How to take interpretation notes

Notes are symbols, small pictures, abbreviations, complete words, etc. For students studying translation, it is very instructive to look at the notes of some old translators. The old translator's notes clearly show that compared with words (including abbreviations), the proportion of symbols is very small after all. This can save students from racking their brains to make up some symbols, and they may not be able to remember what they mean when it comes to translation. \x0d\　Indeed, although the function of notes is to help us remember the content of the speech, notes also help us to express it again. The two auxiliary functions are mixed together, but we have to distinguish them because each function is to meet special needs: after the interpreter analyzes the content of the speech, the notes play the role of markers, and they can also Stimulate memory and help translators reorganize the expression of the target language. \x0d\ When analyzing, you must not only consciously choose what needs to be written down, but also write quickly (when taking notes, you cannot consider spelling issues at all). When translating, the translator can only glance at the notes in passing, so the notes must be clear. Generally speaking, the speech is relatively fast, so the interpreter does not have much time to take notes. Therefore, the characteristics of notes are that they must be concise and clear at the same time. \x0d\　The language used for taking notes\x0d\　Students should try to take notes in the translated language. But you may not be able to think of a specific word or phrase translated into the target language at once. If you look for and think about it at this time, you will lose part of the speech. If you can't think of the corresponding expression in the target language at the moment, you can write it down in the source language first, and then think about how to express it in the target language later; you can also listen and think about it subconsciously until the speech stops and the translation is reached. The corresponding expression in the target language may miraculously appear in the translator's mind. \x0d\　Words that can help us remember a certain idea should also be recorded in the translated language. What should be remembered at this time is not how to translate a certain word, but when the translator analyzes the speech, he should still think in the target language, take the meaning as the main line, and start to think about how to express it in the target language in general. In this way, by consciously leaving the source language and avoiding retaining traces of the source language in the mind, the translator can achieve complete ease when re-expressing it in the mother tongue. Some of the words recorded in the notes indicate that the translator has already thought of how to express it in language A when listening to the speech in language B, so it is also the process of the translator sorting out his thoughts. \x0d\　Students may find it difficult to always take notes in the translated language. But it is a reliable method to make sure that the source language and the target language are separated. By doing this, the translator can also avoid taking notes "subconsciously" and letting words interfere with thinking, thereby avoiding falling into literal translation during translation. Students must quickly develop the habit of writing down in their notes only what they understand and what they want to say when translating. Then slowly learn the specific notation of notes. For example, some words are shorter in a certain language than in another language. It is up to the translator to decide whether to use German "vor" instead of English "before" or French "auparavant". \x0d\　Symbols\x0d\　There are several symbols that translators often use. The usage of these symbols has been tested in practice. Some of them are because they can be used in any language. For example, arrows are used to represent "connection", "rising", and "decreasing". ", "relationship", etc., some are because they can be used as repetitive words, such as drawing a symbol of a chair instead of chair, using certain symbols to replace causal relationships, such as "because", "so", etc., or Opposite relations, such as "opposite", "negative number", etc. \x0d\ Be careful not to try to make a list of symbols. Some people want to make a symbol comparison table, thinking that once they master and strictly implement the use of the comparison table, they can translate well as long as they read according to the symbols. This idea is very dangerous, because any mechanical copying of corresponding words (such as the correspondence between words-symbols-words here) will lead to literal translation, and the results will inevitably be very bad. However, it is also a good idea for some people to give full play to their imagination and draw a simple picture to help remember a certain meaning. The conditions depend on the temporary creation of the translator. \x0d\　Abbreviations\x0d\　There are advantages to using abbreviations, but there are also disadvantages. Interpreters who perform consecutive interpretations always feel pressed for time. He should listen and analyze the speech at the same time, and should not delay listening because of taking notes. Therefore, taking notes in abbreviated form is a very practical method. \x0d\ Many words have recognized and common abbreviations. For example, when remembering the name of a country, you can use a common license plate mark, using D for "Germany", DK for "Denmark", and so on. Various units of weights and measures also have recognized symbols, such as km for "kilometer" and kwh for "kilowatt hour" ("degree"). You can also use the symbols in the periodic table of elements when recording chemical compositions, such as using O to represent "oxygen", using Pu to represent "plutonium", and so on. \x0d\　However, most of the words and words that need to be memorized do not have conventional abbreviations. What you need to pay attention to is not to make the abbreviation unrecognizable, and do not use the same abbreviation form to represent multiple words. For example, you cannot abbreviate solution and soleil to sol. Experience tells us that the shortest abbreviations should be reserved for words commonly used in international conferences. In our example, sol should be used for "solution".

\x0d\ The most commonly used abbreviation method is to take the first three letters of a word and then add the last letters of the word to distinguish between words with the same root or the same first few letters, such as prod. It represents product (product), prodn represents production (production), prode represents productivite (productivity), and so on. \x0d\　First and Last Sentences\x0d\To know how to record the meaning of a speech in notes, it is not limited to the general method of knowing a few symbols and abbreviations. There are other principles that are also important. For example, it is very important to carefully note down the first words of a speech, or the first words of a new meaning. Such sentences are not spoken in the process of elaborating a certain meaning and have no context as a basis for understanding, so they must be remembered very clearly in notes. \x0d\　The last sentence should also be remembered clearly. This is worth explaining in detail. For smart translators, taking notes will always take some time relative to the speaker's speaking speed. But as soon as the speaker stops, the audience expects the interpreter to follow immediately. Even the best translator needs to finish taking notes after the speaker stops, go back to the beginning of the notes, and then start translating again. The chairperson of the meeting didn't understand why the translator always had to wait a few seconds before starting to translate, and sometimes he couldn't help but rush him. The same is true for students. Although the teacher does not urge them, they will feel depressed in the short silence after the speaker stops. They often do not bother to finish taking notes, so they rush back to the beginning of the notes and spend a few seconds to finish the notes. Memorize it to avoid missing the sentences at the end of the speech during translation. \x0d\　Arrangement of Notes\x0d\　Students must learn not to remember too much, nor to remember too quickly. You also need to learn to arrange your notes in your notebook so well that you can see the stages of your speech through the arrangement itself and understand the connections between the stages at a glance. Finally, you should also know that notes do not necessarily conform to the syntactic rules and order of the source language. You can write down what is said later in the front. Especially when translators use German and Arabic, the sentence components of these two languages ??are not necessarily in the same order as French. When translating, be sure to avoid searching in notes or reading from notes, so it is best to take notes in the logical order of the target language.