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Formerly, simultaneous interpreting was limited to guest interviews, breaking news situations, and live coverage of events in the Japanese media. However, due to the increase in demand for bilingual services and real time coverage, JCTV (Japan Cable Television, which is a distribution partner of CNN) decided to focus on simultaneous interpreting for the localization of CNN news. Before settling on simultaneous interpreting, CNN translating/interpreting experienced several transitions. At the very beginning, the requirement was to translate word for word. Then came the prepared interpreting stage. The current stage calls for simultaneous interpretation of all the materials including tightly edited packaged reports. Some of the main skills required for simultaneous interpreting for broadcast news are background knowledge, anticipation, and editing. The number of interpreting and translating courses offered at Japanese universities is on the rise, but traditional interpreting schools catering to the special needs for broadcast interpreting still plays an important role. These institutions offer the appropriate training for students aspiring to break into broadcast news simultaneous interpreting. Broadcast news interpreting in Japan is still evolving and faces the challenges of quality control.

동시통역에서 출발어(SL)와 도착어(TL) 간에 존재하는 문장구조 상의 차이점은 통역 프로세스에 추가적 장애 요인이 될 수 있다. 본 논문에서는 이러한 장애 요인을 한영동시통역의 맥락에서 진단하되, 특히 한국어의 이중주어 구문 및 기타 둘 이상의 주어가 나란히 등장하는 문장을 중심으로 살펴본다. 이러한 현상은 영어 문장에서는 일반적으로 나타나지 않는 것으로, 이러한 문장구조를 다루는 데 도움이 될 수 있는 통역전략을 소개하고자 한다. 데이터 수집을 위한 실험에서는 통역대학원 재학생 다섯 명이 참가하여 네 개의 국문 연설문을 영어로 동시통역 하도록 하였으며, 출발어인 한국어 텍스트에서 나타나는 복수주어문이 통역 프로세스에 어떻게 장애 요인이 되며 참가자들이 이를 어떻게 처리하는가를 중점적으로 분석하였다. 이를 바탕으로 한영동시통역 시 둘 이상의 주어가 나란히 출현할 때 이를 처리하는 데 유용할 수 있는 몇 가지 전략을 제시한다.

Explicitation has been studied extensively in Translation Studies andconsidered as one of the translation universals, but the research on thisphenomenon in the mode of simultaneous interpreting(SI) has beenrelatively limited. This study aims to examine patterns of explicitationand implicitation in simultaneous interpreting from Korean to Englishby eight student interpreters. In addition, patterns in which connectivesare used in SI are also investigated. Preliminary findings indicate thatimplicitation occurs more frequently than explicitation in simultaneousinterpreting, which is influenced by various constraints intrinsic to thismode of language mediation. With regard to connectives, additions arethe most common type of shifts. Motivations for the observed patternsand their implications are discussed.

The paper will consider, based on existing literature and the author’s own experience, how sight translation (ST) can be incorporated into simultaneous interpreter training classes. ST is the rendering orally of a text written in one language into another language. This approach is used regularly by conference interpreters, including the author, to prepare for actual conference interpreting assignments. It can also be employed as a training tool, as discussed by Viaggio, S (1995) and Weber, W (1990). Having become aware of the real potential of using ST inside and outside of the classroom, and based on the work of the two interpreting trainers mentioned above, the Conference Interpreting Program at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) is now actively using ST for both English-to-Japanese and Japanese-to-English interpreting training. There are two possible approaches to using sight translation in such classes at TUFS: (1) the use of only the text, or (2) the use of the text together with an audio of the actual rendition of the text. Adoption of both approaches in her graduate-level (M.A.) second-year simultaneous interpreting class has convinced the author that the utilization of ST in simultaneous interpreting classes can teach students to be time and effort-effective. That, however, is provided that the following caveats are observed: (1) the need to find most efficient words in expression is met; (2) word-for-word translations are strictly avoided; and, (3) the focus of the exercise is on the content of the message. Since in ST training the coordination and management of constrained resources are crucial factors, it is essential for students to learn how and where to employ their limited resources to achieve optimal performance.

Simultaneous interpreting requires special expertise which distinguishes the conference interpreters from other bilinguals. It is argued in this study that working memory capacity as well as knowledge about topic being discussed are the two factors that constitute the expertise of conference interpreters. Under such assumption, working memory spans of two groups of conference interpreters - seven interpreters in the Experienced Group with more than ten years of working experience and 16 interpreters in the Novice Group with less than three years of experience - were measured. Also, a survey was conducted to assess the topic knowledge of the two groups of interpreters. Then, English into Korean simultaneous interpreting experiment was carried out to investigate the implications of working memory capacity and topic knowledge on the interpreters' ability to transfer information from source language to target language. The interpreters' ability to transfer information was measured in terms of their ability to transfer meaning segments referred to as Idea Units and Essential Idea Units in the texts. The results of the experiment showed that while Experienced Group was able to transfer higher percentage of both Idea Units and Essential Idea Units than Novice Group, Novice Group of interpreters were more influenced by working memory span than knowledge while the Experienced Group was more influenced by the Topic Knowledge in their abilities to transfer information during simultaneous interpreting.

This paper examines the rhetorical features of U.S. President Barack Obama's inaugural address and three interpreters' treatment of the stylistic aspects such as antithesis, anaphora, terms of address, and metaphor. The results indicate variations in terms of the extent to which the interpreters, who provided simultaneous interpreting live on television, reproduced the rhetorical styles of the inaugural address. The analysis of the interpreters' renditions demonstrate that the interpreters often neglected or omitted rhetorical devices, and that the interpreters frequently mistranslated the rhetoric in the source text, failing to convey the intended effect of the speech. The results suggest that unrehearsed simultaneous interpreting of rhetoric is difficult, and, more importantly, point to the need for the interpreters to develop rhetorical awareness, and for interpreter training to include strategies for handling rhetoric of this kind.

The covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on conference interpreting. It has become practically impossible to hold face-to-face meetings and remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) has now become a norm. In this article, we propose to look at the factors that complicate RSI. Apart from the factors already cited in previous studies such as the psychological stress felt by interpreters who have to work isolated in an unsuitable environment and the additional mental load, this article tries to highlight the very specificities of the source texts used in conferences for RSI. Illustrating an example of the work carried out by interpreters during the UNPKO ministerial conference, we are trying to have an understanding in the work of the interpreters who must perform not only the task of simultaneous interpretation, but also script transcription and post-editing in preparation for the conference. By referring to Shlossberg's transition theory, this study attempts to identify the factors that may influence interpreters' adaptation to change. It is because adaptation to transition will only be possible with a comprehensive understanding of the changes that occur in the practice of RSI. In conclusion, this study proposes some recommendations to help conference interpreters to better adapt to the challenging environment of RSI.

This study addresses directionality underlying strategies employed during Korean-English simultaneous interpreting. The nature of simultaneous interpreting involving a complex deployment of concomitant tasks, necessitates professional interpreters to develop and constantly refine interpreting strategies. Interpreting strategies used during L1-to-L2 interpreting, however, have often been reported to be different from those used during L2-to-L1 interpreting, lending support to the hypothesis that simultaneous interpreting from L1 involves different processes and goals from interpreting from L2. Analysis of recordings of simultaneous interpreting among three professional Korean-English interpreters actually revealed that they employed different strategies according to the interpreting direction. Such a directionality can be caused by various factors including linguistic, social, and cognitive elements. During English-to- Korean interpreting, it seemed, the main objective of the interpreters was to convey the source text as accurately as possible, and attentional focuses were placed on its surface features including cohesive devices. While interpreting from Korean into English, however, the main objective was to deliver a target text understandable among the audience and thus interpreters were more geared toward meaning-based interpreting. This approach required interpreters to employ such strategies as omission and paraphrasing.

Simultaneous interpreting is carried out under severe time constraints as the interpreter is forced to work at Source Language speech delivery speed to process incoming oral messages into Target Language reexpression. While such mode of communication place interpreters liable to errors, it is very difficult to not only correct or repair errors when they occur, but also detect errors when they occur. The aim of this study is to analyze errors during simultaneous interpreting in order to first, find out what types of errors are most frequent during simultaneous interpreting; second, analyze how interpreters repair errors to accomplish communication; and third, analyze the implications of errors in order to propose strategies to deal with errors. For the study, authentic data was collected from an international conference hosted in Seoul. The data analysis showed omission is the most frequent type of errors during simultaneous interpreting followed by shifts in meaning and expressions. While interpreters repaired approximately ten percentage of errors, the analysis of errors showed that some omissions and shifts worked to facilitate effectiveness of communication, which was achieved by means of time saving strategies utilized by the interpreter. Although some of the time saving strategies used by interpreters seemed to violate the principle of faithfulness in interpreting, the strategies helped interpreters overcome time constraints and ease cognitive load as well as enhance the communicative relevance of Target Language expression.

This research was conducted on 16 students at graduate school of interpretation and translation in Seoul, and the findings showed that the accuracy of their simultaneous interpreting, measured between in the beginning of learning (in about 3 months) and the mid-term (in about 6 months), substantially improved. One possible explanation for such an improvement could be the fact that many of these students were able to perform a fairly accurate simultaneous interpretation even during the first few weeks of learning although they had never been trained for simultaneous interpreting previously. Moreover, eight out of the 16 trainees, or 50 percent of the total, showed a steady improvement in terms of accuracy of interpreting from the first to the second and to the third trials. The other students achieved the same or lower accuracy with time while one of them delivered a poorer performance in the third test compared to the first test. Not all learners steadily improved in interpreting accuracy in this study. However, it compares and analyzes their progress in the accuracy of interpretation, thereby helping better understand the learning effects of students and explore how to improve their performance.

金漢植(2014)は、ある学期の初めと終りに、同時通訳の学習者に最大限同じ条件·同じテキストで通訳をさせ、その結果を比較することで、能力の向上を確認する方法を提案した。本研究では、3度にわたり同じテキスト·同じ条件で通訳をさせ、より長期にわたる多様な比較分析を試みた。また、通訳の正確度の評価をより明確に行うため、数字の多いテキストを取り上げて数字部分に重点を置いて評価·比較を行った。 ソウル所在の通訳大学院の学生16人を対象に分析した結果、全般的には、同時通訳の学習初期(約3か月)に比べ、学習中期(約6か月)により大幅に正確度が向上したことが確認された。同時通訳をまったく学習していない最初の週から、すでにある程度正確の通訳ができていたことなどがその理由として考えられる。 また、通訳の1回目、2回目、3回目と回を重ねるごとに正確度が右肩上がりに向上した学習者は16人中8人とちょうど半分で、1回目と2回目·2回目と3回目の比較で正確度が同じスコアにとどまったり低下した学習者が8人、その内1回目より3回目の正確度が低かった学習者は1人いた。 学習者全員が順調に通訳の正確度を向上させたとは言えないが、正確度を比較し確認することで、学習効果を確かめ、改善すべき点について考えるきっかけ作りになるものと思われる。

COVID-19 has brought a significant change to international conferences imposing restrictive measures, limiting congregation and travel, also having a considerable effect on simultaneous interpreting (SI) as it mainly takes place in international conferences. Nevertheless, international conferences have adapted to a new modality benefited by the latest technologies, with online platform tools to overcome the scourge of the pandemic. Numerous online international conferences have provided open access to simultaneously interpreted oral texts, which in the past were mostly kept limited for the on-site participants. This study has analyzed four Source Texts (ST) and their equivalent Target Texts (TT), simultaneously interpreted, through recording and transcription of online open materials. Genre analysis was applied. Specifically, this study focuses on the subgenre of COVID-19 diagnostics, subject to Korean-Spanish SI. Differences between texts were evidenced based on number of words, number of sentences, words in a sentence, word length, Type-Token Ratio (TTR), and most frequented words and terminologies. Results show the strategies adopted by simultaneous interpreters and the difference between Korean and Spanish in its linguistic nature. Also, most frequented words and terminologies were identified to define a pattern and standard in the subgenre of COVID-19 diagnostics texts in Korean-Spanish SI.

본 연구는 한일･일한 동시통역의 유창성을 방해하는 요소 중 발화의 수정에 주목하여 이를 통역의 방향성, 원천텍스트의 종류, 수정의 유형이라는 세 가지 관점에서 살펴보았다. 이를 위해 온라인 화상회의를 설계하고, 국제회의 현장 경험이 풍부한 전문통역사에게 의뢰하여 동시통역 실험을 실시하였다. 실험을 통해 한국인 통역사가 모국어인 한국어를 일본어로 동시통역할 때와 외국어인 일본어를 한국어로 통역할 때 발현되는 발화수정의 빈도와 형태를 분석하고, 왜 이러한 결과가 도출되었는지에 대한 설명을 제시하였다. 실험 결과, 발화의 수정은 통역의 방향과는 무관하게 거의 같은 수준으로 나타나 통역사들이 균형 잡힌 양방향 동시통역을 하고 있다는 사실을 확인하였다. 원천텍스트의 종류에서는 연사가 요약된 슬라이드를 보면서 설명하는 발표문보다 사전에 준비된 원고를 낭독하는 연설문에서 수정이 두 배 이상 많이 발생하였다. 수정의 세부 항목에서는통역사 모두에게서 더욱 명확한 메시지 전달을 위한 적합성 수정보다 단순 오류 수정이 압도적으로 많았다. 이러한 연구 결과는 동시통역에서의 발화 수정의 양상을 밝히고, 결과적으로 동시통역의 유창성을 저하시키는 발화 수정을 줄이는 데 기여할 것으로 기대한다.

The central purpose of the present paper is to identify and analyze the occurrence of professional interpreters’ self-repairs in Korean-Japanese simultaneous interpretation and to present plausible account for the research results. To that purpose, a group of four Korean interpreters with 10 or more years’ hands-on experience in the field participated in the experiment, in which they were asked, in the designed video conference, to perform simultaneous interpretation in both directions: from Korean into Japanese (AB interpretation) and from Japanese into Korean (BA interpretation). The current analysis examines the collected data of self-repairs in terms of repair types, source-text types, and directionality of simultaneous interpretation. It was found, first, that there did not exist a significant difference between the frequency of self-repairs in AB translation and that in BA translation. Also, much more self-repairs were identified in their interpretation of formal speeches and presentations in both directions. As for the repair types, appropriateness repairs were found in their interpretation than error repairs, also in both directions. These findings are expected to shed light on the occurrence of self-repairs in simultaneous interpretation and consequently help reduce interpreters’ self-repairs, which is a big part of the non-fluency.

本研究は同時通訳の流暢性を妨害する要素のうち、発話の修正に注目し、これを通訳言語の方向性と起点テクストの種類、修正の類型いう三つの観点から考察してみた。そのためにオンラインテレビ会議を設計し、国際会議の現場経験の豊かな専門通訳者に依頼して同時通訳の実験を行った。実験を通じて韓国人の通訳者が母国語の韓国語を日本語に同時通訳する時と外国語の日本語を韓国語に通訳する時に現れる発話の頻度と形態を分析し、どうしてそのような結果が導き出されたのかに対する説明を提示した。実験の結果、発話の修正は通訳言語の方向に関係なく、各通訳方向から一定に現れており、通訳者はバランスの取れた両方向の通訳をしていることが分かった。起点テクストの種類では、講演者がまとめた形のスライドを見ながら説明する発表文より事前に準備した原稿を読み上げる演説文の方で修正が2倍以上発生していた。さらに、修正の詳細項目では、通訳者全員からより明確なメッセージを伝えるための適合性の修正より、単純な誤りを直すためのエラー修正の方が圧倒的に多かった。このような研究結果は、同時通訳における発話修正の発生様相を明らかにし、結果的に同時通訳の流暢性を落とす発話の修正を減らすのに寄与することが期待される。

This paper attempts to provide a well-founded und more elaborate "answers" to the following questions often asked by practicing interpreters: (1) Between AB (L1-L2) and BA (L2-L1) interpretation, which one is more difficult? (2) What competencies are necessary for simultaneous interpretation (SI)? (3) Why is it particularly difficult to interpret numbers? To address these questions, the results of approximately 20 years of neuropsychological research on the topic of "interpretation" were analyzed from the practitioner’s perspective. The findings were as follows. (1) There are no differences in severity between L1-L2 and L2-L1 per se; however, the L1-L2 balance and the interpreter’s training determine the degree of difficulty associated with interpretation. The L2-L1 initially appears easier for the majority, as verbalization in the native language is smoother. However, well-trained interpreters with balanced bilingual competence find L1-L2 easier, especially as the receptive language might play a more decisive role, according to the aphasia study of Byng et al. (1982). (2) SI is, most of all, an “art” of attentional division and creation of primary semantic memory. The more training a simultaneous interpreter obtains, the stronger is the change associated with their anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). These brain regions are implicated in selective attention and creation of primary semantic memory, respectively. (3) The difficulty of interpreting numbers has little to do with the mathematical competence of the interpreters. It depends substantially on the ability to develop phonological memories during the formation of semantic memories as well as maintenance of these phonological memories in their original form without integration into a more abstract semantic memory. This type of competence is related to attention control as well.

Shadowing is used in interpreting education for various purposes, from student screening to simultaneous interpretation training. This study analyzes student diaries to find out what effects students think they enjoy from practicing shadowing, what difficulties they experience, and what teachers need to consider when assigning shadowing practice for self-study. The analysis found that the greatest difficulties that students had was to shadow fast-speaking speakers. It indicates that phonemic or adjusted-lag shadowing are appropriate for students who begin their training, as the methods help enhance auditory decoding and articulatory encoding. In contrast, phrase shadowing, which enhances selective attention, is for advanced students who learn simultaneous interpreting. Post-shadowing recalls encourage students to concentrate more intently during shadowing and better remember shadowed expressions. Last but not least, teachers should offer lots of encouragement to students to perform shadowing, since shadowing is a mentally and physically strenuous task.

Although the official language of the court in South Korea is Korean, the international chamber of the Patent Court of Korea is an exception. In that court, a hearing may be conducted in English while simultaneous interpreting is provided for the Korean gallery. This paper examines difficulties associated with highly technical interpreting at a patent hearing based on the analysis of simultaneous interpreting for a test hearing and interpreters’ views with respect to the practical aspects of interpreting provision. The findings indicate that in addition to the technical aspect of patent technology, various source text factors, including English as Lingua Franca (ELF)-related factors, recitation of text, and limited access to visual information, created extremely arduous working conditions for the interpreters and negatively influenced the interpreters’ performance and job satisfaction. The results strongly suggest that the court and the legal counsel should work in close cooperation with interpreters to ensure quality interpreting at the International Chamber.

Simultaneous interpretation is an extremely complex cognitive task: an interpreter receives an auditory message in the source language, simultaneously reformulates and produces it in the target language. Additionally, language switching from comprehension to production and vice versa always occurs during translation , and inhibitory control is required to avoid interference between the two active languages. In this paper, first I summarize previous bilinguals' neuroimaging studies on selection, inhibition, and switching between two languages, which are essential processings of simultaneous interpretation. Then, I will review recent neuroimaging studies on how the brain works during simultaneous interpretation together with an fMRI study I conducted with my colleagues to examine the extent to which the long-term experience of being a simultaneous interpreter changes brain functions. Finally, I will discuss how language proficiency and experience of simultaneous interpretation influence brain mechanism during interpretation.

Humor serves an important function in communication - by easing tension, maintaining concentration of the listeners, facilitating the message delivery to name a few. Increasingly, interpreters are called upon to mediate humor at international conferences which may be a formidable challenge that entails transferring of disparate linguistic and sociocultural elements in a way that successfully evokes an equivalent playful response. Using simultaneous mode of interpreting, in particular, humor may be a challenge for interpreters who need to strategically allocate available cognitive efforts to carry out different tasks all at once. This research investigates the types of humor encountered by interpreters at international conferences and examines what are the sources of difficulty for interpreters. Then, the study analyzes how interpreters strategically interpret humorous expressions to achieve equivalent effect among Target Language audience. Authentic data from an international conference held in Seoul show, contrary to widespread worries, the types of humor expressed at international conferences are “universal” and most times produce equivalent humor effect across languages and cultures. In interpreting humorous expressions, interpreters seem to place priority on literary delivery of Source Language but the target audience successfully figure out the universal humor. Interpreters intervene to bridge the sociocultural gaps only when necessary.

Simultaneity and dual tasking are two concepts that best define the characteristics of simultaneous interpreting (SI). It is a process, in other words, of simultaneously carrying out the dual task of listening and speaking. One of the most common exercises for helping students understand and train for dual tasking is counting backwards. There have been many studies, however, that question the effectiveness of this exercise, challenging the definition of simultaneous interpreting as dual tasking (Le Féal,1997); arguing that the type of memory skills required for SI cannot be acquired through the exercise (Gile,1995); and that the exercise overburdens students with unnecessary pressure (Moser, 1978). This study is based on a survey carried out on instructors and students in five Korean institutions specializing in translation and interpreting training, which showed that the counting backwards exercise was practiced widely, but its effectiveness was not favorably evaluated. Because the exercise is generally carried out only once in a given semester, it might be almost impossible to gauge its effectiveness. But a thorough examination of the topic would offer insight into the concept of SI as a dual tasking process and how it relates to dual tasking training exercises like counting backwards.

同時性(simultaneity)と二重タスク(dual tasking)というのは同時通訳の特徴をもっともよく表すことばである。すなわち、｢聞きながら話す｣という２つのタスクを｢同時｣に行うことを言うが、その中で二重タスクがどういったものなのかを理解し、これを学ぶための訓練として数を逆から数えるカウントダウン方法がよく用いられている。ところが、この訓練の効果については以前から様々な研究を通して問題が提起され続けてきた。例えば、｢同時通訳は厳密に言えばマルチタスキングだとは言えない｣(Déjean Le Féal,1997)、｢同時通訳に必要な記憶力は、この訓練では得られない｣(Gile, 1995)、｢学習者に不必要な負担だけを与えるこの訓練をあえて行う必要はない｣(Moser,1978)といった主張などだ。本研究において、国内５つの通訳翻訳教育機関の教授者と学習者を対象に実施した調査結果を見ると、カウントダウン訓練は比較的よく活用されているが、効果に対する評価はそう高くないことが明らかになった。カウントダウン訓練は大抵１度だけ行われるため、その効果を検証することは非常に難しいと言える。しかし、二重タスクという指標で、この訓練と同時通訳の関連性を分析し、これが教育現場におけるツールとして効果があるかどうかを検証することには意義があるはずだ。

Receivers tend to have higher expectations for broadcast interpreting, which is a genre of interpretation that emphasizes formal completeness. Using simultaneous interpretation outputs of President Obama’s victory speech, this paper examines how fidelity and performance in broadcast interpreting affect evaluation by receivers. The speech was simultaneously interpreted from English to Korean and Japanese, and these different renderings were used in the analysis. Simultaneous interpretation outputs were presented through TV broadcasts directly in spoken form or transcribed into written form. By comparing evaluations of spoken and written materials, it was found that interpreting outputs having the highest score for fidelity in the written form received the lowest score in the spoken form. This implies that a faithful interpretation may receive a poor evaluation if the interpreter’s performance is not up to par during delivery. On the other hand, performance factors such as the interpretor’s voice and accent were able to compensate for less fidelity in content. It is also worth noting that all respondents agreed on the importance of voice for interpretation outputs in the spoken form. Nevertheless, the value of fidelity in interpretation cannot be disputed. The findings of this study are expected to stimulate further research on practical strategies for broadcast interpreting.