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Being a translator and studying more L2s | ||
Tags: Professionals | Translation | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Languages & Work |  | |
| Iwwersetzerin Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Luxembourg Joined 5671 days ago 259 posts - 513 votes  Speaks: French*, Luxembourgish*, GermanC2, EnglishC2, SpanishC2, DutchC1, ItalianC1 Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 17 of 31 23 November 2012 at 8:26pm | IP Logged | |||||
This terminology is specific to conference (simultaneous) interpreting: A language = mother tongue, the language you interpret into B language = a language you master perfectly and interpret out of (B->A), but also sometimes into (A->B, sometimes C->B) C language = a language you understand perfectly, but only interpret out of, not into (C->A, sometimes C->B) So A = mother tongue and active language, B = active language, C = passive language See International association of conference interpreters (AIIC) 7 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6905 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 18 of 31 25 November 2012 at 3:01pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Iwwersetzerin, how often C->B interpreting is, based on your experience?
From what I've heard, it is frowned upon by quite a few interpreters. Some people also say that if an interpreter works into his/her B from all Cs, it practically makes it an A language. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Iwwersetzerin Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Luxembourg Joined 5671 days ago 259 posts - 513 votes Speaks: French*, Luxembourgish*, GermanC2, EnglishC2, SpanishC2, DutchC1, ItalianC1 Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 19 of 31 25 November 2012 at 6:11pm | IP Logged | |||||
Good question. I'm not an interpreter myself, I work exclusively as a translator, so I don't have any first-hand experience in this area. I agree that it would practically be an A language if you interpret into it from various C languages. I believe AIIC doesn't sanction C-B interpreting either. In practice, I would think that it depends on the language. If you have a B language that few people have as A, there may be a greater need for you to do C-B in same cases. It's certainly not ideal, that's for sure. Just as in translation, it's always better to work exclusively into your mother tongue. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 20 of 31 26 November 2012 at 1:00am | IP Logged | |||||
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6905 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 21 of 31 26 November 2012 at 10:01pm | IP Logged | |||||
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In conference interpreting you don't "add" an A language. An A language is simply the
strongest language of the interpreter (usually the native one). You don't usually add new B languages either. There aren't more than a few, if any, professional interpreters who have more than two working B languages, with 1 B language or none being the standard. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| bela_lugosi Hexaglot Senior Member Finland Joined 6456 days ago 272 posts - 376 votes Speaks: English, Finnish*, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish Studies: Russian, Estonian, Sámi, Latin | Message 22 of 31 30 November 2012 at 11:59pm | IP Logged | |||||
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^True. I work as an interpreter and I can guarantee that most interpreters have got only one language combination (C->A). My working languages are:
A: Finnish B: English, Italian Simultaneous interpreting in particular is an extremely demanding thing to do and even if you do it into your own mother tongue, it is nearly impossible to go on after 20-30 minutes. In that case I would strongly advise against C->B interpreting. Consecutive interpreting is a totally different thing. There you have got time to think and jot down some notes. I have managed A->B, and I think many others can do it, too. Nowadays consecutive is rarely used in conferences, simultaneous being the standard since the Nürnberg trials, but it is still a relevant option in most other situations where an interpreter is needed. If you want to become an interpreter, you need to have a massive vocabulary in your working languages and you must be able to cope with stress. Oh, did I already mention that it is definitely an advantage if you have a pleasantly soft voice and a very clear pronunciation? ;) Edited by bela_lugosi on 01 December 2012 at 12:10am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 23 of 31 01 December 2012 at 12:16am | IP Logged | |||||
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OK now it's clearer what the letters mean. But you're both confirming my doubts essentially:)
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6905 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 24 of 31 01 December 2012 at 1:15am | IP Logged | |||||
Share your doubts, and I'll try to convince you it is not all that bad :) But seriously, some people love it, whereas others (including some of those who have managed to graduate from a conference interpreting program) end up hating it or feeling it's just not something for them. I think it's definitely worth trying. Personally, I love inteprreting, and I believe that, apart from being difficult and exhausting, as bela_lugosi has pointed out, it is a really enjoyable and satisfying activity. @bela_lugosi: just wondering, is it common for Finnish interpreters to work into Finnish only? From what I've heard, the Finnish booth in the EU still provides often interpreting from Finnish, as there aren't enough interpreters with Finnish B/C. What is the situation on the Finnish market like? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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