCTION
Language interpretation is the facilitating of oral
or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between
users of different languages. The process is described by both the words interpreting and interpretation.
In professional terms, interpreting denotes the facilitating of communication from one
language form into its equivalent, or approximate equivalent, in another
language form; while interpretation
denotes the actual product of this work, that is, the message thus rendered
into speech, sign language, writing, non-manual signals, or other language
form. This important distinction is observed in order to avoid confusion.
An interpreter
is a person who converts a thought or expression in a source language into an
expression with a comparable meaning in a target language in "real
time". The interpreter's function is to convey every semantic element
(tone and register) and every intention and feeling of the message that the
source-language speaker is directing to target-language recipients.
A good interpreter must be bilingual and
bi-cultural. The term 'perfectly bilingual' suggests two things: "the
subject speaks both languages equally well; the subject has two mother
languages." However, the first condition is useless in defining
bilingualism because it is not possible to measure whether or not one can speak
two languages equally well for lack of a criterion for comparison. When we
consider the second condition, the way a language is acquired gains importance
and at that point the definition of the term 'mother tongue' needs
clarification.
In addition to this point, by mastering both
language and culture; the interpreter could easily understand the meaning of
the communication between both languages. Bilingual and bi-cultural can help
the interpreter a lot. It can reduce the probability of conducting failure
communication between two languages since the interpreter can understand both
language and culture.
2.
DISCUSSION
a. The Role of Interpreter
The role of the Interpreter
is to facilitate communication between two individuals, where, typically, one
is a service providing agency, such as a local authority housing department and
the other a client with a problem or an important request.
In order to work
reliably and effectively, interpreters working in the public sector must have:
è Objectivity
In the context of interpreting, objectivity may be
understood as synonymous with neutrality. This must be
distinguished from the goal of objectivity in philosophy,
which would describe mind-independent facts which are true irrespective of
human feelings, beliefs, or judgments.
Sociologist Michael Schudson
argues that "the belief in
objectivity is a faith in 'facts, distrust in 'values,' and a commitment to
their segregation." It refers to the prevailing ideology of
newsgathering and reporting that emphasizes eyewitness accounts of events,
corroboration of facts with multiple sources and balance of viewpoints. It also
implies an institutional role for journalists
as a fourth estate, a body that exists
apart from government and large interest groups.
At all times
interpreters must not put in any of their opinions or show disapproval,
directly or indirectly. The prime objective of an interpreter is to facilitate
communication, in words and emotions, between two parties. Interpreters should
not depart in any way from what is being said, regardless of how rude, abusive,
illogical, etc.
The interpreter is working for two people and both
are equal. Interpreters do not take any side in helping their clients because
they are neutral. Furthermore, the interpreter doesn’t show his/her own
feelings, regardless of his/her opinion.
His/her job is to be a bridge which connects between two different
language users.
For
example,
if in an assurance tribunal, the client proposes a claim as soon as her
ancestor passed away and seems in a rush. As an interpreter, although we
realize any bad intent behind the claim, we must not reveal it.
è Impartiality
An interpreter should
remain neutral, impartial and shall refrain from conduct that may given an
appearance of bias with regard to either party's gender, disability, race,
ethnicity or national origin, age, educational level, socioeconomic status,
religious or political beliefs. He should refrain from offering unsolicited
comments or recommendations except to assist communication.
è Confidentiality
An interpreter or translator must not divulge any
information obtained during the performance of his services, including access
to documentation or reports. He should not disclose, discuss or offer opinions on any information
accessed through the course of work unless required to by law. Furthermore, he
must not use information obtained in the course of his work for personal,
professional or financial advantages.
An
interpreter must know a little about the communication process – the
fundamentals of communication and barriers of effective communication. Interpreters should give a word-for-word rendition to ensure accuracy & completeness,
such as verbal and non-verbal communication.
Information
volunteered in an interpreting interview must be kept confidential at all
times. The information “owned” by the client and profesional, and therefore, it
is up to them to keep it a secret or not. Any requests for information should
generally be denied.
The interpreter will maintain utmost confidentiality
and trust, since clients need to feel that total discretion will be observed by
both the interpreter and the agency. Privileged or confidential information
acquired in the course of interpreting or preparing a translation shall not be
disclosed by the interpreter or translator without authorization. All information gained by the
Interpreter in the course of his/her professional duties shall remain strictly confidential.
This information shall not be communicated, published or in any way divulged to
any organization or person, other than the organization or person engaging the
services of the Interpreter.
b. An Effective Communicator
An
interpreter is supposed to be an effective communicator since his/her work is
to be a bridge between two different language users. In order to fulfill this
requirement, interpreter needs some skill to achieve the quality of effective
communicator. Those are:
è Verbally
Verbal
communication occurs in direct conversation. It means when communication
occurs, both of the speaker can communicate explicitly. The ideas of verbal
communication are to provide arguments, giving order, instruction directly.
Misunderstanding often occurs because the speaker
thinks the listener knows what he/ she means even she/he doesn’t. It is
probably caused by the different state of intelligence between two speakers or
simply because the lack of information. Therefore, interpreters need to be
clever enough in order to establish effective communication between two people
who experience language difficulty.
è Non-verbally
Non-verbal communication can be defined as ungoverned by rules like
sentences, in other word there is no exact definition of non verbal communication.
Non-verbal
communication consists of all the messages other than words that are used in
communication. In oral communication, these symbolic messages are transferred
by means of intonation, tone of voice, vocally produced noises, body posture,
body gestures, facial expressions or pauses. In addition, it can be unconscious
signs, such as a particular posture, eye movements, etc.
There are some function of
non-verbal communication:
1.
Repeating
Non- verbal gesture which convey the same meaning as a
verbal message.
2.
Substituting
Replacing unappropriate ways. Verbal communication is not
allways appropriate to use, so when verbal communication is impossible,
non-verbal gesture subtitute it.
3.
Complementing
Non-verbal behaviour used to emphasize emotional feelings
or attitude.
4.
Deceiving/
revealing
The interpreter purposefully deceive others with false
information.
5.
Regulating
Non-verbal gestures which indicate you want to talk or to
stop talking.
6.
Accenting
Use of gesture or tone of voice to emphasize spoken
words.
è Listening/ attending
Listening
skill is the
ability to listen to and understand the main points of a message, it is a vital
sign in communication. The decision between success and not the communication
is affected by this skill. As interpreters, the skill of listening is purely
important because their job is to establish communication between two different
language users.
Listening
is a complex cognitive process. Listening requires an appropriate response.
This response is stored to decoded information in our memory. In this part, the
brain as the storage of memory also forced to work. After all, we will conclude
that when listening we don’t only involve our hearing organ but also another
part of body. In addition, when we listen we are using our intellect, our
personality, and our body to respond to the sender of the message. It in no way
requires alertness of us.
è Memory
Psychological
studies of human memory make a distinction between Short-Term Memory (STM) and
Long-Term Memory (LTM). The idea of short-term memory simply means that you are
retaining information for a short period of time without creating the neural mechanisms
for later recall.
Long-Term
Memory occurs when you have created neural pathways for storing ideas and
information which can then be recalled weeks, months, or even years later. To
create these pathways, you must make a deliberate attempt to encode the
information in the way you intend to recall it later. Long-term memory is a
learning process. And it is essentially an important part of the interpreter's
acquisition of knowledge, because information stored in LTM may last for
minutes to weeks, months, or even an entire life.
The
duration of STM is very short. It is up to 30 seconds. Memory in interpreting
only lasts for a short time. Once the interpreting assignment is over, the
interpreter moves on to another one, often with different context, subject and
speakers. Therefore, the memory skills which need to be imparted to trainee
interpreters are STM skills.
è
Empathy
Since empathy involves
understanding the emotional states of other people, interpreters should be
aware of being involved in one side. Interpreters should make sure that their
position is neutral between the clients and the professional.
c. An Effective Interpreter Management
It is well known that in a context where the
interpreter is often and literally "the only one who understands" the
user, there is often a tendency to establish an emotionally intense
relationship between IPS and user, since they may share not only the language
and the culture, but also the country of origin, the traditions, the ethnic
group or even certain characteristics such as age, sex, experience, etc. The
interpreter's help can be of crucial importance, for example, in the case of an
asylum petition. This complex emotional reaction toward the interpreter can
hinder the observance of the professional code of neutrality.
Interpreters are supposed to control their personal
emotion appropriately. Their stance is considered to be neutral, and being
involved in emotional state is definitely forbidden. Interpreters should
understand their role as communicators; they shouldn’t in any condition take a
side.
d. A Professional
è Ethic
The
interpreter shall limit him/herself
to interpreting. While performing his/her professional duties, the Interpreter
shall not give advice, express personal opinions, or engage in any other
activity that may be construed to constitute a service other than interpreting.
The
Language Line Services Interpreter shall comply fully with this Code of Ethics;
1.
Confidentiality
2.
Accuracy &
completeness
3.
Impartiality
4.
Conflict of
interest
5.
Disqualification
& impediments
6.
Accreditation
7.
Professional
Courtesy
8.
Professional
development
9.
High standards
of conduct
è Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to
recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness)
that are being experienced by another sentient or semi-sentient being. Someone
may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion.
This
is a very important part of interpreters. If they are failed to manage their
feeling they will fall into one side. In other side, feeling empathy as a part
of sharing experience will be a good advantage to manage a better communication
with the client or professional. As human psychological condition when they
share same experience, they will think they get close each other. This
condition will leads into a better communication and probably change a
non-communicative speaker into reversed state.
Here is an example of interpreting conducted by students of Bina Nusantara University:
3. CONCLUSION
An interpreter
is a person who facilitates communication between two individuals, between two
different languages and cultures objectively, impartially, confidentially. An interpreter
must be able to mastering some important aspects, such as
verbally and non-verbally by listening and attending carefully also using
memory and empathy. And as an
interpreter must be able to control his personal emotion in
asserting his role and managing difficulties and difficult clients. As a
professional, an interpreter should obey the code of ethics without abandoning
the empathy.
REFERENCES
Nugraha,
L. Elyas. 2008. TECHNIQUE OF INTERPRETING. Semarang.
http://www.mejpbs.com/interpRoll.php
This was a very informative article. I want to become an interpreter. Thanks for all the great information!
ReplyDeleteTara | http://www.languagealliance.com