-正火
1
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES
The use of a technique is
always dependent upon the application of a certain
number
of principles. This is what we
call the instructions. One need not follow the
rules
recommended in such instructions.
Indeed the product, device or system for which
they were
devised may well work even if
they are not observed, but will do so less
efficiently.
Furthermore, the simpler
the instructions, the more likely the user is to
follow them. The same
applies to note-
taking. A few very simple principles give this
system its sound base and
precision,
and make using it straightforward. There are seven
of these principles; in order they
are:
1 Noting the idea and not
the word
2 The rules of abbreviation
3 Links
4 Negation
5 Adding emphasis
6
Verticality
7 Shift
Some of these principles have already
been explained by Jean Herbert in his
Interpreter’s
Handbook
1
.
1. Noting the idea rather
than the word
Take any French text and give it to 10
excellent english translators. The result will be
ten very well translated texts, but ten
very different texts in as far as the actual words
used are
concerned. The fact that we
have ten good translations, but ten different
texts, shows that
what is important is
the translation of the idea and not the word. This
is even truer of
interpretation since
the interpreter must produce a version of the
text in another language
immediately.
He must be free of the often misleading
constraints that words represent. It is
through the analysis and notation of
the ideas that the interpreter will avoid mistakes
and a
laboured delivery.
Example: Let us take the following,
from French into English: ?Il y a des fortes
chances pour que...../ There is a very
good chance that...” If we base our notation of
this
expression on the words, the key
word is
chance
. If we base
it on the idea, it is
probable
.
The notes will have to be read 20
minutes
–
even an
hour
2
–
after the idea was
originally expressed. In the first
example it would be very easy to make a mistake.
Having
noted
chance
the
i
nterpreter might, if the context
allowed, render it ?there is a chance that” or
?by chance”. If on the other hand he
noted
probable
the mistake
cannot be made. The issue of
style is
also dealt with in the second example where one
would automatically say (interpreting
into English), ?It is probable that”,
or ?it is likely that”, or ?in all likelihood”
whereas in the
first example even if
the interpreter had correctly recalled the idea
that the word
chance
represented
he/she will be a prisoner to that word
and might easily produce a
gallicism
3
.
1
Georg &
C
ie
, Geneva, 1956.
2
this was indeed the case
when Rozan wrote. Although nowadays 20 minutes is
considered a long consecutive
speech,
his comments still apply.
3
being unduly influenced by the source language is,
of course, not only a problem in French-English
interpretation but in all
interpretation.
2
Example: ?We should try to live up
to....”. It would be absurd to note the word
?live”
and it would greatly increase
the risk of making a mistake. Although it would
seem to be very
different from the
original it woul
d be more appropriate
to note in French, for example, ? à la
hauteur” (in english ‘to be up to’).
This is the result of analysing the idea behind
what is said
and noting it
idiomatically in the target language. It would be
just as useful to note
be =,
representing
being equal to
, which could very easily be read back
idiomatically in
intepretation (ie.
?à la hauteur in French”, ?to be up to
in English”
).
Whenever taking notes the
interpreter must concentrate on the major idea and
how this
can be noted clearly and
simply (preferably in the target language,
although this is not
essential).
In the practical exercises
in Part 3 of this book you will find a number of
examples of
noting the idea rather than
the word. It is recommended that you examine these
with particular
care.
2. The Rules of
Abbreviation
A.
ABBREVIATION OF WORDS
The rule of thumb is that
unless a word is short (4-5 letters) the
interpreter should note
it in an
abbreviated form.
If we
have to note ?specialized” it is more meaningful
a
nd reliable to note
sp
ed
than to write
spec
.
Other
examples:
Stat.
could be read as ?statute” or
?statistics” whilst
St
ute
and
St
ics
are
unambiguous.
Prod.
could be
read as ?production”, ?producer”, ?product” or
?productivity” while
on
Pr
,
Pr
er
,
Pr
ct
,
Pr
vity
are unambiguous.
Com.
could be read as ?Commission” or
?committee” while
C
on
and
C
tee
are
unambiguous.
Rule:
If you
have time write a word as completely as possible,
however, if a word
must be abbreviated,
then write some of the first and last letters
rather than trying to write as
many
letters as possible from the start onwards.
B. INDICATING GENDER AND
TENSE
Having
abbreviated a word or an idea (be it by the use of
a symbol or a contraction of
its
component letters) it can also be very helpful to
give an indication of
gender
4
and tense).
Thus in the expression: ?I
will come back to this a little later”, noting the
future tense
will render the words
?a little later”
superfluous. We will see below that ?I
speak” can be
noted :
I
”
. Therefore we note :
I
ll
”
The expression:
?those mentioned”, must be noted :
rf
d
; because
rf
alone could be
read back as ?those which
mention”.
4
Rozan was working from and
into French. Gender is meaningless for those
noting in English, however, the idea
could be usefully adapted for use in,
for example, the Slavic languages where nouns have
gender.
3
Rule: To indicate
gender
5
and number we add
e
or
s
to the symbol or abbreviation. To
indicate tense we add
ll
for the future and
d
for the past.
See also the examples in Part 3.
C. ABBREVIATING THE
REGISTER
The
expression ?which have contributed to” is long.
The word
help
is short.
Wherever
possible we must abbreviate by
using a word which conveys the same meaning but is
shorter.
Similarly,
?...which are worth looking at” can be noted
int
g
(interesting).
?In order to
arrive at some conclusions” can be noted
to end.
?Taking
into account the situation at the present time”
can be noted
as
sit
on
now.
Examine closely the abbreviations in
Part 3.
3.
Links
The part
of any speech that is both the most important and
the most difficult to note is
the
sequence of ideas and the links between them.
(Jean Herbert)
An idea can
be distorted completely if its relation to the
previous idea is not clearly
indicated.
When taking notes then, we should never miss out
the links. Indeed what we
actually see
is that if the links are noted well the rest of
the idea can be summarised in just a
few strokes of the pen.
A. Noting links becomes very simple if
we use the key words that follow. (Over time this
will
become automatic.)
as, why
and that is because, this is the reason
why, since, given the fact that, (in
some instances)
given that;
to convey explanation.
tho
although,
despite the fact that; to convey opposition
but
on the other hand, but, nevertheless,
however; to convey limitations
if
it is possible
that, assuming that; to convey supposition.
as to
as far as x is concerned,
on the matter of; to convey reference
tfe
therefore, one can then conclude; to
convey conclusion.
The
three symbols below (which can also be found in
Part 2) are also extremely useful.
=
the same goes
for, one might say the same of; to convey the idea
of
equality or correspondance
?
on the other
hand, contrary to; to convey the idea of
difference or lack
of correspondance
in +
in addition,
furthermore, if we also take account of; to convey
the idea
of additional precision.
5
Again the ‘e’
represents the French feminine ending. Any letter
can be used and this will depend on the
languages involved.