Interpreting and translation are two of the oldest activities in the annals of human history. Records of translation activities date back over 2000 years, and since ancient times, translation has been studied by numerous scholars. Interpreting, on the other hand, had no theory of its own, so to speak, until modern times. Although the activity of interpreting dates back to ancient times, it did not begin to take shape in its modern form until 1917 at the negotiation table of the Versailles Treaty. Consecutive interpreting, in which the interpreter begins only after the speaker has finished, came about after the Versailles Treaty. In contrast, simultaneous interpreting, which has become the preferred mode, had its debut at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. The Interpretive Theory of Translation (aka, the Theory of Sense) was developed by Danica Seleskovitch and Marianne Lederer (researchers at the Ecole Superieure d’Interprètes et de Traducteurs (ESIT) at the University of Paris III ― the so-called Paris School). The following is a brief outline of this theory.

抄録全体を表示

There is a fair amount of evidence available from past studies on the way language and translation students’, i.e. ‘novice translators’ handle the task of translation. The paper first examines this evidence in an attempt to summarise typical novice-translator behaviours in managing a translation task and lexical searches. We then present the results of a qualitative analysis of two professional translators/interpreters, who were subjects in a think-aloud study of 14 subjects in 2002 focusing on the way they manage lexical searches during a translation task as well as the time and manner of processing the source language text and target language text. Finally, the performance of the two professionals is compared with the performance of novice translators with the aim of identifying differences that might be responsible for higher speed and quality of target text output by professionals.

抄録全体を表示

In recent years, there have been a number of studies on simultaneous machine interpretation to develop the environments for supporting multilingual communications. The effectiveness of simultaneous interpreting in cross-language conversation, however, remains to be investigated. This paper describes the characteristic features of dialogues through simultaneous interpreting in comparison to those through consecutive interpreting. We have investigated them using the CIAIR simultaneous interpreting corpus. As a result, we have confirmed that simultaneous interpreting is effective in significantly increasing both the efficiency and smoothness of cross- language conversation.

抄録全体を表示

Broadcast Translation/Interpretation for CNN in Japan started in 1984. This paper describes three changes which occurred during the last two decades. At the very early stage, the requirement was to translate every word into Japanese. The second stage required interpreters: 1) to edit and translate the news material; and 2) to do voice overs like an announcer. The current, third stage requires simultaneous interpretation of all the materials in real time. Due to the demands from the production side, translating styles varied from time to time forcing the changes in the qualification of translators and interpreters, which lead to the birth of a new type of interpreters.

抄録全体を表示

Broadcasting interpreting is now widely recognized in Japan. However, there is a possibility that the demand for the broadcasting interpreting, especially that of international news program is diminishing. This paper firstly proves this possibility by examining the number of international news program which was broadcast between 1987 and 2003. Secondly, based on the author’s experience in BBC Japanese Unit, this paper tries to prove that the advent of multi-channel broadcast does not enhance the demand for broadcasting interpreting. Lastly, this paper presents long-range prospects of broadcasting interpreting of the international news program.

抄録全体を表示

Interpreting at depositions and other proceedings in civil litigation represents a significant segment of the Japanese interpreting market in the United States. There is also a solid need for interpreters at depositions taken in Japan. However, there seems to be no formal training course designed for this specialized field of interpreting. This paper describes the deposition interpreting class which has been offered experimentally as part of the advanced consecutive interpretation courses in the Japanese Program of the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (GSTI/MIIS). The main objectives of this three-session class are to acquire general knowledge of legal procedures, terminology and professional protocol, and to study basic interpreting strategies for depositions. In light of the demand in the markets, and based on feedback from students and graduates, not only should these sessions be continued, but considerations should also be given to their further development to cover a wider scope of legal interpreting in the future.

抄録全体を表示

The Graduate School of Osaka University of Foreign Studies is currently offering, as the first of its kind in Japan, 8 classes under “Inter-lingual Interpreting and Translation Studies” and “Judicial Interpreting and Translation.” They focus on the very specific area of the profession that includes both police investigation and public prosecutors’ investigation. In the course of the current curriculum, three mock-investigation sessions with students acting as interpreters were conducted. This paper reports on these experiences chronologically and analytically in an attempt to find out more effective ways of carrying out such training classes, where legal practitioners and the university jointly participate. Considering the possibility that some of the students will be in future “active interpreters” or “coordinators” of the interpreting and translation services, the paper concludes with some practical suggestions.

抄録全体を表示