商务英汉口译的技巧与策略分析.doc

took interpreting as a profession and the staff as respectable interpreters and since then, interpreting became a remarkable profession throughout the world.
In China, interpretation has been a profession for more than 2000 years. People those who originally took up interpreting as their career have been called “译”, “寄”, “象”, “狄鞮”, “通事” or “通译”, etc. But the development didn’t get anywhere until 1920s, when the increasing expansion in international communication aroused the experts’ attention, but anyway, it could not catch up with the western world in interpreting research with a history of more than 50years..

2.2The Significance of Business Interpretation and its Future Development
With the implementation of China’s reform and opening-up policy, more and more people of various circles come to China from different parts of the world and take part in international cooperation. The increase of exchange and contact between China and the rest of the world results in the increasing need of interpreters between Chinese and other languages, particularly the interpreters in combination of Chinese and English. With the extensive and intensive development and expansion of global economy and trade, there is an urgent need of highly qualified business interpreters. That places a great challenge on lots of Chinese-English interpreting professionals with a view to succeeding in business interpretation. After analyzing the skills and strategies of business interpretation, with comprehensive understanding and mastery of its practical application, suggestions in this article would be helpful to break through the challenge and get to an ideal level in business interpretation.

3. Criterion for Interpreting and Basic Requirements for Business Interpreters:

Interpreting is a process of “understanding and making understood”. Interpreters first of all listen to the source text and then analyze the discourse and understand the message and then reconstruct the message in the target language and convey it to the audience making the listeners understand the speaker’s message. In the process of interpreting, it involves a lot of difficulties and challenges. Interpreters have to listen to the source speech, analyze the message and reconstruct it in the target language on the spot. They cannot consult dictionaries or any other reference documents while interpreting the speeches. Therefore, in order to achieve successful interpreting, interpreters are supposed to be highly qualified. In general, a professional interpreter is required to have a strong sense of duty, a high level of linguistic proficiency, wide encyclopedia knowledge and a good mastery of interpreting skills.

3.1 Different Statements on the Criterion of Interpreting
“Faithfulness、expressiveness、elegance” has been a well-known criterion for translation, which was proposed by Yan Fu, the Chinese expert in translation. But for interpreting, different interpretations and viewpoints of its criterion are held by many scholars around the world. For instance, Danica Seleskovitch, who is the founder of an influential school of thought in translation studies, the interpretive theory (le théorie de l’interprétation) emerged in the late 1960s in France, held that interpreting is a kind of interpretive translation of which an important principle or criterion is “making sense”. On the other hand, the senior expert in interpreting, Professor Zhong Shukong has stressed the principle of the combination between “accuracy and fluency” in interpreting, which is similar to a criterion put forward by Mei Deming. Furthermore, Li Yueran advances that the criterion for interpreting is “accuracy、fluency and swiftness” and Zhong Weihe proposes that interpreters are supposed to adhere to the principle of “faithful、fluent and timely”. Fang Fanquan, then, sums up the principle of interpreting, namely, “timely、accurate、comprehensive、natural、fluent and easy to understand”.

3.2 The Excellence of Business Interpretation: “Accuracy” and “Flexibility”
The excellence of business interpretation lies in “accuracy” and “flexibility”. “Accuracy” is the premise of interpreting. As we all know that, performing is the core of the interpreting process. A successful performance in interpretation relies on the accuracy of interpreting of the message of the speaker; otherwise, it would lead to misunderstanding or even huge losses. In addition, business interpreters are required to be more flexible during interpretation. On some occasions, when coming across awkwardness( such as slang or local expressions), for the sake of catching up with the information flow, substitution is quite a clever way, as long as it goes with the main idea of the talk or conversation. Therefore, omission and jumping over to the main point is more important.
The contradiction between “accuracy” and “flexibility” should be dealt with meaningfully and naturally without interfering with the general flow of the process.

4. Skills and Strategies of Business Interpretation

4.1 Preparation for Business Interpretation
Preparing (P) is the foundation of a successful interpreting performance. A well-prepared interpreter feels confident and relaxed. There are two types of preparation. “One is short-term preparation, and the other is short-term preparation. In general, the interpreters prepare for the interpreting task from the following four aspects: namely, linguistic and interpreting skills(S), encyclopedic and subject knowledge (K), professional vocabulary and terminologies (V), and cross-culture awareness(C). Hence, the interpreting can be formulated as follows: P=S+K+V+C.”（Xu Xiaozheng，2006:5）
In the context of interpreting, an interpreter should be aware that “to hear” is not only to know all the words that are being spoken, but to grasp the main ideas of the original speech, for it is the meaning that is to be interpreted, not the words. The pure understanding of word alone is not sufficient for interpreters to reconstruct ideas effectively. Interpreters are supposed to be able to seize meaning when they listen to the speaker, and they must therefore listen actively. However, to “grasp the main ideas” or “seize meaning” is in no sense an easy job for many college students.
Here, five types of business situations are set to specify how to well-prepared business interpretation.
Five types of situations in business interpretation:
(i) Business negotiation
When we are noticed to participate a business negotiation conference as an interpreter, we are supposed to familiarize ourselves with the figures, the content of negotiation and the vocabulary concerned in talking beforehand. Sometimes, a business negotiation involves price(s) of goods, quantity of purchasing and supplying, MOQ (minimum of quantity), terms of payment, time of delivery and the quality or features of goods, etc.
For an interpreter, to do a long series of figures in interpretation is by no means easy. And for an interpreter whose mother tongue is Chinese, the difficulties involved seem to be even greater. Figures interpretation is considered as an interpreter’s big headache. (Xu Xiaozheng, 2006:188) Followings are some notable difficulties, such as, “Wan” vs. million and “Yi” vs. billion, comparison expressions (times, triple, fourfold, etc.), measurement units (kilometers vs. miles), decimals and fractions. Other kinds of figures like MOQ, price, areas and volume must be taken into consideration as well.
(ii) Business travel
Business travel is very common for the interpreter and it calls for his cross-cultural sensitivity. Before we go for a business tour, we’d better search for some cultural and regional information of a certain place you’re heading for.
(iii) Ceremonial address
Before the participants take part in a ceremony, a social but formal conference not only for the speakers, but for the interpreters, “well-preparing your audience” will contribute to your speech and interpretation.
(iiii) Advertising ＆ Publicity
As for the advertising or publicity of commodity, the interpreter has to familiarize himself with the product’s main features, functions, lifespan, etc.
(iiiii)Finance ＆ Securities
People involve in the field of finance are supposed to be highly sensitive and vigilant to the information flow marching on the wave along the time, as well as business interpreters. They shall be more attentive and sensitive to new information flow about stock, securities but the current affairs throughout the globe resulting from the indivisible and interdependent connection between the two sides.

4.2 Active Listening
Generally speaking, to listen actively, an interpreter must be active to perceive the sounds accurately and constantly focus on the information conveyed by the sounds. In order to maintain active listening, business interpreters are supposed not only to apply some listening skills concerned but to follow some basic guidelines as well.

4.2.1 Listen to the Meaning
Firstly, listen to the meanings instead of words. What the speaker tries to convey and what the listener is interested in is not the words but the message or information that is concerned. To make out the speaker’s idea, therefore, is the interpreter’s top priority so that interpreters are expected to follow the speaker closely and catch the idea while listening. To some extent, this guideline also calls for interpreter’s listening skills. As for the interpreters from native English-speaking country, “listen to the meaning” may be far easier to attain than the foreigners. Besides, under no circumstance can a green horn completely catch all the words an English speaker has said, let alone listen for the meaning. It takes scrupulous and arduous efforts in practicing and training.

4.2.2 Listen for Content and Attitude
The second guideline for active listening is to listen for both content and attitude.” Listen for” in some way, refers to the direction of information flow or what you are intended to get from the speaker’s words, likewise the content of words and attitude the words convey. The total meaning of message consists of both idea and feeling. The speakers choose their own sentence structures and speak in their own tone to express their idea. Besides, the same sentences may mean differently by different speakers or sometimes by the same speaker who speak in different tones, so that interpreters shall attach more importance to the content and the speakers’ attitude.

4.2.3 Predicting
“Predicting” while listening, is the third popular method.
Predicting, to some extent, plays an important role in the preparation of interpreting. After the interpreter is informed of an interpretation task, he starts his preparation immediately. He shall predict what the conversation, meeting or speech are generally about, and what are the terms concerned in the interpretation. On the one hand, the prediction of the contents would be helpful for your listening; furthermore, to familiarize yourself with the relevant terms or vocabulary could contribute to good performance in interpreting.

4.3“Note-taking” Strategy
Interpreting is a memory demanding profession than a written translation process. Note-taking is popular to all skillful interpreters. It is an indispensable tool for interpreters in consecutive interpreting and it helps interpreters reproduce the original meaning accurately. Note-taking plays a very important role in the course of interpreting and it serves as a vital aid to good interpretation.
However, what to take? How to take? And how to make the most of note-taking for better interpreting?
It is uneasy even impossible to take down every word the interpreters hear. They should, therefore, be clear about what ought to be noted down and what are to be kept in mind. I think there are some items that are supposed to be taken down as follows: key words and main ideas, important figures and professional terms, and so on and so forth.

4.3.1 Abbreviations and Symbols for Minute Taking.
As for how to take notes, it is very much a question of personal reference: Firstly, use abbreviations and symbols for minute taking. “Abbreviations and symbols account for much of the veteran interpreters’ notes. Using abbreviations and symbols instead of words in full spelling is what almost every professional interpreter practices when taking notes, as the abbreviations and symbols save time and efforts.” (Xu Xiaozheng, 2006:98)
（i）Abbreviations, for instance, “MSG” refers to “message”, “MKT” means “market”, “FRT” stands for “freight”, “Co” for “company”.
ASAP— as fast as possible ADS—address
APT—apartment AMT—amount
AD—advertisement AMSP—as much as possible
BAL—balance BORR--borrow
CMI—commission CMU—communication
CND—condition COR—corporation
DISC—discount D. —day or date
INFO—information IMP—important
INCD—include INS—insurance
（ii）Symbols and signs
Most of interpreters prefer using some ideogrammic symbols for better minute taking and interpretation in a speech or conference. For example, “ ☆”stands for “important, outstanding, model, best, etc.”
“√” for “right, correct, good, sure, certain”
“□”,which originates from Chinese, stands for “state, nation, country”
“○” or a circle means “earth, globe” or “international, global or worldwide”
“⊙”, like a round table with a point, represents “meeting, conference, symposium or discussion”
“∪”，a glass, stands for “agreement, treaty, contract”
“﹟” for “ending or stop”
“～”for “reverse”
“ °” for “people, person, man”
“↑”for “rise, go up, ascend, skyrocket, increase, float upward, appreciation, improve,
enhance, promote”
“↓” for “set, go down, descend, decrease, depreciation, slash, drop, slip, fall, deteriorate”
“↗” for “the same, similar”
“↘”for “invest, investment” and “↘°”means “investor”
“∵”for “because, because of, owing to , thanks to, since, due to, as”; Accordingly,“∴”stands
for “therefore, consequently, as a result, so, hence”
“：” means for “think, hope, believe”.

4.3.2 The Lay-out of Note-taking
Secondly, skillful interpreters shall keep their notes brief in content and simply jot down the key points, which had better be preferably reduced to the minimum in number as well as more lines for the sake of check and review. The layout of note-taking, therefore, shall be taken into account for minute taking. There are four guidelines for the layout of note-taking (1) diagonal layout (2) the left-hand margin (3) verticality of lists (4) the horizontal line separating ideas.
(i) Diagonal layout:
A complete sentence can be divided into 3 parts: the subject(S), the predicate (Verb) and the object (O). We can take it in a diagonal way for note-taking as follows:
S
Verb
O
(ii) The left-hand margin
Apart from the subject, predicates and object, conjunctions also play an es