| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] | Is there a world record for the fastest translator? Thread poster: José Guedes
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Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:59
Serbian to English
+ ...
| Not really comparable | Jun 25, 2021 |
Christine Andersen wrote:
I think interpreters' brains simply function differently from mine, but they produce translations very rapidly.
At college I could write fast - my handwritten notes were often fuller than anyone else's and still legible, so I was popular if anyone had missed a lecture and needed to copy them!
I have to take notes in the language I am hearing, however. They are short and messy if I try to translate at the same time. I am a hopeless typist and cannot interpret either. In fact I prefer to take notes by hand. Apart from the rattle of the keys, which distracts others, I find myself checking typos instead of listening to the lecture If I try to use a laptop.
Those who can interpret simultaneously have my deepest respect. THAT goes fast!
Of course, they skip all the business of writing, but their audience understand them and can join in at a conference.
In interpreting it's simply impossible to do the same as when translating. The objective is not the same, and a different approach is needed.
In interpreting, especially simultaneous interpreting, you have to get quickly the gist of the message, understand the intended overall meaning, recognise which are the important parts and be sure to reproduce them quickly and accurately in the target language. Anything else is only an added bonus - as long your delivery is clearly understandable and you don't miss any important points, no one is going to be too much worried about better synonyms or omitted elements that are in fact just "padding". You got to deliver "here and now", but you do have a big advantage over translating: you can hear voice intonations and see the body language of the speakers.
In comparison, in translating you have "the luxury of time", which in fact is not really a "luxury" - you do need time to polish every little detail as you should.
The real potential advantage of being interpreter is that when translating any text you don't get distracted by individual words - you pay FIRST attention to the overall message of the text, the logical flow of arguments. Of course you need to get the whole of the text right, but seeing first "the big picture" definitely helps to produce a better translation. A potentially better translation, but not necessarily any faster compared to a "pure translator".
BTW, that's related to the reason why I wouldn't touch any kind of CAT tools, not even in gloves and with a bargepole.
The idea that some software is going to decide on my behalf what is the right way of analysing a sentence (and cut it in meaningless "segments") is, as far as I'm concerned, beyond the pale, never going to happen, out of question ... whatever "speed" it is supposed to bring.
| | | | Dale Whittington (X)
United States
The first ever world record was set at the International Translators' Association (ITA) conference in Paris, France, in October 2009. A team of three translators translated the entire Harry Potter series in just under two hours.
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Dale Whittington wrote:
The first ever world record was set at the International Translators' Association (ITA) conference in Paris, France, in October 2009. A team of three translators translated the entire Harry Potter series in just under two hours.
That's nothing. I translated the Bible before breakfast yesterday. Twice.
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