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Chapter 2. It’s not about the interpreter

Objectives in dialogue interpreting teaching
  • Uldis Ozolins
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Teaching Dialogue Interpreting
This chapter is in the book Teaching Dialogue Interpreting

Abstract

While a central objective of any interpreter training is to develop professional language transfer skills, dialogue interpreting sets additional challenges in coping with the interpersonal dynamics and often significantly divergent institutional status, discourse styles and communicative intent of participants. An interpreted encounter exists not for the interpreter, but for these other two or more parties, and the interpreter must perform an often complex act of transferring meaning between two parties with perhaps quite varying dispositions and expectations. Achieving this synthesis of translation competence, interpersonal performance and contextual knowledge describes the objectives of dialogue interpreting education. Such preparation differs in degree and in kind from preparation in other interpreting fields, demanding focus on social and interactional as much as on linguistic features of encounters.

Abstract

While a central objective of any interpreter training is to develop professional language transfer skills, dialogue interpreting sets additional challenges in coping with the interpersonal dynamics and often significantly divergent institutional status, discourse styles and communicative intent of participants. An interpreted encounter exists not for the interpreter, but for these other two or more parties, and the interpreter must perform an often complex act of transferring meaning between two parties with perhaps quite varying dispositions and expectations. Achieving this synthesis of translation competence, interpersonal performance and contextual knowledge describes the objectives of dialogue interpreting education. Such preparation differs in degree and in kind from preparation in other interpreting fields, demanding focus on social and interactional as much as on linguistic features of encounters.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. Foreword xi
  5. List of acronyms xiii
  6. Introduction. Dialogue interpreting 1
  7. Part I. Setting the stage
  8. Chapter 1. Anchoring dialogue interpreting in principles of teaching and learning 29
  9. Chapter 2. It’s not about the interpreter 45
  10. Chapter 3. Sign language interpreting education 63
  11. Chapter 4. Interpreting and mediation 83
  12. Chapter 5. Ideas for use of notes and other visual prompts in dialogue interpreting classes 101
  13. Part II. Specialized interpreting modules for specialized professional settings
  14. Chapter 6. (Role-)playing fair(s) 119
  15. Chapter 7. Developing flexibility to meet the challenges of interpreting in film festivals 137
  16. Chapter 8. Dialogue interpreting on television 159
  17. Chapter 9. Teaching interpreters and translators to work in educational settings 179
  18. Chapter 10. Teaching legal interpreting at university level 199
  19. Chapter 11. Training legal interpreters in an imperfect world 217
  20. Part III. Latest trends in dialogue interpreter education
  21. Chapter 12. Telephonic dialogue interpreting 241
  22. Chapter 13. Non-verbals in dialogue interpreter education 259
  23. Chapter 14. Make it different! Teaching interpreting with theatre techniques 275
  24. Chapter 15. Using the Conversation Analytic Role-play Method in healthcare interpreter education 293
  25. Chapter 16. “That we all behave like professionals” 323
  26. References 341
  27. Authors’ biosketches 381
  28. Subject index 387
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.138.02ozo

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. Foreword xi
  5. List of acronyms xiii
  6. Introduction. Dialogue interpreting 1
  7. Part I. Setting the stage
  8. Chapter 1. Anchoring dialogue interpreting in principles of teaching and learning 29
  9. Chapter 2. It’s not about the interpreter 45
  10. Chapter 3. Sign language interpreting education 63
  11. Chapter 4. Interpreting and mediation 83
  12. Chapter 5. Ideas for use of notes and other visual prompts in dialogue interpreting classes 101
  13. Part II. Specialized interpreting modules for specialized professional settings
  14. Chapter 6. (Role-)playing fair(s) 119
  15. Chapter 7. Developing flexibility to meet the challenges of interpreting in film festivals 137
  16. Chapter 8. Dialogue interpreting on television 159
  17. Chapter 9. Teaching interpreters and translators to work in educational settings 179
  18. Chapter 10. Teaching legal interpreting at university level 199
  19. Chapter 11. Training legal interpreters in an imperfect world 217
  20. Part III. Latest trends in dialogue interpreter education
  21. Chapter 12. Telephonic dialogue interpreting 241
  22. Chapter 13. Non-verbals in dialogue interpreter education 259
  23. Chapter 14. Make it different! Teaching interpreting with theatre techniques 275
  24. Chapter 15. Using the Conversation Analytic Role-play Method in healthcare interpreter education 293
  25. Chapter 16. “That we all behave like professionals” 323
  26. References 341
  27. Authors’ biosketches 381
  28. Subject index 387
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